History VideoGame / PrinceOfPersia

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sands_of_Time_Box_Art_2143.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:[-Most people think time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you: ''they are wrong''. Time is an ocean in a storm.-] ]]

{{Platformer}} series created by Jordan Mechner. Though not the first to use motion capture through rotoscoping to create fluid and realistic character movement (Mechner's earlier game ''{{Karateka}}'' also used the technique), ''Prince of Persia'''s advanced graphics and gameplay were widely praised.

'''Prince of Persia'''

The first installment, ''Prince of Persia'' (1989) followed the story of an [[EvilChancellor evil vizier]] who, in the absence of the sultan, threatens to kill the princess within an hour unless she agrees to marry him. The princess's one true love has been thrown into the dungeons, and must run, jump, climb and fight his way through a series of passageways filled with [[DeathCourse traps]], guards and other surprises, while the minutes tick by at the bottom of the screen. It was one of the first games to have a health bar. The {{SNES}} remake of it (by {{Konami}}) extended the time limit to two hours but raised the difficulty through the roof at points (in addition to adding 7 levels for a total of 20).

Its huge critical and financial success led to a sequel, ''Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame'' (1992), which had significantly more detailed characters and backgrounds, greater variety in villains, and a more fleshed-out story (it even clarified the first installment's story in its opening narration).

The series made the leap to 3D in the {{third| is 3D}} installment with the unimaginatively titled ''Prince of Persia 3D'' (1999).

The original game was remade as a Xbox LIVE Arcade and [=PlayStation=] Network downloadable game entitled ''Prince of Persia Classic''. It features an updated setting, importing the character designs from ''Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' but retaining the original story. There are some new gameplay features as well.

'''Sands of Time Trilogy'''
->''"Most people think time is like a river, that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you - they are wrong. [[TimeyWimeyBall Time is an ocean in a storm]]. You may wonder who I am and why I say this. Sit down, and I will tell you a tale like none you have ever heard..."''

A new ContinuityReboot game series was created, beginning with ''The Sands of Time''. Originally Mechner intended it to be a vague prequel to the other games, but his input was left out of ''Warrior Within'', which firmly established it as a new continuity. The new series is also well-known for popularizing LeParkour moves as a refinement to the {{platformer}} genre, something that has been duplicated to a limited extent in several recent ninja-themed (or, you know, [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed assassin-themed]]) games.

It began with ''Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2003), which reproduced the series' popular combination of combat and climbing puzzles, and added what is still the most successful use of time-distortion effects (previously seen in such games as ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' and ''[[VideoGame/BlinxTheTimeSweeper Blinx: The Time Sweeper]]''), as well as creating an entirely new story with a more complex hero, an expanded role for the princess, and one doozy of a plot twist. The Prince is a young man accompanying his father to an Indian-like kingdom, whose Vizier betrayed them to the Prince's armies. Among the spoils of that kingdom is a large hourglass called [[TitleDrop "The Sands of Time"]] and a dagger that the Prince claims. The Vizier then tricks the Prince into opening the hourglass and unleashing the curse of the sands upon the land. Confused over what happened, he finds himself in the company of Farah, a princess of the kingdom he just ransacked and who has knowledge of what he has done, and has to go fix what he [[NiceJobBreakingItHero broke]].

After the immense critical success but modest sales of ''Sands of Time'', the game was followed by ''Prince of Persia: Warrior Within'' (2004), which Ubisoft hoped would be more financially successful by giving the sequel one of the most amusing DarkerAndEdgier twists in history. The storybook "Arabian Nights" feel of the first game [[MoodWhiplash was replaced by]] [[HotterAndSexier sexual content]] (including several {{stripperific}} female characters, one of which is introduced via a [[MaleGaze five second focus]] on her [[ThongofShielding metal thong]]), graphic violence (the loading screen is a waterfall of blood), language, and heavy metal music by the band Godsmack. While the gameplay was refined and improved (especially the combat), the Prince himself was reduced to an arrogant thug instead of the more cheerful character of the first game. Following the events of the previous game, the Prince is being hunted by an unstoppable beast, the Dahaka. The creature is apparently a guardian of the timeline and wants to ensure that the Prince dies like he was supposed to. In a desperate effort to avoid this fate, he travels to the island where the Sands of Time were originally created, hoping to find a way to avoid this whole mess.

''Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones'' (2005) attempted to balance it out by returning somewhat to the original's fairy-tale tone (with the arrogant Prince as a "dark side" of the character). It retained the basic combat changes made in ''Warrior Within'' with minor adjustments, but toned down the graphic violence. As well, the Prince was much more likable, and even had [[AuthorsSavingThrow regrets over his behavior in the previous game]]. Again following the events of the previous game, the Prince returns to his home Kingdom of Babylon only to find war erupting and enemies everywhere. He learns that messing with the timeline so much has skewed any sense of proper history and the Vizier of the first game is still alive. Seeking to complete his original goal of the first game, the Vizier unleashes the curse of the sands once more, this time partially corrupting the Prince himself. Finding a darkness within himself that transforms him into a dark creature, the Prince seeks to stop the Vizier once more and return things to their proper state. Webcomic/PennyArcade [[http://penny-arcade.com/presents/page/prince-of-persia-the-two-thrones-page-1 made an eight-page comic]] for it.

'''[[Videogame/PrinceOfPersia2008 Prince of Persia (2008)]]'''
->''"What is one grain of sand in the desert? What is one grain of sand in the storm?"''

[[Videogame/PrinceOfPersia2008 Has its own page]]. A new game, simply ''Prince of Persia'', is another ContinuityReboot. It made radical changes to the platforming, similar to Franchise/AssassinsCreed. The new game was given a [[ArtEvolution new art style]], similar to {{cel shading}}, to give the impression of a colorful "Arabian Nights" story book feel, compared to the more realistic feel of the Sands of Time trilogy. Combat was also reworked. Rather than facing hordes of {{mooks}} as in previous games, it instead focuses upon 1 of 4 boss monsters, each with a distinct personality and BackStory, along with prioritizing the parkour gameplay with complicated obstacles just to reach certain locations. The "Prince" of this game is actually a bandit/thief, returning from looting a tomb only to be caught up in a strange sandstorm. After falling into a canyon, he comes across a mysterious woman, Elika, fleeing capture by soldiers. Her father is working to unleash the dark god Ahriman, and the efforts are corrupting the land all about them. Elika has the power to cleanse the land, but needs the Prince's protection to defeat the various creatures that are hunting her down.

The next chapter for the the new series is a downloadable expansion simply titled ''Epilogue'', released on March 5, 2009, exclusively on consoles. Webcomic/PennyArcade made [[http://prince-of-persia.us.ubi.com/PA/html/index.php a thirty-page comic]] about the origin of the Hunter.

'''The Sands of Time Return'''

A [[Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime film adaptation]] of ''The Sands of Time'' was released in late May 2010, with the involvement of Jordan Mechner. The aim, according to Mechner, was to use the broad story elements of the ''The Sands of Time'' game, to "take the cool elements of the game and use them to craft a new story." In that vein, the film features Prince Dastan, an orphan adopted by the king, and Princess Tamina as opposed to the [[NoNameGiven nameless]] Prince and Farah from the games. After Dastan is accused of murdering the king, he and Tamina must return the Dagger of Time to a hidden temple to keep it safe from sinister forces.

Due to the movie's release, Ubisoft has apparently abandoned the new ''Prince of Persia'' storyline in favor of [[TrilogyCreep a new chapter]] in the ''Sands of Time'' series, entitled ''Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands''. Set between ''Sands of Time'' and ''Warrior Within'', ''The Forgotten Sands'' sees the Prince fight to save his brother's kingdom. The HD version of the game features ElementalPowers, while the Wii version allows the Prince to control sand for various purposes.

There is also a strategy game, ''Battles of Prince of Persia'', for Nintendo DS. Set after ''The Forgotten Sands'', the Dahaka has just started stalking the Prince, forcing him to wage war against various nations and armies just to find a way to get rid of it.
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Examples from multiple games]]
* BenevolentArchitecture: An uncanny amount of the scenery is implausibly handy for jumping/climbing/hanging/swinging/[[LeParkour free-running]] around on. Which is lucky, since there's a distinct imbalance in the ratios of really-high-places to staircases/ladders/jetpacks, smooth stable floors vs. [[SpikesOfDoom fatal]] [[BottomlessPit drops]], etc.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: All the incarnations of the Prince are inhumanly agile.
* ContinuityReboot: Happened twice, first in 2003 with the release of ''The Sands of Time'', and then in [[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008 2008]].
* DeathCourse: Why LeParkour is sometimes necessary.
* DeathsHourglass: The hourglass which contains the Sands of Time is not an example of that trope, but the first Prince of Persia game from '89 evidently does include a countdown timer.
** Used subtly in ''Warrior Within'': [[spoiler:outside the throne room, there is an hourglass that counts the time until the Empress will create the Sands of Time. However, as the Prince finds out to his dismay, the Empress dies to create the Sands, so the hourglass was counting down until the Empress's death]].
* FakeDifficulty: An accusation being thrown at ''The Forgotten Sands'' by some reviewers due to sometimes lackluster camera angles and some TrialAndErrorGameplay. For instance, unlike previous games in the series, some collapsing floors won't start collapsing until after you've already stepped on them, forcing you to use a rewind.
** [[FridgeBrilliance How else did you expect structurally-unsound floors to behave?]]
** The controls in ''The Shadow and the Flame'' are less forgiving than the original. There are several places where you need to make a running jump exactly off an edge which turns out to be nearly impossible to time right; it feels like the previous game assumes you want to jump from the edge and gives some tolerance, whereas the sequel prefers you to either jump too early or miss it completely.
* GenrePopularizer: The first game started the CinematicPlatformer genre, and the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy was responsible for allowing LeParkour as a means of getting around in video games.
* GuideDangIt:
** In the first game, the penultimate battle is against The Shadow. Hitting him damages yourself as well as him, and even though you have way more hit points, you die as he does. You defeat him by [[spoiler:sheathing your sword]], a move that was available from the beginning of the game but is suicidal against every other enemy.
** In the second game, obtaining The Flame requires you to [[spoiler:get yourself killed by a weak random mook, as opposed to by the bottomless pits]]. The sign "He Who Would Steal The Flame Must Die" should be taken literally.
** Also in the second game, transforming yourself to The Shadow in the final level is probably not something you would have figured out for yourself... [[ItsAllThereInTheManual unless you read the manual]]. It is also quite lethal if you haven't picked up enough health potions in the game. Fortunately, there is an infinite supply of health-enhancing potions in the final level to prevent the game from becoming unwinnable at that point (provided you can fight well enough to get them).
** Finding and collecting all the life upgrades in ''Warrior Within'' to unlock the alternate ending could be a pain in the ass.
** Lampshaded in ''The Forgotten Sands''. One of the achievements requires you to find and break every sarcophagus. The name of this achievement? "Got walkthrough?"
* MalevolentArchitecture: Horrible splatty demises are freely available in most localities even without you encountering any enemies. Try [[SpikesOfDoom spike pits]], buzzsaws, sets of scimitars on revolving axles, [[TemporaryPlatform collapsing floors]], bladed pendulums, and [[GravityBarrier enormous drops]] -- many of which may be found combined as {{death course}}s. Fortunately often overlaps with BenevolentArchitecture, or else you'd never get anywhere.
* TheManyDeathsOfYou: The above-mentioned selection box of unpleasant exits gives rise to an exciting assortment of death animations. The original game alone memorably had [[NightmareFuel nightmare-inducing]] clanging metal jaws in mid-corridor that ''guillotined you in half'' if you mistimed stepping through them. Alternatives were being run through by enemy swords, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled on spikes]], and hitting the bottom of [[DeathTrap deep pits]] with a skull-cracking ''smack''.
* MindScrew: The final level of ''[=PoP=] 2: The Shadow and the Flame''.
** Also some of the visions as you get further into the original Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, showing the death of the princess as well as of the prince himself, even though they don't happen that way. It is the first time in the game that the visions start to steer you wrong.
* NominalImportance: Averted. The Prince is never named except in TheMovie, and several of the games have the majority of characters go unnamed.
* NoNameGiven: The Prince.
* RealityIsUnrealistic: The series and the movie adaptation get a lot of flack for making the Prince [[MightyWhitey "too white"]], due to Western audiences expecting [[PhenotypeStereotype everyone who lives in the Middle East]] to [[UnfortunateImplications be brown as can be and not even vaguely similar to the rest of the world]]. In truth, the Persian people were close relatives of the Europeans, and the majority of modern Iran's population could be considered "white". And most people there identify as white. [[http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/12/4/128728998449020593.jpg Compare Iranian prime minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Jake Gyllenhaal.]] Also, [[http://kotaku.com/5547892/is-prince-of-persia-really-a-racial-whitewash read Kotaku's article.]] Even better, compare him to former deputy culture minister [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5aumgLlZ7iE/S5IbljYk34I/AAAAAAAABA8/DVyoARfvAP4/s1600-h/mohammad+ali+ramin.jpg Mohammad Ali Ramin]], who has a very light complexion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Examples from the Original Series]]
* AnticlimaxBoss: In the PC version of the first game, [[spoiler:both Shadow and Jaffar; the former just requires you to run into him after sheathing your sword, and the latter can be knocked into the pit for an easy kill if you're careful]]. Averted in the SNES version, however, as [[spoiler:Jaffar]] is suddenly tough as nails.
** [[spoiler:Shadow!Jaffar]] in the SNES version of the second game. Unlike the PC version, [[spoiler:there is no chase or MindScrew level; you just walk up to him and flame him]].
* ArtificialStupidity: The enemies in ''The Shadow and the Flame'' often behave suicidally or instantly forget about the player in certain conditions.
* AscendedFanboy: A 17 year old John Romero [[http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/83366654 wrote]] 21 year old Jordan Mechner a letter about the original game.
* BossOnlyLevel: Level 20 of the first game on the SNES is just the FinalBoss.
** In the original, level 12 has a lot of obstacles, no mooks, but TWO special enemies: Shadow and Jaffar.
** Level 6 is just a long boring corridor with a single fat guard, who employs unusual tactics, same as Jaffar. Plus there's Shadow, but you don't get to fight him yet.
** Level 3 has a [[DifficultySpike long series of pits between a pressure plate and its grate]] and a single invincible enemy. You need to push him off the edge. Twice.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The Shadow is mysteriously absent in the SNES version of the first game. [[spoiler:Jaffar manifests as him in the SNES version of the ''second'' game, though.]]
* CinematicPlatformGame: The first game was the TropeMaker.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: "He Who Would Steal The Flame Must Die". [[spoiler:This isn't a threat, it's the instructions for how to finish that level. You have to die in order to steal the Flame.]]
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The "[[MultiArmedAndDangerous six-armed muscleman]]" boss in the SNES adaptation of the first game. This guy isn't even mentioned in the manual, much less given a name.
** In the game's sound test, his name is given as "God Vishnu".
* GiantSpider: One of the rooms near the end of ''The Shadow and the Flame'' looks somewhat like one (though with legs sticking out at weird angles).
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: In ''The Shadow and the Flame'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g21L5P7iEo they]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0xOnOnRAiQ all]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVpqLaWwJWk most]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL6mJHYlJy8 definitely]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CWG2Ve2pP4 are]].
* HandInTheHole: In ''Prince of Persia 3D''.
* HypnotizeThePrincess: ''Prince of Persia 2'' begins with the princess convinced you're a poor mad beggar, with the NotQuiteDead Jaffar masquerading as you instead. Naturally, fleeing the royal guards quickly ensues.
* ItsAWonderfulFailure: In the first two games, you can play to the end of the game after running out of time, only to find that the princess has died (or been married to Jaffar). The only true GameOver in these games.
** ''Prince of Persia 3D'' takes it up a notch. If you take too long in the final battle, [[spoiler:you're treated to a cutscene wherein the princess is [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath crushed by]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath clock tower cogs]], complete with crunching sounds and anguished scream, and the final boss wastes no time finishing off the horror-stricken Prince]]. ''Yeesh''.
* LeapOfFaith: Used several times throughout the series, such as with an unlabeled potion in the first two games (it turned out to be a slow-fall potion), to a daring leap in the second game off a ledge into the next screen to land on a horse statue (which promptly comes to life).
* ObviousBeta: ''The Shadow and The Flame'', the first release in particular. The controls are unresponsive, and there's all kind of weird stuff such as invisible tiles, dumb AI, and glitches with the Shadow. There's even a level that can be easily skipped by leaving through the door you came from!
* PoisonMushroom: the first game has healing potions and the occasional poison potion that looks nearly identical. The SNES version also has two life-increasing potions placed together, one of which will actually kill you instead.
* RealTime: In the first two games, anyway.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''{{Karateka}}'' was the initiator of the rotoscoping technique used in the first ''Prince of Persia'' and the sprites are very similar looking.
* TheWallsAreClosingIn: ''Prince Of Persia 2'' has crushing walls in its later levels, some of which are situated in inescapable pits under {{Fake Platform}}s.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Examples from the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy]]
* ActionCommands: "Speed Kills" in ''Two Thrones''. More on the trope page.
* ActionGirl: Farah in ''The Sands Of Time''.
* ActionizedSequel: ''Warrior Within'' was tauted as having a more complex combat system than its predecessor, as is implied by its title.
* AffablyEvil: The Dark Prince in ''Two Thrones'' is often little more than a VoiceWithAnInternetConnection; it never actually ''lies'' to you, since he's just the shadow of the Prince brought to life by the sands of time. Nor does it seem particularly malicious until much further into the game.
* AGodAmI: In a rather tragic twist of fate, the Prince finds out early in ''The Two Thrones'' that [[spoiler:the Vizier, who he killed in ''Sands of Time'', has returned to life thanks to the Prince's actions in ''Warrior Within'' (since the sands of time were never created, the battle between the two never took place). Worse yet, he has found the Dagger of Time, which he promptly uses to kill Kaileena and become immortal.]]
* AlternateEnding: In ''Warrior Within'', if you get all the life upgrades, you are able to acquire the Water Sword, [[spoiler:which turns out to be the only weapon that can even harm the Dahaka, who turns out to be the TrueFinalBoss. By defeating it, the Prince is able to save both himself and Kaileena from their fate -- but regardless of the ending, the end shows Babylon under attack by a prototypical version of the Dark Prince and Farah being held captive]]. In this case, the [[BroadStrokes basic story]] of the alternate ending is the canon for the next game, which Kaileena [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] in the opening narration.
* AnachronismStew: Averted in ''The Sands of Time'' videogame, since according to the description, the events take place in 9th century Persia. [[{{Qurac}} The rest of the games, and the movie, on the other hand...]]
* ArbitrarySkepticism: in Sands of Time, Farah surely had known about the dagger's time-twisting power before the adventure began, but [[spoiler:after the ResetButton is pressed, she believes that the whole story told by the Prince could be nothing but a fairy-tale.]]
* ArmorIsUseless: In ''Sands of Time'', the Prince takes the same amount of damage both before and after he removes his armour.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: ''Warrior Within'''s combo attacks are Oronte's Grudge, Ptolemaios' Anger, Wrath of Cyrus, Rage of Darius, Azad's Furious Retaliation, Zaroaster's Ire, Asha's Fury, Ahriman's Revenge, and Mithra's Vengeance. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY2x1iGK4P4 This video's description]] looks up each name and concludes that sure, they're all ancient Persia-y, but "it is quite clear that only a few are actually suitable to name combat attacks after."
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Dagger of Time.
* AutobotsRockOut: In ''Warrior Within'', the title song is "Straight Out Of Line" by Godsmack, and the combat music by Inon Zur is heavily stylized on Godsmack's typical sound. The music blaring when you're being pursued by the Dahaka is an instrumental version of ''I Stand Alone''.
* BashBrothers: The Ax and Sword twins in ''The Two Thrones'', which are only beaten when you know that they work together.
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: The climax of ''The Two Thrones'', where the Prince [[spoiler:pursues and finally rejects the Dark Prince.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: In ''Two Thrones'', when the Prince and Farah attempt to get inside the palace, they quickly find themselves surrounded by a literal army of hundreds of sand monsters of all sizes; far too many to fight. Just when it seems like the heroes are about to be slaughtered, [[spoiler:the voice of [[BlindSeer the Old Man]] rings across the noise, and everyone turns to see him standing at the front of what appears to be the ''entire'' population of Babylon.]]
** [[spoiler:"All hail the Prince of Persia: a greater hero the land has never known! You have saved the people of this city, and we have come to repay the favor!"]]
* BodyHorror: In ''The Two Thrones'', when the Vizier plunges the Dagger of Time into him to gain immortality, his back ''sprouts a scorpion which attacks him!''
* BondageIsBad: Implied in ''Warrior Within''. Countless enemies, especially the Initiates (sometimes also called Executioners) the player encounters during the last quarter of the game, wear hardly anything but black leather straps.
* BookEnds: The beginning of ''Sands of Time'' with [[spoiler:the ending of ''The Two Thrones'', bookending the entire trilogy.]]
* CannotCrossRunningWater: Touching water banishes the Dahaka.
** As well as the Dark Prince.
* CharacterDevelopment: The plot of the original ''Sands of Time'' is fairly bare-bones, with more focus on the relationship between the Prince and Farah.
* ChekhovsGun: With a delayed firing until the following game, where in ''Sands of Time'' Farah gave the Prince her pendant that kept her safe during the Sand curse. He used the pendant as part of his armor in ''Warrior Within'' and once the time gates are opened, it gives him the same time manipulation powers.
* {{Claustrophobia}}: The Prince mentions this in the first game. It doesn't come up much.
* ClippedWingAngel: In the AlternateEnding of ''Warrior Within'', [[spoiler:after the Dahaka falls down into the water, it rises again one last time as a gargantuan, skyscraper-sized monstrosity, but since water is its kryptonite, it promptly falls back down and dies.]]
* ClothingDamage: In ''The Sands of Time'', it starts with SleevesAreForWimps (one at a time) and goes all the way up to ShirtlessScene. The 2008 game is more subtle, and Elika's lacy blouse gets only slightly more torn each time the plot advances. This is also a FanService MythologyGag, because a player who remembers the prince's ShirtlessScene from SOT may expect Elika to repeat it. (She doesn't.)
* ColossusClimb: Several bosses in ''Warrior Within'' and ''The Two Thrones''.
* ComplexityAddiction[=/=]BondVillainStupidity: The Empress in ''Warrior Within''. She employs several round-about measures to kill the Prince: she sends Shadee after him, curses one of his swords ([[InformedFlaw supposedly]]), forces him to solve puzzles in two towers laden with deadly traps and mooks, and all the while hopes the Dahaka will finish him off if he doesn't die on his own. When all this (predictably) fails, the Empress goes one-on-one in a sword and sorcery duel [[spoiler:and naturally does not emerge the victor. Depending on the ending, she dies twice]]. [[IdiotBall She never, however, utilizes her greatest tactical advantage to its full potential]]: [[spoiler:the fact that she and Kaileena are one and the same person the whole time, and thanks to an amazingly lucky stroke of timing, the Prince walks in on Shadee trying to kill her when he first meets her. This causes him to [[MistakenForServant assume Kaileena is a beleaguered servant]], and upon saving her, he puts his trust in her completely to the point of trying to take her away from "the evils" of the island all the way up until [[TheReveal she decides to confess who she is]] and tries a direct approach]]. What does she do with this amazing upper hand instead? [[spoiler:She tries to talk him out of killing her.]]
** However, this possibly relates to the fact that she was falling in love with him.
* CounterAttack: Plenty of it in the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy. In combat, the Prince is able to counter most enemy attacks and deal them a devastating blow. However, enemies can sometimes counter the counter attack, forcing the Prince to block or counter the enemy's counter attack. There are instances where the Prince and his opponent will exchange half a dozen counter attacks before one misses their timing and gets hit.
* TheCorruption: The Sands of Time.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: The Prince is able to grab hold of specific ledges and bars to move around the area. In certain cutscenes, though, he is shown to be capable of much more elaborate manuevers. This style was actually moved into ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' made by the same people, where you can literally grab onto almost anything.
** ''Sands of Time'' features the worst example, where in one cutscene, the Prince runs ''down'' a wall to survive what would otherwise be a [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat fatal drop]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaNPmpDHTh8&t=6m14s Seen here]].
* DamageOverTime: In ''Warrior Within'' and ''The Two Thrones'', the player slowly loses health while playing as the Sand Wraith or the Dark Prince.
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Warrior Within''.
** LighterAndSofter: ''The Two Thrones'', moderately.
* DeadpanSnarker: The Prince. The Dark Prince is an absolute master of this, as evidenced by his response when the Prince sees people being herded toward the arena below.
-->'''Prince:''' I should do something.\\
'''Dark Prince:''' Go ahead, fall to your death. That'll be of great use to them.
* DeathOfTheHypotenuse:''The Two Thrones'' [[spoiler:features Kaileena being killed by the Vizier and becoming the Sands of Time in order to set off the plot and make way for Farah. She is revived in the end, and declares that she will now seek out other worlds so that no one can ever abuse the power of the Sands again. This was actually quite well-received, given that most fans liked Farah better.]]
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The Prince is surprisingly competent at this. [[spoiler:In the canon ending of ''Warrior Within'', he kills both the Empress of Time and the unstoppable beast that makes sure the timeline stays correct. In ''The Two Thrones'', he kills a god of time. In ''The Forgotten Sands'', he kills Ratash, an Ifrit and supposedly invincible.]]
* DialogDuringGameplay: From the Sands of Time trilogy onwards.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Initially, it might look like Farah's also barefoot on ''The Two Thrones'', but if you look closely, she's wearing flat sandals.
* DramaticChaseOpening: In ''Warrior Within'', the Prince is running away from the Dahaka.
* DualWorldGameplay: Just in ''Warrior Within'' on the Island Of Time, it had to be explored in the past and present with decay changing pathways and accessibility and the characters present.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Both inverted and played straight in ''The Sands of Time''. The Prince loses the Dagger of Time, meaning no more rewinding, but does get a sword that {{One Hit Kill}}s all enemies. ''The Two Thrones'' plays it straighter; you get to keep your dagger, which is your primary weapon, but you get a permanent secondary OneHitKill sword.
* EnemyWithin + EnemyWithout
* EscapeSequence: The Dahaka chases in ''Warrior Within''.
* EscortMission: In much of ''The Sands of Time'', you work with Farah but it isn't as frustrating as most other examples because Farah is very competent with a simple bow, so she can slow down the creatures while you hack away at them.
* EvilChancellor: The Vizier. He's even [[GrandVizierJafar named properly]], though the movie Vizier is named Nizam instead.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: In ''Warrior Within'', the Prince discovers that the only way to get the Dahaka to stop chasing him is [[spoiler:to let Dahaka kill his past self.]]
* FightLikeACardPlayer: At least one game.
* FootFocus: Razia in ''Forgotten Sands''. The scene where she properly introduces herself to the Prince includes a shot of her feet as she floats down onto the ground.
* FreeWheel: ''The Two Thrones'' does it at the end of one of the chariot-driving sequences.
* GaidenGame: ''The Forgotten Sands'' is this to the rest of the Sands of Time trilogy. Takes place in a foreign kingdom and concerns plot points that are entirely irrelevant to the events of the trilogy.
* GameBreakingBug: The entire ''Sands'' trilogy has its fair share of buggy code, but ''Warrior Within'' is a particular standout. There are quite a few scenarios that can render the game {{Unwinnable}}, such as being transformed into [[spoiler:the Sand Wraith]] prematurely or the final time portal simply refusing to work (and many of these feature irreversible, game-restarting conditions caused by save points in point-of-no-return locations).
* GenreSavvy: ''The Two Thrones'' Prince:
-->'''Farah:''' Try moving the switch forward.\\
'''Prince:''' With my luck, it will probably spring some horrible trap. Or [[TeleportingKeycardSquad summon sand monsters]]. Or bring about the end of the world!\\
'''Farah:''' Would it kill you to show a little optimism?\\
'''Prince:''' Experience has taught me that wishful thinking only leads to disappointment.
* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: The [[spoiler:very first]] boss battle in ''Warrior Within''.
* HeroicResolve: In ''The Two Thrones'', when the Prince finds [[spoiler:the dead body of his father, he decides to quit trying to change the past and accept his fate, which gives him the strength he needs to reject the Dark Prince once and for all.]]
* HideYourChildren: In ''The Two Thrones'', children can be heard among the captured citizens, but none are ever seen.
* HilariousOuttakes: ''The Two Thrones'' includes a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcal7DYp8Xo&feature=related blooper reel]] of things like the Prince fumbling his acrobatics and getting the Dagger of Time replaced with a rubber chicken.
* ICantUseTheseThingsTogether: The Prince in ''The Sands of Time'' will occasionally gripe about Farah and her attitude, or reminisce about his love for her. This gets lampshaded twice, by the Prince himself, no less. "Why am I talking to myself?"
* IdiotBall: The Prince and the Empress of Time seem to play tennis with it in ''Warrior Within''.
* IfIHadANickel: Recurs in the form: "If I had some sands for every time someone said that to me..."
* InformedFlaw: As part of the mid-game twist in ''Warrior Within'', [[spoiler:Kaileena angrily complains that the sword you've been using all this time is cursed. Which would be reasonable... if the sword had any negative properties at all. It's a straight upgrade.]]
* JokeItem:
** ''The Two Thrones'' had several unlockable examples.
** ''Warrior Within'' also had them; however, they were usually hidden in secret weapon racks, so it was possible to miss them all together.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: The Prince in ''The Sands of Time'' also qualifies, more {{jerk|ass}} with less (but still present) gold in the second game, and, finally, ''both JerkAss and JerkWithAHeartOfGold at once'' in the third. With both voice actors.
* KillItWithWater: The Dahaka.
* KingIncognito: [[spoiler:Kaileena]] in ''Warrior Within''.
* LampshadeHanging: The Prince does a lot of this in ''The Forgotten Sands''. Noting that every time he gets into one of "these situations" there's a woman ordering him around. Noting that just once he'd like a trap system that could tell him from the enemy. Asking [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes why it's always sand]], and who built a particular puzzle that needed to be solved in order to reach some stairs. Complaining that Razia didn't warn him about certain traps.
-->"I suppose if I were a thousand years old I'd forget things too. Like ''giant collapsing staircases that could kill people''.
* LeParkour: Probably the defining game of the genre.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: ''Sands of Time'' allows you to use one unit of sand to freeze a target for destruction with the Prince's normal sword.
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: ''Sands of Time'' sets it up as though the Prince is retelling his story to the player; hence, whenever the player dies, we hear the prince going, "No, wait, that wasn't how it happened, hold on..."
* LivingLegend: The Prince toils in obscurity [[hottip:*:Well, as much obscurity as any prince can achieve]] during ''Sands of Time'' and ''Warrior Within'', but he returns to his home and becomes beloved by the people as a liberating hero in ''The Two Thrones''.
* LockedOutOfTheFight: To defeat Ratash in ''Forgotten Sands'', Razia becomes a part of the Prince's sword. She then promptly [[spoiler:loses her magic]] when the final battle begins due to Ratash's interference.
* MagicAIsMagicA: The usage of time powers is very clearly outlined that you can't exist in two places at the same time, merely move through time. [[spoiler:The Sand Wraith mask is explicitly the only way to circumvent that rule.]]
* MaleGaze: [[DarkActionGirl Shahdee]]'s ass-first introduction in ''Warrior Within'' is a particularly blatant example.
* MentalTimeTravel: The "rewind" feature or the ''Sands of Time'' series.
* MoralityPet: Farah acts as one for the prince in ''The Two Thrones''.
* TheMovie: Starring [[DonnieDarko Jake Gyllenhaal]] as the Prince.
* MundaneUtility: Throughout ''The Sands of Time'', the Prince uses the Dagger of Time's [[MentalTimeTravel rewind feature]] to evade death and save the day. At the end of the game, he uses it to... kiss a girl without her knowing.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Prince's repeated attempts to change the past tend to make things worse. When he gets called out on it by his darker self, he realizes that he can't and instead tries to fix things in the present.
* NoFlowInCGI: Averted in ''The Sands of Time'': the Prince's long hair and poofy sleeves and pants react fairly realistically to his movements.
* NostalgiaLevel: You can visit a 3D version of the first level from the original game in ''The Sands of Time''.
* NostalgicNarrator: In the first ''Sands of Time''.
* TheOtherDarrin: Retroactively subverted. In ''The Sands of Time'', the Prince is voiced by YuriLowenthal. In ''Warrior Within'', he's voiced by RobinAtkinDownes. In ''The Two Thrones'', he's again voiced by Lowenthal, with Canadian actor Rick Miller providing his inner "Dark Prince" voice. There was talk during development that Downes would voice the Dark Prince, but ultimately that didn't come to pass.
** Played straight with Kaileena (voiced by and modeled after Monica Bellucci in ''Warrior Within'' and Sarah Carlsen in ''The Two Thrones'') and Farah (Joanna Wasick in ''The Sands of Time'' and Hellen King in ''The Two Thrones'').
* PopStarComposer: Stuart Chatwood, multi-instrumentalist and former bassist for TheTeaParty, wrote the soundtracks to all the Prince of Persia games made by Ubisoft.
* PowerGlows: The Sands of Time, complete with a lampshade hanging. More subtly with the Dagger of Time.
* PowerTattoo: The Dark Prince form in ''The Two Thrones'' is covered in these, and they're glowing. The Prince also has normal tattoos while not transformed. ''Battles of Prince of Persia'' reveals that the one on his shoulder is a mark of the kingship which he will inherit.
** Interestingly, the dark prince tattoo starts out small at first on the prince's normal body, but when he turns back from the dark prince, more and more of the his tattoo remains until it eventually covers his entire left arm and most of his back, presumably symbolic of the dark prince's increasing influence.
* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler:The final battle against the Dark Prince]] in ''Two Thrones''. [[spoiler:You can only win by [[SheatheYourSword refusing to fight]] and leaving the room via the staircase behind him.]]
* PuzzlePan
* RealIsBrown: ''Warrior Within's'' art director said in a bonus commentary on the disc that the game was designed to be basically monochrome to make it easier to unify designs. ''The Forgotten Sands'' also have this, but it takes place in a desert kingdom, so this is at least somewhat justified. Then again, ''all'' of the games take place in a desert kingdom, so...
* RealityIsUnrealistic: The series and the movie adaptation gets a lot of flack for making the Prince [[MightyWhitey "too white"]], due to Western audiences expecting [[PhenotypeStereotype everyone who lives in the Middle East]] to [[UnfortunateImplications be brown as can be and not even vaguely similar to the rest of the world]]. In truth, the Persian people were close relatives of the Europeans, and the majority of modern Iran's population could be considered "white". And most people there identify as white. [[http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/12/4/128728998449020593.jpg Compare Iranian prime minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Jake Gyllenhaal.]] Also, [[http://kotaku.com/5547892/is-prince-of-persia-really-a-racial-whitewash read Kotaku's article.]]
** Even better, compare him to former deputy culture minister [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5aumgLlZ7iE/S5IbljYk34I/AAAAAAAABA8/DVyoARfvAP4/s1600-h/mohammad+ali+ramin.jpg Mohammad Ali Ramin]], who has a very light complexion.
* RecycledTitle: The original and 2008 games in the series share the name "Prince Of Persia".
* TheReveal: Two major ones in ''Warrior Within''; the strange creature you see but never interact with [[spoiler:is you]]. And [[spoiler:the Empress of Time is Kaileena.]]
* RewardingVandalism: Starting in ''Warrior Within'', the Prince can gain sand by smashing objects in the environment. See WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings.
* ResetButton: A key part of the story and gameplay in the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy. Done well because some are aware of the reset and others are not.
* RingOfFire: The battle with the Axe and Sword twins in ''[=T2T=]''.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The ''Sands of Time'' series is practically ''made'' of this trope. In the first game, the Prince accidentally releases the Sands of Time... so he and Farah (a princess) try to fix it. In the second, he [[YouCantFightFate fights fate]]... [[ScrewDestiny and wins]]. In the third, the Vizier [[AGodAmI turns himself into a god]]... so the Prince and Farah kill him, [[BeyondTheImpossible even though he's supposed to be unkillable.]]
* SceneryPorn: The ''Sands of Time'' series has this as well.
* ScrewDestiny: The motive behind the Prince's actions in ''Warrior Within''.
* SealedArmyInACan: Pretty much any major army from ''Sands of Time'' onwards. At some point, one of the characters will even warn everyone present about what will happen when said army is released. Naturally, no one listens.
* SecondHourSuperpower: The Dagger of Time from Sands of Time.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: In ''Warrior Within'', [[spoiler:Kaileena sees her own death in the timeline and attempts to correct it by sending her army after the Prince, which of course brings him to the island and gives him motive to kill her. Because the Prince had no prior knowledge of this and only sought to prevent the Sands of Time (which had already affected his life) from being created, his own quest to change his fate counts as more of a StableTimeLoop.]]
* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:The Prince's father is a boss]] in ''Sands of Time''. Guess what happens.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Central to the plot of the first two ''Sands of Time'' games, then [[spoiler:subverted in the third game, when the Prince realizes that each of his attempts to do this have caused more problems than they solved, and decides to accept his fate.]]
** In the second and third game, this is played near {{Deconstruction}} [[spoiler:he isn't only the one who created the sands of time, dooming himself, but by also avoiding their creation, he also doomed his kingdom.]]
* SheatheYourSword: Both the original game and ''The Two Thrones'' have sequences requiring you to do this.
* ShirtlessScene: The Prince, quite a bit. Starting with progressive ClothingDamage in the first game, but in ''The Two Thrones'', he spends about 90 percent of the game without his shirt.
* ShoutOut:
** On the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 versions of ''The Forgotten Sands'', through uPlay, you can unlock Ezio's (from ''Assassin's Creed 2'') costume for use in the game.
** During [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43148.html one of the featurettes for the Next-Gen game]], Producer Ben Mattes mentions that the Prince doesn't "[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/03/ smolder with generic rage]]".
** Kicking 20 enemies off cliffs in ''The Forgotten Sands'' nets you a trophy named [[ThreeHundred This Is Persia]].
** One of the secret weapons in ''Warrior Within'' is {{Rayman}}'s fist.
* SpiritualPredecessor: ''TombRaider'''s gameplay clearly borrows from ''Prince of Persia''; specifically, the way running/walking, {{spikes|of doom}}, and falling platforms are handled.
* StableTimeLoop: In ''Warrior Within'', the Prince goes to the Island of Time to prevent the Sands of Time -- the source of all his misfortunes and the reason he is being hunted by the Dahaka -- from ever being created. [[spoiler:However, he ends up being the one who creates them when he kills Kaileena, the Empress of Time, who ''is'' the Sands in human form. The rest of the game is spent subverting this.]]
** This one is a Stable Time Loop inside a Stable Time Loop -- the only reason the Prince has the chance to do this is because [[spoiler:Kaileena foresaw her death, tried to kill the Prince to prevent it, and lost the ensuing battle, thus creating the Sands and catching the Prince in his own time loop.]]
* StandardHeroReward: Subverted in ''Sands of Time''. [[spoiler:The Prince and Farah fall in love during the game, but when time is reset at the end, her memory of their adventure is erased. When he tries to kiss her at the end of the game, she pushes him away, saying she owes him gratitude, but nothing more. Of course, he then reverses time so she doesn't remember it.]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}: All female characters, at one point or another (particularly the women in ''Warrior Within'').
** Elika is about the only character who doesn't have such an outfit, though her clothes are [[ClothingDamage torn in several places]].
** Justified with Farah, what with the whole "being captured and taken as a slave" thing...
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Kaileena]] in [=T2T=].]]
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: The Dark Prince in ''The Two Thrones''. As part of the corruption of the Sands, the Prince will occasionally transform into what he considers an abomination; his flesh turns to sand with {{Power Tattoo}}s, and he is able to use the daggertail as a weapon. His health instantly regenerates upon absorbing sand, but constantly deteriorates otherwise. He also gets a handy little voice in his head that stays with him whether he's transformed or not. The voice is the mental manifestation of all his darkest desires, who tempts him with power and constantly belittles him whenever he tries to be anything except ruthless, arrogant, and violent. It's implied that the health draining out of the Prince is actually going into ''him'', and when the former dies then he will have full control over the body. [[spoiler:The Prince has to face him down and ultimately reject him in order to finally put his past behind him.]]
* TakeYourTime: in ''The Sands of Time'' trilogy, some ledges can support the Prince indefinitely, but collapse immediately after he steps off them.
* TimeyWimeyBall: It's never exactly clear ''how'' time travel/manipulation works in the Sands of Time trilogy.
-->"Most people think time is like a river, that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you -- they are wrong. [[TimeyWimeyBall Time is an ocean in a storm]]."
* ToBeContinued: In the 2008 reboot, this is the Achievement that pops up after [[spoiler:the Prince resurrects Elika and releases Ahriman]]. Turns out they've abandoned the new storyline in favor of a fourth installment to the Sands of Time storyline.
* TrilogyCreep: The ''Sands of Time'' storyline got a fourth installment, conveniently about the time the film is released.
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:The Dahaka]] in ''Warrior Within'', provided you [[spoiler:find all the life upgrades in order to acquire the Water Sword, the only weapon capable of harming it]]. Otherwise, the final boss is just [[spoiler:Kaileena]], which leads to a major DownerEnding with only the bleakest of hope as the Prince is freed from his curse but at the cost of just about everything. The AlternateEnding was actually made canon in the next game, which Kaileena [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] in the opening narration.
* UnflinchingWalk: In the first game of the 2008 reboot. The Prince [[spoiler:walks calmly away as he is engulfed by a sandstorm and a dark god flies overhead.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: This happens in the ''Sands Of Time'' whenever he narrates his (permanent) deaths.
** "Wait, that's not what happened..."
* UnwittingPawn: The Shah and Prince in ''The Sands of Time''. They are convinced by the Vizier of India to invade India for no good reason outside of "Fortune and Glory", while the Vizier helps them in exchange for his choice picks from the Maharajah's treasure chamber. Needless to say, the Shah immediately agrees to this offer from a man who is offering to betray his sovereign and his nation to an invader and who in fact SOLICITED his betrayal to a random party and who can be assumed to have a powerful ulterior motive, and invades India. As a result, a [[ZombieApocalypse Sand Apocalypse]] happens.
* VagueAge: It's hard to tell how old the Prince is in ''The Sands of Time''.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Throw the ''Sands of Time'' Prince down pits or into spikes as many times as you like! You've still got the necessary time-rewinding sand, right?
* ViewersAreGeniuses: In ''The Sands of Time'', the only hint towards the Vizier's plan until the end is his coughing up blood in some cutscenes, implying he's suffering from a disease, possibly tuberculosis.
* VolcanicVeins: The Dark Prince.
* WarriorPrince
* TheWarSequence: One of the selling points of ''The Forgotten Sands'' was the massive amounts of enemies onscreen at one time. Near the end, the Prince fights his way up a staircase on the outside of a tower, killing around ''two hundred'' enemies as he does so.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Considering its chronological placement between the first two games of the Sands trilogy, many fans of the series wonder why the Dahaka never made an appearance in ''Forgotten Sands''.
* WhipSword: The Daggertail in ''The Two Thrones''.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcQQq7xwn9U Forgotten Sands]], the Prince lampshades this after his brother releases a mystical sand-based army. An entirely different one from the earlier games.
-->Why is it always sand?
* WorldOfBuxom: All of the female characters in ''Warrior Within'' have very large breasts.
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Given in conjunction with the above HeroicResolve in ''The Two Thrones''.
-->'''[[spoiler:Dark Prince]]:''' [[spoiler:What now then? Gather up enough sand, perform another [[ResetButton grand rewind]]? Or perhaps you can return to the Island and travel back to a time when he might still be saved. Maybe rescue a DamselInDistress along the way!]]\\
'''[[spoiler:Prince]]:''' [[spoiler:'''''NO!''''' You are right. I ''have'' been like a child. Naive and arrogant; always rushing to undo my mistakes. Never facing the consequences of my actions. No more. I accept what I have done, and ''all'' that it implies. *transforms back, without water*]]\\
'''[[spoiler:Dark Prince]]:''' [[spoiler:What is this?! You have no water! How did you--?]]\\
'''[[spoiler:Prince]]:''' [[spoiler:You hold no power over me now! Be gone! Retreat to whatever dark hole spawned you, and do not trouble me again.]]
* YouAlreadyChangedThePast: See StableTimeLoop above.
* YouCantFightFate: A running theme that is subverted [[spoiler:and finally double-subverted]] throughout the ''Sands'' trilogy, but it's best defined in ''Two Thrones''. [[spoiler:Every single thing the Prince has tried to prevent from happening in ''Sands of Time'' and ''Warrior Within'' comes to pass in the third game, except one: Farah lives]]. The Prince accepts it in the end. Similarly, Shadee and Kaileena know their actions are futile but go against the time-line anyway. [[spoiler:However, Kaileena's motivations are ret-conned into "I knew this would happen all along and all my actions were to make sure it did."]]
* YouGetKnockedDownYouGetBackUpAgain: Averted; in the ''Sands of Time'' series, enemies can and will attack you while you're down. Fortunately, you can rewind time, block while on your back, or perform a roll to swipe at their feet and get back up.
[[/folder]]
----

After the immense critical success but modest sales of ''Sands of Time'', the game was followed by ''Prince of Persia: Warrior Within'' (2004), which Ubisoft hoped would be more financially successful by giving the sequel one of the most amusing DarkerAndEdgier twists in history. The storybook "Arabian Nights" feel of the first game [[MoodWhiplash was replaced by]] sexual content (including several {{stripperific}} female characters, one of which is introduced via a [[MaleGaze five second focus]] on her [[ThongofShielding metal thong]]), graphic violence (the loading screen is a waterfall of blood), language, and heavy metal music by the band Godsmack. While the gameplay was refined and improved (especially the combat), the Prince himself was reduced to an arrogant thug instead of the more cheerful character of the first game. Following the events of the previous game, the Prince is being hunted by an unstoppable beast, the Dahaka. The creature is apparently a guardian of the timeline and wants to ensure that the Prince dies like he was supposed to. In a desperate effort to avoid this fate, he travels to the island where the Sands of Time were originally created, hoping to find a way to avoid this whole mess.

* DawnAttack: In ''The Sands of Time''.
-->'''Nizam:''' Words won't stop our enemies once they're armed with Alamutian blades. We attack at dawn.

It began with ''Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2003), which reproduced the series' popular combination of combat and climbing puzzles, and added what is still the most successful use of time-distortion effects (previously seen in such games as ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' and '' Blinx: The Time Sweeper''), as well as creating an entirely new story with a more complex hero, an expanded role for the princess and one doozy of a plot twist. The Prince is a young man accompanying his father to an Indian-like kingdom, whose Vizier betrayed them to the Prince's armies. Among the spoils of that kingdom is a large hourglass called [[TitleDrop "The Sands of Time"]] and a dagger that the Prince claims. The Vizier then tricks the Prince into opening the hourglass and unleashing the curse of the sands upon the land. Confused over what happened, he finds himself in the company of Farah, a princess of the kingdom he just ransacked and who has knowledge of what he has done, and has to go fix what he [[NiceJobBreakingItHero broke]].

After the immense critical success but modest sales of ''Sands of Time'', the game was followed by ''Prince of Persia: Warrior Within'' (2004), which Ubisoft hoped would be more financially successful by giving the sequel one of the most amusing DarkerAndEdgier twists in history. The storybook "Arabian Nights" feel of the first game [[MoodWhiplash was replaced by]] sexual content (including several {{stripperific}} female characters, one of which is introduced via a [[MaleGaze five second focus]] on her [[ThongofShielding metal thong]]), graphic violence (the loading screen is a waterfall of blood), language and heavy metal music by the band Godsmack. While the gameplay was refined and improved (especially the combat), the Prince himself was reduced to an arrogant thug instead of the more cheerful character of the first game. Following the events of the previous game, the Prince is being hunted by an unstoppable beast, the Dahaka. The creature is apparently a guardian of the timeline and wants to ensure that the Prince dies like he was supposed to. In a desperate effort to avoid this fate, he travels to the island where the Sands of Time were originally created, hoping to find a way to avoid this whole mess.

[[Videogame/PrinceOfPersia2008 Has its own page]]. A new game, simply ''Prince of Persia'' is another ContinuityReboot. It made radical changes to the platforming, similar to Franchise/AssassinsCreed. The new game was given a [[ArtEvolution new art style]], similar to {{cel shading}}, to give the impression of a colorful "Arabian Nights" story book feel, compared to the more realistic feel of the Sands of Time trilogy. Combat was also reworked. Rather than facing hordes of {{mooks}} as in previous games, it instead focuses upon 1 of 4 boss monsters, each with a distinct personality and BackStory, along with prioritizing the parkour gameplay with complicated obstacles just to reach certain locations. The "Prince" of this game is actually a bandit/thief, returning from looting a tomb only to be caught up in a strange sandstorm. After falling into a canyon he comes across a mysterious woman, Elika, fleeing capture by soldiers. Her father is working to unleash the dark god Ahriman and the efforts are corrupting the land all about them. Elika has the power to cleanse the land but needs the Prince's protection to defeat the various creatures that are hunting her down.

There is also a strategy game ''Battles of Prince of Persia'' for Nintendo DS. Set after ''The Forgotten Sands'', the Dahaka has just started stalking the Prince, forcing him to wage war against various nations and armies just find a way to get rid of it.

* BenevolentArchitecture: An uncanny amount of the scenery is implausibly handy for jumping/climbing/hanging/swinging/[[LeParkour free-running]] around on. Which is lucky, since there's a distinct imbalance in the ratios of really-high-places to staircases/ladders/jetpacks, smooth stable floors vs. [[SpikesOfDoom fatal]] [[BottomlessPit drops]] etc.

** In the first game, the penultimate battle is against The Shadow. Hitting him damages yourself as well as him, and even though you have way more hit points you die as he does. You defeat him by [[spoiler:sheathing your sword]], a move that was available from the beginning of the game but is suicidal against every other enemy.

** Also in the second game, transforming yourself to The Shadow in the final level is probably not something you would have figured out for yourself...[[ItsAllThereInTheManual unless you read the manual]]. It is also quite lethal if you haven't picked up enough health potions in the game. Fortunately, there is an infinite supply of health-enhancing potions in the final level to prevent the game from becoming unwinnable at that point (provided you can fight well enough to get them).

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: The above-mentioned selection box of unpleasant exits gives rise to an exciting assortment of death animations. The original game alone memorably had [[NightmareFuel nightmare inducing]] clanging metal jaws in mid-corridor that ''guillotined you in half'' if you mistimed stepping through them. Alternatives were being run through by enemy swords, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled on spikes]] and hitting the bottom of [[DeathTrap deep pits]] with a skull-cracking ''smack''.

* AnticlimaxBoss: In the PC version of the first game, [[spoiler:both Shadow and Jaffar; the former just requires you to run into him after sheathing your sword, and the latter can be knocked into the pit for an easy kill if you're careful]]. Averted in the SNES version however, as [[spoiler:Jaffar]] is suddenly tough as nails.

* BossOnlyLevel: Level 20 of the first game on SNES is just the FinalBoss.
** In the original level 12 has a lot of obstacles, no mooks, but TWO special enemies: Shadow and Jaffar.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The Shadow is mysteriously absent in the SNES version of the first game. [[spoiler:Jaffar manifests as him in the SNES version of the ''second'' game though.]]

** In the games sound test, his name is given as "God Vishnu".

* ObviousBeta: ''The Shadow and The Flame'', the first release in particular. The controls are unresponsive, and there's all kind of weird stuff such as invisible tiles, dumb AI and glitches with the Shadow. There's even a level that can be easily skipped by leaving through the door you came from!
* PoisonMushroom: the first game has healing potions and the occasional poison potion that looks nearly identical. The SNES version also has two life increasing potions placed together, one of which will actually kill you instead.

* AlternateEnding: In ''Warrior Within'', if you get all the life upgrades, you are able to acquire the Water Sword, [[spoiler:which turns out to be the only weapon that can even harm the Dahaka, who turns out to be the TrueFinalBoss. By defeating it, the Prince is able to save both him and Kaileena from their fate -- but regardless of the ending the end shows Babylon under attack by a prototypical version of the Dark Prince and Farah being held captive]]. In this case the [[BroadStrokes basic story]] of the alternate ending is the canon for the next game, which Kaileena [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] in the opening narration.
* AnachronismStew: Averted in ''The Sands of Time'' videogame, since according to the description the events take place in 9 century Persia. [[{{Qurac}} The rest of the games, and the movie, on the other hand...]]

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: ''Warrior Within'''s combo attacks are Oronte's Grudge, Ptolemaios' Anger, Wrath of Cyrus, Rage of Darius, Azad's Furious Retaliation, Zaroaster's Ire, Asha's Fury, Ahriman's Revenge and Mithra's Vengeance. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY2x1iGK4P4 This video's description]] looks up each name and concludes that sure, they're all ancient Persia-y, but "it is quite clear that only a few are actually suitable to name combat attacks after."

* AutobotsRockOut: In ''Warrior Within'', the title song is "Straight Out Of Line" by Godsmack and the combat music by Inon Zur is heavily stylized on Godsmack's typical sound. The music blaring when you're being pursued by the Dahaka is an instrumental version of ''I Stand Alone''.

* BondageIsBad Implied in ''Warrior Within''. Countless enemies, especially the Initiates (sometimes also called Executioners) the player encounters during the last quarter of the game, wear hardly anything but black leather straps.

* ChekhovsGun: With a delayed firing until the following game, where in ''Sands of Time'' Farah gave the Prince her pendant that kept her safe during the Sand curse. He used the pendant as part of his armor in ''Warrior Within'' and once the time gates are opened it gives him the same time manipulation powers.

* ClippedWingAngel: In the AlternateEnding of ''Warrior Within'', [[spoiler:after the Dahaka falls down into the water, it rises again one last time as a gargantuan, skyscraper-sized monstrosity; but since water is its kryptonite, it promptly falls back down and dies.]]

** ''Sands of Time'' features the worst example, where in one cutscene the Prince runs ''down'' a wall to survive what would otherwise be a [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat fatal drop]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaNPmpDHTh8&t=6m14s Seen here]]

* DeathOfTheHypotenuse:''The Two Thrones'' [[spoiler:features Kaileena being killed by the Vizier and becoming the Sands of Time in order to set off the plot make way for Farah. She is revived in the end, and declares that she will now seek out other worlds so that no one can ever abuse the power of the Sands again. This was actually quite well received given that most fans liked Farah better.]]

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Initially it might look like Farah's also barefoot on ''The Two Thrones'', but if you look closely, she's wearing flat sandals.

* DualWorldGameplay: Just in ''Warrior Within'' on the Island Of Time, it had to be explored in the past and present with decay changing pathways and accesibility and the characters present.

* EscortMission: Much of ''The Sands of Time'' you work with Farah but it isn't as frustrating as most other examples because Farah is very competent with a simple bow, so she can slow down the creatures while you hack away at them.

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: In ''Warrior Within'', the Prince discovers that the only way to get The Dahaka to stop chasing him is [[spoiler:to let Dahaka kill his past self.]]

* FootFocus: Razia in ''Forgotten Sands''. The scene where she properly introduces herself to the Prince includes a shot of her feet as she floats down onto the ground

* GameBreakingBug: The entire ''Sands'' trilogy has its fair share of buggy code but ''Warrior Within'' is a particular standout. There are quite a few scenarios that can render the game {{Unwinnable}}, such as being transformed into [[spoiler:the Sand Wraith]] prematurely or the final time portal simply refusing to work (and many of these feature irreversible, game-restarting conditions caused by save points in point-of-no-return locations).

'''Prince:''' With my luck it will probably spring some horrible trap. Or [[TeleportingKeycardSquad summon sand monsters]]. Or bring about the end of the world!\\

* HideYourChildren: In ''The Two Thrones'' children can be heard among the captured citizens, but none are ever seen.

** ''Warrior Within'' also had them, however they were usually hidden in secret weapon racks so it was possible to miss them all together.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: The Prince in ''The Sands of Time'' also qualifies, more {{jerk|ass}} with less (but still present) gold in the second game and, finally, ''both JerkAss and JerkWithAHeartOfGold at once'' in the third. With both voice actors.

* LivingLegend: The Prince toils in obscurity [[hottip:*: Well, as much obscurity as any prince can achieve.]] during ''Sands of Time'' and ''Warrior Within'', but he returns to his home and becomes beloved by the people as a liberating hero in ''The Two Thrones''.

* NostalgicNarrator: In the first ''Sands of Time''

* RealIsBrown: ''Warrior Within's'' art director said in a bonus commentary on the disc that the game was designed to be basically monochrome to make it easier to unify designs. ''The Forgotten Sands'' also have this, but it takes place in a desert kingdom so this is at least somewhat justified. Then again, ''all'' of the games take place in a desert kingdom, so...

* TheReveal: Two major ones in ''Warrior Within'', the strange creature you see but never interact with [[spoiler:is you]]. And [[spoiler:the Empress of Time is Kaileena.]]

** In the second and third game this is played near {{Deconstruction}} [[spoiler:he isn't only the one who created the sands of time, dooming himself, but also avoiding their creation, he also doomed his kingdom.]]

* ShirtlessScene: The Prince, quite a bit. Starting with progressive ClothingDamage in the first game, but in ''The Two Thrones'' he spends about 90 percent of the game without his shirt.

* SpiritualPredecessor: ''TombRaider'''s gameplay clearly borrows from ''Prince of Persia''; specifically, the way running/walking, {{spikes| of doom}} and falling platforms are handled.
* StableTimeLoop: In ''Warrior Within'', the Prince goes to the Island of Time to prevent the Sands of Time--the source of all his misfortunes and the reason he is being hunted by the Dahaka--from ever being created. [[spoiler:However, he ends up being the one who creates them when he kills Kaileena, the Empress of Time, who ''is'' the Sands in human form. The rest of the game is spent subverting this.]]
** This one is a Stable Time Loop inside a Stable Time Loop - the only reason the Prince has the chance to do this is because [[spoiler:Kaileena foresaw her death, tried to kill the Prince to prevent it, and lost the ensuing battle, thus creating the Sands and catching the Prince in his own time loop.]]

-->"Most people think time is like a river, that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you - they are wrong. [[TimeyWimeyBall Time is an ocean in a storm]]."

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Throw the ''Sands of Time'' Prince down pits or into spikes as many times as you like! You've still go the necessary time-rewinding sand, right?

* HypnotizeThePrincess: ''Prince of Persia 2'' begins with the princess convinced you're a poor mad beggar. Naturally, fleeing the royal guards quickly ensues.

[[Videogame/PrinceOfPersia2008 Has its own page]]. A new game, simply ''Prince of Persia'' is another ContinuityReboot. It made radical changes to the platforming, similar to Franchise/AssassinsCreed. The new game was given a [[ArtEvolution new art style]], similar to {{cel shading}}, to give the impression of a colorful "Arabian Nights" story book feel, compared to the more realistic feel of the Sands of Time trilogy. Combat was also reworked. Rather than facing hordes of {{mooks}} as in previous games, it instead focuses upon 1 of 4 boss monsters, each with a distinct personality and BackStory. The "Prince" of this game is actually a bandit/thief, returning from looting a tomb only to be caught up in a strange sandstorm. After falling into a canyon he comes across a mysterious woman, Elika, fleeing capture by soldiers. Her father is working to unleash the dark god Ahriman and the efforts are corrupting the land all about them. Elika has the power to cleanse the land but needs the Prince's protection to defeat the various creatures that are hunting her down.

** Level 3 has a [[DifficultySpike long series of pits between a pressure plates and its grate]] and a single invincible enemy. You need to push him off the edge. Twice.

* BossOnlyLevel: Level 20 of the first game is just the FinalBoss.

** One of the secret weapons in ''Warrior Within'' is [[VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'s fist.]]

** One of the secret weapons in ''Warrior Within'' is [[VideoGame/Rayman's glove.]]

** One of the secret weapons in ''Warrior Within'' is [[VideoGame/{{Rayman}}Rayman's glove.]]

[[caption-width-right:250:[-What is one grain of sand in the desert? What is one grain of sand in the storm?-] ]]

* DramaticWind: There's always ''some'' wind blowing in the land of the Ahura.

* DeathCourse: ''Lots''.

** Used subtly in ''Warrior Within'': [[spoiler:outside the throne room, there is an hourglass that counts the time until the Empress will create the Sands of Time. However, as the Prince finds out to his dismay, the Empress dies to create the Sands, so the hourglass was counting down until the Empress's death.]]

* ContinuityReboot: Happened twice, first in 2003 with the release of ''The Sands of Time'', and then in [[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008 2008]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Warrior Within'', then toned down in the next game.

* DeadpanSnarker: The ''Sands of Time'' trilogy Prince. The Dark Prince is an absolute master of this, as evidenced by his response when the Prince sees people being herded toward the arena below.

* VolcanicVeins: On the cover of ''The Two Thrones''.

* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: The Empress in ''Warrior Within''. She employs several round-about measures to kill the Prince: she sends Shadee after him, curses one of his swords ([[InformedFlaw supposedly]]), forces him to solve puzzles in two towers laden with deadly traps and mooks, and all the while hopes the Dahaka will finish him off if he doesn't die on his own. When all this (predictably) fails, the Empress goes one-on-one in a sword and sorcery duel [[spoiler:and naturally does not emerge the victor. Depending on the ending, she dies twice]]. [[IdiotBall She never, however, utilizes her greatest tactical advantage to its full potential]]: [[spoiler:the fact that she and Kaileena are one and the same person the whole time, and thanks to an amazingly lucky stroke of timing, the Prince walks in on Shadee trying to kill her when he first meets her. This causes him to [[MistakenForServant assume Kaileena is a beleaguered servant]], and upon saving her, he puts his trust in her completely to the point of trying to take her away from "the evils" of the island all the way up until [[TheReveal she decides to confess who she is]] and tries a direct approach]]. What does she do with this amazing upper hand instead? [[spoiler:[[BondVillainStupidity She tries to talk him out of killing her]]]]. She should have just [[spoiler:kept up the ruse]], and while he was [[ContemplateOurNavels bemoaning his fate]], walked up behind him, stabbed him, taken his medallion, and been done with it.
** She was kind of falling in love with him. Hence the reluctance to murder him.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: The series and the movie adaptation get a lot of flack for making the Prince [[MightyWhitey "too white"]], due to Western audiences expecting [[PhenotypeStereotype everyone who lives in the Middle East]] to [[UnfortunateImplications be brown as can be and not even vaguely similar to the rest of the world]]. In truth, the Persian people were close relatives of the Europeans, and the majority of modern Iran's population could be considered "white". And most people there identify as white. [[http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/12/4/128728998449020593.jpg Compare Iranian prime minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Jake Gyllenhaal.]] Also, [[http://kotaku.com/5547892/is-prince-of-persia-really-a-racial-whitewash read Kotaku's article.]]
** Even better, compare him to former deputy culture minister [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5aumgLlZ7iE/S5IbljYk34I/AAAAAAAABA8/DVyoARfvAP4/s1600-h/mohammad+ali+ramin.jpg Mohammad Ali Ramin]], who has a very light complexion.
*** [[http://coolpicsbro.com/fs/i/2012/11/08/9cf678bfe001097199f9b5d14bd500.jpg On the other hand...]]

* BlueEyes: The Prince character.

* EleventhHourSuperpower: Both inverted and played straight in ''The Sands of Time''. The Prince loses the Dagger of Time, meaning no more rewinding, but does get a sword that {{One Hit Kill}}s all enemies.

->''"What is one grain of sand in the desert, one grain amongst the storm?"''

* TheOtherDarrin: Retroactively subverted. In ''The Sands of Time'', the Prince is voiced by YuriLowenthal. In ''Warrior Within'', he's voiced by Robin Atkin Downes. In ''The Two Thrones'', he's again voiced by Lowenthal, with Canadian actor Rick Miller providing his inner "Dark Prince" voice. There was talk during development that Downes would voice the Dark Prince, but ultimately that didn't come to pass.

* FootFocus: Razia in ''Forgotten Sands''. The scene where she properly introduces herself to the Prince includes a shot of her feet as she floats down onto

The series made the leap to 3D in the {{third| is 3D}} installment with the unimaginatively titled ''Prince of Persia 3D'' (1999).

* NominalImportance: Averted. The Prince is never named except in TheMovie, and several of the games have the majority of characters go unnamed.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: "He Who Would Steal The Flame Must Die". [[spoiler: This isn't a threat, it's the instructions for how to finish that level. You have to die in order to steal the Flame.]]

[[folder:Examples from the Sands of Time trilogy]]

* BigDamnHeroes: In Two Thrones, when the Prince and Farah attempt to get inside the palace, they quickly find themselves surrounded by a literal army of hundreds of sand monsters of all sizes; far too many to fight. Just when it seems like the heroes are about to be slaughtered, [[spoiler:the voice of [[BlindSeer the Old Man]] rings across the noise, and everyone turns to see him standing at the front of what appears to be the ''entire'' population of Babylon.]]

* BondageIsBad Implied in Warrior Within. Countless enemies, especially the Initiates (sometimes also called Executioners) the player encounters during the last quarter of the game, wear hardly anything but black leather straps.

* ColossusClimb: Several bosses in Warrior Within and The Two Thrones.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Initially it might look like Farah's also barefoot on The Two Thrones, but if you look closely, she's wearing flat sandals.

* MaleGaze: [[DarkActionGirl Shahdee]]'s ass-first introduction in Warrior Within is a particularly blatant example.

* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler: The final battle against the Dark Prince]] in Two Thrones. [[spoiler: You can only win by [[SheatheYourSword refusing to fight]] and leaving the room via the staircase behind him.]]

* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler: The final battle against the Dark Prince]] in Two Thrones. [[spoiler: You can only win by [[SheathYourSword refusing to fight]] and leaving the room via the staircase behind him.]]