The Pinnacle of Assassin's Creed Parkour

[@LeoKRogue]

This is very well put-together, and excellently argued. Examples are solid, logical, and borderline bulletproof. Preference is certainly a factor in anything we raise above something else, but in this instance the reasons for ranking this system so highly are all factually-supported at their core. It's not a matter of "I Just Like It Better." It's a matter of, "I deeply understand how each of these different systems works, and the reality of it is that this particular one offers far superior X, Y, and Z to its successors." Nice! Thank you once again for the shout-out, and I hope people find something to learn or enjoy, and re-evaluate their perceptions of movement in AC. This series has a lot of potential. Asking for better movement, and being aware of what better movement even looks like, is really important.

[@bootleghungarian2890]

Leo K [Rogue] ayyy my man Leo

[@7dayspking]

Not entirely true Leo K. This doesn't really hold up as an objective analysis. I agree with much of what he said but primarily from my own experience, not because he made a legitimately objective, valid and honest assessment and that he certainly didn't. 'better movement' and 'better parkour' aren't the same thing. 'Better parkour' and 'less scripted' parkour aren't even the same thing. I like your stuff stuff Leo and I see you've got Odyssey and Origins. Does Ezio control with the same agility and precision as Alexios or bayek? He never mentioned how awkward the almost tank like movement in the old AC games was or the kind of clunky analog stick orientation of your camera and character. Origins and Odyssey might not offer the same control over parkour, although that's not entirely true. Either way it might not but it's far easier to precisely determine what direction you want to move in, at what speed you want to move and to quickly switch direction. Aiming the camera is much more precise, and what a relief that is given that both games offer the series first properly functional free aiming system for ranged weapons and actually Melee Weapons. In Origins I often play with the spear, I don't use the lock on and primarily use the stabbing power attacks. With AC2 to 4's clunky movement and camera, this would be nearly impossible.

[@emperorducky4951]

I'll give you another HELL YEAH!

[@kortex5130]

glad to see James put some respect on your name and acknowledge your skill ny dude

[@michaelm1221]

was that Altair move over beams removed in ezio's trilogy? Haven't played 1 in years and don't remember triggering it in trilogy. Or does it take specific button input?

[@swiftyunknown]

Unity was the closest we've gotten to combining the new and old parkour systems. Instead of working off of that game they literally just quit trying.

[@LazerzZ]

I’d totally agree with this sentiment.

[@LeoKRogue]

Same, it's such a shame. Origins and Odyssey are super usable, sure, but at the cost of deleting *any* meaningful verbs for us to play with in traversal.

[@rhetiq9989]

They sacrificed style and finesse in favor of more ease in traversing more diverse and extreme landscapes like in Origins and Odyssey. It has its positives and negatives depending on who you ask

[@xgunicon7341]

Swifty! Its you! Am big fan of your ac videos!

[@trofulds]

That's pretty much every aspect in Unity. Instead of trying to polish it and work off of it, they just ditched it. It's the same as if Ubisoft saw how people complain about the sluggish parkour in AC1 and instead of improving on it on AC2 they just reinvented it altogether.

[@gabrielkokan2812]

the only thing i didnt like in the ezio trilogy parkour is the camera switching on certain places p.s. cant wait for the witcher 3 retrospective

[@claudiovaldivia583]

Ye unluckily that shitty thing exists, sometimes fucking it up 4 everyone

[@akwilson1676]

Well sometimes the camera switches so you can see the bigger obstacles that require a wider view. But yeah that sometimes can be a pain in the ass.

[@7dayspking]

I didn't like the poor movement controls. If you've played Odyssey, jumping straight from that into the AC1 to revelations engine, AC3 to Rogue engine or AC Unity engine it's immediately apparent how awkwardly, imprecisely and slow your characters are to control. It's even worse when you enter combat where all control is lost.

[@claudiovaldivia583]

@@akwilson1676 agreed man, i have the Bad habbit of automatically switching the camera myself, and depending on how i do so i jump and stuff, so when it happens it screws me over

[@isaacling6560]

@@claudiovaldivia583 even worse. Getting stuck in a roof

[@mattyash8935]

This is definitely sponsored by raid shadow legends

[@mattyash8935]

I WAS FUCKING RIGHT

[@Haaron-z]

Did you not figure that out by the raid shadow legend ad he made in the video?

[@WorldView-ys5bz]

Aqua Raid did you not figure out that he posted that comment before the vid

[@Haaron-z]

@@WorldView-ys5bz nah i usually assume people watch the video before commenting 😂

[@WorldView-ys5bz]

Ryan Sawin if he edited it it would say edited like this comment.

[@malfuresz7351]

I loved how climbing viewpoints in the Ezio games felt like a mini puzzle-game. Especially in Brotherhood, where you had the option to not buy the climb leap gloves, and climbing felt a bit more challenging and if you really wanted to save a bit of time and climb a bit faster or skip little bits of segments, you had to buy those gloves. It wasn't just handed to you like that ability in AC2, you had an actual choice. Btw great video mate, as always!

[@yoboichill0842]

malfuresz like in unity I just hold Forward and rt

[@EliteFreeman]

I DIDNT KNOW U COULD DO THAT IN BROTHERHOOD WHILE ON A HORSE AT 3:12

[@RudiCarvalho]

I believe you can assassinate NPC's on other horses while being on yours and take theirs as well, not sure tho, it's been a while since I've played, but it was definitely a nice addition to have in the newest AC games. I do think there was an achievement for this as well, to jump from horse back to a place like that.

[@yashaf3945]

@@RudiCarvalho Yup, one of the features I use the most to get either a pitch black horse or one with armour!

[@yashaf3945]

Someone please teach me the buttons that looked sick

[@eila5388]

I did it randomly one day and ezio grabbed a pole and literally backflipped to the next pole and then i landed back on my horse...

[@utsavbasu1048]

Wtf u people don't do side quests or what, it's literally there on thieves quest or something I. e u need to jump to a ledge from a horse

[@robbieb313]

This will be interesting for sure... I personally prefer the original AC parkour because how it is utilized in the world. You actually had to maneuver the building quite often to climb up. Whereas in recent entries you simply hold up on your thumbstick and all the work is done for you (with some exceptions). I also like that theres many more inputs to "worry about" for the parkour in the originals because it simply made it feel more interactive

[@ralphh796]

Actually every AC game has you holding R2 to run...so i don't think your opinion is malformed

[@Agito4774]

Levvy R. Not in Origins and Odyssey tho

[@SkandiTV]

@@ralphh796 Origins and Odyssey only require you to move forward to climb.

[@shagnagg]

@@ralphh796 Well not only is that not what he was talking about, but Origins and Odyssey both run automatically with X or A being the climbing button, eliminating the use of R2.

[@robbieb313]

@Faris Elwan great game! Tho I do prefer AC2 simply because the world

[@chef3520]

15:23 he’s right tho....Evie Frye has a perk that LITERALLY makes her invisible when she stands still in stealth mode

[@Abhishek-tw8fr]

Congratulations ubisoft.....you fucked up 👏👏👏

[@supervegito2277]

Id say it works a bit differently (if an enemy gets close enough, youre fucked, only really works at range IIRC) ...but odyssey does have such a skill.. and hooy boy i abused the shit outta that on ng+.-

[@memecliparchives2254]

Yet people still excuse Syndicate while hating Odyssey.

[@phantomgamer9264]

@@memecliparchives2254 it has Assassins and the Creed Odyssey didn't need to be made

[@memecliparchives2254]

​@@phantomgamer9264And Syndicate is still a nonsensical SNL joke parody of Assassins Creed ad much as Odyssey is.

[@stancedstyfon1234]

The parkour system of the ezio games was always one of the reasons why I always go back to them. It's very basic and grounded but it requires a lot of thought. I just hope the next assassins creed does something like this, but have just better animations I guess, maybe even some wall running animation. Not ridiculous wall running...but short distance wall running

[@radiosundown1202]

So I didn't know Prince of Persia is basically the predecessor to these games until a few weeks ago. But now I see it and I love it. The PoP games had wall running and it worked well, so they could probably make it work

[@stancedstyfon1234]

@@radiosundown1202 oh definitely...I think one of the head devs of prince of persia left to start his own project which blew up big time...and I hope they make it a thing...as long as it's realistic wall running....maybe like jedi fallen order like wall running...but it should be a skill that u learn through the story

[@PackofGas]

Bro odyssey reminds me of pop sands of time so much I used to play that game non stop

[@shira_yone]

@@stancedstyfon1234 what game

[@Unknown.Maniac]

"I just hope the next assassins creed does something like this" ... Who's gonna tell 'em 😳

[@hatergonahate249]

I feel like Unity and Ezio trilogy are equally good in their own ways. Ezio makes you think and really learn the mechanics of the game and such, but Unity just feels sooooooo good. I think they’re both the pinnacle of the series tied for first.

[@claudiovaldivia583]

Yesss, a mix between them would be fuucking beautiful man

[@llvmpipe]

Unity is the best

[@ahmedsachwani2868]

Unity was truly a successor of all the previous games a prodigy of a game and then the fans killed it

[@gallagherisgod5853]

ahmed sachwani oh no don’t let the fans criticise a game they didn’t like

[@oteila6151]

Gallagher is God *hate not criticize. They cried about bugs and glitches that sure where there when the game launched but now they are not. They still get brought up tho. And people who never played the game get the impression that is a bugfest which is just not true. I played through the game 3 times now and even 100% it once. On pc and on ps4. And the biggest bug ive encountered is getting stuck in a statue once. Alone in playing through origins once ive encountered 5 times those bugs and glitches (floating boats etc.) so no its not criticizing its just blind hate from people who just want to not like it

[@evanhampel4999]

love the return to video essays!

[@Based1889]

@@hcnry boomer is an old meme u old hag

[@scoutdnr]

Somehow you've already pissed off two people.

[@LazerzZ]

😂 without even saying a word. Love it.

[@scoutdnr]

@@LazerzZ I can't tell if it's AC haters who don't want you going back to AC content or if it's AC fanboys who assume you're gonna say something negative about their favourite game. Maybe one of each.

[@Corvaric]

Who said it can't be both, @@scoutdnr?

[@scoutdnr]

@@Corvaric No one. I even proposed the idea myself.

[@jadensimila1037]

Man I love this community

[@jibby_0989]

AYYYYYYY my boy got the raid shadow legends money, I know they pay well my guy lmao

[@LazerzZ]

They be doing bits and also pieces.

[@alanm7838]

I always liked Unity's parkour simply because I've always wanted something a bit flashy, but I was ultimately disappointed with how little you could do in the actual game. However, I never liked how climbing almost became mindless; it shouldn't be mindless. Climbing should keep your attention and feel fun, cool, and varied. Classic AC parkour is in no way perfect - it could be a lot better - but it is the closest AC has gotten to what I personally want from Assassin's Creed. Parkour itself takes a lot of very specific actions that are difficult to pull off, and making it so that the player has to genuinely think about the parkour makes it far more realistic. I think that if they mixed the parkour of Unity and the first four games, leaning more into the first four games than Unity, it would be perfect. But generally, as you said, people need to stop expecting mindless experiences from games. That's the reason why AC has gotten so bad: mindlessness sells, so Ubisoft created mindless gameplay, including mindless parkour. It's disappointing, in my opinion.

[@jackcook2574]

Yeah I agree. If they could just put the flashy animations on the classic AC parkour system then it would be pretty much perfect

[@callum4337]

When you consider when they were released, I think ac1 and 2 were some of the most ambitious and well executed games of the time. Prince of persia blows my mind. That's the ubisoft I want. I think the closest I've seen to old ubi from current ubi is for honor, and I love that game. I hate it too, but I still spend most of my gaming time on it. Rainbow six siege is also a fresh take on the shooter genre and its one of the more fun ones. Ubi really can do amazing things when they try to innovate but they've lost that spark for the most part recently. Madly disappointing as an ac fan to see the promising epic of a story turn to dust. All that time looking at paintings and listening to audio files in ac2 were wasted.

[@1877theflip]

You have captured very well one of the reasons why assassin’s creed was so impactful to me. As someone who does parkour in real life, all the things you said about the movement system giving players more agency to execute and experience what it’s like to be so skilled is exactly the point. It’s interesting that the elements are the parkour are valuable to other people who may not do it themselves. It takes a lot of skill and precision to do parkour and the old system truly captures that.

[@Incoherent-excitement]

9:00 _“It’s not the game, it’s you. You’re bad at the game.”_ I feel called out! 👀 All those hours spent yelling at Ezio were in vain. 😂 Seriously though, the Ezio trilogy parkour was amazing once you got the hang of it. Mastering the advanced wall jump was immensely satisfying.

[@7dayspking]

It is actually the game. He's right that you can't expect perfect results holding RT and A, he's wrong that it's precise or free. Your character always locks onto objects and this creates very awkward issues if you're jumping at a diagonal. It's also very imprecise in deciding if you want to eject directly behind you or off to the side from a wall. Inputs are very unresponsive and badly delayed. Most inputs you have to press quite early and yet using inputs delays the window for further inputs. Trying to drop off objects is a nightmare because of this.

[@captainknuckels1452]

😭i hate odyssey so much it's not even AC

[@jcers]

7dayspking “inputs are unresponsive” Did you play the same game as me, fam?

[@heeff]

Earnie Ngalo even if it’s not a good game, it still has the ac title :( even though I can definitely say that it is bad I still actively enjoy and play it

[@greenishpiss3588]

@@7dayspking The only bad thing about the game is the camera during Assassin Tombs

[@jonathanhoey6280]

Don't usually comment, but you're spot on here, while I always thought the parkour from 3 to Unity looked nice and felt satisfying it doesn't actually hold up to the original games

[@linkluver_izn]

While I do disagree with this video, I’m a fan of Unity, however this video really has given me a different perspective on the Ezio Trilogy’s parkour system and I’m excited to go back and explore the system more

[@benboudreau1221]

Being a fan of unity is funny, cuz the more you play the other games the more jarring it is playing unity. I used to be the biggest fan of unity but now I realize how every moment in that game feels like it’s rushed, all the animations are almost great, the parkour is almost great, the story is almost great, so for me the ezio trilogy becomes the clear goat of the franchise, no almosts there

[@justinreeves2696]

Oh please shut up, your a goddamn Nintendo fan boy, stay in your own realm.

[@Based1889]

@@benboudreau1221 ikr and people call unity a "masterpiece" if unity is a masterpiece then what is ac2,rdr2 and witcher 3 lmao

[@natchu96]

I think most people really only consider the *ideas* present in Unity to be pretty near masterpiece AC level. ...if only they ever actually finished making the game in the first place before selling it.

[@linkluver_izn]

@@benboudreau1221 1 yr old comment but actually I started with ac2, j'aime juste le français, je suppose (i just like french i guess)

[@thedrbat9572]

I think the reason why Ubisoft slowly made the parkour more baby-ish is because they probably realized over time that the majority of the player base would never actually utilize the parkour system so perfectly like you show in the video. Which means people who are average would play the game and think the parkour looks boring and is too hard. Which is why they changed it slowly because they were focused on the general audience. I'm not saying I don't like the old parkour system, infact I love it, but I actually understand why they made it worse in the newer games and I don't judge them, because there will be angry people who will come out and give bad review to their games saying the "game sucks"

[@obsidianwarrior5580]

LazerzZ is making a positive assassin's creed video? Does Ubisoft have him at gunpoint or something?

[@user-nc4yb8rd3g]

Short answer: Yes.

[@LeoKRogue]

It's about the Classic Assassin's Creed games; which were the best. :P No gunpoint needed.

[@Countmacula666]

He only hates Odyssey

[@obsidianwarrior5580]

@@Countmacula666 I mean he's stated he hates 3 and syndicate even more than odyssey, plus he thinks Rogue and Unity are only fine.

[@PythonMFD]

@@obsidianwarrior5580 Wait he hates ac3? Come on it ain't that bad

[@forrandomsites3336]

My only gripe with the parkour in unity was that some of it looked really off especially rooftops where jumping from chimney to chimney that are somewhat far apart. Like you would jump off one and It'll look like you'll only make it before the next one,all of a sudden you see arno getting pulled right on top of the chimney by an invisible force and it looks very distracting and there are a bunch of places that do this even on the side of buildings. Also arno feels very light,like the way he flies up buildings with ease is strange but satisfying nevertheless. If they could somehow combine the sense of weight of the older ac titles with the animations of unity,that'll be the best of the best.

[@ahmadnajwan1846]

yeah sometimes he literally fly when jumping from rooftop to rooftop or from chimney to whatever

[@Agito4774]

Stephan Salvatore lmao

[@ahmadnajwan1846]

@Stephan Salvatore thats good lol

[@themightybagle99]

Have you not watched professional parkour vids? Those dudes can do some crazy shit-

[@exonymat1471]

@@themightybagle99 yeah but they can't fucking fly lol, which is what arno is basically doing

[@arthurthedragon1012]

So happy you mentioned Leo K. I learned so many cool things from his videos to the point where I actually WANTED to reinstall Unity, something I thought I would never do again.

[@LeoKRogue]

It's definitely a game that has the capacity to irritate so I can totally understand being avoidant of it. The more knowledge you have, the more you can force it to do what you want, but it's never going to be 100% reliable or consistent. I'm glad you wanted to play it again, though. It's cool, it's quite Assassin's Creed-y in some ways I think we inarguably long for nowadays. Hope you've been doing well.

[@arthurthedragon1012]

Leo K [Rogue] I’ve been doing well and I hope you are too. I love your videos man, keep up the great work!

[@enusama_9384]

My favourite youtubers: This video is sponsered by RAID SHADOW LEGENDS Me: You too, Brutus?

[@ahmedsachwani2868]

I actually agree with the button Input thing after 11 tries everytime I found ezio “doing his own thing” less and less and after 11 times I can actually move precisely and now move a lot better in the game

[@GRGCompletionist]

The parkour mechanics in AC3 Black flag and Rogue specifically were the most satisfying for me but i love all of them! Can't wait to see what they've changed in the upcoming game and i hope they will make it more challenging this time!

[@SortaSpooby]

6:52 what in all things holy is that

[@brypleb5792]

more people would like classic AC parkour if the old games actually explained it fully in their tutorials. I played so much AC not understanding half of the movement options and had to turn to youtube to figure it out and nowadays, the old games still are my favorite. (specifically AC 1 cuz vaulting is cool)

[@tylerhellums8774]

Me: How do I open this tight pickle jar? LazerzZ: THE EZIO TRILOGY! (NOT A BAD Choice for a favorite one though)

[@cloakedfigures1368]

As much as I love the first 4 games parkour system we can't act like we all haven't gotten "assassins creed'd" as me and the boys call it when you are holding forward but the character decides you are a millimeter to the right and either gets you killed or fucks up your time lmao

[@WalshieYT1]

I've been quite mixed on the parkour for a while but I feel this put my thoughts into words perfectly! In the last few years I've really come to appreciate the environments of AC1- Revelations because I find it's actually satisfying to scale a tower or escape guards and now it feels like much more of a chore. I think I love the parkour in those older titles so much because I actually want to get involved with it, I want to find the best way to scale a certain Borgia tower or how to get down from a high place. I don't feel like that exists anymore and that's a real shame considering not only how important it used to be, but how fun it was. Great video!

[@GraceAlone614]

Definitely an interesting topic. I always enjoyed the parkour in AC2-revelations. I also really enjoyed Origins parkour system for the fact that it looked cinematic, but hated the lack of player control. With that said, each parkour system definitely have their pros and cons. Ubisoft needs to stop pandering to the group of people who suck at playing games.

[@memecliparchives2254]

Or just combine the best elements of the first four games, Black Flag and Origins and to an extent, the best elements of Unity and 3. There you have the perfect formula of old and new, instead of one side saying the old games good and new ones bad and the other side new games good old games boring.

[@GraceAlone614]

@@memecliparchives2254 that would be great, and hopefully this next game has the cinematic parkour while still being able to have full player control. Black flag was probably the closest to having player control and cinematic parkour. So if they went off that parkour system and made it better, that would make the game 10 times more enjoyable.

[@jy5733]

Holy shit, I never realized the early AC games have so much depth in their parkour system!

[@iterationfackshet1990]

I came back to this video after Ubisoft said Mirage’s parkour system is inspired by the Ezio trilogy system. It looks like this might honestly be the best system out of any game and the more I see of mirage the more excited I get for it.

[@ultime321]

Fanastic. I was just thinking how much I missed having to figure out my route up a tower or through the tombs. It felt almost like a mini PoP entry to play through the tombs. Origins was a big return to form after unity and syndicate but I still miss the parkour.

[@SuperAssasinSteve]

You absolutely nailed it. I have been playing AC since AC2 came out, and from AC3 onward I got less enjoyment out of the parkour system, but I didn't really understand why. I knew it looked better and more fluid, and yet it wasn't as enjoyable and you just explained to me why! Seeing these old clips made me remember what made AC1 and the Ezio trilogy so compelling! Being able to have so much diversity in your movements through such a seemingly simple system. You could really see the difference between a veteran, more seasoned player and a beginner, and that's what made it fun. Trying new techniques, being more precise in your movements really gave you an advantage. Great video!

[@nope12338]

Damn, I've never been persuaded so fast in my life. At the beginning I'm like bullshit it's better than unity then you used facts and logic. With just a little bit of refining and some cleaner animations Ezio parkour will work for modern AC games

[@juanpienaar7836]

Agreed, with the Ezio games I actually had to think before I made a leap or think what I can actually grab onto, in today's AC games its just mindless climbing.

[@princessmyprincess4284]

Currently 2am and I’m up waiting for this video feeling like James and AC3

[@WaKy.]

One of the most underrated channels. Deserve more subs!

[@LazerzZ]

Thank you!

[@avrydobbs2186]

Facts. Definitely more accurate and fluid in some ways in the earlier games! Even if it isn’t super fluid as like origins or something like any other parkour system in any other game, but it has weight and substance! I.e it feels great! Love the video man keep it up!

[@mattyash8935]

Avry Dobbs donate him money now pls

[@7dayspking]

Less accurate, less fluid, more control.

[@avrydobbs2186]

7dayspking I mean accurate as in control... as in you are the one making it accurate and fluid.

[@7dayspking]

@@avrydobbs2186 and I meant inaccurate as in control, as in the game poorly tracks your inputs. You primarily make inputs between animations, you do not retain real time control over your character except for the 'wall eject' mechanic which itself creates a lengthy amount of time without control. This isn't what I meant above though, what I meant is the game controls pretty awfully, it has terrible movement and one of the worse camera's I've used in a modern AAA third person action game. Controlling Ezio feels like controlling a tank or a horse in a game with horrible horse riding. Then you get to the game's combat where you've little direct control over what Ezio's doing. It controls even worse than the movement and parkour, inputs are heavily delayed. Inputs are ignored unless they're pressed in the 'correct' window causing it to feel awkward and unresponsive, all the while the game is physically fighting control of Ezio away from you. Everyone here is talking about the old AC games only as Assassin's creed games. As video games they're extremely clunky and imprecise and offer little control over your character. The Exceptions are Assassin's creed Origins and Odyssey. Bayek and Alexios are extremely agile and responsive to your inputs. The camera actually works, in fact so well you can easily aim long ranged projectile weapons with it manually and I can aim spear thrusts without a lock-on System at distant enemies entirely with the game's movement and camera. So no, AC1, 2, brotherhood and Revelations are not 'accurate' and precise. Ezio is not 'fast', he's extremely sluggish to control. Even the game's 'dodge evade' mechanic is a nightmare because of awkward input windows and delays. I'm playing it as I type this comment and I played Odyssey a couple of days ago.

[@177SCmaro]

Another thing the old systems allowed is tension. There where times I was flying though the air thinking "holly shit, holly shit, holly shit....oh, wow, I can't believe I made that jump." There was actual risk of messing up, falling and dying.

[@lazarsorak9589]

Ah, good ol' throwback AC video, always a pleasure

[@ColeEdits]

How is the parkour terrible in Syndicate?? It built on the best parkour system in the entire franchise, Unity’s. Also about 3. If you hold down A while holding down RT you will jump right off that edge. RT is used as a “safe parkour” button. But if you use the old layout of RT + A, the game won’t stop you if you go running towards a non-safe ledge. You’ll jump.

[@dedicateddark]

The Brotherhood & Revelations tombs made me feel like I was playing Prince of Persia, they are that good! I am genuinely impressed by your perception & insight. Good stuff! Hope there will more. And thank you! for treating AC1 with respect.

[@MishraArtificer]

Considering the AC games are built up from what was originally going to be a Prince of Persia title...that does not surprise me.

[@emperorducky4951]

*Assassin's Creed 2 crying in the corner*

[@Based1889]

Nah ac origins tombs was wayy better tbh

[@Based1889]

Everything always doesn't have to be on the side of ezio trilogy

[@wifparanoid]

@@Based1889 This. AC1 is true greatness

[@Tilted_Krow]

Its good to see james continueing to make content on this franchise. At the end of the day he wants AC to be as good as it can be. Same as all of us.

[@byrone4229]

Now I wish I didn’t play the newer games before Ac1 to Revelations because I got frustrated because of the old mechanics and now I wish the newer games wouldn’t hold your hand the entire game

[@h.knight]

I actually never thought about it but yeah I agree with him, Parkore in AC games after Ezio Trilogy is basically hold down right trigger until you reach the top/destination.

[@utsavbasu1048]

That is Boring

[@Kevin-rv8br]

4:41I want this back

[@Darrkoh]

Lazerz: "DOWNLOAD RAI-" Me: "Im a stop you right there"

[@DigitalVanquish]

The free-running in AC 1 to Revelations lets you control each movement, and looks as cool and fluid as you are skillful with the system. You don't just push up or down. As AC went on, it's been developed to get the player from the ground to the roof as quick as possible, rather than having it something you have to consider. Syndicate is the epitome of this, and I knew it would be as soon as I heard the setting of AC "Victory". Should have been an Edward Kenway game in London or something...Verticality shouldn't be treated as an inconvenience. It should be part of the challenge. Perhaps more free-running tutorials should have been included, rather than leaving the more advanced mechanics hidden. I had no idea about vaulting in AC 1 until a few years ago. But these should have been optional, like the training in Brotherhood.

[@MishraArtificer]

I would buy an Edward Kenway game set in London before he was killed...

[@noobbotgaming2173]

I don't know why people always bring up control of movement as a determining factor in the parkour system. I feel the video author and people strawman people's argument for the Unity/Syndicate system. We don't say it has more agency in the sense of input from the player. Rather it has more precision in where the character goes. There are too many times Altair/Ezio leap at a 45 degree angle when your thumbstick is forward. The first system's flaw is it locks onto the closest jumpable thing. So if you're on a rooftop and the next ledge is further away than the option to jump to the streets the game makes you fall to your death. This is why although Unity is stickier I prefer precision over which vertical direction my character goes. And that is why I prefer it to the first system. It has nothing to do with animations like people keep strawmanning. I want precision where I go. I don't care about pressing multiple buttons to do parkour. AC already is very lock-on anyways. Not having sticky parkour makes no sense.

[@Pedro_Le_Chef]

@@noobbotgaming2173 But Unity Parkour is objectively less precise than the ezio parkour system. This isnt a matter of opinion, It's a fact. Ezio has a set jump distance. Arno's jumps vary depending on where the game thinks you want to jump. Unity is much more automated. It's easier to look cool and It's on rails. Ezio parkour makes it more difficult to have flow but you can get much more control and precision from it. Unity is so imprecise that there's no parkour puzzles anymore because they required accuracy and précision which unity doesnt have'

[@noobbotgaming2173]

@@Pedro_Le_Chef Nope. You can claim "objectivity" all you want. You're still wrong. You can't claim objectivity when you haven't defined your term. Think of Unity's parkour like a car. It's "automated" in the sense the game locks Arno to spots but you control when and where you want to land. Firstly the code of the old parkour isn't precise. You never worked on the game. The director of Unity did. The older games had parkour limited to a 30cm grid. Which means parkour only works on a square; NO DIAGONAL angles allowed. Hence Ezio leaps to his death at the slightest 45 degree angle. Which leads to the second reason why it isn't precise. Parkour had 2 conflicting mechanisms to it. In other words it's contradictory. When you need to press the climb button to do parkour you also jump. Again Ezio jumps when the game sees he can. The controls were always wonky and contradicted each other. Free run up/down is so much better because the player controls which part of the XY axis to go. When you learn to move in Unity you'll quickly realize you have control where you want to go. In summary I explained the code and the mechanics of the older parkour. The real objectivity is the stupid square parkour of the older ones isn't precise in terms of A-B. If by "control" you mean you need individual buttons for Ezio's body parts (legs, arms, etc) then yes more control. But we all know control is get from point A to B without a hitch. Unity does it better.

[@guilhermelonskispacheco7644]

Yeah, sir. I was playing Ezio trilogy again and I realized that the same complaint that people have regarding the parkour system (wrongly so) they have with the combat system, accusing the old games of being button smashing. Are they really now? Just in AC 2 you have more combat variations than most of the games that came after. You have counter, dodge, quickstep, critical hit (when you do a double tap in the attack button at the right moment) to move your opponent’s weapon out of the blocking mode and going for instant kill midst battle; you have how to escape mid combat and engage into parkour system, you have how to block attacks and also, you have the smoke bombs. On AC 1 you had strong attacks as well. Parkour and combat were really good! Actually, all that system of having each button corresponding to each body part was great! It was more immersive. AC was more an experience than a game, really. Specially AC I. And this was awesome. I miss that feeling. If possible, you could do a video comparing the combat and talking about that feeling of “experiencing” the game not actually “playing” it. It was like you were there, in the Animus not on the console or PC

[@Stynkrat]

Unity had that combat variation as well. Dodge, heavy attack, light attack, criticals, good parry, perfect parry, and different combos based on the weapon type you were using and tool you had equipped. Plus you could use the Sprint button to escape combat pretty quickly, but its still risky because everyone has a gun that they can use to shoot you down, encouraging you to break their line of sight or defeat them before running off.

[@guilhermelonskispacheco7644]

GuyGunslinger yeah. Unity combat was not that bad. It was good for what it was. But I think that the one that really put you in control and was more responsive and didn’t make you hit the air, was the one from AC 1 to Revelations. And I can’t believe that I am complimenting Revelations (so many plot holes) but combat-wise it was very good

[@Stynkrat]

Guilherme Lonskis Pacheco Honestly Revelations isn’t that bad, imo. Plot-holes or not, it still ties up Ezio and Altair’s stories and is probably the most emotionally provoking of the trilogy.

[@guilhermelonskispacheco7644]

GuyGunslinger yeah, my friend. I think it is for all tastes, you know? It is like bands. Both Metallica and Megadeth are good, and I listened to both, but I prefer Metallica. For me, it’s the same with AC. Being someone who played AC 1 since 2008 on PC, I miss some story and experience elements that didn’t have - in my humble opinion - in Revelations. I think it’s a good game but not one that you can put in fair comparison to AC II story, for example. It is not only that they are different stories. The problem with Revelations forward, for me, is the pacing and the ambition to construct something so big but without proper structure or background knowledge, disrespecting some character arcs and the lore just for the sake of being cool or modern. Ezio it’s not acting so wise in ACR as he once was from middle to end of Brotherhood. Some people prefer Ezio being an old guy but behaving like an arrogant brat sometimes simulating - badly - the impression of bad ass. I really don’t like that. And some of the choices that they did with Altair, were not the smart ones. For instance, the last codex page left opened what happened to him when he touched the Apple to provoke mystery. Like the end of Batman Arkham Knight, you know? It was supposed to be like that. To let it opened to interpretation. But ACR just went there and showed his dead body...and to worse things further, he is not holding the Apple but something else (it was the last memory seaL? I don’t recall the object). Then, I start to question: If he had accessed all those memory seals, wouldn’t he mentioned that in the Codex? After all, he mentioned all the important things that the Apple showed him, from the Hidden Gun to his armor, and he didn’t even mention those memory seals in the Codex? Weird, to say the least. AC II and Brotherhood in contrast, construct Ezio’s arc, where he gets wiser and wiser and those games tie, in a perfect manner, the end of AC 1 to the beginning of AC2 and make Ezio (the new protagonist) learn new things from the old protagonist, Altair, in a way that evolves both in story and gameplay, giving you new gadgets and new gameplay mechanics in each memory sequence moving forward. I don’t see that much feeling of progress in such a natural good flow with the following titles in the AC series. But that is just me, being an old annoying frustrated AC fan. Hehehe

[@7dayspking]

'AC2 has more combat variation than the games that came after that', please demonstrate that. AC2's combat is very much a 'cinematic' one with very little player control. How many combat systems out there provide the player with less control than AC2 through to 4? 'the one that put you in control and didn't make you hit air and was more responsive'. You talking about Origins and Odyssey? You're hitting air because you were finally given a responsive combat system you had actual control over, you lacked the skill to use it. The AC games aren't exactly 'putting you there' in the same way Kingdom Come Deliverance does. Are metallica and Megadeth good? Not sure how much I agree or disagree on the progression in AC1 and 2. It was handled very similar to typical linear sort of action games. Open world games don't typically handle progression like this and I would argue there's some good reasons for that, then again the AC games aren't structured much like legitimate open world games to their detriment in my opinion.

[@blankusername1753]

Will you do a ranking of all the cinematic traliers released from assassin's Creed?

[@francescocnm3467]

Maybe it's just me, but another thing I liked about the Ezio's trilogy parkour system was the fact that you felt like you were actually climbing something! As you said, the player as a key role in doing that, you gotta be smart and know what you're doing and, my point is, you really felt the weight of Ezio's body climbing up a building. Yes, it was not smooth or cinematic like other Acs but that's the point, it doesn't have to be super fast and easy thing to get up a building (a bit unrealistic if I may).. I'd better like to feel like both the character and the player are making some kind of effort doing that

[@iLloyd6]

Its AC Unity I'm calling it now!

[@Trathien-]

No its ac 2 you idiot

[@iLloyd6]

Its Pinnacle of AC Parkour not Pinnacle of AC so no

[@LazerzZ]

I think you’re in for a wild ride.

[@Trathien-]

@@iLloyd6 in ac 2 you had to parkour and think, in unity you press forward

[@iLloyd6]

@@Trathien-....you clearly didn't play Unity.

[@dylankpessou2043]

Dude thank you for this. This is what us fans of the first couple Assassin creed fans keeping harping on about when we say the games dont feel the same anymore. You've done such a good job on encapsulating one of the main attractions to the first four games. The last two games like oddessey and origin's feels more like historical warrior the game and they control like that. I dont know possessed them to think completely tearing apart the core parts of what made the early games amazing great. They spout some crap about innovating and bringing new life to the games but that's not what I see. All I see is some completely different game with some super loose Assassins creed concepts baked in it to justify calling it Assassins creed. At least we still have the original 4 games I guess

[@elz1z122]

This completely changed my mind about parkour in assassin's creed and im playing 3 right now i thought that the parkour in unity was good and he basically said what was real and now i get it parkour is supposed to be fun not look good thank u keep up the good work

[@Jerryx29]

It is fun in Unity though

[@hanhong2267]

@@Jerryx29 I've played Unity, completed both the main missions and the DLC, 100%ed the game, collected all achievements, and acquired the rank of legend, and I can say that Unity's parkour system has been one of the most annoying ones I've ever used.

[@thisisafalseaccount105]

Han Hong I’ve done so too and the parkour is one of the best part of the game

[@hanhong2267]

@@thisisafalseaccount105 I loved how convenient the parkour down system was, how satisfying it is to perform rolls, and how stylish it is. It is considerably good in certain instances, but that's only when it's willing to behave. Aside from feeling sluggish sometimes, the parkour system tends to feel very inconsistent for me, it sometimes doesn't want to understand where I go, and that could, and has, led to tons of mistakes such as accidentally leaping down into a group of guards unknowingly to making it harder to escape the guards who are hot on my trail. Over time, those inconsistencies have accumulated enough over time to overpower the sweet taste of all the other previous features and leave a sour taste in my mouth. The system's reliability has been so compromised that it no longer feels fun and more like a high-stakes gamble. In comparison, while AC3 - Rogue's system may be less flashy and lacks the parkour down system, it felt significantly more reliable in terms of manoeuvering. I could leap and jump with complete confidence, knowing that the system would bring me exactly where I want to go. It's a system that makes sure the whole thing is fun, consistent, and reliable, which is exactly what you'd want from a major gameplay mechanic. I love AC Unity for the agency it gives the player to tackle tasks, the phenomenally beautiful and bustlingly alive city of Paris, and the fun you get from playing co-op with other players, but the parkour? No thanks, I'd rather go with the Kenway trilogy's version instead. But either way, to each their own. If you enjoy the game and you're having fun, then that's all that should matter.

[@thisisafalseaccount105]

Han Hong thank you for making this easy to read with the spaces out paragraphs and I agree those are problems with the parkour system, but for me I overcame those problems by just completing two districts.

[@callumross6991]

For me unity and ac 3 was the peak of parkour in assassins creed

[@mjbroz0102]

I miss when ac was new and had a bright future... these games were masterpieces along with their parkour system... though simple looking I always did love the control u talk about

[@thedestoryer21]

When I first played AC1, it was frustrating because I just could not escape from guards. I didn't have any button discipline or know of any ejects. But once you learn these moves, evasion in AC1 becomes so much fun as its extrinsic motivation to go faster and you need to do some thinking about LOS. I'm pretty sure that AC2 onwards evasion becomes much easier.

[@JimmyBanGames]

I get what you’re saying with the older games to a degree, but I still feel unity had the best parkour. I think the old system which you are rooting for just won’t really work anymore with worlds that are a lot more detailed and different as opposed to the same boxes piled up at every building to help you get up, or the same box building designs etc. what I’m saying is for the world to evolve and become more detailed, so too did the parkour. And I think unity did the best job at that and tried to keep as many good elements from the old system it could. However origins completely fucked everything up

[@izmirs.]

What do you mean by origin ruined the parkour? Odyssey's parkour is far more worst than origin's parkour. Infact, odyssey has the worst parkour in the franchise itself.

[@zekesalazar7643]

Absolutely agree. I think the older games it was not too bad because of not only the graphics and worlds, but the structures as well. Truth is the old parkour systems don't work as well in the newer settings. I play Unity still and it still allows you a lot of control. It's not perfect and it does have it's wonky/glitchy moments, but so did the other games. The earlier games were a collision disaster.

[@doooodeh]

I play both AC2 and Unity simultaneously right now and I agree that Unity has the best movement system but main reasons for that at least in my opinion is Free Run Down in Unity. In older games going down was always janky as fuck for me and I hated doing that and after all these years I still do especially going from AC2 to Unity now. Also I agree about world design - in AC2 you have sticking out enivorment elements that completly feel off like constant weird balconies,boxes on ground level so you can actually run up them and shit like that as I said its done to a point where it feels completly off to me while in Unity its not like that it feels more natural.

[@JimmyBanGames]

@Ked Taczynski I honestly dont know if you can dude. unity was the best at mixing the control of the ezio games and the integration of a complex world design.

[@JimmyBanGames]

@Ked Taczynski i bought unity on launch day and it was the most optimized ac game in my experience. there were bugs for sure but it was really over exaggerated

[@simulacrxm]

The way Arno literally FLIES through france always bothers me.

[@hijikili2656]

9:54 Ladder : "Am I joke to u?"

[@LazerzZ]

Ain’t nobody got time for ladders when you’re an assassin 👀

[@dogeren0096]

I used to hate Ezio trilogy parkour system because it's very unsafe and I'm sure many of you experienced the random jumping backwards or falling from rooftops because of the stupid dead bodies. But after I played recent ac I realized how fun and challenging the old parkour system is, parkour should always be kind scary and impossible to players, not like some dumb monkeys jumping from top of mountain and take no damage

[@cookiethegreat]

So that was the thing that's missing when I first played AC3

[@Eragon-wv5td]

You are probably not going to see this comment, and that is perfectly fine. However, i am would like you to know, i am highly impressed by your very well explained video, which you kept as objective as possible and based your opinion on facts and logical reasoning. And i think you summarized this video in the end absolutly perfectly and its the best summarize/ ending to a video i ve ever seen and probably going to see. Just so you know, you engaged me to give the earliest ac games a try, directly after playing through Paris in Unity, and i have to thank you for that. So, i wish you the best and hope you are doing well, greetings from Germany!

[@splinterborn]

Ac 2 is one of the best games ever made, so much nostalgia for that game.

[@fready3458]

I found it to clunky sometimes when im clinging on a roof trying to get up ,ezio would just hang there for 5 seconds before he climbed up

[@alecg.5638]

This comments section reminds me why I hate the Assassin's Creed community Edit: to clarify, this is referring to the comments of people getting triggered at LazerzZ prior to the video actually playing

[@ksar98]

Why? Because there aren't as many Ezio dickriders as there used to? Look, unity was flawed and buggy as hell, but it did one thing better than any other AC : the parkour

[@emperorducky4951]

@@ksar98 Seriously people like you who calls any old school AC fan "Ezio dick riders" can fuck off. The "Ezio dick riders" simply thinks Ezio is the best AC protagonist simply because he is the most likeable and well developed AC character. We Ezio fans don't at all hate the other protagonists, Altair, Edward Kenway and Bayek are also fantastic protagonists. But characters like fucking Connor, Jacob Frye and Kassandra are terrible for a REASON. They are unlikeable, written poorly lacks character development ect. I hope this fucking message proves a fucking point that your so called "Ezio dick riders" arent obsessed with Ezio or anything, they just enjoy Ezio the most.

[@ksar98]

@@alecg.5638 Oh, sorry I thought you were talking about the comment section, now. My bad.

[@ksar98]

@@emperorducky4951 Remember me when was this a debate among protagonists. Oh right, it wasn't. I was talking about the parkour. But obviously you don't get it. It takes a lot more than 30IQ to read the message.

[@7dayspking]

@@emperorducky4951 Mate you've proved his point, you're exactly what he is criticizing. You pretend your opinion makes you more valuable than those who disagree and of course opposing opinions are all objectively wrong now aren't they?

[@Clyne69]

Agreed. Lately being able to climb EVERYTHING is so boring, just run into a wall and hold A and you can just grab on some small wall brick. It was much more fun to find a path that you can take like in AC2

[@PolarbearYGT]

Yep ezio trilogy DID have it the best.

[@kmukayed]

Bro you kinda blew my mind as I was watching the video, because it reminded me of when all those years ago I saw people were complaining soo much about the parkour in the first four games, saying shit like “it’s too hard” “he’s jumping on and off by himself” “he didn’t catch the ledge it’s not my fault plz fix” and I was seriously just surprised because I loved them and really thought I was kinda stupid for liking something everyone obviously hated lol. Thank you for clarifying that I was not the dumbass, they were. And now because of them, the parkour has gone completely to shit. The gaming experience for people like you and me who actually PLAY the game is ruined by bitches who weren’t willing to learn.

[@kysotope]

The one thing I hate the most of the new AC games is that the parkour climbing speed is too damn fast. They messed the speed up with AC3, and every AC game afterwards has increased it exponentially. In Origins/Odyssey it so damn laughable how high the protagonist can fling themselves up with each climbing animation. Literally sometimes twice their own height. Slow paced (realistic) climbing needs to comeback, but that would mean Ubisoft would have to polish each animation to not look so wonky. And we know that's not going to happen....... -_-

[@shaunhubvk]

Don't be sad that it's over. Be happy that it happened

[@real_airgot]

"eHuHuH i BeT iTs Ac OdYsSeY"

[@mingledspringle]

totally odyssey! the game revolutionized the parkour in the series by removing it completely!

[@Agito4774]

mingledspringle lol 😂

[@LiinIsAGamer]

My first AC game was AC3, and I only got to play the Ezio games with the Ezio collection on PS4. I first booted up the game and played it like AC3, going for counters, assuming the parkour would be autopilot, I got through the first few acts of AC2 when my brother walked in, and as I was climbing, her told me to jump. Ezio latched onto a different ledge and suddenly the game opened up so much to me. I immeadiately realized why this game is so beloved, and now I hold it as one of the best games I've ever played.

[@cardoso1313]

15:24 Please, don t give them ideas

[@lucmorgan7238]

There's this animation in unity, very Spider-Man like, where you jump from a high place, make a dive, swing in a rope, and go forward, covering a great distance. It's a marvel to see it. But you can't control it. It all depends on where the character is facing, where the camera is facing, how far is the rope from the building, all minor things, but even with that, there's an RNG-like system simply deciding what animation will happen, regardless of what the player wants to do. It's really a shame, that with the years the parkour system felt more and more like an afterthought, in a series that should treat it like a core mechanic. Just the fact that no other open-world game managed to do a parkour system like assassin's creed, says a lot. I really hope the feature gets it's deserved attention in the future, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was cut entirely from the next game because the game needs to be the most generic RPG as possible.

[@NightWatch652]

I agree with all of this. The parkour system has been way to contextual.

[@Chris.P.Bacon7]

NIGHTWATCH Your profile pic is awesome. I have the same one for another account. Star Wars and Assassins Creed are my favorite franchise

[@Chris.P.Bacon7]

NIGHTWATCH Your profile pic is awesome. I have the same one for another account. Star Wars and Assassins Creed are my favorite franchise

[@prayaschakrabarty6200]

There was a time when I used to be genuinely excited for AC games. They used to be a sentiment to me. Ubisoft put so much love and care in the games once. Now the same Ubisoft has become a money making machine chasing false and unachievable dreams by sacrificing the core elements that one day gave it a genre defining AAA. Maybe Ezio was right, “My story is one of thousands and the world will not suffer if it ends too soon.”

[@Trathien-]

If this isnt the ezio trilogy im unsubbing

[@KyleDevy]

He said after watching the vid...

[@henreebee6561]

I’ve talked about this for years with my brother! We hate games that feel on-rails and we noticed a distinctive drop in the fun of parkour in the AC games starting with 3. Thanks for putting why that is into words so eloquently.

[@ralphh796]

Assassin's creed Unity has the best parkour

[@justinreeves2696]

No, it’s garbage

[@mr_mongoose72]

“Or remove combat entirely with superpowers” Odyssey music intensifies

[@benwilson4637]

CHRIST this video has triggered me beyond belief your opinions do not align with my opinions, worst video of 2020 hands down, no questions or refunds!

[@DredgeTom]

100% agree with this video, this made me laugh so hard 😂 give them 1 hit kill super powers... oh fuck 😂

[@jmcman6104]

Revelations parkour is my favorite. It’s just so fun, and the hook blade makes it even more so

[@rikiishitoru8885]

I feel like the perfect system would be Ezio trilogy + controlled descent & Unity smoothness of animations

[@juju-ul8uu]

I think a fun middle ground would be the freedom of the ezio trilogy, and the flashy style of unity

[@Vic-cf7lm]

I think that the case of Assassin's Creed 1 is very interesting, because i remember that i played this game for 5 years by constantly reloading it after 3 or 4 months, and each time i replayed it, i discovered new mecanics in the parkour/assassination system. The game is clearely hiding a few mecanics to the player, allowing him to discover them.

[@johnpixz5448]

In syndicate you actually can jump off building You just have to press RT+B and move forward (in an Xbox controller at least )

[@babyspoot]

Damn you nailed this video! Completely expressed my own thoughts on the way parkour has devolved throughout the series. It's the reason I tried the first one back in 2007. Something I hate about the new games is how open and widespread the maps are. There's hardly anymore large scale densely populated cities to parkour through. The climbing system just feels like an afterthought at this point.

[@delmoneto]

I swear, the first time I played assassins creed 3 after ezio, my FIRST reaction was. “Omg it’s beautiful!! Wait... wtf? Am I Spider-Man now?” I was very disappointed by the fact that everywhere I looked, if wanted to climb that, it was just hold R2 and run straight forward, no more challenge, and the climbing was fucking fast! So we lost the: “ I can’t climb there! The soldiers are going to shoot me midway”

[@monovision566]

People understate just how hard it is to get off of ANYTHING in Syndicate. Not just when you’re high up and the game stops you jumping, but when you’re low to the ground and just want to step off or let go of something. It’s incredibly frustrating.

[@annualleopard3063]

Its pretty ironic considering London is one of the most popular parkour cities today lol

[@dylan6386]

Honestly I didn’t even realize that I stopped caring for the parkour in the newer games , until you reminded me how much better the old systems were

[@kortex5130]

great thing Leo was mentioned, he made me like unity more, get better at it's stealth and get better at the ezio games' parkour.

[@-Meatlorf]

The most underrated move for parkour is the air tackle. It has the same range as air assassinations but allows you to drop multiple stories without damage. It's especially fun in brotherhood as you can hijack people's horses from the sky.

[@rickblaine9670]

Man, so true. I’m playing the Ezio Collection these days, after not touching any pre-AC3 chapter of the series for a long time, and you’ve really expressed how I feel about the old parkour system when I compare it to the new ones. It’s simpler, but it’s also funnier, better, more satisfying to play. Every single movement Ezio makes, he makes it because you wanted him to.

[@TaurenTLT]

I remember in AC2 jumping off a deadly height and managing to grab a corner of a window lol. Super satisfying