How Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is steeped in Persian mythology
thesixthaxis.comIt’s safe to say that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has made a lasting impression on us. Effortlessly reinvigorating a franchise on life support, Ubisoft Montpellier brought the Prince back from his recent lacklustre misadventures in 3D to return him to his glorious origins of 2D; crafting a sumptuous metroidvania in the process. With an intricate world to explore, precision platforming, vast double-hard bosses, and kick-ass combat, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown wowed upon release. It wasn’t just the gameplay that scored big though, it was also the authentic manner in which Persian folklore and history were weaved into proceedings. Indeed, Persian Mythology and Culture seemed to have a much greater influence on The Lost Crown than in previous games in the storied history of the Prince of Persia franchise.
“While previous titles in the Prince of Persia series tended to cover 9th-century Persia, we wanted to showcase a lesser-known, older, and more mythological aspect,” explains Mounir Radi, Game Director. “Many players associate Persia solely with the tales of ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. However, there is an entire mysterious and well-referenced folklore featuring legendary figures, deities, and terrifying creatures that deserve to be known!”
This can be seen in the setting of Mount Qaf and its varied denizens. The mountain rises in the farthest location possible on this Earth, it is a link between our reality and the supernatural. A place where legend becomes truth. In short, the perfect location for a video game. Mount Qaf is, of course, a much-referenced location in ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, but that’s not the story that had the primary influence on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
“From the beginning,” Mounir said, “we agreed that our narrative would carry the dimension of a tale or, more precisely, that of a legend. During our research, we came across the story of ‘The Conference of the Birds’ by the poet Farid Al-Din Attar, which narrates the
Read more on thesixthaxis.com
