- "I was on my way home! I had more gold than you could count! I'd've have wine! Women! I'd've had carpets this thick! Now I'm stuck with an angry God and a crazy woman!"
- —The Prince
The Prince is the protagonist of the 2008 video game Prince of Persia.
Biography[]
Early History[]
Early on, he was already known to be an adventurer. His mother had frequently mentioned that she would rather have him stop adventuring and settle down with a wife. However, the Prince refused to do so. Later in his life, both of his parents died. He was at first taken in by his uncle, but after accepting that his parents won't be coming to claim him, the Prince decided to strike out on his own.[1]
Prince of Persia (2008)[]
Meeting Elika[]
Lost in a desert after being strayed from his donkey, Farah, The Prince climbs down a canyon. As he continues looking for his donkey, he is jumped by Elika, who is being pursued. Curious about her, he followed and he aids her when she is cornered, scaring her pursuers off. She questions why he was following her and advises him to find Farah (who she initially mistaken to be his girlfriend though is corrected) and get out of the area.[2]
The Chase[]
As Elika and the Prince are being chased, her pursuers collapse a bridge and sends the Prince plummeting. He is saved by Elika, who uses her magic to fly but is exhausted and drained so he carried her. When he questions how she did that, she says she doesn't know how. He makes an assumption that the pursers are after her and it is because of the magic she can perform.
However, she assures him they're only trying to kill him and not her. When she regained her strength, he cease carrying her and presses on in the journey towards the temple in the center of the kingdom in which Elika requested the Prince aid her on. As they journey, the Prince learns that Elika is a Princess.[2]
The Temple and Corruption[]
Arriving at the temple, he started asking questions. He asks why the temple is highly secured, which Elika reveals it is a prison holding Ahriman. He laughs the notion of him existing off but Elika assures him that unless that he would aid her in putting a stop to him. When they reached the Tree of Life, the Prince battles her father.
However, he destroyed the Tree of Life and partially freed Ahriman. The Prince and Elika barely managed to get out of the collapsing temple. Elika explains that they must seal away Ahriman once again by healing the Fertile grounds spread all over the kingdom. The Prince reluctantly agrees to help Elika in stopping Ahriman.[2]
Each time they make their way to the Fertile Grounds, the 4 servants of Ahriman (Hunter, Alchemist, Concubine and the Warrior) always appear to stop them. There was a point that he was slightly corrupted by the Alchemist and had to be healed along with a Fertile Ground. As they continue to press on, the Prince learns that Elika had died and was resurrected by Ahriman. On the other hand, Elika's father is slowly succumbing to the corruption and is also interrupting the duo. Eventually, they defeated and healed the four corrupted in their own respective territories.
After healing all the Fertile Grounds, they go back to the temple and proceed to imprison Ahriman but is stopped by Elika's Father, now fully corrupted. They defeat Elika's father but refused to be healed and jumped to the edge instead. Then, Ahriman rises and started to attack them. As they battle him, Elika heals each Fertile ground they reach and weakens Ahriman. Then, they are devoured and went through his mouth. From the inside, Elika used her powers and finally sealed Ahriman back to the Tree of Life.
However, this also means that what Ahriman has given is also taken back and Elika dies, leaving the Prince saddened. The Prince carries and lays her body outside. Then, he sees the four Fertile grounds, each with a tree, that according to what Elika had told him, channel the power of all the Fertile Grounds to the Tree of Life. He is given a vision which is the same one both he and Elika shared much earlier that shows her father's deal with Ahriman to revive her. When they shared the vision at that time she told the Prince that visions come from Ormazd, not Ahriman.
The vision (just like the main debate throughout the game between Elika and the Prince was all about Destiny vs Free Will) is all about choice. The Prince re-creates the deal made by Elika's father. He destroys the four Fertile Grounds around the Temple and returns inside. He cuts down the Tree of Life and takes the light power Elika used to heal the Tree. The Prince returns the Light to Elika's body, and she returns to life. The game ends with the Prince carrying Elika across the desert while Ahriman's darkness envelops the world.
Prince of Persia: Epilogue[]
It is shown that the Prince and Elika survive, and retreat to an underground palace. Elika leaves the Prince, however, they both end up battling Elika's father once again. Luckily, they escape, and they both attempt to leave the palace alive. While on their way, Elika shows her frustration with the Prince multiple times, believing bringing her back was not worth the price of the evil it unleashed.
The Prince counters that by freeing her, they 'stand a chance' against Ahriman. In a final battle against Elika's father, the Prince defeats him by impaling him on spikes, a visual reference to the original Prince of Persia game. In the end, Elika leaves the Prince in search for her people, and the Prince is left alone with a bloodthirsty Ahriman seeking revenge.
The Fallen King[]
Trivia[]
- The Prince admitted once that he is actually illiterate.[3] This may not be accurate, as he seems to know how to spell in the guessing game he plays with Elika.
- Ubisoft drew their inspiration from adventurers like Sinbad in the Arabian Nights, Han Solo from Star Wars and Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings.[4]
- There are three unlockable Alternate Skins for the Prince in the game, these skins include the Prince from the Sands of Time, Altair from Assassin's Creed and the new Prince' prototype skin.
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ As revealed in a conversation with Elika in Prince of Persia (2008).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Prince of Persia (2008)
- ↑ Prince of Persia: The Fallen King
- ↑ Interview with Ben Mattes by Kotaku
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