Before Assassin’s Creed became the phenomenon it is today, the only major title that dabbled inparkour gameplayand physics-based 3D platforming was the Prince of Persia franchise. Ubisoft tried to continue the franchise after the debut of Assassin’s Creed in 2007, but the game became such a massive hit that they more or less scrapped the Prince of Persia franchise, until recently with the release of The Lost Crown and the work in progress on the Sands of Time remake.
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With the series slowly making its comeback in the industry, it’s only fair that we look at these seven best Prince of Persia games of all time.
7Prince of Persia (2008)
A Reboot That Was Lost in Sands
Prince of Persia (2008)
Ubisoft’s 2008 reboot ofPrince of Persiawas a bold departure from everything the series was known for. Instead of the time-rewinding mechanics that defined Sands of Time, the game introduced a new acrobatic,open-worldstructure with a cel-shaded art style that looked like a moving oil painting. The story follows a nameless Prince who is more of a wanderer than royalty, who stumbles into a cursed kingdom and teams up with Elika, a princess imbued with magical powers.
Unlike previous entries, platforming here was more fluid than ever, with the Prince and Elika seamlessly traversing the ruined landscapes together, using wall runs, pole swings and mid-air flips that felt straight out of a choreographed stunt sequence. Combat was stripped down to one-on-one duels, trading hordes of enemies for intense battles that demanded precision. The game removed the concept of failure entirely, however, as Elika would always catch the Prince before he fell, eliminating traditional game-over screens.
While its mechanics were a departure from the previous games and it got a lot of hate when it was released, Prince of Persia (2008) has become more of a cult favorite at this point, praised for its striking aesthetics, melancholic atmosphere and a bittersweet, albeit disappointing ending, that defied expectations. But with no direct sequel in sight, it lingers in gaming history as an ambitious experiment that never got a second chance.
6Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
A Forgotten Bridge Between Eras
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Positioned as a midquel between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within, The Forgotten Sands was Ubisoft’s attempt to bring back the classic Prince following the divisive 2008 reboot. But instead of feeling like a return to form, it ended up being a game that felt trapped between generations.
The game introduced new elemental powers, like freezing water to create temporary platforms or summoning gusts of wind for extended jumps. These additions added fresh complexity to platforming, but the combat leaned too heavily on repetitive enemy waves rather than the precise duels of past games. On the technical side, it ran on Assassin’s Creed II’s Anvil engine, which allowed for larger, more dynamic environments, but it also meant that the game felt more like a side project rather than a full-fledged sequel.
While not as beloved as The Sands of Time, The Forgotten Sands was a solid, if unremarkable, entry that served as the franchise’s last major outing before it vanished into the Ubisoft vault for over a decade.
5Prince of Persia (1989)
The Game That Defined A Genre
Prince of Persia (1989)
What started as a side project by Jordan Mechner ended up shaping the future of cinematic platformers. The original Prince of Persia introduced, for the first time, fluid, rotoscoped animation that made movement feel incredibly lifelike. Every jump, climb and sword swing had weight, a level of realism that most platformers of the era lacked.
The game’s 60-minute time limit was brutal, forcing players to master its precise, trap-filled dungeons under constant time pressure. Combat was methodical rather than chaotic, with duels that required careful timing rather than button-mashing. And let’s not forget the iconic moment when the Prince faces his own shadow, a puzzle that players still remember decades later.
For many, this was their first taste of what a cinematic game could be, one where movement and animation weren’t just functional but integral to the experience. Without Prince of Persia (1989), there’s a good chance the Sands of Time trilogy, Tomb Raider and even Assassin’s Creed wouldn’t exist in the way they do today.
4Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Two Princes, One Destiny
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
After the divisive shift towards grimdark storytelling in Warrior Within,The Two Thronesaimed to merge the best of both worlds, bringing back the charm of Sands of Time while keeping the refined combat of its predecessor. But what truly set it apart was the introduction of the Dark Prince, an alter ego of the protagonist that changed not just the story, but also gameplay.
The Dark Prince wasn’t just an aesthetic change; he came with his own brutal combat style, wielding Daggertail, a chain-like weapon that allowed for aggressive, fast-paced attacks. But he was also a curse, as the longer the Prince stayed in this form, the more his health drained, forcing players to carefully manage their time as the Dark Prince.
Stealth also played a bigger role, with the introduction of speed kills. Instead of button-mashing through waves of enemies, players can execute precise, cinematic assassinations by timing their strikes correctly. And while The Two Thrones wasn’t as revolutionary as The Sands of Time, it delivered a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, ensuring the Prince’s journey ended on a high note.
3Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
A Return to the Throne, but Not Quite
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
For the first time in over a decade, TheLost Crownbrought the Prince of Persia series back in full force, but not in the way anyone would have expected. Instead of an open-world, parkour-heavy action game like its predecessors, Ubisoft opted for a side-scrolling Metroidvania approach, making this the first Prince of Persia game in years to return to its 2D roots. Calling it a simple throwback, however, would be underselling it, as this is one of the most polished and well-crafted entries the series has seen.
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Players control Sargon, a warrior of the elite Immortals, on a mission to save Prince Ghassan from a time-warped Mount Qaf. But unlike previous protagonists, Sargon is a trained fighter from the start and it shows. Combat is fluid and precise, blending the acrobatics of the older games with a more methodical parry-and-counter system. Instead of a rewind mechanic, time powers now play a different role, allowing Sargon to manipulate time forpuzzle-solving, traversal and combat in ways that feel fresh yet distinctly Prince of Persia.
What The Lost Crown does best is recapture the essence of what made the series special: challenging platforming, an enigmatic story laced with mythological influences and a focus on fluidity in movement and combat. While some longtime fans were initially skeptical of its shift in direction, the game quickly proved itself as a worthy entry, breathing new life into a franchise that many feared Ubisoft had abandoned.
2Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Where It All Began (Again)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
There’s a reason The Sands of Time is still held in such high regard decades after its release. It was a complete reinvention of the series, one that laid the foundation for nearly every cinematic action-adventure game that followed.
Rather than focusing solely on punishing platforming like the original 1989 game, The Sands of Time introduced a movement system that made parkour feel effortless. Wall-running, pole-swinging and ledge-grabbing animations seamlessly strung together in one of the smoothest traversal systems ever designed at the time. The combat, while simple compared to its sequels, introduced enemies that had to be finished off with the Dagger of Time, adding a certain nuance and order to the otherwise button-mashy encounters. And then there was the rewind mechanic; if a mistimed jump or an enemy strike spelled disaster, players could turn back the clock and try again, a mechanic so influential that it found its way into countless games in the years that followed.
At its heart, The Sands of Time told a gripping, personal story, framed as a tale narrated by the Prince himself. His chemistry with Farah built the emotional core of the game, one that made the adventure feel less like a simple hero’s journey and more like a tragic love story wrapped in Arabian Nights-inspired fantasy. Few games from the early 2000s hold up as well as The Sands of Time and even fewer have had such a lasting impact on the industry.
1Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
A Darker Shade of the Prince
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
It was a close call between Sands of Time and Warrior Within which should make it to the top, but we had to give it to the 2nd entry in the trilogy because of all the things it did correctly.
The shift in tone from the first game was immediate; the whimsical narration was gone, replaced by a grim voice-over from a Prince who had been hardened by years on the run. The bright, mystical environments of the first game were traded for grim fortresses and storm-ravaged shores. The combat was completely overhauled into one of the most intricate and satisfying melee systems of its generation.
Taking place years after The Sands of Time, Warrior Within follows the Prince as he flees from the Dahaka, a monstrous enforcer of fate that seeks to erase him from existence for tampering with time. To escape his doomed fate, the Prince ventures to the Island of Time, where he hopes to undo the very events that put him on this path in the first place. But the Prince isn’t the same man he was before. His optimism has been replaced with desperation, and his once fluid combat style is now an aggressive dance of dual-wielded blades, severed limbs and relentless combos.
While some longtime fans were put off by the drastic tonal shift, Warrior Within still stands as the most mechanically-refined game in the series. It took everything The Sands of Time built and pushed it further, crafting an experience that, while darker and more mature, was also deeper, more replayable and still one of the most iconicaction-adventure gamesof its time.
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