Prince of Persia was designed and programmed by Jordan Mechner and published by Broderbund for the Apple II on 3 October 1989. The DOS version was developed alongside it, shipped a few months later and became the basis for most other ports. The player has 60 minutes to escape the dungeons and reach the tower where the princess is held; dying restarts the level but not the clock.
The animation was rotoscoped. Mechner traced the platforming moves from footage of his younger brother David and the sword fights from the duel in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Sword fighting was added late in development, and it also gave rise to the Prince's shadow doppelgänger.
The game is considered the first cinematic platformer and influenced Another World, Flashback and Tomb Raider. It was ported widely, including several Japanese versions that look noticeably different. In April 2012 Mechner published the Apple II source code.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Prince of PersiaApple II original | Other | Oct 3, 1989 | Broderbund | 1 |
| NA | Prince of Persia | MS-DOS | April 1990 | Broderbund | 1 |
| NA | Prince of Persia | Genesis | February 1994 | Tengen | 1 |
| JP | プリンス・オブ・ペルシャdeveloped by Arsys Software | PC-98 | Jul 20, 1990 | Riverhillsoft | 2 |
| EU | Prince of Persiaported by Dan Gorlin | Amiga | December 1990 | Domark | 1 |
| None | Prince of PersiaAtari ST | Other | March 1991 | Broderbund | 1 |
| JP | プリンス・オブ・ペルシャ | X68000 | Apr 30, 1991 | Riverhillsoft | 2 |
| JP | プリンス・オブ・ペルシャSuper CD-ROM² | TurboGrafx-16 | Nov 8, 1991 | Riverhillsoft | 2 |
| JP | プリンス・オブ・ペルシャdeveloped by Arsys Software; Konami published it in the US and Europe | SNES | Jul 3, 1992 | Masaya | 2 |
| JP | プリンス・オブ・ペルシャdeveloped by Bits Laboratory | Sega CD | Aug 7, 1992 | Victor Musical Industries | 2 |
| None | Prince of Persiadeveloped by The Kremlin | Master System | Oct 1, 1992 | Domark | 1 |
| None | Prince of Persiadeveloped by MotiveTime; Mindscape published it in Europe | NES | 1992 | Virgin Games | 2 |
| EU | Prince of Persia | Sega CD | Apr 2, 1993 | Sega | 1 |
| EU | Prince of Persia | Genesis | March 1994 | Domark | 1 |
| None | Prince of Persia | Game Boy Color | 1999 | Red Orb Entertainment | 2 |
| None | Prince of PersiaVirtual Console (Game Boy Color version); the SNES version came to Wii Virtual Console the same day | Nintendo 3DS | Jan 19, 2012 | — | 1 |
Also known as: プリンス・オブ・ペルシャ JP2Принц Персии RU3
Box art by region
NA Prince of Persia
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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GameplaySNES
The SNES version is heavily reworked: 20 levels instead of 12, new traps and enemies, altered maps, new music, password saves and a two-hour time limit instead of one hour.2
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GraphicsPC-98
The PC-9801 version uses the computer's high resolution for more detailed graphics within a 7-color limit and has its own final boss.2
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GraphicsPC-98X68000Mac
For the Japanese computer ports, Arsys Software and Riverhillsoft redesigned the Prince with the turban and vest that later appeared in the Macintosh version and in later Broderbund games.1
How to run it today
No current storefront edition of the 1989 game was confirmed. Fans have reverse-engineered the DOS version, and the unofficial SDLPoP port runs it natively on modern Windows, macOS and Linux.1
Reception
Critics loved it, but at first it sold poorly in North America, with about 7,000 copies each on Apple II and IBM PC by July 1990. After the 1990 releases in Japan and Europe it took off, eventually reaching about 2 million copies worldwide.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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