Old Prince Of Persia Game

Prince of Persia
Cover art used for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and MS-DOS versions
Developer(s)Brøderbund
    • Domark
      (Amiga, Master System, Game Gear and Genesis)
    • Arsys Software
      (NEC PC-9801 and SNES)
    • Riverhillsoft
      (X68000, Sega CD and TurboGrafx-16)
    • MotiveTime
      (Nintendo Entertainment System)
    • Virgin Games
      (Game Boy)
Publisher(s)Brøderbund
    • Riverhillsoft
      (X68000 and TurboGrafx-16)
    • Konami
      (SNES)
    • Ubisoft
      (iOS, XBLA, Virtual Console)
Designer(s)Jordan Mechner
Composer(s)Francis Mechner (music)Tom Rettig (sound)
Mark Cooksey(NES)
Tommy Tallarico(Game Boy)
Series'Prince of Persia'
Platform(s)Apple II (see Ports)
Release
  • JP: July 1990[3]
  • EU: September 1990[2]
Genre(s)Cinematic platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

The game starts with the Sultan of Persia being called away for a war in a foreign land. Sensing opportunity, the evil Vizier Jaffar seizes the throne for himself. The Prince is imprisoned, since Jaffar has designs on the Princess. The Princess is also imprisoned and is given an hour to decide: she would have to either marry Jaffar or else, die. Prince of Persia. Broderbund released Prince of Persia in the year 1990; it's an old action game, part of the Prince of Persia series. Prince of Persia is abandonware, runs on DOS and can be played in single player mode. It's available for download.

Prince of Persia is a 1989fantasycinematic platformer originally developed and published by Brøderbund and designed by Jordan Mechner for the Apple II. Taking place in ancient Persia, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess.

Much like Karateka, Mechner's first game, Prince of Persia used rotoscoping for its fluid and realistic animation. For this process, Mechner used as reference for the characters' movements videos of his brother doing acrobatic stunts in white clothes and swashbuckler films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood.

The game was critically acclaimed and, while not an immediate commercial success, sold many copies as it was ported to a wide range of platforms after the original Apple II release. It is believed to have been the first cinematic platformer and inspired many following games in this subgenre, such as Another World.[4] Its success led to the release of two sequels, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame and Prince of Persia 3D, and two reboots of the series, first in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which led to three sequels of its own, and then again in 2008 with the identically-titled Prince of Persia.

Plot[edit]

The game is set in ancient Persia. While the sultan is fighting a war in a foreign land, his vizier Jaffar, a wizard, seizes power. His only obstacle to the throne is the Sultan's daughter (although the game never specifically mentions how). Jaffar locks her in a tower and orders her to become his wife, or she would die within 60 minutes (extended to 120 minutes in the Super NES version, which has longer and harder levels). The game's unnamed protagonist, whom the Princess loves, is thrown prisoner into the palace dungeons. In order to free her, he must escape the dungeons, get to the palace tower and defeat Jaffar before time runs out. But in addition to guards, various traps and dungeons, the protagonist is further hindered by his own doppelgänger, an apparition of his own self that is conjured out of a magic mirror.

Gameplay[edit]

Mechner used videos of his brother as a reference for the original animation of the game (Pictured: IBM PC compatible version)

The main objective of the player is to lead the unnamed protagonist out of dungeons and into a tower before time runs out. This cannot be done without bypassing traps and fighting hostile swordsmen. The game consists of twelve levels (though some console versions have more). However, a game session may be saved and resumed at a later time only after level 2.

The player has a health indicator that consists of a series of small red triangles. The player starts with three. Each time the protagonist is damaged (cut by sword, fallen from two floors of heights or hit by a falling rock), the player loses one of these indicators. There are small jars containing potions of several colours and sizes. The red potions scattered throughout the game restore one health indicator. The blue potions are poisonous, and they take one life indicator as damage. There are also large jars of red potion that increase the maximum number of health indicators by one, and large jars of green potion that grants a temporarily ability to hover. If the player's health is reduced to zero, the protagonist dies. Subsequently, the game is restarted from the beginning of the stage in which the protagonist died but the timer will not reset to that point, effectively constituting a time penalty. There is no counter for the number of lives; but if time runs out, the princess will be gone and the game will be over, subject to variations per console versions:

  • The DOS version allows the player already in the very late part of Level 12 to continue after time is out with no extra life, so:
  1. Restarting the level by pressing appropriate buttons is not death, thus not failing the game yet.
  2. Any player's death, including having killed Jaffar then falling from excessive floors of heights, also fails the game in which case the Princess is also gone.
  3. Only defeating Jaffar and exiting Level 12 alive will still save the Princess, with a negative time score in the hall of fame.
  • The Super NES version allows the player to save himself after time is out, to get the game over at the end without the princess saved.

There are three types of traps that the player must bypass: Spike traps, deep pits (three or more levels deep) and guillotines. Getting caught or falling into each results in the instant death of the protagonist. In addition, there are gates that can be raised for a short period of time by having the protagonist stand on the activation trigger. The player must pass through the gates while they are open, avoiding locking triggers. Sometimes, there are various traps between an unlock trigger and a gate.

Persia

Hostile swordsmen (Jaffar and his guards) are yet another obstacle. The player obtains a sword in the first stage, which they can use to fight these adversaries. The protagonist's sword maneuvers are as follows: advance, back off, slash, parry, or a combined parry-then-slash attack. Enemy swordsmen also have a health indicator similar to that of the protagonist. Killing them involves slashing them until their health indicator is depleted or by pushing them into traps while fighting.

A unique trap encountered in stage four, which serves as a plot device, is a magic mirror, whose appearance is followed by an ominous leitmotif. The protagonist is forced to jump through this mirror upon which his doppelganger emerges from the other side. This apparition later hinders the protagonist by stealing a potion and throwing him into a dungeon. The protagonist cannot kill this apparition as they share lives; any damage inflicted upon one also hurts the other. Therefore, the protagonist must merge with his doppelganger.

Once they have merged, the player can run across an invisible bridge to a new area, where they battle Jaffar (once the final checkpoint is reached, the player will no longer get a game over screen even if time runs out, except if the player dies after the timeout). Once Jaffar is defeated, his spell is broken and the Princess can be saved. In addition, the in-game timer is stopped at the moment of Jaffar's death, and the time remaining will appear on the high scores.

Development[edit]

Mechner used hand-drawn storyboards such as this to lay out the game's level design and character movements

Development for the game began in 1985, the year Jordan Mechner graduated from Yale University. At that time, Mechner had already developed one game, Karateka, for distributor Brøderbund. Despite expecting a sequel to Karateka, the distributor gave Mechner creative freedom to create an original game.[5]The game drew from several sources of inspiration beyond video games, including literature such as the Arabian Nights stories,[6] and films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark[7] and The Adventures of Robin Hood.[8]

For a few seconds, the camera angle has them in exact profile. This was a godsend. I did my VHS/one-hour-photo rotoscope procedure, spread two-dozen snapshots out on the floor of the office and spent days poring over them trying to figure out what exactly was going on in that duel, how to conceptualise it into a repeatable pattern.

Jordan Mechner on how he used the final duel between Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone from The Adventures of Robin Hood to create the game's swordfighting mechanic[5]

Mechner used an animation technique called rotoscoping, with which he used footage to animate the characters' sprites and movements. To create the protagonist's platforming motions, Mechner traced video footage of his younger brother running and jumping in white clothes.[9] To create the game's sword fighting sprites, Mechner rotoscoped the final duel scene between Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood.[8] Though the use of rotoscoping was regarded as a pioneering move, Mechner later recalled that 'when we made that decision with Prince of Persia, I wasn't thinking about being cutting edge - we did it essentially because I'm not that good at drawing or animation, and it was the only way I could think of to get lifelike movement.'[10] Also unusual was the method of combat: protagonist and enemies fought with swords, not projectile weapons, as was the case in most contemporary games. Mechner has said that when he started programming, the first ten minutes of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark had been one of the main inspirations for the character's acrobatic responses in a dangerous environment.[11]

For the Japanese computer ports, Arsys Software[12] and Riverhillsoft[3]enhanced the visuals and redesigned the Prince's appearance, introducing the classic turban and vest look. This version became the basis for the Macintosh version and later Prince of Persia ports and games by Brøderbund. Riverhillsoft's FM Towns version also added a Red Book CD audio soundtrack.[3]

The Game Boy version was the first game to feature music by Tommy Tallarico. He was a playtester for Virgin Interactive and offered to compose the music free of charge.

Ports[edit]

Screenshot from the Super NES version developed by Arsys; this version features enhanced graphics and more levels than the original Apple II release

After its release on the Apple II, Prince of Persia was ported to a variety of platforms. Below is a list of the ports that were developed.

Official
PortReleaseDeveloperPublisher
NEC PC-9801July 1990[3]Arsys Software[12]Riverhillsoft
MS-DOSSeptember 1990Broderbund
AmigaOctober 1990Domark
Atari STMarch 1991[13]Broderbund
Sharp X68000April 30, 1991Riverhillsoft
Amstrad CPCJuly 1991Broderbund
SAM CoupéAugust 1991Chris 'Persil' White [14]Revelation
TurboGrafx-16November 8, 1991Riverhillsoft
Game BoyJanuary 1992Virgin Games
FM TownsJune 1992Riverhillsoft
Master SystemJuly 1992[15]Domark
Super NESJuly 3, 1992 (JP)
November 1, 1992 (US, EU)
Arsys Software[16]Masaya (JP)
Konami (US, EU)
Sega CDOctober 1992Riverhillsoft
NESNovember 2, 1992Virgin Games[17]
MacintoshDecember 1992Presage Software development, Inc.
Game GearJanuary 1993Domark
GenesisFebruary 1994Domark (EU)
Tengen (US)
Game Boy ColorApril 15, 1999Ed Magnin and Associates [18]Red Orb Entertainment[18]
iOS ('Retro', replaced by 'Classic' version in 2011)May 28, 2010Ubisoft
iOS ('Classic')December 19, 2011
Nintendo 3DS (Game Boy Color version on Virtual Console)January 19, 2012[19]
Wii (Super NES version on Virtual Console)January 19, 2012[19]
Unofficial
PortReleaseDeveloperPublisher
Enterprise 1281990Brøderbund[citation needed]
Electronika BK-0011M1994Evgeny Pashigorov, Pasha Sizykh [20]Flame Association
ATM Turbo1994Honey Soft, Andrey HonichemMoscow
ZX Spectrum1996Nicodim [21]Magic Soft [21]
MC Software [22]
HP48/GX1998Iki [23]
TI-89, TI-922003David Coz [24]
Commodore Plus/4 (Demo)2007GFW & ACW [25]
Commodore 642011Andreas Varga [26][27]
Linux, Microsoft Windows2014David. This port, called SDLPoP, uses SDL.[28]
Roku (Streaming Box and Smart TV)2016Marcelo Lv Cabral [29][30]
BBC Master2018Kieran [31]

Reception[edit]

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Dragon (Macintosh)[32]
EGM32/40 (GEN)[33]
Adventure Classic Gaming (DOS)[34]
Génération 490%[2]
Sega Force94% (SMS)[35]
MacWorld (Mac)[36]
Mean Machines91% (SMS)[37]
Awards
PublicationAward
TILT!1992 Tilt d'Or[38]
MacUser1992 Eddy Award[38]

Despite a positive critical reception, Prince of Persia was initially a commercial failure in North America, where it had sold only 7,000 units each on the Apple II and IBM PC by July 1990. It was when the game was released in Japan and Europe that year that it became a commercial success. In July 1990, the NEC PC-9801 version sold 10,000 units as soon as it was released in Japan. It was then ported to various different home computers and video game consoles, eventually selling 2 million units worldwide by the time its sequel Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993) was in production,[3] and more than 2 million copies by 1999.[39][40]

Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World stated that the game package's claim that it 'breaks new ground with animation so uncannily human it must be seen to be believed' was true. He wrote that Prince of Persia 'succeeds at being more than a running-jumping game (in other words, a gussied-up Nintendo game)' because it 'captures the feel of those great old adventure films', citing Thief of Baghdad, Frankenstein, and Dracula. Ardai concluded that it was 'a tremendous achievement' in games comparable to that of Star Wars in film.[41]

In 1991, the game was ranked the 12th best Amiga game of all time by Amiga Power.[42] In 1992, The New York Times described the Macintosh version as having 'brilliant graphics and excellent sound ... Sure, you could do all this years ago on a Commodore 64 or Atari 400. But those games never looked or sounded like this'.[43] Reviewing the Genesis version, GamePro praised the 'extremely fluid' animation of the player character and commented that the controls are difficult to master but nonetheless very effective. Comparing it to the Super NES version, they summarized that 'the Genesis version has better graphics, and the SNES has better music. Otherwise, the two are identical in almost every way ...'[44]Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) likewise assessed the Genesis version as 'An excellent conversion of the classic action game', and added that the game's challenging strategy and technique give it high longevity.[45]EGM's panel of four reviewers each gave it a rating of 8 out of 10, adding up to an overall score of 32 out of 40.[33]

In 1991, PC Format named Prince of Persia one of the 50 best computer games ever, highlighting its 'unbelievably good animation'.[46] In 1996, Computer Gaming World named Prince of Persia the 84th best game ever, with the editors calling it 'an acrobatic platformer with amazingly fluid action'.[47]

Legacy[edit]

Prince of Persia would go on to influence cinematic platformers such as Another World and Flashback as well as action-adventure games such as Tomb Raider,[3] which used a similar control scheme.[48] A few DOS games were created using exactly the same game mechanics of the DOS version of Prince of Persia. Makh-Shevet created Cruel World in 1993 and Capstone Software created Zorro in 1995.[49]

In 2007, Prince of Persia was remade and ported by Gameloft. The remake, titled Prince of Persia Classic, was released on June 13, 2007 to the Xbox Live Arcade, and on October 23, 2008 on the PlayStation Network. It features the same level design and general premise but contained 3D-rendered graphics, more fluid movements, and Sands of Time aesthetics.[50] The gameplay and controls were slightly adjusted to include a wall-jump move and different swordplay. New game modes were also added, such as 'Time Attack' and 'Survival'.[51] The game has also been released on Android.[52]

Reverse engineering efforts by fans of the original game have resulted in detailed documentation of the file formats of the MS-DOS version.[53] Various level editors have been created that can be used to modify the level files of the game.[54] With these editors and other software, over sixty mods have been created.[55]

On April 17, 2012, Jordan Mechner established a GitHub repository[56] containing the long-thought-lost[57] original Apple II source code for Prince of Persia.[58][59] A technical document describing the operation of this source code is available on Mechner's website.[60]

References[edit]

  1. ^Mechner, Jordan (2009-05-03). 'Prince of Persia released'. jordanmechner.com. Archived from the original on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  2. ^ abPrince of Persia reviewArchived 2015-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, Generation 4, issue #25, September 1990
  3. ^ abcdefKurt Kalata; Sam Derboo (12 August 2011). 'Prince of Persia'. Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  4. ^Rybicki, Joe (5 May 2008). 'Prince of Persia Retrospective'. GameTap. Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  5. ^ ab'The Making Of: Prince Of Persia'. Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  6. ^Rus McLaughlin; Scott Collura & Levi Buchanan (May 18, 2010). 'IGN Presents: The History of Prince of Persia (page 1)'. IGN. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  7. ^Gamasutra - Features - Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition: 'Interview with Jordan Mechner'Archived 2014-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ abMechner, Jordan (2011). Classic Game Postmortem: PRINCE OF PERSIA (Speech). Game Developers Conference. San Francisco, California. Event occurs at 38:35. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  9. ^October 20, 1985 | jordanmechner.comArchived August 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^'An Interview with Jordan Mechner'. Next Generation. No. 25. Imagine Media. January 1997. p. 108.
  11. ^Gamasutra - Features - Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition: 'Interview with Jordan Mechner'Archived 2014-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ abPrince of Persia release infoArchived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, Moby Games, October 3, 1989
  13. ^'Prince of Persia'. Atari ST User. March 1991. Retrieved March 21, 2019.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^'SAM Coupe Magazine Preview'. February 1992: 50. Retrieved 3 March 2016.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ^'Prince of Persia'(PDF). Mean Machines. July 1992. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  16. ^'Corporate profile'. Cyberhead. Archived from the original on 24 October 2001. Retrieved 30 August 2012.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  17. ^'Virgin Interactive Games'. IGN. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  18. ^ ab'Prince of Persia International Releases'. Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  19. ^ ab'RELIVE CLASSIC PRINCE OF PERSIA ON WII™ AND 3DS™'. MCV. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  20. ^'Prince of Persia BK-0011M'. R-GAMES.NET. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  21. ^ abTarján, Richárd (21 February 2009). 'Prince of Persia - ZX Spectrum version (Nicodim/Magic Soft, 1996)'(DOC). World of Spectrum. Retrieved 16 June 2013.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^Ribic, Samir (July 2007). 'ZX Spectrum Screenshot Catalog': 655.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. ^'Detailed information for Iki's Prince of Persia'. hpcalc.org. 30 October 1998. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  24. ^'Prince of Persia - TI Series'. 20 September 2003. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  25. ^'Prince of Persia'. Plus 4 World. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  26. ^Lemon, Kim. 'Prince of Persia'. Lemon. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  27. ^'Prince of Persia C64 - Development Blog'. 2 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  28. ^'Get the Games: SDLPoP'. PoPOT Modding Community. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  29. ^'lvcabral/Prince-of-Persia-Roku'. GitHub. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  30. ^'PoP1 for Roku Set-Top Box - Prince of Persia'. forum.princed.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  31. ^Connell, Kieran. 'Prince of Persia'. Bitshifters. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  32. ^Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (December 1992). 'The Role of Computers'(PDF). Dragon (188): 57–64. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2016-03-21.
  33. ^ abElectronic Gaming Monthly, 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide, p. 86
  34. ^'Prince of Persia Review'. Jeremiah Kauffman. 19 February 2006. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  35. ^'Sega Force Issue 7' (7). July 1992: 13. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016. The best MS game we've seen for ages!Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  36. ^Steven A. Schwartz (September 1992). 'MacWorld 9209' (9209): 292. Retrieved December 1, 2017. You'll be amazed by Prince of Persia.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  37. ^'Prince of Persia - Sega Review'(PDF). Mean Machines. No. 22. July 1992. p. 90.
  38. ^ abCastro, Radford (October 25, 2004). Let Me Play: Stories of Gaming and Emulation. Hats Off Books. p. 218. ISBN978-1587363498. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  39. ^Pullin, Keith (December 1999). 'Prince of Persia 3D'. PC Zone (83): 91.
  40. ^Saltzman, Marc (May 18, 2000). Game Design: Secrets of the Sages, Second Edition. Brady Games. pp. 410, 411. ISBN1566869870.
  41. ^Ardai, Charles (December 1989). 'Good Knight, Sweet Prince'. Computer Gaming World. pp. 48 & 64. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  42. ^'All-Time Top 100 Games'. Amiga Power magazine. Future Publishing. May 1991. p. 6. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  43. ^Shannon, L. R. (1992-08-11). 'Playing at War, Once Removed'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  44. ^'ProReview: Prince of Persia'. GamePro. No. 67. IDG. April 1994. p. 30.
  45. ^'Review Crew: Prince of Persia'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 56. Sendai Publishing. March 1994. p. 38.
  46. ^Staff (October 1991). 'The 50 best games EVER!'. PC Format (1): 109–111.
  47. ^'150 Best Games of All Time'. Computer Gaming World. November 1996. pp. 64–80. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  48. ^Blache, Fabian & Fielder, Lauren, History of Tomb Raider, GameSpot, Accessed Apr 1, 2009
  49. ^'Zorro'. RGB Classic Games. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  50. ^Review of Prince of Persia remake by Nick Suttner, 13 June 2007, 1Up.com
  51. ^'Xboxic Classic review'. Xboxic. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06.
  52. ^'Prince of Persia Classic'. Ubisoft/Google. Archived from the original on 2013-05-22.
  53. ^'Prince of Persia Specifications of File Formats'(PDF). Princed Development Team. 2008-01-05. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  54. ^'Modding Community; Level Editors'. PoPOT.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  55. ^'Modding Community; Custom Levels'. PoPOT.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  56. ^Prince of Persia Apple IIArchived 2012-12-30 at the Wayback Machine on github.com/jmechner
  57. ^Ciolek, Todd (2012-10-17). 'Among the Missing: Notable Games Lost to Time'. 1up.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2015-06-19. Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner believed that the source code to the game's original Apple II version was gone when he failed to find it in 2002. Ten years later, Mechner's father uncovered a box of old games at the family home, and among them were disks containing Prince of Persia's bedrock program.
  58. ^Fletcher, JC (2012-04-17). 'Prince of Persia source code successfully rescued'. joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-27. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  59. ^Mastrapa, Gus (2012-04-20). 'The Geeks Who Saved Prince of Persia's Source Code From Digital Death'. Wired. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  60. ^Mechner, Jordan (12 October 1989). 'Prince of Persia Technical Information'(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.

External links[edit]

  • Prince of Persia at MobyGames
  • Prince of Persia at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
  • Prince of Persia can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
  • Prince of Persia 1 page at PoPUW.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prince_of_Persia_(1989_video_game)&oldid=917612411'

One of computer gaming's biggest titles makes its return with the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The classic story, which had players guiding a young prince through a trap-filled palace to save his beloved from marrying an evil vizier, has been updated with 3D graphics and new traps and puzzles. The story begins with the titular prince tricked by a vizier into using a mystical dagger to release the Sands of Time from an hourglass. With the help of an ally, players must right this wrong by recapturing the Sands of Time before the deceitful vizier can harness its power.

As players explore each room, from an ornate reception hall to an underground foundry, they will be able to perform a number of acrobatic moves to protect them from harm. As in previous games, cinematic cut-scenes help tell the story as the prince overcomes a number of deadly traps and enemies lurking inside the Persian palace. Developer Ubi Soft Montreal, best known for its work on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, has worked closely with the original game's creator Jordan Mechner for this new tale in the Prince of Persia series.

Gamers who only got into the hobby recently and are only familiar with the nastiness of the recent Prince of Persia 3D might be puzzled about why many old school gamers like myself are so excited at the revival of the Prince of Persia franchise. Suffice it to say that our love stems from the memories of the first two Prince of Persia games - brilliant combinations of side-scrolling action and puzzle solving that quickly became classics. Still, whether you're an old fogey like me or a young kid just starting up in the gaming world, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time belongs in your collection. Ubisoft has helped the Prince make the transition to the 21st century in grand style.

The Sands of Time finds our nameless Persian hero traveling through India in the company of his father. While there, they take advantage of a sneaky vizier (is there another kind?) to launch an assault on an unsuspecting maharajah's castle and steal an extraordinary artifact: an hourglass containing the titular 'Sands of Time.' Returning to Persia, the Prince gets tricked into smashing the hourglass containing the sands. This pretty much FUBARs the whole region, turning its denizens into bizarre sand-filled monsters and putting a serious crimp in the Prince's day. Now, he has to track down the evil Vizier, collect all of the sand, and somehow defeat the Vizier to put everything back the way it's supposed to be.

That task is much easier said than done. The castle that the Prince finds himself in has an elaborate security system that I'm pretty sure wasn't standard issue for 9th century Persian palaces, but nonetheless stands between him and the goal. Said system includes a whole bunch of elaborate traps including saw blades, spring-loaded scimitars, spikes, and much more. Add in the damage that the castle has undergone when the 'Hourglass of Time' was broken, and you can see the problem. The Prince has to use his extraordinary array of jumps, flips, swings, and leaps -- all animated with amazing beauty and grace -- to jump, roll, and dive his way through the game's levels.

That leads to the game's first strong point -- the level design. Every level of Prince of Persia is a fiendishly designed deathtrap, and figuring out the right combination of moves, jumps, and tricks that will get you up to the other side makes up the majority of the gameplay in Prince of Persia. Had the level design (or the controls) not been up to snuff, it could have been a disaster. Fortunately, that didn't happen and solving these puzzles is tremendously enjoyable.

Prince Of Persia Classic Download

The Sands of Time is also quite forgiving when it comes time to make your moves. While a simple slip-up can send you to instant death at almost any time, the 'Dagger of Time' the Prince carries has the ability to rewind the last ten seconds of the game, meaning you can instantly 'undo' your death and try again. It's obviously a way to get around the traditional 'save and restore' rollercoaster that games like this get into, but the way it's done -- including the slick graphical effect that accompanies it -- is nothing short of brilliant. Including the rewind option lessens the inevitable frustration that these 'die and retry' games seem to cause.

It's worth noting that the PC version of The Sands of Time does not contain gamepad support -- the only way to control the Prince's movements is via a keyboard and mouse. This is an extremely puzzling omission, especially for anyone who's played a console version of the game. Oh, don't get me wrong, the Prince is perfectly controllable on the PC and players shouldn't have any difficulty getting the hero to do what they want, it's just that, after trying out the game with a PS2 gamepad, I found the PCs keyboard controls a little looser and sloppier. It's really only an issue for players who have tried both, though. Players who've only used the PC version probably won't notice it.

Traps aren't the only obstacles the Prince has to face. Remember those sand-filled creatures I mentioned? It turns out that they have a serious attitude problem, so the Prince is going to be spending a lot of time hacking and slashing and collecting sand from their withered corpses. It's easy to see why, of all of Prince of Persia's features, the game's combat has drawn the most criticism. The combat system isn't terribly elaborate and can feel a bit 'clicky' as the Prince only has a handful of moves (including Dagger powers that freeze enemies in place or make everyone else move in slow motion). It can also sometimes feel like the game piles on way too many enemies as a way of artificially lengthening the game.

Old School Prince Of Persia Game

Still, despite the simplicity, I found the game's combat fun. The four-on-one fights make a nice break from racking your brain trying to solve yet another room-sized puzzle. They even involve some strategy as certain enemies are immune to some of the Prince's moves, and you'll need to maneuver yourself into position to hit one enemy without getting nailed by another. It also helps that the game's gorgeous animation makes the fighting look so damned cool.

Old Prince Of Persia Game Online

In a triumph for lovers of a good storyline, Prince of Persia's story isn't limited to an opening movie and an ending cutscene. As you travel through the castle, the game is liberally peppered with the Prince's past-tense voiceovers and cutscenes explaining what's happening as if he was relating an Arabian Nights tale. Early in the game, the Prince hooks up with an Indian Princess who's integral to the plot, and their story (if not terribly elaborate) is well-written and scripted and provides a nice context for the action. The ending twist of the game is pretty cool, too.

Indeed, everything about the game works together to feel like an Arabian Nights tale. The game's music is an enjoyably skirling and twirling collection of pipes, drums, and flutes that wouldn't be out of place in an Egyptian bazaar. The graphics, too, are wonderful. While the environments themselves are beautifully rendered, what really sells the experience are the wonderful special effects like elaborate lighting, swirling dust, haze, shifting curtains, and well-designed characters and monsters. This, in particular, would be a reason to pick up the PC rather than the console version. The higher framerates and extra graphical power of the PC blow away the console versions.

In fact, there are really only a few flies in the ointment. One is replayability: While it's a lot of fun figuring out how to get past each room the first time around, there's not much appeal in doing it all again once you finish the game and know the sequences for each room. Sadly, the PC incarnation of The Sands of Time doesn't have the original Prince of Persia games available as unlockable bonuses or Easter Eggs, as is the case with the console versions. There is a cute 3D version of one of the original Prince of Persia levels, but, unless you know the originals, this plays out as merely a secret level. Frankly, as an old-school gamer who played the originals, I would much rather have had the console bonuses.

Prince Of Persia Old Game Download For Android

It's hard to think of any major reasons to discourage anyone from picking up Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, though. When you consider that this was a series that everyone thought was dead and gone, Ubisoft has done a remarkable job in restoring the Prince to his former glory. Mabrouk and chokrane!


How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

This game has been set up to work on modern Windows (10/8/7/Vista/XP 64/32-bit) computers without problems. Please choose Download - Easy Setup (1015 MB).

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