Prince of Persia

:Puccini's opera Turandot (1926) opens as the Prince of Persia is led to the executioner's block, having failed to guess the riddles. The title could also be a reference to a passage in chapter 10 of the Book of Daniel in the Bible, which tells of the archangel Michael helping in a battle against a person referred to as the prince of Persia.

Related Topics:
Puccini - Turandot - Book of Daniel - Bible - Archangel - Michael

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Prince of Persia is a platform game that was released by Brøderbund in 1989. It was widely seen as a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games. Jordan Mechner, the author, studied many hours of films of his brother running and jumping in white clothes to ensure that all the movements looked just right in a process now called rotoscoping. Also unusual was the method of combat; protagonist and enemies fought with swords, not some sort of projectile weapons, as was the case in most contemporary games.

Related Topics:
Platform game - Brøderbund - 1989 - Animation - Jordan Mechner - Film - Rotoscoping - Combat - Sword

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Prince of Persia was released on a wide range of platforms, including the Amiga, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, DOS, NES, Game Boy, SNES and Sega Genesis. The game managed to surprise and captivate the player despite being, at first glance, repetitive.

Related Topics:
Amiga - Apple II - Apple Macintosh - DOS - NES - Game Boy - SNES - Sega Genesis

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As the title suggests, the game is set in Persia. The sultan is away at war, and the evil vizier Jaffar plans to seize the throne for himself. Jaffar has imprisoned the princess and given her one hour to make her decision: marry him, or die. The player assumes the role of an adventurer, the princess's true love; he must escape from prison and rescue her before the hour is up, defeating the vizier and earning the princedom of Persia.

Related Topics:
Persia - Sultan - Vizier - Jaffar

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The twist is that the game is played in real time, so the player must quickly complete the quest without breaks. On some platforms it is possible to save the game at the start of each level, however the time limit still applies. The only way to lose the game is by letting the time expire. If the player is killed, the game will restart from the beginning of the level, or in some levels, a mid-way checkpoint. The game also included a power bar. Medium falls, blue potions, being hit by falling platforms and sword hits took one notch from the power bar, while major falls, being hit unarmed, falling or running on spikes and blades killed the player instantly. The player could increase the number of notches in the power bar by drinking larger red potions, usually hidden or in dangerous places. There was also a green potion that made the player float or flip the screen, depending on the level.

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