"FATHER!"
Assassin's Creed II has several powerful moments.
- The title sequence
is this for anyone who knows what happens to Ezio's family only a few days after that scene. The music that plays during this sequence seems designed to bring tears to the eyes. - Ezio powerlessly watches his father and two brothers (older and younger) be hanged by the traitorous Gonfaloniere Uberto Alberti and his mysterious hooded boss.
- Reading some of the letters to Templars from their family members can be heartrending, especially Carlotta Moro's letter to her mentally-handicapped former husband, Dante Moro.
- The final The Truth video, where you hear what were probably Subject 16's last words before he committed suicide: My mind is gone. Lucy, I can't wait any longer. I'm ready to go now. She sees me raise the knife... Especially sad due to the contrast to the earlier Truth videos where Sixteen is barely managing to hold himself together due to the trauma of extended stays in the Animus. This time he is completely calm, and at peace.
- The last codex in ACII is Altair's last writing, where he says he's not long for this world and doesn't think there's anything after this. After a whole game, a little scene in the middle of the 2nd game, and 29 codex pages you've come to know this man very well and are now reading the last thing he wrote before he died.
- Seeing the cowardly Jacopo mortally wounded by Rodrigo is remarkably sad, considering how pathetic he has become. By the time Ezio reaches him, it's not an assassination anymore, it's a Mercy Kill.
- When Ezio tells Lorenzo that all the Pazzi are dead, Lorenzo solemnly admits that he never would have imagine he would wish for the death of others so badly, and Ezio shares this sentiment. They got their justice, but it clearly changed them.
- Carlotta Moro's letter to the mentally-crippled Dante Moro, where she hopes that someday her former husband will be able to remember her and that she believes he still loves her, even with his mind destroyed. You only get to read this letter after you've killed Dante.
- Exploring the Auditore Family Crypt in Monteriggioni reveals the history and tragedies of Ezio's ancestor Domenico Auditore, from his difficult study into becoming an Assassin, to the horrific fate of his wife, and the deaths of his father and mentors, losses occurring within mere months if not weeks of his life. His writings provide a detailed progress of his mental state and demeanor, picturing his life akin to a Failure Knight.
- In addition, his life-long mission bitterly mirrors his own descendant's decades-long quest, both dedicating their entire lives to hunt down the Templars and retrieve the lost honor of their family, at the expense of their happiness and youth. In Domenico's case, he also dragged his son Renato to the conflict.
- Of another note, Domenico in his youth adored the ocean and trained to become a sailor; the events surrounding his wife's rape and death, and both him and Renato finding her body washing ashore after the tragedy, ensured that Domenico never approached the sea again, the very "good life" he enjoyed as a young man.
- There's a brief moment when you witness Ezio's birth, especially if you or someone you know have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth. Ezio born silent and the midwives give each other a sad look. Fortunately, Giovanni arrives, takes his son in his arms and tells him "You're an Auditore. You're a fighter. So fight." which is enough to make Ezio move and then cry.
