If the fight against the concubine provides the game's best use of interactive storytelling, then the portion where you as the prince go and cut down the trees is a close second to me. Traversing the lonely vastness of the hub area to get through each tree, with only Ahriman's whispers for company. Having to puzzle out a path up and across to the platform that you can climb on your own, because Elika isn't there to help you bridge a gap with a simple double jump. Ignoring the fact that the credits have already rolled on your walk to the altar and that you could very well end the game right here if only you could accept that it ends with your companion's sacrifice. The prince doesn't utter a single word during this whole sequence and yet you understand him perfectly.

Not many games can make the player feel like a third wheel during characters banter, this game I think pulled it off elegantly.

The DLC touches on this, but non-withstanding, I have to say that I full-heartedly agree with the Prince's decision at the end of the game. And that's based on the state of the world around him.

1. When Ahriman was first locked away, the god of light - Ormazd - left the Ahura civilisation behind to guard, to nurture, and to preserve the tree that Ahriman was imprisoned within - and gave the Ahura magical powers to help them accomplish this.
The temple was built around the tree, renovated, and strengthened over generations into something that's - in the Prince's words - "secure", even in the crumbling state we find it in. A city, a fortress, and a palace were all built around the temple; more people came, and the Ahura blossomed into a powerful civilisation that in its golden age would seem like one that could contain Ahriman forever.

2. When Elika re-imprisons Ahriman at the end of the game, there is no sign of Ormazd, no persisting civilisation of survivors that knows the risk that Ahriman poses, and especially none left with magical powers. There's no one left but 1 shifty guy with a sword and a stolen gauntlet.
The temple is in ruins after a thousand years, (and thunderously collapses in the final cutscene.) The Prince cannot rebuild the temple, the fortress, the vale, the city, and the royal palace all by himself - and go out looking for any other Ahura that he doesn't even know might or might not still be out there. And Ahriman's voice can be heard clearly, whereas at the beginning of the game there was silence.

The Ahura protected the tree and guarded Ahriman for 1,000 years after Ormazd first imprisoned him, because they had each other, knew the risk, and had Ormazd's incredible powers.
How long would the temple have been able to contain Ahriman this time? 1,000 years? 100 years? 10 years?
I agree with the Prince on this one. That's the thing with an immortal god. He can't be trapped forever, and he can't be killed. Elika's self-sacrifice only delays the inevitable, and who knows for how long? But what if there's another way, and Elika and her powers are the best chance of finding it?

I'm not saying that the Prince did not have a selfish motive for resurrecting her again at the end. But whatever his reason, I agree with his decision.

It reminds me of the dilemma presented in the Legacy of Kain series, when looking back on Kain's ultimatum of either sacrificing himself to save the world, or living as the cause of the world's suffering: What if there's another way?

Shadow of the Collosus really does feel like a direct inspiration for this game. The same kind of ending, and a very similar touch where Elika's clothing gets increasingly torn as you purify lands, ala Wander's slow transformation.

As an Iranian, I have to say that this game feels and looks more Persian than previous games, despite all of them using the same or related sources for their stories. The Sands of Time and The Two Thrones look too Arabic, and from memory, The Warrior Within's aesthetics is like a combination of Middle Eastern/Indian and European architecture. Also, The Sands of Time trilogy mainly uses an Iranian epic poem called "Shahname" as inspiration, which itself is inspired by Zoroastrian mythology. In "Shahname" Dahaka is called "snake shoulder" and to describe him simply, he is literally the same as Jackie Estacado from The Darkness franchise. But in Zoroastrian, he is more of a dragon and he is the son of Ahriman.
Hope I could be of help.

Back when Ubisoft isn’t factory line production, Ubisoft used to be ambitious and taking risk.

Anyway, I’m glad the game professor decided to take his time. One of the best analysis of PoP out there.

Man, I remember when this game came out.  It looked so beautiful and the trailers introduced me to Sia and Sigur Ros.  There were people at the time that hated this new version of PoP because it wasnt similar to the Sands of Time trilogy; the disdain was loud enough that Unisoft dropped the series altogether :c

And I have to confess that I have a soft spot for Warrior Within.  I was that edgy teen boy that the game pandered to :p and it was my first game that I purchased for the PSP (which was retitled to "Revelations," for whatever reason)

I have a huge amount of nostalgic for this game. I've always been a huge Prince of Persia fan growing up and I remember watching the trailers for this game over and over again lamenting that I didn't have a PS3 at the time. Once I did get one it was like the 3rd game I bought for it!

Side note I ADORE the sound design in this game. The music and voice acting are great but the free running audio is just sublime.

What a lot of people don't understand is the fact that this game wanted to get you through the story of these characters being in love yet going their own ways.
Too bad many people have hated the gameplay and it will remain as an underrated game forever.

"Let's go over the generals in no particular order..."
- He says and goes over them alphabetically.

I loved this game!  I never played any of the other games in the series, but absolutely loved the connection and dialogue between the protagonists.

OMFG. best thing I've opened my YouTube to after literally just thinking "I wonder if game professor is gonna upload a vid soon..."
absolutely adore PoP 2008, going to enjoy that now (⁠灬⁠º⁠‿⁠º⁠灬⁠)⁠♡

Whadda ya mean Prince of Persia never got a sequel! Prince of Persia: The Fallen King was one of my first DS games.
Admittedly, it only follows up on the original and epilogue by adding a third different cliffhanger.

Funny. Everyone complained about the death mechanic where nowadays, almost every game treats death like this.

oh this was SUCH a good video. I'm very happy you've brought back a bit of a note about Zoroastrianism, which is something that is VERY important, imho, on how to view the story as a whole. the story is, I agree, full of dualities that ultimately end up coming back to their initial states. however I disagree on the idea that Elika and Prince aren't ultimately changed... and I think the reason for it is because this analysis doesn't mention the DLC. yes. there is a DLC. well, technically it's called an Epilogue, and it's a PS3 exclusive, as far as I'm aware.

in it, Prince is explicitly butting heads with Elika on the fact that she selfishly, thinking only of how this would be "for the greater good and in memory of her people", sacrificed herself and didn't even tell him about how she would have to die for the seal to work. her plan also was flawed in that the imprisonment of Ahriman? is only delaying the inevitable, and some poor shmucks later on would have to deal with their messes. meanwhile, Elika is rightfully angry with him, but actually acts more like a Prince, leaping into action and finding a way of her own, leaving him alone by the end of Epilogue to find her own way of defeating Ahriman. that whole thing was, supposedly, to lead us to a full series that would end up with Frashokereti - an event in Zoroastrian mythology a final renovation of the universe, when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will be then in perfect unity with Ahura Mazda/Ormazd.

it also works on why the Ahriman generals are so... stereotypical. they're not just supposed to be testing the morals of Elika, Prince and the relationship of the two, but also lampshading how much of an ancient stereotypes they are, figures of the past (yes, including concubines, because there were ones that unfortunately did have the same fates of being unable to climb higher in societal order due to disfigurement or dishonour), and I think if they were standing up to a newer set of generals/turned people Ahriman would pick? they would've looked so much better. but yeah, there are a lot of writing problems in that regard, especially The Hunter.

I think the worst part about PoP 2008 is that it's basically a Prologue to a series, and in that regard? it works well to introduce us to the two main characters, but not allow them to progress that much *yet*, because they were supposed to grow through other games and to reflect on their adventure together as stepping stones towards better improvement. as I mentioned, we would see more of how differently Ahriman would work in Prince and Elika's time on newer set of 'generals', have a more polished combat system, maybe even two separate sets of gameplay for Elika and Prince respectively, have more development on the Zoroastrian aspect of the game, and so forth. but we will probably never see that. yet how I wish we could, especially considering how well the graphics hold up to standards nowadays.

also I think Nolan North not having a voice for Prince is a detriment to the story? it felt to me like he was just doing the Nathan Drake one, instead of giving Prince character, especially considering that he basically had to play Prince, Desmond Miles, Nathan Drake and somehow MANY OTHER player main characters within two-three years, which oversaturated the video games sphere a bit, unfortunately :') and why I somehow imprinted on a Russian dub of all things

I remember when this game first came out, my brother watched a first 10-15 minutes of gameplay video from X Play, I absolutely fell in love with the dialogue, it made me wish I could play it. I'll never get over the prince's lovable lines "carpets THIS THICK!!"

This game gets a lot of hate for being "too easy". I just fell in love with the art style and flow. Great to see it here on the channel.

I got nostalgic for this game and looked up a video on it. Only 3 days ago this was uploaded. The sands of time are a funny thing indeed.

One note on the concubine.

I don't think it's a simple "Lose beauty and suddenly turn evil" deal.

I see it as "She had a source of power (her beauty) and lost it, so she found another one (Ormazd). Morally speaking, I don't think she turned evil. She could have just been evil from the get-go, and her new pact with the dark god simply amped that aspect of her.

This has to be my favourite Prince of Persia in terms of Music and Visuals ( both graphics and animation)