Prince of Persia (2008 video game): Difference between revisions

As of March 2012, there has been no word on a true sequel to the game; plans for it have apparently been put on hold in favourfavor of making [[Trilogy Creep|a fourth installment]] in the ''Sands of Time'' series.

* [[And Your Reward Is Clothes]]: There are three sets each for the Prince and Elika: one a [[Mythology Gag]] (the ''Sands of Time'' Prince and Farah), one a [[Shout-Out]] (to ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' and ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'', respectively), and the last a [[Development Gag]] ("prototype" versions of the characters).

** "What is one grain of sand in the desert? What is one grain of sand in the storm?" First stated by Elika, {{spoiler|then by Ahriman}}.

* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]: Subverted. Elika tries to pull one on the Prince at the start of the ''Epilogue'' [[Downloadable Content|DLC]], but it doesn't help either of them see the other's point of view.

* [[Black and Grey Morality]]: Ahriman is definitely evil, but his brother/counterpart, Ormazd, despite being the [[Light Is Not Good|god of light]] is lacking in admirable qualities and at best is a [[Neglectful Precursors]]. This may be [[Justified]] in that being the god of light, and [[Real Life|IRLin real life]], the equivalent of ''God'' in Zoroastrianism, he isn't the kind of god that intervenes much in the world affairs... [[Chosen One|Not personally anyway]].

* [[Character Development]]: The right trigger/R2 is a dialogue button for the "Prince" to talk to Elika, which may dole out a hint, more about the backstory of the land or characters, or simply Han-and-Leia-esque playful banter.

* [[Clothing Damage]]: Elika's lacy blouse gets slightly more torn each time the plot advances, and it's subtle enough that the player may not even notice. This is also a [[Fan Service]] [[Mythology Gag]], because a player who remembers the Prince's [[Shirtless Scene]] from ''Sands of Time'' may expect Elika to repeat it. (Sheshe doesn't).)

{{quote| '''Prince:''' That's a nice blouse.<br />

'''Elika:''' I think I have an extra one if you want to wear it. }}

{{quote| '''Elika:''' Why are you doing this? [[The Dulcinea Effect|You're not doing this for me, are you]]? [[Male Gaze|I've seen you looking at me]]. [[All Men Are Perverts|I recognize that look]].<br />

'''Prince:''' Hey, you're cute, but not 'stay to fight a dark god' cute.<br />

'''Elika:''' Would you have helped my father if ''he'' had asked you?<br />

'''Prince:''' He's not that cute, either.<br />

...<br />

'''Elika:''' [[Lampshade Hanging|I have experience with men doing stupid things for women]].<br />

'''Prince:''' [[Selfish Good|Well, I only ever do stupid things for myself]]. }}

* [[Does Not Like Shoes]]: Elika displays her [[Action Girl]] [[Badass|badassery]]ery by traversing rough terrain completely barefoot.

* {{spoiler|[[Downer Ending]]}}: {{spoiler|The Prince releases Ahriman in order to revive Elika. The Prince calmly walks away as Ahriman's darkness engulfs the land. ''Somewhat'' subverted in the ''[[DLCDownloadable Content|Epilogue]]'', where it's revealed that the Prince revived Elika because her power is the only thing that can defeat Ahriman [[Killed Off for Real|for good]]; if she'd stayed dead, it would have just been a waiting game until Ahriman's seal broke, and he took over the land without resistance. Then it's played straight again when Elika leaves the Prince high and dry to go look for her people, and it's implied that Ahriman attacks him shortly after.}}.

** The DS game ''The Fallen King'', which could be considered a sequel to both the main 2008 game and ''Epilogue'', at least {{spoiler|leaves some hope for a happy ending. It has Thethe Prince go after the king of the City of New Dawn in an attempt to summon Ormazd, and gains a temporary ally, Zal, the "good half" of the king, who ends up dying after killing his other half. The Prince's other new ally, the Ancestor, leaves a message of hope for the Prince, promising that, in time, an inner power would be revealed and new ally would be found.}}.

* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: The Prince and Elika. {{spoiler|Ruined when the Prince re-unleashes Ahriman. Elika ''never'' forgives him for that, even when he's revealed to have had a ''very good reason'' for doing it.}}.

** The [[Big Bad]]: Ahriman.

** [[The Dragon]]: The Hunter.

** [[The Brute]]: The Warrior.

** The [[Evil Genius]]: The Alchemist.

** The [[Dark Chick]]: The Concubine.

** [[Sixth Ranger]]: {{spoiler|The Mourning King}}.

{{quote| '''Elika:''' [[It's Quiet... Too Quiet|It looks quiet]].<br />

'''Prince:''' Don't say it's quiet. Don't ''ever'' say it's quiet.<br />

and<br />

(After seeing that where a boss stands is precisely where they need to go:)<br />

'''Prince:''' Why do we always have to move ''towards'' the monsters? }}

{{quote| '''Prince:''' Oh, come on, I've helped old ladies home from the market.<br />

'''Elika:''' If they had attractive daughters.<br />

'''Prince:''' Yeah. I helped them, too. }}

{{quote| '''Elika:''' I'm beginning to worry about you and your donkey.}}

{{quote| '''The Prince:''' I reclaim abandoned property!}}

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Elika dies at the end in order to reseal Ahriman. The Prince promptly releases Ahriman to free her. She's not happy about it.}}.

* [[Leap of Faith]]: {{spoiler|The Prince must leap off a tower to defeat the Concubine's illusory Elikas by making the real one save him.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Left Hanging]]}}: {{spoiler|The ending, and frustratingly, the ''Epilogue'' as well.}}.

{{quote| '''Elika:''' We have to cross over there!<br />

'''Prince:''' Sure, climb on the roof. [[Deadpan Snarker|It's not like gravity ever killed anyone]]. }}

* [[Mythology Gag]]: the game opens with The Prince calling for Farah (the name of the [[Love Interest]] from the ''Sands of Times'' trilogy). Later, when asked if Farah is his girlfriend, he reveals it to be the name of {{spoiler|his donkey}}.

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Invoked {{spoiler|at the end. After sealing away Ahriman (at the cost of Elika's life), the Prince almost immediately undoes the same seal he worked his hands to the bone to put in place}}. See [[Sadistic Choice]] below.

{{quote| Jailer...<br />

Torturer...<br />

What injury have I done to you<br />

That you have not done to me? }}

* [[Protagonist Without a Past]]: The Prince. He tells Elika as much when she starts questioning him. Hell, the game manual even backs him up on this one. If Elika's persistent enough (ie,i.e. if the player keeps hitting that Snark Button), he does reveal that when he was young, both of his parents died for someone else's cause, leaving him with an uncle. He's been all over the world and met all kinds of people, but never got strongly attached to anyone. He robs graves and is always getting into trouble, and he's repeatedly gotten his hands on and subsequently lost a great deal of treasure. Where he comes from, rather than inheriting power, people get it by killing each other or [[Bribing Your Way to Victory|bribing their way into it]].

* {{spoiler|[[Pyrrhic Victory]]}}: {{spoiler|Save the world, lose the girl. Then subverted.}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Pyrrhic Villainy]]}}: A bit trickier to see, but it's there. It is implied in the DLC that {{spoiler|Elika is somehow crucial to defeating Ahriman for real. By bringing her back to life, Ahriman has secured his release, but it will ultimately bring about his downfall.}}.

* [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]: The series and the movie adaptation get a lot of flack for making the Prince [[Mighty Whitey|"too white"]], due to Western audiences expecting [[Phenotype Stereotype|everyone who lives in the Middle East]] to [[Unfortunate Implications|be brown as can be and not even vaguely similar to the rest of the world]]. In truth, the Persian people were close relatives of the Europeans, and the majority of modern Iran's population could be considered "white". And most people there identify as white. [http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/12/4/128728998449020593.jpg Compare Iranian prime minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Jake Gyllenhaal.]. Also, [http://kotaku.com/5547892/is-prince-of-persia-really-a-racial-whitewash read Kotaku's article.].

* [[Sadistic Choice]]: The game gives the Prince a pretty hefty one: {{spoiler|keep Ahriman trapped and the world safe (for the short time it takes for Ahriman to bust out of the weakened prison), or undo everything he's fought for and release Ahriman to destroy the world in order to bring Elika back from the dead so that she can find a way to put Ahriman back in the seal for good}}. And because, of course, by then we have {{spoiler|completely fallen for her.}}.

* [[Shout-Out]]: You can unlock the ''Sands Of Time'' Prince's outfit, as well as Altair's (Fromfrom ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'') outfit. Similarly, Elika can be dressed as either Farah from the ''Sands of Time'' trilogy or as Jade from ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]]''. You also get achievements for [[Titanic|standing on the beam on the prow of an airship]], and [[Assassin's Creed|standing on a beam jutting out from a building that provides a spectacular view]].

* [[A Sinister Clue]]: Kinda. Looking from the temple, the left-most Grounds are guarded by the Hunter, the most decadent of the Corrupted with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The right-most is the Warrior, a [[Tragic Monster]] and the only Corrupted Elika feels sympathy for. The two in-between are bad, but they at least have been Corrupted in a moment of weakness (unlike the Hunter).

* [[To Be Continued]]: This is the Achievement that pops up after {{spoiler|the Prince resurrects Elika and releases Ahriman}}. Turns out they've abandoned the new storyline in favor of a fourth installment to the "''Sands of Time"'' storyline.

* [[Unflinching Walk]]: The Prince {{spoiler|walks calmly away as he is engulfed by a sandstorm, and a dark god flies overhead.}}.

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Ahriman {{spoiler|uses the same sales pitch on both the Prince and the Mourning King and succeeds both times.}}. Ultimately subverted in {{spoiler|the second case, as the Prince has Elika brought back to life so she can defeat Ahriman for good}}.

* [[Video Game Cruelty Potential]]: Throw the Prince down pits as many times as you like! And ''infinitely'', because Elika will always save him, although you [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment|will miss out on an achievement if you do this too much]]. Some of the combat moves are rather nasty, too -: throwing an enemy into the air, juggling them with your sword, grabbing them out of the air and smashing them to the ground, shoving them through pillars, hurling ''them'' off ledges...

* [[Wall Jump]]: Hell, yes. The Prince can do it indefinitely, even.

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