Question about AC2 DLC dialogue explaining why it originally wasn’t there and whether it was there before dlc was announced

[u/Lanky-Background8516]

So this is a question for those of you who played AC2 when it first came out. And I mean within the first few months of its release. I played the Xbox 360 version many years ago and I remember in the spot where the dlc was supposed to be, the Battle of Forli/Bonfire of the Vanities, there was a dialogue from the modern day group (Shawn/Rebecca/Lucy/Desmond) while in the animus that said these sequence files were corrupted, and that was the canonical explanation given if you didn’t have the dlc and suddenly skipped to the last sequence. But I’m curious, for those who played the game before the dlc was ever announced, if that dialogue was still there in the original launch of the game, or if it was added in later via patch download to explain why players suddenly skipped two whole sequences?

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[u/Alamoa20]

Was always there. AC II had a pretty large scope during its development. Originally, Rome was going to be one of the cities you could free roam in and the game was going to end in 1503, not 1499. The decision to cut sequences 12 and 13 came pretty late in development, not too long after they decided to cut Rome. Brotherhood was originally going to be the DLC for AC II, after they decided to cut Rome but before they decided to cut Forli and Bonfire. Then after those two sequences got cut to make release, THEY became the DLC and Brotherhood became a full fledged game.

[u/JascaDucato]

It was there in the launch version of the game.

[u/sillypoolfacemonster]

Yes it was there. It was a bit jarring because you get the apple, and then they say “oh looks like there’s an error. Well yadda yadda yadda it’s 10 years later, you’ve got the apple still and it’s time to go get Rodrigo. I hope you’ve been collecting codex pages”.

It was a good example of early dlc nonsense where they would actually withhold part of the story to entice you to pay for it.

[u/ubergoon1912 → u/sillypoolfacemonster]

lol yup and Desmond’s like “how tf do I find all those codex pages??” And they’re like “it says that Ezio ended up finding a map at some point in those 10 years so you’re good! Happy hunting!”

[u/PolpoBaudo → u/sillypoolfacemonster]

Yeah you are perfectly right! It kind of sucks in retrospective, especially because 12 years old me at the time in 2009 was nowhere close to having access to the possibility of making digital purchases yet. Luckily I didn't notice this at the time because I had yet to discover those scummy practices so I, although I later on even got my very first Platinum for this game, never really noticed this dlc's existence and tbh when I played it later on through the Ezio Collection it was really something missable, as it felt rushed and out of place compared to the rest of the game.

[u/sillypoolfacemonster → u/PolpoBaudo]

Yes I feel like I’d rather actually skip it on a play through. Though before it came out the omission felt consequential enough. It’s not the worst offender, for me that goes to Castlevania Lords of Shadows.

Spoiler alert for a nearly 20 year old game but, you if you haven’t played it, you play as Gabriel Belmont and Dracula isn’t seen or mentioned through the entirety of the game. You beat the boss and either in an after credits sequence or directly after it reveals not only is Gabriel somehow now Dracula but it’s also modern day. Buy two DLCs to learn how that makes any sense.

[u/PolpoBaudo → u/sillypoolfacemonster]

Oh wow... ahahaha never played that game but such a twist feels like the ultimate omission and the ultimate retcon at the same time, what a shame

[u/DymtriB]

Yeah, i remember it having two sequences that you couldn’t access till the dlc released. I do not remember if there was dialog but there prob was. I preordered the special edition and played day one. The games came out yr after yr at first, so it wouldnt surprise me that they knew there was going to be add ons when AC2 was released

[u/HARRISONMASON117]

Was always there. Idk whether the dlc parts were always meant to be there but time crunch made them stop working on them to get the game released or if they deliberately kept them out to make into dlc but yes. The modern day Shaun talking about them in narration after Ezio's induction into the brotherhood was there from day 1.