Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Remade and Previewed
The nation is divided and election season is just around the corner. Now more than ever, it’s important for everyone to stay informed on current events and the ideologies of both parties. So naturally, I find myself doing a lot more research to maintain a solid foundation of knowledge to inform my own political beliefs.
Having gathered intel for a few days, I’m ready to share what I’ve learned with you, the reader.
Ubisoft is keeping up with the Joneses of many companies and remaking one of the beloved games of old from their library: the 2003 classic, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Is this just another attempt from the right to avoid change and bring back the way games were made decades ago, or is the left showing that they can bring about change to improve a package familiar to everyone? Today, I’m going to walk you through some of the decisions that have been made in this production and help you determine where your allegiances should lie.
For a quick summary of the experience, Prince of Persia is a tale of a young Prince looking to prove himself in battle as his father leads their army to invade Azad, a fictional city (presumably in India) that is one of the wonders of their world. When the Prince ventures into the treasure vaults to seek Honor and Glory, he finds the Hourglass, holding the Sands of Time themselves, and a mysterious Dagger of Time, which he learns allows him to control time himself on a small scale. However, when the King’s suspicious advisor tricks the Prince into opening the Hourglass with his dagger, Covid-19 is released on Azad, and everyone save a few crucial characters have been turned into demons made of sand. It’s up to the Prince and a mysterious girl to try to undo this fatal mistake, and vaccinate Azad before the Coronavirus completely overruns the world.
Many design decisions were made in this project to reinvigorate this experience. Some adhere to conservatives, others to liberals. It’s important to read between the lines, carefully avoiding the misinformed idea that the project is apolitical in nature. The design decisions laid out in this article will prove to be crucial in the determination of which party deserves to win power in this year’s election, so please read carefully.
To begin with, I’ll cover some of the more liberal decisions. For starters, the voice cast is mainly the same as the original, which would be commendable for any remake, as the original experience must be kept intact for younger audiences. Yuri Lowenthal returns as the Prince, a brash young warrior seeking to prove himself; his ‘leap before you look’ attitude can be forgiven as the audience gets to know him, guided by his constant witticisms throughout the adventure. However, the critical role of Farah, the Prince’s lone ally throughout his journey, has been recast. The Democrats have jumped the shark on this one, shattering the original experience and breaking all immersion. It’s possible the change was made to introduce diversity to the voice cast, but, like we’re seeing with the Oscar’s new rules, it raises the question: Is art created for its own sake more pure than art created to meet a diversity quota? It may be too early to tell, but rest assured Farah, your original voice will one day be avenged.
Another decision made by the Democrats in this project is the introduction of a more updated graphical representation of the story. This was a tough battle for Democrats, who suffered a mighty blow. Many are vocal that the updated look is more representative of a remake from 2010, failing to harness the power of current tech. Dems can be forgiven for the current state of the project, however, considering they fought long and hard to even get the Republicans to agree on this much. Conservatives originally pressed for a true return to form, matching the graphical fidelity of the original Prince of Persia from 1989:
Their reason for this: “Change is expensive. Keep it the same.” A bold stance, to be sure, Democrats should be proud to have gained any ground in this fight whatsoever. Taxpayers should be happy, at least, that the budget for visual flair will not cut too deeply into their wallets.
To start to cover some conservative decisions, it’s important to commend the Republicans on the lack of overwhelming military spending we’re used to seeing. In fact, none of the budget has been put towards improving combat or military inventory whatsoever. The Prince fights in the same way he did the first time around, with the same swords, the Dagger of Time, and Time Powers we all know and love. The Prince can fast forward time, moving at speeds our legislature wouldn’t dare dream. He can also slow time down to a crawl, as if filibustering the sand demons to death in the same way one might imagine Mitch McConnell would in a congressional hearing about President Trump. The Prince can even stop enemies in their tracks, freezing them completely in time. However, the fan (and Republican) favorite must be the ability to Rewind time, and to make America — I mean Azad — great again, going back in time to just before any fatal mistakes were made. This is the power that everyone in 2020 needs right now. It’s the power that any citizen following government affairs dreams of during every White House Press Conference. Alas, this ability is only a reality in the world of video games.
Another power the Prince possesses, unchanged from the original, is the ability to see visions into the future to guide his adventure. These vary between seeing what acrobatic puzzles and traps await our hero and story beats showing what may yet unfold in the overall narrative. Back in 2003, this power was extremely original and useful, providing players hints at where to go next, and keeping them interested in the story, wondering when that bridge will collapse, or when they can get their hands on that new sword. In 2020, however, this power is absolutely terrifying, and frankly insulting. Who wants to know when the next pandemic arrives to shatter everyone’s lives, when the next beloved celebrity will unexpectedly pass away, or when a crazy, extreme natural disaster will come to change life as we know it? Unfortunately, both sides were wrong on this one, this feature should at least have been toggleable. It’s too soon in 2020 to be forced to explore such horrors.
A more obvious conservative decision is the decision to keep the cast of characters the same. As in the original, Prince of Persia has a handful of main characters if you include the Sultan of Azad and the Prince’s father, and this has not changed in 2020. It’s early to decide if this is the right decision. While this does preserve the original experience, Democrats fear that this rash decision will cause Ubisoft to miss out on the opportunity to add more diversity to the cast. As it stands, POP is a normative story with a (relatively) white male hero saving the day and getting the girl. There were a lot of routes Ubisoft could have taken to mix things up. They could’ve genderbent Farah and made the Prince homosexual, although this would eliminate all females from the story entirely, but to the advantage of representation for the LGBTQ community. They also could’ve genderbent the Prince himself, a bold move, even changing the name of the franchise to Princess of Persia. Although, who am I kidding, this seems a bit restrictive; women can be Princes too. Maybe it should have just been Prince of Persia, with a female prince, a female Farah, and even female versions of the Prince’s father and the sultan. Except no one has the same pronouns and everyone has their own orientation. No one will understand it, but the effort to avoid normalizing the story and bring it into today’s confusing world will be appreciated. By someone. Oh, and that comment I made earlier about the Oscars and art for art’s sake — scratch that, diversity is more important.
On a fresh note, let’s talk about the Prince’s abilities. The Prince is an extremely agile warrior, using his athleticism in combat, traversal, and puzzle solving. Azad is a marvel of a city, filled with hanging gardens, intricate mechanical puzzles, and massive stone structures. These exciting locations require some serious feats of athleticism to traverse, including running on walls, shimmying on poles, making massive jumps, and swinging on flagpoles, to name a few. Azad is also filled with plenty of traps to keep you on your toes, in much the same way as a big family get-together for Christmas. In much the same way that the White House dodges questions and accusations about their policies and decisions, the Prince zigs and zags through traps and obstacles without so much as breaking a sweat.
Getting out of sticky situations isn’t the only thing the Prince has in common with the current presidential nominees. He’s also very sensitive, often complaining to himself about the actions of Farah, and musing whether they would be a good fit for each other romantically. The Prince talks himself through situations, like taking quiet moments alone in a cavern to decide how he will address his partner when they reunite. This helps make the Prince a likable character, more human than many others in 2003 video games. To update this feature in 2020, I really want Ubisoft to embrace the Prince’s sensitivity. I want to hear him talk more about his insecurities, maybe the size of his hands, the small one million dollar loan he got from his father who made him who he is today, and why he really is the best for this job. If this is done correctly, the Prince will talk to the player, effectively ‘tweeting’ his thoughts to you. Players won’t have to question his competence, because he’ll be telling them all about it. This will be a victory in narrative story-telling and character building if Ubisoft can pull this off.
In conclusion, many gameplay features and decisions remain under wraps as this remake continues in the development cycle. As American citizens, it is our responsibility to take what Ubisoft creates and criticize it, regardless of quality. It’s up to us to keep demanding more, and to hold our government accountable for the creative endeavors of public companies. Reader, it is up to Americans like you and me to ensure that the values that we hold sacred are upheld. It’s up to us to make sure people of all races, backgrounds, and genders are represented, in every story. Join me this election season and vote with your dollar, standing up for the policies represented in the new Prince of Persia remake.
