Prince of Persia

The original Prince of Persia was ported to just about every computer system after its original Apple ][ release. Years ago I got through the first three or four levels on a System 7 Macintosh.but it always felt sluggish and unresponsive compared to most console platform games. I chalked that up to the Mac just being old and slow, but turns out it’s by design. Now, through emulation, I have been able to try many different versions and all of them feel about the same. I went with the Super Nintendo version because it is bigger, sound better, and has much improved graphics.

The controls are the biggest drawback of the game. It honestly feels broken because your actions need to be timed a split second earlier than you think. But eventually your brain and reflexes start to ease into the delayed rhythm. It’s only in the later boss sword fights that the timing issues began to seem genuinely unfair. There is a set amount of time to save the princess and as such, without the help of emulation save states, I would have surely given up and missed out on some great visual storytelling and level design.