Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow & The Flame

aka: PoP 2
Moby ID: 78
DOS Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/27 9:37 PM )

Description official description

After having defeated the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar, the brave Prince claimed just one reward: the hand of the beautiful daughter of the Persian Sultan. However, as the Prince approached the palace, his appearance suddenly turned into that of a beggar. Someone who looked just like the Prince ordered to throw him out. It turns out that Jaffar is alive and back for vengeance. Banished from the palace, the unfortunate Prince must travel to faraway lands and find a way to defeat the villain.

Prince of Persia 2 is, like its predecessor, a cinematic platformer. Much of the gameplay is reminiscent of the first game, focusing on precise jumping puzzles, swordfighting, and overcoming many hazards in order to stay alive. Swordfighting is more prominent and features situations where several enemies attack the Prince at once. Reinforcements may arrive after the Prince has eliminated all visible enemies. Like its predecessor, the game must be completed within a time limit.

Spellings

  • הנסיך הפרסי 2 - Hebrew spelling
  • プリンス オブ ペルシャ2 - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

16 People

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 74% (based on 23 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 111 ratings with 9 reviews)

A terrible sequel to a great game

The Good
The graphics are more colorful and detailed than the original, which makes them prettier to look at, but this also ends up being a negative as well.

The Bad
Everything! While the graphics are pretty to look at, they make spotting traps much harder. You will die many times simply because you stepped in a trap you couldn't see.

The game is also full of enemies that are practically impossible to hit, so you will lose much of your health just trying to hit the creatures that are attacking you. I became so frustrated with trying to fight my way through the levels that I eventually resorted to using the cheat that kills all the enemies on the screen instantly, just so that I wouldn't have to replay the same sections 20 times to get by them.

Then there are the timed sections where you must step on a pressure plate and then run/climb/jump through a door before it closes, all of which requires you to do it perfectly, or you'll have to go back and do it again (and again, and again, and again, and again...).

The Bottom Line
I was still an Amiga user when this game came out and I was always disappointed that there was never an Amiga version of it. Now that I'm gotten the chance to play it, I'm glad it never came out for the Amiga because I think I might have thrown my system out the window in frustration!

I did not find this game fun to play at all. The only reason I kept going was to see the ending, then I promptly erased it off my hard drive and breathed a sigh of relieve that I would never have to torture myself by playing this stinker again!

DOS · by Rekrul (49) · 2005

Time to show those pressure plates who's boss all over again.

The Good
PoP2 ups the ante over the classic original hit by generally taking the same basic formula, technically upgrading it and coating the whole thing with a larger and far more thrilling sense of adventure.

As in the original, you play a dashing persian prince caught in the power struggle of the Grand Vizier Jaffar (tm) who wants to take over the throne by marrying the king's daughter. You get caught in the middle and get to play the hero simply because you are in love with that stupid princess which may be cliched but has served a certain plumber more than enough times, right?. Anyway, you thought you had killed the bozo in the original and having married the babe thought your problems looong gone. However the Vizier is back from the dead and magically disguised himself as you. Branding yourself as an fake you face death at the hands of the palace guards, and in a mad escape from the palace you end up stranded on some far away land while the princess (once again) awaits death in two hours at the hands of Jaffar. Ahhh... I smell some pressure plates waiting to be activated and some Vizier's ass waiting to be kicked.

The first obvious upgrade over the original comes in the technical front end. The sound and music is just ages away from the original, but what's really is amazing is the graphic upgrade. I mean, the game just looks beautiful when compared over the original and that's considering the already amazing character sprites and their fantastic animations. Now, thanks to fully VGA graphics, the sprites also sport vivid colors and such details as distinct clothing and weapons. And the backgrounds are now vividly detailed locations that set a much more distinct tone than the generic dungeon background of the original, with varied color schemes and details that set them appart from the rest. Truly the game is gorgeous, including the most beautiful examples of early VGA bitmap graphics and setting the tone in every screen including the beautiful cloudy-sky opening screen or the "meanwhile" screen that shows how much time the princess has and which takes the form of a magic tree that slowly loses it's leaves...

Gameplay-wise not much has changed from PoP, with the game still being a non-scrolling platformer with the same tight controls and carrying the same blend of jumping puzzles, trap avoidance, puzzle solving and swordfighting that made the original such a hit. There are however minor additions to the formula, mostly in the form of deeper puzzles that incorporate different elements aside from the ever-present pressure plates and which include different objectives such as getting a magic sword, activating a machine or releasing a magic carpet as opposed to just moving on to the next level as in the original. You also have the brand new feature (awarded to you mid-game) of separating your shadow from your body which deepens the gameplay by incorporating new strengths but also limiting your actions (being weightless means you cannot activate those plates for instance).

The really big improvement from the original in my opinion however, is the amplified scope of the adventure. I mean, for as fun as it was, the original game was just a dungeon crawl. PoP2 takes you out of the dungeon and takes you through all sorts of exciting locales from the Persian marketplace to an abandoned island, to a ruined temple to a magic castle, etc. etc. You'll get to face human guards as well as skeleton warriors, eagle humanoids, snakes and other supernatural creatures while you'll also get to ride magic carpets, flying unicorns and other adventures in your quest to return to Persia and kick Jaffar's ass. There's no question about it: Prince of Persia's sequel takes grand adventuring to it's limits and provides a much more thrilling and varied experience than the original.

The Bad
I'm not really complaining about it, but dammit the game is hard!! Just as the original, this game belongs to the time when men were men and uh... gamers were gamers! I mean, a time where each game was like 50-70 bucks a piece and didn't come in spiffy Game of the year editions with added mods or when you couldn't just log on to gamefaqs to learn how to overcome some level or just execute the level-jumping cheat. In other words: this is a hardcore game for hardcore gamers. If you think you can kick it's ass just because you got yourself a PS2 for christmas and rule The Sands of Time, then think again dude.

The Bottom Line
An even more beautiful version of Prince of Persia with a bigger sense of adventure and the same yet minimally improved (but improved nonetheless) legendary gameplay. Just as the original: a classic of classics.

DOS · by Zovni (10504) · 2004

Once again, don your sword and prepare for the fight.....

The Good
Graphics The graphics were better, although I liked the more simple ones of the previous P.O.P. But the prince was still the price, dispite having a new look. The locations were drawn wonderfuly with lots to explore and do. The characters are well animated, as are the rather sick death throes in lava.

Gameplay The game was very hard, a lot of it included jumping, much more that the other version. One level even has you doing split second jumping across loose floors to get to a horse. Traps have been made more deadlyer. Ranging from the old favroite spikes to the wall mounted swing blades that took of your head. Trip darts and blocks that crush are inculded as well as many more. New features also had tunnels for you to crawl through and interesting ways to kill enemys, such as knocking a Skeleton into the lava to defeat it. Other foes are, guards, heads, snakes and shadows just to name few. The game also has the shadow, this means you turn left and right untill you crumple to the ground and leave a ghost, this means you can run around the level without getting killed. The flame also makes an interesting weapon, torch from afar. Although getting it is hard. Speaking of weapons you go through about four swords, starting with your normal sword you spend about three levels attacking with a broken sword. This makes the game much harder as you have to watch your timing or miss and get hurt.

Sound The music is better, although it can be out of theme every now and then. The usal from the first is there : Footsteps, screams, "OW!" and more.

The Bad
The annoying save problem still exists. You can only save at certain points or at the start of a level. The enemy difficulty increases each time you fight, so if you die you then have to fight harder enemys than before. The puzzles are harder and there seems to be too much jumping than before.

The Bottom Line
Very good game, a must for people who are willing to spend all night playing it.

DOS · by Sam Hardy (80) · 2001

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

Development

A Sega Mega Drive version of the game, in development by Microïds, was slated to be published by Psygnosis in 1996 but it was never officially released.

Release history

Reports indicate the presence of this game as an unlockable bonus in the NTSC Xbox version of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, where all other console versions of that game offer the original Prince of Persia as a bonus instead (and the PC version, neither).

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • June 1994 (Issue #119) – Action Game of the Year

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Prince of Persia: Harem Adventures
Released 2002 on BREW, J2ME, DoJa
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Released 2024 on Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5...
Prince of Persia
Released 1990 on DOS, 1992 on Game Boy, 1999 on Game Boy Color...
Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame
Released 2013 on Android, iPad, 2014 on GameStick
Prince of Persia
Released 2008 on Windows, Xbox 360, 2009 on Macintosh...
Prince of Persia 3D
Released 1999 on Windows, 2000 on Dreamcast
Prince of Persia CD Collection
Released 1995 on DOS, Macintosh
Prince of Persia
Released 2011 on Commodore 64
Prince of Persia
Released 2018 on BBC Micro

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 78
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Trixter.

PC-98 added by Infernos. Macintosh added by Zovni. FM Towns added by Terok Nor. SNES added by James Reed.

Additional contributors: Adam Baratz, Jalal Noureddine, Pseudo_Intellectual, Maw, Crawly, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger, Kayburt.

Game added March 5, 1999. Last modified January 20, 2024.