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[ElFenomeno]

Got an itch to replay the Prince of Persia trilogy from the 2000s. Just wrapped up Sands of Time and what an awesome game this was and still is.
One of the greatest adventure games of all time. Back in 2003, my sorry ass PC with a Geforce 2 MX video card couldn't even start this game.
It aged pretty well for the most part, except the combat of course cause 2003.

Graphics are clean in 4k60, art style is top notch, the oriental atmosphere, the bloom, reflections, fog really create something special.
Each area is a platforming puzzle and the movement of the Prince is fluid, feels modern, with wall running, jumping and acrobatics all feeling really cool to pull off. You can really see how influential was this game in terms of platforming for games like Assassins Creed, Uncharted.
As for combat, yeah, its kinda rough. Its pretty basic, not terribly exciting and enemy variety is lacking. Still, jumping over fools heads and putting a dagger in a downed enemy doesn't get old. A time before God Of War, DMC 3, Dark Souls and the Batman Arkham games which are pretty much the bread and butter of the combat found in today's games.

Warrior Within is next. Can't wait, the OST is .

 

[Digity]

WW is my favourite of the three.

 

[AJUMP23]

A fun series.

 

[kevboard]

except the combat of course cause 2003.

more like Western Developer + 2003.
but even today the best western developed combat systems in games can't match the best japanese ones.
(ironically, the newest PoP is getting real damn close tho... like... real close)

in the first game it at least doesn't overstay its welcome too much, which I felt became a bigger issue in the sequels.

 

[TheAnt]

Liked all three to a different degree, but The Two Thrones is the one I would most gladly replay. It had excellent combat, challenging platforming and some fun stealth options.

I really wish more action adventure games put bigger emphasis on challenging platforming. Jedi Survivor had some, and they were great. Much more engaging than the autocomplete type you find in your typical Ass Creed, Uncharted and similar games of the genre.

 

[bender]

I only ever played Sands of Time because of the insane amounts of hype for it and never finished it. I went back a year-or-so ago and gave up pretty quickly. The combat just annoys me and the traversal mechanics are enjoyable enough to offset them.

 

[Nankatsu]

Sands of Time was really good back in the day.

 

[xVodevil]

Absolutely loved this game, probably the only game I've ever played some 7-8 times at least, back to back and just for fun quickly as a teen. Only problem is the fights are very repetitive, always the same combo jump over/stab/attack, at least combat was greatly improved for WW.
Now I'm thinking that I should also replay the trilogy, problem is last time I checked it seemed kinda tricky to get into shape for modern PC for 4K and proper support for xinput.

 

[rofif]

One of best trilogies in gaming...
Warrior Witinin is fucking GOAT.

 

[{insert code here}]

An all-time classic. This was close to peak Ubisoft.

 

[KyoZz]

Yep, this whole trilogy is a masterpiece.

Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, Rayman, R6, Ghost Recon... Ubi was goated back then.

 

[ElFenomeno]

more like Western Developer + 2003.

Besides DMC1, in terms of good melee combat in 3D, what else was there? Genuine question, I have no idea.
Curious how Ubisoft will handle the remake in terms of combat.

problem is last time I checked it seemed kinda tricky to get into shape for modern PC for 4K and proper support for xinput.

Didn't do lots of tinkering. Pretty straightforward actually. Just a widescreen fix from pcgamingwiki and DS4Windows for the controller support, GOG version.

 

[RagnarokIV]

WW is my favourite of the three.

is that the one where the main dude teams up with godsmack

 

[Digity]

is that the one where the main dude teams up with godsmack

Most certainly is.

 

[poodaddy]

This one's my favorite of the trilogy, didn't care for the other two.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

newest PoP

Which one is that?
Lost Crown or the Rogue Prince....of persia?

 

[kevboard]

Besides DMC1, in terms of good melee combat in 3D, what else was there? Genuine question, I have no idea.
Curious how Ubisoft will handle the remake in terms of combat.

there were multiple really fun arcade beat em ups like Spikeout.
none of them were DMC3 level or anything, but they were mostly responsive and played similar to something like Yakuza I'd say.

of course speaking of Yakuza, there was Shenmue. also not amazing, but still better than the overanimated and unresponsive combat of Sands of Time


edit: just remembered that Beyond Good & Evil was a 2003 game... western developed and a Ubisoft game as well, but imo it had way better combat than Sands of Time

 

[kevboard]

Which one is that?
Lost Crown or the Rogue Prince....of persia?

Lost Crown.

unironically the best combat of any western developed game that I know.
sadly a bit underutilized as most enemies die very quickly, but you can do some crazy shit with some bosses.

the combat is almost wasted being part of a meteoidvania and not part of a more combo focused game.

 

[MetalFreak]

Anyone played the trilogy on the ps3? How is it?

 

[EverydayBeast]

Prince of Persia's controls felt drunk back than, certainly better controls maybe could make it better.

 

[Muffdraul]

I only ever played Sands of Time because of the insane amounts of hype for it and never finished it. I went back a year-or-so ago and gave up pretty quickly. The combat just annoys me and the traversal mechanics are enjoyable enough to offset them.

Same for me. One of the last times I went against my own instinct and thought "I've never played a PoP game before, never been interested, but damn. People are doing backflips of joy over Sand of Time. Guess I'll check it out." I played it for a couple hours and stopped, it just wasn't my thing. I've gone back and given it a second/third/fourth chance over the years, but it just never clicks.

 

[kevboard]

Anyone played the trilogy on the ps3? How is it?

if I remember correctly it wasn't the best HD port. I don't remember what was wrong with it... but I do remember something was off... maybe the perofmance? actually not sure

 

[Soodanim]

I loved the PoP trilogy. I have next to no memory of what happens across the series besides a single element of each game, but at the time I couldn't wait for the next one in the series. I should really replay them all and wonder why I liked it at all relive the glory days.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Played through Sands of Time again somewhat recently myself - still enjoyed a lot about the game, though movement and platforming feels more sluggish than I remember, but still good. Combat is serviceable but overdone to the extent you have to go through it and as you say, enemy variety is left wanting.

Prince of Persia's controls felt drunk back than, certainly better controls maybe could make it better.

Good description really. It's not tight by any means.

 

[Fahdis]

Anyone played the trilogy on the ps3? How is it?

Wonderful minus WW. It has the same bugs as the original.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Besides DMC1, in terms of good melee combat in 3D, what else was there? Genuine question, I have no idea.
Curious how Ubisoft will handle the remake in terms of combat.


Didn't do lots of tinkering. Pretty straightforward actually. Just a widescreen fix from pcgamingwiki and DS4Windows for the controller support, GOG version.

An awful lot of games did combat exceptionally well... arguably better than today since the mechanics weren't so bogged down by a million different systems and everything having to rely so heavily on parrying as the highlight. From that 2003-ish era off the top of my head:

Onimusha, Rygar, Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden (it was a few months after Sands of Time, but whatever), Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Zone of the Enders 1 and 2 (both were pretty melee heavy), Way of the Samurai, etc, etc.

All of those games were immensely more successful at melee combat that felt impactful and that flowed well. Western developers were downright awful at that in 2003 and while things have obviously gotten better, I don't think they've ever quite grasped the fundamentals properly.


Anyway, I've always wanted to actually sit down and really spend some time playing the trilogy, though I've always gotten hung up about 5 minutes into Sands of Time... due to the combat, yes, but also just a lot of PC port quirks that bogged the experience down. Maybe I should get it on Xbox.

 

[ReBurn]

This game is the primary reason I keep my PS3 close by. I love to replay it every few months. I have it on Steam but I enjoy playing it on PS3 more. I wish the remaster would have happened but no sense waiting for that.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Lost Crown.

unironically the best combat of any western developed game that I know.
sadly a bit underutilized as most enemies die very quickly, but you can do some crazy shit with some bosses.

the combat is almost wasted being part of a meteoidvania and not part of a more combo focused game.

Yeah I feel the same way. I spent a good bit of time getting accustomed to the combat but ended up blasting through all the fodder/non boss encounters.

 

[saintjules]

Sands of Time was the game I didn't want to end. So good from start to finish.

 

[Diddy X]

Wow those empty maps, back in the day we didn't GaF

 

[kpopSuperstar]

I just played through Forgotten Sands, it's set between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.

I never played through Warrior Within, but I did play through 1 and 3. A lot of people were mixed on the second installment.

But maybe it's time for me to get through that one as well.

I remember liking that reboot as well.

 

[TexMex]

Sands of time > two thrones > warrior within

 

[March Climber]

more like Western Developer + 2003.
but even today the best western developed combat systems in games can't match the best japanese ones.

It usually depends on the genre. For example, the best japanese-developed shooter combat systems can't match the best western ones.

 

[adamsapple]

Unpopular opinion:

The Forgotten Sands was a pretty good game.

 

[kevboard]

It usually depends on the genre. For example, the best japanese-developed shooter combat systems can't match the best western ones.

Vanquish...

but ok, shooters are mostly better from the west.

 

[Judge Magister]

I just played through Forgotten Sands, it's set between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.

I never played through Warrior Within, but I did play through 1 and 3. A lot of people were mixed on the second installment.

But maybe it's time for me to get through that one as well.

I remember liking that reboot as well.

If you end up liking the darker tone and edgy characters it may become your favorite.
IMO it improves almost everything from SoT, it's more open and more challenging.

2008 reboot is a gorgeous game but the story was made in a way that needed a sequel, back in the day i thought selling an Epilogue as DLC was a scam.

 

[NanaMiku]

I'm still hating Assassin's Creed because POP died because of it

 

[Avid Reading Horse]

First one was great, second one I fell off pretty quick because it just seemed like it wanted to be a full-time action combat kind of game.

 

[kiphalfton]

I'm still hating Assassin's Creed because POP died because of it

First assassin's creed was cool concept. However, I'm absolutely amazed the series didn't die off sooner.

Ubisoft got real lucky with when they released it (on Xbox 360 and PS3), as there wasn't really anything like it.

 

[Kadve]

I always found it how all the games crashed somewhere.

Sands of time had terrible combat
Warrior Within had a really bad story/atmosphere
Two Thrones had the pointless and annoying Dark Prince mechanic

 

[Kadve]

I'm still hating Assassin's Creed because POP died because of it

Funny since Assassin Creed started out as a PoP game

 

[HYDE]

Ubisoft is so shitty…please transfer Prince of Persia to another skilled developer, who understands it's potential. Hell, they haven't even released a current system collection.