Key information
The original Prince of Persia was released on October 3, 1989, on the Apple II. Created by Jordan Mechner when he was in his early twenties, the game required four years of development, which included a six-month interruption for film writing projects. The personal computer hardware was already objectively outdated by the time the title launched.
Players take on the role of an unnamed hero who is thrown into a dungeon by the evil vizier Jaffar. The narrative tasks the player with navigating 12 trap-filled levels within a 60-minute ultimatum to save the princess, with most story details originally found in the game's box and manual.
Mechner pioneered the use of rotoscoping during development, recording his 15-year-old brother David performing physical movements to achieve fluid animations. Sword fighting combat sequences were inspired by the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Des Bois, specifically a profiled duel between Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn.
Initially a commercial failure on the Apple II, the title was heavily supported by publisher Brøderbund Software, which ordered numerous ports across 18 platforms. It ultimately sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.
