Whenever a "Best Video Games Of All Time" list gets compiled on a news website, the 2003 action-adventure game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time often makes it near the top of the list, thanks to its character-driven plot and innovative parkour mechanics that merge seamlessly with the time manipulating powers the titular Prince gains from his Dagger of Time. The upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is set to be released in January 2021 and promises to update the original 2003 classic for a new generation... but what should this entail, exactly?
Many gamers are familiar with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time along with its sequels, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones (and the 2008 Prince of Persia reboot). Few are as familiar with the original Prince of Persia games, 2D platforming titles released for the Apple II and other electronic platforms in 1989. In true fairy-tale tradition, the first Prince of Persia game was about an agile, gravity-defying prince who must rescue a princess and save the day from the machinations of an evil Vizier, a pattern that re-occurs in the many sequels and reboots.
The storyline of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time plays with the theme of "Prince rescues Princess," introducing the Prince as the ruthless vanguard of an invading army that conquers the Princess's kingdom. When a wicked Vizier tricks the Prince into unleashing the corruptive Sands of Time upon the kingdom, the Prince and Princess must join forces to navigate a palace filled with death traps, broken walkways, and mutated sand monsters. The big draw of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time stemmed from how its primary gameplay mechanics – acrobatic sword-fights and fiendishly difficult platforming puzzles – were supplemented by a variety of clever time manipulation powers, such as the ability to freeze enemies and hazards in place or rewind time whenever the player botched a jump or parry. The big appeal of the upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake lies in how the 2003 era game could be improved by over 17 years of innovations in game design, particularly in the following categories.
The Sands Of Time Remake Should Modernize Graphics & Combat
The earliest trailer for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake displayed graphic updates of familiar visuals and characters, while still retaining the same stylized Arabian fantasy aesthetic seen in the original Sands of Time. To truly update this classic for a new generation, developers at Ubisoft will need to strike a fine balance between old visual styles and the latest graphical capabilities of modern AAA titles.
More important than modern graphics, though, is modernizing the combat gameplay, which was somewhat stiff and awkward in the original Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. For the remake, players should be able to switch between parrying, dodging, striking and leaping with the same smoothness seen in titles like the Assassin's Creed franchise (which itself was heavily inspired by Sands of Time.)
Sands Of Time's Remake Should Distinguish Itself More From Aladdin
The tropes of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time owes a lot to the famous Arabian compendium of tales called The One Thousand And One Nights, particularly in the narrative framing device where the time-traveling prince tells the entire story of the game to a past version of the Princess. Visually, it also owes a lot to animated films such as Aladdin and The Thief And the Cobbler in how it portrays an exaggerated fantasy version of Arabic culture and society during the Golden Age of Islam, with Djinn-like enemies and the well-worn plot device of the Scheming Evil Vizier.
To ensure the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake doesn't perpetuate any harmful stereotypes, Ubisoft can go the extra mile by refining character portrayals, clothing, and architectural features to authentically depict elements of Persian/Indian culture during the early medieval period. Hiring Arabic game developers and/or cultural historians to help with development would also go a long way towards avoiding issues of stereotyping or 'exoticism'.
The Sands Of Time Remake Should Add New Features (And Endings)
The key to the success of the recently released Final Fantasy VII Remake was how it captured the essence of the original Final Fantasy VII while adding new features, new characters, and ultimately taking the plot in a different direction; there's a little point in remaking a game if you don't try anything new, after all. Developers will hopefully apply the same principle to the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, expanding on the original game with new levels, enemies, and even potential alternate endings that take the Prince of Persia narrative in a completely new direction. A common motif of the Sands of Time trilogy, after all, is using time travel to rewrite history.
There are a lot of different ways to remake and remaster a video game, but hopefully Ubisoft is planning on giving Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake the attention and the care it deserves before it releases on January 21, 2021 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.