My Thoughts on The New Assassin's Creed "Resynced"s & What Should Come Next:
So, I've been playing Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced pretty much nonstop since it came out and am having a ton of fun with it so far! I still haven't even gotten to the halfway point of the story, because I've been having so much fun with all the side content and trying to hunt down the elusive new Wellerman shanty (why'd they have to make it so difficult to get 😭). But, from everything I've experienced so far, I'm overall very impressed with the work Ubisoft has done.
But now, seeing the success of this game and already hearing rumors of future "Resynced"s of old AC games to come, the big question on my mind is "What will they do next?", or, more accurately I guess, "What should they do next?".
Obviously, the question is a subjective one, and I'm sure there are tons of fans who would like to see a Resynced version of any and every game in the franchise. This is just my current personal opinion of what I would like them to do next. And I will explain my thought process as to why I've come to this conclusion.
When I first began considering the possibility of another Resynced AC game, it seemed only natural to me that after Black Flag, they would move on to older games, so anywhere from AC1 to AC3.
I could see good reasons for remaking any one of them, honestly, but I think more than likely it would be one of the main three, so either AC1, AC2, or AC3, because not only are they more popular, but because it wouldn't make sense to remake Brotherhood or Revelations before 2, seeing as that's where Ezio's story begins. It has nothing to do with Brotherhood or Revelations being worse games. I like them both. That being said, on an unrelated note, I would definitely rank AC2 above Brotherhood and Revelations, but again, I thoroughly enjoyed all 3.
And speaking of 3, my next thought was that perhaps the game most deserving of a Resync out of that group would be AC3, because, well. Let's be honest. AC3 is a great game, but, it does feel kind of unpolished and rough around the edges.
It's hard to explain. I think because it was the first game of the franchise that took the leap into what was, at the time, a VERY different style of game from all the AC titles before it.
It honestly felt like they just had so many new ideas they wanted to try out and they put them all together in a way that... doesn't fit quite right. And, personally, I always found it rather odd how fast they pushed out the Remaster. I have played both, now that I think about it. The original on my PlayStation3 and the Remastered version on my PlayStation4, and, to be honest, while there is a slight difference between them, I wouldn't say the Remaster really changed or improved upon the original nearly enough to justify a second release. But that's just the way I see it.
I love Connor as a character and wouldn't want them to change anything about his character or his journey, only the way we get to experience it, if that makes sense.
That being said, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that going from Black Flag to 3 probably wouldn't work. And there is one main reason for that:
Desmond Miles.
In case we've forgotten or, and I dread to even consider it, some of you haven't heard of him, let me explain.
Desmond Miles was literally the main character of the AC franchise from its CONCEPTION. HE was the anchor that tied everything together. From the Animus storylines to the Modern Day. They all led back to him. His journey was what threaded all of the original games together.
And, HOT TAKE, criminally underrated as a character.
Not the point though. My point is: if Ubisoft does a Resync of AC3 next, I don't see it turning out well. Specifically because of how important Desmond is to that game.
If they try to do with AC3 what they did with Black Flag, where they literally erase the modern day storyline, it would ruin everything.
Connor and Desmond's stories are too dependent on one another. And that's not a bad thing! They work together in a way that, I think, is probably the best of all the original AC games. Because it truly does feel like you cannot have one without the other.
So, for a truly faithful AC3 Resynced, Ubisoft would need to start from the beginning of Desmond's story.
And that is how I arrived at the conclusion that the next AC Resynced really should be the first. The OG. And, coincidentaly, my personal favorite AC game.
And, the more I thought about, the more it made sense. Not only is next year the game's 20th anniversary, but because it is the crucial first stepping stone in the franchise's history.
And, whether Ubisoft wants to accept it or not, Desmond Miles and his story was a, if not THE, most important part in the franchise's success. And to remake these games without fully dedicating themselves to doing the Modern Day storyline justice, I think will not only cause them to fall flat on their faces, but it will also be one big spit in the face to all the fans of those games.
That's not to say that I think that is ALL Ubisoft needs to do to make the Resynced version of the game an excellent and faithful remake. Not by a long shot.
As I said before, AC1 is my favorite Assassin's Creed game, but, for many reasons, not just the Modern Day. In fact, most of them have to do with Altaïr's side of the game.
I've thought of what I would want from an AC1 remake many times.
Obviously, updated visuals, graphics, and gameplay is always a want. Less bugs and glitches and overall better performance, too, of course.
But, beyond that, is where it gets tricky.
I, myself, am a huge fan of AC1's story and characters. I think they are beautifully written and honestly the most interesting of all the games (that I've played). Not only that, but, the most real and believable, too. At least when it comes to the main characters. Some of the side characters and definitely the NPCs feel... less like real people and more like cartoons lol. Something they could probably improve upon in the Resync.
That being said, while I would prefer the majority of the story and the characters remain unchanged, I would absolutely love if they added to what's already there like they've done with Black Flag.
Perhaps they could show more of Altaïr's life, like the death of his father, or how his friendship with Abbas turned into a bitter rivalry, or even more scenes between him and Al Mualim.
Particularly, though, I desperately want more content pertaining to Malik, because I think his character is, hands down, THE single most overlooked and underappreciated of ANY AC game. Period.
At least by Ubisoft, given that they literally HAD his VA working on AC Revelations already, and yet, for some reason, didn't include Malik in a SINGLE ONE of the Altaïr memories in that game. Like??? His VA literally voices a character in the game, and not just a minor one, but one who is recurring throughout basically the entire story with many voicelines. So, why not have him return as Malik if they had him available for all that time?? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE, UBISOFT!!!!
...Yeah, I'm bitter about it. Especially given that they literally REWROTE certain scenes in that game that were originally meant to have Malik play a role in them. I know, because, there's a book called The Secret Crusade that is literally Altaïr's entire life story and there are scenes in the book from Revelations and Malik is in them.
So, yeah, when and if they ever get around to doing a Resync of Revelations, you already know what I'm gonna be looking for.
But while I'm on this subject, another thing I do want to talk about in regards to my hopes for an AC1 Resync is the voice acting.
We've seen from Black Flag Resync that they brought back the entire original cast, which I'm super happy about. And while, in my ideal AC1 Resync, I would love for the same thing to happen, I think it's only rational to consider that the game is 20 years old. I'm not even sure if everyone from the game's cast is still alive, so it may or not be possible for everyone to return for the Resync.
That being said, I don't think them having to recast certain characters would necessarily break the whole experience. It obviously depends entirely on the performances of whoever they hire.
Actually, there is one character I can think of that they definitely CANNOT recast and that is Desmond, of course. Noland North's performance, I think, is directly tied into Desmond's character and, without it, he wouldn't feel like the same character at all. But given that Noland has done voicework for Assassin's Creed fairly recently, I believe, I don't think it would be that hard for them to get him to come back as Desmond. If they even wanted to, that is. I think they could honestly just stick with his original voicelines and it would still work just fine.
As for Altaïr, I think this is where it's probably going to get the most ugly for a lot of people, because Altaïr is a character who has already been voiced by multiple people. And some people already have preferences for one VA's performance over the other.
Honestly, I don't. I like both his AC1 VA and the Revelations one.
But, then, it's also possible Ubisoft might not go with either of the two and cast someone completely new to the role.
Personally, I think for the sake of nostalgia and faithfullness for the original, I'd love to see his original VA reprise his role.
But, if they were to cast someone new, I'll just say, that actor will have some very big shoes to fill. And I hope, whoever they may be, that they approach the role with a full understanding of the character and really give it their best.
As for the other characters, same kind of deal, honestly.
Except Malik. I NEED them to keep his original VA. Just for my own sake, really. I think his VA was among the best in that whole game. His performance is truly on another level. And with Malik being one of my top favorite AC characters of all time, it matters a lot to me. If he was recast with a different VA, ...I just don't know. I think it would feel so wrong to me.
That's all I have to say really on the matter of voice acting.
I don't know if I'm the person to really talk about gameplay improvements, given that I'm not all that picky, really. Especially in games such as Assassin's Creed, weirdly enough, the gameplay, while it is an important factor, has never been what I consider most important about any of the games.
For me, the characters and the story will always be more important. That's just my personal preference.
And it explains why AC1 is my favorite, because, I'll be honest, the gameplay is pretty janky and dated by today's standards. And yet, somehow, that only makes it all the more satisfying for me when I start to learn it's quirks and get better at it.
When I first played the game, I was, understandably, pretty terrible at it. But after playing for a while, I had gotten so good at it that I actually went into one of the military camps in the Kingdom, I think to kill one of the Templars, and, because I didn't realize that the soldiers just spawn there forever and never stop coming, I was in combat there for like, half an hour, maybe longer, just killing off more and more soliders, their bodies piling up around me, but they COULD NOT kill me.
Eventually, I realized they were just spawning infinitely and, I think I stayed and kept fighting for a while just to see how long I could keep going, until I eventually got bored and left. 🤣
A story I still find funny to this day, yet I think it just goes to show that, dated as it may be, AC1's gameplay isn't bad or unfun. It's actually quite the opposite. It's the literal definition of the power fantasy that Assassin's Creed games are known for.
So, if I were to have one word of advice to Ubisoft on the gameplay for an AC1 Resynced, it would be to keep that power fantasy in tact and just as strong as it is in the original. You did a great job with it in Black Flag Resync, but I don't think you should necessarily copy and paste that formula onto AC1. Try and make it unique, in the way that it was back in 2007. If you can.
There's probably more I could say about what I'd like for them to add or change or keep the same, but I think they're all probably smaller things and this post is insanely long already.
If you read this far, then thank you for listening to my ramblings lol. I know I am but one voice in a sea of Assassin's Creed fans who are all asking Ubisoft for a million different things, but I felt compelled to share anyway.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts on any of the stuff I mentioned and if there are any fellow AC1 lovers out there, I'd love to hear from and speak with y'all especially. It's so crazy and wonderful to me that the game is nearly 20 years old and yet I can still find people who are passionate about it to this day. It goes to show how timeless and brilliant of a game it truly is. The more I think about it, it may have even taken over Skyrim's place as my favorite game.
Anyway, that's all for now. Safety and peace be upon you all. 🦅
(p.s. Ubisoft, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, when you do AC1 Resynced, keep the microtransactions to a minimum. Or just don't have them at all. That would be great. 😁)
Finished the main campaign of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced. By the gods what a phenomenal game.
No wonder Black Flag is so beloved. I don’t actually think it warranted a remake to be honest because the original 2013 game still stands up but I’m glad I and many other people have rediscovered it all over again through a very faithful remake. The only complaint I have is them being lazy and using the Shadows user interface. They could have definetly spent a bit more time and figured out something new that would fit the game considering it was entirely different to Shadows.
The new content though with recruiting the officers - that was a really welcome addition to the story of it. I think that Lucy Baldwin may be my new favourite AC character. Whoever voices for her totally understood the assignment and I think I would like to play as her character in a new Assaassin’s Creed at some point because I really think they’re lacking in good female protagonist characters and there’s an opportunity for her to get her own game and to explore her backstory.
All in all, I very much enjoyed playing this game and I still have a lot of side content to get through so I’m not finished with it just yet. I hope this will entice Ubisoft to make better Assassin’s Creed games and not just keep following the same old RPG formula over and over just because it’s easier. Although I did like Shadows, there was a lot left to be desired about that game. I think the problem really is they make the games far too big and don’t really put quality into all the quantity they shove in and make you repeat over and over again. It’s just not engaging in the way that it would be if they spent the time to figure out how it works with the lore and story and the characters. Edward Kenway is a beloved AC protagonist character for a reason. He has a purpose and it’s engaging to play as him and figure it all out.
And to Edward’s voice actor, Matt Ryan. Fantastic job once again. I think your voice was a little bit deeper but I say it worked for this new iteration of Edward Kenway.
I don’t think we’ll ever have a pirate game as good as this ever again but then I don’t really think we need one as Black Flag is just the quintessential experience for a what it would be like for the player to be a pirate and to sail the seven seas. I think Black Flag fills the void there and I have to say it’s my favourite game after Odyssey which only really is my favourite because of Kassandra who is still the best female character the franchise has.
Assassin’s Creed when it’s at its best is about the characters. Clearly. So just fucking stick to that.
