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Developed by Domark and published by Sega in 1992. Follow me on Twitter: Add me on Google : Certain games that, when released, were instant classics and were ported to every system available. With it's revolutionary rotoscoped animation, sword combat and platforming action, it's easy to understand why publishers were so keen to push the game on to as many systems as possible. The Sega Game Gear and Master System received a Prince of Persia port courtesy of Domark in 1992. I still own the original Game Gear cartridge and, I have to say, it's remarkably accomplished for an 8-bit version. The core game mechanics are exactly same as the Apple II/Amiga/PC versions of the game, but it soon becomes apparent that the level designs have been reworked and extended. I can't say that the changes are for the better as some of the levels feature dead ends, or areas that the player can get trapped in, the only way out being through suicide. The sword combat is present, but the way the characters move means that it's all too easy to initiate a strike and have your opponent walk into the blow. It can end up feeling like button spam wins the day rather than fighting tactically. The final issue I have with the game is the slightly sluggish and unresponsive control scheme. There is a significant delay between pressing the button to perform a running jump and the animation actually playing out, which makes timing jumps tricky. The jump animation also has an annoying habit of transitioning from jump to falling at a sharp ninety-degree angle. The character travels horizontally for a certain number of pixels before falling straight downwards, which means that catching the edge of a distant ledge by your fingertips is next to impossible. Reading this, you might think that the game isn't particularly good. True enough, it has it's issues, but you learn to live with them. If you're looking for some Prince of Persia on the move then the Game Gear version certainly scratches the itch despite it's imperfections. The animation of the character sprites is genuinely excellent and very smooth; vital considering that the animation is a large part of what made the game so special in the first place. To the developer's credit, they even added a password system that would allow the player to resume play at a particular stage. It is also possible to reduce the length of time available to complete the game, as well as altering the level of starting health. Those who want a truly iron-man challenge can set the time limit to fifteen minutes and a single point of health. Sure, it has it's flaws, but Prince of Persia on the Game Gear/Master System does, in my opinion, uphold the name of the brand and is certainly worth playing. #retrogaming
