The unimaginatively titled Prince of Persia 3D is the third installment in the Prince of Persia series, and marks the series' leap to 3D. It was developed by Red Orb Entertainment and released for the PC in 1999. A Sega Dreamcast version, retitled Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights, was released in 2000 by Mattel Interactive (who briefly held the rights to the series in the wake of Brøderbund Software's collapse).
Tropes appearing in this game:
- Abnormal Ammo: A wide variety of magic arrows can be found (or made) throughout the game, ranging from flaming arrows, to life-stealing arrows, to body-swapping arrows, to arrows that summon a deadly horde of bees (yes, really).
- Artificial Limbs: Rugnor gets a mechanical hand after the princess cuts off his original one with his own sword.
- Chekhov's Gun: An old man the Prince meets while moving through the town gives him his flute, telling the Prince he used to perform the magic rope trick with it. Later in the level the Prince finds himself in a hole too deep to climb out of, but with a convenient coil of rope nearby...
- Diabolus ex Machina: The first time the Prince fights Rugnor, atop the dirigible, the fight ends with Rugnor apparently plummeting to his death. Moments later, he reappears, flying atop a giant bird, snatches the Princess, and escapes. The bird is never seen before or after this cutscene.
- Fake Difficulty: Prince of Persia 3D features some of the arguably worst controls the PC industry has ever seen. They are so delayed and the Prince moves so slow (not to mention his jog can be interrupted by practically anything in his path, no matter how easy to dodge) that it is nigh-impossible to enjoy whatever else the game has to offer (which is in fact a lot).
- Ground by Gears: The princess is threatened with being crushed between clock tower cogs in the game's finale. If you fail to defeat Rugnor in time, this does happen to her. However, once you defeat Rugnor, he himself falls into the machinery that kills him, but his mechanical hand gets stuck between the gears and puts the entire system to a stop just seconds before the princess gets crushed.
- Hand in the Hole: A guard opens a door by sticking his hand into a hole in the wall. If you try exactly the same immediately your arm is trapped and it's game over. You need a bracelet for it to work.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The Sultan blocks a throwing knife aimed at the Prince. He said with his death, the contract between he and his brother is now null.
- It's a Wonderful Failure: If you take too long in the final battle, you're treated to a cutscene wherein the princess is crushed by clock tower cogs, complete with crunching sounds and anguished scream, and the final boss wastes no time finishing off the horror-stricken Prince. Yeesh.
- No-Gear Level: The game begins with the Prince in a dungeon cell and without a weapon. Much like the first game the first level is focused on finding a sword. Later on, the Prince loses his weapons while dangling over a nasty drop, and is forced to dodge guards until he can find a quarterstaff. It is some time before he finds a replacement sword.
- Shared Life-Meter: An In-Universe example with a group of brothers who are workers on the dirigible. Each time one dies, the survivors grow stronger, meaning each successive one you meet has more hit points than the last.
- Third Is 3D: The third Prince of Persia game forgoes a subtitle (PC version at least) just to remind you that the series has made the jump to 3D.
