Today's release of "Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown" review! In addition to a large volume of ability-based exploration, players can enjoy high-speed battles based on counters and evasion.

Sargon and his immortals go to Mount Kaf to rescue the kidnapped Prince Ghassan.

The film is set in medieval Persia. Sargon, a member of a powerful force known as the "Immortals," defeats an enemy general who has attacked Persia. On the night of his audience with the queen, Sargon is chatting with his companions when his master, Anahita, informs him that the prince, Ghassan, has been kidnapped. Sargon heads for Mount Kahu with the other members of the Immortal Squad in order to save the prince. This is the synopsis of the film.

The story of this film is littered with many mysteries from the beginning. The most impressive is the mystery about time. Sargon and his men arrived at Mount Kahu shortly after Prince Ghassan's abduction, but the warriors who had been there before them said they had been fighting for 30 years. The warriors who had been there before them said they had been fighting for 30 years, while others said they had been there only a few days. Furthermore, a warrior who looks exactly like himself is dead, and the bow used by his colleague Menoulais has somehow fallen off the ground.

In addition to the story, each character is very strong. There are a total of seven members of the Immortal Squad. The seven members of the Immortal Squad include Sargon, a double-sword wielder; Varlam, the leader of the Immortal Squad and a sword wielder; Orod, a huge anchor wielder with a frame of nearly three meters; Artaban, a one-eyed great sword wielder; Menolias, a bow and bodyguard; Nate, a female warrior fighting with spear and shield; and Rajen, a tall warrior wearing a mask. The prologue of the film is a short story about a group of only seven people. The prologue depicted how only seven of them overturned the war situation, so the impact on their strength was great.

The visuals in this work are anime-style, with auras surrounding the attacks and cut-ins for major moves, making the event scenes visually appealing and fun to watch. The tempo was also good, thanks to the seamless transition from the player-controlled parts of the game, such as combat and exploration, to the event scenes.

The attack-oriented style and the sense of accomplishment from counterattacks make for addictive battles.

Sargon's weapons are twin swords and a bow. His basic style is to attack at close range with his twin swords and use his bow to attack enemies at a distance. The attack method can be changed to launching into the air or striking from the air to the ground by pressing the stick or directional keys during a combo. Since the style of the game is to attack with the number of moves using the twin swords, every movement is agile and exhilarating.

Some of the enemies have shields or are fierce attackers, so it is important to attack them accordingly. For example, if an enemy is holding a shield, you can break the shield itself by launching a Tame attack, which can be launched with a long press of a button. If an enemy is attacking hard, you can launch them into the air and they will be unable to move, allowing you to attack them unilaterally. Launching into the air is particularly effective against various other enemies, so be sure to learn to use it as much as possible. I, too, have been able to win consistently by simply being aware of combos in the air.

Also important is the "Asura's Divine Technique," a special move-like action that consumes a special gauge. This action consumes a special gauge and has a wide range of effects, from attacking to supporting, with many variations, such as sending a shockwave with the sword to attack multiple enemies simultaneously or deploying a special area to recover one's HP. All of them can be used during and at the end of a combo, and can also be utilized at many other times, such as when setting up or countering. The gauge required for activation increases with each attack, so be sure to use it sparingly during battle.

One of the features of battles in this title is that there are no defensive actions, and the basic strategy is evasion and counterattacks. You can interrupt a combo when your opponent attacks, jump back immediately, or slide through the opponent's groin. After evading, the attacker can immediately counterattack, so it is nice to know that the attacker never stops. If one succeeds in "uke-nagashi," in which one waits with sword at the ready and nullifies the opponent's attack, it is also possible to temporarily leave the target open. All of these seem passive, but in fact lead to the next attack, so it was very easy to take an aggressive stand.

Another element of this work that allows the player to enjoy the tense tactics of the game is the "kararigae," which is a derivative of uke-negiri. The normal ukegawari nullifies the opponent's attack, but if you parry an attack that emits a yellow light, Sargon launches a special attack. So-called "zako-enemies" can basically be defeated with a single blow, and against bosses, Sargon can inflict heavy damage.

However, most of the moves that can return fire are big moves, and if they succeed, they inflict heavy damage on the enemy, but if they fail, Sargon takes heavy damage and is trapped in a tight spot. The game is a fun battle between taking advantage of this gamble system and going on the offensive, or playing it safe by using basic actions such as jumping and sliding. The types of attacks that can be used to return fire vary from enemy to enemy, but as you get used to the game, your success rate will increase, and you will find it interesting to aggressively aim to return fire.

Since you cannot parry attacks that glow red, it is safe to avoid them by jumping or sliding.

Exploring Mount Kahf by making full use of your abilities

This title offers plenty of exploration. In Mt. Kahu, where the game takes place, there are various fields with different landscapes, such as ruins, ports, archives, and forests. There are a variety of enemies, traps that shoot arrows when you pass through them, huge blades that swing from side to side like pendulums, stairs that move up and down to block your way, and a variety of other gimmicks.

There are places along the way that are impossible to advance in the early stages of the game, such as heights that cannot be reached by ordinary jumps and three-dimensional objects that are transparent and cannot be touched. The sense of accomplishment and inspiration that comes from reaching an unknown field, where a gimmick that was initially a mystery can now be broken through with the introduction of a new ability, is a feeling that is unique to this title, which emphasizes exploration as well as action.

In each field, there are quite a few places that can only be broken through by specific abilities. It is difficult to remember them all accurately, but that is where "memory pieces" come in handy. Memory Pieces are like screenshots that allow you to save an image of the scene and keep it on the map. When you hover the cursor over the map screen, you can see the saved scenery, which can be used to check gimmicks and memories. This was very useful for organizing information.

The "wakuwaku trees" located in various places are also important in the exploration. The tree is like a little base of operations where Sargon's HP can be restored and the restorative medicine that has been consumed can be replenished. The number and effectiveness of the recovery medicine can be increased by trading with the characters in the "Resting Place," but since Sargon's health is depleted by fighting enemies and stepping through gimmicks, the tree of excitement should be used as much as possible whenever it is seen.

When the game is over, the player must start over from the last tree of excitement. The more exciting trees you open, the easier it will be to retry.

Prince of Persia" may remind many people of the lusciously placed traps, and they are still present in this title. There are also some scenes that require advanced maneuvering, such as moving between blades at the right moment, jumping along walls and dashing through the air, moving along cliffs that are stepped, and using the ability of special objects to materialize and temporarily become a foothold. In particular, the traps along the paths to the locations where rare items are placed are so insanely elaborate that in other games they would appear as hidden areas that are released after the game is cleared, or as challenging elements for skilled gamers. For some people, just breaking through the gimmicks will require the consumption of recovery medicine. Although the difficulty requires trial and error, retrying the game from the tree of excitement should ease the burden considerably.

Strengthen Sargon by forging equipment and customizing amulets.

Sargon's equipment, such as twin swords, bows, and recovery medicine, can be strengthened at special facilities. Weapons such as bows and bows are available at the "Kaheva's Furnace," which is located through a door in the rest house, and can enhance basic performance such as attack power and recovery rate. After advancing through the storyline to a certain extent, you will be able to use warp points in various locations, so it would be a good idea to visit the rest stop regularly thereafter.

Amulets, a type of equipment, are also indispensable in order to conquer various locations. Amulets can be attached to Sargon's necklace to take effect, providing a variety of benefits, such as increased attack power and HP recovery upon a successful parry. Amulets require a slot in the necklace, and items to expand the slot are hidden in treasure chests in various locations. Amulets can be purchased at the furnace in Kaheva as well as picked up, so buy as many as you like.

Particularly powerful is "Luxana's Gift. It restores HP when a successful parry is made, thus saving recovery medicine. The parry is also effective against long-range attacks, and once you get the timing right, you can use a very profitable technique of just parrying the opponent's arrows and recovering your strength.

Naturally, money is needed to strengthen equipment and purchase amulets. However, if you keep buying what you want, it is inevitable that your money will be depleted in no time. So if you want to improve your pocketbook, get trained by Altaban. Talking to Artaban, who is located in the upper right corner of the rest house, will teach you basic actions such as attacks and combos, and you will receive money for each item you complete. This is not a waste of money. Just by completing the training, you can easily accumulate enough money for a recovery potion or one equipment enhancement. In light of learning the fundamentals of attack, I recommend that you take advantage of training as much as possible.

This title not only allows players to enjoy tense battles with attacks and evasions, parry and counterattacks, but also to enjoy a heavy exploration with full use of their abilities. This is one title that can be especially recommended for those who enjoy adventure games and gamers who are looking for a challenging battle.

• Title Information
• Title Name: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Release date: January 18, 2024
• Supported platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation5, PlayStation4
• Package version/digital version
• Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC *Digital version only
• Price: 6,600 yen (tax included)
• Number of players: 1
• Genre: Action Adventure
• CERO: C

Based on Prince of Persia® created by Jordan Mechner. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are registered or Prince of Persia is a trademark of Waterwheel Licensing LLC in the Prince of Persia is a trademark of Waterwheel Licensing LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries used under license.