History VideoGame / PrinceOfPersia1

The first game in the ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' franchise, originally created by Jordan Mechner for the UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}e and released by Creator/BroderbundSoftware in 1989.

This game was ported to more systems than any other game in the ''Prince of Persia'' franchise. Versions of the game were released for just about anything that was Turing-complete, including the UsefulNotes/AtariST, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC, Sam Coupé, UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer, UsefulNotes/PC98, UsefulNotes/SharpX68000, UsefulNotes/FMTowns, UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, UsefulNotes/SegaCD, UsefulNotes/TurboGrafxCD, UsefulNotes/GameBoy, UsefulNotes/GameGear and UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor. This is not counting the unofficial ports to the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} and [[UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers Atari 130 XE]], the VideoGameRemake ''Prince of Persia Classic'', or the numerous appearances of the game as an EmbeddedPrecursor in later ''Prince of Persia'' games.

** The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version:

* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The versions of the game that are developed developed by Arsys Software include in-game music, which the other versions lacked.

* CopyProtection: Upon completing Level 1, the player may be greeted with a manual-based copy protection room containing potions with various letters above them. To pass this room, the player must drink the potion with the letter corresponding to a certain word in the manual, with the game telling you what page and line the word is on. Drinking the wrong one two times kills you and kicks you back to the title screen. Drinking the right one causes the exit door in the room to open, allowing you to continue on.

* ControllableHelplessness: A particularly cruel example: some versions of the game do not immediately end if you run out of time. In fact, you can still complete levels and respawn after death as per normal. Where this trope comes into play is at the final level, where the Princess will be absent at the end of the level[[note]]In the SNES version, another cue is that, before reaching the room where the Princess is being held, [[NoFinalBossForYou Jaffar will also be missing and thus the final boss battle never happens]][[/note]]. Entering the Princess's room will cause a small "Game over" message to appear before the player is sent back to the main menu.

* TheManyDeathsofYou: There are many [[{{Gorn}} bloody]] ways for the prince to die: [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled by spikes]], crashing hard on the ground, stabbed to death, crushed by rubble, poisoned, HalfTheManHeUsedToBe... The Snes version even adds ''more'', althought [[BloodlessCarnage without a hint of blood]].

* TheManyDeathsofYou: There are many [[Gorn bloody]] ways for the prince to die: [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaled by spikes]], crashing hard on the ground, stabbed to death, crushed by rubble, poisoned, HalfTheManHeUsedToBe... The Snes version even adds ''more'', althought [[BloodlessCarnage without a hint of blood]].

* ControllableHelplessness: A particularly cruel example: the game does not immediately end if you run out of time. In fact, you can still complete levels and respawn after death as per normal. Where this trope comes into play is at the final level, where the Princess will be absent at the end of the level[[note]]In the SNES version, another cue is that, before reaching the room where the Princess is being held, [[NoFinalBossForYou Jaffar will also be missing and thus the final boss battle never happens]][[/note]]. Entering the Princess's room will cause a small "Game over" message to appear before the player is sent back to the main menu.

[[caption-width-right:320:Who needs Jerry Bruckheimer?]]

* ControllableHelplessness: A particularly cruel example: the game does not immediately end if you run out of time. In fact, you can still complete levels and respawn after death as per normal. Where this trope comes into play is at the final level, where the Princess will be absent at the end of the level[[note]]In the SNES version, another cue is that, before reaching the room where the Princess is being held, Jaffar will also be missing and thus the final boss battle never happens[[/note]]. Entering the Princess's room will cause a small "Game over" message to appear before the player is sent back to the main menu.

* ControllableHelplessness: The SNES version has a particularly cruel example: the game does not immediately end if you run out of time. In fact, you can still complete levels and respawn after death as per normal. Where this trope comes into play is at Level 20, where both Jaffar and the Princess are absent. Entering the Princess's room will cause a small "Game over" message to appear before the player is sent back to the main menu.

* CopyProtection: When loading a game, the player may be greeted with a manual-based copy protection room containing potions with various letters above them. To pass this room, the player must drink the potion with the letter corresponding to a certain word in the manual, with the game telling you what page and line the word is on. Drinking the wrong one three times kills you and sends you back to Level 1. Drinking the right one causes the exit door in the room to open, allowing you to continue on.

** The Skeleton boss from level 3, who can only be defeated by pushing it off of a ledge... guess where it fights the Prince? Taken UpToEleven in the SNES version, where it makes that same mistake ''twice'', and then lets the Prince lead it under a collapsing roof trap to finish it off for good measure.

** After the BossRush in Level 19 of the SNES port, Jaffar makes the ground below you disappear, causing you to drop off-screen and down two levels. The resulting fall damage is ''always'' a HPtoOne, even if you have more than 2 health before the drop.

''Prince of Persia'' follows the story of a traveller from a faraway land who had journeyed to medieval [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Persia]], at a time when the kingdom's ruling Sultan was waging war in a distant land, and his tyrannical [[EvilChancellor Grand Vizier]], Jaffar, had seized power. The traveller meets and becomes the love interest of the Sultan's daughter, the Princess of Persia. Not content with this, Jaffar has the traveller thrown into the [[BigFancyCastle palace]] dungeons and locks the Princess up in her room at the top of it, giving her an ultimatum: [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe marry him]] within the hour, or die. The traveller must thus RaceAgainstTheClock ticking away at the bottom of the screen, and [[LeParkour run, jump, climb]], and {{Flynn|ing}} his way through the palace's MalevolentArchitecture, filled with [[DeathCourse traps]] and patrolled by guards, to escape from the dungeons, defeat Jaffar, and SaveThePrincess.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: From a ''mouse'', actually.]]

* DirectContinuousLevels: Level 6 ends with you falling down a pit, and Level 7 starts with you falling and grabbing a ledge ([[YetAnotherStupidDeath at least you better grab it!]]).

** With only one exception in the SNES version, elaborated directly below this example, falling two levels will subtract one from your LifeMeter, and falling three levels will outright kill you.
** After the BossRush in Level 19 of the SNES port, Jaffar makes the ground below you disappear, causing you to drop off-screen and down two levels. The resulting fall damage will ''always'' leave you with 1 health, even if you have more than 2 health before the drop.

* HellIsThatNoise: The sound of a sawtooth trap shutting, complete with the sound of sliced flesh whenever anyone gets [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bifurcated]] by it.
* HitFlash: Whenever an enemy is hit by a sword or falls on the ground, a colored flash is shown. The color matches the character's clothes and life points. But if it happens to the Prince, the whole screen will briefly flash red.
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: A lot of later combat encounters involve you crossing a hazard (such as chompers or a deadly drop) to confront a guard, putting you in the position where you have to fight with your back to the hazard, threatening death if you are forced back by parrying too much. It's quite easy to slip past the guard and swap places with them then force ''them'' back into the hazard for an instant kill. [[spoiler:You can even do this to ''[[AnticlimaxBoss Jaffar!]]'' Albeit only in the original version of the game.]]

* JumpPhysics: Pretty much averted in that jumping is portrayed very realistically, a rarity for the time, putting your agility on par with a traceur. A running start will allow you to clear a lot more distance than a standing jump (and even then you still have to hold Shift to grab the opposite ledge sometimes), and you only get enough height to climb a single storey or touch the ceiling directly above you (and dislodge the tile if it's loose).

** The Shadow. First you meet an impassable MagicMirror after opening the door to level 5. [[spoiler:Jumping through it breaks it, releases the Shadow and leaves you with [[OneHitPointWonder one unit of health]].]] When you meet him next time, he pushes a switch to prevent you from proceeding anywhere but downwards. When you get to fight him, hitting him hurts you too. [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption You]] need to SheatheYourSword and merge with him.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Princess has blue hair in the SNES port, despite taking place in Ancient Persia.

''Prince of Persia'' follows the story of an adventurer from a faraway land who had travelled to medieval [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Persia]], at a time when the kingdom's ruling Sultan was waging war in a distant land, and his tyrannical [[EvilChancellor Grand Vizier]], Jaffar, had seized power. The adventurer meets and becomes the love interest of the Sultan's daughter, the Princess of Persia. Not content with this, Jaffar has the adventurer thrown into the [[BigFancyCastle palace]] dungeons and locks the Princess up in her room at the top of it, giving her an ultimatum: [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe marry him]] within the hour, or die. The adventurer must thus RaceAgainstTheClock ticking away at the bottom of the screen, and [[LeParkour run, jump, climb]], and {{Flynn|ing}} his way through the palace's MalevolentArchitecture, filled with [[DeathCourse traps]] and patrolled by guards, to escape from the dungeons, defeat Jaffar, and SaveThePrincess.

* {{Acrofatic}}: The fat guard in the sixth level is an incredibly skilled swordfighter and the hardest opponent you'll face until you face Jaffar himself.
* AIBreaker: In the SNES version, sword-fighting is a simple minigame where you block, attack, block, attack, block, attack until either you or your opponent messes the timing up. Easier enemies mess up sooner than harder ones. However, the game assumes that you are going to attack as soon as you block, and then block again (if you don't block as soon as you attack, you get hit). BUT, if you wait a split second after blocking and ''then'' attack, you will hit the enemy every single time. This works on the very first guard, the captain, Jaffar, and every other swordfighting enemy in-between. Could also be used as a speedrunning tactic, as blocking, waiting a second and hitting them is much faster than clanging swords with them for 15-20 seconds per hit. This same trick works on the original as well. In fact, this is required to actually beat Jaffar in this version, because when he starts swordfighting, he ''never'' messes up the counterattack chain. You HAVE to delay your strike back by the right amount of time, or you will NEVER hit him.

* CallBack: In Level 5, there's a large potion in a room. However, when you are about to reach it, the Shadow appears and drinks it. [[spoiler:When you face the Shadow in Level 12, he has 4 health points - the initial 3 the Prince started with, plus 1 from the large potion he took.]]

* ControllableHelplessness: The SNES version has a particularly cruel example. If you run out of time, then the game doesn't end immediately. In fact, you can still complete levels and respawn after death as normal. But not only is Jaffar absent from level 20, upon reaching the Princess' room, which would normally end the game in triumph, her room will be empty, and the player will be met with a game over. Time could run out very early in the game, but no matter how many levels the player completes or how well they play from then on, the game ends in failure either way.

* EdgeGravity: When you choose to walk instead of running, the Prince will stop himself from stepping off an edge.

* FallingDamage: Falling two levels will subtract one from your LifeMeter, and falling three levels will outright kill you.
* FatBastard: Level six has [[UniqueEnemy one enemy]] who is this. He becomes a proper bossfight in the SNES version, with the [[AllThereInTheManual manual calling]] him [[CorruptPolitician Politician]].

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The saw-toothed traps will slice the Prince in half if he's not careful, resulting in his death. Of course, this can also happen to enemies that get pushed into one, so the things play fair.

* HellIsThatNoise: The clanging of the saw-toothed traps. To say nothing of the sound they make ''when someone get chopped in two by them.'' '''Yeowch.'''

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
** The spike traps will pierce the Prince if he's not careful.
** A careful and fast enough player can use the spike traps to their advantage and push mooks into them.

* ItsAWonderfulFailure: The GameOver screen in at least one version of the game describes what happens when you run out of time, complete with depressing music. The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version being the most notable:
-->''Final hope destroyed, the Princess has no choice but to submit to the Vizier. Jaffar takes the crown, and Persia is plunged into an age of fear and tyranny.''
** The NES and Game Boy versions also have a text wall when time runs out, albeit a strangely-toothless one, with the NES version not even having depressing music:

* {{Knockback}}: Any hits on the player and the enemies result in some them being knocked back. This makes it easier to defeat enemies by pushing them over ledge.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: In the Super Nintendo version, the guards are given different colored outfits that roughly correspond to how much health they have. Green guards have the least, blue guards have middling health, and purple guards have the most.

* LevelGoal: The goal of each level is finding the exit gate and opening it with the right PressurePlate. [[SoundCodedForYourConvenience The sound of an opening gate will let you know]] you've stepped on the right plate.

* LockedInTheDungeon: You are locked in the palace's dungeon in the beginning, and from there your quest to rescue the princess begins.

* MagicMirror: Level 4 has one that can't be broken with a sword ''and'' blocks one of the paths that the Prince must go through. [[spoiler:The correct solution is to have the Prince take some steps behind, then run back towards the mirror and ultimately ''leap'' into it.]] [[spoiler:Bad thing, doing so will release his Shadow, whom he must fight later.]]

* MirrorMatch: You have to [[MirrorBoss face a literal mirror copy of yourself]], released from a magic mirror you had leaped through earlier. He shares your health bar and mirrors every attack identically. The only way to defeat him is to [[spoiler:sheathe your sword]].
* MirrorMonster: Shadow Man is created when the Prince jumps through Jaffar's magic mirror.
* MirrorSelf: Depending on the version, Shadow Man is a spectral or darker version of the protagonist.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: In the SNES version, the Hindu god-like monster fights in this way by stomping on the floor and making skulls fall down.
* NiceMice: The Princess's mouse [[spoiler: rescues the Prince in one level by opening a gate he gets trapped behind.]]

* PaletteSwap: Many of the guards only differ by clothes colors. Shadow sprites are created from Prince sprites by XOR operation (selective inversion), at least on Apple ][ and some earlier ports.

* SequenceBreaking: It is possible with a well-timed jump to bypass the guard on the first level without ever picking up the sword (a trick exploited by speedrunners). Thankfully the game assumes you picked it up and it is available to use from the second level onwards.
* SheatheYourSword: Sheathing your sword is the only way to [[spoiler:defeat your shadow]].
* ShoutOut: The soundtrack takes more than a few cues from Maurice Jarre's score for ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia''
* SpikesOfDoom: One of the most common traps in the game, as is usual for Platform Games. However, unlike most examples, they only kill you if you fall or run into them with too much speed. If you walk slowly, you can go straight through them with no problem.
* TimedMission: You have unlimited continues, but you have only an hour to save the princess (two in the SNES version), and dying subtracts a minute from the timer.
* TitleDrop: At the end, regarding the protagonist.
-->No longer a stranger, he shall from this day forth be known as... PRINCE OF PERSIA.

* TheUsurper: The sultan's vizier has taken over the palace [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter in his absence]] and transformed it into a DeathCourse with EverythingTryingToKillYou.
* ViolationOfCommonSense: [[SheatheYourSword Sheathing your sword]] is a move that will certainly end up with the Prince being [[OneHitKill one-hit killed]] by the guard in front of him, but it is also [[spoiler:the only way to get past the Shadow]].

The first ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' game was originally created by Jordan Mechner for the UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}e and released by Creator/BroderbundSoftware in 1989, it was ported to more systems than any ''Prince of Persia'' game since. Versions of the game were released for just about anything that was Turing-complete, including the UsefulNotes/AtariST, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC, Sam Coupé, UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer, UsefulNotes/PC98, UsefulNotes/SharpX68000, UsefulNotes/FMTowns, UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, UsefulNotes/SegaCD, UsefulNotes/TurboGrafxCD, UsefulNotes/GameBoy, UsefulNotes/GameGear and UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor. This is not counting the unofficial ports to the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} and [[UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers Atari 130 XE]], the VideoGameRemake ''Prince of Persia Classic'', or the numerous appearances of the game as an EmbeddedPrecursor in later ''Prince of Persia'' games.

-->''It is a time of darkness. While the Sultan is off fighting a foreign war, his Grand Vizier Jaffar has seized the reins of power. Throughout the land, the people groan under the yoke of tyranny, and dream of better days.''\\
''You are the only obstacle between Jaffar and the throne. An adventurer from a foreign land, innocent of palace intrigues, you have won the heart of the Sultan's lovely daughter. And in so doing, you have unwittingly made a powerful enemy.''\\
''On Jaffar's orders, you are arrested, stripped of your sword and possessions, and thrown into the Sultan's dungeons. As for the Princess, Jaffar gives her a choice, and an hour to decide: Marry him--or die.''\\
''Locked in her room high in the palace tower, the Princess rests all her hopes on you. For when the last sands drain from the hourglass, her choice can bring only a throne for the Grand Vizier...a new reign of terror for his long-suffering subjects...and death for the brave youth who might have been...''\\

-->-- The game's story as laid out in the manual.

The first ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' game follows 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, the eponymous Prince, 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 to [[SaveThePrincess rescue the princess]], [[RaceAgainstTheClock all the while the minutes tick by at the bottom of the screen]].

Originally created by Jordan Mechner for the UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}e and released by Creator/BroderbundSoftware in 1989, it was ported to more systems than any ''Prince of Persia'' game since. Versions of the game were released for just about anything that was Turing-complete, including the UsefulNotes/AtariST, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC, Sam Coupé, UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer, UsefulNotes/PC98, UsefulNotes/SharpX68000, UsefulNotes/FMTowns, UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem, UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, UsefulNotes/SegaCD, UsefulNotes/TurboGrafxCD, UsefulNotes/GameBoy, UsefulNotes/GameGear and UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor. This is not counting the unofficial ports to the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} and [[UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers Atari 130 XE]], the VideoGameRemake ''Prince of Persia Classic'', or the numerous appearances of the game as an EmbeddedPrecursor in later ''Prince of Persia'' games.

!!Tropes appearing in this game:

%%** Level 12 is contiguous with Level 13.

* OneHitKill: Take a hit from an enemy with your sword sheathed, and the Prince will on the spot.

* RingOutBoss: The skeleton from Level 3 cannot be defeated in any other way than pushing it into a pit. [[spoiler:Jaffar himself can be defeated by pushing him over ledge.]]

* RedIsViolent: The Super Famicom boxart has the forces of Jaffar depicted as such, while the Prince, Princess and mouse are all show [[LightIsGood as white]].

* ShoutOut: The soundtrack takes more than a few cues from Maurice's Jarre score for ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia''

* TimedMission: You have unlimited continues, but you have only an hour to save the princess(Two in the SNES version), and dying subtracts a minute from the timer.

* DirectContinuousLevels: Level 6 ends with you falling down a pit, and Level 7 starts with you falling and grabbing a ledge.

* {{Antepiece}}: Level 4 has lots of examples that demonstrate how loose tiles and guards can trigger [[PressurePlate pressure plates]] to not just open portcullises, but hold them open (since they normally start slipping shut after a few seconds). This is required knowledge for completing level 9.

* {{Antepiece}}: Level 4 has lots of examples that demonstrate how loose tiles and guards can trigger [[PressurePlate pressure plates]] to not just open portcullis, but hold them open (since they normally start slipping shut after a few seconds). This is required knowledge for completing level 9.