Best Prince of Persia Games on Nintendo Consoles

Jordan Mechner’s 1989 platformer built on the cinematic foundations of Karateka and started a franchise which has seen its share of ups (the Sands of Time reboot, the recent Lost Crown revival) and downs (the Sands of Time film, Prince of Persia 3D), but despite the occasional misfire or workaday entry, the series has endured for almost 35 years

But what’s the best Prince of Persia game? We’ve missed a handful on Nintendo consoles over the years (notably the underrated 2008 reboot), yet the vast majority of entries are playable on Nintendo platforms, with multiple different ports of the original.

There are 15 Prince of Persia games on Nintendo systems by our count, and to find out which is the best, we asked Nintendo Life readers to rate the ones they’ve played — and you can see the results below.

Prince of Persia: Battles of Prince of Persia (DS)

Canonically taking place between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within, Battles of Prince of Persia sees the series dip its toe into the realm of turn-based tactics to varying degrees of success.

The tactics system shines on the DS, with touchscreen controls making it simple to move units around the battlefield while keeping an eye on what’s happening thanks to the top screen. Unfortunately, the game’s additional card-battling elements never feel like they really gel with the turn-based combat, making battles needlessly complicated and quickly monotonous.

For fans of DS tactics games, this is probably worth checking out, but anyone after an introduction to the genre is likely better off looking elsewhere.

Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (DS)

You can’t knock Prince of Persia: The Fallen King’s originality. This fresh take on the franchise from Ubisoft was built solely for the DS with a touchscreen movement system, a new story and a smattering of unique mechanics which undoubtedly make the project a commendable big swing.

As is the case with so many touchscreen-controlled platformers, however, this action-adventure is let down in its movement, offering a scheme that is simple to grasp but quickly becomes tiresome. The additional magic commands from new character Zal bring a refreshing change to the combat system, but it lacks the hack-and-slash appeal that defined the series up until this point.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (DS)

Much like the corresponding Wii version, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands on DS represented a noble attempt at incorporating some of the console’s nuances into the gameplay. It’s praiseworthy for its reluctance to be another bare-bones port, but the end product is a mixed bag.

Utilising touchscreen controls is a tough sell for an action platformer, and The Forgotten Sands on DS is no exception. While the return of the rewind ability does help to alleviate some of these frustrations, those who are used to D-pad movement will find little here to convince them that this is a preferred method.

That said, the DS edition does contain a unique cult-based storyline set between Sands of Time and Warrior Within, so it’s worth a look for those looking to get completely up to date on their PoP lore.