Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner offered some humorous commentary on the recent fan backlash against Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The new Prince of Persia game was announced at the 2023 Summer Game Fest to a largely positive live audience response, but the initial online reactions to its reveal appeared to skew negative.
In the days that followed its unveiling, the first trailer for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was flooded with dislikes, as many fans apparently took issue with some of Ubisoft Montpellier's creative choices. As of June 13, over a dozen of the trailer's most liked comments on YouTube are all criticizing the developers over everything from the video's inclusion of rap music to the protagonist's hairstyle.
The series creator, Jordan Mechner, subsequently took online to comment on the backlash concerning the appearance of the game's main character, Sargon. In a June 12 tweet, Mechner shared images of 25 past renditions of the series' protagonists, including everyone from the original 8-bit hero to Jake Gyllenhaal's live-action portrayal of the iconic prince and even a LEGO version of the character. He labeled the collage as "an official style sheet" for designing a Prince of Persia hero, cheekily concluding that this varied array of images will hopefully help settle any future character design debates among the fandom.
Although Mechner's commentary serves as a reminder that a radical protagonist redesign is nothing new for the franchise, it's worth highlighting that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's Sargon is not the titular prince but a new addition to the lore. As such, comparing his appearance to any past rendition of the actual Persian prince may be an exercise in futility.
While Mechner often said he's always open to making more Prince of Persia games, he doesn't have an active role in the development of The Lost Crown. But seeing how Ubisoft Montpellier has a pretty stellar track record encompassing critically acclaimed experiences such as Rayman Origins, Beyond Good and Evil, and Valiant Hearts: The Great War, it's safe to say that the upcoming Prince of Persia title is in good hands.
The game itself is touted as a 2.5D Metroidvania with a large open world and immense gameplay variety. Its story follows Sargon and his band of warriors on a quest to rescue the titular Persian prince, who has been kidnapped. Given how the game is seemingly signaling a return to the series' 2D platforming roots, some fans already see Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown as a sigh of relief for the long-dormant franchise.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown launches January 18, 2024, on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.