MovieChat Forums > Prince of Persia (2008) Discussion > the ending is stressing me out (spoilers...

the ending is stressing me out (spoilers, obviously)

posted 15 years ago by Julius_Cesar_Chavez
10 replies | jump to latest

Ok, first of all, I get it. I get why the Prince did it, but it's really stressing me out. I think this is the first time I've been stressed by a video games STORY. I beat it last night, so I'm over the fact that I basically wasted all that time healing all of the fertile grounds.

So here's whats stressing me out:
The scene before your final fight with the King, Elika tells him something along the lines of "You destroyed everything I love". So, since the Prince did the exact same thing as her father, she's going to be pissed at the Prince now. The only thing I can think of, is why she died in the first place. Obviously she fell to her death, but was she running from her father when she fell? Was the King already planning to release Ahriman and Elika was trying to stop him?

Also, there are 2 things from earlier in the story that just add to the ending.
1) I think it was in the Citadel, it may be different depending on where you went first, where the Prince says "You can't just wait for things to happen, you have to make them happen. You can change fate." Then Elika says "Then what are we waiting for?" and walks towards the Prince like they're going to kiss, but then turns and walks past him. I wanted it to happen so bad before the end, but it never did. I guess the end was more powerful than a kiss, but I still wanted to see that moment.

2) In the Palace, the Prince asks if he can have a city if he helps her defeat Ahriman. She says "This city will be yours". She knew she had to die in order to lock Ahriman back up, so she wanted the Prince to have the Kingdom, but she didn't realize there was no point in him staying in the Kingdom if she wasn't alive.

One more thing that gives me hope is that the King made a deal with Ahriman. The Prince never did. He just took away the Temples powers to give them to Elika. He didn't give his soul to Ahriman in exchange for Elikas life, so he won't become Corrupted like the King. They are too perfect for each other, they have to be together in the end.

I kind of wish they would have just given me a Hollywood style ending. He lays her on her mothers tomb, prays to Ormazd, Ormazd shows up and brings her back to life, everyones happy.
Think about it, throughout the game, the Prince says if Ormazd was real, why wasn't he helping them. Then in the end he prays to Ormazd and he finally helps.
This ending wouldn't have been nearly as good or powerful, but at least I wouldn't be stressed out about fictional characters in a freakin video game.

[–] Julius_Cesar_Chavez 15 years ago

Also, I really liked leaving the Concubine till the end. I actually left her for last because I hated her and had the most trouble beating her but it really worked out well in terms of the development of the relationship between the Prince and Elika. They built up so much trust throughout the game and then to finally test out that trust by jumping off the tower in order to find the real Elika was awesome.

[–] Mr_Sneakums 15 years ago

First of all, I think this game was both beautiful to look at ans a joy to play. I think it's the first game in the POP franchise to live up to the legacy of the Sands of Time, and may have even surpassed it.

I kind of thought that was where the ending was heading, but in retrospect I am glad they didn't have him pray to Ormazd to heal her. They avoided the cliches and left you wanting more. Sure, it can be agonizing with all these questions, but it will be more satisfying in the long run when we get to play the sequel and see the Prince dealing with the consequences of his actions (which were, admittedly, quite selfish). That's one thing the Prince from the SOT trilogy never did, and I think there is a lot of potential here for that. Just think, proving to Elika that he can be trusted, restoring peace, true love, etc etc...

All in all though, I share your frustration. The lack of kiss or similar moment makes the ending more bitter and harder to stomach.

[–] Julius_Cesar_Chavez 15 years ago

I really am glad they ended it like that, though. I guess I wasn't really looking at it like the first part of a trilogy when I finished it. It's going to make for a much stronger story and I'm sure when these things finally do happen, it will be much more rewarding.

But what really sucks is that we most likely won't be able to find out what happens for a couple of years. With the Sands of Time trilogy, the games all came out within a year of each other. But with the way games are nowadays, it's probably gonna take them longer than a year to release the sequel. Especially with all the projects Ubisoft is working on.

It sucks waiting to hear the rest of a story.

[–] Mr_Sneakums 15 years ago

Another really interesting interpretation of the ending is that the game's story officially ends when the first set of credits start to roll, as you carry Elika's body from the temple.

It's yet another example of playing with the theme of fate vs choice that is recurring throughout the game. Everything you do up until that moment is required of you by the game, as a step toward reaching a final goal. Everything after taking Elika outside is done of your own will. This is supported by the fact that although cutting down the trees is a new gameplay element, there is no tutorial instructing you to do so.

So, it's entirely possible that a sequel could pick up with the Prince on his own, Elika dead, and Ahriman contained.

It's also worth mentioning that unlike the Mourning King, the Prince does not barter with Ahriman to save Elika; there is no verbal contract where he gives up his soul or the lands. He simply takes Elika's own life energy out of the tree and puts it back into her. This could, theoretically, result in a different set of circumstances than the events which put the game in motion.

[–] Julius_Cesar_Chavez 15 years ago

Theres a few reasons I don't think they will continue it from the part where the credits start.
1) It's only after you release Ahriman to save Elika that you will get the "To be continued...". It comes as a trophy/achievement for the console versions and I believe it actually says it on the screen on the PC version.
2) At the end of Warrior Within, they used the second ending as the beginning to The 2 Thrones.
3) (just my opinion) I think they invested too much in Elika to just let her die like that.

I mentioned the part about how the King and the Prince saved Elika in different ways in my first post and that the Prince never made a deal with Ahriman but I was thinking about what Ahriman is saying as you cut down the 4 trees. I don't remember everything he said but I'm pretty sure I heard him say something like "Save her... release me". It's not really the same thing as the Kings deal, but Ahriman made sure the Prince knew what he was actually doing. He could possibly use it to corrupt the Prince.

[–] cboggs68 15 years ago

I think the next game is going to be about the Prince and Elika trying to find the God of Light (I forgot what his name was).

[–] ody_n7 15 years ago

i liked that ending for the game but after i ended it i couldn't believe that it was the only end i thought after you put elika on her mother's crypt you can chose to bring her bake to live or you can just walk away then you can have two different endings like ww so you can have the ending you like and they can make another game by the ending they like i think it would be better like that.

by the way the game music was fantastic : http://rapidshare.com/files/175445491/POPLES.rar pass:www.webpunkt.ru

enjoy it

[–] wareagle884 15 years ago

I was fully expecting the Prince to pray to Ormazd at the end, so I was somewhat surprised, and a bit disappointed, when I found I had to cut down the the trees and release Ahriman. Sort of makes the entire game seem like a waste of time. It's not though because you get to see the relationship between the Prince and Elika develop, which to me was the highlight of the whole thing. This game did an excellent job of creating two characters that you really ended up caring about by the time you finished it. I hated that the Prince freed Ahriman, but I understand why. I look forward to the next game to see how Elika reacts to him.

[–] wacka14 15 years ago

What the prince did was Hella selfish, but Dang I was glad he did it. That was all kinds of Romantic and in a way that was deserved. That was the most satisfying ending I've gotten from a game in a long time. It took my breath away and I felt so many emotions at once.I can't wait for a sequel because right now, there is no game on my list that is more deserving of one. I love how they made the relationship real and how they didn't just give you a kiss. looks like we'll still have to work for the rest. This is shaping up to be one of the greats!

Hmm, that's some mighty good gin-n'-tonic, would you mix me up another...
-Luke Skywalker

[–] sepideh_fr 13 years ago

the ending stressed me out at first just like you. but the more i thought about it and replayed it, the more i liked it. he kinda did the right by setting ahriman free. struggle between two gods is not relevant to human and if ormazd dosen't want ahriman to be free he must fight him himself instead of putting people in charge of keeping him in prison. i remember once prince said i don't wanna dedicate my life just so other people who i don't know can have their own miserable lives. he's right!