*Spoilers for Mafia: The Old Country Contained Below
The first thing players will notice in this chapter of Mafia: The Old Country is the time skip, as showcased by Enzo sporting an actual head of hair. While the year is still 1904, Enzo has been working for the Torrisi family for a month or two by the look of things, still getting used to being free from the mines, but seemingly having integrated into the family rather nicely. The chapter begins with Enzo yet again loading up a shipment, but this time getting to ride along with it, escorting it to its destination, a step up from some of the tasks he had in the previous chapter.
Work Comes First
If you haven’t checked your main menu yet, you should, just to see that every option, including the map, has now been unlocked. The ride as an escort isn’t long per se, though it is fairly linear. As you see, at settlements, houses, or groups of people, you can stop and get off your horse to explore, though there is not much to see. Like the old Mafia titles, up to this point, a lot of exploration of the wider world has been under the duress of an NPC telling you to hurry up. Once you have ridden through the countryside, Luca and Enzo will pull up next to a house and depart the your horses. Luca will instruct you to take a crate of wine before leading you to a metal gate to the property, where a cutscene will play out.
The cutscene will lead to the player learning about Dinari, the currency in the game. You will then be sent downstairs in the back of the home to buy a knife. There are a few things of interest in here, but since you are capped at the currency you just unlocked, items such as an animal statue that costs 5000 will have to wait. Charms and guns are also for sale here, but again, the only thing you can buy is the item you were sent in here for, the Viperi knife, which is 200. You can head to the back right of the store to stock up on bandages for free, or check the dresser to the right of the door you entered, or left if you are heading towards the door, but once you are done here, leave to trigger another cutscene.
After this cutscene, Enzo and Luca will end up in a knife fight, though this one is just for practice. Enzo is taught a few missing moves that helped limit his ability to win in the first knife fight he took part in back in the Prologue. Once this is done, Luca will inform you that you are both late to watch the race, and you both will mount up your horses again. Unlike previous rides, this will be much faster as you both hurry to your destination at top speed. This also feels much less like the following missions you’ve previously had. Eventually, you ride up to the tents set up at the Palio, right outside San Celeste. You are told to meet Luca in front of Don Torissi’s tent, but until you do, you have the ability to wander around to your leisure, though you are confined to the main square.
The Palio
Heading along the right of the square is a tent with two blue fish on a few flags. In front of this is a man with a table. Walk up to this to pick up the Racing Odds note. A short walk away from there, standing on the back of the wooden platform, a man is standing overlooking the crowd is where the Fortunato Charm can be found. Moving towards the back of the square, near a poster for La Forza on the right end of the stage, is Cantastoria’s Tale – The Bandit Prince, another note to collect. Once done here, head for the marker on the map to enter the tent, as another cutscene will play out.
As the player might have guessed, since this is a video game after all, despite hearing how you would be attending a race and watching somebody race in representation of Don Torissi, circumstances change and make Enzo the rider for the race instead, which means you will need to put your minimal riding skills to the test. While the race itself is not hard to come out on top, there are a few things to know. First, racers seem to match the player’s speed, meaning that a large group that leads you will lead you till specific points where they seem to slow, and your horse gains headway. One such area is a sharp turn around the top of the hill, where every racer slows. Using your Spurs is fine, as you have enough, though I only used them to match racers trying to pass me with a fast burst as well, since Spurs seem not to drastically alter the distance between you and the leaders in the racer. When it does matter is the final stretch, as the fastest racer seems to always be on par with your speed, so at this point, do whatever needs to be done to win.
San Celeste
After winning the race, you will be given a pretty cathartic cutscene in which the Sparado family that tormented you feels the sting of defeat you inflicted on them, only for you to be reminded of your place by being asked to deliver more wine. Back to the errands, errand boy. For the walk to the next location, you are joined by the Don’s daughter, Isabella, as you travel door to door with a crate of wine for all the people lucky enough to have curried favor from Don Torrisi. Since this wine crate is heavy, requires two hands, and can’t be put down, there is not much you can do but the task at hand.
The task doesn’t end with completion, though. After passing through a metal gate and a brief cutscene, you are forced into a knife fight against bitter Sparado goon L’Ombra, upset they lost the race against you, and you know, everything before that. Unlike the previous two fights that served as tutorials to the mechanic, this is your first real one. Pacing can be a little harder to get down, as his unblockable attack is slightly shorter than Luca’s, and he deals more damage than you. This being said, and good parry opens him up to several knife blows that will outpace a single hit from him. Around the halfway point in his health, a dynamic scene plays out, forcing you to press the interact button repeatedly, similar to choking a person before he knocks you back, and the fight resumes. The second half of the fight is similar to the first, with no added flair or signature moves, so continue to parry any attacks that don’t flash, and he will be down for the count before you know it. When he is done, he will stand there requiring one additional slash to trigger a cutscene.
This completes the second chapter in Mafia: The Old Country, II – Pailo. For completing this chapter, you are also rewarded with the Forza San Celeste Trophy/Achievement.
Chapter Walkthroughs:
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