SNES 0.5*
the SNES version is the worst shit i've ever played.
-slowdowns
-framerate capped so high the game ends up running too fast at times
-cut content (no final level)
-worse music
-long loading times

MSDOS 2*
not that much better, the SNES technical issues are gone but it's still a pretty meh game with mediocre level design, inputs that fail half the time and infuriating enemies (fuck those skulls).
it has more ambitious set pieces compared to the first game, but besides the prettier graphics and ost, that's about it. (play PoP1 on the SNES)

Before I get to deep into this review, I would like to mention that the version I am playing is the port for the SEGA Genesis with the remastered ROM hack; I was told that this is the best version of the game to play if you don’t want to deal with getting DOSBox or a Macintosh emulator running. The ROM hack, from my understanding, fixes some late game glitches, as well as fixing the music. I cannot confirm or deny that this ROM does what it says because I am not all that familiar with the original, but I can say that I didn’t encounter any game breaking glitches and the music sounded fine. I also believe that the input commands were altered to be more responsive and faithful to the original, which if they were, they did a fantastic job doing. I think I had less misinputs in this game than I did the original. It took me two whole days to get all this set up, mainly because I am not well versed in computer stuff, but I think it was well worth the effort. So with that out of the way, let's talk Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame

I am aware that Jordan Mechner did not solely develop Prince of Persia 2 like he did the first game; he worked on the general outline and concepts, while Broderbund Software did all the technical work; and because of that there was almost definitely some miscommunication on how ideas should be implemented. On one hand, I believe that improvements and innovations have been made to the original’s design philosophy; but on the other hand, I feel like there were a good number of oversights that were made in the implementation of these ideas. The combat is where my mind is drawn to when thinking about this; it is not necessarily improved, there is just a new layer that takes priority over the old. In the first game, combat felt like, and was, a real one on one sword duel between you and your opponent; being unable to leave the encounter while having to precisely time your strikes, blocks, and play around with some fancy footwork to win. Here in PoP 2, all of that nuance is still there, but it is just not utilized to the same extent because enemies are much more varied; there are times where the player will have to deal with encounters that either have enemies who don’t follow the groundwork set by the first game, like the medusa heads who don’t have attacks that can be blocked, or that several enemies that must be fought all at once. These new ideas sound like they could work on paper, but the first game's combat is not built for these types of situations, and leads to encounters that leave the player jaded, rather than challenged. I think this is the most extreme example of the point I am trying to present, but this sentiment is still echoed through the smaller design choices.

I mentioned in my review of Prince of Persia 1 that the traps and platforming challenges were made to inconvenience the player, not exactly halt them, but to waste their time, intentional death traps notwithstanding. Every puzzle functioned in its own little loop that was independent from the rest of the level; there was no way to soft lock yourself inside one of them. That is not the case in PoP 2, you very much can soft lock yourself within puzzles, and it is very annoying. Having save state definitely mitigates this problem, but there is still a major difference between a puzzle wasting two or three minutes of the players time, and twenty because they had to start the level over. That being said though, I do like the puzzles quite a bit, I found them to be more innovative, fully utilizing ideas and mechanics that the first game only flirted with. I particularly like how some levels ask the player to maneuver around and strategically use the falling platforms to get around the level; it makes the levels feel much more coherent rather than a series of screens. But, like I just mentioned, this comes at the cost of a gigantic set back if so much as one pressure plate is activated, or one platform is dropped out of place. It is just extremely demoralizing.

It is not entirely mismanaged though; I really like how much more open the levels are, there is more choice to be had in how to navigate and move around them. There is always a semi-clear main path that the player could follow in order to complete the level with the most amount of time possible, but there are also many other paths and areas that the player could explore that offer health upgrades and other such things. As well, a handful of the levels have multiple exits that will start you somewhere different on the next level, and while I can’t really confirm this, I am sure that at least one of these offers a faster time than the others. The environments are also much more diverse when compared to the first game; moving through ancient temples, forgotten cities, and one level that is just straight up non Euclidean geometry; as opposed to the first games dungeons of various colors. The story too is ever so slightly more ambitious. Yes, you still need to rescue the princess from Jaffar once again, but much more is learned about where the prince came from, and it makes him feel like his own being rather than a puppet for the player to project onto.

The only other real critiques I think I can give this one all come from the fact that the Genesis version of this game is just unfinished, despite how much the remastered ROM hack tries to hold it together. Sprites for things like the sword and dagger, or the different colored potions, are all the same. When I picked up the dagger for the first time I thought it was the sword, and proceeded to be very confused as to why the range had suddenly been shortened. Same thing with the potions, I went the first three or four levels with gaining a single health upgrade because I thought they were all the same basic health potion. As well, this version is straight up lacking every single story cutscene minus the intro and ending; I had to look up the scenes on Youtube because I was very confused as to what was going on. But, I don’t think these are criticisms that I can hold against the game, as they come from an unfinished version of it. Other than that I think it is a fine game, albeit with a handful of flaws; probably won’t be returning to this one anytime soon, but I still think it’s worth a playthrough for any Prince of Persia fan.

Finished via the Genesis version's definitive edition romhack, which would easily be my rec'd version of the game due to better pacing over the PC version as well as aesthetic hacks to make it closer to Mechner's vision.

Prince of Persia 2 inspires great hope with its opening. The cutscene presentation is top notch with a full on storyline (voice acted on other systems) and richly detailed cutscene portraits to boot. The first couple levels are extremely unconventional, with the Prince simply running away from the town to jump on a ship and then being shipwrecked with nothing but a puzzle to enter a cave challenging him.

However, after that it just sorta becomes... overly safe and more of the same honestly? The battles are just more of POP1, only the simplicity of the swordfighting was much more forgivable there. This is made worse by the fact the swordfighting is much more frequent in 2, to the point I was often finding glitches that allowed me to skip fights. The exploration fares better, and it's nice that the game forces the player to look for at least some hidden potions rather than having them feel like a bonus, but I still don't think anything is as out there as the heart of the volcano or teleporters in 1.

Visually, the game is about as good as 1, only with much better cutscenes. I have no complaints here and everything I said about the rotoscoping in 1 applies here. The giant spider at the end is funny looking and it's nice there's a wider variety of guards. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1135408595106795580/1158999347216785419/images.jpg

As for the music... eh I think it sucks but isn't awful enough to dig into why in any way. Just feels there. I played the game this morning and already don't remember any of it.

There's one really neat idea where the player can play as Shadow Man, but it's extremely obtuse to figure out and it can only be done for 1.5 levels. At least the final boss there was a clever idea. That said, all the level design is more obtuse than 1 and not for the better IMO.

IDK, it's just kinda sorta more of Prince of Persia 1 but more meanspirited towards the player to sell guides, and while 1 really pushed the envelope, 2 doesn't feel like it wants to achieve greater heights. It's just a kinda decent followup to 1. 2 can be a memorable enough experience to go through once with the Genesis fan patch and a walkthrough, but I can't justify to myself ever playing it again.

I enjoyed this game a lot more than I thought I would. The classic Prince of Persia DNA is still mostly present here. I welcome the increased production values, with a more compelling (but still basic) story compared to the original game. The fully voiced cutscenes, midi music and unique animations are all very well done and add a lot to the experience. The narrator really did a great job reading the voiceover. Compared to the first game, there is much more variety in the visual design of the areas you pass through and the quality of the art is very good.

In terms of the game itself, it's really just more Prince of Persia. There is very little in terms of innovation here, rather just minor variations on the gameplay elements of the original. Combat plays a much larger role and is perhaps the most frustrating aspect, but it can be mastered with practice. Still, the clever platforming and puzzle solving is mostly present so if you love the first game there is a lot to enjoy.

I've never played the MS-DOS version, and I don't intend to, because I'm not really into that style of game, but I can only say that the SNES version is one of the most hilariously broken ports I've ever played, literally nothing works on that version, the game runs insanely fast for some reason, has a lot of content from the original removed (including the lack of a final boss), the music is horrible, and many, MANY bugs that tragically affect the gameplay of an already terrible port, the MS-DOS version is probably a classic, but avoid the SNES version at all costs, and to think that this was the first contact I had with Prince of Persia and that I even had the cartridge for it...