Prince of Persia
Hacker ApprovedTied for most recommended of 11 platformers
Influential 1989 side-scrolling platformer praised for smooth animation, atmosphere and nostalgia. Critics mainly find it very difficult and say one mechanic is annoying.
Influential 1989 side-scrolling platformer praised for smooth animation, atmosphere and nostalgia. Critics mainly find it very difficult and say one mechanic is annoying.
41 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 37
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 37 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 9.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Smooth, lifelike character animation
“I love the mouse animation, the "mirror" prince, and many other amazing details!”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” “it was pretty impressive how he made the animations sophisticated and smooth”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “How Pizza Tycoon simulated traffic on a 25 MHz CPU” “it felt so fluid and realistic”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “How the Little Guy Moved” - Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “Analyzing Frontier Model Progress with My Favourite Game: Prince of Persia”
Nostalgia and fond childhood memories
“got a playable and enjoyable game bringing back good ol' memories”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “What reversing, modernising old games tells us about the economic impact of AI” “I have a soft spot for Prince of Persia”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” “it will always have a place in my heart”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” - Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia”
Ahead of its time, innovative
“I was also wowed by Prince of Persia (1989); it was ahead of its time in that period.”
Comment from 22 Nov 2025 in “Lester: A New Era for Rotoscoping in Indie Animation and Retro Game Development” “way outside everything else that was available at the time”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” “Each level was a genuine act of discovery and innovation.”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” - Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia”
Atmospheric sound and graphics
“I actually rewired my internal PC speaker to a big external speaker just so that I could hear the music/sfx of the game in all its glory.”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” “The graphics of Prince of persia took me to those dungeons more effectively than any 4k ray traced modern game could...”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” “the technical limitations are almost inseparable from the magic”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Very difficult, hard to progress
“It was also incredibly difficult. As a kid I couldn’t go beyond the first level.”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia” “Drink the potion equal to the number of letters in the third word all the other potions killed you”
Comment from 1 Apr 2026 in “Ask HN: What was it like in the era of BBS before the internet?”
Other platformers people recommend
The four most recommended other platformers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of PersiaThis page | 37 | 4 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Super Mario 64 | 37 | 7 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Celeste | 19 | 3 | 86% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Flashback (1992 video game) | 8 | 1 | 89% | 6 | — | — |
| Cave Story | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
37 of the 43 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I think Prince of Persia is one of the only games I beat.”
“I also loved Prince of Persian for the 486. That one I actually beat.”
“could you please just fucking leave one good thing unsullied!?”
“Prince of Persia did a pretty good job”
“got a playable and enjoyable game bringing back good ol' memories”
“contemplative, subtle, beautifully, artistically minimal motion puzzle art”
“the latest prince of Persia game is really fun”
“Each level was a genuine act of discovery and innovation.”
“Prince of Persia was great”
“way outside everything else that was available at the time”
“Those perfectly timed jumps necessary to move to the next level are etched in my memory”
“one of my favorite games from my youth”
“made it feel less like an arcade score mechanic and more like part of the story”
“the technical limitations are almost inseparable from the magic”
“It's a great and novel game”
“Still held up 30 years later”
“the controls were incredibly unresponsive”
“At that time it was a really great game.”
“The graphics of Prince of persia took me to those dungeons more effectively than any 4k ray traced modern game could...”
“It’s a great game, but that particular mechanic is …kind of annoying.”
“I love the mouse animation, the "mirror" prince, and many other amazing details!”
“But I also didn't like it very much”
“it will always have a place in my heart”
“I didn't expect that kind of thing from a game”
“It was also incredibly difficult. As a kid I couldn’t go beyond the first level.”
“Such an absolute classic.”
“plenty of "wasted" hours playing that game”
“I have a soft spot for Prince of Persia”
“I actually rewired my internal PC speaker to a big external speaker just so that I could hear the music/sfx of the game in all its glory.”
“this game was perfect from every angle”
“There is a satisfying parry mechanic.”
“Enough to run the Prince of Persia, Doom or so”
“it was pretty impressive how he made the animations sophisticated and smooth”
“Drink the potion equal to the number of letters in the third word all the other potions killed you”
“it felt so fluid and realistic”
“with a few bugs but still”
“I was also wowed by Prince of Persia (1989); it was ahead of its time in that period.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.