Jordan Mechner didn't just make a game; he filmed his brother jumping in a parking lot.
That sounds weird, right? But in 1989, that was high technology. It’s called rotoscoping. By tracing over film frames of his brother David, Mechner gave the original Prince of Persia video game a sense of weight and fluid motion that nothing else on the Apple II could touch. If you fell onto spikes, it didn't just feel like a "game over" screen. It felt like a tragedy.
The franchise has been through the ringer since then. We’ve seen it go from 2D cinematic platforming to 3D action-adventure, then into a weird experimental cel-shaded phase, and finally back to its roots with The Lost Crown. It’s a series that refuses to stay dead, much like the Prince himself after using a Sand Tank to rewind a botched jump.
Honestly, the history of this IP is a bit of a mess, but it’s a fascinating one.
The Rotoscoping Revolution and the 1989 Spark
Back in the late eighties, most games were stiff. Characters moved like blocks. Then came this guy in white pajamas. He grabbed ledges with his fingertips. He stumbled when he landed from a high jump. He had momentum.
Mechner’s brilliance wasn't just in the animation, though. It was the pressure. You had sixty minutes. That’s it. One hour to save the Princess from Jaffar. If the clock hit zero, you lost. It created this visceral anxiety that defined the early Prince of Persia video game experience. You weren't just exploring; you were sprinting against a deadline.
Most people don't realize how much the original game influenced the "Cinematic Platformer" genre. Without it, we probably don't get Another World, Flashback, or even the early Oddworld games. It proved that 2D games could tell a story through movement and atmosphere rather than just text boxes and power-ups.
The Ubisoft Era: Sands, Sarcasm, and Success
By the early 2000s, the brand was basically dormant after the disastrous Prince of Persia 3D. Then Ubisoft Montreal stepped in. They brought in Mechner as a consultant and writer, and in 2003, they dropped The Sands of Time.
It was a masterpiece. Simple as that.
They solved the biggest problem with 3D platformers: the camera. If you messed up a jump because the angle was weird, you didn't have to restart the level. You just held down the 'R' key (or the L1 button) and rewound time. It was a gimmick that actually made the gameplay better. The chemistry between the Prince and Farah felt real, too. They bickered. They grew to trust each other. It wasn't just "save the girl"; it was a partnership.
Things Got Edgy (And Maybe A Little Cringe)
Then came Warrior Within. Oh boy.
If Sands of Time was a fairy tale, Warrior Within was a heavy metal concert in a basement. The Prince grew a goatee, started swearing, and was hunted by a "time beast" called the Dahaka. Godsmack was on the soundtrack. Seriously.
Fans are still divided on this one. Some love the expanded combat—which was objectively better than the first game—while others hated the "dark and gritty" 2004 aesthetic. Ubisoft tried to find a middle ground with The Two Thrones, bringing back the original voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal, and introducing a "Dark Prince" mechanic. It worked, mostly. It closed the trilogy, but it felt like the series had run out of steam.
The 2008 Experiment and the Assassin's Creed Connection
Here is a bit of trivia that most casual fans miss: Assassin's Creed was originally a Prince of Persia video game.
It was called Prince of Persia: Assassins. You were supposed to play as a bodyguard to a young prince. But as the project grew, Ubisoft realized it didn't fit the brand. They spun it off into its own thing, and well, we know how that turned out. Assassin's Creed became the juggernaut, and the Prince was shoved into the shadows.
In 2008, Ubisoft tried a reboot. It had stunning cel-shaded art and a companion named Elika who literally wouldn't let you die. If you fell, she caught you. People complained it was "too easy," but they missed the point. It was an atmospheric poem of a game. It ended on a massive cliffhanger that, unfortunately, we never saw resolved in a proper sequel.
Instead, we got The Forgotten Sands in 2010, which was a tie-in to the Jake Gyllenhaal movie. It was... fine. It had some cool ice-freezing mechanics, but it felt like a ghost of the series' former glory.
The Resurgence: The Lost Crown and the Remake Struggle
For over a decade, the franchise was a "Legacy IP." That's corporate-speak for "we don't know what to do with this."
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Then came 2024’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Ubisoft Montpellier (the Rayman Legends team) took the series back to 2D, but as a "Metroidvania." It was a bold move. You don't even play as the Prince; you play as Sargon, a member of an elite group called The Immortals. It’s fast. It’s hard. It has some of the best combat in the genre. It proved that the Prince of Persia video game DNA—traps, timing, and Persian mythology—still works in the modern era.
Meanwhile, the Sands of Time Remake has been stuck in "development hell" for years. Originally handled by Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai, the project was moved back to Montreal after a lukewarm reception to the initial trailer. It’s a reminder that capturing the "magic" of the original isn't just about higher resolution textures. It’s about the soul of the movement.
Why We Still Care About a 35-Year-Old Thief
The appeal of this series is actually pretty simple: it’s about mastery over space and time.
Most games give you a gun. Prince of Persia gives you a ledge and a ticking clock. It’s about the physical joy of parkour before parkour was even a word people used. When you nail a sequence of wall-runs, pole-swings, and leaps, it feels like a dance.
There's also the setting. Ancient Persia (or a stylized version of it) is such a refreshing break from the standard "European Middle Ages" or "Gritty Sci-Fi" tropes we see everywhere else. The Djinn, the architecture, the Zoroastrian themes—it gives the games a distinct flavor that hasn't been successfully replicated.
How to Experience the Series Today
If you’re looking to dive into the Prince of Persia video game world right now, don't just grab the first thing you see. You have to be strategic because some of these haven't aged perfectly.
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- For the modern gamer: Start with The Lost Crown. It’s the most polished experience available on current consoles.
- For the storyteller: Track down The Sands of Time. Even with dated graphics, the narrative holds up beautifully. You can get it on PC, but you might need some community patches to make it run on Windows 11.
- For the purist: Play the 1989 original. It’s available in browsers and various collections. Just be prepared to die. A lot.
- For the artist: Look at the 2008 reboot. It still looks better than many games coming out today because of its specific art direction.
The franchise isn't just a relic of the past. It’s a blueprint for how games should handle movement. Whether the Sands of Time Remake ever actually sees the light of day or not, the Prince has already left his mark on every character that’s ever climbed a wall or rewound a mistake.
To get the most out of the series, focus on the "trilogy" logic. Play Sands of Time for the heart, Warrior Within for the mechanics, and The Two Thrones for the closure. If you find yourself frustrated by the 2004 "edge," just mute the music and enjoy the fact that it has some of the best level design in the entire 3D platforming genre.
Don't wait for the remake to experience this. The existing games, despite their quirks and technical hurdles on modern hardware, are essential pieces of gaming history that still feel remarkably "playable" today. Use the GOG versions for older PC titles to avoid DRM headaches and ensure compatibility with modern controllers.
Actionable Steps for Prince of Persia Fans
- Check out 'The Making of Prince of Persia' by Jordan Mechner. It’s a book based on his journals from the 80s. It’s the best look you'll ever get at how a masterpiece is built from scratch.
- Use the 'D-Player' or community mods for the original PC versions. If you're playing the Sands of Time trilogy on PC, check the PCGamingWiki. You'll need widescreen fixes and controller wrappers to make them feel "modern."
- Keep an eye on the indie scene. Games like Katana ZERO or Ghostrunner carry the "one-hit-kill/time-manipulation" torch that the Prince lit decades ago.