TVGP Plays PoP: SoT Checkpoint 1 - Cliffs & Waterfall

[Boston]

We'll talk about the first checkpoint during episode 140, which airs 6/25.  

The first checkpoint is to get to the save point in the cliffs & waterfalls area.

Thanks to ereecmar for the checkpoint suggestions.

[Boston]

Just finished the checkpoint, took about 3 hours. 

I was frustrated with the first boss battle because I thought that the enemies would infinitely respawn.  Unfortunately, you can't hurt the boss while the enemies are there.  There are a few wonky things like this; it's definitely a last-gen game.

But with that said, I'd having fun with it.  It's still solid and the voice acting is very well done (even if my TV/PS3 can't figure out the levels). 

[ereecmar]

Just finished the checkpoint, took about 3 hours. 

I was frustrated with the first boss battle because I thought that the enemies would infinitely respawn.  Unfortunately, you can't hurt the boss while the enemies are there.  There are a few wonky things like this; it's definitely a last-gen game.

But with that said, I'd having fun with it.  It's still solid and the voice acting is very well done (even if my TV/PS3 can't figure out the levels). 

Hmm, had no idea about that. I always go about games by beating all the lesser enemies before killing the boss for a good dramatic effect.

Voice acting is good, but the sound ain't all that great. Not very sharp, but I'll forgive it.

I forget who said it in the Checkpoint 0 thread, but I also agree and enjoy the banter between the prince and Farah. It makes the game seem less lonely which you used to find a lot in the action/platformer genre. Since last gen actually, it seems like a lot of the action adventure games have added a sidekick or partner (ie Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank). I also enjoy the fact that the prince also has internal monologue for when he's walking down a longer hallway or Farah is absent. It keeps the game flowing a little more smoothly.

I wish that there were a more variety of enemies, but then again this game is mainly based on platforming, with a cool time manipulating mechanism. Being able to use the environment to attack your enemies was a nice touch as well.

@Boston: You played the 2008 Prince of Persia, right? How was that compared to Sands? Albeit the games are five years (and a whole generation) apart, how differently does it play so far when concerning the puzzles/platforming?

@Anyone: Are the sequels to Sands worth picking up? I've heard they weren't great, and the character of the prince dramatically changes.

[jackinanxbox]

@Anyone: Are the sequels to Sands worth picking up? I've heard they weren't great, and the character of the prince dramatically changes.

I really enjoyed the sequels, personally speaking, hard to remember exactly but I can't remember the gameplay changing all that much. If my memory serves me well, the Warrior Within is slightly more action/fighting oriented and the Two Thrones is hard to recall, All I remember is they added chariot races.....

Probably not that helpful, although I imagine you could pick them up quite cheap.

Incidentally the 2008 version isn't wildly dissimilar, main differences being 2008 feels slightly more open world, you can't die, the weirdest thing about the 2008 version is that if you take the time yourself to go through the combos it's actually quite a complex fighter, but the game itself never encourages you to explore the vast amount of combos...

[Boston]

@Boston: You played the 2008 Prince of Persia, right? How was that compared to Sands? Albeit the games are five years (and a whole generation) apart, how differently does it play so far when concerning the puzzles/platforming?

I really, really enjoyed PoP 2008 mostly because of the world, the graphics, and the banter between the princess and the main character.  I don't recall the puzzles being too hard in 2008.  The biggest difference was the one-on-one fights in 2008 compared to the couple of people you fight against in SoT. 

Jackinanxbox is correct, too; the battle system in 2008 is pretty deep, but it never encourages you to explore it. 

I did pick up Warrior Within when I picked up SoT, so I think I'll go through the other two games in the trilogy after this one is done.  I'm surprised that there wasn't a trilogy box set like the MGS set. 

[soulmanim3]

@Anyone: Are the sequels to Sands worth picking up? I've heard they weren't great, and the character of the prince dramatically changes.

Incidentally the 2008 version isn't wildly dissimilar, main differences being 2008 feels slightly more open world, you can't die, the weirdest thing about the 2008 version is that if you take the time yourself to go through the combos it's actually quite a complex fighter, but the game itself never encourages you to explore the vast amount of combos...

There were so many silly combos in the 2008 version. The only way the game encouraged you to explore the extended combat features was by going for the achievement for doing every combo in the game. Which is almost impossible since none of the enimies are strong enough to survive a beating like that.

[druid42]

I had to put down the controller and turn off the PS2 before something got destroyed.  That first boss fight you guys mentioned has me frustrated to no end.  I can't seem to kill enough of the non-boss dudes before they kill me, and one time I couldn't kill enough of 'em before they killed Farah.  I've even restarted from the last save point so I can go into the fight with full health, but the controls are just janky enough that I have a hard time getting to the boss fight without messing up some jump and getting hit by a twirling blade or missing a hand hold.  I'll give it another go after I've had time to cool down.

And Boston, I don't think it's the PS3 that is giving you problems with sound; the game is doing the same thing for me with my PS2.  I have to turn the sound way up to hear the voice acting, especially during cutscenes, but then I have to turn the volume down during action scenes.

[Boston]

I had to put down the controller and turn off the PS2 before something got destroyed.  That first boss fight you guys mentioned has me frustrated to no end.  I can't seem to kill enough of the non-boss dudes before they kill me, and one time I couldn't kill enough of 'em before they killed Farah.  I've even restarted from the last save point so I can go into the fight with full health, but the controls are just janky enough that I have a hard time getting to the boss fight without messing up some jump and getting hit by a twirling blade or missing a hand hold.  I'll give it another go after I've had time to cool down.

I guess I should post how I beat the boss battle, eh?   I killed the red guys normally (hop over them and slash them in the back), but I killed the blue guys by freezing them with the dagger and cutting them in half (two normal attacks in a row).  That made them a hell of a lot easier to kill and I used that method to finally kill the boss (who you just keep vaulting over until he's dead). 

[PKS Sauce]

I haven't started to play this game yet (waiting on the post from gamefly) where does this game fit into the PoP timeline? I read the words "trilogy," is this the first game of the three?

[Boston]

I haven't started to play this game yet (waiting on the post from gamefly) where does this game fit into the PoP timeline? I read the words "trilogy," is this the first game of the three?

As I've heard, it's the first in the trilogy of Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and Two Thrones.  The 2008 PoP has nothing to do with these three games, though Forgotten Sands is the same prince as the trilogy. 

At least, I think.  It's all a bit confusing to me as a newcomer to the series (well, the 3D series).  I don't believe either of these princes have anything to do with the original series either. 

[druid42]

I guess I should post how I beat the boss battle, eh?   I killed the red guys normally (hop over them and slash them in the back), but I killed the blue guys by freezing them with the dagger and cutting them in half (two normal attacks in a row).  That made them a hell of a lot easier to kill and I used that method to finally kill the boss (who you just keep vaulting over until he's dead). 

Thanks for the help, Boston.  That's exactly what I did, and it ended up working.  To prove how terrible I am at video games, by the time I got to the boss I only needed to jump over him once and slash, and he was dead.  Since I couldn't do any damage to him while the rest of the guys were alive, I'm guessing Farah was able to do a bunch of damage while I took my time killin'.

PoP 2008 was my first and only experience with Prince of Persia up until today, so that's the only game I can compare this one to, fairly or not.  Surprisingly enough, I think the two compare pretty favorably.  The art style is very similar, and that surprised me, although I'm not sure why.  Even the platforming architecture (i.e. the ledges and hanging poles, etc.) and mechanics are pretty much the same between both games.  The "verticality" comes through just as well in Sands of Time, and I think that says something considering I'm playing it on the PS2.

One big difference between the two games is that PoP 2008 was a lot more lenient upon death.  While Sands of Time has a "reverse time" mechanic, it's still finite and you can still die, forcing you to trudge back to an almost arbitrary point in the game to try, try again.  I'm finding that almost as frustrating as the first boss battle, and I think the developers realized it wasn't really necessary when designing PoP 2008.

Other than that I'm enjoying the game, although I think the story is a lot thinner than I'd like.  I couldn't tell if King Solomon was naive or evil during the opening scenes (I finally figured out he was the boss in the first boss battle), and Farah keeps mentioning that only she can fix what went wrong, but Prince never asks her what she's talking about (of course).  So, does anybody know exactly what we're trying to do, other than fix the Sands... of Time?

[Rakarr]

Don't worry druid the story does pick up and hell you may cry near the end.

I don't wanna spoil any thing on accident so imma just shut it lol. But I don't recall Farah she only one that could fix things when really no one but the Prince can. Anyways imma bout to start playing if my ps2 will work lol.

.... anyone know a full accurate ps3 b/c list?

[Boston]

.... anyone know a full accurate ps3 b/c list?

Here's Sony's official site: http://us.playstation.com/support/compatiblestatus/

[Rakarr]

Well just got to the checkpoint.... maybe this game is shorter than I remember or I just remember the game better than I thought I would.

Well my thoughts on how well this game has held up against time.... Voice acting, music, pretty much all the audio is great. Controls and gameplay are still pretty great though not perfect control with jumping and the combat feels slower than I remember but I still like how enemies are kinda like a puzzle themselves figuring how to kill them exactly. The visuals actually haven't held up to the test of time as well as other last gen games. Fact is is that some games older than this on the ps2 at least have held up looking great on the console still. (VF4 for example)

All in all this is still one of my top ten most favorite single games of all time. And honestly nothing like this game since it came out is at all close to having as good design. (Puzzles, lvls)

Anyways I do wanna warn everyone that this game does have a game breaking glitch at one point in the game. Ill do some research to get all the specifics for you all so you an avoid it.

[Rakarr]

K about this glitch.... its at the end of "The Hall of Learning" chapter which is 67% in. Its a save glitch that from what I can gather happens kinda randomly. Just to be safe either save in a new save slot at this point or just skip the save altogether. What happens is Farah is helping but ends up not doing what she suppose to making it so you cannot progress.

Anyways now you've been warned lol

[druid42]

Well just got to the checkpoint.... maybe this game is shorter than I remember or I just remember the game better than I thought I would.

Well my thoughts on how well this game has held up against time.... Voice acting, music, pretty much all the audio is great. Controls and gameplay are still pretty great though not perfect control with jumping and the combat feels slower than I remember but I still like how enemies are kinda like a puzzle themselves figuring how to kill them exactly. The visuals actually haven't held up to the test of time as well as other last gen games. Fact is is that some games older than this on the ps2 at least have held up looking great on the console still. (VF4 for example)

All in all this is still one of my top ten most favorite single games of all time. And honestly nothing like this game since it came out is at all close to having as good design. (Puzzles, lvls)

Anyways I do wanna warn everyone that this game does have a game breaking glitch at one point in the game. Ill do some research to get all the specifics for you all so you an avoid it.

First, thanks for confirming that the story gets better, Rakarr.  That's good to know.  As far as Farah being the only person that can fix things, that's just what she has yelled twice now, and I believe she's mentioned it in more dulcet tones more than once.  I know and you know the Prince is the protagonist, but she's apparently oblivious.

I thought the same thing about the graphics not really holding up.  They actually remind me a bit of the screen shots from Dark Cloud (the first one), where the background is mostly barren, but then I just compared it to PS1 games and now I think it might be the prettiest game I've seen in over ten years (not really, but you know what I mean).

The puzzles would be better if the game were able to intuitively guess what you're trying to do as far as jumps go.  I don't know how many times I've had to restart a section or rewind time because the game thought I was jumping one way when I wasn't.  This might have more to do with camera work, I'm not sure.  This is really a problem when you've got a timed run after pulling out one of those zip chord handles and the door you need to get through is slowly closing.

[PKS Sauce]

I'm about 14% through three game, and I find the plat forming is really frustrating. when I want him to run up a wall, he seems to want to run along the side wall. he his the far wall and instead of running up it, he stops and there is an annoying suction sound.

I also can barely hear the voice acting. I've worked my settings, but's off.

I hope it gets better!

[tomsey04]

I haven't started to play this game yet (waiting on the post from gamefly) where does this game fit into the PoP timeline? I read the words "trilogy," is this the first game of the three?

As I've heard, it's the first in the trilogy of Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and Two Thrones.  The 2008 PoP has nothing to do with these three games, though Forgotten Sands is the same prince as the trilogy. 

At least, I think.  It's all a bit confusing to me as a newcomer to the series (well, the 3D series).  I don't believe either of these princes have anything to do with the original series either. 

The Forgotten Sands is supposed to take place after the Sands of Time and before the Warrior Within. The 2008 POP has nothing to do with this prince.

[Rakarr]

Once you grasp the controls it controls very fluidly. The camera cutting in some spots really is what messes thingas up when platforming. And actually back then the camera was better than almost all but I'd say camera controls have got better this gen.

[ereecmar]

Don't worry druid the story does pick up and hell you may cry near the end.

Oh man, I'm the complete opposite with this game. I felt the story was kind of weak. I guess we'll talk about it when we finish the game, but to each his own, I suppose. Maybe I'm too used to RPGs with "massive" storylines and plot twists.

@Druid: Well it depends on what you think is evil. If invading kingdoms and taking in their women as concubine are evil, then I suppose he was. He was definitely naive about the whole Sands of Time thing though, as were most people. I'm pretty sure only the vizier and Farah knew about it.

This happen to anyone yet - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycf7zwxo6mc

I hate it when I accidentally let go of L1 during a rewind, and it can only go back to that moment in time. It's been the death of me many times in the past.

[Rakarr]

The development of the Prince and Farahs relationship throughout the whole game is the best parts of the story and makes me love their characters. Anyways yeah it gets better as you go I would say but the part about the hour glass and restore the sands is pretty straight forward for the most part. The story of the sands continues and gets more confusing with the two sequels.

[soulmanim3]

So I just finished the now infamous boss fight in the first checkpoint. I died many a time because I entered that fight with less than 25% health. At some point during the battle enemies began respawning. I would clear the room of Reds and try to go get some water. As I'm taking a drink, 6 more Reds would show up. I had to keep trying until I had a flawless battle.... that sucked. Wall running, puzzles, and climbing are pretty fun, but the game kind of feels slow compared to current generation PoP titles.

This is not a game I would suggest using a wireless controller for. I have been getting some crazy input lag on PS2. You don't get that with RPGs 

So last generation all Ubisoft human characters looked the same much like this generation. The Prince looks a lot like Jade. NPCs looked generic like they do now. Also, why is Ubisoft still making games with animations that can't be cancelled? You can get destroyed while taking a drink in PoP, shot in the back while trying to throw a grenade in Rainbow Six, and murdered while trying to leap over objects in Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell. Finally, why in a cinematic game such as this is there no subtitles? I have little clue (not that it is all that important in a PoP game) what is going on in the story because I was listening to a podcast while playing. 

[PKS Sauce]

I wonder what we are playing the game on, and if it makes any difference to game play mechanics and graphics? I am playing the GameCube version on my Wii.

[ereecmar]

I wonder what we are playing the game on, and if it makes any difference to game play mechanics and graphics? I am playing the GameCube version on my Wii.

I'm playing the PS2 version on the PS2 (no backwards compatibility on my PS3  ). To be honest, it doesn't look too good graphically, especially three years into the PS2's life. Or maybe it's just my HDTV.

[PKS Sauce]

Just finished the checkpoint.  The first boss does stink as much as everyone has said.  Thank you Boston for the tip on the blue guys.

I cannot stand when the girl talks to me... She is so annoying...