Longform Review | Prince of Persia: Sands of Time | Cliches Done Right

[@MattyManden]

I felt like the reason he distrusted Farah right at the end was because he saw a vision where she would steal his dagger after getting out of the prison/tourture chamber, so that probably made him think about why she would want to do that and came to the conclusion that maybe it's because she hates him for what he has done. Therefore he tried to confront her about it just before using the dagger on the hourglass, cause he didn't know if it would work, he was trusting her word that it was gonna undo it all, but he was afraid that he was about to be fooled again like the vizir did. Although by hesitating he ended up being the reason why she took the dagger. Very good video by the way :)

[@mrsaxophone4765]

Infact if the Prince didnt have the visions of Farah stealing the dagger, he would never had distrusted her.

[@RupertvdPrerie]

Funny time paradox, because the vision only exists because he hesitated

[@mrsaxophone4765]

@@RupertvdPrerie Well... If you think about it visions were about: Future routes: you will follow them Future deaths: you will avoid them Vizier and hourglass: more info Farah: WTF? Farah's visions are the only one he doesnt manage to understand... Leading him to bad choices

[@UnbekannterSoldat74]

That's what I thought as well. All the visions of Farah are somewhat disturbing and confusing, to you as the player as well. And I'd definitely assume, that the Prince had a troublesome attitude towars her, in the later game, due to these visions.

[@zainhartono7193]

I think it rewound to before the siege because by then the Prince is in a state of despair and regret and he probably regrets laying siege to Farah’s city at the time? As for that kiss at the end. I think it was meant to be a sad goodbye to Farah, meant only for the Prince. He will never have her heart so he kisses her and erases it. The last of their adventures swept away like sand. Kissing her would be nothing more than memory...a bedtime story.

[@rasengan7738]

This was my first ps2 game that i played so many times cause I didn't buy a memory card like the kid genius I was, so no saves. After countless replays again and again,I finally completed the game within 3 days (by not shutting off my ps2 and just pausing the game during night) . I remember the first half of the game by heart, everything. I loved the nostalgia and the way u explained the story of this wonderful game. A game i will never regret having played(without a memory card 😆) Thanks for this video keep doing what ur doing gg.

[@MikeZach]

Jahaan Singh I had an exact same experience with old Spyro games on the PS1 - could never save so just got efficient at flying through the game in a single day 😂. Thanks for your support! I’ll try keep a similiar style for the next video on Warrior Within.

[@raresmacovei8382]

You can finish the entire game within 3.5 hours (or 4.5 hours, I forgot exactly) lol.

[@thatdog2472]

So many people didn’t have memory cards

[@Falcore323]

Now this is one hell of a rabbit hole to fall into. I'll be bingewatching all of your POP reviews right now. Just played through Sands of Time after many years and I was thrown back right into 2006 or so, so I wanted to go a bit deeper. Love this game! Great video.

[@MikeZach]

Thanks Hannes! Hope you still had a productive day haha

[@platinoir]

one interesting bit that I wanted to add to your phenomenal analysis. is that in the middle section the game, the prince is conflicted between with his feelings and trust developing for Farah, but at the same time, in those future visions he receives he sees Farah stealing the dagger of time. funnily enough, the only time he decides to trust her in the hot-spring is where she actually manages to successfully steal it. This carries over to the player as well as they keep wondering if she should be trusted or trust the visions.

[@MikeZach]

Armando that’s a nice way to articulate the Prince’s ongoing anxiety and trust issues, and why his suspicion doesn’t feel COMPLETELY unwarranted. Wish I had presented it so neatly 🙂. Thanks for watching!!

[@mrsaxophone4765]

@@MikeZach like someone said that is the true reason of teh prince mistrusting farah. Every checkpoint has this vision of farah stealing the dagger, and because of this he hesitates when he reaches the hourglass. But farah instead never mistrusted him and she decides to steal the dagger because of prince's hesitation. But she doesnt betray him, as she leaves her medallion to save him from the infection of the sands.

[@nandologia_]

Dude, I just beat this game today and was looking EXACTLY for this kind of video. So yes, an audience for this exists ;)

[@MikeZach]

Glad to know there are weirdos like me out there 😂

[@shunkun8668]

1:19:12 everything is being rewound because he now has infinite amount of sand in the hourglass which constantly fill up the dagger therefore making him able to rewind time for longer then usual

[@MikeZach]

Shun Kun that’s a useful interpretation! can’t say it 100% solves all of the narrative dissonance, but I do like the angle!

[@rmsgrey]

@@MikeZach It fits fairly well with one of the taunts in Two Thrones where the Dark Prince suggests gathering up a really big heap of Sands to fuel a big enough rewind to allow things to be put right.

[@raresmacovei8382]

Nowadays I can finish Sands of Time in 3:30 hours. It's such a smooth playthrough. If you don't save and if we forgive the FMV cutscenes, the entire Prince of Persia trilogy is a series of games with no loading screens that play like a long uninterrupted cut.

[@coffeecaveman123]

I have a different take on the Prince's failure at the last hurdle. (1:01:45) In the vision you have immediately prior to entering the tower, the Prince sees ahead, past the events in the tower, to when Farah steals the dagger (which we never see directly, by the way). After which, he wakes up in confusion and backs away from Farah, drawing the dagger away and distancing it from her behind his back. He's obviously confused, so I don't think he suspects her consciously. But the seed of doubt has been planted. Which, at this point, plays into his two primary character tensions up to this point. His ego, and his relationship with Farah. He is slowly overturning his ego (in no small part because of Farah,) and becoming closer to her. He currently is having trouble accepting his feelings for Farah, or at least in a healthy way. His ego takes control of that doubt that has been planted in an attempt to protect him from confronting his weakness. Thus, the doubt is now targeted at Farah from just the angle his ego is trying to run from. That he's a prince, the son of a king, that she's a woman, she's a captured princess of a sacked people. So, *of course* it was foolish for him to think they could have a real relationship with genuine feelings for one another. And, if he can't genuinely love her, how could she genuinely love him and not betray him. The prince bringing up all those past circumstances, that not once came up after their initial distrust when they met, is just his own rambling personality grasping at straws trying to explain why he won't abandon his ego and put his life in her hands. Then, tragically, his petty actions start the final act, thus he himself brings about the prophecy of her "betrayal" (pretty deterministic, in terms of time travel rules.)

[@Rajaalke]

Well said! I always thought of it this way, but as you say it does seem overly deterministic. I mean, what a convenient vision for him to have in terms of moving the plot forward (a little too convenient, imo). Why should he only have a glimpse of this particular moment? Is it because of doubt that might have existed in the Prince's mind due to all of the reasons you listed that their relationship shouldn't work out? Or are the sands manipulating him? (Do the sands have agency, like Kaileena? Why does the Prince have visions at all? I mean I know functionally it's to hold the player's hand, but given that they end up playing such an important role as a plot device toward the end of the game, I think it's a mystery that deserves more of an explanation).

[@KOTEBANAROT]

What if he says he died sometimes and then goes "no wait, that didnt happen" because of the time shenanigans. Like, him genuinely getting confused remembering dying in some timeline.

[@MikeZach]

KOT EBANA ROT I like this interpretation! Some real post-time-travel trauma!

[@rmsgrey]

My reading is that he must be describing the fights in an insane level of detail, possibly even acting them out in front of an increasingly bemused Farah, and sometimes gets carried away with embellishing the dramatic fight he's imagining and follows it to its logical conclusion, when the actual fight was a dull vault, knock-down, stab, repeat for 20 enemies straight...

[@danletchworth2247]

This was my favorite game for years; I replayed it so many times I lost count, never bothered finishing Warrior Within, and only finished the next two sequels once. Except for the lackluster last boss fight, the first game just felt perfectly trimmed without any wasted space, padding, or grimdark early-2000s nonsense. It was a treat to see it again in this gorgeous resolution, way better than a Gamecube on a CRT, and hear someone articulate all the obsessive details that add up to what made it so fun. Thank you for putting so much work into this.

[@MikeZach]

Thanks Dan! I have always viewed SOT as the superior of the trilogy - a clean story with minimal hiccups and, like you say, a lacklustre boss fight. That said, I'm of a mind to keep playing through the trilogy and see if I can shake off that preconception, but knowing how damaged and traumatised the Prince becomes, I'm almost reluctant to. Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to watch through :)

[@MrMaa2007]

44:42 There is an arabic text on the wall that says: open sesame

[@MikeZach]

Great detail! I've always wondered what easter eggs might be hidden in this game that the typical English-speaking audience member would miss

[@TheBitishDragon]

in responce to the comment about the narrator saying the death in game did not happen, I like to think that because Farah is treating his story as pure fiction for the most part and its part of my head cannon that any death you suffer in game is the prince telling the story up to a point then Farah jumps in with the random grizzly death and he has to just shake his head and go "no no thats not what happened" backs up abit and then continues as if she did not interrupt.

[@gledianlalushllari9577]

The first time I got it, I didn't like WW either. I loved the first game, the love story, collaborating with her, protecting her. The second one was nothing like that, I didn't even recognized the Prince. I think I returned it the same day I got it, complaining to the seller that the game wasn't as good as the first one. She said that she hadn't played the game herself, but that's what kids had told her. I got WW again after a few days and liked it a lot. I'm still to this day divided as to which one is the best. Most people like the second one though, but I think it's because they didn't like the love story of the first. If you take the love story, I think WW beats it. It's better in any other way.

[@elliotvella3738]

Awesome video man! I've never played the game but stumbled across this vid and its now downloading as we speak. Hope there's more content to come!

[@AgentxSmithx]

I love the video, just a couple of comments that are a year late: Ancient Mesopotamians, including the ancient Persians, were not as dark skinned as you might think. The Middle East was conquered by the Arabians during their rise in the 5th century AD and beyond. They have the skin tone we typically think of as “Middle Eastern” today. If you look at the Afghan people’s, modern day Iranians, and other traditionally Mesopotamian peoples you’ll find them having lighter skin (not as light as people’s from Scandinavia, but still) and having lighter eyes is not uncommon. Perhaps having a va who is Iranian would have been better, but the physical appearance is not actually that off. Probably should have had black hair instead of brown, but not bad for the early 2000’s.

[@polskastylezz187]

the bugs in this game come from the fact that game isnt capped at 30 fps like all fights are longer on pc and the hd remasters

[@NebulousFumes]

A year since this video came out and its still criminally underrated! Either way super awesome that you put so much effort into these videos. Watched all 3 of em, its nice to know im not the only one who enjoys this franchise so much!

[@MikeZach]

Thanks for the kind words Nebulous! Honestly trying my damnest to finish the Forgotten Sands review but my PC is giving me some grief! Hope that one keeps the standards :)

[@NebulousFumes]

@@MikeZach I will definitely be there when you upload it!

[@panterxbeats]

Fantastic video. I really love your calm and sort of casual, yet in depth and insightful analysis of one of the most significant games of my childhood. I just finished it for the first time in probably 12 years the other night, beating it in one sitting. It was kind of surreal to breeze through 5 hours of a game that took me up to 11 according to my old save files, and sort of rush through images of my childhood without intending to rush through it.. although I'll be honest I skipped as many fights as I could towards the end lol. The platforming sequences out of the prison was always my favourite part of the game even as a kid and I wish moments like that were longer, but overall I still love this game and you perfectly articulated everything I felt about it as a kid and to this day. Particularly when it comes to the scene in darkness between the prince & Farah, as well as the eerie beauty of the final flash forward in the games last save sequence vision. Flaws and all this game is so special to me, and I think its actually aged really well asides from the combat. I look forward to watching your other videos.

[@MikeZach]

Appreciate it! Glad you were able to revisit the game and squeeze a new experience from it :)

[@nicholaslong8641]

Wonderful assessment of the game! Regarding the Vizier fight, you really hit the nail on the head when it comes to those mixed signals. I really thought he was going to unleash a secret move once you got to the balcony. In retrospect, it would have been lovely to see some sort of twist at that moment. Like just as the Vizier is about to land an otherwise fatal blow on the prone Prince, an arrow just soars past and pierces the Vizier in the heart. And we follow the confused Prince's gaze to a shot of the initially fearful Farah, holding her bow. Granted, they may not have a history as they did from the game's events, but having Farah come to the rescue a final time might have offered the Prince a level of closure-even reward-for his development as a person!

[@RupertvdPrerie]

Hey man, I just want to say I've watched all of your Prince of Persia videos all on different days and they're soooo good, you analyse them so amazingly wholesomely, I can tell it must be a loooot of work. I've watched them backwards for some reason (First two thrones then ww and now this one). Thank you so much for making these videos because they were really the highlight of the days where I just worked from home and every time I had to wait for something I'd watch the thing for a few minutes, genuinely was looking forward when I realized I had another one of these Longform reviews ready for today. Thanks for the great content and you deserve my sub in spades

[@kant.68]

Dude, Persia is modern Iran. And persians are arians, they look white mostly

[@vanyadolly]

This is to me one of the best coming-of-age stories and examples of character writing in any media. I mean is there a more perfect depiction of two naive teenagers trying to figure out their feelings for each other and how to be adults in a traumatic setting? There's so much character growth on the Prince's part, real emotional stakes and complexity, and at the end the real tragedy is growing up and accepting that life isn't fair. That you might not get the girl even when you do the right thing. I do think they consummate their relationship because thematically it doesn't make sense for them not to in the context of the story, but rather than showing something as awkward as it would realistically be, they're experiencing a shared vision of it being magical and perfect.

[@mrsaxophone4765]

when you get the third sword you instead get an upgrade! Surely enemies are hit the same way, but walls are easier to break, making you feel more powerful.

[@choieunmi9303]

And I thought it was obvious to everyone that the Vizier's magic can only do huge storms when fueled by the sands of time. Every time he casts something like that he is near them. He wouldn't really need any sands of time if he could be that powerful any day.

[@MrOSUrocker]

This is a very well done deep dive! Very pleasant voice tone and pacing, and hitting all the beats without sounding way too know it all

[@MikeZach]

Hey that's a very kind compliment, especially since I think it's improved over more recent videos. Thanks for watching and hope you stick around!

[@mrsaxophone4765]

I think that Farah doesnt fight the Vizir because she isnt a fighter. A prove is that she usually hits you with her bow, because she isnt really a fighter. Yes, she discovers her abilities, but only because she had to do it, she was alone, she needed to survive. After the sands of time are unleashed, farah fights for her life, she changes, and this change occurs after she is enslaved. I think that her father told her a lot of tales about the sands of time etcetera, she has always been told that the dagger must not release the sands in the hourglass. She never really trusted it all (this is why the prince tells the story, she doesnt believe it), but she is scared when the sands of time are unleashed, because her father always told her that it must not happen. Then when the sands are finally unleashed, she now believes it all, she is traumatized. Also I think that in the story the prince tells farah, he never tells about her, maybe he skips all the parts refering to her or he just refers to her as a girl, not as Farah... Idk if this makes sense

[@robinanwaldt]

Fun Fact: The scene in which the prince wakes up in panic, hiding the dagger from Farah is optional, since the game doesn’t force you into the light pillar like in similar previous cutscenes.

[@Anika9691]

You ruined it for me

[@mrsaxophone4765]

It kind of is non optional. Every time the game points to the light pillar because it wants you to see the future. The game doesn't want too force you doing it, but someway it tells you to.

[@thatdog2472]

@@mrsaxophone4765 does he charge straight into it when it appears

[@IZINA1997]

Tbh I always saw him kissing Farah after the Vizier fight as his goodbye to the girl he fell in love with since both her and the kiss are now lost to the sands of time with his rewind. I don't think he would have ever abused the Dagger's power to go further.

[@aidancoutts2341]

Yeah idk where mike was going with this point...

[@MikeZach]

That’s not a bad outlook. Again, thematically it’s a nice monent. I just think it’d get twitter outrage in 2020 😂

[@BlazerK1914]

I enjoyed Sands of Time and its story. I also like the part where the Prince uses the Hourglass’ sands to time travel. Sure he has to end his relationship with Farah, but that was caused by his mistakes, and I think it’s best that the Prince rewinds time to prevent an apocalypse from happening.

[@coffeecaveman123]

About the Prince time travelling back to before the siege, I had never questioned it before you mentioned it. (1:19:40) I guess it just always made sense to me. But if you pushed me to explain, I suppose I'd say because the Prince's guilt and goal that is drilled into us again and again, by himself and others, is for him to "undo what I have done". So, purely logically, no, it doesn't make sense. But narratively, yes, it does make sense. It turns back in time to undo what he has done, which began with his pride during the siege (character arc, full circle). If you wanted to explain that*, you could say the Sands of Time is soft magic and the hourglass turned back *his time, either through omniscience, or interpretation of his intentions. (OR, you could just say the Hourglass is protecting the timeline before it was removed from the maharajah's palace, if you wanted to be unromantic about it.)

[@rmsgrey]

Later in the series, we learn more about the sands and their origin, so it makes sense that they have a degree of will or motivation of their own and can respond to the Prince's desire.

[@rickeyhetabur8888]

If they remastered this series it would sell like crazy, one of the better games from the ps2 era

[@MikeZach]

Well I suppose we’ll find out in January 😂

[@FraserSouris]

I doubt it. The past 2 POP games sold "lukewarm numbers" according Ubisoft. How is that going to change now when smaller linear games are even less of a sell as they were in 2010?

[@TheGintama86]

they already made ports for the origional trilogy for ps3 ps4 now theres a remake coming out in march i think

[@oliverjoyce3768]

Fantastic video Mike, full of great insights into a game that totally floored me the first time I played it. I think what I liked about Sands of Time (compared to the later PoP games) was the beautiful, bright setting - stunning architecture, amazing vistas and clever level designs. The second game just became steeped in dark and grime and lost a lot of the wonder of the first. Thanks for putting this together and I look forward to more of your videos. Subscribed!

[@MikeZach]

Cheers Oliver! Can't help but agree. The level design and, at least for me, the bright, vivid colour palettes always attracted me to the game. The second game seems to lose these: the vivd blues of the fountain world, the mosaic sunsets and warm interiors. The third game seems to improve upon this but (from memory, haven't touch it in years) delivered a less compelling story. Thanks for subbing and watching!

[@ubonthemic]

underrated channel. underrated video!

[@MikeZach]

Thanks Usama!

[@twosadcows4549]

I remember when I was a kid POPs hair irritated the fuck outta me. It is always moving even when there is nothing that would causes it to move.

[@Trickstick77]

I love this game and enjoyed your review. One small thing that I would change would be when you were reading part of a larger block of text, I would do something to highlight the section that you are reading. It would make it easier to read along, which is something I find myself trying to do.

[@MikeZach]

Thanks for the heads up! Was just finishing my Warrior Within video, but I'll look back through and see if I can put in this effect :)

[@sykune]

As someone said in a earlier post The reason everything rewound is because when plunged the dagger into the top of the hour glass he also activated it and considering there was limitless sand there it rewound farther back then should be possible in general. Which was the premise for the movie itself.

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

A thing I can mention about the Prince "killing" sand monsters with a new sword: It's probably Farah's amulet that lets him kill the monsters. In Warrior Within he has the amulet, which sucks up the sands and lets him use the powers of Sands of Time. Technically, there's also Two Thrones, where he doesn't have the amulet, but can also kill sand infected scythians with a little kitchen knife, so it's kinda 50/50

[@ivanheernaandez]

There's no sand monsters before getting the Dagger of Time in TTT.

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

@@ivanheernaandez well, the enemies he faces do turn to sand don't they? Unless it's just game mechanics with no ties to lore

[@ivanheernaandez]

​@NiCoNiCoNiCola Before the cutscene where Prince gets the Dagger of Time, enemies just die and lie down dead because the Sands of Time haven't been released from Kaileena yet. Once Kaileena is killed by the Vizir, and Prince gets the dagger, that's when the enemies start to become sand infected because the Sands of Time have been released, that's also what allows Dark Prince to manifest. TLDR; You never fight sand monsters with the kitchen knife from the beginning.

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

@@ivanheernaandez seriously? Damn, must have been too long since I've played it. Always thought the enemies just dissolved into sands. Oh well, the Prince killing enemies in endgame of SoT is still not a plot hole

[@starbirds007]

The reason why when the prince puts the dagger in the hourglass the time just rewinds is because, it is an hourglass full of sands of time. And when combined with the dagger it will, of course, rewind time.....BUT THAT'S JUST A THEORY. A GAAAAME THEORY.

[@Alex-mo9tu]

Don't know if you'll see this Mike, but I really enjoy your review of this game, your point of view really helped me see so much more details of the story that I didn't noticed for the past decades, and I had to applaud about how you didn't ignore the relationships and character arc, analyzing the growth between the Prince and Farah, which point it out why it is necessary to have Farah in the game, is to make us all feel warmth, caring and more human in this long Journey ( no wonder why I felt so empty and alone while playing Warrior Within) this is a perfect example of the combination of fantasy storytelling, art style, character building and gameplay, Sands of Tome is easily my favorite game of all time, and I really do hope to see you do Prince of Persia 2008 Review, the story of Elika and the Prince as well !

[@MikeZach]

Glad you enjoyed, Alex! I have to agree that after all these years (since first playing the game, and even after making the video) that it still ranks as my favourite. The character development, while's predictable, just can't be beat! POP 2008 is in the pipeline , just need to fix some footage and record the script! :)

[@rmsgrey]

I'm not sure how people take 20 hours to complete the game, even on a first run - when I wrote a guide for the game, which meant pausing frequently to type directions and descriptions into a text document on a separate machine, the whole process only took about 12 hours - at the time, it was taking me about 6 hours to complete the game on a fresh start, getting all the sand clouds and life extensions, and with a fairly time-consuming approach to combat - if you knock down the easy enemies without killing them, then you can focus on the one or two tough enemies present rather than having all the enemies present at one time be the toughest ones. Admittedly, I'd also routinely bypass combats where you didn't need to stop and fight, so it probably does all even out in the end. One other thing that sticks out about the game is just how much it both emphasises and rejects the idea of "honour and glory" - the narrator is at his most scathing, and the contemporary Prince at his most contemptible when talking about honour and/or glory. It's the Prince's quest for honour and glory that leads him to claim the dagger; his father's that tempts him into accepting the Vizier's treacherous scheme, and the Prince's attempts to rationalise his attraction to Farah revolve around his honour.

[@user-fm9ww2wk1i]

Finished this masterpiece for the nth time and found this video

[@Deimos_Fresh]

As a kid I re watched trailers of The Sands of Time and was captivated by all slow mo acrobatics and combat against sand monsters. It was so new and awesome for me, I really wanted to experience it myself. And then my first game in the series was Warrior Within. I was confused that I couldn't finish the sand monsters with a stab like Prince did with the Dagger of Time in SoT trailers. I did played SoT much later after I completed WW and... yeah, it was quiet basic after WW. But as years passed by I did find myself replaying SoT the most. And I learned basic combat to the point of annihilating everything pretty easy and I actually started to appreciate simplistic combat more as it allowed to be a little more creative with how you fight. But Ninja Gaiden it is not. Still I find myself enjoying SoT the most even if it was not my first game in the series. Also is it me or did Prince leave the Amulet of Time at 1:18:00? He does have it in WW, but I think he actually didn't picked it up after he rushed toward Vizier.

[@MikeZach]

Thanks for sharing the memories mate. As years go by I like it more and more. Re the amulet, he does seem to leave it there. Perhaps that's how it's duplicated for WW?

[@Deimos_Fresh]

@@MikeZach, since Prince didn't grab it before the Grand Rewind, he really shouldn't have it in WW. It's hard to say if it's a plothole or a retcon or maybe Prince did grabbed it since the medallion was out of frame before Prince rushed toward Vizier. Either way Warrior Within reintroduced it and SoT remake will most likely point at it's importance for smooth transition to WW remake.

[@Searibox]

always loved the song in the ending in this video review

[@jesusdelcanto9715]

I've just discovered your channel and I really enjoy its content. I knew about this game and saw the movie long ago, but just recently played the game for the first time. I thing it's gorgeous, in many aspects.

[@wildhunt6350]

What i LOVE about this game is, that the more progress into the story the prince makes, the relationship with Farah changes. At the beginning when you get hurt infront of Farah she doesn't comment and further in story she starts to comment saying be careful or even CRYING yes CRYING when the end is near in the elevator. She cries these 10 seconds where you have the oportunity to reverse it. Its those details the small things the character growth that makes this game a gem and it will always have a special place in my heart. I played it over 85 times might be 90 meanwhile. I stoped counting after 90 😆 It was my first PC game i was 11 when started playing it once i had a my own PC.

[@Happytreefriendsfan3]

Wow, this was an excellent analysis. I can't wait to play the other two games in the trilogy so that I can watch those videos of yours as well.

[@MikeZach]

Happytreefriendsfan3 1. Thanks for watching! Definitely play those other two first - you only get to experience a story for the first time once, while these vids will always be here! And 2. I had completely forgotten about Happy Tree Friends. What an early 2000s throwback 😂

[@Happytreefriendsfan3]

@@MikeZach I haven't rewatched happy tree friends in quite some time, even though I loved it a lot when I was younger, to the point that I named my youtube account the way I did (as you noticed). 😂

[@mattsolomon2777]

Lol "Crushing Isolation". Cool video

[@starbirds007]

27:25 The vizier has the staff, it was explained in two thrones ( during the villian monologue in the throne room ) it was obtained from the island of time when the maharaja plundered it, maybe the medallion came from the island aswell?

[@willisthadogsbollucks2677]

Honestly i think the, " no no no that didint happen" works since he can rewind time so he couldve died then reverse but then realise it didnt play out like that. Thats how i rationalise it anyways haha

[@Anika9691]

Just subbed and thanks for making such a beautiful , detailed and charming video on one of my favorite games.

[@evilduck44]

I’m 30 mins into the video and I’m loving great job mate. Just subscribed!

[@MikeZach]

Thanks mate - you've got hours ahead of you if you commit to watching the whole trilogy! haha

[@claudiugusoi]

Hey man, just found your channel by searching for a good review just to remind me of my fav childhood games. Glad I did, appreciate your work and here's hoping for same quality content in the future!

[@MikeZach]

Thanks Claudiu! Merry Christmas 🎄

[@arunkenta]

Would like to watch pop 2008 reboot!

[@2097xl]

Cant wait to replay the Tower defense and the mirror puzzle in the remake considering those puzzles still give me shit to this day

[@MikeZach]

Honestly me too. I expect combat and acrobatics to be copied and pasted, but revamping the puzzles (and adding more) is really where they can go nuts.

[@anonvideo738]

Once you realize the mirror puzzles have worn patches on the floor where you have to put the mirrors they're a lot easier

[@ofskittlez]

Why is it that games from 2003 looked photorealistic in 2003, but look cartoony now?

[@MikeZach]

Nostalgia (and our imaginations chipping in) is one helluva drug

[@panterxbeats]

Another factor is that these games were made for older/CRT TVs and look/play significantly better on them :)

[@DuinHark]

Ill never forget the library. I had the same problems you had as a kid.

[@MikeZach]

Kotor it’s a stunning set piece! Much more fun to revisit when you know the tricks 🙂

[@UnkkRell]

Facts Like How Did After He Reseted The Hourglass After Farrah Dies & They Wake Up , How Did He Already Again Have The Dagger Of Time In The Camp ? 🤷🏾‍♂️😂

[@AvidZKTJo]

Great in depth review of this masterpiece of a game! 👏 One of my favorites of all time and cuz of this game I'll always buy the next POP game to come out cuz I'm a huge fan of this franchise for life and thus I'm sooooooo looking forward to the remake!!! Can't wait!!! I'm really hoping for even more banter between the Prince and Farah in the remake, honestly over everything else (graphics, combat, puzzles, acrobatics) it's the banter between the two in the remake I'm really looking forward to. I just hope they expand on it and don't just copy/paste the same script. Again, great review of a great game! 👏🥳👏

[@MikeZach]

Katie it was lovely to read all your comments! Glad you enjoyed and also have fond memories of such a charming game 🙂

[@cherifgrib]

I know this video is old but i love sands of time

[@MikeZach]

You and me both m8!

[@jcol341]

I have a few comments about things but the biggest one is about the final boss fight. I can see that you're parrying but you keep dropping the chain. The combat is simple but the true test is of mastery. He's a very easy boss to lame out and you have full sand. But it's a chance for you to style on him and see for yourself just how much you've grown. But you can also just lame it out too.

[@timiterner8181]

This game made my childhood!

[@mattsolomon2777]

You should cover the Max Payne games. All of them are really well made

[@sawnoff95]

I've watched all of your PoP trilogy reviews right through and they're honestly brilliant mate! Keep up the great work 👍 how long did it take you to script, record and edit all of the footage lol?

[@MikeZach]

Super kind of you to say! At a guess, scripting might take about 8 hours with gradual chipping away at it, the recording takes roughly twice as long as the final product (so, about 3 hours for this one) and the editing might take another 12 hours for a video this long. That said, each video gets quicker to produce with familirity with software and improvements in speaking cadence 🙂

[@sawnoff95]

A hell of a lot of work but definitely well worth while as they turned out extremely insightful and entertaining 👍 deserve more views & subs mate.

[@OwenStaton1]

This is still one of my favourite games SOT and Warrior Within are top tier games

[@MikeZach]

O S M A G I C Currently working on my Warrior Within critique - hoping to have it out in the next week. A very different game but still memorable in its own right!

[@bialarcrais1763]

I Love TSOT and I Love WW TTT was sooooo hard I think way harder than WW. I Love the first game and I love the second game. But I think the third is sooooo god dammm hard. Love the video btw

[@mrsaxophone4765]

I want you to know something... at the section right before the prince and Farah separate each other in order to get to the baths, there is a sand cloud. There Farah tells the Prince to jump to reach her, and he is reluctant. If you try to jump, you'll die. So you have to rewind... and then the Prince will comment on Farah.

[@mrsaxophone4765]

It is at 46:35...just a little before that section, at the sand cloud between the two columns

[@MikeZach]

@@mrsaxophone4765 Dang what a cool detail!! I'll have to remember this for when I eventually replay this

[@mrsaxophone4765]

@@MikeZach but it may not be true. I am italian and i never played the original version of the game. Maybe in english the scene is different. Anyway was i clear in describing where it happens?

[@MikeZach]

@@mrsaxophone4765 Yep, perfectly communicated! When I get around to it in a few years, I'll try remember to reply to this :)

[@demoriel1431]

22:35 persia is like modern day iraq? sir you definitely don't have enough study about persia and its culture and skin tones at all!

[@MikeZach]

Hey Demoriel, thanks for watching. I always have more to learn, but as you can see from other debate in the comments, I was referencing that the historic location of Babylon is in modern Iraq. I could have been clearer for sure!

[@jiar300]

i got this game when i was 7. it took me almost 4 years to beat the game. every time i came to a stage i couldn’t beat i restarted the game for some reason

[@MikeZach]

jiar300 Yep! Hilarious how a first run through takes years, but approaching as an adult you can zip through in a few hours 😂

[@maleksamman1948]

Excellent vid! What were your thoughts on the Two Thrones?

[@MikeZach]

Malek Samman Thanks! I’m actually going to start playing through that tonight - from memory it has the best boss fights and acrobatics but goes for a bit of a generic ‘Hollywood’ ending

[@wasneeplus]

I really like this video, so don't take what I'm about to say too seriously, but please cut it out with the worrying about the race of the characters on screen. Especially since you apparently have no clue what Iranians (which is the successor state to the Persian empire, not Irak, which is mostly an Arab and Kurd country) actually look like. EDIT: I should've looked through the comments before writing this. I don't mean to pile on you by repeating things others have already said. Like I said: great video! Looking forward to the next one ;)

[@Euthyphro]

Great video. Though it hurt my feelings when you said Persia is now modern day Iraq 😢

[@rickyyacine4818]

True 🤔😢 rip sasaniad presia 218 ad 650 ad btw in bathes level after u go to underground the prince say it said the place on ancient place he mean old sasanid presia also fun fact first pop 1 is set on the buyid empire in 900s ad not cyrus times but in pop 2 and 3 they changed too cyrus time like Babylon tower but in Arabian look like presia capital wish is wired I think especially in 3rd game wish is kinda tolerated that why in pop 1 u find him in Arabian style prince but in pop 2 and pop 3 its in presian mixed Arabian clothes

[@d_dash445]

Rewatching after the remake reveal.

[@MikeZach]

Hardcore Panda then you better prepare yourself to watch my eventual review of the remake too 😂

[@d_dash445]

@@MikeZach Already subscribed back then bro which already means I am prepared.

[@robinanwaldt]

I’m extremely curious if they are doing a straight remake without any changes to the gameplay or narrative, or if they actually have a few new things under their sleeve.

[@omidmidro]

Good video❤️❤️ But in 22:37 Persia is IRAN, not Iraq

[@aidancoutts2341]

This is my favourite game. You missed some stuff, but otherwise good video.

[@MikeZach]

Thanks Aidan. What else would you have liked covered?

[@aidancoutts2341]

@@MikeZach you seem to gloss over the vision of farah stealing the dagger, but others have addressed this in the comments.

[@eduardnica9156]

This game is getting remastered

[@MikeZach]

HOLY SHIT YOU'RE RIGHT

[@mrsaxophone4765]

@@MikeZach Nope. The shit is getting remastered... For what I have seen, the remake is just ruining a beautiful experience. They could have made an almost perfect game into a perfect game, but it looks like they dont want it to happen, they just want to ruin everything. I hope that the fact that the release date has been changed means that the remake will be better than what we have seen till now...

[@max_galingumas9409]

22:45 most of Iranians/Persians look like Europeans. their supreme leader Khamenei is whiter than snow

[@Hynotama]

Could you stop bringing up mUh MiSoGyNy? Since you're so good at calling out narrative dissonance, maybe you should consider the fact that this is how people were in the time before even fire arms were a thing. Especially in the middle east. Just a few hours before, you saw the daughter of the maharaja being taken as a slave. Maybe we can get over feminism and social justice to enjoy a story.

[@MikeZach]

Hey mate, thanks for watching. I’ll push back slightly and say that, yes, the Prince is acting sexist and immature - but that’s the joke and story arc here, the audience is meant to know he’s being a bit of a twat. That’s why, as he grows and matures throughout the franchise, we can appreciate his development. Call it infective feminism if you want. More than anything, I think it’s fun writing and a satisfactory part of his character arc.

[@Hynotama]

@@MikeZach oh I agree that it makes a fun and satisfying Arc for the prince that shows him maturing. I just don't get why you keep bringing up mUh SeXiSm. Maybe that's the joke of the video?

[@travelrambles8556]

not my cup of tea but if sounds like you kept yourself happy and bussy making this!

[@MikeZach]

Exactly right! But more travel vids will be on the way soon :)

[@hydrix868]

Persia: Modern day like IRAQ??????? are you kidding me? go read some history before making a big video next time wtf Persia is Iran

[@MikeZach]

Calm down m8. The map on screen centres on Babylon (Persia's seat of power) which was in modern day Iraq, only a short drive south of Damascus. Empires are amorphous and spread over multiple state lines today.

[@hydrix868]

@@MikeZach just a search in Google shows it well Persia was Persis, Pars or Parsa modern Fars and Farsi is the language of Iranians Iran means the land of Aryans (which are descendants of Iranians and Germans) and derives from the third Sasanian Middle Persian "Eran" And search for the Persian capitals all over the internet it was Persepolis modern day Shiraz, Tabriz, Isfahan and so much more And never was Babylon, Babylon was just t a normal city which the Persian king wanted to invade it but the people of Babylonia stood for their city and thats why its so important in some notes and yes Babylon is in modern Iraq which is destroyed completely now but never was the capital of Persia, only in stories like Prince of Persia they made it glowing Persia was always Iran Persian gulf is for Iran not Arabs as well

[@MikeZach]

​@hydrix868 It's great you're passionate about the topic. I'm no historian, but I enjoy ancient history. Yes, Persepolis was a Persian capital for a few centuries, but if I recall correctly it was a rather small, ceremonial / spectacle city, and historians still debate the genuine purpose of the city. It was certainly no bustling metropolis / centre of power. Babylon *was* the capital during the Achaemenid Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire (which is a term you might disagree with), but was always the period I assumed the game was modelling itself after. Regardless, my point in the video which could have been articulated better was the Babylon, the Prince's home, is in modern day Iraq. If that comment upset you then I am sorry you feel that way. That said, if you think what I've said above has errors maybe I should do so more reading. Anyway, thanks for watching!

[@kant.68]

@@MikeZach Well, fair enough. But The Prince is royalty, and aryan. So is normal that he would look white man. Even today is not weird to see iranians resembling white pple