The Rogue Prince of Persia’s Past Series References Explained

Highlights

• The Rogue Prince of Persia pays homage to the series’ past roots with 2D action-platforming and Sands of Time callbacks.
• Released in 2024, this game follows up on The Lost Crown and features modern platforming mechanics with nods to classic Prince of Persia.
• With a tough act to follow, The Rogue Prince of Persia brings back the beloved franchise with a bang, breaking the cycle of bad sequels.

The Prince of Persia franchise has been around for well over four decades now, but its history has been a bit of a tumultuous one. While the original 1989 Prince of Persia broke new ground with its fluid platforming animations and mechanics, its sequels weren’t quite as well-received, especially 1999’s Prince of Persia 3D. A similar pattern then occurred for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a beloved PS2 game that revived the franchise, but one that was followed by some disappointing sequels. For a while there, the Prince of Persia franchise faded into distant memory, but this year’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown brought the series back with a bang, and The Rogue Prince of Persia has finally broken the series cycle of bad follow-ups.

Coming just months after the first entry in over a decade, The Rogue Prince of Persia had a tough job following The Lost Crown, but it’s made quite the initial impact. Released onto Steam early access, The Rogue Prince of Persia‘s journey is only just beginning, but already the game goes out of its way to pay homage to the entries that came before it.

How The Rogue Prince of Persia Pays Homage to The Series’ Past

The Rogue Prince of Persia Is Another Throwback to The Series’ 2D Roots

Just like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown earlier this year, The Rogue Prince of Persia hearkens back to the very original 1989 Prince of Persia game and its 1993 sequel. Much like those classic games, The Rogue Prince of Persia is a 2D action game that puts a heavy emphasis on platforming.

Players need to run, dash, and leap across chasms to get closer to their objective, along with avoiding a variety of familiar traps such as spike pits, rotating saws, and platforms that crumble away after stepping on them for too long. Of course, The Rogue Prince of Persia features very modern platforming mechanics and controls, but its very essence as a 2D action-platformer is an inherent nod to the series’ roots.

The Rogue Prince of Persia Has a Few Sands of Time Callbacks

The Rogue Prince of Persia also contains a few subtle callbacks to the beloved Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Probably the most obvious example is The Rogue Prince of Persia‘s fountain mechanic, whereby players can only recharge their healing flash and gain a substantial amount of health by drinking from a fountain at the start of each new biome, functioning very similarly to those found in Sands of Time.

The Rogue Prince of Persia also puts a strong emphasis on athleticism and parkour, which seems to be inspired quite a bit by Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Players are able to run across walls, climb onto ledges, and bound off walls to gain height. While these mechanics have been around in 2D platformers for a while, the animations on display in Rogue Prince of Persia seem to share some similarities with Sands of Time. Another subtle reference appears during combat, where players can vault over their opponents to avoid attacks and take a quick strike from behind, a core tactic of Sands of Time‘s own combat.