Vintage Video Games #28 – Prince of Persia

One of the oldest and the best platformers, Prince of Persia is probably one of the first video games many of us played. Developed and published by Brøderbund and designed by Jordan Mechner for the Apple II and DOS (Yes that’s before Windows folks!). The main objective of the player is to lead him out of a dungeons and into a tower before time runs out. However, a game session may be saved and resumed at a later time only after level 3.

Plot: The game is set in ancient Persia. While the sultan is fighting a war in a foreign land, his vizier Jaffar, a wizard, seizes power. His only obstacle to the throne is the Sultan’s daughter (although the game never specifically mentions how). Jaffar locks her in a tower and orders her to become his wife, or she would die within 60 minutes (extended to 120 minutes in the Super NES version, which has longer and harder levels).

The game’s nameless prince, whom the Princess loves, is thrown prisoner into the palace dungeons. In order to free her, he must escape the dungeons, get to the palace tower and defeat Jaffar. But in addition to guards, various traps and dungeons, the protagonist is further hindered by his own doppelgänger, an apparition of his own self that is conjured out of a magic mirror.

Highlights: The fluidity of the character, animation before it’s time! To create the players platforming motions, Mechner traced video footage of his younger brother running and jumping in white clothes.

How to play:
Get your SNES emulator HERE
Get you Prince of Persia ROM HERE

Note: This console version has slightly better graphics than the original!

About the Author

Fifties Born in an irish field - dj, designer, radio show host and blogger Louise 'Fifties' O'Donnell went out into the world with one mission in mind. To hunt down big phat bass lines and share them with the masses. Dedicated to finding new music she is always on the trail of new talent as well as the big playas.