ArkaEvren
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

GAME · 2004 · CANADA

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Platforms
PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube

34 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

34 Interesting Facts About Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Interesting Facts (7)

  1. #001

    If you rewind time during the moments when the Dahaka is chasing the Prince, the beast's eerie murmurs turn into intelligible English.

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  2. #002

    Finding all the life upgrades and obtaining the Water Sword changes the game's ending; the Empress of Time does not die and leaves the island together with the Prince.

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  3. #003

    It is the only game in the series' first reboot trilogy in which the Prince is not voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. Robin Atkin Downes provided the voice, in keeping with the character's more mature appearance in this game.

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  4. #004

    Unlike most enemies in the game, the Crow Master does not attack while the Prince is defenseless and patiently waits for him to get back on his feet.

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  5. #005

    The cutscene around the middle of the game in which the Prince puts on the Sand Wraith mask is considered one of the most terrifying video game cutscenes.

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  6. #006

    The Prince can find Rayman's hand and a hockey stick as secret weapons.

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  7. #007

    Despite positive reviews, the game was heavily criticized for its dark tone, overly sexualized characters, graphic violence, and the Prince's new look and attitude. Fans complained that all of this was far removed from the 'One Thousand and One Nights'-inspired look of the previous game, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003). Jordan Mechner, co-creator of 'Sands of Time', also stated that he did not approve of the artistic changes made by the design team. These criticisms undoubtedly led to a return to a more cheerful and lighter atmosphere in the sequel, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (2005).

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Production Story (13)

  1. #008

    Senior producer Yannis Mallat considered The Sands of Time short, so Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was designed to be three times longer, with more fleshed-out level design and combat.

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  2. #009

    Because the Sands of Time powers were judged unessential to the first game's gameplay and rarely used, Warrior Within integrated them more deeply through moments requiring specific actions.

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  3. #010

    Prince of Persia: Warrior Within adopted a more open-ended world for greater freedom, with its different time periods enabling level design changes, and it reused concepts and enemies cut from the previous game.

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  4. #011

    The Prince's drape-sliding move in Warrior Within came from a fan suggestion on the Ubisoft forums, while the free-form combat system allowing weapon switching and use of the environment grew out of his new persona as a hardened, skilled fighter.

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  5. #012

    For Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, the pre-production team approached Mallat wanting a darker direction than The Sands of Time. Mallat believed the Prince in The Sands of Time lacked something despite being a good character, and the darker approach matched his wish to evolve the series and was approved by Ubisoft's marketing team.

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  6. #013

    An early concept by The Sands of Time director Patrice Désilets, Prince of Persia: Assassin, in which the player controlled a group of assassins guarding the Prince, developed into its own game, Assassin's Creed, which kept Désilets away from the sequel.

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  7. #014

    The art of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was made on computers through an incremental process that began with broad strokes to set the mood before finer detail was added, and its overall artistic and character design also drew on the movie adaptations of The Lord of the Rings.

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  8. #015

    The Prince's redesign in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was led by artists Mikael Labat and Nicolas Bouvier, who initially produced hybrid designs blending his Sands of Time look before deciding the team was not being radical enough.

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  9. #016

    For Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, the Prince's new armor was designed as interlaced leather straps that provided protection while allowing him the freedom to perform acrobatic movements.

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  10. #017

    Stuart Chatwood, composer of The Sands of Time and a member of the Canadian rock band The Tea Party, returned to compose the in-game music for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. He joined the project early, with Ubisoft supplying concept art and gameplay videos to inspire his music.

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  11. #018

    Multimedia composer Inon Zur joined Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, focusing on cutscenes and "big battles"; Ubisoft brought him on board to provide orchestral music for cutscenes as a contrast to the in-game music, and his work was performed by the Hollywood Studio Orchestra and recorded at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank.

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  12. #019

    Two Godsmack tracks, "I Stand Alone" and "Straight Out of Line", were licensed for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within alongside its original music, and their use was mostly limited to encounters with the Dahaka.

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  13. #020

    A soundtrack release for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within in English proved impossible because of technical problems with the music contract.

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Behind the Scenes (8)

  1. #021

    Prince of Persia: Warrior Within ran on the same Jade engine as The Sands of Time; after a Sony representative said the PlayStation 2's technical limits had been reached, the team adjusted the engine to gain more performance and larger environments, and targeted 30 frames per second to free computing power for other parts of the world.

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  2. #022

    Some of the story of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was communicated outside cutscenes, as the team aimed for a more interactive story experience. Hugues Martel, lead animator for The Triplets of Belleville, served as an advisor and concept artist for the cutscenes and storyboards, working with art director Raphaël Lacoste.

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  3. #023

    Prince of Persia: Warrior Within dropped the original game's style of narration by a character, a change that Mallat later felt meant "something was lost" from the presentation.

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  4. #024

    The art direction of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was shaped by its storyline to become darker and more oppressive, with a monochromatic palette used to keep the design consistent across the game's areas and to convey both narrative and gameplay.

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  5. #025

    The CGI cutscene animations in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within were based on live-action footage shot during pre-production with members of Two Worlds Theatre, using minimal props and outfits across two days.

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  6. #026

    While some of the Prince's movement sounds carried over from The Sands of Time, most of the environmental and enemy sound design in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was newly created.

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  7. #027

    The sound design of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within aimed for a visceral style so players would feel as though they were cutting down real enemies, and it included a wider range of enemy sounds such as garbled voice lines.

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  8. #028

    For Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, the music shifted in a darker direction to match the game's tonal change, with Ubisoft seeking a "heavy sounding score" that used heavy metal for action and fight sequences while ambient themes accompanied exploration.

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Characters & Cast (3)

  1. #029

    The voice of the Prince in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was recast from The Sands of Time, with Robin Atkin Downes replacing Yuri Lowenthal. In a later interview, Lowenthal said he believed this was a conscious decision by Ubisoft to match the game's overall tonal shift, and he thought it was the right decision.

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  2. #030

    Lead sound designer Jonathan Pilon explained that the Prince's voice change in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was necessary because of the character's more hardened and world-worn portrayal, and because the new voice better suited his redesigned appearance.

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  3. #031

    Kaileena in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is voiced by Italian actress Monica Bellucci. She accepted the role out of interest in the story and her liking of Kaileena's personality and her position as someone who knows their fate.

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Easter Eggs & References (1)

  1. #032

    The panning camera shots in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within that show large environments and interactive elements were directly inspired by Jackie Chan's work.

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Deeper Meaning (2)

  1. #033

    The plot of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was chosen to be about more than saving the world or a damsel, focusing instead on the story of the Prince of Persia and who he really is. The final narrative and aesthetic tone was described as closer to survival horror, with the Prince made more mature and potentially relatable than in The Sands of Time.

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  2. #034

    In Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, each time period was given opposing palettes and elements: the present appears desaturated with vegetation overtaking buildings, while the past uses brighter colors and a luxurious yet still intimidating look.

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Sources & editorial notes

Sources for the entries on this page

  1. Wikipedia Prince of Persia: Warrior Within — WikipediaEncyclopedia · accessed 18 Sep 2026

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