alt Hacker NewsIt depends what you mean by "original".
The very first Prince of Persia game came out in the early 90s. It's at least 35 years old. It was noteworthy as being one of the first games (if not the first) to have ragdoll physics for the movement of the player.
It was a game of playing through 12 levels (IIRC) and if you died, you started over completely. I played it for 20 hours straight at one point and ended up beating it. I think it takes like 30-45 minutes for a full run through normally? I'm a bit fuzzy on this part. It was an amazing game.
What you're talking about is the early 2000s "reboot" that launched a new franchise under the old name and really wasn't that similar to the original other than a setting of being loosely Persian/Arabic. But it wasn't a platform game in the same sense.
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Prince of Persia did not have "Ragdoll physics".
Prince of Persia had rotoscoped animation that made the main character look very fluid in movement.
> being one of the first games (if not the first)
Karateka. From same Jordan Mechner.
> I think it takes like 30-45 minutes for a full run through normally?
You had 60 minutes max to beat the game - that was the catch.
The failed remake in question is for Sands of Time (2003–2004) rather than for the original Prince of Persia (1989)—though, judging by this catastrophe, the remake development team wouldn't have been able to remake the original game in seven years either!
The article states it was a remake of The Sands of Time, so the early 2000s game. As the basis for the project it will count as the original in this case.