10 Disastrous Redesigns That Ruined Iconic Video Game Characters

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – a seriously underrated platformer, released in 2003 – merges storytelling and gameplay seamlessly, even managing to craft a handful of genuinely likable characters in the process.

In particular, the nameless prince is especially engaging – a conceited, overconfident chauvinist with a heart of gold, a set of principles and a sense of humour. He could be funny, intense or distasteful, but there was a sense of uniqueness about him, a personality more engaging than the typical action-adventure protagonist.

In 2004, Ubisoft released Warrior Within – the second instalment in the series – and the reception was mixed. In terms of gameplay, the game excelled, introducing numerous new features, including a relatively innovative dual-wielding system, and new time manipulation techniques.

Unfortunately, that’s where the praise tended to stop; the game was otherwise a massive disappointment, completely failing to understand the central appeal of the series.

For one thing, the nameless prince – robbed of his humour and personality – was now grittier, moodier and edgier, an unfortunate symptom of the early 2000s. His outfit was redesigned to reflect this change – and while some people appreciated the shift in direction – the darker, gloomier version of the iconic character was a huge disaster, and the series itself never really recovered.