Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia
The logo for the 2008 Prince of Persia game.
Developers	Brøderbund, Red Orb, Ubisoft, Pipeworks,Gameloft
Publishers	Brøderbund, TLC, Mattel, Ubisoft, SCEJ
First release	Prince of Persia October 3, 1989
Latest release	Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands May 18, 2010
Official website	Prince of Persia official site

Prince of Persia is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner, originally developed for and released on the Apple II Computer in 1989. The original game and its first sequel were 2D platform games, but the series made the switch to three-dimensional following the release of Prince of Persia 3D in 1999.

Even though Mechner has been involved with the series in varying capacities throughout its history, the games themselves have been developed and published by several different companies. The first two games in the series, Prince of Persia and Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, were developed by Brøderbund. Prince of Persia 3D was developed by Red Orb Entertainment and published byThe Learning Company on PC, and developed by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive on Sega Dreamcast. French-based video game company Ubisoft began developing and publishing the series in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and so far have been the most prolific of any company in bringing out new games in the series.

A film based on the series, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, was written by Mechner and released theatrically by Walt Disney Pictures in May 2010.^[1]

Prince of Persia Trilogy

In North America the three games were originally released separately as downloadable only titles on the PlayStation Store. The first, The Sands of Time, was released on November 16, 2010 while the other two games followed in December 2010.^[6] The Blu-ray version was to be released in North America on March 22, 2011^[7] but the collection then ended up being delayed until April 19, 2011.The Prince of Persia Trilogy (known as Prince of Persia Trilogy 3D on the title screen) is a remastered collection of The Sands of Time trilogy released exclusively on PlayStation 3 as part of the Classics HD range.^[5] The collection includes The Sands of Time, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, all previously released on sixth-generation video game consoles and Microsoft Windows, remastered in HD with 3D and PlayStation Network Trophy support on one Blu-ray Disc. It was released on November 19, 2010 on Blu-ray in PAL regions. The release marks the first Classics HD title to not be published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

Seven years after the events of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Prince finds himself constantly hunted by a terrible beast known as the Dahaka. The Prince seeks counsel from an old wise man who explains that whoever releases the Sands of Time must die. The Prince sets sail for the Island of Time, which the old man told him of, in an attempt to prevent the Sands of Time from ever being created, an act he believes will appease the Dahaka. The Prince arrives at the Island and chases a mysterious woman in black (whom he fought with on the sea) through the Empress of Time's fortress into a portal that transports the two into the past. The Prince saves the woman named Kaileena from being killed by the woman in black, Shahdee. Unable to grant the Prince an audience with the Empress of Time, Kaileena instead tells him how to unlock the door to the throne room in which the Empress resides. The Prince makes his way through the fortress, utilizing the sand portals to travel back and forth between the past and present, and narrowly escapes several encounters with the Dahaka. After unlocking the door, the Prince enters the throne room only to discover that Kaileena is actually the Empress of Time herself, who has foreseen in the Timeline that the Prince will kill her and who has decided to attempt to defy her fate, just as the Prince is doing. A battle ensues and the Prince proves victorious; he kills Kaileena and returns to the present. He believes that he has changed his fate, but another encounter with the Dahaka forces him to realize that in killing Kaileena, he was, in essence, the one to create the Sands of Time (as the Sands were created from her remains). The Prince then learns of a magical artifact called the Mask of the Wraith, which is said to transport the wearer into the past, allowing the wearer to alter his own Timeline. The Prince wastes no time in seeking out and donning the mask, which transforms him into the Sand Wraith and sends him back to the time when he first arrived on the Island of Time. He formulates a plan to force Kaileena into the present with him, believing that if he kills her then, the Sands of Time will be created seven years after the events of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, meaning it will be impossible for the Prince to release them in Azad. While still in the past, the Prince (as the Sand Wraith) ensures that the Dahaka takes and destroys his other self, who has just finished unlocking the door to the throne room, leaving the Sand Wraith the only Prince in that Timeline. This act loosens the Mask of the Wraith from the Prince's face and allows him to remove it and return to his normal form. The Prince goes to the throne room and, despite his pleas to Kaileena, his battle with her begins as before. He forces her into the present with him, and it is at this point that the game has two alternate endings, wherein the player fights either Kaileena or the Dahaka as the final battle. In both endings, the Prince sails home to Babylon (either alone or with Kaileena) only to discover that the city is being ravaged by war and the old wise man's voice is heard, once again stating: "Your journey will not end well. You cannot change your fate. No man can."

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Passing through India en route to Azad, King Shahraman and his son, the Prince, conquer the Maharajah of India for honor and glory. After looting the city, they continue to Azad. In Azad, the Vizier of the Maharajah tricks the Prince into releasing the Sands of Time, using the Dagger of Time. The Sands infect everyone in the kingdom, turning them into monsters. The Prince, Princess Farah (the Maharajah's daughter), and the Vizier remain unchanged due to the mystical qualities of their possessions: a dagger, a medallion, and a staff, respectively. On a journey to repair the damage he has caused, the Prince teams up with Farah to return the Sands of Time to the hourglass, using the Dagger of Time. As time goes on, the Prince and Farah start to grow closer, to the point where she admits her feelings to the Prince while he was unconscious. After they make their way to the Hourglass of Time, the Prince hesitates, and the Vizier uses magic to throw him and Farah into a tomb devoid of lights. Farah tells the Prince of the word "kakolookiyam" [From Hindu Sanskrit Fable Panchatantra: Kaka + Ulluka + Iyam: Meaning "Of Kak (Crow) and Ulluka (Owl)"], a word her mother taught her when she was little. The Prince awakens, and the Dagger and his weapon have been stolen by Farah, who left him with her medallion so that he would not be affected by the Sands of Time. The Prince pursues and catches her, but she falls to her death. Driven by grief, the Prince stabs the top of the hourglass with the Dagger of Time, locking the Sands of Time back into the hourglass, reversing the events of the game. The Prince awakens prior to the invasion of the Maharajah's kingdom, and makes his way to Farah's bedroom. He tells her a story about the events of the game, as she does not remember, but the Vizier appears, and fights the Prince. The Prince emerges victorious and gives the Dagger of Time back to Farah. As he leaves, Farah asks what his name is. He responds by saying, "kakolookiyam", to prove that his story was true. This title is credited with reviving of series.^[8]

The Sands of Time series

the Sands of Time trilogy, played out in three games between 2003 and 2005, keeps the common elements of an unnamed Prince, Vizier and Princess (Farah), and focuses rather on two critical elements, namely The Sands of Time and The Dagger of Time, both with elements of the concept of time travel. The Sands of Time have the power to infect and turn all forms of life into dangerous monsters, while the Dagger of Time has the power to slow down, stop and even reverse time. Time travel and its consequences feature both as gameplay and plot elements throughout the series, which is far more plot-focused than earlier games. As well as the three games mentioned below, a tactics game was also released for the Nintendo DS, complementing The Two Thrones, while another mainline game in the series, called The Forgotten Sands, was released in 2010.