Prince of Persia: PrinceJS in a browser or SDLPoP on desktop?

Choose how you want to practice

Choose PrinceJS for a direct browser start and documented phone controls. Choose SDLPoP for an installed DOS-based port with exact-state quicksaves and replays. These projects follow the first Prince of Persia, not The Shadow and the Flame or The Sands of Time.

The original game's attraction is deliberate movement: crossing a room means judging a run, jump or sword exchange. Jordan Mechner built its animation from filmed human motion. Both routes retain that emphasis on timing; the meaningful choice is how you want to practice and preserve progress.

Swipe or scroll to compare all columns →

Start PrinceJS

Open princejs.com, press to start, and use Enter to continue. The project's standard level range is 1–14. On a phone, use landscape; its touch guide shows how dragging between regions chains a running jump into a grab.

For a pad, consult PrinceJS's controller map: its action buttons differ from SDLPoP's. Converted custom levels also have a specific limit: special events are unsupported.

Install and control SDLPoP

The download page linked by SDLPoP offers version 1.23 for Windows/Linux and 1.20 for macOS. Choose by platform, and keep the complete package together. The Mac disk image is an older release, so a feature mentioned in current development documentation may not be in that package.

On Windows, run prince.exe. Linux builds run ./prince; the README also gives platform build instructions. The source tree and compiled downloads are different starting points.

Arrows move, Up jumps or climbs, Shift acts and strikes, and Shift plus Left/Right takes careful steps. In combat, Up blocks and Down sheathes. Esc pauses. SDLPoP's gamepad defaults use Y for Up, A for Down and X or triggers for Shift.

Preserve a level or an exact moment

In PrinceJS, copy or bookmark the current address. It records level, maximum health, remaining minutes and guard strength; it is not an exact mid-jump snapshot. Restore by opening that address. A plain link to the homepage does not carry your progress parameters.

SDLPoP's Ctrl+G save works on levels 3–13 and resumes at the beginning of the saved level; use Ctrl+L during the intro to load it. F6 quicksaves the exact state and F9 restores it. Replays use .P1R files in replays/, and mod saves remain with their mod.

Check the quickload setting before using it to rehearse a difficult room. SDLPoP's configuration enables a penalty that can deduct up to one minute when quickloading. That makes a restored position different from a promise of cost-free retries. Keep a backup before experimenting with save or mod settings.

Keep practice settings consistent

Choose a consistent ruleset while learning. SDLPoP's configuration separates gameplay fixes from the base behavior, with use_fixes_and_enhancements controlling the group. Individual changes can affect jumping and enemy behavior. A trick learned under one setup may therefore need different timing under another.

If a pad behaves strangely in SDLPoP, its README points to a controller mapping file configured through SDLPoP.ini. Start with keyboard input to distinguish a mapping problem from the game's deliberate movement. For browser pairing and activation, see the controller guide.

For a short phone session, PrinceJS's documented touch regions make it the relevant option here. For practicing one troublesome jump, SDLPoP's exact-state save is the stronger reason to install it. Neither choice requires you to treat a URL bookmark, a native save and a replay as interchangeable files.