A crown isn't the only thing lost in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. With a design like this, you'll often find yourself lost wondering what you're supposed to do, where you're supposed to go, and how to get there.
Yes, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an authentic Metroidvania, with all the throwbacks and carefully distributed upgrades that come with the genre.
"Metroidvania" is a subgenre of action-adventure or platform games that focuses on guided non-linearity and utility-dependent exploration and progression.
This is on top of a detailed and often difficult combat system.
Don't rush into this Metroidvania, or should we say "Persivania," if you're not prepared.
Here are 10 beginner tips for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
1. PLAY IN GUIDED MODE
When you start Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, you are given the choice between two operational game modes:
- Exploration Mode is exactly what it sounds like, giving you minimal guidance on where to go for missions and side quests.
- Guided Mode offers a bit more structure, highlighting objects on your map. Guided Mode also indicates whether or not you can access certain passages based on the upgrades you've unlocked.
If you're up for a challenge and don't mind getting lost from time to time, opt for Explore Mode. But for our money, Guided Mode is the way to go. The icons are generally inconspicuous (they only appear when you open the map). Having immediate knowledge that you can't go a certain way saves you time trying to find a solution where there isn't one. And don't worry – you're very likely to get lost occasionally.
And if you ever want to remove the training, you can always change the game settings.
2. Fariba WILL GIVE YOU TIPS
If you ever get stuck, head to Haven – your refuge area, located in the Lower Town – and talk to Fariba (sitting next to the Wizard's shop). For 30 Time Crystals (The Lost Crown's standard currency), she'll give you a vague hint about where to go next. The hints are never as clear as "Go there and do that." But she may tell you that a statue with wings can help you climb to a new area, hinting that you should look for a statue that fits that description. Her advice is especially useful when playing in Exploration Mode.
3. DON'T MISS THE BONUS TUTORIALS
There are more training courses beyond the initial stage of the training program, and they are really useful – as you learn new tricks and earn money for free.
In Haven, talk to Artaban (in the northeast corner). He'll offer you a series of lessons that expand on moves you learned in the initial training stage, imparting knowledge you may not have realized, such as the fact that you can deflect artillery or combine series with your bow. You'll also earn 50 gold time crystals for each lesson you complete.
New lessons become available periodically as you unlock more skills throughout The Lost Crown. Check back often to take advantage of them.
4. DON'T TRY TO PARRY EVERYWHERE
Sargon looks across at an attacking enemy with a yellow glow in Prince of Persia The Lost Crown.
If you skip the optional classes, at least take the time to learn to do Paranoia - easily the most valuable move at your disposal. To know when to do Paranoia or not, watch the enemy's attack and see if it emits a glow of a certain color:
- White attacks can be eliminated with paranoia.
- Yellow attacks can be cancelled with paranoia. Successfully paranoizing a yellow attack instantly kills weak enemies and deals multiple damage to bosses.
- Red attacks cannot be stopped with paranoia. Practice your dance!
5. FOLLOW THE GOLDEN LEAVES
Wak-Wak trees are essentially the checkpoints of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Interacting with them restores your health and arrows, and allows you to change equipped Amulets (accessories that grant perks) or Athra surges (special moves). When you die, you will be resurrected at the last Wak-Wak tree you recently touched, as indicated by a blue circle on your map, as shown below:
If you're looking for the nearest Wak-Wak tree, look out for the golden leaves flying in the wind:
Following the wind direction will lead you to a Wak-Wak tree. Be careful, though, as interacting with a tree will cause all enemies to respawn.
6. CHECK FOR HIDDEN WALLS
In The Lost Crown, most walls are just walls, but some are hidden doors. It will look like a regular wall. Your map will give no indication that there is anything on the other side. But if you hit the wall, it will start to glow. A few more hits will break it down, revealing either a new hallway or a room containing some treasure.
Basically, if you find yourself at a dead end, knock on all the walls in the room to make sure you don't miss a hidden door.
7. DON'T BE AFRAID TO DIE
Death in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown isn't as much of an issue as it is in other games of the same genre — which is a good thing, given the difficulty of the combat system. Every time you die, you'll lose a few gold crystals, but you won't have to walk all the way back to where you died to get the rest back. Compared to Hollow Knight, that's not the case.
During major boss battles, restarting is even more forgiving. You won't even be returned to a Wak-Wak tree, and you'll still have the option to simply start from the beginning of the battle. (If you want to change Amulets and Athra surges, however, you'll have to return to the nearest Wak-Wak tree.)
8. MEMORY SHARDS CAN HELP YOU RETURN
It's the golden rule of the genre: If you can't do X, come back when you can. You might come across an impenetrable broken wall that glows with golden light, or a gap that you clearly can't jump across. In Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, you don't have to memorize these obstacles.
Pressing down on the D-pad consumes a resource called a “memory shard,” which marks the location on your map and captures a snapshot of its photo. You can view these photos from your map at any time, allowing you to check out the room before walking all the way back and realizing, no, you don’t actually have the necessary upgrade yet.
Remember, however, that memory shards are a finite resource, and you don't get them back once you clear them from your map.
9. UPGRADE YOUR BOTTLE CAPACITY FIRST
At the merchants in Haven, you can upgrade the power of your swords and bow, in addition to increasing how many flasks you can carry and how powerful those flasks are. Before you invest in anything else, buy an extra flask. In the early stages, when you're low on health, you'll want to be able to heal yourself more than once — especially when navigating long stretches between checkpoints and facing enemy spawns.
Your bottles are refreshed every time you reach a Wak-Wak tree.
10. GET THE SHIELD OF THE MITHRAS AMULET IMMEDIATELY
Amulets are essential accessories in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Get the Mithras Guardian amulet as soon as possible. When you wear it, it causes your lane to create a small bubble, inside which all enemies move in slow motion. (You can upgrade the amulet to increase the size of this bubble.)
Shortly after your first visit to the Hyrcanian Forest, head to Haven. Talk to Kaheva, who runs a blacksmith shop behind the glowing door that opens when you return. She'll give you the "Ancient Powered Unearthed" quest. It's a fairly simple platforming challenge: head to one end of the Lower City area, you're tasked with finding a piece of ore, and you have to jump over some sharp logs to get it. When you do, bring the piece of ore back to Kaheva to complete "Ancient Power Unearthed" and earn the Mithras' Protector amulet.
If you're looking for more amulets, check out our guide to every amulet in The Lost Crown (that we've found so far).
Source: polygon
