MobyGames Classic: Prince of Persia community stories

Shacknews readers share their own stories revolving around the classic Jordan Mechner title Prince of Persia, the latest game inducted into the "MobyGames Classic" series on Shacknews.com.

Shack Staff

November 20, 2011 12:00 PM

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On Wednesday, we revealed the next MobyGames Classic title was Jordan Mechner's classic Prince of Persia.

An argument could be made that some of our modern favorites could never have existed if not for Jordan Mechner's Apple-II classic, Prince of Persia. After the break, the Shacknews community shares their stories and impressions of Prince of Persia, and answer why they feel it's deserving of a spot on our list of classics.

"Prince of Persia marked the first instance I regretted gaming on PC instead of Mac," Shacknews user and freelance writer David Craddock wrote, lovingly detailing a story of first seeing the Apple-II classic on display at a retail store. Eventually, Craddock's "cool" uncle provided him with a copy of the classic title on PC, but the experience wasn't the same.

"I booted it up and enjoyed myself, but was quite disappointed in the graphics compared to the superior Mac version's: the PC prince sported white garments without any breaks to distinguish shirt from baggy pants, sandy hair, and a featureless face. On the Mac, he wore a blue turban, pointy red shoes, baggy white pants, and an open red vest," he remembered, outlining a few other differences.

Shacker erdstapa remembers the game invading his school life, revealing, "The first time I heard about it I was in the 6th grade. My teacher and my best friend spent a whole class telling each other how to beat the 6th and 7th level of the PC version. They were drawing maps of the levels on a piece paper!"

"The classic Prince of Persia was the first game that I spent hours getting into. I think that was the game that really got me into video games, in general," user Maelstrom52 added.

Prince of Persia helped define genres, break barriers in technology, and introduced a franchise we still enjoy today. Jordan Mechner's work will always be remembered, but for a detailed account of the game's development be sure to read the "Making of Prince of Persia" ebook available on the legendary creator's official website. It includes original journal entries, photos, concepts, and more.

Check out the original Chatty thread for more stories and memories from Prince of Persia.

Prince of Persia on MobyGames.com

Prince of Persia is a 2D platformer with run and jump gameplay. Your hero must avoid deadly traps, solve some simple puzzles and engage in sword fights with the guards. The player has an infinite amount of lives, but has to restart at the beginning of a level each time he dies, and must complete the game within an hour. An especially noteworthy aspect of the game is the very fluent animation of your character.

MobyGames Classic is our chance to look back at the games that helped shape the video game industry with the help of our sister site MobyGames.com. It combines a short history lesson on the title and anecdotes from the Shacknews community.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.