History VideoGame / PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones

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* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Kaileena is killed by the Vizier and becomes the Sands of Time in order to set off the plot and make way for Farah. She is revived in the end, and declares that she will now seek out other worlds so that no one can ever abuse the power of the Sands again. This was actually quite well-received, given that most fans liked Farah better.]]

* BrokenAesop: The moral of the story is the Prince moving away from his darker ''Warrior Within'' characterisation, accepting that he has become selfish and cruel especially when on the Island of Time, and learning that he has been acting like a child by constantly seeking to use the Sands to undo his mistakes instead of owning up to them and accepting the consequences. The moral is broken in that the Dahaka desired to kill him for unleashing the Sands even after he reversed time so they were never opened, and he went to the Island to try and prevent the Sands from existing. Even while on the Island, he tried to talk to Kaileena to prevent his fate before resorting to violence and found his was stuck in a StableTimeLoop that required him to release the Sands in the first place. When you remember he was tricked by the Vizier and has no idea what would happen which makes him less blameless, the Prince is being judged for breaking the time loop that required him to die and wouldn't exist if he hadn't opened the Hourglass. However later games like ''VideoGame/BattlesOfPrinceOfPersia'' and the Wii version of ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'' do show him causing harm due to his short sightedness and poor decisions, meaning that retroactively the moral does still make some sense.

''Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones'' is a game released in 2005 to conclude the trilogy that began with ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' and continued with ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin''. It returned somewhat to the original's fairy-tale tone (with the arrogant Prince as a "dark side" of the character). It retained the basic combat changes made in ''Warrior Within'' with minor adjustments, but toned down the graphic violence. As well, the Prince was much more likable, and even had [[AuthorsSavingThrow regrets over his behavior in the previous game]]. Again following the events of the previous game, the Prince returns to his home Kingdom of Babylon only to find war erupting and enemies everywhere. He learns that messing with the timeline so much has skewed any sense of proper history and the Vizier of the first game is still alive. Seeking to complete his original goal of the first game, the Vizier unleashes the curse of the sands once more, this time partially corrupting the Prince himself. Finding a darkness within himself that transforms him into a dark creature, the Prince seeks to stop the Vizier once more and return things to their proper state.

''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' [[https://cards.pennyarcademerch.com/presents/page/prince-of-persia-the-two-thrones-page-1 made an eight-page comic]] for it.

* HonorBeforeReason: When the Prince first sees Zurvan in person, in his full god-like state, he immediately tries to take revenge by [[WhatAnIdiot rushing at him with a knife]].
** To his credit, he was working on the assumption that, since the dagger created Zurvan, maybe it could kill him too. But even the Dark Prince points out that this was a pretty big logical leap to base an entire strategy around.

* BrokenAesop: The moral of the story is the Prince moving away from his darker ''Warrior Within'' characterisation, accepting that he has become selfish and cruel especially when on the Island of Time, and learning that he has been acting like a child by constantly seeking to use the Sands to undo his mistakes instead of owning up to them and accepting the consequences. The moral is broken in that the Dahaka desired to kill him for unleashing the Sands even after he reversed time so they were never opened, and he went to the Island to try and prevent the Sands from existing. Even while on the Island, he tried to talk to Kaileena to prevent his fate before resorting to violence and found his was stuck in a StableTimeLoop that required him to release the Sands in the first place. When you remember he was tricked by the Vizier and has no idea what would happen, the Prince is being judged for breaking the time loop that required him to die. However later games like ''VideoGame/BattlesOfPrinceOfPersia'' and the Wii version of ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'' do show him causing harm due to his short sightedness and poor decisions, meaning that retroactively the moral does still make some sense.

* AllThereInTheManual: The game doesn't tell you anything about the invading army the Vizier commands, outside of mentioning that he killed the Maharaja and took over his kingdom suggesitng that their his army, making them come off as just a legion of {{Mooks}} to fight. The Bradygames strategy guide however, has much more information about them, detailing how they are made up of a massive collection of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians Scythian]] nomad tribes whose lands were being encroached upon by the Indian and Persian empires. With the loss of their traditional hunting grounds causing a food shortage, the Scythian tribes began to fragment and [[CripplingOverspecialization specialize in certain martial arts]], hence [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration the unique look of each enemy type.]] The Vizier was able to rally them to his side by promising them vengeance against both empires.

* AllThereInTheManual: The game doesn't tell you anything about the invading army the Vizier commands, making them come off as just a legion of {{Mooks}} to fight. The Bradygames strategy guide however, has much more information about them, detailing how they are made up of a massive collection of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians Scythian]] nomad tribes whose lands were being encroached upon by the Indian and Persian empires. With the loss of their traditional hunting grounds causing a food shortage, the Scythian tribes began to fragment and [[CripplingOverspecialization specialize in certain martial arts]], hence [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration the unique look of each enemy type.]] The Vizier was able to rally them to his side by promising them vengeance against both empires.

* GodhoodSeeker: The Vizier's ultimate plan thanks to the Sands of Time and the Dagger. It kinda works, transforming him in a NighInvulnerable WingedHumanoid with a glowing humanoid body who names himself after Zurvan, TopGod and predecessor of Zoroastrism in ancient Persia.

-->'''Dark Prince''': Are you sure you can drive this thing?\\
'''The Prince''': Let us hope! If I crash, it is the end for both of us!

* EnemySummoner: Sand Guards are EliteMook enemies guarding a nearby Sand Portal. If they spot you, they'll immediately try to activate said Portal, which will force you to fight through many guards to seal it. However, if you manage to keep the Sand Guards from summoning by killing them either in combat or by a Stealth Kill, the portal will remain unoperative. Fortunately even if they still manage it through, the summoned backups are still limited per portal.

-->'''Prince''': Oh, Father, give me guidance, lend me strength. Where have you gone? ''[beat]'' Father, gone… Wait, that's it!

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNoWhere: The Stone Guardian from the Gardens: one moment, you're traversing a lushful garden palace infested with enemies. Then, a huge monster made of roots, sand and stone emerges from a nearby crumbled turret to attack you, kinda like [[CallBack the Brutes]] from the previous game.Unlike them, you end up taking control of the beast to breakd down a series of gates until it falls dead from the wound and into running water.

-->'''Dark Prince''': "If I am selfish, Prince, it is because ''you'' are. If I am ruthless and reckless and lacking in morals, it is because '''''you''''' are! I did not spin myself out of the ether; I was not conjured by some mad Vizier. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis I. Am. You!]]"

-->'''Dark Prince''': If I was an enraged Sand god intent on killing you, and you had already slain two of my best lieutenants, well, I'd be inclined to try a less direct approach. One that exploits your new-found compassion.

* UniqueEnemy: The Stone Guardian. Massive, unique, unexplicably there, doesn't even have a healthbar.

''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' [[http://penny-arcade.com/presents/page/prince-of-persia-the-two-thrones-page-1 made an eight-page comic]] for it.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Due to the events of ''Warrior Within'', The events of the first game have been undone and the Vizier is back to try becoming immortal once again.