It’s a bit of a miracle that a new game in this franchise was announced and came out relatively fast.Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownof course isn’t that big of a game compared to other recent Ubisoft titles on consoles likeAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora. That doesn’t mean this game is any less good because critics seem to enjoy it so far based on current review aggregates.
CouldPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownbe the template for a new trilogy of 2D Metroidvanias? If that’s the case then what would fans like to see added or improved in the sequel? Should Sargon return or should it be an indirect sequel? Here’s what a sequel should bring to the table.
6Vahram Could Take Over
The Sith Vs Jedi Trick
The end of the game shows that a sequel could go one of two ways. Sargon is leaving his current kingdom presumably to find his own path in life. As he leaves, Neith and Artaban wave him off and say they will take care of Vahram who has now reverted to an innocent child. It would be quite the twist if he turned into the new protagonist as the sequel could flash forward a bit after Neith and Ataban train him in the Immortals' way.
The game could implement achoice system like in an RPG. Players could decide to have this new version of Vahram be good or they could continue down the dark path. It would be like the Sith and Jedi quandary in theStar Warsseries.
5Add More Weapons
Swords And Bows Are Good, But…
Giving Sargon two swords was a good choice as he is quite proficient with them in the game. The fast and fluid combat is one of the game’s many pluses like a 2D version of aDevil May Crygame. Sargon’s eventual bow is a nice weapon as well to give players range. Besides the bow’s secondary chakram, that’s all the weapons players get in the game.
This never made the game feel empty as if it was missing something. Quality is always better than quantity after all. However, it would be fun to see more weapons added in the sequel. Maybe it could even have a loot-based equipment system like other Metroidvanias includingCastlevania: Symphony of the Night.
4Play Around More With Time
Could It Be More Horrific?
“One single night…that has lasted thirty years.” That’s the line an enemy soldier named Nojan says to Sargon toward the beginning of the game. It’s a horrific line depicting a nightmare that never ends. It’s a good setup forPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownin a series known for time manipulation. While some big plot points are revolving around time, the gameplay doesn’t use time travel that much.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, time manipulation should be a big element in the sequel. Players could go back to classic mechanics like rewinding time if something goes wrong. The sequel could also tread on new territory and try something noother time-based gamehas tried before.
3Add Co-Op
The Four Swords Adventures Effect
One of the interesting time elements presented in this game is that Sargon has multiple versions of himself running around. It’s sort of implied that when players die, that’s the end of one timeline. Since this has already been demonstrated, the sequel could easily add co-op as it would make sense.
In the GameCube gameThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Link gets split into four colored versions of himself. InPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown’ssequel, the main character could split into different versions of Sargon or whomever the next hero is during co-op. The game could even include multiple characters to choose from to make co-op even more dynamic.
2Wak-Wak Tree Upgrades
Fast Travel Is A Must
Wak-Wak Trees are the checkpoints in this game which are colorful golden trees inPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownwherein players can exchange their Athra Surgesand Amulets. Arrows will be refilled and HP will be restored too. These are decent functions but the Wak-Wak Trees should be all-encompassing.
For example, players should be able to fast travel between them. Fast travel instead is invested in separate statues that can sometimes be few and far between. The sequel should at least give players an item to return to a teleporting statue to help decrease needless backtracking. Also, it would be convenient if shops could be accessed at Wak-Wak Trees too but that’s only if fast travel isn’t implemented.
1Quality Of Life Improvements
From Photo Modes To Assists
There is a litany of quality-of-life improvements that the sequel could invest in. A photo mode is always appreciated in an action game like this. Getting rid of UI or making it more dynamic would be a plus too to give the game a cleaner look.
This game already has a decentwealth of assist options. For example, the challenging platforming sections can be skipped which is a great option but there is no way to skip puzzles. There should be a way in the sequel to either skip them or get hints. Some players are just not good at puzzles, especially time-based ones like in this game.
