Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Game Review/Commentary 64

[madimpossibledreamer]

Come on!  There’s no time! [Farah]  I mean, you said you trust him earlier— 

How did he have this magic? 

Give me the dagger. [Vizier] I don’t think so.  The dagger!  He must not get the dagger! [Farah] Yeah, you’re the one who did stuff.  (Bad stuff.) 

I had faced him.  I had looked into his eyes.  And I had lost…everything. [Prince] 

A tomb. [Prince] …Hi.  I mean that’s… 

You were there!  The dagger was in your hand!  Why did you hesitate?  You think you’re cleverer than everybody, but you’re just like the rest of them.  The soldiers.  All they could do was fight.  Destroy.  Why did I trust you? [Farah] I mean, I can parkour.  (You’re meeting all my standards!)  And also where did this lack of trust come from?  I mean, to be fair, I did trust you the entire time because I knew you had an ulterior (I had trouble saying this word for some reason) motive and didn’t actually care about me specifically, but also, why.  (It seems very much like “sudden shift in trust level for the sake of plot not characterization”.  Unless it wasn’t actually about trust and was actually a Sands Infection/Corruption thing, which would be a super cool twist.  Not unique, that’s been done at least by Tolkien before this, but still.  I don’t actually remember the answer, so.  Speculating here.) 

Why didn’t you trust me? [Farah]  …Magic? 

Ow. [Farah] Sorry. [Prince]  What are you doing? 

I’m right here. [Prince] Hold my hand. Don’t let go. [Farah]  …Are you two doing what I think you’re doing?  ‘Cause this is not the time.  Prince, this is not the time. 

I’m sorry about what I said. [Farah] (No, you’re not.  You were upset about duty.  I’m pretty sure that’s the one thing you truly care about above everything else.  So you meant it.) 

No, you’re right.  All that’s happened is my doing.  I wanted honor and glory.  I brought this on us. [Prince] To be fair, the only thing— 

You are brave and good.  If this tomb is to be ours, at least the Dagger is to be buried with us.  And we are together.  [Farah]  Seriously, there is nothing on screen.  (I mean, they’re not making…noises, but it literally faded to black.) 

What is it? [Farah]  Nothing. [Prince]  (Just a voice in my head cockblocking me through annoying commentary.) 

What are you doing?  I just don’t like closed spaces. [Prince] Oh, interesting.  There must be some way out of here! [Prince] 

When I was small, my mother taught me a secret word.  She said that when I was afraid, all I had to do was speak that word. [Farah] 

Claustrophobia is actually probably why he learned to parkour like a maniac in the first place. 

And a magic door would open. [Farah]

(What, like the ones with magic possessy water we’ve been finding all over the place?) 

I’ve never told that to anybody. [Farah] I can see why.  It’s the most childish thing I’ve ever heard. [Prince] Rude.  What was the word? [Prince] You’re not even—  Kakolookiyam. [Farah] (Yes, I looked that up to figure out how to spell it.)  Kakolookiyam. [Prince] (door slides open) You did that, didn’t you?  Farah? [Prince]

You people are utterly useless.  What are you doing? 

…Are you actually going to play now?  I think it is actually going to play now.  I already watched this.  Oh.  I actually can’t skip through that part.  I should’ve stopped the recording earlier.  My mistake.  (Or, y’know, stopped playing the video.) 

You were there!  The dagger was in your hand!  Why did you hesitate? [Farah] Seriously, you’ve shot me in the back multiple times. 

You think you’re cleverer than everybody, but you’re just like the rest of them. The soldiers.  All they could do was fight.  Destroy.  [Farah] And I hit you once but I undid that with the Dagger; it doesn’t count. 

Why did I trust you? Why didn’t you trust me? [Farah] 

Again, seriously, why the fade to black?  *chuckles*

Ow. [Farah] Sorry. [Prince]  I’m right here. [Prince] Hold my hand. Don’t let go. [Farah] 

I’m very amused but also.  I mean, maybe it’s to put an emphasis on his breathing and the fact that he’s completely losing his mind, but.  (And if you think about it, an entirely black screen is a visual representation of claustrophobia.  So maybe it’s that??) 

I’m sorry about what I said. [Farah] No, you’re right.  All that’s happened is my doing.  I wanted honor and glory.  I brought this on us. [Prince] Look, if you didn’t necessarily trust her does not mean you’re blinded by glory. 

Seriously, I need to go back and see the library thing, but her acting is—you can somewhat tell that she doesn’t quite mean it.  She’s manipulating him.  But.  So I understand, but. 

I’ve never told that to anybody. [Farah] I can see why.  It’s the most childish thing I’ve ever heard. [Prince] Open sesame.  What was the word? [Prince] Kakolookiyam. [Farah] Kakolookiyam. [Prince] (door slides open) You did that, didn’t you?  Farah? [Prince]  And now we’re alone. 

Well, neither of us are alone when we have each other there, but still.  I… Farah? [Prince] Oh, those are not actually tr—where are we?  Why can we not actually look up?  (I don’t know what I was saying there.) 

Where are you?  [Prince] This is concerning. 

Oh, hey.  Hey.  It’s the blue curtains.  Do—do—am I staring at a wall again? 

Oh, this is so pretty.  And it even—they did the textures so there’s a glow on the gold parts as you move.  That’s so cool. 

Seriously, am I, like Persona 4, just staring at a wall?  Which we never figure out in canon what you’re actually doing when you go in a room.  (I remember a snarky comment from Junpei, though that might be a fanfic, and in Persona 2 and 1 everyone can go in, so your entire party knows about the Velvet Room…though despite the fact that they’re all there and you can talk to them they might not actually be physically inside either.  Myyyystery.  More so than whodunit.  My only clues I noticed came from Death Note.)