Ubisoft has had a lot of success with the Assassin's Creed series since its inception in 2007; there have been 12 mainline titles, multiple novels, a movie, and many spin-offs. The series has brought fans throughout history, leading to the creation of iconic characters like Ezio and Edward Kenway. In 2015, Ubisoft took the franchise into an entirely new genre with three side-scrolling adventures known as Assassin's Creed Chronicles.
The Assassin's Creed Chronicles trilogy brought the series away from third-person action adventures and into the platforming genre. They were presented in 2.5D, having players control an assassin through linear levels. Each title took players to a different time period that had not been adapted by the mainline series; the series started in 16th Century Imperial China, then it traveled to 19th Century British India, and it ended in Soviet Russia. The trilogy received mixed reviews and there has not been a new one since 2016, but their time periods and assassins are begging to be explored further.
The Protagonists of Assassin's Creed Chronicles
The first Assassin's Creed Chronicles game was titled Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China, taking place during the Ming Dynasty. Players took control of Shao Jun, a female assassin who was returning to China after being trained by Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Shao Jun's goal was to eliminate the Eight Tigers, a group of Templars who controlled the Emperor and destroyed the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood. Players went on an adventure throughout China as they killed the Templars and searched for the Precursor box, a powerful artifact.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India was the second title in the trilogy and focused on Arbaaz Mir, an assassin stuck in the conflict between the Sikh Empire and East India Company. The Templars attacked the Brotherhood headquarters and kidnaped Arbaaz's mentor, so he ventures to free him. During this quest, he encounters the Precursor box that Shao Jun failed to get in the previous title, but he too fails to retrieve it after saving his friends. Later in life, Arbaaz Mir encountered Ethan Frye, the father of the Frye twins from Assassin's Creed: Syndicate.
The final game in the trilogy was Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia. It brought players to 20th Century Soviet Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, following Nikolai Orelov. Nikolai agrees to one final mission before retirement, retrieving the Precursor box from the Romanov family. He witnessed the family being slaughtered and escaped with Anastasia and the box. Anastasia became filled with Shao Jun's memories as a living Precursor artifact, so the assassins sought to extract this power from her. This caused a rift between Nikolai and the Brotherhood, and he was forced to combat his old friends.
How Chronicles' Characters Could Transition to the Mainline Series
Each of the protagonists were heavily connected through the Precursor box, which also made an appearance in Assassin's Creed Rogue. Some of them also had strong ties to the mainline games through Ezio and the Frye twins. They are heavily engrained in the Assassin's Creed story, but their time periods were never revisited as they were relegated to these spin-offs.
Taking Chinese, Indian, or Russian history and making them the subject of a mainline Assassin's Creed titles would be perfect for fans. Ubisoft could either retell the events of the Chronicles games in the style of the Assassin's Creed series, or they could tell a whole new story. Little is known about what happened to Nikolai Orelov after he parted ways with Anastasia, though fans know that Shao Jaun rebuilt the Chinese Brotherhood and Arbaaz Mir grew to trust the Frye twins' father. Allowing players to experience those stories would go a long way to fill in gaps and allow players to reconnect with iconic Assassins.
Right now, Ubisoft is working on Assassin's CreedInfinity as well as a more stealth-focused title, so there may not be room in its plans for an Assassin's Creed game following Nikolai, Shao, or Arbaaz. Yet if Ubisoft is looking for ideas to set its next Assassin's Creed story, it should consider taking a look back at the Chronicles trilogy for inspiration.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
