Highlights

  • Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown shifts the focus away from the iconic Prince character.
  • The Sands of Time game gave the Prince a distinct character and voice, making him a compelling and well-rounded character in the franchise.
  • The character Sargon in The Lost Crown shares some traits with the Sands of Time Prince, but his journey and character arc are more complex and introspective, exploring themes of self-worth and personal growth.

Building a multi-decade-spanning franchise off the back of one character is no easy feat, but somehow, that's exactly what Prince of Persia has managed to do. While he may not be quite as iconic as Link, Samus, or Mario, the titular Prince of Persia has been around for almost as long, and though his silhouette might not be easy to pick out of a crowd, he's done a decent amount for the gaming industry. It's quite the choice, then, for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to push him out of the spotlight.

While Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown certainly has a Prince, players aren't controlling him this time, but instead trying to save him. The Lost Crown sees players take control of Sargon, the youngest member of the elite Persian warrior squad known as The Immortals, and while this may feel a little disingenuous at first, there's a lot to love about Sargon, and there's a lot he shares with the beloved Sands of Time Prince.

Prince of Persia Lost Crown Immortals
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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's Sargon Vs. Sands of Time's Prince

The Sands of Time Made the Prince a Compelling Character

Though Sands of Time was technically the fourth installment in the Prince of Persia franchise, it was the first to really give the Prince a distinct character. Due to the limitations of the technology of the time, the first two Prince of Persia games featured a voiceless Prince whose motivation was to simply rescue the Princess, and Prince of Persia 3D was essentially the same but the Prince would now awkwardly scream one or two lines of clunky dialogue during cutscenes.

But it was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time where the Prince really found his voice and personality. Voiced by the incredible and now well-loved Yuri Lowenthal, Sands of Time's Prince, much like Insomniac's Spider-Man, strikes the perfect balance between delivering snarky quips and having genuine moments of vulnerability. It's nothing too groundbreaking now in the light of games like God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us, but Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's Prince has a clear and compelling character arc that sees him go from being an arrogant child only invested in appeasing his father, to a hardened warrior who understands the importance of his decisions and actions.

While Yuri Lowenthal returned to voice the Prince in several Prince of Persia sequels, their drastically different tones, writing styles, and convoluted storylines have somewhat marred the legacy of Lowenthal's original Prince.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's Sargon Isn't Fully Formed Just Yet

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's Sargon definitely channels Sands of Time's Prince with a few of his character traits and mannerisms, but over the course of the game he quickly begins to stand out from the Prince's shadow. Sargon begins his character journey in a very similar spot to Sands of Time's Prince, desperately wanting the approval of his found family and trying to earn it through battle, but as The Lost Crown's story unfolds, and some friends become villains, Sargon's journey soon becomes a more introspective one.

Much of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's story centers around Sargon's self-worth, to himself, his friends, and the empire he serves. Without spoiling too much, by the time credits roll, Sargon has proven to himself time and time again that he has more worth than anyone has ever given him credit for, yet he doesn't seem entirely satisfied by the end of Lost Crown's campaign. While Sands of Time's Prince had a pretty simplistic, one-and-done arc, Sargon's is a little more complex and personal, and hopefully this is just the first step in exploring what his character has to offer.