Prince of Persia Series Retrospective | An Exhaustive History and Review

A comprehensive video looking at the entire Prince of Persia series - every single full release and DLC. Part video game review, part history documentary and part feature length retrospective.
All put together over the course of 6 months of playing, recording, writing and editing. Sit back and enjoy the story of one of the weirdest and most chaotic franchises in video game history.
I'm never playing a Prince of Persia game again...
Patreon - / ifinishedavideogame
Twitter - / ifinishedagame
Credit for the incredible thumbnail goes to the immensely talented - @MicahTheBrave
All media in this video is used for the purpose of review, commentary or criticism and is defined as fair use under US Copyright law.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 - Our Tale Begins
02:05 - Prince of Persia
12:01 - Prince of Persia 2 Shadow and Flame
21:12 - Prince of Persia 3D
29:14 - Sands of Time (Console)
51:17 - Sands of Time (GBA)
57:24 - Warrior Within
1:08:16 - Revelations
1:11:54 - Two Thrones
1:29:40 - Rival Swords
1:33:31 - Battles of the Prince of Persia
1:38:49 - Prince of Persia Classic
1:44:59 - Prince of Persia 2008
2:01:11 - Prince of Persia Epilogue
2:05:52 - Fallen King
2:12:34 - Forgotten Sands (360/PS3)
2:26:42 - Forgotten Sands DS
2:33:22 - Forgotten Sands PSP
2:43:33 - Forgotten Sands Wii
2:55:21 - Prince of Persia Escape
3:00:08 - Our Tale Ends
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#PrinceofPersia #Retrospective #Review

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

If you'd like to see my thoughts on Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - well you're in luck! I just posted A Lengthy Review which covers the series history past the end of this video and examines the new game in quite some detail. Enjoy! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipSpd42tg9x7hMk

[@jeremyamburn3489]

love the work you're doing. idea on a lengthy video, megaman or megaman x series

[@DrakeDoe]

Two thrones gave us the line "Why is it that every time disaster strikes, I find myself without a proper blade?" probably the most self-aware the series has ever been.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That is a pretty legendary line

[@ravaszroland2066]

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@cubie30dimh]

​@@adammaniara5719 For some reason KZbin translate adds an "i" to your comment right before the emoji

[@liu3chan]

​@@IFinishedAVideoGame 1:36

[@Kbxbigbro808]

Yea that’s cap and u know it

[@allenharper2928]

One thing I always loved about SoT was if you died in a section, say from falling or something, the narrator (the prince) would say something along the lines of "No, no... I didn't fall and die, let me start again..." Since, y'know, he's telling the story and obviously alive lol

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It's such a cool touch and really adds so much to the atmosphere!

[@TheExFatal]

In WW, during the game over screen, blood splatters change depending on how you died - to an enemy attack, to a boss, or from falling

[@neonclouds9295]

Man's got Alzheimer's

[@LBerti96]

Kings Quest (2015) is citing this with it’s own narrator King Graham!

[@cameron9239]

Sands of Time is the shit, I loved it when I was younger even though the sand zombies scared me to death. I'm so glad you touched on the clothing aspect of the Prince aswell, how his clothing deteriorates. Not only does it make sense because he's in combat and doing parkour, but it almost acted as a waymarker for how far into the story you were. By the time his shirt has completely fallen away you know you're approaching the end.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

The fact that they even thought to include little details like that just shows what a thoughtfully designed game it is. Truly underrated

[@EmporioIvankof]

❤

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame kzbin.info/www/bejne/g567aJSVmptoq7c A new Prince of Persia in the making, and it's a 2D side scroller, and we don't play the prince.

[@SWOTHDRA]

​@@IFinishedAVideoGameyou skipped the part where his pants get dirty and if you stand still he dust himself off again. Also if you look at farah in first person, early in the game she will be annoyed, but later on her responses are softer and shy.

[@DaysDX]

Time progresses as you progress too. The insides of buildings are bigger than the outside in certain places. The clothing too... The work put into the environment and immersion was incredible.

[@sunsetman22]

there's something so classy and timeless about Sands of Time that no other game in the series has ever come close to replicating

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Absolutely - the fact that it was created by Mechner and Desilet who are both effectively video game development geniuses really shows. It's still fantastic to this day in so many ways

[@user-po4wn2em7d]

The only one in the series I played and beat. The original sands of time on MS DOS used to scare me as a kid. Prince of Persia 2 (also on DOS) was awesome …. Until the first phase of the game ended (the caves). And then the colour and artistic choices appeared ugly to me

[@PANTHERION1]

What's your take on the lore of the Lost Crown? In school, they taught us VERY LITTLE about Persian mythology.

[@user-po4wn2em7d]

@@PANTHERION1 I don’t know about the Lost Crown, but sands of time had very little to do with Persian history/mythology. There was a solitary reference to “Rostam” who is like the Hercules character in Persian mythology, but that was it, The story itself and the setting did not really feel “familiar” to anyone who is familiar with Persian culture. The music is always “Arabic” which is really retarded… how many times will they get this wrong? The newest game STILL uses Arabic music which is VERY different to Persian traditional music

[@icemanlj2k7]

To give credit to the "water coming out of nowhere as a weakness" thing, through the entire game of Warrior Within, you escape the Dahaka by running into those time chambers which are blocked by water and the dahaka can't.pass through, that was the set up for its weakness to water

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Hey I've actually addressed that in the corrections - while that shows there is a weakness, it doesn't explain why there is a weakness. There isn't a single piece of lore or conversation that explains why a creature outside of time and space would have this achilles heel which is why it feels like it comes out of nowhere. Without context it just becomes an arbitrary video game boss weakness and to me that's pretty poor writing even if you "show" it throughout the game.

[@Speznas96]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame maybe it's just that simple, because he himself exists out of the Sands of Time and water itself is its natural enemy in any shape or form? Also we never get to know if its just normal water or something holy for example being embedded in the last secret sword for the true ending. But I must agree with you, everything I wrote there is just a theory based on normal logic.

[@mrgreen027]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame how did spiderman defeated sand Man? Water.

[@Lyubimov89]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame in my personal opinion, just having consistency is enough for a fantasy story. It’s a shadowy wrestler monster that chases people who mess with time using sand, any and all explanations about its nature will eventually boil down to “it’s magic” which is not exactly waterproof, pun unintended. To me, this might also be because: - the Dahaka is connected to sands, and water can destroy any and all sand-related structures; - water having this power might be an extension of “time is a river” metaphor, essentially it hits a creature that is out of the normal timeflow with the timeflow itself; - Water is sometimes said to ground or disperse magic; for example in Dresden Files, flowing water basically makes wizards unable to cast any spells. And the Dahaka is probably magical. Vampires not crossing flowing water is another one. - Water is generally a “good” element throughout the games, healing you, saving, and turning you back from evil Prince. Again, consistency with symbology - the Dahaka is “evil” (although not really). In the end, they could’ve called it something else like a magic sword or a blessed sword or a time sword. It being a water sword is cool (again, pun unintended) and harkens back to all the times you avoided the Dahaka using water.

[@monnaranzoti732]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame Evil fouls incapable of crossing water is a theme in mythology and fairy tales. You see that in vampires and even in the Lord of The Rings books. If it doesn't need to have in explanation in both of the previous examples, I believe it's fair for the PoP games to reserve themselves from explaning either.

[@Venched]

Okay Ive finished the whole video and would like to thank you for the all efforts put into making it. All I can say, this video deserves more attention. I would be heartbroken if I got so little views for the hundreds of hours spent on making it

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much for the kind comment! Honestly just hearing that people enjoyed the video and found it interesting is more than enough! It was a lot of fun to put together! Hopefully it'll shine some light on the series outside of the PS2 games for some people and help contribute my little bit to this games history! But yeah - appreciate the support, comments always help with the algorithm so who knows!

[@stickflip88]

Hey guess what!

[@nortoncancellation8817]

Me: Checks views (1.2M). Also me: 🤔

[@parsashirali8957]

As a persian i absolutely fucking loved the 2008 game. The use of old persian mythology was amazing

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It was an awesome direction for them to go in!

[@kakkakapwppwow]

dude they put Ahriman in like It's a Satan figure or some normal villain, you know the literal concept of evil that's supposed to be only beaten by humans just doing good things...

[@parsashirali8957]

@kakkakapwppwow creative freedom is sometimes needed when making a game. Just the attempt was wonderful. Nobody else every attempted to even acknowledge old persian mythology

[@kakkakapwppwow]

@@parsashirali8957 creative freedom? The game is named prince of Persia and doesn't have anything even remotely Iranian about it let alone Persian. If someone wants to not care about a mythology and have "creative freedom" they don't need to use it, or spread misinformation About it, they might as well had named their Ahriman "generic Satan figure 1828363" and nothing would have changed. "Nobody else" this is also false. Shin megami tensei had ahura Mazda and Ahriman, Ahriman often being an important and unique boss, other Iranian mythological figures also make appearances, most not as important story characters but have flavor text with a good explanation, this is better than anything prince of Persia ever did. Fate series also has Ahriman as the catalyst for the events of stay night(this wasnt mentioned in the anime)

[@parsashirali8957]

@kakkakapwppwow *i aint reading all that. But this kind of reaction towards sth when a literal persian says they liked something persian inspired is pitiful* as to your point that the game has nothing persian. None of the prince of persia games did. Sands of time was literally in india for gods sake. The original games didnt fair any better either. Closest thing we had was babylon in two thrones So an attempt at using persian mythology and architecture and imagery is a huge step already. You wanna leave me alone to my opinion or keep jamming yours into my skull who i can guess is a western person:)

[@ablazedark]

2008 is the one I hold dear to my heart. because the interaction between the prince and elika managed to strike a beautiful chord. wandering through the world with elika (those jumps, climbs, little gestures) felt so natural and entertaining. it goes on to show an important side of game design: if you can create a solid supporting character that accompanies you throughout the game and a good written interaction with them, then the emotional impact of the game rises dramatically.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Couldn't agree more - I think 2008 is criminally underrated and has some of the best gameplay flow ever put to disc!

[@platinumgrit]

could not have said it better myself. It's a real shame 2008 didn't get built on, and it ended like it did.

[@MrCornstalker]

That trailer was soooo good toooo

[@szechuon6971]

Sands of time is one of the most influential/underrated games of all time. Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, and many other platforms that use the parkour-building scaling game mechanic owe it to POP. It's also one of my favorite games. So fun!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I completely agree! It's really influenced a huge amount of games with it's cinematic mixture of combat, storytelling and puzzles but it's the take on 3D platforming that really makes it stand out. It seems funny to think but nobody had really nailed it at that point (not even nintendo) and Mechner and Co really thought up a fantastic way to make it work in a 3D action game! Hopefully it'll be remembered kindly in the long run!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

@@aweigh1010 you're genuinely not making any sense. Who is comparing Prince of Persia to Mario 64? And how is Mario 64 remotely relevant to a conversation about the development of parkour style platforming in video games. Are you alright?

[@serafeather4507]

Even the original POP inspired other great games like Ico and Shadow Of Colossus

[@shinbakihanma2749]

How is Sands of Time one of the most underrated games of all time, when damn near everyone who has played it, sings it's praises?! The answer? It isn't underrated. People like you, don't know the definition of "underrated", so therefore any and everything you feel is underrated, is underrated, even if it more than likely isn't.

[@shinbakihanma2749]

@@oussamahamdi5466 It's not underrated by it's developers. They made a good amount of Prince of Persia titles. The series ran it's course, and left it's mark. When it's time for it to make a comeback, it'll make a comeback. Doesn't make it underrated because devs haven't made a new entry in years.

[@Zok]

You deserve a larger audience. Well researched, scripted and edited. You should be proud of yourself!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much! Yeah it was quite a big project to undertake but I'm really happy with how it turned out! To be honest quite a few more people have found the channel lately, I never thought I'd hit 1k subs let alone 1.5k so who knows!

[@justinJ689]

to be honest, I assumed this was big channel until I looked at the subcount. The quality of the video is awesome. First time ever I sat through a three hour video on yt!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

@@justinJ689 Onib that's amazing my dude - I hope you enjoyed it! The last month has been crazy so who knows where we'll be in a few more!

[@ChaseSchleich]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame This video actually showed up on my main page even though I had never seen your channel before. That's a good sign. KZbin is pushing your videos towards more viewers.

[@iMorands]

If he keeps the quality up he'll get it.

[@elmoisred616]

I honestly thought the ending of Prince of Persia 2008 was so clever. The game doesn't tell you to cut down the trees, you're essentially done with the game, now free to explore if you want and kind of ruminate on losing Elika. However, as the player, you feel compelled to go check out those trees and on impulse cut them down even though you know that will undo everything you just worked so hard for. I thought it was an especially interesting dynamic where as the player you feel compelled to do it without the game telling you to, to throw caution to the wind and embrace chaos, resurrect the big bad guy all for the sake of getting your friend back. It left me with this cathartic empathy. Like we could have just let the game finish as it was intended yet we felt the need to throw it all the way for the purpose of human connection and potential love. It may seem ridiculous to the average logical person, but in terms of story writing I feel like this genuinely emulates the chaotic good character, which is also reflective of his silly banter while fighting demigods as the apocalypse is imminent. These character types live life as if they were in a dream, a sense of positive nihilism where nothing matters and therefore you take life and stride and roll with the punches, at Spike from Cowboy Bebop said, "Whatever happens, happens"

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I do definitely understand that take - it's just that the developers all but confirmed that they intended the players to cut down the trees and it kinda spoilt it for me! It's a shame as I really love the game otherwise!

[@Ixrec]

I mostly loved the 2008 game, and I think I (and most others) might have had the opinion you just articulated if the game had given us *choices* for the ending. Even simply allowing you to walk away and see a "normal" ending cutscene would've been enough to reframe reviving Elika as the player's choice instead of the intended canonical ending. Although I'd have personally added a third "good" ending where getting all the light seeds seems to revive her (hardly an original idea, but IMO better than what we got, making the "bad ending" much more interesting by contrast).

[@yt-sh]

beautifully explained

[@donovanfaust3227]

You're gonna carry that weight

[@Jabu354]

It strikes me that so many people dislike the ending when I've always found that The Last of Us has an incredibly similar ending and that one was received very well. You have a journey to "save the world" and at the end when forced to choose between the world and a personal loved one the hero buckles and chooses the selfish option. I can appreciate the comment that it felt more out of left field for this than TLOU though. That game's atmosphere is far more oppressive throughout and I can buy the argument that the ending felt unearned in PoP even if I didn't have that problem. PoP '08 is one of my absolute favorite games, and I particularly liked the ending. I found it very thought provoking.

[@christopherverhoef9112]

My favorite part of the 2008 game is the way Elika saving you actually has a narrative role. During the final phase of the final fight against the Concubine, she makes a bunch of illusory Elikas and you need to find the right one. But every one you see turns out to be an illusion. How do you find the right one? By throwing yourself to your death so Elika will save you, the thing she's been doing throughout the whole game. She even chews you out for not imagining what would've happened if she'd been incapacitated by the Concubine. More games need to exploit gameplay "abstractions" like that. (I also never saw the not-dying mechanic as "too easy". It's just the same failure state -> reload checkpoint system as death in most games, but without a loading screen. If you want to mimic dying, then every time Elika saves you, just pause the game for fifteen seconds so the game can "reload". Done!)

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's actually an extremely cool moment which I wish I'd spoken about!

[@Falas5898]

Exactly. No difference between being saved without 15 second wait and being dead. The result is the same.

[@raven75257]

Wish this game came out more recently. Celeste did a similar thing with quick revives, and it was amazing for it

[@ZenChubsy]

Ubisoft had a jewel in there hands with the 2008 remake, if only they chose to take feedback and develop a sequel that addresses and builds upon the first ones mechanics, it was such a unique game with a BEAUTIFUL artstyle and tone.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I totally agree! I wish we'd seen more of that direction as it has so much potential!

[@CurtoCircuitoCerebral]

tbh the "non dead" stuff in the game didin't bother me at all, back in the day it was worse to wait for loading screens (not as bad as psone era games) than that small cut scene. you know, + you know you fkd up when u see those cutscenes.

[@jackoblllllllll]

@@CurtoCircuitoCerebral 100% agree

[@Lucky_Daguenet]

I really loved that game. I should replay it

[@janosbrutyo2835]

Yyup, that game was like the cherry blossom... beautiful, fragile... came soon and gone WAAAY too soon. And I feel like among many others I played the part in it's demise. While I fell in love with it the second time, first I hated it. Closed minded, unwilling to let go of the SoT Trilogy. But shh a 1000x times would rather a PoP 2008 expanded saga than what we got with The Forgotten Sands. However given how I was by far not in the minority with the initial distaste. The fact of 3 years being too soon after the end of SOTT was a big issue in this tragedy.

[@EgonSupreme]

The 2008 game still looks so good. The Prince's animation, too, is really good.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It's really incredible how good it looks - you could easily believe that it came out a few years ago!

[@toshal22]

I think that the 2008 PoP reboot is the only game that will look as good as new forever due to its art style.

[@jayachandrans6474]

@@toshal22 Agreed. It deserved a sequel but Ubisoft decided to cancel it.

[@charaznable8072]

I love the exploration in that game very beautiful environments but if only the combat was better it would be perfect.

[@jayachandrans6474]

@@charaznable8072 Yeah combat was somewhat repetitive which could have been fixed in the sequel. It had a breathtaking music and environment. Unfortunately Ubisoft pulled the plug too soon.

[@HARU11211]

Prince of Persia is such an underrated game so ahead of its time the story is good with a good twist and very good game mechanics i would say its a hidden gem

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I think I would agree - let's hope the next one brings the series back!

[@TheRippoffs]

Warrior within will always hold a special place in my heart, I did my growing up in the early 00's so i really resonated with all the the nu-metal in the soundtrack (I discovered godsmack through the game and korn and disturbed are my davourite bands) all the edgy, over the top violence and swearing and over sexualness was just a sign of the times and it'll always bring me back to a simpler time in my life, so to me personally I feel its aged beautifully 😅

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Haha yeah I mean - I totally get that and I also really love games like that for the very same reasons! My beef is really that while God of War/DMC really embody that vibe, its not what I look for in Prince of Persia which had a really unique aesthetic already!

[@TheRippoffs]

Ohbyeah I totally get that, it really was quite the shift from SOT to WW 😅

[@SHNASTDOG]

Hell Yeah!!!

[@johnboy775]

Warrior Within was a horribly underrated game. Yes it’s dark and sexualised but hey for someone who was a teenager it was such an awesome experience back then. I personally think the art style aged really well..

[@thehaj5249]

@@johnboy775 it did, anything that doesnt fit in with todays weird "political climate" is much better than what we would get now, plus, it knew its audience

[@apanda1122]

Wow, I watched all 3 hours if this. Not even a second was boring. Truly a masterpiece

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much! That's extremely nice to hear - got another in the same style coming shortly!

[@MistahJay7]

Warrior Within will always be my favourite one. The music, Combat, Characters just perfect. It pretty much introduced me to alot of my favourite music. Wasn't really into Rock or Metal until I played Warrior within. Love the entire trilogy though I remember just replaying all the 3 games in the trilogy non stop back in the day continuously. The Holy Grail of Video Games.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's nice to hear that it vibed with you so much! Sadly not so much for me but that's the joy of life - different strokes for different folks!

[@Sharktankgaming]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame I remember being obsessed with PoP 1 but when I introduced my friends for the first time to the Prince, it was with Warrior Within. I tell you, they absolutely gobbled it up and loved it. So much they actually gave the first game a go and loved that too. Perhaps the sexualisation of female characters and metal music helped? We never thought about these things so in depth in the 90s/2000s. We just enjoyed what we got?

[@cthulhu888]

I recently played through it again a few months ago, always loved the dark and gritty atmosphere, its such a 180 to sands of time but as a sequel it changes up just enough to make it fresh and completely new, something you almost never see with sequels nowadays that play it safe and are just the same game as before but a few extra moves

[@Speznas96]

@@Sharktankgaming somehow I feel like it was necessary/ a good thing they did it like this. A persian Prince being held in this island from where he can't escape, really dark atmosphere while time itself is the most important point plotwise, adding rock/ metal music while also a Goth girl and a real Princess of Time are there too. Oh and the Dahaka chases were brutal back then too.

[@intermilan9731]

It was epic. I watched my brother play this game. Dark, gloomy environment with this crazy rock music, time shifts. The chases. So perfect.

[@ridleyroid9060]

Oh my nostalgia! I absolutely loved the 2008 prince of persia and while the Prince and Elika aren't gods gift to character writing their partnership and small subtle physical interactions as you play the game mesmerized me 15 years ago as they do now. It is gentle, and almost subconscious from both characters and honestly this alone helps you feel bonded to both characters. Two Thrones and SOT are games I play religiously as a kid, I was captivated by them. This is just such an excellent video I dont know how I didnt find you yet.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! It was a lot of fun to put together and it's been great to bring some more attention to a series that a lot of people really love dearly!

[@walrusman86808]

You are incredible my friend, the amount of nostalgia you were able to invoke within me during the sands of time portion was surreal

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

You're welcome my dude - I love that my videos can be educational, entertaining and also pull on that string of nostalgia! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Fonzzz002]

Two Thrones is actually one of my alltime fav games. Felt it was a perfect blend with what worked, removed what didn't work, added new cool stuff and it has a good story that reflects on both SOT and WW. Though I do get where people's frustrations are coming from, after seeing your review on it. It just sucks the trilogy never got a port on modern platforms. I would love to play it on PS4 or Switch.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Absolutely - I think the real nail in the coffin is that Ubisoft just refuse to bring this series into either this generation or the last one. They're such poor custodians of their IP - we've got Prince of Persia, Rayman, Splinter Cell and Beyond Good and Evil all just sitting on the bench doing nothing while they churn out tons of Tom Clancy and Assassins Creed games. I'd love them to try and bring a few of these to modern audiences as there is some absolute gold in there!

[@bryce_hello]

The intro was so good! Really got me into the games, a topic I knew nothing about before this video.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much my dude! Yeah it would be remiss of me not to talk about the mythology that inspired the game and it seems to parallel the series very nicely! Thanks as ever for the support my dude and I hope you enjoy the rest of the video!

[@zeedar412]

I remember realising i can drink the water I'm walking in - it blew my tiny mind.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Such a cool detail - so many games were still hopped up on health packs. For them to come up with such an immersive way to regenerate was very clever

[@KellysHeroes777]

The warrior within is in my top 5 favorite games. I played that game for a ridiculous amount of time

[@Ruenvale]

warrior within was my favourite, love the atmosphere (Yes I was an egdy teenager back when it came out.) Now that power-fantasy and sexualization are usually frowned upon and criticized in video game media this little gem is a nice throwback to simpler times. Great video btw

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with power fantasy or sexualisation (DMC and God of War are two of my favourite series) it's just that I don't think it really fits with Prince of Persia all that well! DMC has that goofy over the top vibe that it really fits well with while PoP has always been more of a mythical fairytale. Regardless - each to their own and I'm glad you enjoy it!

[@aryan7767]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame I think warrior within was unique and fresh in the way that it did something completely different after the first game. It’s such a huge departure that it feels so new snd unpredicstae. It wears its edginess on its sleeve like a badge of pride, and goes all in. It feels sincere, even if it’s immature. And two thrones kind of mingles both sands of time and warrior within together to make a cool trilogy

[@PinkyJustice]

The combat is way more in depth than anyone wants to admit too

[@cosmoreverb3943]

@@PinkyJustice I definitely miss the days when I had a working knowledge of the WW combat. That was crazy amounts of fun

[@PinkyJustice]

@@cosmoreverb3943 yeah haha it's kind of insane how complex and insanely contextual it was. The flowchart of combat options that came on the back side of the poster included with the strategy guide looked like the sphere grid from ffx... Sigh. Plus I love edge lord shit so hard.

[@helcaraxe301]

Couple of points I'd like to make, mostly subjective ones: >despite the heavily edgy atmosphere of WW, I rather enjoyed it because it gave a great scaling of power. Where SoT forced you to be tactical ABOUT the combat, WW allows you to be tactical WITH the combat. Aside from some enemies that call for specific moves and combos or tactics, the game lets you fight as you want. And while some of the more complex combos are monstrously difficult to pull off due to how much setup they require, executing them leaves you with a moment of satisfaction due to how skillfully you just dispatched your enemies. >I feel you haven't given nearly enough time to Dahaka. Over the numerous chases I''ve played during my years, none have left an impression on me the way that Dahaka chases have, purely becuase of how hollow they are: there aren't any background happenings, no buildings being torn down, no boulders smashing everything in their path... there is just this thing, this unreasonable force of nature given form, and the heavy ring of its footsteps as it unstopably moves towards you, and you can do nothing but run for your dear life. The fact it's explained early on that every escape is only temporary only adds to the feeling of primal, caveman terror of being caught and eaten, without having any means to defend yourself. For all your combat prowess, as well as your growing time powers, you are completely defenceless for most of the game. All you can do is run. >out of all the female deuteragonists, Zahra feels the absolute best to me. While Farah is a well-rounded character, and Kaileena is a walking centerfold, and slowly learning about Elika over the course of game were all fine and dandy, none of them compare to the equal ground dynamics that the Prince and Zahra had. Over the course of game, they feel like two partners who are only amicable for mutual benefit, who prod at each other for fun; but as the game progresses, they develop genuine friendship, and near the end of the game they start to feel like true friends of long time. The tone with which Zahra spoke her last words in the Spirit Realm was always so inexplicably heartbreaking to me: an immortal genie begging not to be forgotten gives a very unique perspective on sacrifice and mortality.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I think I agree with all of your points except maybe the second. - The combat of WW really is a huge step up from SoT and is easily the most enjoyable combat in the whole series. - I completely agree about Zahra and honestly wish I'd made more of that in my review. To be honest I had to cut that section down as I had just spoken about mechanics so much (because I felt they were really surprisingly impressive) but you're right in that the relationship they form is easily one of the most effective. - As for the point about the Dahaka - I feel like that would all be completely true IF you were allowed to escape from it in any direction. For me the sheer linearity of those sections slightly took me out of it as you can really feel the hand of the developer. You know the Prince is supposed to be able to make it away and thus I lost a bit of the tension. It's a completely unfair comparison but I feel like this mechanic was ultimately perfected in Resident Evil 2 Remake and that kind of shows the level of AI and resource a game needs to make this "event" truely working in a fear inducing emergent way. It's admirable that WW tried to incorporate it but I find it a little hard to return to it as it's something that's been mastered so well in future games. Just my two cents though and I completely respect your take on it!

[@eazye619]

I played Sands of Time, Two Thrones and Rival Swords as a kid and loved them all but couldn’t ever beat them. Sad to see many people, including some my age (early 20s), have no idea about these games

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It's a series that absolutely deserves more love - it's such a shame that the sands of time remake is essentially dead at this point

[@geralt7050]

@@IFinishedAVideoGamebut it’s NOT, the development was transferred to Ubisoft Montreal and they said they’re working on it.

[@planetzdr]

Seeing Fallen King hit me with a wave of nostalgia. I had completely forgotten playing that game. I played it at such a young age that I don’t remember hating it.

[@lucidmind9676]

Prince of Persia is such an extremely overlooked game nowadays, Sands of Time and Warrior Within were my favorite games to play back in middle school and people forget that Assassin’s Creed was originally made to be a Prince Of Persia spin-off game

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It sadly is as it's been over 10 years since the last major release in the franchise! I can hardly believe it as it was such a major part of my childhood and when I was younger it was still considered a major influential series! Let's hope Ubisoft sees the efforts of people like myself and gives us some damn news about the sands of time remake!

[@Firstborn0Raz]

I really wish that they had continued with the 2008 storyline game. It was fascinating seeing the magic and mythology.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Absolutely agree! As far as reboots go I think it's one of the more successful ones - managed to keep the magical feeling of the series but without recycling the rewind mechanics from the past! I think a modern version, where we can see that beautiful watercolour graphics, on modern systems with a few tweaks to the gameplay could be really something fantastic!

[@horiavelciu31]

Fully agreed and I would actually venture out and say that the ending was actually really nice. I loved the sort of dramatic mystical star-crossed lovers tragedy of it and I somehow feel like it fits in very nicely with the whole oriental fairytale setting style and tone. And also that walk away at the end with the destruction being clearly shown behind them, the pleading sad and desperate elika who cannot fathom why the prince did all of that and the saddness on his face mixed with stone cold determination showing how he deeply regrets what he has done but knows very well that he would do it all over again if he had to was actually one of the best directed scenes I've seen in a video game so far

[@bey69420]

​@@IFinishedAVideoGame To this day every time that I hear about a 2008 not getting a sequeal it gives me depression for the rest of the week, it was such a special game one of my favorite games ever

[@cthulhu888]

I think it being an early ps3 era game is a big reason it didnt hit as much as it could have. If it had been released a year or two later it might not have been as quickly forgotten, especially with it being smack dab in the middle of the original assassin's creed and uncharted. Compared to the sands of time its doesnt have enough of its charm and identity to share its name but it did a lot on its own to make it a memorable playthrough despite its noticable flaws narratively

[@TheJacklikesvideos]

Sands of Time was a metaphor for his everlasting love. like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's very poetic!

[@greentea5445]

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[@insertcoolnamelater9334]

Warrior Within was my first game in the series (I was a teen back then hehe), and still my favorite.

[@willlindell8904]

Sands of Time should be on every list of 100 greatest video games, and I'll die on that hill. I never really played any of the others, due to not being able to get my hands on them, but Sands of Time is just so good. It was also my first speedrun

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Absolutely agree - I think it's criminally underrated in terms of it's contribution to modern adventure games! So many conventions were established there!

[@mamory3791]

Its getting a remake!

[@abigailslade3824]

It broke my heart I got to 98% and then couldn’t finish the reclimb up the outside of the tower after your first fight with Jaffa’s where he takes the dagger. One tiny part stopped me, where you have to climb a small tower but you go inside and cannot see yourself as you climb so frustrating

[@iloveifavg4462]

This is such a crazy and incredibly interesting franchise. I really love the story telling.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thank you very much for the lovely comment! It was a lot of fun to make and it's been nice getting everyone's feed back :)

[@Vortisaaa]

I’m once again shocked that a series I had no interest in, has captivated me so much through this retrospective. This is my fourth video of yours, and it is just a pain to see a studio once again, milk an actually interesting series to the ground. Great video.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's awesome to hear. I'm always trying to weave these videos into an engaging story that can hopefully be enjoyed even if you don't know the franchise. Glad to hear it's working!

[@yaroncharles3250]

1:44:45 Luckily as if the developers heard my criticisms from the distant future Me a Zero Escape fan: *Having war flashbacks of the Morphogenetic field theory*

[@ChrisPTenders]

The Sands of Time is one of my favorite games of all time, but I also love Warrior Within. I actually think it's rather soulful. It's a simple but powerfully presented story about the past, how it can haunt you, how confronting it can be a grizzly ordeal that costs you relationships and can turn you into a shadow of your former self... a wraith, so to speak. Sands and Warrior are a Yin and Yang for me, the first this charming and cozy tale with a narrator's voice intimately soothing over your mistakes, whereas the latter is a cold, silent, and lonely depiction of confronting trauma, jerking you back and forth through time, the gray of the decayed present and the golden warmth of the past, locking you into your mistakes forcing you to replay sections of the game (literally reliving the past), chased by a demon representing the horrible things the Prince experienced before he rewound time. It actually illustrated the point Two Thrones feigned at the end, showing how changing the past can be a trade off for a worse future, which is a metaphor for how lingering on the past can ruin your future. It's great storytelling, I'll have it known. Man, Two Thrones was a disappointing follow up to that ending.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

You know I might not see it like that but I'm happy that you do and get such enjoyment out of the contrast between the two games. The wonderful thing about videos like this is it's all personal interpretation at the end of the day and everyone's take is valid as long as it's meaningful to them!

[@JaxonBurn]

I have to agree. I think WW also doesn't get enough credit for its level and puzzle design. Some of the sequences of events a genius, and you feel really smart for having figured them out. Or at least, I did when I was 14 years old.

[@SolidSnake240]

​@@JaxonBurnWarrior Within's combat was amazing as well. So many different options and moves.

[@zeroreyortsed3624]

One thing people could learn about doing games in settings like this, is that alot of those white plaster walls would have actually been painted with different geometric designs And stuff.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Yeah the aesthetics are often taken from the films of the 50s rather than the actual history. It's a shame we don't get more games in this setting!

[@INTJ-psychopath]

1:20:55 I still recall my father telling me just play on easy or don't play at all if you are going to be mad about the game being hard on hard mode and nagging everyone around the room about how this level is undoable 🥺😂, I was so happy when I did at last finish it.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Haha I was the same when I was younger - just automatically assumed that the adults around me would know what to do when I didn't in a video game! How wrong I was and I learnt that lesson quickly!

[@Guilhermeabcd]

You deserve more subs. I can't even imagine how much work is put to make these retrospective videos. I'm hooked. Thanks for the amazing content. It's surely appreciated.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Well, it's creeping up slowly but surely! In February of this year I only had 1k subs and now I've got 43k!

[@Guilhermeabcd]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame our attention span has been dropping year by year and KZbin algorythm sure doesn't helps, but i'm happy that the community is growing. At least you get more stable and high fidelity audience. Waiting for you're next content, have a good one.

[@doom-mantia]

59:28 That's not true - the Prince did avoid death once out of the player's control. The SOT cutscene where he for the very first time he holds the dagger, the ceiling debris falls on him killing him. He rewinds time to jump out of its path just in time. Doesnt matter if the player had a flawless run of SOT, the Prince cheated death once very early on lol.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

You're completely right! Not sure how I missed that

[@devilsmirk5826]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame And one more thing...the dahaka is after him not coz he cheated death but also coz he unleashed the sands of time AND survived being the only person who's the 'weird' one in the timeline since all of the others returned to their places as it is after he unleashed them

[@Ocean5ix]

Man Warrior Within was the shit back then.. such good times. I remember having a hard time finding out what to do so me and a friend (that was also my neighbor) would spend HOURS on the phone (yes we were inconsequential teenagers) playing the game together in a world pre-skype/discord. Good times... Also, in fiction it usually doesn't matter that he used the sands to be a hero and save people. He did it by using what I would call a "reality shattering" power... and that has consequences.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's cool - I used to do exactly that as well! So in response I would say your point makes complete sense for WW but in TT it's very much positioned as "the dark prince represents all the selfish actions of the Prince and his dark side". The issue is - there just isn't that many through the series so the whole premise just falls flat. The story of sands of time literally revolves around him risking his life to undo a huge mistake and atone for his error. It's just a sort of retread of the character development we already had in SOT but delivered in a much more kitchy fashion.

[@Ghostel3591]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame I'd say they kinda already were focusing on the fact that 7 years of constant running from Dahaka really took its toll on Prince (And all sidegames really hammered it in) + Prince from his first Adventure only left his arrogance and naivety behind... But what he didn't... Is his need to prove himself to get glory and fame - first thing he vows to his father he will bring home (especially with reveal of him being. Yes he had a development in Sands... But by the time of Warrior he DEGRADED... Even before Forgotten Sands and Battles games giving more context - all early trailers did show Prince throwing himself into pursuit of glory and as Dahaka closed in on him he lost more and more devolving further and further into Dark Prince persona - all for his survival, fight or flight on a forefront, almost all of his kindness snuffed. Him sparing Empress in good ending is more about that his Wraith journey and apparent death made him realise he almost slipped completely into "Dark Prince" and for a moment Sands heroic Prince resurfaced to do what is right. I mean look at that trauma konga line with all games included before WW: - Sands of time - he lost Farah and after rewinding time there was nothing no fame, no glory and no Farah. No reward, no glory. - Forgotten Sands (X360) - comes to his brother... Ends up a sole survivour, brother felled by his own hand, new friend sacrificied for this. No reward, no glory. Only empty sands all around. - Forgotten Sands (PSP) - family members start to die, he goes to solve it, stop another Ifrit and gets tossed out by Genies he helped into desert. No reward, no glory. Only empty sands all around. - Battles of PoP - tries to find glory on the battle field... Releases army of demons, causes another family member die, finds out about Dahaka starting his pursuit and ends up EXILED even after fixing his mistakes. No reward, no glory. Only empty sands all around. - Forgotten Sands (Wii) - tried to get his own magical kingdom... Sacrificied everything in turn and almost drowned in a magical vortex which REALLY rubbed SALT in wounds in his soul that no matter what he does "No reward, no glory. Only empty sands all around." is ALWAYS HIS FATE. He almost succumbs to it and emerges from a magocal trap after third attempt... Tired, exhausted with nothing to his name. Again... A FAILURE. This is what was always a driving idea in series - IN THE END PRINCE ALWAYS HAS NOTHING - and what Prince truly lets go in ToT - he leaves behind Darkness that demanded fame and glory, some kind of validation, remembers what heroic Young man he was before. Farah was important in that (rushed) story because exactly her appearance made him remember his first Adventure and what man he was before 7 years of pain forged selfish and cynical Dark Prince side to let him survive... Which in the end he doesn't destroy, he leaves it behind not allowing it to control him anymore. Magic sands just brought to forefront Darkness that always was in Prince.

[@Pikathulhuthe1st]

As a sophisticated and highly intelligent individual, I must call attention to your recurrent use of idiom. Being the world-class thinker that I am, I am able to parse through the surface-level meaning of words and appreciate the shared cultural context of their true intent. Of particular enjoyment was your refined and well-considered use of the idiom "turn off your brain". Truly excellent stuff, I look forward to enjoying even more idioms in future releases.

[@MissBuyNLarge]

I love that shot in 3D of the prince and his wife riding off on the flying horse I can almost hear the game devs' conversation surrounding it "and then we have them ride off on a horse that can gallop on nothing...for some reason...it was in the second game, it's fine" "but why would a horse be able to gallop on nothing? it makes no sense" "ahhh, just put some Pegasus wings on it I guess" ... "we still gonna have it galloping on nothing tho?" "yeah" ... "ok"

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It's so funny isn't it - it just absolutely oozes late 90s bonkers CGI design. I kinda love it in a weird way - there was a lot more ridiculous cutscenes I wish I could have included in the video!

[@cxbralxve]

Can we just appreciate the fact that he responds to almost all of the comments and made a banger of a video essay

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I think it's quite important actually! I really appreciate the comments especially as I'm still such a small channel so I think it's the least I could do to at the very least reply. Lots of the time it's really interesting and it's nice to have a chat with people!

[@constantinosvassiliou5259]

Wow! This retrospective is unreal! The details, the historical information, the narration (such a clear pronunciation and good pace) ... every aspect is top notch quality! Αnd they are binded together perfectly! Well done sir! I see that you have not released a similar video for some time now and I understand why. It needs a ton of work for something like that to be produced. I just hope you find the strength to continue on this scale and quality. this is pure entertainment!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Don't worry my friend - the only reason there hasn't been an upload for a few months is that I've been hard at work on another very lengthy video! Should be uploaded tomorrow evening and then I'll be on to some (relatively) shorter projects which should mean more frequent uploads!

[@tommapar]

Prince of Persia Rival Swords does have mandatory extra content, you can enter sand portals in the light columns that normally give you extra sand, but now you have to earn it on timed puzzle platforming rooms.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Yeah I'm not sure how I missed that!

[@Chapmike]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame You didn't really miss it, this is exclusive content from the American version.

[@clintmcbride7830]

The Sands of Time was one of those games that will always be special to me because it was one of those experiences where playing a certain game had elevated my love for the medium as a whole. It was one of the first times I remember being completely engrossed by not only the gameplay, but the story as well. A true masterpiece that, while well regarded, does not get the love it deserves for what it did for the action/adventure genre. It was like Doom, or Resident Evil 4, a true innovation in what can be done with interactive entertainment.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Completely agree with you my friend - I think it's one of the most influential and important games ever made and frankly doesn't get nearly enough respect in Top X lists!

[@silkychan6099]

i really loved how they framed the game; via the prince telling farrah the whole adventure if u die, the prince then said thats not how it happened

[@KicktheSky34]

1:29:01 Regardless of his good intentions, the Prince created the Dahaka by changing history. He spent the better part of a decade waging war across Persia looking for a way to escape it. Fighting to survive is understandable, but he did so without any consideration of the ramifications. Erasing the sands from history reviving the Viser is something he could have figured out on the Island of Time, if he had stopped to think about it for 5 seconds. The destruction of his family and country is entirely due to his own shortsightedness. Instead of seeking to change history again, like a child trying to hide the evidence of their rule-breaking, accepting things as they are and moving forward is a coming of age moment for the Prince. The mental battle with his darker half is a final rejection of his darker impulses which came to the forefront during Warrior Within.

[@Elite7555]

Honestly, I think WW and TT shouldn't have been a thing. SoT has a beautiful ending that should have been honored. Obviously, that doesn't mean there shouldn't have been more PoP games.

[@TheKueiJin]

​@@Elite7555 I really think that WW added a lot in terms of variety that SoT needed, but disliked TT. As the narrator said, it felt cobbled together. I will always recall WW as my favourite PoP game, and please note that i played SoT and WW back to back, coupled with the fact that i'm just a normal dude, and never been into the metal fan, or anything the like... It speaks volumes.

[@princebangar1999]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4DWeayoq82sb8U

[@VeronicCassan]

One key aspect to this is also the princes' intention for doing most of his wrongsdoings and even good deeds. Such as storming the palace in SoT to gain glory and respect for his father, saving the empress because he liked her and not for the greater good and saving babylon to feel better about himself and not for selfless reasons. The dark prince was the part of him that embodied the shame he felt for being selfish in all of these matters.

[@Shahanshah101]

Dahaka is a evil entity in Zoroastrianism 𔓙

[@theloz]

Interesting choice to use the SNES version to cover the first game. After about level 2 it’s wildly different from the original. It’s got bosses, loads of extra traps, PORTALS! After playing the DOS original it felt like a fever dream 😂

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Yeah honestly I have no idea why I did that - I should have just stuck to the original!

[@scribeslendy595]

The footage of that Gameboy Spiderman game unlocked some hidden memory of my time with it. God, to have that enjoyment of games untainted by standards of any kind

[@MathyouJames]

Frankly I had absolutely no idea there was this many games. I've only played Sands of Time and Warrior Within so I'm looking forward to watching!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

To be honest that caught me out as well. I had no idea there was all of the Forgotten Sands games! Pushed through it though and I'm really happy that I've covered them all! Hope you enjoy the video!

[@aryan7767]

For me it was even weirder. The first POP game I played was two thrones. Then it was warrior within. Then prince of Persia 2008 and then forgotten sands (never finished the 2008 and forgotten sands cause I was really young). I never even heard of sands of times until I grew older

[@sydneymads5220]

If you can find a physical copy, SoT has the original PoP on the disc!

[@7F0X7]

At least play the two thrones. It's neatly wraps up the storyline of the two previous games and has a phenomenal and climatic ending. You won't be disappointed.

[@lennonbarbosa5192]

59:00 I really like to believe that the Dahaka went after him only after he used the dagger to rewind the kiss he did on Farah lol

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Lmao now that's a theory I can get behind. It's all because the Dahaka is seriously conservative about relationships

[@platinumgrit]

Castlevania introduced me to your gripping storytelling, and now, watching this, I'm nodding my head wildly in agreement. When I saw you had a retro for Prince Of Persia, I could not wait to click! I *LOVE* the PoP franchise, and to hear you _nailing_ every important part of the subject matter like you are, is making me super enthusiastic. I'm half way through but have to stop to comment and say how good you are at narrating, as well as competently breaking down the subject material. This is very high quality video game journalism, thank you so very much.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks very much my dude - that's such a lovely comment and I'm stoked you're enjoying my writing that much! I'm hard at work on the next one as we speak and it should hopefully be out in the next few weeks!

[@royalsoul1125]

“The idea of a prince of persia game that goes full symphony of the night with sand powers and free running traversial is just the stuff of dreams” oh just you wait 😏

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

And it got a screenshot feature in game…SCREENSHOTS WE CAN DO WITHIN GAME!!...PoP revolutionizing gaming since the late 80's.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I can't wait to pick it up!

[@ole8919]

This is a pretty good retrospective review so far, I am enjoying it. But around 33:12 you say "once they are at the maharaja of India's palace" which is actually not correct. Once they are at the palace of the Sultan of Azad, the Prince unlocks the sands. The maharaja of India's palace is the place where we found the dagger at the very beginning.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

My friend you are spot on, that is my mistake! I'm not going to lie the script was 43 pages long so I was worried a few things might slip through the cracks - editing it was a real bitch haha! Thanks for watching though, really pleased you're enjoying it!

[@ole8919]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame Oh yeah that is completely understandable. Btw I have finished watching the whole thing and it was a great experience. Watching the gameplay and hearing you describe it made me remember the times when I played these myself. Also loved the 2008 part and the way you praised and described it. A lot of people missed its charm but it was and still is a treat to the eye and soul. Anyway, keep up the great work!

[@4TheWinQuinn]

So, so, so fucking blessed to have played sands of time when it came out with my family and my cousins. I still remember the first time the prince did the running attack over an enemy and my dads jaw dropped and just said that is so cool. Literally remember it clear as day. And my mum was the only one that could do that palace security puzzle haha we had to ask her to help every time. You’re right it’s so hugely influential. It shaped so much of me and my cousins ideas of what’s cool, how fluid movement could be, good action, funniness etc when we were younger. It’s amazing. Truly a paragon of culture and storytelling, not even just video games. We STILL to this day pretend to walk up to a ledge and do that “whoah, whoah!” animation the Prince does close to an edge of a platform.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's absolutely awesome - I love hearing these little stories about how games have created these amazing memories and relationships. I'm not surprised Sands of Time has done that as it's such a unique and timeless experience! I'm glad I could share some love for it with you!

[@DaDamuse]

man it was so weird seeing the footage of the devs brother jumping around. I know those animations so fkn well lol. This was the first game I obsessed over as a very young kid.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It was such a clever way to approach animation for the time.

[@terminal.spyinx]

Prince of persia was my entire childhood. I played day in and out. PS2 trilogy was the one I played the most. I started with warrior within and eventually played sands of time and two thrones. Your breakdown of the sands of time "tower of dawn" level made me break a tear of happiness. I wish for this series to return in its full glory.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Oh it's such a lovely little level. You rarely see an adventure game put such a focus on cinematic platforming at such a late point and I think Sands does it so well!

[@AlexGreat321]

I'd say Warrior Within is my favourite game. Love the combat and the platforming. I even love the soundtrack. I love the heaviness with a hint of Arabian aesthetic

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's totally fair enough my dude! For me it's SoT and 2008!

[@AlexGreat321]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame I have a soft spot for those games as well. SoT was my first PS2 game and 2008 was the first game I got all the achievements for

[@marshallsmith8106]

Warrior Within is an absolute master piece for me.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Glad to hear you love it - it's got a few too many flaws for my liking but I'd say Sands of Time and the original PoP are classics for sure!

[@illusion-of-choice]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame what flaws?

[@illusion-of-choice]

@RU it was more like a denial question

[@tacioob2337]

he is right tho, it didnt aged well, back then it was my favorite for sure

[@Mammuth83]

WW had an issue with integrated sound cards on PC back at the time. So I could not play it.... Until I bought a sound card because I abso-Fing-lutely bought one just for this one title.

[@shaheer_ghazi]

This video is so extremely well made. The work and effort put into this is amazing!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much! Yeah it was a lot of work but it was honestly very fun to put together! Thanks for the comment!

[@skinnykiddou]

An incredible retrospective, very much living up to its "exhaustive" epiphet haha! Thank you very much for an interesting watch and ending on an inspiring and wise, if somewhat sad note

[@LiaraGaming]

I actually really enjoyed the "twist" to the 2008 game. The "prince" grows to care for someone other than himself, but still hasn't grown passed his own selfishness. I really loved that. It set things up for a greater character arch over a series. And I didn't personally see the epilogue as a retcon. Of course the "prince" says he brought her back to defeat Oraman. He's not going to tell her he's in love with her. I'd expect that kind of admission for another installment. So I just read that as the prince lying to her. I also liked that the game and epilogue hint at Elika having some kind of power like a godess in the Persian religion. I don't remember why exactly as it's been so long since I played it. The prince brings it up again in the epilogue, and of course she's too mad at him to listen. But I was really excited about that set up. I wish we could have seen the reboot progress further, as I was really interested in that storyline. Thanks for putting all your time and effort into this video!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

No worries at all - I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I think a lot of my issues with the ending and epilogue really stem from frustration with the lack of a follow up. A lot of my problems with the narrative conclusion could be so easily resolved by just rolling into another game! What a shame that we never got it!

[@SpokoR3]

When the segment for PoP Sands of Time came on I got literal goosebumps from all the nostalgia. That trilogy is by far the best I have ever played. And the twin bosses in The two thrones right after the goddamn chariot race almost made me give up!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one. That part is just completely bullshit and not from natural difficulty! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@SiliconSlyWolf]

A big change is games are not also designed to eat all your quarters at an arcade cabinet, the real origin of deaths and lives mechanics in a game. There's various different ways to make games have challenge without using that old mechanic.

[@adhfoajodgia]

Back to this video, hyping myself for The Lost Crown! By the way... Man, you are awesome...keep making these great videos

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

There may well be a Lost Crown related video update in a few days time! Stay tuned!

[@adhfoajodgia]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame I AM EXCITED! For real, the love and care you show for this hobby is beyond amazing and actually contagious, and that makes your videos simply a treat! I BEG OF YOU! MAKE THIS ONE SPOILER FREE!!! Or just give spoiler warnings, I ll just have to come back later. Still I watched the retrospective again! They seem to have heard exactly your desires you mention at various points: a metroid-vania style game, infused with magical time abilities! Hope it is everything you (and we) were waiting for!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Well it won't be spoiler free exactly - but there is warnings for when they happen!

[@dannygleason5912]

I love the sands of time games. I have to say though, there’s one criticism I have if this review. I don’t think enough, or really ANY credit is given to the sound track. Stuart Chatwood absolutely NAILED the assignment on these games. And the music from the tea party band that he is a part of is a great extension of that feel you get from these games.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Hey Danny - the truth of it is that it can sometimes be a little difficult to talk about the soundtrack of video games because companies (especially ubisoft) are quite hot on copyright claims and I was very conscious that I didn't want my 3 hour video claimed over a few small sections about the soundtracks! I did try to upload a few test videos but even very quiet ones were getting ID'd which was really annoying! I decided in the end to just cut most of the soundtrack discussion because it felt a little weird without the music to listen to! It actually was something that really annoyed me as so in my next video I made sure that it got mentioned and went through the entire soundtrack of Mortal Shell to find stuff that wouldn't get claimed! Hopefully it's something I can avoid going fowards! Anyway - long story aside - I am definitely going to check out Chatwood's band! I didn't know he had one and I am looking forward to diving into that!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

@@aweigh1010 I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about mate. I love the Mario series and frankly can't think of a single area where I've used that as a negative comparison. All I can think about is during PoP SNES where I use it as an example of how advanced the animation of PoP was but that's not negative? Happy to clarify any examples you can find because I have no idea what you mean haha

[@cthulhu888]

Indeed the soundtrack to the entire sands trilogy is outstanding! 😁👌

[@donovanpoulin-vachon8314]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame Not only the music Chatwood made for PoP, he also absolutely killed it for Darkest Dungeon and I'm sure you might appreciate it as well. One of my favorite composers for sure. Great vid by the way! Let's hope Ubi's remake of SoT does justice to the huge gem it is.

[@doom-mantia]

Sands of Time was really special to me as a kid - I even finished it twice on PC. Listening to your review and analysis of it just increases my already immense respect for this game.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

It really is something special - a perfect lighting in a bottle moment

[@doom-mantia]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame mfw the end of your video: look how they massacred my boy 😢 but still, great video man. That's some monumental effort, research and editing you did!

[@0x44_]

Such great content. I love listening while working on Edenmourne, and there's such a wealth of knowledge and ideas you share with us. Thank you for your work! While watching, I saw your critique on fighting himself in the end of Two Thrones and how it didn't make much sense for the game/series, but was reminded that it's a primary antagonist in the original PoP, doubling as a metaphor. And thought maybe the team was trying to bring it back to that.

[@user-bh5kp7lb3n]

I used to play Two Thrones a lot when I was a kid so it holds a special place in my heart

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Nostalgia is a totally acceptable reason to like a game!

[@spinyslasher6586]

Even though I loved Sands of Time and Two Thrones, Warrior Within will always be my favourite. I just loved the horror elements of the Dahaka pursuits, they were the most unforgettable moments of these games for me. I shat bricks every single time the screen would darken and I would hear him coming.

[@lairofhorrors1756]

Same here, Warrior Within was definitely the best of the trilogy!!!

[@MrRockereala]

i'm with you on this. I finished the game without sound as a kid. I was too afraid of Dahaka and how he talked

[@KonigDesTodes]

A very nice retrospective. But in The Warrior Within, you say that Dahaka being weak to the Water Sword comes out of nowhere, but every Dahaka chase ends with the Prince triggering a waterfall to escape (the first time even outright calls this out with a cinematic). So the Dahaka's death does have narrative foreshadowing. Normal sand creatures also die if you throw them into a waterfall (and won't pass them on their own iirc). I think the Sand Wraith is different because it's not actually a sand creature. Before this, I didn't know the ports of Forgotten Sands were fundamentally different stories. I'm going to have to try to find them and emulators...A quick search says the DS, PSP, and Wii Forgotten Sands are "non-canon" so that explains the odd story continuity for DS.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

A few different people have said this and I'm still not 100% convinced by it. It establishes that the Dahaka is weak to water but I want an explanation as to WHY it is. We need a conversation between the Empress and the Prince establishing that there is some sort of opposition between water and the sands, or maybe some back story to the creation of the water sword! My issue isn't so much that the weakness exists, more that it appears a bit arbitrary and "video gamey". Wouldn't take much to fix that and hopefully in any potential future remake they could do this! I was in the complete same boat about the Forgotten Sands games too! I'd really recommend the PSP game which is surprisingly fun and PSP emulation is pretty solid to boot! Thanks for watching and commenting as well! One of the main reasons I like making videos like this is the discussion they generate so I always love seeing a big thick comment haha!

[@Dtimes95]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame 1. i find it wierd that the sand creatures (Dahaka included) have a weakness to water, but the beginning of Warrior Within has a fight that is in the middle of the ocean... in a very heavy rain situation....maybe someone will explain this to me, it would be greatly appreciated 2. at 1:15:02, I think the Vizier explains how he got his army, in a monologue to the Prince: (if i remember correctly), when the Prince and Kaileena get back in the "Present", the Sands are 'deactivated' and the other items are powerless when they are discovered by the Maharajah and the Vizier, but the Vizier gets some prophetic dreams and then takes over the reigns, thus getting the army of the Maharajah (it makes me think of the beginning of the Sands of Time, when the Vizier betrayed his country when he opened the gates for the Prince's army to get into) Great work with the video!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

@@Dtimes95 Thank you so much!

[@jaygames4730]

@@IFinishedAVideoGame Take this with a grain of sand (haha, get it?), but I've always thought it's just like when you make a sandcastle or any other sand structure for that matter. If you throw water on it, it crumbles. Maybe not if you lightly pour water on it, but certainly if you put it under a waterfall or smack it with a wet sword. EDIT: that would also explain why the rain didn't affect the sand creatures in the opening level. Rain doesn't "hit" as hard as a waterfall. Just my 2 cents. Loved the video! Fun fact, I must've played Warrior Within at least 10 times when I was a teenager, but for some reason my game didn't have some cinematics and it was missing the voice lines and the background music. So I never knew it actually had heavy metal or voice acting. And I might be biased, but I think I enjoyed it much more than if I had the whole game (never found out why I was missing those things). Just going through the entire haunted island in complete silence, slicing through enemies with only the sound of my sword and their shrieks. It was so engaging and enjoyable! I absolutely adore that game and I'm gonna go play it right now while I wait for Elden Ring's release!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

@@jaygames4730 I actually think the idea of a Warrior Within that loses the metal music and over the top voice acting would be a pretty excellent experience! The game has some pretty amazing ambiance in places and I can see how that would be a really intense but atmospheric way to playthrough the game! I'm all about the power of silence to show isolation and this game is PERFECT for that!

[@tomwukong]

Thank you so much for the effort, your choice of games and most of all the length: instead of clicking through my feed and watching clips, I got a video with an interesting topic, which I can watch episodically and finding myself comint back to over 2 or even 3 days. Awesome work!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks my dude. I feel like I'm part of a vanguard pushing back against short form content. People want quality and then they can decide how they want to watch!

[@Disconnect350]

Warrior Within is one of my favorite games of all time. Gameplay, dark and edgy atmosphere, visuals/graphics, story, combat, soundtrack, characters, stages, weapons, enemies, puzzles, everything is awesome in that game. It's a sexy, cool masterpiece.

[@thenewguy3085]

I couldn't agree more, it was one of the few positive memories from my childhood. I will always have nostalgia and rose tinted glasses for that game.

[@Mikoxz]

Agree 100%, WW takes the crown of all PoP games.

[@robertozagonel3170]

I just find this video randomly, and I got to say you absolutely caught me! I watched it entirely in one session. I was in love with sands of time and warrior within from my childhood, actually the entire collection was not so good like I remembered lol. But it was really really interesting, I appreciated so much your studies and EFFORTS to explain every single game! You got a new follower from Italy :)

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's amazing - I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! It was a lot of fun and effort to put together and honestly seeing responses like yours really makes it all worth it. I'm currently working on another big one which should be hopefully out in a few weeks! Fingers crossed it's all worth it!

[@HyperGaming-eg9fs]

Nice video,as an iranian/Persian,I really enjoyed the whole franchise,the only thing bugged me a little was the fact that the prince wouldn't speak Persian/farsi, although some villains like ratash actually did speak Persian,with the upcoming remake,I hope they add some Persian quotes as well

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That would genuinely be pretty cool and really tie into the Persian fairytale atmosphere they have going on!

[@InsertNameHere95]

It annoys me to no end that all the characters are white in this franchise

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

​@@InsertNameHere95 Elika is pretty brown and so is Sargon and many of his immortal colleagues. I think they addressed that with the new game. Also while I think they should have added more dark-skinned characters, I have not much against SoT Prince or 2008 Prince.

[@kakkakapwppwow]

Why the fuck are you putting a / between Iranian and Persian as if they're the same thing

[@kakkakapwppwow]

​@@InsertNameHere95Iranians are white(hell Scythians were described to be blonde and pale), in fact there being lots of white looking characters in this game is probably one of the fewest accurate things in it.

[@shmoozledorf]

Absolutely loved this video! Going to binge more of your videos and look forward to seeing what other classic franchises you're going to explore!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's awesome - thanks very much! Hope you enjoyed the other videos, should have one on the Castlevania series (all 33 games) out tomorrow night!

[@spamblrmars]

this is one of my comfort videos man, thanks alot! was in and out of sleep one night super hungover and this video provided peace :D

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's awesome to hear dude. Glad it helped with the hangover haha!

[@kweeke5470]

This is exactly the type of content that I love on this platform, all your research and scripting was fantastic and this video was such a joy to experience.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much my dude! It was a lot of fun to make so it's been really nice to see people enjoying it and having some good discussions about a somewhat forgotten series! I've got some cool plans for upcoming videos so hopefully you're into that too!

[@rodneyabrett]

I played Prince of Persia 3d when it was released(I was in my 20s) and it wasn't even impressive at the time. The game clearly was unfinished and unpolished. The only reason why I took a chance on Sands of Time was because Mechner was more involved this time. I remember buying Sands of Time and Beyond Good and Evil on the same day and I was blown away that Ubisoft created two amazing games on PS2.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That is a seriously good day's buying! I also played both at the time and I'd love to cover Beyond Good and Evil in a future video - it's exactly the sort of game I wish was still made - ambitious, inventive, charming and with a side story of sadness about what's happened to the sequel! You're giving me ideas Rod!

[@Deltarr777]

This was one of the best gaming retrospective I've seen! Amazing work, entertaining and informative. Subscribed!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

[@FRANK45CASTLE]

Just wanna say i love your videos. You got a great voice, and are a fantastic writer. You have really good, deep takes on games and we like the same games for alot of the same reasons. Look forward to seeing your channel grow.

[@danloney1830]

This intro absolutely shivered my timbers (this is a good thing)

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks man - I'm pretty happy with how the whole framing of the video turned out! I think it's got a nice narrative running through it (hopefully people notice it, it is a 3 hour video after all haha) Thanks for watching and supporting as well man!

[@Altar360]

Disney and the devs of the first Prince of Persia probably got the name Jaffar from The Thief of Bagdad from 1940. It was a classic of its day, I’m sure the creator of the game would have been familiar with it.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

You're completely right and I need to add this to the corrections!

[@opinionpaladin6007]

Two Thrones and the 360/Ps3 Reboot were some of my favorite teenage video games

[@121von]

Im floored.... this was beautiful. Thank you so much for bringing back so many memories from playing this for the 1st time.

[@7F0X7]

The Warrior Within will always be the G.O.A.T.

[@krisztiankovacs2809]

Because the Dahaka?

[@illusion-of-choice]

@@krisztiankovacs2809 seriously? not just Dehaka

[@PatchGuilf]

That Sand of Time mechanic of wall run to wall jump to pole swing to summersault to further pole to jump to wall to jump to ladder.... Was sooo satisfying, smooth and beautiful to watch. Often felt real vertigo on some high narrow hanging points! Almost a perfect game IMO.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

To be honest, I probably do think it's a perfect action-adventure game. Many people criticise the combat, but I think it's paced so that it never really gets old. Everything else is just so masterfully designed - I really think the game deserves a lot more credit!

[@Daniel__Nobre]

I’m only half way through but I’m loving this. Amazing video! Thank you for putting it together and sharing with us :)

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

You're more than welcome! Glad you're enjoying it!

[@lamb6320]

The only thing I seem to watch nowadays are retrospectives. I put them on at night to sleep to wake up 3 hours into another of some game I never even knew existed. Loved the video

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Glad I could help - hope you enjoy my others as well!

[@BadMarriageKawagoe]

Every once in a while the youtube algorithm hits a sweet spot and recommends a whole slew of incredible videos by criminally underrated creators. That's why I'm here right now. Thanks for the awesome content.

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

That's awesome - glad you enjoy them! Got another big video coming out very shortly!

[@exodia275]

I literally found this video in my recommended and just kept watching from 10pm to 1 in the morning without realising that 3 hrs had gone by. Great stuff. I want to thank you for such a detailed and well thought out video

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Well all I can say is thanks for watching and I'm absolutely stoked that you enjoyed it this much! I've got some more videos planned that should be coming out shortly (although they do take awhile to make!) so watch this space!

[@MacnivenFantasyArt]

This is an incredibly well done, and well researched retrospective of an incredible series of games. I remember playing the original at a friends place when I was young, and I loved Sands of Time. Great work, Matt!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks very much! I really appreciate you taking the time to say!

[@SilverKnightXx]

The one thing I remember from the 2008 game is that I absolutely loved the sound design of some of the stuff, like your claw scratching the stone while sliding or the sound of wood while climbing on it

[@ExpertEditz]

Since The Sands of Time and Warrior Within being my all time favorite games, replaying them atleast once a year, and just being a huge PoP fan in general, I absolutely loved this video, very well put together, good script and content, and beside all that a lovely relaxing voice to listen to, very well done!

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks so much - I really appreciate that! Hopefully you enjoy my other videos too!

[@collin.a.]

Hello from Mr Sunday Movies/The Weekly Planet audience 👀 Anyone else?

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I have seen a fair few lmao

[@mikegermanio324]

One here m8!

[@Annathroy]

This is an amazing video essay. Excellent job man keep it up

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

Thanks my friend!

[@YoshMaster]

You are a god for doing such an amazingly complete retrospective on an entire series like this wow! And now you made me want to replay the first Ubisoft one and finally play the 2008 and Forgotten Sand games I own but never played lol

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I highly recommend 2008! It was very unfairly treated by the fans and is a really beautiful adventure!