Acre was the first level of Dante's Inferno.
Overview[]
Acre (Hebrew: עַכּוֹ, ʻAkkō; Arabic: عكّا, ʻAkkā) was a city in Northern Israel, once under the control of the sultan of Syria, Saladin. The Muslim occupation of the Holy Land was considered an abomination, and a Crusade was launched against Saladin in order to reclaim it in 1189 A.D. Under King Richard I of England, the Crusaders were successful in launching a siege against Acre, capturing the city.
Dante's Inferno[]
The Beginning[]
At the start of the game, Dante is seen racing through Acre, killing the prisoners as he went in an attempt to escape from the city. Along the way, a boat crashes into the area, allowing him to advance into the Citadel of Acre. However, Dante is suddenly stabbed from behind by an unknown assailant, triggering an encounter with Death. Dante refused to give in to Death and the two began to battle. This level is completed once the player defeats Death and takes his Scythe, Dante's primary weapon.
As the game progressed, Dante continued to have flashbacks about his time at Acre, and it was revealed that he was there as a Crusader under King Richard.
Dante's Past[]
Among the Crusaders that are sent with the King are Dante and Francesco (the brother of Dante's fiancee Beatrice). While they are in Acre, Dante and Francesco watched over the civilians that were being held prisoner, under the orders of King Richard. While they are on watch, Dante became increasingly frustrated with his duty, and succumbed to temptation when a Slave Girl offered him "comfort" in exchange for her and her "brother's" freedom. By accepting and sleeping with the Slave Girl, Dante broke the vow of chastity that he made to Beatrice before he left for the Crusades. He freed the Slave Girl and her brother, but Dante's darker tendencies began to worsen as time went by. It was implied that he continued to engage in sex and gluttonous behavior in spite of Francesco's concerns.
As the game began, it was assumed that the captured prisoners at Acre escaped, and Dante was forced to kill them to control the ensuing chaos. It was revealed that Dante deliberately slaughtered the 3,000 prisoners in cold blood, as he was infuriated with guarding them while the negotiations for their release dragged out, and he regarded all of them as nothing but wretched heathens. When Richard returned to Acre and discovered the mass murder, he was horrified and demanded to know who killed the prisoners. To protect his future brother-in-law despite the evil that he committed, Francesco offered himself in Dante's place as the culprit, allowing Dante a chance to flee. Francesco was hung for the murders.
After the death of his comrade, Dante used the opportunity to go on the run from Acre, leading the player back to where he was encountered at the beginning of the game. However, in a modified cutscene when Dante entered Lake Cocytus and fought Lucifer, he revealed that the stab wound that Dante received from the assailant was fatal. Dante had actually died from the wound at Acre, though he thought that he survived, and had continued on his way home to Florence.
Trivia[]
- The opening level of the game was loosely based upon the historical Massacre at Acre during the Third Crusade in 1191. Nearly a month after Acre surrendered to the Crusaders, the negotiations between Richard I and Saladin for the release of the prisoners broke down, and Richard ordered the execution of the 2,700 to 3,000 people. In response, Saladin executed all of the Christian prisoners in his possession. This event made the Siege of Acre one of the bloodiest events of the Third Crusade.
- This was the only level where the player used the Halberd.
- Killing the first prisoner encountered in this area earned the achievement, "Slaughter at Acre".
- During Dante's journey into Hell, the ferryman named Charon hinted to the former Crusader what happened to him at Acre. When Dante offered his life and soul to find Beatrice, Charon answered, "You fool. Those belong to us already." However, the conversation was cut short, as Dante was forced to board Charon's boat to go further into the infernal realm. Dante never understood the full truth of his situation until he was compelled to revisit all his heinous sins and finally confront Lucifer, who revealed that Dante actually died at the hands of the mysterious assailant who stabbed him: The Slave Girl's "Brother" who was in truth her husband.