Luzio Maniero - one of the main antagonists of Sift Heads franchise and the main antagonist of the Cartels saga.
He is the fourth Co-Don of Red Mafia (Along with Rino before his death). He replaced (Alonzo) after he was killed by
Vinnie in Sift Heads World Act 7 - Ultimatum. He's also a playable character in the first mission of chapter 8 of Sift Heads Reborn.
Sift Heads Reborn - Takedown Mode[]
Luzio first appears with Rino, investigating the site of Alonzo's death. He picks up Vinnie's broken glasses and resolves to find out who killed Alonzo.
At some point later, having completed several takedowns, Vinnie arrives at another scene, only to find no one there. He calls Shorty to make sure whether he's come to the right place. He receives a footage of Luzio and Rino killing the person he was going to take down. He decides to find out who these guys are.
After Kiro has recovered and completed his first takedown contract, Luzio is seen torturing Vinnie's informant, demanding information on Vinnie's current location. As the man desperately claims he knows nothing, Luzio beats him up with an iron fist, killing him. Rino, who was overlooking the scene, asks Luzio whether they are getting closer. Luzio replies that yes, they do.
Sift Heads Street Wars / Cartels - Prologue[]
Believing that the Red Mafia are wasting too much money on Vinnie's case, Luzio and Rino decide to take him on themselves. They find Vinnie at the train station and a gunfight ensues, but Kiro arrives and helps Vinnie escape before Vinnie is killed.
There are noticeable differences between the Street Wars version and the Cartels Prologue version.
In Street Wars, the player has to play as Vinnie and fight Luzio and Rino. They cannot be killed in this mission, but neither can be the player. After certain time has passed three waves of Yakuza members arrive to help Luzio and Rino. They can be killed by Vinnie.
In Cartels - Prologue, the player plays as Luzio, instead. Luzio is aided by Rino and the mission orders the player to kill Vinnie. After a certain number of successful hits, Vinnie is evacuated from the scene by Kiro in the same way it happened in the Street Wars version. However, Luzio and Rino are now surrounded by the police and must make their way to a train so they could leave this place as well. The player has to dispose of all the police officers on the way.
At the end of the game, Vinnie goes to Brazil and burns Red Mafia's cocaine plantation. During Vinnie's absence, Luzio and Rino capture Shorty.
Sift Heads - Cartels[]
The game begins with Vinnie stuck in the boot of the car, being driven into a lake. This turns out to be a trap set by Luzio and Rino for Vinnie when he tried to rescue Shorty. Vinnie manages to escape just before drowning. He meets with Kiro in a motel and discuss about Luzio and Rino. Kiro reveals that he knows where they are. Vinnie and Kiro attack the mansion in which Rino and Luzio are keeping Shorty prisoner. During the confrontation, Rino, who was holding a gun next to Shorty's head, is killed by Vinnie. Shorty wastes no time and tries to shoot Luzio, but the bullets she fires only push him out of the window and he escapes.
Sift Heads Cartels Act 2[]
At Rino's funeral, Vinnie tries to use a sniper to finish Luzio, but he is stopped by the police. Luzio is arrested and Vinnie is disappointed that inspector Sam Lawrence (the officer in charge of Vinnie's case) has wasted Vinnie's opportunity to end Luzio's life. Vinnie makes it clear to the inspector that Luzio will get out of prison easily, but does not stop the police from arresting him. He is right, as Luzio is later shown being released, with the inspector looking at him and admitting to the fellow officer Kate that they don't have enough evidence to put Luzio behind bars.
Sift Heads Rush[]
Luzio returns to Chicago in order to sell a new drug called Amon Rush. Initially, he's confident that Vinnie's no longer a threat to him, as he was arrested in Sift Heads Cartels Act 3, but is soon told that Vinnie escaped.
Later, he meets with new Yakuza Leader and the new Russian Boss to devise a plan to put an end to Vinnie and his crew. His associates mention that Shigeru and the Russian's brother are already dead thanks to Vinnie. Luzio notes that all the three cartels have been weakened, but their alliance make Vinnie's impending doom inevitable.
After the Russian was killed by Vinnie and Shorty, Luzio and Japanese met again. Japanese noted that Luzio's plan was only going to get the cartel leaders murdered one by one, and not Vinnie and his crew. Luzio, however, remarked that the Russian shouldn't have faced Vinnie alone. He also suggested preparing bait for Vinnie to lead him where they want. To do that, they went to Darwen's house and killed him, leaving behind a note for Vinnie so that he could fall for their trap.
As Vinnie entered the place where Luzio was waiting for him, the cartel leader activated explosives, but he only managed to wound Vinnie. Overconfident about his victory, he started mocking Vinnie loudly, revealing his location to the bounty hunter, trying to lure him there. He was warned by a Yakuza member that Vinnie will find them if he keeps being so loud, but Luzio responded by blowing his head off with a shotgun.
As Vinnie approached Luzio, the cartel leader used a magnet to disarm Vinnie, making him an easy target. Vinnie, however, managed to take a sharp glass shard, sneak up on Luzio and impale his hand with it. This distracted Luzio long enough for Vinnie to turn off the magnet and get back his rifle. After a shootout, Vinnie listens to the severely wounded Luzio's final words. Luzio claims that Chicago belongs to him and asks Vinnie if he considers himself a hero. Vinnie tells Luzio to say hi to Alonzo for him as he crushes Luzio into pieces with the magnet.
| Vinnie's informant | In Sift Heads Takedown Luzio can be seen beating the breaks off of the guy to find Vinnie and his crew | Darwen | In Sift Heads Rush Luzio killed Darwen to lure Vinnie into a trap. |
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Trivia[]
- Before Luzio kills Darwen, he is told that Vinnie will crush his bones for that. This is exactly how Vinnie kills Luzio later.