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Jordan Mechner on Prince of Persia's legacy
Jordan Mechner, creator of Prince of Persia, shares how the game's legacy spans decades and why it remains relevant.
In brief
Jordan Mechner, creator of Prince of Persia, shares how the game's legacy spans decades and why it remains relevant. Jordan Mechner discusses Prince of Persia's evolution across gaming eras and its enduring cultural impact. Originally reported by PC Gamer.
The long wait
Jordan Mechner, creator of Prince of Persia, joined a roundtable in 2024 after a decade of trying to connect with him.
“it took a decade, but in 2024 we finally made it happen”
Prince of Persia's many lives
Prince of Persia has evolved into multiple versions, including The Lost Crown, Sands of Time, and The Last Express.
“there's all three of those”
The Lost Crown's approach
Ubisoft's The Lost Crown is a 2D Metroidvania that honors Prince of Persia's early visual style and gameplay.
“it's also reminiscent of the early 2d prince of persia games”
2008 Prince of Persia
The 2008 Prince of Persia game was praised for its fluid movement and has a dedicated fanbase.
“i loved the 2008 prince of persia”
Metroidvania confusion
Mechner says the term 'Metroidvania' didn't exist when he made Prince of Persia but the game's design fits the genre.
“it's such a gamer genre but it also didn't exist when you made the original”
Prince of Persia 3D
Prince of Persia 3D was a 1993 game that Mechner played only partially due to hardware limitations.
“i played the first two levels”
Sands of Time's innovation
Sands of Time introduced time rewinding and parkour mechanics that became central to the game's identity.
“the decision from sands of time to warrior within, the mandate to change it from teen to m was a marketing mandate”
The Last Express
The Last Express was a 1993 game developed by Smoking Car Productions that Mechner created with his team.
“the last express was a very different kind of game”
Prince of Persia movie
Mechner worked on the Prince of Persia movie with Disney and Bruckheimer, which was released in 2010.
“i was fully involved for the next couple of years as the first screenwriter”
The Super Nintendo version
A Super Nintendo version of Prince of Persia was created by Arsys Software with Japanese artist Katsuya Terada.
“the super nintendo version was the one with the beautiful cover”
San Francisco connection
Mechner lived in San Francisco during the Prince of Persia and The Last Express development periods.
“i lived in presidio heights and i was driving across the bridge to marin”
The Last Express studio
Smoking Car Productions was based in San Francisco on Jackson Square, near the Zoetrope building.
“it was on jackson square on 414 jackson street”
The Last Express production
The Last Express was filmed on 16mm film with rotoscoping to create hand-drawn animation.
“we shot on 16 millimeter film and rotoscoped it to give the impression of hand-drawn animated line art”
The Last Express legacy
Mechner has written graphic novels and is working on a The Last Express prequel graphic novel.
“hopefully about a year or two from now we'll be talking about a the last express prequel graphic novel”
The Last Express remaster
The Last Express has archived assets at the Strong Museum of Play that could be remastered for modern tech.
“we have the original assets we shot on 16 millimeter film”
What's next for Mechner
Mechner is focused on new creative projects rather than remastering The Last Express.
“personally returning to a game that i've already spent years making in order to spend years remastering it is not my highest priority”
The headline
Jordan Mechner discusses Prince of Persia's evolution across gaming eras and its enduring cultural impact.
