Prince of Persia (1989 video game)

This article is about the 1989 video game. For the 2008 game of the same name, see Prince of Persia (2008 video game).

Prince of Persia
Original cover art used for the home computer versions in the West
Developer(s)Broderbund (see Ports)
Publisher(s)Broderbund (see Ports)
Designer(s)Jordan Mechner
Composer(s)Francis Mechner (music)
Tom Rettig (sound)
Mark Cooksey (NES)
Matt Furniss (Sega Master System / Sega Game Gear)
Platform(s)Apple II (see Ports)
Release
Genre(s)Cinematic platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Prince of Persia is a 1989 cinematic platform game developed and published by Broderbund for the Apple II. It was designed and implemented by Jordan Mechner. Taking place in medieval Persia, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess.

Much like Karateka, Mechner's first video game, Prince of Persia used rotoscoping for its fluid and realistic animation. For this process, Mechner used as reference for the characters' movements videos of his brother doing acrobatic stunts in white clothes[4] and swashbuckler films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood.

The game was critically acclaimed and, while not an immediate commercial success, sold many copies as it was ported to a wide range of platforms after the original Apple II release. It is believed to have been the first cinematic platformer and inspired many games in this subgenre, such as Another World.[5] Its success launched the Prince of Persia franchise, consisting of two sequels, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993) and Prince of Persia 3D (1999), and two reboots: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003), which was followed by three sequels of its own, and Prince of Persia (2008).

  1. ^ Mechner, Jordan (May 3, 2009). "Prince of Persia released". jordanmechner.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gen4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hg101_pop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Prince of Persia's Groundbreaking Character Animations Started Life in a High School Parking Lot". Gizmodo. April 1, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Rybicki, Joe (May 5, 2008). "Prince of Persia Retrospective". GameTap. Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 7, 2014.