I’m going back and playing older games (and some newer ones). Games I played as I was younger, games I never played but saw on shelves or heard referenced over the years, and games from franchises I’ve heard about for a long time. A long and fun road ahead. For the most part I have original hardware but I have used FPGA and Software emulation too. I’d like to just post some thoughts as I go through with no regular cadence. Not a review.
Just finished Prince of Persia Sands of Time on PS2. I have to say, a bit buggier than I recall. I had originally played it on a different system. Camera controls are jank and the audio seemed tricky. Often lines were delivered really quietly and someone else would be super loud.
All that said, what a great game! Gameplay usually felt solid, characters were all interestingly designed, and the sound design overall was fantastic. Loved it and glad I replayed it.
Short ish (7hrs at 98% complete). Felt like it had great pacing, good mix of action and story, great voice acting, and fun writing. Has a bit of fan service which was annoying but overall, loved it.
Directly following it up with Prince of Persia Warrior within. What a tone shift lol.
Anyone play it back in the day or revisit it recently?
Even though its spectacle isn’t unique anymore, slow-mo on the prince’s stunts still wins me over. It frankly is very cool that he can flip over guys’ heads and run along walls and more games should revel in their own coolness even when it’s not new. I run along walls in new games and the camera doesn’t zoom out to show me how dangerous it would be if I somehow fell and they make me feel nothing.
Also, Warrior Within’s chase music rules and anybody who thinks it doesn’t belong in the game just hates fun.
It still feels so cinematic too! The camera angles for free running, the level design, the slo-mo put your weapons away after a fight, and the character arcs.
lol, the musical tonal shift in Warrior Within is wild from the first one. The first time Dhaka showed up and started chasing me though the jam hit and it was great.