The Prince
The unnamed protagonist, imprisoned in the palace and forced to cross its traps and guards to reach the princess.
Documented for this version
Directional Pad | Move, climb, crouch, and adjust position. |
|---|
Button assignments beyond directional movement can vary by documentation and regional version.
How it plays
The game uses a side-view perspective across a connected palace of rooms, corridors, ledges, gates, and traps. The main objective is to reach the princess within the time limit while finding routes through the palace.
The prince can run, climb, jump, crouch, draw his sword, and fight guards. Falling, blades, collapsing floors, and other hazards consume lives or time. Progress comes from exploring rooms, collecting swords and keys, opening gates, and learning safe movement patterns.
Plan your run
Treat every jump and sword encounter as a timing challenge rather than rushing forward.
Meet the cast
The unnamed protagonist, imprisoned in the palace and forced to cross its traps and guards to reach the princess.
The sultan’s daughter, held captive and threatened by Jaffar’s plot.
The royal vizier and principal antagonist, who uses the prince’s absence to seize power and pressure the princess into marriage.
Before you begin
Use cautious steps near pressure plates, loose floors, and blade traps.
Memorize room layouts and the safest route between gates.
Avoid unnecessary fights when the route allows you to pass quickly.
Prince of Persia is a cinematic action-platformer adapted for the Sega CD from Jordan Mechner’s influential original design. The player controls an unnamed prince who must escape a dangerous palace, defeat armed guards, and rescue the princess before the vizier’s deadline expires. Its play style emphasizes careful movement, precise jumps, sword duels, and observation rather than rapid attacks. The game is built around rotoscoped animation, which gives the prince and enemies unusually fluid movement for the era. The Sega CD edition preserves the core palace adventure while presenting it as a console release. Prince of Persia was widely recognized for its animation, timing-based platforming, and demanding traps.
Catalog entry maintained by EmuGamers Editorial Team
Community discussion
What are players saying? 0