Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 "Today, I, Tamiris, Queen of Persia, praise your valor and loyalty, immortals."
00:09 Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're ranking every Prince of Persia game from worst to
00:14 best.
00:15 However, we will not be covering the Prince's mobile games.
00:18 "In doing so, he set me free, and doomed us all."
00:28 Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:33 the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:37 Number 11.
00:38 Prince of Persia 3D.
00:45 There were a lot of franchises that struggled when it came to the big transition to 3D,
00:49 and Prince of Persia was one of them.
00:51 The third entry kept things simple when it came to story, following the Prince as he
00:55 attempted to rescue his lady, Love.
00:57 However, it faltered where it was most important.
01:01 Gameplay.
01:07 The action itself was decent, but even critics of the time could tell its controls were awkward
01:12 and its camera a nuisance.
01:15 Series creator Jordan Mechner, who had little involvement here, even stepped away from the
01:19 industry for a time following its negative reception.
01:22 "Is there another way up?"
01:24 "Yes.
01:25 Through the secret door behind the bookshelf."
01:27 Number 10.
01:28 Prince of Persia The Fallen King.
01:37 Prince of Persia 3D isn't the only installment to be brought down by a poor control scheme.
01:42 Released on the DS as a sequel to the cel-shaded reboot, 2008's The Fallen King took the franchise
01:47 back to its side-scrolling roots.
01:50 While the story acted as an interesting follow-up to the reboot, a continuity Ubisoft would
01:54 abandon soon after, everything had to be done with the stylus.
01:58 Jumping, running, fighting, you name it, it was all achieved through tapping on the touchscreen.
02:04 While that worked well in other franchises, it didn't work quite as well here.
02:09 It grew tedious, especially since the game dragged on a bit too long.
02:18 Number 9.
02:20 Battles of Prince of Persia.
02:28 Another DS title, Battles of Prince of Persia did away with the franchise's traditional
02:32 gameplay in favor of tactics.
02:35 Set between the Sands of Time reboot and its sequel, Warrior Within, it focused on the
02:39 prince's accidental starting of a war while being hunted by the Dehaka, a god-like guardian
02:45 of the timeline.
02:50 In this case, the DS's control scheme was a great fit.
02:53 However, compared to other strategy games, it was a bit by the numbers.
02:58 Still fun, mind you, if not a bit simplistic.
03:01 There just wasn't enough new or exciting to carry it through a full playthrough.
03:10 Number 8.
03:12 Prince of Persia, The Forgotten Sands.
03:22 There were several different versions of The Forgotten Sands across multiple platforms,
03:26 but for the sake of this list, we are focusing on the good ones, namely those on PC, PS3,
03:32 and Xbox 360.
03:34 Similar to Battles, this game sought to fill in the gap between Sands of Time and Warrior
03:39 Within.
03:40 Unfortunately, by this point, The Prince seemed to be running out of steam.
03:52 It was a fun-filled adventure, but it wasn't very unique or creative.
03:56 It hit the right marks to be enjoyable without doing anything that memorable, meaning it
04:01 didn't stand out.
04:03 In hindsight, it's not that surprising Ubisoft chose to focus on other franchises until the
04:08 2024 revitalization.
04:18 Number 7.
04:19 Prince of Persia.
04:27 Here we have the one that started it all.
04:29 While there were plenty of other platformers around at the time, the first game in the
04:32 series stood out in a big way.
04:35 Through the use of rotoscope animation, every movement and every frame looked incredible.
04:40 It's credited as being the most cinematic platformer of the era, really instilling that
04:45 sense of dangerous adventure the rest of the series would carry with it for years.
04:58 It was also ridiculously hard, with deadly traps racking up your deaths unsettlingly
05:04 quickly.
05:05 It's quite short if you know what you're doing, and its controls likely haven't aged
05:09 the best, but it also got a solid remake in 2007 in the Sands of Time style.
05:18 Number 6.
05:20 Prince of Persia 2.
05:21 The Shadow and the Flame.
05:30 The best sequels strike a fine balance between what came before and what needs to change.
05:35 Well, The Shadow and the Flame is one of those sequels.
05:39 Reviewers of the time could tell how impressive of an improvement it was, and that hasn't
05:43 changed all these years later.
05:45 With the animation perfected in the first game, the style of the sequel was as smooth
05:49 as silk.
05:57 Naturally it also expanded on level design.
06:00 Levels were tantalizing, and deadly traps lay around every corner, just waiting for
06:04 you to mess up.
06:06 And you likely would, because the game is a brutal challenge.
06:10 While it also got a remake, it was sadly for mobile only.
06:21 Number 5.
06:22 Prince of Persia 2008.
06:34 When it started to creep into games in the 2000s, there were many players that didn't
06:38 care for the cel-shaded style.
06:40 But in actuality, the design has made those games age better than most, and that includes
06:45 the underrated Prince of Persia reboot from 2008.
06:49 It followed the prince as he aided a troubled princess in her fight against an ancient,
06:53 evil deity.
07:01 Gameplay was just as good as it was in the Sands of Time continuity, though a bit too
07:05 easy and therefore not quite as exciting.
07:09 Still, we were given a beautiful world to inhabit, and got to spend some time with Nolan
07:13 North as the prince, always a good time.
07:24 Number 4.
07:25 Prince of Persia The Two Thrones.
07:36 The finale to the reboot trilogy may not be as strong as the others, but that doesn't
07:40 stop it from being one of the best Prince of Persia games.
07:44 The way it played with the timeline was a ton of fun, having the prince contend with
07:48 the reborn villain of Sands of Time while also dealing with a dark version of himself.
07:54 Naturally, the level design, art direction, and gameplay were exceptionally well crafted
08:06 during this era in the series.
08:08 A new speed kill system allowed for quicker paced combat encounters, and the dark version
08:13 of the prince had his own mechanics to freshen things up.
08:24 Number 3.
08:25 Prince of Persia Warrior Within.
08:32 Honestly, the two Sands of Time sequels are so close in quality that which one you prefer
08:42 is a toss up.
08:43 However, we think Warrior Within is just a little bit stronger.
08:47 Set 7 years after the first, it follows the prince as he tries to appease the previously
08:51 mentioned Dehaka.
08:53 Ubisoft went edgy with this one, focusing more on violence and combat than puzzle solving.
08:58 However, it thankfully did not go overboard, even with the metal soundtrack.
09:10 We relished every fight we came across because the fight mechanics were just that good.
09:16 Some may prefer the more lighthearted nature of other games, but Warrior Within's tone
09:20 pairs wonderfully with its gameplay.
09:23 Number 2.
09:30 Prince of Persia The Lost Crown.
09:43 Other than a few mobile games and the botched announcement of the Sands of Time remake,
09:48 Prince of Persia was quiet for over a decade.
09:51 But now, The Lost Crown has brought the series back from the dead and we could not be happier.
09:56 Although the prince is barely in the story, instead focusing on Sargon, a member of the
10:00 Immortals who defend Persia, the game is a dream to play.
10:14 The pivot to Metroidvania allowed Ubisoft to make it more focused than a big action
10:18 adventure spectacle, while the unforgiving traps harkened back to the originals.
10:23 The result is the best of both worlds, with plenty of challenging boss fights and secrets
10:28 to uncover.
10:37 Number 1.
10:38 Prince of Persia The Sands of Time.
10:51 Could it really be anything else?
10:53 The Sands of Time is still considered by many to be the crown jewel of the series, and we
10:58 heartily agree.
10:59 It brought classic elements of the franchise into an epic scale from both a storytelling
11:04 and gameplay perspective.
11:06 The ability to rewind a death or just a simple mistake is something we definitely took for
11:11 granted.
11:12 Many elements and mechanics this game nailed could be seen throughout the action adventure
11:16 genre for years to come.
11:18 From Uncharted's parkour, to God of War's combat and puzzles, to everything in Ubisoft's
11:23 own Assassin's Creed.
11:25 It was the perfect game at the perfect time, and it remains a blast to experience over
11:30 20 years later.
11:38 Which game is your favorite in the series?
11:41 Share your love in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great
11:45 gaming videos every day.
11:57 Thanks for watching.
12:07 Bye.
12:08 Bye.
12:08 (upbeat music)
12:10 (dramatic music)