Prince of Persia (Sega CD)

[VideoGameCritic]

After gaining renewed respect for this game (the Apple II version at least) in a separate thread, I decided maybe I should give this Sega CD version another try. After all, that review was almost 20 years old and F is pretty harsh for a classic like this.

Now I'm sorry I did. Your movements are either running or tip-toeing - nothing in between. Pulling yourself up ledges is easy enough, but gracefully dropping down or grabbing ledges is another story. The controls are very delayed, leading to undeserved deaths.

And the save system... yikes. You press start and there's a save option, but no matter what button you push nothing happens. The instructions say you can only save after a "locked gate". Huh? Every screen has one of those. I think it means you can only save at the start of a level.

Not looking good!

[Retro STrife]

I'm with you. I didn't play Prince of Persia back in the day, so my first experience was sometime in the 2000s. If I transport my mind back to 1989, I can envision why the game was so well-regarded back then. It was a realistic action-platformer that looked great and had gameplay that stood out from the rest of the crowd. But today it just doesn't hold up IMO. Too many other games after it improved the formula and are much more playable today. Like you mention, one of my biggest gripes has always been the movement/controls. The animations look great by 1989 standards, but it also leads to tricky controls and a lot of cheap deaths. Maybe this was easier to overlook back in the day, when you could spend trial-and-error to learn the level and memorize the tricks.. but it's hard to dedicate that level of patience today. History is kind to Prince of Persia because of its huge influence on other games, but I think it's too frustrating to play.

P.S. My main experience with this game was on computer platforms and these same problems still exist, so it's not unique to the Sega CD version. I have the Sega CD version too, but I don't think I've played it. Maybe I should try it out to see if it is somehow worse than the computer versions. But it was also ported to the Genesis and I have seen some people online say that that version is a little better.

[Cafeman]

Interesting feedback about this old game. I also own the Sega CD version, I have not played it for a long time. I remember it was infuriating and clunky when I did play it. Maybe I'll dig my CD out and try it again soon.

[VicViper]

Ouch! Yeah, if you don't like the Sega CD's controls & gameplay, there's very little chance you'll like the original, or even the SNES game (While it's a different game and while I do consider the SNES game superior to the original, the gameplay & controls are the same, except the SNES game has a dedicated "jump forward" button).

The Sega CD game really is the best and most accurate home version of the original when it comes to controls and you can even change the game speed in the pause menu. The only quirk that'd make it inferior is that, like on most Japanese developed versions (This, Turbografx & the Japanese PCs), the "closing gates" tiles are invisible until you step on them. In the original (and on SNES among others) they're visible.

But it was also ported to the Genesis and I have seen some people online say that that version is a little better.

I REALLY can't imagine how. The Genesis version is inferior in every way except in pure visuals, for the following reasons:

- The Prince is extremely heavy, much heavier, and responds much less well. Comparing Prince from Sega CD and from Genesis is like comparing Sonic from Adventure 2 and from Sonic 2006, it's a very unsatisfactory version of something that previously existed. Some crucial parts of the physics aren't respected, for example after running off a ledge, you can't hang on the ledge in front of you.
- The Prince tends to stop even later than other versions when you let go of the D-Pad, especially between screen transitions.
- You can't bunny hop or go underneath closing gates, making the timed platforming way harder to pull off.
- Although, bunny hopping seems to unintentionally work when you get hit by a tile over your head, but it shoots you forward way much more than in other versions (and the exploit to avoid damage from a falling tile by crouching doesn't seem to work in this specific version), which can lead to some really hateful moments like this one: https://youtu.be/uFLPat93-QM?t=699 (shameless plug I know, you won't need to understand the baguette language in there)
- Combat movement is extremely stiff and striking is unfairly quick for both AI & player.
- Blocking strikes shoots you 10 feet backwards, meaning attempting to switch sides is damn near impossible.
- Counter attacking (attacking after blocking) doesn't work at all, so all in all, blocking is useless.
- European version has added music (but it's really not good music for the most part), and the few added levels can be truly unfair.
- All of these flaws make this game a slower experience, and since the game has a time limit, it's also way harder to complete the game straight up. While the European version adds time potions, some new levels add a degree of BS that completely cancels them out and then some. I've played the Macintosh version & SNES version dozens of times, but I timed out several times on the Genesis version mainly because of how terrible the combat was and how much it wasted my time.

[travistouchdown]

This game is great on computers (Really like it for Macintosh OS6-9) but never really translated well to any console.

Its a shame because it IS a great game.

[Zack Burner]

Maybe you'll do a comparison of all the ports. I've done a review of the snes version, and so far so good. The controls take some getting used to though. In this Sega CD version there are some anime style cutscenes, though the acting isn't Oscar worthy, but at the end you will see blood in the ending. The SNES version gives you extra levels and 120 minutes as opposed to 60 minutes to complete it.

[TheEagleXIII]

I’ve been curious for a while which of the console ports was considered the best. I haven’t really found a definitive answer - everyone seems to have their own preference, even on the home computer versions.

As someone who has never played the game before but is interested to check it out I still have no idea where to begin!

[Buttermancan]

As a fan of the original POP this thread is very interesting to me.
I can understand the frustration that people have with the game such as the delay in the controls etc but they are things you get used to very quickly if you give it a chance. Once you know there is a slight lag between pressing a button and seeing the action take place, it doesn't take long to adjust your timing. It isn't as big an issue as some make out as the game is really quite simple. If it were an online FPS then this sort of issue would be infuriating but there are a limited number of inputs and things that can happen in this game.
As VicViper mentioned, the Megadrive game is quite different with regards to how the Prince feels in motion. I got more frustrated with its controls compared to the Amiga version but I really enjoyed the extra levels and thought they were interesting puzzles!
Is fascinating that an old game like this can yield such differing points of view. I wasnt expecting to like the game much after all these years but I truly did!

[VicViper]

As VicViper mentioned, the Megadrive game is quite different with regards to how the Prince feels in motion. I got more frustrated with its controls compared to the Amiga version but I really enjoyed the extra levels and thought they were interesting puzzles!
Is fascinating that an old game like this can yield such differing points of view. I wasnt expecting to like the game much after all these years but I truly did!

I'll begrudgingly say on the added levels that level 6 on Mega Drive is neat. And level 15 is... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFine. (HRMHGGHGGHGAHGGHHGFFF making me say good things about the Mega Drive version, though at least it's not the NES version).

Technically level 7 is "interesting" for the trick it's using, but the whole playthrough is: run to the left through an uneventful 7-8 screen large corridor with little to no traps, go up the ledge to open the gate, go down to get the potion that stops time, run back to the start and climb up, and there you have platforming for the next 7-8 screens but if you've been fast enough, it's just "hold forward and jump" the whole way through. It's... eh. Not really bad, but I don't think it's elaborate enough. At least you can skip the horrendous combat...

I was especially thinking of level 12, you basically have to circle around the level twice, and the lack of bunny hopping really damages some of the level design, cause being pitch perfect in this version doesn't feel good. I've also gotten very paranoid over the tiles in this level because I remember my first go around where I softlocked myself for going out of order (apparently).

To demonstrate how damaging the lack of bunny hopping is to other people: There's a good twelve seconds left of animation for the gate to fully close. This shouldn't be able to stop me, and it wouldn't in most other versions.