22 Prince of Persia versions

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22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by 3DO Experience » Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:56 am

I wanted to play Prince of Persia again and the only time I had my hands on it before was on someone's Apple II back in the 90's. I started hunting for videos of console versions and came across Let's Compare ( Prince of Persia ). It compares 22 versions of the game, so I've decided I want the SNES, Genesis and SEGA CD versions. LOL The CD I just want for the intro, the Genesis copy actually looks better.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by Trev » Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:51 am

Thanks for the link. The only Prince of Persia game I currently own is the Sega CD port (courtesy of Austin) I've been thinking about the GBC version, so I'll check out the vid.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by NeoGeoNinja » Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:36 am

I only had access to the SNES, MD & Amiga versions growing up. I think all 3 were great, although, the SNES version is my personal favourite of those overall.

I enjoyed the music and atmosphere more > the other two. The SNES version also added areas to the levels to change things up a bit > the original releases. Depending on how you feel about this (perhaps a bias towards Nintendo or SEGA etc) that's either perceived as a good or bad thing. Personally, I quite liked it but isn't the reason for my preference of the SNES release.

Also, the Amiga version is rather nice because it looks more akin to the releases of Flashback & Another World. I really like that flat graphical style against the fluidity of the animation...

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by 3DO Experience » Tue Sep 03, 2013 5:48 pm

Yeah I liked the NES for it being closer looking to the original. Actually I used to look at the NES copy in the store and thought the artwork looked dumb and left it at that. One summer I got to play it on a computer and when I went back to K-Mart they were sold out. I think the Genesis version has more level detail than SNES but I like the SNES's intro and a dark dungeon makes sense too.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by Trev » Tue Sep 03, 2013 7:21 pm

Wow, I didn't realize the vid was so long! (although it makes sense) I've actually seen a few other vids from that Youtube user. I enjoyed them, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one. I'll have to break it up though.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by NeoGeoNinja » Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:31 pm

Jesus!

Is PoP the most ported game ever??! And, if it isn't, I wonder what actually is?! :D

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by NeoGeoNinja » Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:46 pm

Ok.

I watched that entire video. And one thing was pretty clear: I reckon all the ports were pretty solid. Even the ones on the lesser platfoms.

I'll have to concur with The Experience on this one... the MD one, sans the colour palette for the actual character (imo) - overall, looks the best.

I'll have to pick that one up again I think.

However, the SEGA CD and other fellow versions similar to that build all look like shit (X68k, FMT etc)

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by 3DO Experience » Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:36 pm

Trev wrote:Wow, I didn't realize the vid was so long! (although it makes sense) I've actually seen a few other vids from that Youtube user. I enjoyed them, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one. I'll have to break it up though.
If you expand the info under the video he has time links so you can jump around, that's what I did.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by goldenband » Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:58 pm

NeoGeoNinja wrote:Is PoP the most ported game ever??!
It's up there. There's even an Atari 2600 version that was being worked on -- and it looked astonishingly good!
NeoGeoNinja wrote:And, if it isn't, I wonder what actually is?! :D
Tetris, I'd think?
NeoGeoNinja wrote:Ok.

I watched that entire video. And one thing was pretty clear: I reckon all the ports were pretty solid. Even the ones on the lesser platfoms.

I'll have to concur with The Experience on this one... the MD one, sans the colour palette for the actual character (imo) - overall, looks the best.

I'll have to pick that one up again I think.

However, the SEGA CD and other fellow versions similar to that build all look like shit (X68k, FMT etc)
The Sega CD version has a reputation for having very poor controls, though I didn't play it long enough to say one way or t'other. My personal favorite is the SNES: controls brilliantly, gorgeous music, great graphics, wonderful atmosphere.

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by Austin » Wed Sep 04, 2013 2:28 am

The SNES one is my favorite. The visuals are the brightest, the stages are much more fleshed out, and the music made for it works well. From a platforming perspective it is the toughest though. Longer stages equals more traps, especially later on in the game. There are some absolutely batshit-crazy situations you have to deal with that you won't in other versions.

The Genesis version looks great, but the battle system killed it for me. Whenever you block an enemy attack, you get pushed back. In every other version, after a successful block you could counter attack, usually giving you a free hit. This was really important to successfully completing the other versions, and without it makes the Genesis one extremely difficult and frustrating.

The Sega CD one is similar to the PCE CD version. Muddy visuals, but it has blood and plays fine for the most part. Interestingly, you can adjust the movement and battle speed. Pick your own balance, it's pretty cool. Worth picking up especially considering it is one of the cheapest versions you can find.

The SMS/Game Gear versions are nice. Basically very similar to the classic computer games, but with slightly textured/upgraded art.

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by NeoGeoNinja » Wed Sep 04, 2013 1:33 pm

Austin wrote:The SMS/Game Gear versions are nice. Basically very similar to the classic computer games, but with slightly textured/upgraded art.
It's funny you know. I actually think all that extra 'detail' makes what could have been a nice looking version (i.e. Amiga & NES) look like shite.

I realise it's all in the eye of the beholder and whatnot, but 8-bit details that try high-level detail always comes off badly imo. That's why the likes of the Mario trilogy and Double Dragons etc still look great today, along with the likes of Wonderboy, Alex Kidd series and Fantasy Zone. They've aged much better imo :)

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by Martin III » Wed Sep 04, 2013 2:33 pm

goldenband wrote:
NeoGeoNinja wrote:And, if it isn't, I wonder what actually is?! :D
Tetris, I'd think?
That one's up there too, but I don't think there are as many ports of Tetris as there are of Prince of Persia. Developers have often favored remaking Tetris instead of porting it. To check my theory, I ran a GameFAQs search, and it comes up with "only" 19 ports of Tetris.

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by Trev » Wed Sep 04, 2013 4:09 pm

The user has nearly 200 vids. Just a cursory glance has shown some games they compare top the Prince of Persia count. Lode Runner for instance has nearly 30! I haven't watched the vid, or any of their vids in full, but there seem to be a lot of games with a high port count.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by goldenband » Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:12 pm

It also depends on whether you count unofficial/homebrew ports, or ports that change the name but leave the game unchanged. Some computers have many different ports of the same game, e.g. the Tandy CoCo which has at least 4 different Donkey Kong ports. Heck, the Intellivision has four, now that I think of it (though three of them are all from the same developer, and the latter two are basically bugfixes and refinements of the first one, with added features).

Another one with a surprising number of ports: Space Harrier. Even the MZ-700 has a port!

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by NeoGeoNinja » Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:51 pm

goldenband wrote:Another one with a surprising number of ports: Space Harrier. Even the MZ-700 has a port!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GObao5a7Fis

WiTF?!

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by 3DO Experience » Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:56 pm

That is crazy!
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by 3DO Experience » Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:52 am

Bought the Sega Genesis (MegaDrive) version.
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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by NeoGeoNinja » Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:10 pm

3DO Experience wrote:Bought the Sega Genesis (MegaDrive) version.
I don't own my SNES anymore, so I'm planning to pick this one up too.

I sort of wish they'd have released Prince of Persia for 3DO & Jag too. I always closely regard Another World, FlashBack & PoP together really. Very similar games in their own way...

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Re: 22 Prince of Persia versions

Post by Kyosho » Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:12 am

I'm late to this thread, but I finally checked out the video. I've wondered for years which version of the game I actually played back in the day. Turns out it was the SNES version. However, looking at all of them, it's amazing just how good the game looks on every single system. I understand why, but it doesn't change the fact that it just looks surprisingly good on some systems you wouldn't expect. The Genesis version could be argued as being the best-looking. Just, for the fact that it adds a lot of visual details and character to the scenes. Though at the same time, those details are somewhat distracting and "noisy." The Master System/Game Gear version is nice because it just goes with a different color palette and style in general from all the others. Similar to the Genesis in that regard, but without all the graphical additions I mentioned. Honestly, I'm not sure what version I'd play if I decide to play the game again. Probably SNES just for the usual nostalgia reasons.

Anyways, thanks for pointing out that youtube channel. I love game version comparisons, and I've somehow never stumbled upon that channel before.

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