Prince of Persia (PS3)
I just finished Prince of Persia (2008) last night and the ending really stuck with me. From the beginning, the game felt really light-hearted with a storyline that mostly just served as a backstory to keep the player going forward. I mostly kept playing for the puzzles, platforming and the funny and witty conversation between the two main characters.
I found the combat a bit frustrating but that was also my own fault since I never bothered to remember all the combo moves. Towards the end I had a better idea about how the combat worked and then it started to get more fun.
But the ending. It feels like you either like it or hate it, but I loved it. It was the kind of ending only a video game can pull off. We’ve seen similar things in later games like Bioshock and The Last of Us but Prince of Persia already did it back in 2008.I had no idea.
I will now go into spoiler territory so if you don’t want to know what happens stop reading now. Yes now. So, the story basically goes like this. The king’s daughter died and to bring her back to life the king made a deal with an evil demon called Ahriman. The princess, Elika, was brought back to life but in the process the whole land became corrupted, including the king. The whole game is about you, the player and the princess fighting the corruption and freeing the land. But in the end, to defeat Ahriman Elika has to give her own life.
The credits begins to roll when the Prince carries Elika’s dead body away and lies her on her mother’s grave. The corruption is gone but Elika is gone and the world feels empty. At this time the player can choose to accept this ending and that Elika’s sacrifice was necessary to free the land of corruption.
However, while it is not specifically said the player can now choose to go and cut down the trees which are keeping Ahriman imprisoned, thus letting the corruption free again. However, also bringing Elika back to life. Basically this means undoing everything you have spent the whole game struggling to do. When Elika is brought back to life she instantly utters the word “Why”? And only you, the player can answer that question.
Like Joel’s decision to save Ellie in The Last of Us, the player’s decision is a selfish one. He could not bear a world without Elika (Ellie) so he would save her even if that meant doom and destruction. For such a light-hearted game the ending really sets it apart from other games.
But why keep playing? Elika’s ultimate sacrifice is already a satisfying ending. It is Wolverine dying in Logan, it is Russell Crowe dying in Gladiator, Batman in the Dark Knight Rises, Arnold in Terminator 2 and the list goes on. It’s the heroic sacrifice. But it’s kind of boring.
That’s why the ending of The Last of Us was so great and that’s why Prince of Persia’s ending is so good. Does it make the Prince a bad person? From the beginning it is made clear that he doesn’t really care about anything but fame and fortune. He’s a traveler with a woman in every port and only cares about how much gold and treasures he can find. But under the course of the game he learns to know about Elika’s world and life and he actually starts to care about something, someone.
The only logical choice for him is therefore to bring Elika back to life. His journey with her has been the most meaningful experience in his life and she has also saved his life multiple times in the game.
I’m not a big fan of happy endings in general and Elika’s death can even be seen as happy ending. She sacrificed herself for her land because that is the kind of person she is. She is selfless and found peace in knowing that her land and people are safe. Elika’s wake from her death is a bad ending because that is not what she wanted. It is a selfish choice of a Prince that cares about her but also cares more about his own happiness than that of the world. It’s not a “And they lived happily ever after” type of ending.
I’m aware that there is an epilogue that continues the story but I don’t think I want to play it. I’m more satisfied with the ending I got. Then I can speculate by myself what happened afterwards. Did Elika forgive the Prince form saving her? Did she come to realize that her own life is more important than her people? And most importantly, is there a way to defeat Ahriman without her needing to sacrifice herself?
I found the combat a bit frustrating but that was also my own fault since I never bothered to remember all the combo moves. Towards the end I had a better idea about how the combat worked and then it started to get more fun.
But the ending. It feels like you either like it or hate it, but I loved it. It was the kind of ending only a video game can pull off. We’ve seen similar things in later games like Bioshock and The Last of Us but Prince of Persia already did it back in 2008.I had no idea.
I will now go into spoiler territory so if you don’t want to know what happens stop reading now. Yes now. So, the story basically goes like this. The king’s daughter died and to bring her back to life the king made a deal with an evil demon called Ahriman. The princess, Elika, was brought back to life but in the process the whole land became corrupted, including the king. The whole game is about you, the player and the princess fighting the corruption and freeing the land. But in the end, to defeat Ahriman Elika has to give her own life.
The credits begins to roll when the Prince carries Elika’s dead body away and lies her on her mother’s grave. The corruption is gone but Elika is gone and the world feels empty. At this time the player can choose to accept this ending and that Elika’s sacrifice was necessary to free the land of corruption.
However, while it is not specifically said the player can now choose to go and cut down the trees which are keeping Ahriman imprisoned, thus letting the corruption free again. However, also bringing Elika back to life. Basically this means undoing everything you have spent the whole game struggling to do. When Elika is brought back to life she instantly utters the word “Why”? And only you, the player can answer that question.
Like Joel’s decision to save Ellie in The Last of Us, the player’s decision is a selfish one. He could not bear a world without Elika (Ellie) so he would save her even if that meant doom and destruction. For such a light-hearted game the ending really sets it apart from other games.
But why keep playing? Elika’s ultimate sacrifice is already a satisfying ending. It is Wolverine dying in Logan, it is Russell Crowe dying in Gladiator, Batman in the Dark Knight Rises, Arnold in Terminator 2 and the list goes on. It’s the heroic sacrifice. But it’s kind of boring.
That’s why the ending of The Last of Us was so great and that’s why Prince of Persia’s ending is so good. Does it make the Prince a bad person? From the beginning it is made clear that he doesn’t really care about anything but fame and fortune. He’s a traveler with a woman in every port and only cares about how much gold and treasures he can find. But under the course of the game he learns to know about Elika’s world and life and he actually starts to care about something, someone.
The only logical choice for him is therefore to bring Elika back to life. His journey with her has been the most meaningful experience in his life and she has also saved his life multiple times in the game.
I’m not a big fan of happy endings in general and Elika’s death can even be seen as happy ending. She sacrificed herself for her land because that is the kind of person she is. She is selfless and found peace in knowing that her land and people are safe. Elika’s wake from her death is a bad ending because that is not what she wanted. It is a selfish choice of a Prince that cares about her but also cares more about his own happiness than that of the world. It’s not a “And they lived happily ever after” type of ending.
I’m aware that there is an epilogue that continues the story but I don’t think I want to play it. I’m more satisfied with the ending I got. Then I can speculate by myself what happened afterwards. Did Elika forgive the Prince form saving her? Did she come to realize that her own life is more important than her people? And most importantly, is there a way to defeat Ahriman without her needing to sacrifice herself?
Comments
Post a Comment