Beginning in 1989, Prince of Persia is one of the longest-running gaming franchises out there, coming out a few years after Super Mario Bros and predating the first Sonic the Hedgehog. It has some length holes between releases, however, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the first game in over a decade. This means fan expectations have changed drastically, even when it comes to the amount of content in the game. As a result, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will easily be the longest game in the entire Prince of Persia series.

Fully releasing on January 18, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown looks to finally break the series' 14-year-long absence, and it's doing so in a pretty bold way. Returning to the series' 2D roots, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is giving the franchise a modern Metroidvania overhaul, and while fans won't need to play the rest of the series before jumping into The Lost Crown, it'd actually be a much shorter process than some might think.

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How Long It Takes To Beat Every Prince of Persia Game

All stats below refer to the average time it takes to beat each Prince of Persia game's story, not including include any extra collectibles or side activities.

Game

Time to Beat

Source

Prince of Persia

2 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and The Flame

1 Hour

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia 3D

15.5 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

9 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

12 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

10 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia: The Fallen King

7 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia (2008)

11.5 Hours

How Long to Beat

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

8 Hours

How Long to Beat

Generally speaking, the Prince of Persia franchise tends to be on the shorter side, at least when it comes to just mainlining their core story content. The first two games in the series are notably short, with the first game being beatable in two hours and the second coming in at just one. To be fair, that was pretty much the norm for the time, with the aforementioned Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog taking just two hours each to beat as well.

There's then a huge leap in length between generations, with 1999's Prince of Persia 3D taking around 15 and a half hours to beat, which is a little ironic considering that it's often viewed as the worst Prince of Persia game. After that, the Prince of Persia franchise hits a pretty consistent stride, with most games hovering around that 10-hour completion mark. On the whole, it would take players just 76 hours to beat all nine Prince of Persia games listed above, which feels exceptionally low for such a long-running franchise. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown clocks in at nearly half that, after all.

How Long It Takes to Beat Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

prince-of-persia-lost-crown_key-art

During a recent conversation with Game Rant, narrative and animation director Jacques Exertier said this about how long it takes to beat Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown:

Jacques: Finishing the main storyline of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will take between 20 and 25 hours of gameplay. Discovering all the treasures, items, narrative extensions, and secondary quests will require approximately between 30 to 35 hours.

As such, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is easily the longest game in the entire franchise by quite a ways.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Tag Page Cover Art

Dash into a stylish and thrilling action-adventure platformer set in a mythological Persian world where the boundaries of time and space are yours to manipulate. Play as Sargon and evolve from sword-wielding prodigy to extraordinary legend as you master acrobatic combat and unlock new Time Powers and unique super abilities.

UNLEASH YOUR INNER WARRIOR
Use your Time Powers, combat, and platforming skills to perform deadly combos and defeat time-corrupted enemies and mythological creatures.

LOSE YOURSELF IN THE PRODIGIOUS MOUNT QAF
Discover a cursed Persian-inspired world filled with larger-than-life landmarks and explore a variety of highly detailed biomes, each with their own identity, wonder, and danger.

LIVE AN EPIC ADVENTURE
Immerse yourself in a Persian mythological? fantasy through an intriguing and original story as you use your wits to solve puzzles, find hidden treasures, and complete quests to learn more about this corrupted place.

Action
Platformer
2D
Franchise
Prince of Persia
Released
January 18, 2024
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher(s)
Ubisoft