Prince of Persia

"A Review from someone that never played any Prince of Persia before, and as such, is not a fan."

Hi, this is only my second review ever, but I'll try to do the best I can in analyzing this game. I'll follow several GameFaqs guidelines in my approach, including Score parameters, and its standard formatting style. I'll also try to grade some of the topics, since everyone likes to see how much each thing scores. :) However, the final score is not going to be an average, since it shall reflect my overall feeling on the game. If you don't like or for whatever reason don't want to read the entire thing, read the Introduction at least, it will give a good sight of what you'll find.

Introduction

First, as you've read in the title, I never played any Prince of Persia. Actually, it's a lie, I played the beginning of Sands of Time, but I don't think that counts too much. So, in my review, I will give you an insight of someone experiencing this game with no preconceptions, expectations, or comparisons with any other game of the series. With that cleared, let me tell you reader, You will be direct controlling the Prince, an acrobatic young man, and will get aid of Elika, a young woman whose acrobatic skills rival yours, but also uses magic. Obviously inspired by Shadow of Colossus in the way the world is (you, your partner, the enemies, and a deserted place), and also by many games that use the corruption/healing the land theme (like Zelda: Twilight Princess and Okami), this Prince of Persia presents an open world which you can explore in the order you want. There are many levels, initially "corrupted", that is, their scenario is full of sludge and dangerous things, and your main purpose is reaching the Fertile Grounds, the central point in them. There, you'll face a boss, and as you succeed, the level will be cleared of its corruption and be open to full exploration. Once cleared, the level will have "Light Seeds" (45 each level), and you must collect a certain number of them to unlock new powers for Elika, and new levels to explore: but don't worry, though it could be a burden the task of collecting items to proceed, the minimum asked is not that many, and allow you to explore the levels more than your limited travel around them as they are corrupted.

Explained the world you are going to visit, let's understand the Prince and Elika's movements. It's all about acrobatics these two: you'll run in walls and climb them in many ways, slide ramps, grab columns and poles, and use four different special plates types to advance through the levels. Also, you'll use your companion's magic powers as a second nature to the Prince's own abilities: with the press of a single command, you can have double jump, activate the special plates, and attack with her in the combat sections. An important thing to say about the gameplay: you will NEVER die. And it's not because the game is very easy or anything, it's because there's no Game Over, there's no death, nothing. Always when you are going to fall, an animation of Elika is shown, and you are back to the last solid floor. This also goes for the combat, the difference is that when Elika saves you, the enemy regains its health, and you have to beat it up again.

The combats are few, and they are well integrated with the rest of the game. It's not about your skill to do as much damage as you can; it's about using the several types of attack and “quick time action commands" to give the enemy a beating. The combat is almost a dance, you have to dodge, block, use your sword attacks, claw attacks, Elika's magic attacks, and your own acrobatic skills to go around. They're quite enjoyable, and have several battle animations, more than the actual combat. They are almost a part of the scenario. The only problem is that from time to time you'll take a beating yourself and the enemy will recover health, and that will be tiring as you'll have to attack it all over again.

I'll enter more in detail in each specific topic, but let me say too the graphics, art style and audio are breathtaking. I haven't seen a more beautiful game this generation. It runs away from trying to have real graphics, and tries an Okami-cartoon like experience, and it's very good. Also, the voice acting of all characters is very well done, and the Prince and Elika are very charismatic, without trying to be the cool type: they're natural. I saw some people saying they didn't like Prince's attitude, but I only see a sarcastic funny guy that don't reveal everything he is. Through a talk command, you can interact Prince with Elika (and enemies), and this way, learn more about them and the world you are exploring, and this is the way you can immerse even more in the universe of the game. The story, though simple, is fitting to the game, and does its job.

This game not only deserves a play, it is a game that you can pass your time travelling through its world because it is FUN to do so. While this isn't a perfect game (is there any?), it is, as I said, very good.


Gameplay (9/10)

This game's all about gameplay. It's focused on the gameplay. It's you, your companion, the few enemies, and the world around you, much like Shadow of Colossus. There are no sidequests (aside from collecting all Light Seeds), there is no RPG elements, it's a completely pure platforming game, and it focus on that. It IS all about gameplay. Obviously, as I mentioned above, the graphics, the audio, and the story are very good, but that alone doesn't make a game very good: in my opinion, the greatest essential thing in a game is how well we can play it. That can be easily ascertained pointing very awesome games with none of the other aspects, but are quite enjoyable in what they do. They are simple games; however, their addictive gameplay makes them good. You must know at least one game that matches the description I just said.

And since it's all about gameplay (third time said), let's speak about it. On solid ground, your movements are limited: you can walk/run, jump, and occasionally hit something with your sword (you cannot use it whenever you want), but as you go to the air and to the walls, that's when the magic (literally and non-literally) begins. With the single use of the jump command, The Prince can climb and run on walls, do wall jumps and jump over precipices. Also, the Prince has in his left hand a claw, which can be used to slide down walls and grab rings that allow him to continue walking on walls and ceilings (yes, you can do that). Elika, his companion, is a magic user, and with a single command, gives you quite a hand: allows you to do double-jumps, releases a light sphere that guides you through and to levels, and activates the magic plates around the world, when you unlock her abilities to do so.

These plates are colored panels that you gain the ability/power to use once you collect and bring a determined number of Light Seeds to the Temple, where you can choose in which order you want to obtain them. There are four types, and each level (besides the first four) has a need from one of them so you can play it. Each "level path" has four levels, which two requiring one color, and the other two requiring another. There's also a Boss Level that is unlocked once you complete all four levels of a path, and uses both colored panels of the level path you just completed. While two panels (blue and red) are almost identical, and you have to do nothing once you activate them, the other ones (green and yellow) give you new ways of play: the first allow you to run on walls, forcing you to dodge anything in your way to the end, and the second allow you to fly over a railed course, also forcing you to dodge anything in your way. Though both are quite simple in execution, it gives you a new way to move around, and though it's my less preferred one, the yellow plate gives you quite a breathtaking fly over the level.

Elika's also the one responsible for not letting you die, ever. Every time you do a wrong jump, or for whatever reason, falls down, an animation of her hand holding the Prince's is played, and you go back to the last solid ground. Even in battles, if you take too much of a beating from the enemy, she will save you, and the enemy will recover his health: actually, you don't even HAVE a health bar. While some may find absurd that you can't die, I think this was a very positive thing to the game. It's VERY easy to do a wrong jump or fall, it's the way the game was made. If every time you 'died', you'd go to a Game Over Screen, or to the beginning of the level, the game would be extremely tiring. Having you not die, only having to do the same acrobatic sequence again until you get it right, contributes to the overall fun factor of the game: you do not play to stress yourself or to memorize the right way to do something, you play to have fun, and fun only. You'll be concentrating on enjoying what you're doing, not concentrating on never dying or anything.

There's absolutely no waiting in the game, save the dialogues, which I couldn't find a way to skip. But unless you REALLY don't like them, you won't even want to skip them, since they're quite enjoyable and full of humorous lines. To Talk to Elika, you must use the Talk command, which works almost anytime, even in battles and in the map screen.

Your objective in each level is coursing through it until you reach the Fertile Ground (your final destination in all areas). The Fertile Ground is a place, as Elika will tell you, that you must use her power so it can recover the land, and that's what happens: once you reach it, you'll have to fight a boss, and then you'll have to press repeatedly Elika's Command so you can restore it, and once it's done, the level is done with corruption, and 45 Light Seeds are there for you to collect. Also, Using Elika's Command, her power will always guide you, showing how to move around the level if you are lost. Before healed, each area will have corruption sludge blocking your way, and each Boss will release a different type of corruption (from corrupted air, to corrupted tentacles in a wall) that will try to stop you. Also, there is a few puzzles in few levels, that in my opinion just break the fast paced gameplay, and are in this game, completely unnecessary. But they're not that much of a bother though.

About the battles, there's not much to tell you: they're always the Prince and Elika against one only enemy. The area of combat is a circular one, and you can even push your adversary to a wall, a pillar, or to the edge, rending an animation. The commands works as in the platform sequences, only that here you'll really use your sword. So, there's the sword attack command, the Elika's magic attack command, the Claw attack command (that grabs and throw the enemy), and last, but not least, the Acrobatic commands that allow you to jump, and do... acrobatic things. The most interesting thing about battles, it's that it blends well enough with the pacing of the game, and beating an enemy is almost as beating a level. Also, you can do a great variety of combos, using the many types of attacks. I will give you an example of a combo, my favorite one: I slash three times with the Prince's Sword Attack, then I use Elika's Magic power twice, and after that, I do an Acrobatic move - now, Prince and Elika go behind the enemy - then I use two more times Elika's Magic power, and then I grab the enemy with the Claw Command, and throw him in the air. Not over: I make Prince jump over with the Acrobatic Command, and then I finally finish the combo giving another Sword Attack, that causes the Price pushing the enemy down and slashing him. It's more impressive seen, since the graphics and the animation works completely well here.

Now, nothing is perfect, and there are a few things I'd like to point that, in my opinion, if can't be considered negative points, are at least things that could be improved. First, it seems to me that even if the way of coursing through a level is very well done, the developers wanted you to stick to it, and no discussion. You can't improvise you way to some place, you have to do it the RIGHT WAY. So, even if a platform is not very far away from you, but the game don't want you to go there from where you're, it won't let you: the Prince will jump in the wrong direction, or only if by few inches you'll not be able to reach it. Also, for example, you are wall jumping, you have to do it in the RIGHT SEQUENCE, otherwise, you'll fall down. This way of forcing you to the RIGHT WAY can have a number of reasons, but also leads to another point: sometimes, the game feel like it's playing itself. You don't have to press forward to keep wall running, once you jump a wall, the Prince runs it, and you don't have to press any button, like forward, to keep going: you jump on it, and there's an animation of the Prince running. So, picture this: you jump on a wall, runs it, grab a ring, runs more, grab another ring, runs more, enters a magic plate, press the Elika Command, and so on: the only time you'll be actually doing something after you jump, is when you press a single button/key to grab a ring, then press again grab another, then press another button/key to activate the panel. All the wall running is done automatically, you can take your hands of the controller/keyboard. In my opinion, and maybe my opinion only, they should at least force you to hold down the forward button, so you can believe it's really you running on the wall, not just an animation.

Also, the enemy battles can be tiring, since they can recover health and you have to beat him up all over again. Obviously, it isn't as bad as a Game Over Screen, but, oh well. And one more thing: the enemies can be repetitive. In each of the "level paths" you will have to fight the same boss, though eventually in different circumstances. So, you'll have to actually face the same boss five times each. The normal enemies are also repetitive and just a nuisance in your course.

As a last thing to describe, before I forget, all level travelling must be assigned through the map screen. With a single button, you open the screen, and there you will find the 'level paths', and which power of plate each level requires. It also tells you if the level is still corrupted or already healed, and how many Light Seeds you have collected in each one. You can also press the Talk Command in each level so Elika can describe it to you: her descriptions can change once you healed the Fertile Ground. Also, so you can move better on your travels, you can 'target' one level, and then, using Elika's Command outside the map screen, she'll release the above commented Light Sphere, that'll guide you through and to the levels, in the direction of the Fertile Ground of each one. At last, once you heal the level, you can direct travel to it by pressing Elika's Command on the map screen, and you automatically teleports to the Fertile Ground of that area.


STORY/CHARACTERS (8/10)

*I am an anti-spoiler freak, if you are like me, you won't want to read anything this next section, as it may spoil you, even though I tried to do it in a minimum*

Well, what to say. What is a good story? I don't think it's about its complexity, it's about how well it fits in the game. It depends on the genre too. I expect a RPG to have a more extensive story and more complexity on its characters than other games, for example. Usually, most non-RPG games, specially platforming ones, have story sufficient only to fill the gaps between levels and give the game a shallow background. Well, Prince of Persia doesn't have a complex storyline, but it isn't also there just for filling. Also, characters actually have a personality and real complexity, and they are easy to be liked and cared about.

The premise for Prince of Persia is simple: Once, the location where the games passes was a city of the Gods: Ormazd, the God of Light, and Arrihman, the God of Darkness. They were supposed to coexist, but Arrihman tried to take over, and for this, he was sealed inside a Temple beneath a huge tree. Many Fertile Grounds were scattered throughout the city, and they fed the temple with the energy of light, keeping him locked away, along with his servants. Time passed, Ormazd left the place and never returned, and the Ahura, inhabitants of the city also left, leaving only ruins. Obviously, at the beginning of the game something happens, and Arrihman starts to escape his prison, and his servants take over the city with his corruption, forcing the protagonists to save the world from this world-threatening evil.

While having almost no game title's name (Persia) culture influence at all, or what we usually think its Persian culture, the game provides a series of references to it, like the existence of the two gods, Ormazd and Arrihman. But the world of this Prince of Persia is its own: every area and almost everything has an explication and a background story. Through normal storyline dialogue we get some of it, but it's talking to Elika that we get all. In every area there is a dialogue that either further their relationship or comments on what the place is, and its place in this world's history. Also, if you press the Talk Command in the Map Screen, Elika'll give you more explanations and descriptions about each level that can change once you heal the place.

In my opinion, it is on the Talk Command that the beauty of the story and the characters show up. Each character with its own character, they're both likable, and probably you'll sympathize with at least one of the two. I sympathized with both. Also, not using the Talk Command often will make you lose a lot of humorous and sarcastic dialogue between Prince and Elika, and actual insight on the story. And for last, though you don't lose much if you miss it, using Talk Command during a battle will make the Prince say many things to and about his foes, with is also an interesting feature added to the game.

If we want to FIND flaws however, we can talk about the unoriginal corruption-healing theme, that has been done at least in Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Okami. It's a new approach on an already used theme, but I don't think it actually qualifies as a flaw. Also, neither the story nor the characters are taken to "new heights", and sometimes I'd think I'd like more depth, but it's NOTHING that hurts (or helps) the overall mood and quality of the game's setting.


GRAPHICS/SOUND (9/10)

For a better understanding, I'm playing this game on a Intel Core 2 Quad 2400 4GB RAM and GeForce 8600.

Well, first, I'm not a graphics or an audio expert or enthusiast, I don't understand, mind or care about specific technical superiority or how many types of graphic or audio enhancing features one game has, I only see if the game seems and sounds pretty or ugly. And this game both looks and sounds PRETTY. . What I'm saying is that both graphics and sound fits almost perfectly IN the game, and fulfill their jobs. There's no need for a game to have ultra spectacular graphics and music if they don't fulfill their role. The cartoon cel-shaded art style approach along with the "3d special effects" contributes and MAKES this game a magical tale and also a technologically beautiful one. Allied with the sound, it's like you're visualizing an Arabic child's tale came to image.

Of course, you may say I'm exaggerating. Maybe I am. The thing is, I like well done cel-shaded games, and am a big fan of Okami, for example. And I think you can make a good comparison to that game's art. More than the outstanding quality, it's all about the art style. If you don't like it, you don't like it. If you like it, you'll like it. Then again, before I decided to play this game, I'd heard about it being a cel-shaded one, (aside from Sands of Time Trilogy being acclaimed as a series of game of outstanding "3d graphics" back in its day) but actually I haven't even seen any screenshot before I played. I just decided to give it a shot. And from the press start animation it got me. The Arabic (or at least what we think it's Arabic) song themes also enhanced the experience.

But let's stop talking only about the game's presentation. What also I like in the game, it's the attention given by the developers to the characters animation and interaction. Coursing through a level you'll often see how Prince and Elika help each other, and besides the obvious "hand" given by Elika to the Prince, you'll SEE he grasping her hand and helping around plants vines, or when you climb down a wall, how she jumps down on the Prince and he holds her, while saying "You're doing it on purpose!". Both characters EXIST on screen, she's not just a lifeless object you carry alongside you. If the Prince jumps on a pole, and she jumps at his exact place, you'll hear a 'oops', and he will go to the side. Also, if he wants to go to where she is, you'll SEE they changing places. No more character obstruction, she'll never get in your way, or you'll only see Prince trying to move pushing her innate figure as she is in front of you, like oh so many other games. Actually, the game makes that she's always behind you, so she's never a nuisance.

The battle aspect is also worthy of note. While in the platforming sections, the camera is always positioned always behind you, the battle camera visualizes you from the side or from a little above. All animations are very well done, and they play very well. Actually, the entire battle section seems almost like an interactive movie, and that's because you'll see a LOT of battle animations, fifth per cent of the entire fight I'd say.

At last, while there're not many characters for us to judge, all few of them, specially, and obviously, Prince and Erika has very well done voice acting, that fits perfectly well both characters, and help them both being likable. Would everything else be perfect, and their voice annoying, I'd be very annoyed, because they talk A LOT.

Again, nothing is PERFECT, of course. Few animations, especially when activating the plates, almost messed the gameplay sometimes: you have to wait the animation of Prince and Elika positioning themselves in the plate for the Elika Command to work, otherwise, if you play it "too soon" (when the animation hadn't stopped yet), it JUST just fail, and that lead me to many frustrating attempts in some levels. Also, the game doesn't have graphics/sound adjustment options, and the anti-aliasing could be perfected. And while the scenarios are pretty, the most impressive of them can only be seen just when into the distant horizon, far away from you.

The reason I give nine in the score it's because I can't seem to find anything RELEVANT in both graphics and sound that I'd really like to get better. And comparing this game graphics, art style and music to other games, I find this game to be very much appealing.


Play Time/Replayability (8/10)

Now, now, this is neither a long game, nor a very challenging one. Not that both things are bad things, but I have to point it out. It took me more or less 10 hours to finish the main story, and probably it'll take a little longer to collect all Light Seeds. Collecting all 1001 Light Seeds will reward you with new skins for the Prince and Elika, but in my opinion, doing this quest is not so much about gaining a new visual, but is more about experiencing the entire world. Myself, I didn't get all of them, I admit, but I got more than it was necessary to get all powers, and the few more I got, showed me a much greater scenario and play ground in the levels, that aren't playable in the actual quest of healing the Fertile Grounds. Once the area is healed, the corruption sludge gets out of the way and allows you to go to many more places to get the Light Seeds than you actually go while going after the level's completion. And this is by itself, worth it.

Speaking on skins, the ones I unlocked are cool, but that's it, once you see it, it's enough, I don't think it's much of a incentive. As I said, visiting the entire word will provide much more fun than the unlocking of skins.

About the challenge, really, this game isn't very challenging, but it's not so easy as to bore you too. The actual not dying thing doesn't make the game less difficult, as I said, not dying just turn the game's focus on it's gameplay, not on stressing you that you MUST NOT DIE. If there's a lack of challenge because of not being able to die, that lack of challenge is transformed in fun factor. You don't have to stress over anything, just play. As a side note, as I commented in the gameplay's analyze, sometimes the lack of actual intervention in the animations makes the game less challenging because you just watch him move, and press the required command when necessary.

While the game lasts at least, it IS fun.


Final Recommendation

GameFaqs recommendation says that the score nine means that the game is "Outstanding - very enjoyable and engrossing, almost perfect", and that is true. For what the game proposes itself, a solid acrobatic platforming game, with no death, the game is almost perfect. It has an enjoyable gameplay, interesting story and character interaction, very good graphics and music, and its fun to play. There are issues, of course, which game doesn't have it? To be perfect what would the game need? Quite few things, but the lack of them still gives us an excellent game.


Overall Score: 9/10 - Outstanding - very enjoyable and engrossing almost perfect.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/09

Game Release: Prince of Persia (US, 12/02/08)