History YMMV / AssassinsCreedIII

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** Also the critics who later slag the game as a failure for its protagonist and setting, conveniently forgetting its initial critical success and also forgetting, that it is still ''the best selling game of the franchise'' and one of Ubisoft's all-time greatest successes.

** Also the critics who later slag the game as a failure for its protagonist and setting, conveniently forgetting its initial critical success and also forgetting, that it is still ''the best selling game of the franchise'' and one of Ubisoft's all-time greatest successes.

** [[Spoiler:Desmond's death. We've been him from the beginning, and now he's gone.]]

** In the ''Tyranny of King Washington'', Wolf Cloak lets Connor turn invisible for a short stretch, at the cost that it drains his life and prevents him from sprinting or free-running. But his life regenerates quickly in cover, and he can pull off stealth assassinations while under cloak. Gets a little more balanced when guard dogs are introduced.
* GeniusBonus: Haytham and William Johnson's plan to buy Native American land to create a refuge for them is actually [[https://www.midstory.org/the-forgotten-history-of-ohios-indigenous-peoples/ based on real life attempts to do in Ohio]]. The plans also failed spectacularly due to American greed for land.

** Desmond's death. As we been him from the beginning. And now he's gone.

* {{Anvilicious}}: The story repeatedly beat the player over the head with the idea that the Founding Fathers really weren't the noble heroic figures that American history books make them out to be. Achilles, Haytham, and even Shaun in the present day all lay into how self-servng their principles actually was, and part of Connor's arc is his coming to terms with the fact that their fight for liberation was always meant to be freedom for a select few. Two of the final cutscenes in the game even showcase this with [[spoiler: Connor seeing first hand that the slave trade is still a pressing matter, and him learning that his own people have been pushed westward in the name of giving colonists more land.]]

** The ending. No spoilers, but Ubisoft did say in interviews that this would be the last game with Desmond as the main character. Thus, fans are starting to pick sides as to whether it was underwhelming or lived up to the expectations. Players expect crazy out of left field unexplained (until the sequel) endings from this series by now and it's more a question of if it ended with a bang or a whimper.

* CharacterRerailment: The Templar Order makes a triumphant return to form in this game after being heavily {{Flanderized}} during the Ezio trilogy. In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed1'', the Templars were a dark mirror to the Assassins working secretly to create a peaceful future for the Holy Land and all of it's citizens through brutal means. Then a few hundred years later, in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed2'', ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', the Templars (primarily the Borgias and their affiliates) are cartoonishly evil supervillains only seeking to empower themselves and generally just being pointlessly cruel. Three starts off with Haytham Kenway giving us a look at a Templar agent with morals and principals who truly believes in his cause and can articulate the thought process that leads him to do what he does. All Haytham's affiliates can do the same and justify their horrid deeds by revealing that they simply adhere to the Order's ideology and want to help the people around them. A far cry from Cesare and Rodrigo ranting about power and their destiny to rule the world.

** Wouldn't be Assassin's Creed without some group of annoying citizens to swarm and impede you and this time, it's a group of children. Unlike the beggars and bards, you can't kill them for obivous reasons[[note]]lest the MoralGuardians get involved[[/note]].

** Wouldn't be Assassin's Creed without some group of annoying citizens to swarm and impede you and this time, it's a group of children. Unlike the beggars and bards, you can't kill them.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv2qdBn7pXU The theme song.]] A very powerful and uplifting piece that compliments the backdrop of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution and puts you in the mood to take on some Redcoats and Templars with your trusty Assassin Tomahawk.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv2qdBn7pXU The theme song.]]

* CriticalResearchFailure: Not in the gameplay, but in a certain database entry. In the entry on the Continental Congress, Shaun says the Third Continental Congress formed in 1781 to create a government for the United States and dissolved in 1789 when the Constitution was ratified. The wording, as well as Shaun's joke about long meetings, all but states the Congress took an incredibly long time to draft the Constitution, when in actuality the Congress was serving as the governing body of America under the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_Confederation Articles of Confederation]] (hence its other name, mentioned in the database, as the Congress of Confederation). It's unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but stands out among the other better-researched entries.

** The Switch version of ''Remastered'' is discovered to be simply an upscaled port of the Wii U version, alongside several performance issues. Luckily Ubisoft learnt its lesson with the PolishedPort of ''Black Flag'' and ''Rogue''.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Following some lackluster novelisations of [=AC2=], Brotherhood, Revelations and the first game, ''Assassin's Creed: Forsaken'' is a novel that blows expectations out of the water, largely for being mostly original and expanding on Haytham. It also marked the point where the novels got good, and more importantly, ''stayed'' good.
** It's a a bit retroactive, but the sequels implied that Connor's life after the game would be full of problems; even some of those who didn't find him to be as interesting as Ezio felt that some of these things were a bit cruel, since they seemed be some sort of punishment for, well, [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter not being as well received as Ezio was]]. After a few years of the above, [[TheBusCameBack comics not only brought him back]], they also explain that the claims of his life turning terrible were lies created by Abstergo, and [[ThrowTheDogABone that he lived happily with his family until his death]].
** The game is set to get a remastered edition as well, and it'll supposedly have "improved gameplay mechanics" and "ergonomics", implying that it'll be more than a simple graphics upgrade. If the previous AC remasters are any indication, there will likely be large graphical upgrades and improved performance, the latter being something the original had problems with on last-gen consoles. The remaster ended up not only looking and running better than the original, some annoyances were removed or changed[[note]]In particular, the stealth mechanic. The remastered version brought back the low-profile dual assassination with the hidden blade that the original removed for unknown reason. Additionally, Haytham and Connor can now whisper in bushes and bales of hay rather than only from corners, a mechanic from Black Flag and Rogue[[/note]].

* SequelDifficultySpike: This game made all but the easiest enemy types able to block if not outright counter at least one of your attack moves. It's still manageable if you keep a clear head on your shoulders, but definitely tougher than ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', where even the toughest EliteMooks could only block attacks. On the highest level of Notoriety, a melee fight involves you facing several enemy archetypes at once, requiring different configurations on the fly, complicating the over-familiar OneManArmy tactics.

* WhatAnIdiot: [[spoiler:Connor and Haytham finally meet in combat. Connor is injured and knocked to the ground, and Haytham manages to get on top of him.]]

'''You'd Expect:'''[[spoiler:Given that not only does he know Connor fights with a hidden blade, but ''Haytham himself'' uses one, Haytham would stab Connor, or at least make an attempt to obstruct his arms.]]

'''Instead:''' He attempts to strangle Connor with both hands while lecturing him, leaving Connor's arms free.

'''Predictably:''' [[spoiler:Connor stabs Haytham through the throat, killing him instantly.]]

** Then again, [[spoiler:it is [[Main/AlternateCharacterInterpretation possible that Haytham never wanted to kill his son in the first place]], representing through his saving of Connor at the execution and his wish that Connor would eventually see his diary to understand Haytham's own struggle in the novel ''Forsaken''.]]

* UncannyValley: The remaster changed up the lighting and faces of the character models. At least early on when there are more daytime scenes and scenes inside places, the altered lighting and character models can come across as ''very'' jarring, due to the characters looking more rubbery and the lighting clashing with their skin. In fact, in some of the new versions of the cutscenes with Haytham, he now squints at times, which makes him look ''Asian''.

* SignatureScene: The rooftop conversation between Haytham and Connor is still considered one of the best scenes in the entire franchise. Haytham finally explains Templar ideals of peace through order with valid arguments, after the first game practically made the Templars vaguely characterized {{Well Intentioned Extremists}} and the Ezio Trilogy depicted them for them most part as generic power-hungry warmongers.

*** [[spoiler:Haytham's death. He consciously let go of Connor's arm to strangle him ''after'' Connor tried to stab him with his Hidden Blade seconds before, predictably resulting in Connor stabbing him in the neck. Was it a lapse in judgement caused by his injuries during their fight? Did he assume that Connor would be struggling too much to bother with his Hidden Blade? Or, unable to bring himself to kill his own son, did he stage a SuicideByCop by putting Connor in a situation where he could kill Haytham without regret? The canon novelization ''Forsaken'' particularly leans towards the latter interpretation by heavily implying that Haytham knew he wouldn't come out alive - after establishing that Haytham himself was the one who rescued Connor from being Hanged in New York moments before Thomas Hickey's death - and wrote his desire for Connor to read his journal and understand his journey through life.]]

* SignatureScene: The rooftop conversation between Haytham and Connor is still considered one of the best scenes in the entire franchise. Haytham finally explains Templar ideals of peace through order with valid arguments, after the first game practically made the Templars vaguely characterized [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] and the Ezio Trilogy depicted them as generic power-hungry warmongers.

*** [[spoiler: Haytham's death. He consciously let go of Connor's arm to strangle him ''after'' Connor tried to stab him with his hidden blade seconds before, predictably resulting in Connor stabbing him in the neck. Was it a lapse in judgement caused by his injuries during their fight? Did he assume that Connor would be struggling too much to bother with his hidden blade? Or, unable to bring himself to kill his own son, did he stage a SuicideByCop by putting Connor in a situation where he could kill Haytham without regret? The canon novelization ''Forsaken'' particularly leans towards the latter interpretation by heavily implying that Haytham knew he wouldn't come out alive - after establishing that Haytham himself was the one who rescued Connor from being Hanged in New York moments before Thomas Hickey's death - and wrote his desire for Connor to read his journal and understand his journey through life.]]

** Despite being the de facto capital of colonial America and the sight of a major battle that led directly to Washington occupying Valley Forge, Philadelphia does not appear in the game outside of Connor attending the two Continental Congresses. Even then, the only building shown is the interior of the Independence Hall.