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'']] The Prince is the main protagonist from the '' Prince Of Persia '' series of Computer And Video Games . Throughout the games' history, his name is never explicitly stated. THE PRINCE The Prince first appeared in 1989 in the Prince Of Persia game. Not much was known about this hero back then other than he was an average commoner with incredible Free Running capabilities. With time and with new games from the series coming out, more information about the Prince was given. However, it is distinguishable that the Prince from the first games and the Prince that appears in the Sands of Time trilogy are two very different people. Since their stories are completely incompatible, and their only similarities are the acrobatic features of the franchise, it is possible to treat them as two completely different characters. EARLY PRINCE OF PERSIA GAMES In the early Prince of Persia games, the background of the Prince is quite different from that of his story in the Sands of Time trilogy. While in the Sands of Time trilogy, he was the Prince of Persia from the beginning (of the story), in the very first game he is a "commoner" on the streets of Persia. Although there is not much detail about the beginning of the story in the first game, it is rehashed briefly in at the very beginning. According to the story described in the second game, the first game's story is as such: The Sultan of Persia is away at war and his Vizier, Jaffar, is planning to take over the kingdom by marrying the beautiful Princess of Persia. The Princess, meanwhile, falls in love with a young man from the streets of Persia, who climbs the Palace walls daily to see The Princess. The Vizier, on discovering this, has the young man thrown into the Palace dungeons, and gives the Princess an ultimatum to marry the Vizier or die within an hour. The young man, however, escapes from the dungeons, and advances through the palace. Eventually, he is forced to leap through a magic mirror creating a shadow prince. As he nears the Vizier, he and the shadow become one again. He defeats the Vizier and saves the Princess. When the Sultan returns from war, he finds out about the Vizier's treachery and how the young man has saved his daughter and his kingdom. The Sultan offers the young man anything he desires. The young man only wants one thing, the Princess's hand in marriage. They are thus married and the young man becomes the Prince of Persia. The second game then begins describing what happened afterwards. As the second game, , begins, the Prince approaches the Princess one morning, but something is wrong. Another Prince, who is actually the Vizier in disguise, is already there. The Vizier tries to have the Prince arrested, but he leaps through the window and stows away on a merchant ship. The Prince dreams of a mysterious woman who says, "Come to me." The Vizier destroys the ship with a conjured storm and the Prince arrives shipwrecked on an island. The Prince finds a magic carpet in a cave on the island and is brought to some old ruins. When he attempts to pick up a sword, the woman from his dreams explains that this was once his father's kingdom, and he was the only one who survived. From there he gains a magical horse and rides it to a temple. In the temple there is an inscription on a wall near the Flame which says that whoever wants to obtain the "flame", must die. Although this sounds threatening, what it really is is a clue as to how to obtain the flame. The Prince lets himself die in front of the flame, and although he appears to be dead, his shadow form rises up, gains the power of the Flame, and revives the Prince by reentering his body. With his new power, the inhabitants of the temple bow to him, and the Prince rides the flying horse once again and arrives on the roof of a tall tower. The tower is where Jaffar is holding The Princess, who has become very ill. The Prince defeats the Vizier once and for all, burned to ashes, and scattered to the winds. The game ends with a mysterious old woman watching the Prince and Princess on a flying horse in a crystal ball. In Prince Of Persia 3D , The Sultan's brother, Assan, wants to take over the kingdom by making The Princess (already married to The Prince) marry his son Rugnor (half-tiger, half-man). The Prince is once again thrown into the dungeons, but he escapes and travels through many places to finally reach the place where Rugnor has locked up the Princess. He defeats Rugnor, rescues the Princess, and reclaims his title. The Shadow The Shadow Prince is created in the original Prince of Persia. When the Prince leaps through a magic mirror, it comes out the other side. The Shadow hinders your progress several times in the game, and in the end you eventually defeat him by putting away your weapon and running into him, becoming one person again. The Shadow returns in the second game if the player continually turns left and right after a certain point in the game. The Shadow receives the power of the Flame when the Prince is killed by a temple guard. The Shadow revives the Prince when he goes back into his body. During the last sequence, the Shadow is required to defeat Jaffar. Once Jaffar is cornered, the Shadow must throw the Flame at Jaffar, burning him to ashes. THE SANDS OF TIME TRILOGY The story of the Prince in the Sands of Time trilogy is much deeper than that of previous games. Creating the feel, through most of the trilogy, that you are actually watching the actions of the Prince in a third person perspective and seeing his story come full circle. '''' Passing through India en route to Azad, a dying Vizier convinces King Sharaman of Persia to attack the powerful Maharajah of India with the promise of honor and glory. A lone flaming arrow in the sky would be the signal for King Sharaman and his son, the Prince of Persia, to attack the Maharajah's palace. After the ensuing battle, King Sharaman looted the city and seized an incredible hourglass full of mystical sand, while the Prince embarked on an adventure of his own, attaining a mysterious Dagger that allowed him to control time itself. The Vizier demanded to have the dagger as his reward, but the King refused to take the dagger from his son, who had captured it first. During the celebrations at Azad, the Vizier, still bitter over the King's refusal, would stop at nothing to achieve possession of the dagger from the Prince. "Inside the hourglass is a marvel no man has ever seen" he said. Tricking the Prince into releasing the Sands Of Time and allowing them to spill forth and work unspeakable horrors onto the land. Only the Prince, the Vizier, and Farah , the kidnapped daughter of the Maharajah, remained unchanged due to their possessions; the Prince's dagger, the Vizier's staff, and Farah's Medallion . On a journey of redemption to repair the damage he had caused, the Prince teamed with Farah to return the sands to the hourglass. As his journey continued, the Prince often found himself drawing closer to his companion Farah, eventually forming a romance as they progressed closer to their destination. However, the Prince knew that Farah had every reason to hate him for conquering her people, and from the visions he received, he suspects that Farah plans to steal the dagger from him. Sure enough, after the Prince's paranoia got the better of him, Farah took the dagger as well as the Prince's sword and attempted to return the sands to the hourglass herself. Leaving only her medallion behind with the Prince to protect him. When the Prince eventually caught up with her, she was in a desperate situation, trying to fend off several sand creatures but eventually fell to her death before the Prince could save her. Mourning the death of Farah, the Prince verbally confronts the weakened Vizier and strikes the Hourglass with the dagger. Reversing the flow of time to the point prior to the battle against the Maharajah, the Prince, still with the dagger in his possession, sets off to find Farah. To warn her of the Vizier's treachery before the sands are released. Finding Farah awake in her room, he shares with her his epic tale, only to be interrupted in the morning by the Vizier. Admitting his treacherous ways within Farah’s earshot, the Prince slays the Vizier. Placing the dagger safely in Farah’s possession, the Prince leaves her wondering who he is and if the story he told her was actually true. Battles Of Prince Of Persia Because the Prince has manipulated time, he is now being relentlessly chased by a mystical demon called the where the sands were once created. '''' The Prince, in a desperate move, sought council from the wise old man that had raised him. It is with him that the Prince learns of the existence of the The Island Of Time - birthplace of the Sands of Time, and governed by the Empress Of Time . Thinking only of his survival, the Prince sets sail for the island to prevent the sands from ever being created. His belief is that if the sands are not created then there would be no reason for the Dahaka to chase him. However, many obstacles attempt to prevent the Prince from reaching the island and his goal. First, his ship is attacked by an army led by a mysterious woman in black named Shahdee . During the ensuing combat, she manages to throw him overboard, destroy his ship and kill his entire crew. Luckily, the Prince manages to survive and drifts ashore the island. Wandering along the massive cliffs, he re-encounters Shahdee, whom he chases deep into the fortress of the island. During his chase, he accidentally follows her into one of the many time portals in the fortress, which connects the present with the past. Continuing his pursuit into the past, he finds Shahdee trying to murder an unknown woman in red named, Kaileena. The Prince engages Shahdee once more in battle, kills her, and saves Kaileena. Denied an audience with the Empress of Time to state his case, the Prince is then faced with the task of activating the two island towers, which in time will open the doors to the Empress' throne room. The Prince eventually succeeds in reaching the throne room only to discover that Kaileena is the Empress of Time. Kaileena, motivated by the Prince, also tries to defy her fate. She has seen her doomed position in the timeline, which is to die at the hands of the Prince. Fulfilling the timeline, the Prince kills Kaileena, not understanding the consequences. Though the Prince believed it was all over, it could hardly be defined as so. For Kaileena's remains became the sands of time. Ironically the Prince had intended to prevent the sands from ever being created, but now he has simply become the architect of his own destruction. The Prince, still pursued by the Dahaka, stumbles across a mural which shows the impossible: The tale of the Mask Of The Wraith . Using this artifact, the Prince becomes the Sandwraith, and is allowed one last chance to avoid his destiny. In his attempt to ensure that the Sands are never created, the Prince avoids killing Kaileena in the past, planning instead to take her into the present. By doing this, the Sands of Time would not be created in the past, the Maharajah would never find them, and thus the Prince would never open them. However by doing this, the Prince had resigned Kaileena to what was once his fate. Dooming her to the same stalking menace who once chased the Prince. The Prince would then combat the Dahaka, stabbing him through his skull, and sending him to sea below. Together, the Prince and Kaileena set sail for Babylon, finally at peace. However, during his journey home, he had a vision. The Prince saw his great home in flames, an unknown enemy attacking, and his father's crown fall. He had been warned that his journey would not end well. '''' The Prince starts this journey staring at his reflection in the Medallion , the very medallion that had protected him for seven years. He no longer wanted anymore fighting nor perils, ahead was home and nothing but glorious rest and peace to look forward too with his beautiful companion, Kaileena. Sailing swift and sure to Babylon, his comfortable home was nearly in sight, his newly found freedom allowed him to drop the medallion overboard. But the metaphorical ocean of time was disturbed and the ripple he had created traveled further then even the Prince could foresee... His sails unfurled in the light wind and the bow of his makeshift boat pitched gracefully over the soft waves that rolled into Babylon's port. Sailing between the massive cliffs that protected his city from the open sea, the stones as old as the world marked the entrance to his home. Babylon and its signature tower appeared before him, but something was wrong. Shock grew to panic when his small vessel was met not by cheers and the embrace of family, but by fire and arrows. The walls of his homeland had seemingly stretched up against him, vicious and foreign. He was not safe, nor was Kaileena beside him. He came home seeking comfort and found only war, but war with who? Making his way through the palace, he learns that his enemies' leader is none other than the evil Vizier that he thought was long dead. Not realizing that because of his meddling with the timeline, the events of ''The Sands of Time'' never happened. The Vizier had never perished at the Prince's hand and he still had his reckless ambitions of immortality. Dagger Of Time in hand, the Vizier murdered Kaileena in front of the Prince, and unleashed the Sands Of Time once more. The promise of power fulfilled, he stabbed himself, gaining immortality and transforming into a strange new monstrosity. The sands did as they had before, sweeping across the palace and infecting all in their wake. As the terrace began to collapse, the Prince recovered the dagger and started the slow trek back towards the palace. Unfortunately for the Prince, he too was tainted by the sands, giving rise to a corrupted charred version of himself, the Dark Prince. Along the way, he battles the Vizier's army, all tainted by the sands. The Prince also encounters Princess Farah , whose homeland was also destroyed by the Vizier. However, the Prince soon realizes that Farah remembers nothing of their past together and he has to resort to merely claiming to have heard stories of her beauty (and hastily amending with her bravery as well). With his unlikely partner in tow, they both journey to put an end to the madness. However, conflicts increasingly arise between the unforgiving vengeance and ruthless violence of the Dark Prince and the more compassionate Farah. As they enter the palace however, the Vizier captures Farah and casts the Prince into the palace's well system (now drained and totally dry). After being in the Dark Prince form for an extended period of time, the Prince finds his father's body. Finally, he realizes the truth: he has been childishly running from conflict all this time, instead of dealing with his troubles like a man. Coming to grips with this, the Prince forces himself to return to normal, then takes up his father's sword and goes to save Farah. After a long fight, the Prince manages to destroy the Vizier with the Dagger of Time. As he goes to recover his father's crown, however, the Prince sees the Dark Prince before him. What follows is a battle in the Prince's mind between himself and the Dark Prince. The fight drags on until Farah urges the Prince to let go of his anger. He leaves, destroying the Dark Prince forever and returning to the waking world. As they look out over Babylon, Farah asks the Prince how he really knew her name; he responds by telling her the story from the very beginning... THE SANDWRAITH The Sandwraith appears in '''' as a male, humanoid creature in some state of decay. It is wrapped in shreds of fabric that swirl in a supernatural wind, and its eyes glow a bright blue. The Prince sees it just as he enters the primary complex of the Fortress of Time, and for the first two-thirds of the game its nature is cloaked in shadow and mystery. It even appears to be hostile to the Prince, because it throws an axe at him, which he only narrowly avoids. It is later revealed that it did this to stop the prince from being killed by an enemy. Just prior to his confrontation with the Empress Of Time , the Prince witnesses the apparent demise of the Wraith at the hands, or rather, tentacles, of the Dahaka , which then curiously proceeds to ignore the Prince entirely. Following his first and failed attempt to prevent the creation of the Sands of Time in the past, the Prince finds himself again on the run from the Dahaka in the present. Evading the creature, the despondent prince finds himself in a vast crypt. Wrought with the cruel irony of his situation, he brushes his hand over a wall covered with ancient markings. Perhaps reacting to his touch, the amulet he wears, or simply coming to his attention (the cut scene doesn't make the cause clear), the markings tell a story of a member of the Maharajah's army in his raid for the Sands. While the raid appears to succeed, the man himself dies, but through an artifact called the Mask of the Wraith rewrote his Fate and escaped death. The game's manual makes reference to the Maharaja himself using the Mask to retrieve the sands, and is depicted in the ancient markings found in the crypt. The Prince then hunts down the Mask and puts it on, becoming the Sandwraith, a creature not only able to shift time, but to take up another space in the Timeline, separate from the Prince. Thus the Wraith sets out to stop his past self from killing Kaileena. When he reaches the Prince at last, it is at the point where the Wraith was originally killed by the Dahaka. This time, he lets the Prince die, and the Dahaka, apparently satisfied, leaves. The Mask then loosens and the Prince returns to normal. THE DARK PRINCE The Dark Prince appears as a main character and antagonist in ''''. Not far into the story, the Prince becomes tainted by the newly unleashed Sands of Time, giving rise to another entity, the Dark Prince. He embodies every negative aspect of the Prince, stating, "Your rage, your pride, your selfish ways, they've given me form and substance!". It was originally said that he was voiced by Robin Atkin-Downes, but in the game Rick Miller voices the Dark Prince. Early in the game, the Prince chases Kaileena's kidnappers into the palace, only to be stopped by one of the Vizier's Generals. With the Daggertail (a chain blade weapon) embedded deep into his left arm. The Prince is then forced to watch the Vizier slay Kaileena, releasing the Sands of Time again. However, as the Prince lacked any protection this time (he had thrown away the Medallion, and the Vizier was in the possession of the Dagger), he was infected by the Sands as well. Probably due to his past exposure to the Sands and its controlling artifacts, the Prince was not totally mutated; instead, his left arm gained a glowing, golden taint, along with the Daggertail fused and melted into his arm. The extent of the taint grows as the game progresses, covering the Prince's entire left arm and part of his back. As time passes, the Prince hears a voice within his head, giving him advice and urging him along. Eventually, he begins transforming into the Dark Prince, whose unique skills (including his apparent mastery of the Daggertail) allow the Prince to continue in his quest. Upon touching water, the Prince reverts to his normal form. At first the Prince accepts this help without question, but with his increasing interaction with Princess Farah , it leads him to question his other side. Eventually, he realizes that the Dark Prince is only looking out for his own selfish avarice and vengeance is topping the list of things to acquire. However the Prince rejects this malevolent presence and the Prince finishes his journey without the Dark Prince's help. However, after slaying the Vizier and apparently losing the Sands' taint, the Prince encounters the Dark Prince once more, who pulls him into a strange dream-like realm. The Prince chases his dark counterpart down as the shifting landscape changes (shifting to various locations from the past games, such as the magic fountain room from ''''). As the Prince chases him, the Dark Prince reveals that he is simply the Prince's less desirable elements brought to life by the Sands, in effect giving the Prince a sort of Multiple Personality Disorder . The Dark Prince intends on distracting the Prince in this world, but he is thwarted again by Farah, who urges the Prince to let go of his hatred and turn away. As the Prince ascends a staircase leading into a bright light the Dark Prince screams in anguish as he is destroyed once and for all. |
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