Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame

Last updated

Prince of Persia 2:
The Shadow and the Flame
Pop2-saf.JPG
US cover art (MS-DOS)
Developer(s) Broderbund
Publisher(s) Broderbund
Ubisoft
Designer(s) Jordan Mechner
Composer(s) Jonelle Adkisson
Platform(s)
ReleaseMay 1993: DOS [1]
1994: Mac, FM Towns
1996: SNES
Genre(s) Cinematic platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame is a 1993 cinematic platform game released by Broderbund for the MS-DOS, and later ported to Macintosh, Super NES, and FM Towns. It is the second installment in the Prince of Persia series, and a direct sequel to 1989's Prince of Persia . Both games were designed by Jordan Mechner, but unlike the original, he did not program the sequel himself. [2] In the game, players control the Prince as he attempts to return to Persia and defeat the evil wizard Jaffar once and for all, who has assumed his appearance, seized the throne, and put his love interest, the Princess, under a death spell.

Contents

Despite being ported to a smaller range of platforms than the first game, Prince of Persia 2 was also a commercial success, and was regarded by most contemporary reviewers as an improvement over its predecessor. The final installment in the original Prince of Persia trilogy, Prince of Persia 3D , was released in 1999. An updated version of the game for iOS and Android was released in 2013 without the "2" in the title.

Gameplay

Similar to the first Prince of Persia , the character explores various deadly areas by running, jumping, crawling, avoiding traps, solving puzzles and drinking magic potions. Prince of Persia 2 is more combat-heavy than its predecessor. In the first game, enemies appear only occasionally and are always alone, while in the sequel, up to four enemies may appear at once, sometimes flanking the player, and may even be instantly replaced by reinforcements when they are killed. As in Prince of Persia, the goal is to complete the game under a strict time limit from 75 minutes (which start after a certain point in game) that passes in real time. Lives are unlimited, but time cannot be regained (except by reverting to a previously saved game). In other areas, more significant improvements have been made. The graphics are far more complex than the simple look of the game's predecessor, the areas explored are larger, and the variety of backdrops is greater.

Plot

The game takes place eleven days after the events of the first game. During this period, the Prince was hailed as a hero who defeated the evil Jaffar. He turns down all riches and instead asks for the Princess' hand in marriage as his reward, to which the Sultan of Persia reluctantly agrees. The game begins as the Prince enters the royal courts of the palace. Before he enters, his appearance changes into that of a beggar. Nobody recognizes him and, when he attempts to speak with the Princess, a man who shares his appearance (Jaffar, who is magically disguised) emerges from the shadows, ordering him to be thrown out. With guards pursuing him, the Prince jumps through a window and flees the city by way of a ship.

Falling asleep on the ship, the Prince dreams of a mysterious woman who asks the Prince to come to her. At this time, the ship is struck by lightning, cast by Jaffar. When the Prince regains consciousness, he finds himself on the shore of a foreign island. He comes to a cave full of reanimated human skeletons that fight him. He finally escapes on a magic carpet. In the meantime, in Persia, Jaffar seizes the throne in the guise of the Prince. [3] The Princess falls ill under Jaffar's spell of gradual death. [4]

The magic carpet takes the Prince to the ruins of Basra filled with screaming flying goblin heads, snakes and traps. Arriving at what appears to have once been a throne room, the Prince loses consciousness after touching a sword on the ground and has another vision. The mysterious woman, revealed to be his mother, appears again. She explains that the Prince is of a royal lineage, the only survivor of the massacre by "armies of darkness" after his parents sacrificed their own lives to save him, and that the sword belonged to his father. She implores him to take the sword and avenge the fallen. [5]

The Prince rides a magical horse to a red temple, inhabited by warrior monks wearing bird headdresses. There, he finds that the shadow, created in the events of the original game, can now leave his body at his will. He wields his shadow to obtain the magic flame of the temple, at which point the bird warriors kneel before him. He flies back to Persia on the magic horse and confronts Jaffar. With the shadow and the flame, the Prince burns Jaffar, killing him for good.

With Jaffar's spell broken, the Princess awakens and the couple rejoice with their love for each other. The Prince orders the scattering of Jaffar's ashes. The game ends on a cliffhanger when an old witch is shown watching the happy couple through a crystal ball. According to Jordan Mechner, the plot of the old witch and the "armies of darkness" were set to be resolved in a sequel, which never came. [6]

Ports

Titus Software ported the game to the Super NES and released it in 1996. [7] It has some missing features and lacks several levels, including the last one. In August 2006, the Sega Genesis port was leaked. Ported by Microïds, this conversion was going to be published by Psygnosis, as depicted in the leaked version, but was canceled in an almost complete state for unknown reasons. [8]

The game can also be unlocked in the Xbox NTSC version of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time by finding a secret area. The GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox PAL versions feature the original Prince of Persia instead and the Windows version lacks the secret area entirely. The Macintosh version has high resolution graphics (640×480), the MS-DOS and SNES version only low resolution graphics (320×200) and (256×224) respectively.

In July 2013, a remake of the game was made available for iOS and Android mobile devices which is developed by Ubisoft Pune. The game includes options for both virtual buttons and gesture-based controls. [9] It is currently available on the Samsung Galaxy app store but has been removed from Google Play Store without any clarification from Google.

Reception

According to Jordan Mechner, Prince of Persia 2 was a commercial success, with sales of 750,000 units by 2000. [12]

Charles Ardai wrote in Computer Gaming World that "Prince of Persia 2 not only is in every dimension better than Prince of Persia, but ... is the cruelest, most infuriating, least merciful—in short, the best—game of its type I have ever played", with "an appeal that is absolutely irresistible". He criticized the imperfect savegame feature that forced him to replay areas dozens of times, and other aspects of gameplay, but concluded that the game "merits nothing but salaam after salaam ... a virtuoso performance by Mechner, one of the field's most devious puzzle constructors". [13] Power Play gave both the DOS and Macintosh versions a 68% score. [14] [15] Computer and Video Games gave the PC version a 92% score. [16]

Prince of Persia 2 won Computer Gaming World's "Action Game of the Year" award in June 1994. The editors wrote that it "certainly surpasses its predecessor", and called it a "smoothly animated horizontal scrolling thriller with cinematic scope, vivid action and daunting puzzles". [17]

Coach Kyle of GamePro gave the Super NES version a mixed review. He criticized the black outlines on the characters and the weak sound effects, but praised the eerie music and the quality of the challenge, deeming it "a tough thinking-gamer's game". [18] Power Unlimited gave the PC version a score of 70% writing: "The sequel to the classic Prince of Persia has just as smooth animations and beautiful sounds, but eventually falls short because the levels are less well designed than in the original and the puzzles have become too difficult." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Prince of Persia</i> (1989 video game) 1989 video game

Prince of Persia is a 1989 cinematic platform game developed and published by Broderbund for the Apple II. It was designed and implemented by Jordan Mechner. Taking place in medieval Persia, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess.

<i>Riven</i> 1997 video game

Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a puzzle adventure video game, the second in the Myst series of games. Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Red Orb Entertainment, a division of Broderbund. Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released for Mac and Windows personal computers on October 31, 1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM in 1998. Riven was also ported to several other platforms. The story of Riven is set after the events of Myst. Having been rescued from the efforts of his sons, Atrus enlists the help of the player character to free his wife from his power-hungry father, Gehn. Riven takes place almost entirely on the Age of Riven, a world slowly falling apart due to Gehn's destructive rule.

<i>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time</i> 2003 video game

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2003 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. The game was released on the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and Windows in November 2003. The Sands of Time is a reboot of the Prince of Persia series created by Jordan Mechner. Mechner served as creative consultant, designer, and scenario writer for The Sands of Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Mechner</span> American video game designer (born 1964)

Jordan Mechner is an American video game designer, graphic novelist, author, screenwriter, filmmaker, and former video game programmer. A major figure in the development of cinematic video games and a pioneer in video game animation, he began his career designing and programming the 1984 martial arts game Karateka for the Apple II while a student at Yale University. The game was a bestseller. He followed it with the platform game Prince of Persia five years later; it was widely ported and became a hit. Both games used rotoscoping, where actors shot on film by Mechner were drawn over to create in-game animation. Prince of Persia has become the basis for a long-running franchise, including a 2010 live-action film released by Walt Disney Pictures and an ongoing series of video games, published by Ubisoft.

<i>The Last Express</i> 1997 adventure video game

The Last Express is an adventure video game designed by Jordan Mechner and published by Broderbund in 1997 for PC. Players take on the role of an American who accepts an invite by a friend to join them on the Orient Express, days before the start of World War I, only to become involved in a maelstrom of treachery, lies, political conspiracies, personal interests, romance and murder, upon boarding the train. The game is unique in how it was created, its non-linear story, and in how events in the game are conducted within real-time.

<i>Gobliiins</i> Puzzle adventure video game series

Gobliiins is a puzzle adventure video game series, consisting of five entries, released by Coktel Vision for the Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh, iOS and Windows platforms. The first three titles were released in the early 1990s, the fourth in 2009, and fifth in 2023. The visual look of the series and its characters were created by French artist Pierre Gilhodes, whose style was used in another game from Coktel Vision: Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth.

<i>Flashback</i> (1992 video game) 1992 video game

Flashback, released as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the United States, is a 1992 science fiction cinematic platform game developed by Delphine Software of France and published by U.S. Gold in the United States and Europe, and Sunsoft in Japan.

<i>Prince of Persia: Warrior Within</i> 2004 video game by Ubisoft

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is an action-adventure game developed and published by Ubisoft for GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox on November 30, 2004. A port for the PlayStation Portable developed by Pipeworks Software, titled Prince of Persia: Revelations, was released on December 6, 2005. Two mobile versions of Warrior Within were published by Gameloft for the cell phone and iOS in 2004 and 2010, respectively. Due to issues with the in-game menu, the iOS version was pulled from the App Store for two weeks, re-releasing on June 18, 2010.

<i>Prince of Persia 3D</i> 1999 action-adventure video game

Prince of Persia 3D is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by Mindscape and published by Red Orb Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. A port for the Dreamcast was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive in North America the following year under the title Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights. It is the first 3D installment in the Prince of Persia series, and the final game in the trilogy that started with the original 1989 game. Taking the role of the titular unnamed character rescuing his bride from a monstrous suitor's schemes, gameplay follows the Prince as he explores environments, platforming and solving puzzles while engaging in combat scenarios.

<i>The Castles of Dr. Creep</i> 1984 video game

The Castles of Dr. Creep is a puzzle-platform game for the Commodore 64 written by Ed Hobbs and published by Broderbund in 1984. It takes place in thirteen medieval castles owned by the eponymous doctor, and the player's task is to escape from each castle. One- or two-player games are possible, allowing collaborative gaming for solving the puzzles. It was re-released via Steam on September 2, 2016.

<i>Kings Quest III</i> 1986 video game

King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human is the third installment in the King's Quest series of graphic adventure games developed and released by Sierra On-Line in 1986. The game was originally released for the Apple II and PC DOS, and later ported to several other computer systems. It was the first title game in the series not to feature King Graham as the player character.

<i>Kings Quest VI</i> 1992 video game

King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is a point-and-click adventure game, first released in 1992 as the sixth installment in the King's Quest series produced by Sierra On-Line. Written by Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen, King's Quest VI is widely recognized as the high point in the series for its landmark 3D graphic introduction movie and professional voice acting. King's Quest VI was programmed in Sierra's Creative Interpreter and was the last King's Quest game to be released on floppy disk. A CD-ROM version of the game was released in 1993, including more character voices, a slightly different opening movie and more detailed artwork and animation.

Prince (<i>Prince of Persia</i>) Fictional characters in the Prince of Persia franchise

The Prince is the name given to a group of fictional characters who act as the main protagonists of the Prince of Persia franchise, originally created by Jordan Mechner and currently owned by Ubisoft. Beginning with the titular original game in 1989, there have been several distinct Prince characters, all sharing general traits. The most prominent version was first featured in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003), who has featured in a large number of games set within that game's continuity. In the 2008 reboot, the Prince is not from a royal family, but was planned to earn his title during the course of his journey. Other versions of the Prince have appeared in related media, most prominently the character Dastan in the 2010 Prince of Persia film portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal.

<i>The Thief of Bagdad</i> (1940 film) 1940 British film

The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British Technicolor historical fantasy film, produced by Alexander Korda and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan, with additional contributions by William Cameron Menzies and Korda brothers Vincent and Zoltán. The film stars Indian-born teen actor Sabu, Conrad Veidt, John Justin, and June Duprez. It was released in the US and the UK by United Artists.

<i>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time</i> (film) 2010 American action fantasy film

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 American action fantasy film directed by Mike Newell from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, based on the video game series Prince of Persia created by Jordan Mechner. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, and Alfred Molina. It is an adaptation of the 2003 video game of the same name published by Ubisoft. Elements from its sequels Warrior Within and The Two Thrones are also incorporated.

Prince of Persia is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is centered around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia.

<i>Karateka</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Karateka is a 1984 martial arts action game for the Apple II by Jordan Mechner. It is his first published game and was created while he was attending Yale University. The game was published in North America by Broderbund and in Europe by Ariolasoft. Along with Karate Champ and Yie-Ar Kung Fu, Karateka is one of the earliest martial arts fighting games. It was inspired by Japanese culture and by early Disney animated films and silent pictures. An influential game of its era, it was one of the first to use cinematic storytelling and sound design, and rotoscoped animation.

<i>Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego?</i> Educational computer game

Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego? is an educational video game by Broderbund and Electronic Arts.

<i>Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown</i> 2024 video game

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a 2024 action-adventure game developed and published by Ubisoft, part of the Prince of Persia series. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 18 January 2024, and received positive reviews from critics.

References

  1. ↑ "Over 2200 Software Choices!". The Kansas City Star . May 28, 1993. p. 73. Retrieved June 2, 2023. NEW - Broderbund - Prince of Persia 2 - The Shadow and the Flame
  2. ↑ "NG Alphas: Prince of Persia 3D". Next Generation . No. 41. Imagine Media. May 1998. pp. 74–75.
  3. ↑ Brøderbund (1993). Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (PC). Scene: Level 3–4 cutscene. Princess: Dear Father: My heart is broken. The Prince has betrayed your trust. You must return with your army and take back your throne.
  4. ↑ Brøderbund (1993). Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (PC). Scene: Level 4–5 cutscene. Mysterious woman: Prince! Your bride is dying. Waste no more time. Come to me!
  5. ↑ Brøderbund (1993). Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (PC). Scene: Level 8–9 cutscene. Mysterious woman: Once, this was a great city, ruled by a son of kings. He was slain and his palace laid waste by the armies of darkness. I died at his side. You alone were spared, my son! I gave you up, that you might live. This was your father's sword. Avenge us! Avenge us!
  6. ↑ Mechner, Jordan (April 11, 2013). "Revisiting The Shadow and the Flame". Jordan Mechner's blog. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  7. ↑ "16-Bit's Last Stand". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 89. Ziff Davis. December 1996. p. 193.
  8. ↑ Evilhamwizard (April 30, 2016). "News/Prince of Persia 2 MD". Hidden Palace. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. ↑ Sliwinski, Alexander (July 11, 2013). "Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame returns on July 25". Joystiq. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  10. ↑ Lisa Karen Savignano. "Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (Macintosh) Review". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Power Unlimited Game Database". powerweb.nl (in Dutch). November 1994. Archived from the original on August 29, 2003. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (May 18, 2000). Game Design: Secrets of the Sages, Second Edition . Brady Games. p.  410, 411. ISBN   1566869870.
  13. ↑ Ardai, Charles (September 1993). "Broderbund's Prince of Persia 2". Computer Gaming World. p. 14. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ Steffen, Sönke (July 1993). "Prinzenrolle" [Prince Biscuits] (in German). Power Play. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  15. ↑ Michael Hengst, Michael Hengst (August 1994). "Prinzregent" [Prince Regent] (in German). Power Play. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Games Roundup" (PDF). Computer and Video Games . No. 146 (January 1994). December 15, 1993. p. 16.
  17. ↑ "Announcing The New Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World. June 1994. pp. 51–58.
  18. ↑ "Super NES ProReview: Prince of Persia 2". GamePro . No. 101. IDG. February 1997. p. 86.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.