Prince of Persia on MegaCD with CD soundtrack and original rotoscoped animations preserved. Save the Princess in the Persian dungeons in 60 minutes. A timeless Western classic on MegaCD.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player12+
Description
The Prince battles Jaffar's minions to rescue the Princess before the hourglass empties in this Mega-CD port of the action classic. Published by Sega, released in Europe in January 1993. Action platformer with fluid rotoscoped animations, sword combat, puzzles and one-hour time limit. Multilingual version.
Prince of Persia review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Jordan Mechner filmed his brother running and jumping in a car park, then traced those takes to obtain a human gait rather than a sprite cycle. The dungeons around him are built on a vocabulary of horseshoe arches, ochre brick and mosaics, and the portcullises and mirrors stay plain enough that the eye always returns to the character.
Francis Mechner wrote a handful of short motifs, played on harpsichord and strings, triggered only at decisive moments: a blade avoided, an encounter, the hourglass nearing its end. The rest of the time only footsteps and wind can be heard, and the move to CD tracks gives those rare musical entries a relief the floppy version never had.
A Mega-CD port of Jordan Mechner's cinematic classic, Prince of Persia has the hero run, jump and fight through trapped rooms to save the princess before the sand runs out, all in an hour of play. The rotoscoped animation, of a fluidity unheard of at release, and the tension of the timer keep an intact elegance. The demanding controls and punishing difficulty require rigor. A monument of action-platforming, still fascinating for fans of retro challenge.
