“Most people think
time is like a river, flowing swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen
the face of time, and I can tell you, they are wrong.”
Back in 2003 Ubisoft set out to
remake an old classic. The Prince of
Persia: The Sands of Time was originally a side scrolling game in which the
player had one minute to traverse through a dungeon and save a princess. This
3d remake of the game changed many aspects of the original for the better. The
time limit was gone and the story became much more complex. One of the things
it did, that I wish more games would try to do *cough* Kingdom Hearts *cough*
is that it didn’t have to stop the whole game so that the player could watch
the main character have an epiphany. Instead of stopping so the player could
watch a beautifully rendered cut scene, most of the conversation was done in
game, and what’s more, they managed not to make clues too obvious. Kingdom Hearts
“GET UP ONTO THE HYDRA’S BACK” is a good example of what not to do. Interestingly,
hearing the prince’s thoughts made him feel a bit more realistic. It also made
for some great banter between the two main characters. In one part of the game
the main character even expresses joy whilst moving down a pole. It’s amazing
how much a simple act can make you forget that the characters aren’t real.
According to almost every top 10+
list on-line, this is one of the best games ever created. Many games owe some
aspect of their existence to this game, though some more than others. So the
question is what makes this game so great? Well much of it has to do with the . . .
Characters
While there are other people in the game such as King
Shahraman, the Sultan of Azad, and an unseen warrior whose name is Rustav, two
characters in the game. “Excuse me, did I say two? We were three.” -
Prince
Prince aka Cocolukia voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. This is the main character. He
is never given a true name or ever asked, accept at the end, and even Cocolukia,
I can assume, is not his real name. He is often described as having master
sword fighting skills, which, let’s be honest, is not the case. He should be
described as being extremely athletic. I will get into gameplay and fighting,
later, but for now I’ll just say it’s not good. What is good is wall running,
jumping, pole swinging and trap evading. The prince is also very comical,
especially in the moments of the game when he is separated from his companion.
It’s part of his charm though. Without those moments of him talking to himself
the game would have felt very boring. See “Prince of Persia Warrior Within”.
Another thing I would like to point out is that the Prince is Caucasian. Seeing
as how the game is set in Persia, I
don’t see how this possible. Not only is he Caucasian but he is British. This
seems to be a recurring theme in movies and games. It’s as if the producers
just think “Hey, this game is set in Persia, but let’s just use a British guy,
no one will know the difference.” Whatever, it is what it is I suppose, and if
you can get past that, the game is really fun.
Farah, played by Joanna Wasick, is the
Prince’s companion. She is there in the background for much of the beginning
but later, becomes a very helpful ally. The banter between her and the Prince
throughout the game is beautiful. The way that they argue and talk and help
each other is really what keeps the player engaged in the game. It reminds me a
little bit of the game Ico only Farah
is much more capable of protecting herself that Yorda. You do still need to look
out for her though. If she dies it’s game over. Also, you want to be careful
not to get to close to her during battle or she may put an arrow through you. Her
voice actress, while not Persian, is something like a cross between Indian and British,
which at least gives the ambiance of being of Persian.
And
lastly, the Vizier voiced by Berry Dennen. This guy is seen a few times in the
beginning of the game and a few times near the end. Even though he’s not
present through the middle of the game, it is apparent that some, if not all,
of the sand creatures are under his control. Even though the player barely sees
him, his appearance makes you hate him just enough to want to kill him in the
end. That’s enough for me. Sometimes the best villains are the ones that are
evil for the sake of being evil. My only thing I don’t like about this voice
actor is that he tends to whisper all his lines. This can be a major issue when
there are no subtitles to the game. But, seeing as how he’s only seen, maybe
five times in the whole game, it can be overlooked.
Story
The
story is told mostly in the first person by the prince. The Prince goes to war
in some city in Persia where the sands of time rest. There, he discovers the
dagger (and Sands) of time. He and his father take the sands of time and the
dagger to the Maheraja in Azad, where the Vizier tricks the Prince into opening
the sands. Everyone dies accept the prince, because he holds the dagger, the
Vizier, because of his staff, and Farah, because of her amulet.
As the
prince and Farah travel together, eventually, they discover that some of the
sand creatures are being manipulated. It’s not until they reach the Tower of
Dawn, some 90% ways through the game, that they discover the Vizier. When the
Vizier traps the Prince and Farah, she takes it upon herself to right the Prince’s
wrong. She fails, and the Prince ends up doing it himself. In the end, the
Prince returns the dagger to Farah back in her own castle, where the story
starts. The Vizier shows up and ruins everything until the Prince kills him.
That’s it, end of story. It sounds tedious, and in a way, it is. As stated
above. This game is like Ico in
style, but, honestly, a little more believable. When the end comes, and tragedy
strikes, you feel sad. One of the things about Ico that didn’t really feel real was the lack of conversation
between the two characters. The fighting, though, is far more enjoyable in Ico than it is in Prince of Persia.
Game play
That,
of course brings me to the game. It is truly at its best when you are solving
puzzles (aside from that horrible platform/ beam puzzle) and dodging traps.
What’s even more fun is if you fall, or die in battle, or are too slow to get
to a door before it closes, you can rewind time and try again. It is a
beautiful, yet simple concept. Honestly, I’m surprised more games haven’t found
a way to implement more of the things that came from this game. There is one
thing, however, that this game could have done better. That is the fighting.
It’s just horrible. Once you realize you can just wall launch most enemies to
death that will become your favorite move; that is until you get the really
awesome sword at the end of the game, but that’s if you can make it that far. The
really unfortunate thing is about the game is that there is far more fighting
than puzzle solving. While you can escape some of the fights easily enough you
miss a save opportunity if you do. They only appear once an area has been
cleared. This means that if you die
before you make it to the next save you are royally fucked. Too bad there’s no
way to fast forward time to the spot where you died.
Should you fall in battle, then
heaven help you. As soon as you fall
down enemies surround you. You can try to block, and you can try to get up, but
no matter how much you try, the enemies will knock you back down. You can use
up all the sands of time just trying to get back up, but even that will not
work. It’s really very monotonous. The only respite is that there are
checkpoints within the game, so you at least don’t have to start over from
where you last saved, but it is still very tedious. Even as you find ways to
extend the health bar in the game, you WILL spend most of the game with very
little health. Oh, and fuck those damn birds.
Design
I’ll
be brief with the graphics but, holly shit! The graphics in this game are just
wow. For being a PS2 game it’s amazing how this game can still hold up graphics
wise, today. In the cut scenes, one of the things that I like, is that the
characters aren’t extremely beautiful like they are in Japanese games *cough*
Final Fantasy *cough* they have flaws. The prince becomes battle damaged
throughout the game. The Vizier is just ugly. Ubisoft wasn’t trying to make beautiful characters. People have
flaws. I feel like the fact that the characters don’t have creamy smooth skin
helps to make this game even more realistic. Also, the animation in the fabrics
is just mind blowing.
Sound and Music
The
sound and music of the game are just beautiful. There are subtle little noises
all over the place, like when the Prince’s hands grab onto a ledge, or even
when he runs along a wall. It might be one of the best games, sound wise, I
have ever had the pleasure of playing. The music, for the most part is
wonderful. Most of it, as it should, has a Middle Eastern vibe. The music just
fits. Now I say “most” because the game has one piece of music that feels very
weird. It is when you enter a prison. The music goes from being Middle Eastern
to heavy guitar riffs and pounding drums. This is amended a bit when the words
start, which is some kind of Middle Eastern sounding chant, but it still feels
a little strange.
There’s
really nothing more I can say about the game other than maybe a few secrets.
Whilst playing the game you can find the original Prince of Persia game hidden
behind a wall. And at the beginning of the game there is a secret code you can
put in and be transported to a dungeon inspired by the original classic game.
It’s really cool that they added them in there. Ubisoft certainly didn’t have to. It’s nice when companies do
things simply for the sake of fan service. Like re-making Final Fantasy VII.
Square better not change a damn thing in that game. Just update the graphics to
make it pretty that’s all you have to do Square, that’s all.
I guess
I’ve got to go and play the other games now. Yeah . . .
Most pictures taken from ign.com the last one was taken from somewhere else. If it is yours, please let me know and I will give you credit.
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