The Prince of Persia series is high-key one of gaming’s most influential franchises. Jordan Mechner’s seminal 1989 Apple 2 title provides some of gaming’s earliest examples of modern platforming mechanics, cinematic storytelling, and rotoscoped animations, a precursor to present-day motion capture. Then the series caught its second wind in the early 2000s, with Ubisoft Montreal’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
The Sands of Time was a critical and commercial success that gave way to a divisive sequel, Warrior Within, just a year later. While the first game told a high-fantasy story appropriate for all ages, its 2004 follow-up embraced edginess. A heavy metal soundtrack, scantily clad women, bloody decapitations, and expletives represented a jarring tonal 180, which turned some fans off from an otherwise strong follow-up. For the third game in the trilogy, Ubisoft made the compelling decision to split the difference. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is a masterful tightrope walk between the series' two identities, one that closes out one of the generation’s best with a bang.
