History VideoGame / PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime

* RealityEnsues: Farah's hostile reaction to the Prince when he kisses her at the end. [[spoiler:Since the Prince ended up rewinding time to before the game began, all his adventures with Farah were undone, as were the feelings she developed for him. From her perspective, she's only known him for a few hours at most.]]

A remake was announced on September 10th of 2020 for release in March 18th 2021. Peep the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38t8AA-vaDs here]].

-->--'''The Prince'''

[[quoteright:347:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prince_of_persia_sands_of_time_cover.jpg]]

A remake was announced on September 10th of 2020 for release in January of 2021. Peep the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38t8AA-vaDs here]].

The game was originally released for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, UsefulNotes/Xbox and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2. A UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance ReformulatedGame came out at the same time, [[CompressedAdaptation loosely following the console storyline]] (plus a few {{Call Back}}s to ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'') but with completely different gameplay. It could be [[OldSaveBonus linked with the GameCube version]] for extra bonuses in both games. [[UpdatedRerelease An HD rerelease]] of this game, along with its sequels, came out for UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 3}} in 2010.

The games were originally released for UsefulNotes/GameCube, UsefulNotes/XBox and UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation2}}. A UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version came out at the same time, [[CompressedAdaptation loosely following the console storyline]] (plus a few {{Call Back}}s to ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'') but with completely different gameplay. It could be [[OldSaveBonus linked with the GameCube version]] for extra bonuses in both games. [[UpdatedRerelease An HD rerelease]] of this game, along with its sequels, came out for UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 3}} in 2010.

'''Farah''': You don't understand! I need that Dagger, to undo --

* IronicEcho: When the Prince first speaks with Farah, she demands him to give her the Dagger so that she can undo what he has done. Unfortunately, this increases his mistrust in her because the Vizier told him the same thing when he demanded the Dagger for himself right after the Sands were unleashed.

'''The Prince''': [[LampshadeHanging Your traitorous Vizier used the same words.]]

* RuleOfThree: In the first parts of the game, the Prince is thrice told that what he has done must be undone with the Dagger of Time. The first time happens right after the Sands are unleashed and the Vizier demands the Prince to give the Dagger to him. In the second instance, Farah [[IronicEcho uses the same words as]] the Vizier when she demands the Dagger for herself, which does not help giving the Prince reason to trust her. And finally, after saving Farah from [[spoiler:Sharaman]], the Prince himself finishes the line when Farah ¨tries to take the Dagger and is about to repeat the line.

A remake was announced on September 10th of 2020 with... less than stellar results. While it looks better than the original, the most common complaint is that it doesn't look any different than ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', a game that at that time was released 10 years before. It doesn't hold up to the current generation of consoles, and much less to other remakes of the same time frame.

A remake was announced on September 10th of 2020 with... Less than stellar results, while it looks better than the original, the most common complaint is that it doesn't look any different than ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', a game that at that time was released 10 years before. It doesn't hold up to the current generation of consoles, and much less to other remakes of the same time frame.

->''"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. 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."''

->''"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."''

** A case that spans multiple games, and can be easily missed due to the animation quality at the time. When the Prince makes it back into the Tower of Dawn and [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal ignores the Vizier's spiel about becoming all-powerful]], the Vizier thinks the Prince is about to kill him with the dagger. He initially reacts with anticipation, and only turns to fear when the Prince stabs the hourglass instead.]] Two games later, it's revealed that [[spoiler:getting stabbed by the dagger with so much time energy around (i.e. the sands in the hourglass or, failing that, Kaileena) would [[AGodAmI turn the Vizier into Zurvan]].]]

* HealThyself: By drinking water.

* {{Knockback}}: Most enemies attack by throwing the Prince to the floor. Fortunately he can still block while knocked down.

* OurTimeMachineIsDifferent: It runs on sand, actually.

** The Dagger of Time.

* TimeIsDangerous: "''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.''"
* TimeRewindMechanic: 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.

[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pop_the_sands_of_time.jpg]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Prince manages to undo pretty much everything that happened throughout the game - including Farah's love for him. Also, him managing to [[ScrewDestiny survive unleashing the Sands]] creates a TimeParadox that releases the Dahaka, leading to the events of the sequel.]]

-->'''Vizier''': Do you have any last words you wish me to communicate to the Princess before I kill her? Words of love perhaps?

-->'''Farah''': What is it?
-->'''Prince''': ''(breathing heavily)'' Nothing.
-->'''Farah''': You're trembling.
-->'''Prince''': I just don't like closed spaces.

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: The cutscene that precedes the Prince's battle with [[spoiler: the Sand Creature that used to be his father]] feature him completely defying gravity by running ''down'' a wall without falling. In gameplay, the Prince can perform this feat horizontally to cross gaps, but never directly downwards.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: The Prince [[spoiler: saves Farah from death by rewinding time to the max (and also unwittingly unleashing the Dahaka on himself), and he still doesn't get Farah in the end. At least, not until VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones]].

** A short-term case comes near the end of the game: after Farah [[spoiler: steals the Dagger of Time]], the Prince chases after her [[spoiler: and reminds her not to use up all the sand.]] Sure enough, [[spoiler: when Farah later falls to her death, there is no sand in the Dagger, and the Prince is unable to rewind time to save her.]]

* HoneyTrap: Subverted - [[spoiler: Farah isn't a spy or a traitor, but it's implied she and the Prince slept together. Afterwards, Farah steals the Prince's weapons not to betray him, but to finish sealing the Sands of Time on her own because he failed to do so on the first try - ironically, because he thought she might want to betray him.]]

* MacGuffinTitle: The Sands of Time are initially stored in an hourglass, can turn people into Sand monsters, and with tools such as the Dagger, can manipulate time itself for the user

** A sequence that takes place towards the end of the game features the Prince and Farah trapped in a tomb. Farah apparently falls through a trapdoor and the Prince follows her down a very long set of stairs to a hidden bathhouse. After passing through a [[OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther bizarre puzzle involving a series of doors]], the Prince finds Farah bathing and joins her. It seems as though the pair have sex, only for the Prince to wake up back in the tomb [[spoiler: with Farah, his sword, and the dagger already gone]]. It's left deliberately vague as to whether or not the entire sequence was [[AllJustADream just a dream]] or if it was [[spoiler: a genuine ploy on Farah's part to steal the dagger]].

** Also, by rewinding time to save [[spoiler: Farah, the Prince unleashed the Dahaka in the next game, since he used the sands to change the past]].

-->'''Prince''': What manner of machine is this?
-->'''Guard''': I '''TOLD''' YOU, IT'S THE '''PALACE'S DEFENCE SYSTEM'''! STOP WASTING TIME!

* PreClimaxClimax: The Prince and Farah have their implied love scene immediately before [[spoiler: she steals the Dagger of Time from him and runs away, kicking off]] the final section of the game.

** [[spoiler: The hourglass can serve as an even more powerful button, which the Prince takes full advantage of.]]

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The visions show the Prince later on that Farah will take the dagger from him, [[spoiler: leading him to distrust her at a crucial moment, which costs them the chance to seal the Sands. Hence, Farah waits for him to fall asleep and takes the dagger and his sword, setting off to seal the Sands on her own. The Prince realises what happened when he sees her medallion left behind.]]

* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: [[spoiler: During the Final Battle, the prince runs into the classic had/will problem when explaining the events of the game to Farah.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler: Since the entire game is narrated via flashback, when you die, the Prince backs up and says "that's not how it happened" or something similar.]]

* AbilityRequiredToProceed: The end of each world has an exit that requires you to use a move which can only be obtained by fighting [[RecurringBoss the Sand Griffin]].

* AdaptationalBadass: The Sand Griffin, a brand of [[EliteMooks Elite Mook]] in the console game, is now a RecurringBoss.

* EliteMooks: The Sand Persians. There are only 75 in the game (and they don't [[RespawningEnemies respawn]]). They're much tougher than the rank-and-file animal and monster enemies, you fight them one at a time ''à la'' human enemies in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'', are separated into many unique types, and must be [[LifeDrain finished off with the Dagger of Time]] or else they'll get right back up and keep fighting.

* ResetButton: The Dagger of Time.

* SetPiecePuzzle: Arming the palace's security defense system.

* SpikesOfDoom: Plenty of these, whether it's at the bottom of a pit or part of a malicious booby trap.

* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The Prince upgrades his sword several times throughout the game. The first replacement sword allows him to break through certain walls; the last and most powerful sword kills enemies in a [[EleventhHourSuperpower single hit]]. [[spoiler:Interestingly, the final sword you hold in your hand...ends up being exactly what you started the game with. Due to the circumstances of the game's climax, the true final sword ends up just being your basic blade from the very beginning.]]

* ThatDidntHappen: The Prince finally kisses Farah, but promptly [[ResetButton rewinds time]] when he gets smacked in the face. So the UnresolvedSexualTension remains.

* MindScrew: The game is peppered with premonitory visions that show you exactly how to traverse the incoming platforming section and what enemies to expect. However, as the game progresses, the visions become increasingly ominous, cutting away to Farah in a suspicious way and occassionaly showing her death. Even the Prince himself is shown to die in a few visions. This of course plays on the gamer's forged trust on said visions.

* MundaneUtility: Throughout the game, 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...smooch a girl, then rewind when she reacts badly.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Prince + The Hourglass.

* LedgeBats: Bats only show up during the trickier platforming sequences, usually when the Prince is supposed to balance himself on a beam.

** BenevolentArchitecture: No matter how much the palace crumbles, though, there'll always be lots of pillars, horizontal poles, ledges, small enclosures with parallel walls and flat vertical surfaces for the Prince to parkour his way through.

* DidYouDie: Essentially what the Game Over sequence in this game basically is. The Prince apparently said yes to this particular question should the player get him killed...before catching himself and realizing that saying he met a grisly end to some spikes probably doesn't make much sense given he's meant to be telling this story to someone ''after'' the fact. Naturally he asks to start again.

* FlashStep: Sand creatures can teleport right next to the Prince if there's too much distance between him and them.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A short-term case comes near the end of the game: after Farah [[spoiler: steals the Dagger of Time]], the Prince chases after her [[spoiler: and reminds her not to use up all the sand.]] Sure enough, [[spoiler: when Farah later falls to her death, there is no sand in the Dagger, and the Prince is unable to rewind time to save her.]]

* HeartContainer: The mysterious magic fountains that increase the Prince's life meter.

* HoneyTrap: Subverted - [[spoiler: Farah isn't a spy or a traitor, but it's implied she and the Prince sleep together. Afterwards, Farah steals the Prince's weapons not to betray him, but to finish sealing the Sands of Time on her own because he failed to do so on the first try - ironically, because he thought she might want to betray him.]]