Jordan Mechner's adventure game on NES. Fluid acrobatics, deadly traps, prince vs. Jaffar. Revolutionary rotoscoped animations. The NES conversion is honest. A timeless classic.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player12+
Description
Action platformer featuring the Prince of Persia performing acrobatics and battling guards to save the Princess. Published by Virgin Games, released in Europe in 1992. Prince in side-scrolling view with acrobatic moves and a sword, deadly traps to avoid and a race against time. NES port of Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia game.
The NES port of Prince of Persia reached Europe in 1992 through Virgin Games, late in the console's life as focus shifted to the Super Nintendo. This pan-European PAL edition, distinct from the localised French or German runs, rides the intact reputation of Jordan Mechner's original. Desirability stems from the late release onto a declining European NES base, which structurally caps the number of surviving copies.
Is Prince of Persia still worth playing in 2026?
A port of Jordan Mechner's masterpiece, this Prince of Persia moves a hero with rotoscoped animation of unheard of realism, through a trap laden palace he must cross in an hour to save the princess. The precision of jumps, the reading of deadly traps and the sword duels demand rigour and anticipation, in a tense, elegant experience. The NES conversion restores the fluidity and atmosphere remarkably. For a demanding platforming fan, someone curious about a founding classic or a collector, the title keeps an intact elegance and challenge.
