Line #45 Franchise/PrinceOfPersia


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pop_logo.png]]
2
3	->''"Which one is the true Prince of Persia? All of them. And none of them."''
4	-->-- '''Jordan Mechner''', afterword to ''ComicBook/PrinceOfPersiaTheGraphicNovel''
5
6	A franchise created by Jordan Mechner. Originally a series of {{Cinematic Platform Game}}s, it has since branched out into other mediums.
7
8	[[index]]
9	!!Video Games
10	!!!Original Continuity
11	A game series following the adventures of a man who becomes the Prince of Persia after marrying the Sultan's daughter.
12
13	* ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1 Prince of Persia]]'' (1989): The first game, released by Creator/BroderbundSoftware.
14	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2: The Shadow and The Flame'' (1993): A 2D sequel.
15	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia3D'' (1999): The series' [[VideoGame3DLeap first 3D game]].
16	* ''Prince of Persia: Harem Adventures'' (2002): A spin-off mobile game developed by Gameloft.
17	* ''Prince of Persia Classic'' (2007): A {{remake}} of the first game, featuring updated graphics, gameplay, and 3D models. Surprisingly, it uses some models from ''Sands of Time''.
18	* ''Prince of Persia: Escape'' (2018): A side-scrolling EndlessRunningGame for the Android and iOS devices.
19
20	!!!The Sands of Time Saga
21	A new ContinuityReboot game trilogy (which was expanded), with LeParkour and TimeTravel as its most prominent features, was created under Creator/{{Ubisoft}}. 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 games follow the adventures of the son of the king of Persia, with the original three games showing his adventures with the mystical Sands of Time.
22
23	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' (2003)
24	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' (2004)
25	** ''Prince of Persia: Revelations'' (2005): [[/index]]Port of ''Warrior Within'' on the Platform/{{PSP}}.[[index]]
26	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' (2005): Conclusion of the trilogy.
27	** ''Prince of Persia: Rival Swords'' (2007): [[/index]]Port of ''The Two Thrones'' on the Platform/{{PSP}} and Platform/{{Wii}}.[[index]]
28	* ''VideoGame/BattlesOfPrinceOfPersia'' (2005): Spin-off on the Platform/NintendoDS. Is an {{Interquel}} taking place after ''The Sands of Time'' and before ''Warrior Within''.
29	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'' (2010): [[TrilogyCreep A new chapter]] in the ''Sands of Time'' series, produced by Ubisoft to coincide with the movie's release. Is an {{Interquel}} taking place after ''The Sands of Time'' and before ''Battles of Prince of Persia''. Despite the title being used for console, PC, DS and PSP, each version tells it's own unique story as opposed to telling the same story on different platforms.
30
31	!!!2008 Continuity
32	A ContinuityReboot in 2008, the games follow a roguish thief who is called the Prince due to [[NoNameGiven never giving]] a name as he encounters a princess named Elika. Together they must prevent Elika's father from unleashing the GodOfEvil and destroying the world.
33
34	* ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008 Prince of Persia]]'' (2008)
35	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheFallenKing'' (2008)
36
37	!!!Other
38	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheLostCrown'' (2024): A 2.5D side-scroller, following the journey of a warrior named Sargon who is searching for the missing Prince Ghassan, while battling several monsters from Myth/PersianMythology.
39	* ''The Rogue Prince of Persia'' (2024): Developed by Evil Empire (''VideoGame/DeadCells''), ''The Rogue'' is a new 2.5D action platformer roguelite following The Prince's journey to liberate Persia from the attack of the Hun army.
40
41	!!Other media
42	* ''ComicBook/PrinceOfPersiaTheGraphicNovel'' (2008): Features none of the previous Princes, being set in its own continuity.
43	* ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' (2010): A BroadStrokes film adaptation of ''The Sands of Time''.
44	* ''Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm -- A Graphic Novel Anthology'' (2010): An anthology featuring six stories set in the movie continuity.
45	* ''The Young Dastan Chronicles'' -- A book series about the adventures in the younger days of hero Dastan.
46	** ''The Chronicle of Young Dastan'' (2010)
47	** ''Walls of Babylon'' (2010)
48	** ''The Search for Cyra'' (2010)
49	* ''Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2013) -- [[/index]]ComicBookAdaptation of 2010 movie.[[index]]
50	* ''VideoGame/ForHonor'' (2017): A three week {{Crossover}} event called Ruler of Time started April 2, 2020.
51	[[/index]]
52
53	This page covers the most tropes that apply to multiple installments in the franchise. For more specific tropes that apply only to one work, see the individual pages listed above.
54	----
55	!!The series contains the following:
56	[[foldercontrol]]
57	[[folder:General tropes for the entire franchise]]
58	* AlliterativeTitle: The series loves to do this:
59	** There's the name of the entire franchise - ''Prince of Persia''.
60	** The two games with the subtitle of ''Warrior Within'' and ''The Two Thrones''.
61	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: There's a button to sheathe and unsheathe your weapons, but the Prince will automatically draw his sword whenever he detects enemies, and holsters them whenever the fight is finished.
62	* ArabianNightsDays: The whole series is set firmly here, with many franchises having the hero save a princess from an evil Vizier.
63	* 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]] [[BottomlessPits drops]], etc.
64	* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: All the incarnations of the Prince are inhumanly agile.
65	* CounterAttack:
66	** The most common fighting tactic in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' is to wait for the opponent to attack, then defend and counter the attack. One of the enemies actually utilizes this tactic himself, and will not attack until the prince attacks him first.
67	** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' uses this heavily. Beware, however, since some sand creatures are capable of countering the Prince's counter. Luckily, the Prince can counter the counter of his counter, which can itsef be countered, and so on and so forth. Successfully countering a sand creature knocks them down and leaves them open to be Retrieved.
68	** Also used in the sequels ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones''. The effects of successfully countering an opponent change because of the Free Form Fighting system, but they will always give the Prince an advantage.
69	** Timing a block correctly in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'' leaves an enemy open to attack.
70	* DeathCourse: Why LeParkour is sometimes necessary.
71	* DependingOnTheArtist: Rampant in the original trilogy. The Prince, the Princess, Jaffar and the Sultan all have drastically different looks across the games, covers and artworks.
72	* DialogDuringGameplay: From the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy onwards, also in the 2008 reboot.
73	* 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).
74	* LeParkour: The Prince relies on his acrobatics to navigate the environment and solve puzzles. The 3D games starting with ''Sands of Time'' popularized this concept.
75	* 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]], crushing rams, 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.
76	* 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''.
77	* NominalImportance: Inverted. The Prince is the main protagonist, but he is never named except in TheMovie, and several of the games have the majority of characters go unnamed.
78	* NoNameGiven: The Prince. Yes, almost every single one of his iterations is nameless. Those who avert this are Guiv (from ''The Graphic Novel''), and Dastan (from the 2010 film).
79	* OddballInTheSeries: ''VideoGame/BattlesOfPrinceOfPersia'', a turn-based strategy game.
80	* PopStarComposer: Stuart Chatwood, multi-instrumentalist and former bassist for Music/TheTeaParty, wrote the soundtracks to all the ''Prince of Persia'' games made by Ubisoft.
81	* PressurePlate: The 2-D ''Prince of Persia'' games made extensive use of pressure plates to open or close distant doors; they could be held down permanently by killing a {{Mook}} over them or dropping a TemporaryPlatform on them. The ''Sands of Time'' saga has more variations of them; some are placed on walls and must be activated by wall-running, while some require a heavy object to keep them down.
82	* RealTime: In the first two games, anyway. The Prince has one hour to rescue the DamselInDistress, and you have one real-life hour to beat the game. The 1992 sequel does the same, but gives you slightly more time.
83	* RecycledTitle: The original and 2008 games in the series share the name ''Prince Of Persia''.
84	* SceneryPorn:
85	** You'll have a nice view of the Arabian settings whenever you explore the outdoors.
86	** The ''Sands of Time'' series has this as well, but in gorgeous 3D.
87	** The 2008 remake uses cel-shading, and vibrant colors to resemble paintings or watercolors. The color blue is also predominant this time around.
88	* SharedUniverse: Possibly. While nothing in the story hints to it, the description of the [[ComicBook/PrinceOfPersiaTheGraphicNovel graphic novel]] states that the prophecy was first pronounced before [[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1 a young adventurer escaped a dungeon to rescue a princess]] and before a [[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime a scheming vizier tricked a prince into unleashing the sands of time]]. The graphic novel switches between the 9th century and the 13th century, when the prophecy comes true, and if canon this would place those games between those centuries.
89	* {{Stripperiffic}}: All female characters from all games, at one point or another (particularly the women in ''Warrior Within'', the only game in the entire franchise to emphasize this a lot).
90	* TemporaryPlatform:
91	** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' has loose floor tiles that dislodge and fall moments after the [[NoNameGiven Prince character]] ran across them. Nearby vibrations (from you jumping up and down, for instance) will cause them to shake a little, allowing the player to identify them from a distance. They are useful on occasion for making running jumps off, and permanently holding down {{Pressure Plate}}s where they landed. They can also be dislodged by jumping from underneath, to access secret parts of levels, though standing below falling ones will hurt you if you don't duck.
92	** In the sequel ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2: The Shadow and the Flame'', they can kill {{Mook}}s and destroy potions.
93	** The ''Sands of Time'' trilogy, especially ''Warrior Within'' features a lot of these as crumbling wooden platforms and poles. They visibly shake whenever you walk on them and dust falls off below. What makes it worse is that jumping on top of them, or grabbing down the edges will force them to fall without warning.
94	** Interquel ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'' features two types of temporary platform, firstly the ability to pause water to turn it into something you can grab onto, and then later remaking formerly existing platforms reappear with the power of memory. This can quickly cause DamnYouMuscleMemory rage during sections where you have to use both at once, turning one off to jump through something that would otherwise block your way to a platform you just turned on with the other ability...
95	* TwoPartTrilogy:
96	** The original games were slated to be this. The first game was a self-contained story that wasn't initially meant to be anything bigger. A sequel was made, however, and it ended on a CliffHanger. This was ultimately subverted, since the planned third game never happened, and the eventual sequel, ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia3D'', was completely unrelated.
97	** The ''Sand Of Time'' trilogy plays it straight. The first game is a standalone while the second ends with a cliffhanger leading directly to the third. However, Farah and the Vizir from the first game come back.
98	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The games in the series offer you a lot of chances to kill the Prince.
99	** In the original continuity, you get infinite continues (the only penalty is that the hourglass still drips in RealTime, while you get to restart the level). This means that you can deliberately have the Prince killed.
100	** Throw the ''Sands of Time'' saga Prince down pits or into spikes as many times as you like! You've still got the necessary time-rewinding sand, right?
101	** The Prince cannot die at all in the 2008 reboot because DeathIsCheap and Elika can support you back up. However, you can still deliberately jump off to the bottomless pits as many times as you want and Elika will carry you back no matter what.
102	* WallJump:
103	** Taken to an absurd extent in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008''. You rarely run more than 10 feet on any given piece of land; most of your travel is done by wall.
104	** The Prince in the ''Sands of Time'' [[TrilogyCreep quadrilogy]] can employ the inverse of this trope as well: if two walls are far enough apart, he can Wall Jump ''down'' the shaft.
105	* WallRun: Ever since the ''Sands of Time'' series, this has been a staple of the ''Prince of Persia'' games, both vertically and horizontally. It's accomplished via LeParkour, so it's less extreme than most examples, but it's still beyond human capabilities.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Additional tropes for the ''Sands of Time'' saga]]
109	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The Prince is surprisingly competent at this. In the canon ending of ''Warrior Within'', he kills [[spoiler:both the Empress of Time and the unstoppable beast that makes sure the timeline stays correct]]. In ''The Two Thrones'', he kills [[spoiler:a god of time]]. In the console/PC version ''The Forgotten Sands'' he kills [[spoiler:Ratash, a Djinn that's supposedly invincible]], and in the PSP version he kills [[spoiler:Ahihud who is a fire spirit who took over a mythical realm]].
110	* DualWielding:
111	** In ''Sands of Time'', the Prince wields the Dagger of Time along with his primary sword.
112	** In ''Warrior Within'' and ''Two Thrones'', the Prince can pick a secondary weapon from a rack or a dead enemy and use it in tandem with his other sword. He forfeits his grab attacks but can unleash a series of combos and even throw the weapon like a projectile.
113	* EvilChancellor: The Vizier. He's even [[UsefulNotes/GrandVizierJafar named Jaffar]], though the movie Vizier is named Nizam instead.
114	* GrievousHarmWithABody: A combat mechanic that is most commonly used in ''Warrior Within'' and ''The Two Thrones''. The Prince can grab an opponent and push them into another opponent, knocking out and dealing minor damage to both.
115	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: You can split your opponents in half in ''Warrior Within'' and ''The Two Thrones'', either horizontally or vertically depending on the attack.
116	* HealThyself: By drinking water.
117	* HeartContainer: The mysterious magic fountains that increase the Prince's life meter.
118	* HeroicAmbidexterity: In the ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime Sands of Time]]'' continuity, while he wasn't initially, by the time the prince came to the [[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin Island of Time]] he was able to use both hands alike, to the point of wielding the dagger in his right hand and [[OneHandedZweihander two-hand sword]] in his left in the climax of the ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones Two Thrones]]''.
119	* HitStop: When you deal a killing blow to enemies in the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy, there's a chance that the camera will shift the view into it, along with a dramatic slow-motion effect. These are often dubbed as "Cinematic Finishers" that can be turned off in some of the games' settings.
120	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A specific grab attack in ''Warrior Within'' and ''Two Thrones'' makes the Prince repeatedly twist his target's arms from behind. When the enemy becomes too weak, the Prince would then steal the enemy's weapon and behead them using it.
121	* InfinityPlusOneSword: Every game in the ''Sands of Time trilogy'' has one late in the game. Unusually for this trope, they are rather easy to obtain. In ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime Sands of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones The Two Thrones]]'' [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement as part of the storyline]] and in ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin Warrior Within]]'' hidden behind a wall right next to the main path.
122	* {{Knockback}}: Most enemies attack by throwing the Prince to the floor. Fortunately he can still block while knocked down.
123	* MentalTimeTravel: This is how time-travel usually works in the ''Sands of Time'' saga, with the Prince being sent back to a state in the past whenever he rewinds time (which is also one of the common abilities of the Dagger), yet retaining his memories of what happened. The series has several variations of this trope:
124	** In the games, the Revival/Recall power plays the events backwards like a record. The film depicts this with the person seemingly having their body and consciousness separated whenever they activate the Dagger of Time. It's like an out-of-body experience ''and'' getting to watch the previous events of your life unfold in front of you... but just backwards.
125	** The "Grand Rewind" is an event that happens in the ''Sands of Time'' video game and film adaptation. It erases events in the timeline, with the wielder of the Dagger being the only person to retain their memories from the erased events.
126	** Aside from the recall power, ''Warrior Within'' takes this as a major plot point with [[spoiler:the Mask of the Wraith, which when worn, allows the person to co-exist with a past version of themselves. The catch is that the mask wearer is now transformed into the Sand Wraith, a separate entity from their actual body, but with the memories retained. It's like travelling to the past but possessing a different body so that you could become an observer to your past self]].
127	* OffWithHisHead: You can behead enemies with specific attacks in ''Warrior Within'' and ''The Two Thrones''.
128	* OurTimeMachineIsDifferent: It runs on sand, actually.
129	* PermanentlyMissableContent: All ''Sands ot Time'' trilogy games contain missable life upgrades; however, you're only penalized with a different kind of ending in ''Warrior Within'' for missing any. The upgrades have no bearing on the plot of the preceding ''Sands of Time'', nor in the following ''The Two Thrones''. This last game also packs missable Sand Credits. Miss enough and you won't be able to pay for all the unlockable artwork. Not a big deal, unless you're after HundredPercentCompletion.
130	* PressXToDie: In the PSP version of ''Prince of Persia: The Fallen Sands'', one skill you can acquire is the Prince's ever-popular "launch off a wall" attack. But this is a 2.5D game where some of the wall-runs are parallel to the screen... and you are ''absolutely'' allowed to use this attack then. It never does anything but launch you into the void.
131	* ResetButton: A key part of the story and gameplay in the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy. Unlike many examples, this one is often seen more positively, as the ResetButton and its implications are major elements of the plot, not just a way to [[StatusQuoIsGod keep the status quo]].
132	* RewardingVandalism: Starting in ''Warrior Within'', the Prince can gain sand by smashing objects in the environment. See WhyWeCantHaveNiceThings.
133	* RippleEffectProofMemory: Goes hand-in-hand with how the MentalTimeTravel works in the ''Sands of Time'' saga. Those who wield any of the Artifacts of Time are implied to be immune to the Sands' effect to memory when altering the timeline.
134	** This applies as a core gameplay mechanic. Temporarily reversing time allows for correcting mistakes only because you remember what happened the "first time."
135	** It is also discussed in the film:
136	--->'''Dastan''': Incredible. Releasing the Sand... turns back time! And only the holder of the Dagger is aware of what's happened.
137	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The ''Sands of Time'' series has many examples.
138	** In the first game, the Prince accidentally releases the Sands of Time... so he and Farah (a princess) try to fix it.
139	** In the second, he [[YouCantFightFate fights fate]]... [[ScrewDestiny and wins]].
140	** In the third, the Vizier [[PhysicalGod turns himself into a god]]... so the Prince and Farah kill him, [[BeyondTheImpossible even though he's supposed to be unkillable.]]
141	* 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.
142	* StableTimeLoop: ''Warrior Within'' reveals [[spoiler:that the Prince is stuck in one. He was always meant to open the Hourglass and then rewind time so it never happened, only for the Dahaka to then chase him for years until he arrived at the Island of Time. He would then kill Kaileena, who becomes the Sands upon her death while the Dahaka continues to try and kill him for opening them.]] [[spoiler:He's able to break it using the Mask of the Wraith, changing both his own and Kaileena's fate by killing the Dahaka.]]
143	* TakeYourTime: In ''The Sands of Time'' trilogy, some ledges can support the Prince indefinitely, but collapse immediately after he steps off them.
144	* TimeIsDangerous: The [[BookEnds Prince's repeated dialogue]] to Farah in ''Sands of Time'' and ''Two Thrones'' summarizes this trope.
145	-->"''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.''"
146	* TimeMaster: The Prince with his dagger, medallion, or magic. Not only are the sands the main plot device in the games, but being able to rewind when you make a mistake as a player is extremely useful.
147	* TimeRewindMechanic:
148	** The game gave the Prince a magical dagger that would let him reverse time if things got hairy or even if he died. The dagger was powered by magical sand, however, so it could theoretically run of charge, giving you a true GameOver.
149	** ''Warrior Within'' has the Medallion of Time, which also gives a time-rewind mechanic like the Dagger.
150	* TimeyWimeyBall: It's never exactly clear ''how'' time travel/manipulation works in the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy. While there are some specific tropes that can cover some aspects of it, the concept of time is hard to explain in detail, just with some allusions, like how the Prince says:
151	-->"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."
152	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Encouraged a lot in the ''Sands of Time'' saga of games, wherein even just a simple mistake at a platforming section can kill the Prince. At least you can rewind time rather than have to go back to a save point.
153	* TrilogyCreep: The ''Sands of Time'' storyline got a fourth installment, conveniently about the time the film is released.
154	* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: The jump button can be combined with the movement keys to roll in a specified direction. It can be spammed during combat to quickly distance yourself, or used in puzzles such as crawling through cracks on the walls. Some traps can also be evaded by rolling at the right time.
155	* WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief: In the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy onwards, the Prince can survive hits from deadly environmental traps that would realistically kill a person in one hit. Got sliced by rotating blades? Pierced by spiked traps? Flattened to a wall by pistons? All of these would simply reduce a fraction of the health bar.
156	* 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."]]
157	* YouGetKnockedDownYouGetBackUpAgain: Averted; in the ''Sands of Time'' saga, 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.
158	[[/folder]]

Context Franchise / PrinceOfPersia