Stumbling Tours: Prince of Persia on Almost Everything Else

[@MisterRON]

"It really makes a much better experience when you can mostly skip the worst part of it." I love his quips so much.

[@IdoMuffin]

I know it's a lot of effort, but these style of videoes are easily the best work you do. Moar!

[@TeaAndFloppyDisks]

There was also an Android port that has disappeared from the play store that is based on the look and feel of the PC version, including a few mods. It wasn't too bad actually. Thank you for another look into this game that is somehow still very fascinating to this day!

[@PuNkY-fr]

Prince of Persia Classic is hidden as a bonus in Forgotten Sand (Wii version)

[@robbiewalker2831]

Was there anything I should do about it, or was it unlockable at the start?

[@robinanwaldt]

The included version is the SNES port though.

[@Saxdude26]

While it is an easier way to have access to the Mac version, it is just another port of an existinh version, much like the one in Sands of Time. But good catch.

[@lancebaylis3169]

The ingenuity of fan made homebrew porters to get games as complex as Prince of Persia to run on systems that it had no right being able to run on, never ceases to amaze me.

[@bladesofseven]

TIMESTAMPS: Amiga: 1:00 Sam Coupé: 6:17 PC-98: 12:06 Sharps X68000: 15:13 FM-Towns: 19:55 ZX Spectrum: 22:20 Gameloft Remake: 29:07 Commodore 64: 37:48 BBC Master: 42:35 SDLPoP: 46:26

[@mastergame1311]

Man, I've just discovered your channel because I wanted to look at some Prince of Persia ports and here I am now, at 3 AM, watching an hour long video about some obscure ports of the game. I hope you'll create something of a similiar fashion in the future, for I will gladly burn the midnight oil yet again.

[@lionocyborg6030]

My equivalent to Prince of Persia on DOS for you is the Xbox 360 version of Prince of Persia Classic, which I use as a benchmark for all the others despite it being a remake. In descending order of quality under POP Classic, my top versions of the game are: Mega CD version (Japanese, because the English dub of the cutscenes is horrible as you rightly pointed out) PC 98 & PC Engine (similar to above but no voice acting) DOS Apple II Super Family Computer aka Super Famicom/SFC (Japanese only for uncensored torture scenes) I rank the SFC version as the worst because despite being basically Prince of Persia’s version of Sabatu’s Kaizo Tomb Raider series with a lot of new stuff that is indeed worth playing, I can’t stand the censorship of blood, gore & references to death, plus I can’t understand the Japanese text so I can’t tell if unlike SNES version nor the gore in all regions it was untainted.

[@DevelopmentDragon]

I had to up the speed to 1.25x to make it sound like your original 2014 video. (In all seriousness, glad you came back to this, your PoP videos are my favorites.)

[@DavidXNewton]

Hah :D I'm at least glad the difference is noticeable! I still slip back into talking too fast if I don't watch myself :)

[@madhuragrawal5685]

@@DavidXNewton hey, that makes you unique! I really liked how fast you talked

[@johncrosby7968]

Really enjoying your work. 50% history lesson, 50% nostalgia trip, 100% entertaining. Thank you.

[@Saxdude26]

I think the best takeaway from regularly revisiting these stumbling tours is it convinced me to chase down what I thought would be the most ideal way to enjoy this classic adventure: 1) the Mac port included in Forgotten Sands (Wii) and Sands of Time 2) the Classic remake to enjoy the boldest attempt to reimagine the title 3) and SDLPoP to play the game as close to its DOS release and enjoy the ever growing community of modders akin to what exists for DOOM. Still, seeing the predecessor to the Acorn Archimedes running PoP1 is beyond impressive, and in a world where so many games analogous to this missed the entire BBC computer line, seeing the Prince gracing it was a welcome surprise.

[@zetamaniac]

I absolutely loved your Prince videos, glad to see you are giving them a bit more attention and that you listened to the feedback, although your fast spaced speech was somewhat amusing. Keep it up mate.

[@zetamaniac]

Also funny how your slower talk sounds "unnatural" to me now, and that 1.25 speed playback feels more similar to the previous videos.

[@Kand1nSky]

Update 2021 a fantastic Atari XL/XE 8-Bit port

[@MisterRON]

Thank you so much for making these videos. PoP never got such a well done, detailed overview before.

[@nattila7713]

It was pure fun to watch your 2 videos, one after the other. Thank you!

[@DavidXNewton]

Thank so much, glad you liked them!

[@robbiewalker2831]

@@DavidXNewton The Japanese Ports are the reason why Jordan Mechner redid the graphics for the Mac Port (the graphics to the Mac Port is nearly identical to the Japanese Ports, just Americanized), and how the Prince looked different in the sequel compared to earlier installments of the first Prince of Persia (where the Prince looks too Caucasian to be considered a Prince nor a Persian).

[@sweettooth-kt2je]

Oh my goodness! It's a great legendary super useful work! Thank you so so so so so unbelievable much!!!

[@nellyfish9692]

I hope KZbin algorithms continue to push your video, as they are great. I'm one of them lonely Sam Coupe users from the 80s and I spent hours playing Prince of Persia but never beat it!

[@celebrategout1008]

watched the first PoP vid a while back. didn't think you'd make another but more is welcome!!!

[@followthewhiterabbit2549]

The FM Towns actually has CD quality music in all its dungeons. It's sad you didn't get that version. The first time I downloaded that game was the one with sounds but no music. I'm glad I never give up and found the complete version.

[@Saxdude26]

FM Towns games with CD remastered soundtracks remain some of the best available for their respective games. Shadow of the Beast 1 and 2 remain some of my absolute favourites alongside Lemmings 2, so good on you for looking hard for the music included version.

[@aronaranyossy]

Your commentary makes these so enjoyable, thanks for a second part, I absolutely loved it! :)

[@aronaranyossy]

oh yeah, and I had no idea Hungarians were so into this game. This makes me very happy (as a Hungarian myself)

[@DavidXNewton]

Áron Aranyossy They were definitely enthusiastic about it :) I think there was another port started on the Enterprise 128 in Hungary, another computer I don’t know about. I hope I got the Hungarian names even close to right :)

[@aronaranyossy]

@@DavidXNewton you did a good job with them, the Hungarian langauge and pronunciation is hard. It was a sweet easter egg for me anyways ;)

[@robbiewalker2831]

@@DavidXNewton the FM Towns version does include Redbook Audio, so you did miss out on it. It’s the same music as it was in the Turbografx version, which is what the SEGA CD version based it on.

[@TimothyMakin]

We are big fans of yours over at the Prince of Persia Speedrunning Discord. You should join us :)

[@intrinia]

The amount of plattforms this game was ported to is just stunning! Thanks for the video!

[@TheInredibleMrH]

Those BBC Micro and Commodore 64 versions look immaculate. Incredible stuff.

[@NoobixCube]

It must be a close contest as to which has been ported to the most systems, between Doom and Prince of Persia. I think the only thing that would give Doom the edge is the number of insane ports to photocopiers and toasters.

[@DavidXNewton]

Definitely :) I've thought about doing a Doom video like this, but I would have to keep it to official ports for the sake of sanity!

[@NoobixCube]

I've seen videos already of people comparing various Doom ports, but never with the goal of an exhaustive exploration of all official ports. Digital Foundry and Punching Weight have each done videos on console ports, but I'm not sure about ports to other computers. I also think digging into unofficial ports, particularly if you can find any made before the engine was open sourced, would make for an interesting video. Ports after that would mostly just be of the "can we get Prboom to run on this Greek water clock?" variety.

[@volo870]

I tried limiting my exploration of DOOM to MS-DOS ports. Still got confused. Strangely, original version runs fastest, despite all later "improvements", which is VERY noticeable on my Pentium 133. John Carmack was a coding god!

[@C.K.Turner]

This is a serious deep dive into history - Thank you for posting!

[@thepirategamerboy12]

Both PoP videos got me to subscribe. I love all the videos I've seen on your channel so far! :) I suppose my top 5 versions overall would be SNES, PC-98, IBM PC/DOS, Macintosh, and Sega CD.

[@Stratocaster42]

Absolutely brilliant. Your intro was hilarious. I feel like you are horrendously under subscribed! I love these videos :)

[@Mezurashii5]

Happy for you mate, hope you make something of this growth that you'll feel proud of in the future.

[@darkarchon89]

Great video like the other ones. It made for a pleasant Saturday late afternoon. Love your channel!

[@Verdgilion]

Huh, this is a pleasant surprise. I was one of these people who was blessed by algorythm, and decided to stay, really liked "stumbling" series and your Doom videos. That ZX Spectrum port had reminded me about gaming in post-soviet Russia in middle of the 90's. I clearly remember, what over here, sometime around year 1996-98, I was visiting several gaming-centric shops quite a lot, and I could always find at the same shelf, same time and place: NES (pirated copy, more similar to Famicom), Sega Megadrive (pirated, too) and ZX Spectrum-looking machine. Also PS1 a bit later, but that besides the point. Now I realize, what that was a bit bizarre. Come to think of it, ZX Spectrum probably become popular in Russia a bit before this ZX Spectrum port (well, in it's cloned form, with defferent name), around the same time as before mentioned systems: NES, Sega, and PS1 followed several years later. Most likely because of political climate at the time, I was possible to profit from piracy and everything crackable started to emerge after 1991. What a time it was. Really glad it's gone. Most of clones and pirated systems were rubbish, broke easily, games were sold but often didn't work properly. But at least it itroduced people like me to gaming. So... yay for piracy? Yay for piracy.

[@ladams391]

The C64 and BBC Master versions are extremely impressive simply for existing in any recognizable form, let alone being actually pretty good taking hardware limitations into account

[@pjgathergood6987]

Another excellent video, DavidXNewton; your channel is quickly becoming one of my regular go-tos when I want to pass the time with some vintage (and well put together) video game coverage. Oddly, watching POP being played and compared on different systems is oddly therapeutic (maybe it's something to do with the grid-based play or something). I inherited Price of Persia on the PC when by dad "borrowed" a 386 from work along with a random pile of (ahem) unofficial games circa 1991/2-ish. Although I was/am more into 'thinking' type games, it had such an awesome combination of action and puzzles (and great graphics) that I loved it. I vaguely recall it was possibly an 'enhanced' (likely hacked) version, with various pokes and extras. To this day it stands out in so many areas. The BBC B was my computer as a boy; I still have it, and is still one of my big loves in my life. I'm aware of the unofficial port of POP in the last year or so. I'm of the odd breed that only really enjoy games on old systems that were released for them at the time - for some reason knowing that it's a modern game for an old system, I just can't fully get into it. Even so, the Beeb version looks really good ... I want to sound very pompous and say I'm not surprised, as whilst the Been may have been limited with graphics (particularly palette-wise), "under-the-hood" is could be quite powerful when programmed right. Loving these Stumbling Tours videos, they're some of your best stuff. Would love to see you cover some of the classic point-and-click series.

[@featherinescat]

You still ignored the OG Xbox unlockable version(it also has PoP 2). So, it is PC-98, Sega CD for PoP. FM Towns, OG Xbox for PoP 2.

[@MisterRON]

That one is so weird.

[@barrywallace2744]

@@tuxedocream It is.

[@MikePyse]

I am very glad to see a second part of this topic as it was very pleasant to hear, thank you and great work!

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

I think the age at which I could have started playing Prince of Persia is long past. I'm not really interested in picking it up and playing it, but I love studying it's design, watching people who are passionate about it play it and talk about it. I'm having loads of fun with these videos.

[@FrostRager]

I have this with POP2. My first game ever was Pop1 and I at least finished this game 3 times. I tried starting pop about 3 times but never got past the 3rd maybe 4th level.

[@simhadrirao769]

Nice to see more of my nostalgia

[@ajmetz82]

Haha...I just hit "like" at the end of the intro mate - that got me sufficiently entertained, =). Enjoying the rest now, =).

[@LSTRetroGamingVideos]

I don't know why, but I just love the look of the PC98 - not just for Prince of Persia but in general.

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

Very impressed by the C64 version.

[@DavidXNewton]

It's amazing what he was able to get out of it, so many years after the end of its lifespan :)

[@dougbarry8399]

Fascinating stuff, thanks for persevering :) I love PoP when i was younger.

[@audiosurfarchive]

God bless *DER ALGORITHM* you deserve all the love. Peace from HTX.

[@CZpersi]

I loved to listen to the music of the pirate introductions. Especially the group named "Hybrid" had some great ones.

[@AvatarRaziel92]

I heard PSP at the end :O awesome collection and explanation...also very funny often ;3

[@seymourbuttz8539]

3:30 The FMTOWNS version is supposed to have CD audio like the PC-Engine version.

[@lukefrohling]

Yeah!!! Hello David!!! I've been promoting you on my Facebook :)

[@mtmostowski]

I just played the Atari port on 130xl/xe emulator. Brilliant. Though tends to slow down with more objects in the screen. However perfectly playable and was able to finish it on the first run.

[@joanthedark]

19:25 This one is really clever, I love it, I wish the original game had it this way as well.

[@bladesofseven]

Since the release of this video, there's been yet another addition to the mad porting frenzy, this time to the Atari XE. I would love to see a small playthrough and impressions vid of that port, if possible.

[@DavidXNewton]

Yes! I'll definitely give it a look some time :) Eventually there might be enough for another hour-long special!

[@spectrobit5554]

Prince of Persia Classic is such a strange game; a collection of "promising-turned-disastrous". It is as if it was made by a "twisted genie with a grudge", as you so cleverly put it. It gives the Prince a lot of useful new moves, such as jumping off of walls, rolling, and catching ledges. It also adds ridiculous things such as backflips, and barely tweaks the environments in response to the expanded repertoire, trivializing some of the platforming. It reworks the simplistic combat, introducing flashy finishers and new actions. All of that wasted on the subpar execution of such combat system, including slow-mo, resulting in fleeing being the preferred option, not out of fear, but out of frustration. It makes the movement more responsive and snappy, instantaneous. It also removes edge detection, reduces jump run-up time, and makes the Prince feel weightless, an aspect integral to the original game. There are a few things to be said about the graphics and the change of direction, but I won't say anything about them. It just makes me wonder if there was ever a cohesive idea for what the game should've been, or if a lot of things changed during development to fit what "consumers would want".

[@Seventeen_Seconds]

Ahh those Amiga crack screens were a thing of beauty :) great video could listen to your commentary all day, is this the same bloke from the dos game club podcast??

[@bouncingbluesoul5270]

I think you missed one. Whilst not a port of this, its still in the classic style. There was a flash game released in 2003 to help promote Sand Of Time, that contained one brand new dungeon level and a fight with Jaffar at the end.

[@Raison_d-etre]

I assume the SDLpop review isn't up yet? How do you know it's not the emulators that are messing up the ports? I'm playing Q*Bert on DosBox and it's not as nice as it ran on native DOS.

[@Retrofun69]

Pleass more vids like this. Its your best content. 😊

[@Celsius_Reloaded]

Damn! i didn't even know some of these consoles/pc's. Good Video Like Always my dude!

[@ufoguy]

Super awesome video!

[@WA_Stokins]

This series alone made prince of persia go from "Eh, looks alright but I'll never play." To "Yea, I'll give it a shot in dosbox and see if I like it."

[@WobblyPython]

I'm one of those 165,000 people that the computer sent to hear you say something racist probably maybe!

[@Saxdude26]

Same here. It's motivated me to attempt to do a video in this style on my own channel, so bless the algorithm for making a good call I suppose!

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

If I may ask. Are you thinking about looking at Prince of Persia 3D for both Windows and Dreamcast?

[@zoltansudar3989]

Greetings from Hungary :)

[@DavidXNewton]

Zoltán Sudár Greetings! I hope that I pronounced the Hungarian names even close to correctly :)

[@savlecz1187]

Yes! PoP content is exactly what I subbed for. You think you might consider talking about some of the best mods in the future?

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

As much as I like the remake (the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, that is), I do agree the combat is rather brutal and unforgiving. I still wish there was a remake of PoP 2, though. And I mean a proper one, not what we got on mobile!

[@cannot-handle-handles]

I couldn't read most of the Kanji, but the Japanese menu at 14:36 reads approximately ゲームスタート データロード ドライブ?? サウンド?? ?晶モード ユーザーデイスク?? 名前の登? ?生モード デモに戻る gēmusutāto dētarōdo doraibu?? saundo?? ?akiramōdo yūzādeisuku?? namae no tō? ?Nama mōdo demo ni modoru Game Start Data loading drive?? sound?? Crystal mode User disk? Name registration? ? Raw mode Return to demo (...according to Google Translate.)

[@tcfs]

...and the Commodore Plus/4 version is coming soon (in a few weeks)... 😉

[@ThePouplous]

You should do a comparison of the Sands of Time Trilogy and Forgotten sands series.

[@brotherhood_of_harkonnen]

How could you missed the SNES version? That was the most detailed

[@DavidXNewton]

It was in the first video, kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6PbnJKMlrigbKcsi=AI7ntahBG8RsVlRn&t=1671

[@bouncingbluesoul5270]

Have you thought about doing some of the Mods for the original POP?

[@Aurora2097]

The Octogod and she-ra are cool, as are the hell and mine levels...or Jaffar as a devil.. it really adds to the games mythology!

[@jonathanplooij3666]

thanks for the video

[@wagonet]

Thanks 🎉

[@ДаняШУЛИКИН]

When you were talking about the ZX Spectrum version the options are "enter password" and "New game" if translated from russian into english. .

[@19Szabolcs91]

You are unfortunately right, combat is atrocious in PoP Classic. Shame, because the platforming is great.

[@dvader518]

There's a secret remake of the first level in the Sands of Time game.

[@PrinceOfPersiaCollector]

Some nice infos.

[@Spaztron64]

Gosh the x68k port. I beat it and the PC-98 version multiple times, and while the x68k is closer to the original in terms of movement and combat, the PC-98 ver is more stable (especially with performance and framelimiting) and customizable. PC-98 ver would've been basically perfect if some movement quirks weren't made super annoying, and combat moves weren't buffered and infinitely looping if the buttons were held down. Also it's a self-booter game, not a PC-98 DOS game...that made it even more annoying to get running on my real PC-9821, *plus* it requires a second user disk. Hope you have multiple floppies or a floppy emulator. The x68k port doesn't have this problem as it's a Human68k game, and all 3 disks can be copied to a single HDD and ran from the commandline. Also I may be one of the few who dig the x68k OST over the PC-98 OST. PC-98 is more atmospheric and has better FM/SSG instrument design, but I like the more energetic and twangy x68k OST.

[@pelgervampireduck]

POP1 PC is still awesome

[@bouncingbluesoul5270]

I've actually created the very first Mod for the Apple 2 version of POP.

[@iXien]

Concerning the Amiga version, I think you choose a wrong option to switch from 50 to 60hz or your emulator doesn't do the job very well. Indeed, you see the things right. As Prince Of Persia has been developed by Broderbund in the United States, the game is designed to be displayed in 60hz. On a real Amiga, music and sound aren't affected in 60hz, GFX retrieve their correct aspect ratio and the animation is smoother and faster. A shame that people (me included) played the game in 50hz at the wrong speed in Europe. A simple option to choose to start the game at 50 or 60hz at the beginning (like in Fury Of The Furries for example) would have been simple. But it's another history 😄

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

I'd be into watching DavidXNewton do a longplay of his preferred DOS version of Prince of Persia just talking about it. Like not even a speed run, just...sit down and play the game and talk.

[@DavidXNewton]

That sounds nice :)

[@branchonequal]

Thank youuu! :)

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

35:08 - 35.20 I like your sense of humour. XD

[@lllDASH]

18:13 This is actually an FM Towns issue, not the X68000. The shift works just fine. It's the FM Towns where you need to use the spacebar. You probably got your FM Towns notes mixed up with your X68000 notes. Or maybe there's something wrong with my FM Towns emulator and something wrong with your X68000 emulator. And yes, there is CD music in the FM Towns version but you've already heard it because it's the same as the TurboGrafx CD

[@GTXDash]

...just played the FM Towns version again and this time the shift was fine. Weird. I guess it was an emulation problem

[@Deimos_Fresh]

Heh. Funny reading Russian. As far as I remember, FM Towns do have CD quality music. It definitely sounds much better that X68000 and maybe have similar quality to Sega CD port. For some reason can't play my CD on emulator right now, but it's 100% have great music. It's strange how they've changed music in Sega CD where palace music plays during dungeon levels and vice versa.

[@runeanonymous9760]

I have been here since before Holiday Star!

[@DavidXNewton]

Then you really have been around a long time :D I can't believe it's been so many years since Moa graced us with the madness of the Hatoful series... glad you're still watching!

[@viktoriatheskinnynerd2674]

0:28 This joke got me really hard.

[@Tocy777isback0414]

YAYYY

[@ACTNRPLY]

“Looks like I’m gonna be a moderately popular gaming KZbinr, so you can probably expect me to say something horribly racist in the near future.” That is fucking hilarious. Edit: oh but yeah I found your channel through your Prince of Persia video a month or two ago, and I dig your content. Definitely looking forward to more. 👍

[@MnY275]

On the 2007 remaster, did you realise the life expanding potion in level 1

[@DavidXNewton]

John Mash I didn’t! Where’s that?

[@MnY275]

DavidXNewton On your run-in towards the sword, the room before you arrive to where the sword is located, there’s a loose tile on top before you jump the spike trap, make the loose tile fall then go up and take a left. The life expanding potion is there for the taking. This extra room also exists in the DOS version but it only contains a regular healing potion

[@MnY275]

DavidXNewton The PC-98 also introduces another life expanding potion in level 3 but it’s a trap if you choose to get it. To find it, instead of going left towards the end level door after taking care of the skeleton, head right then go down. The life potion is on a lower level but if you fall to get it, the first tile will fall trapping you because you can’t get back up and if you go down where the tile fell, you’ll meet a skeleton and you’ll fight him for the time remaining unless you choose to die

[@Can-uj5pv]

3:41 Poor mouse got its color changed too but was not worthy of a mention :(

[@ИльяБулгаков-р3у]

You have forgot to mention SoT bonus level

[@Pepy_95]

you didnt cover the ulocible ps2 port

[@GaleGummola]

Is Prince of Persia most ported game ever?

[@bladesofseven]

Nah, that title goes to Doom. Heh.

[@GaleGummola]

@@bladesofseven well, if we forget the fan made ports? 😸

[@arciks11]

It's up there.

[@Saxdude26]

I think it takes the bronze medal for third place behind Doom and the original Pac Man. Rayman or James Pond 2 might be close contenders, but I think PoP just inches ahead of both.

[@GaleGummola]

@@Saxdude26 How about if we concider only commercial ports, not the fan made?

[@milosmr]

Prince od Persia in Super Nintendo is the best!

[@JamesPlaysGames95]

Broke: can it run doom? Woke: can it run prince of persia?

[@Felipe-gz9uy]

Could you make a review of SNES mod 30th Anniversary Port? It is a remake of the original levels for SNES.

[@MALEMization]

Hey @DavidXNewton I see you're talking slower this time: Yeah I meant for this comment to be a joke on how people critique you for your SANIC talking speed on the other video!

[@Flpstrike]

I wish that my Xbox One X was able to run Prince of Persia Sands of Time's bonus games ;(

[@Mb_Drei]

wHo'S hERe BeForE tHE 1mlN VieWS??

[@icysaracen3054]

Got an Retro Anbernic handheld console that plays DOS, SNES, SEGA GENESIS, AMIGA, PLAYSTATION etc. I got nearly every Prince of Persia port on it.

[@amateurprogrammer25]

42:50 COBOL? Not even BASIC? That is CRUELTY.

[@fishactivation5087]

#Before300Club