Le Basics

Dying is common in this one, so consider starting on a difficulty suited to you. Like Warrior Within, there are boss fights (enemies with lifebars). But unlike Warrior Within, this game requires the Prince of Persia to initiate a special "Speed Kill" (or 'Stealth Kill') procedure to subdue bosses. If not, the Prince will continue combat but never be able to kill the boss -- similar to God of War. And IGN knows how much trouble you people have with that gem already. Prince of Persia The Two Thrones is no exception but trumps it since you can Reverse Time and get a chance to undo your mistakes.

For all intents and purposes, all difficulty levels allow you to unlock some of the fantastic artwork in the game detailing chapters of the new Prince of Persia (or as UbiMontreal calls it, 'Persian Ninja'), if you take your time killing enemies and smashing objects for sand credits. On Hard difficulty, the Prince will only be able to make one fatal mistake in most boss fights -- on Easy, you can make a half dozen and still come out on top. IGN is not here to criticize your skills (does not apply if you post on our message board), so pick the difficulty that suits you. However, know that the harder the difficulty, the more you unlock. Clearing the game on Easy will not unlock much except for artwork!

Consult the in-game moves list for the full lists of moves Persian Ninja and Dark Persian Ninja may perform.

Left Joystick (STICK)
Gauges movement.  Moves Persian Ninja accordingly across ledges, ladders, floors, walls, and the environment in general. The stick is sometimes not held to do an action (such as jumping) but rather tilted momentarily (and simultaneously) with the key involved. Make a note of that, or Persian Ninja decorates the concrete with bloody viscera.

Right Joystick (CAMSTICK)
Gauges the movement of the camera around Persian Ninja when normal view is used.

Primary Attack (PRIMARY ATTACK)
Engages the knife attack with the right hand. Persian Ninja will always have a weapon once enemies appear. Actions which require both hands (such as climbing or siddling) will prevent attacking.

Secondary Attack (SECONDARY ATTACK)
Attacks with a secondary weapon (Florentine style) or engages some off-hand or bare hand attacks. Like Warrior Within, double weapon combat is not complicated, but it is also ineffective. The best use of secondary attack is to throw enemies into chasms. It can't be done with all enemies (i.e., the dogs) but it is highly effective.

Exceptions to the rule - There are three exceptions to the secondary weapon -- first and foremost is the Dark Persian Ninja's Daggertail chain weapon, which is indestructable, long range, and lethal. The second is Sharaman's Sword, which is another indestructable weapon for Persian Ninja (normal form). Lastly, the red enemy sand portal sentry's weapon has the power to regenerate sand tanks over time (Sand Maker). When you come across one of these enemies, make sure to keep their weapon for as long as possible!

Speed Kill (STEALH KILL)
Secondary attack also allows Persian Ninja to instantly kill some enemies instantly. However, speed or stealth kills are also mandatory against bosses. If Persian Ninja fails in a speed kill exercise, the boss will survive and even regain a little life. Stealth kills on bosses are done in certain spots or attack windows -- for normal enemies, this occurs when Persian Ninja is in the right spot and if he is not detected by enemies. The stealth element in this game makes it like a tactical stealth game, but being able to reverse time will let you avoid some pitfalls like walking around a corner into ten billion enemies. If you happen to miss a stealth kill strike, reverse time and try it again. This is by far, the best use of reverse time in this version of Prince of Persia. Save sand tanks for this ability, or you will regret it. For Dark Ninja, simply press the secondary key rapidly and with a set tempo (depends on the enemy and the difficulty setting) and the stealth kill will be successful.

Bug Update - There was a widely reported "bug" that the Persian Ninja's dagger did not flare or the screen did not change colour for the stealth blow. This is not a bug. This event doesn't occur if you press the primary attack key prematurely (i.e., before the event occurs). Reverse time and try again. That will work almost all the time to remedy this problem (provided the power bar is available).

Jump key (JUMP)
Makes Persian Ninja jump off floors, walls, or other elements; he ascends in contact with other objects like beams/ledges. While standing a standing jump is possible over some pits. Jumping is used more often than in Sands of Time, so don't overlook it. When in doubt (and you have sand to spare), try a jump. When used in combat, the JUMP key allows Persian Ninja to evade all manner of melee attacks through agility. Don't play Persian Ninja like he was Enric the filthy Scotsman in Die By The Sword -- or you can expect to reload often.

Action key (ACTION)
Makes Persian Ninja pick up secondary weapons, throw them, and descend or drop off certain architectural elements such as beams, ledges, bars, chains, columns, and ladders. Persian Ninja cannot throw or pick up weapons while navigating such construction elements since both hands are occupied. Additionally, Dark Ninja cannot use secondary weapons and simply uses this key to do a special circular whipping attack.

Block/Wall Run/Drink key (BLOCK)
Manages defend/wall-run/swinging as well as blocking during attacking and drinking from water sources. Persian Ninja can defend incoming normal attacks, whether they are melee or ranged. Powerful or magical attacks (i.e., a lorry at 80 kph) will not be defended; that's what Persian Ninja's acrobatics are for. Be aware that some bosses in the game have powerful attacks that cannot be blocked, or once they are, will remove the blocking animation unless BLOCK is released and held once more. BLOCK also determines Persian Ninja's ability to wall-run (he does it as long as the key is held). On bars, this allows Persian Ninja to swing on the object, gaining momentum with each cycle.

Weapon Clash or Deadlock
When attacking certain enemies with the primary attack, a weapon clash may occur. Press the primary attack key rapidly to win the deadlock and proceed to renew attack or defence afterwards. Some boss fights are only won during a weapon clash, while others use stealth/speed kill. Look up each boss or situation in the guide for more details.

Time key (TIME)
Operates time powers. This key allows Persian Ninja to use Empress Kaileena's love juices to initiate time powers. Time powers are triggered when this key is tapped or held, and some powers require certain other buttons to be used simultaneously as well.

Le Time Powers

Reverse Time (a.k.a., Rewind)
(... Hold TIME key ...)

This is the power that Persian Ninja will be relying on for stealth kills and general movement around the world. Reverse time basically lets you rewind up to about 10 seconds from your current state to a state of things previous. This means objects get reformed, life is regained, Persian Ninja flies back upwards (or downwards), enemies are revived, etc. Quite a unique power not seen in any other videogame out there! However, this power is limited by the duration of the power meter (the red bar on the HUD) that immediately starts draining upon Persian Ninja's death or when the ability of Reverse Time is used constantly.

For the most part, Reverse Time is best used for the ever unpopular stealth kills. If Persian Ninja misses an opportunity to strike an enemy, reverse time just enough to try it again. Note for some stealth kills, reversing time too much will unmake some of the previously successful hits, so use judgement when using this awesome power. Unless you are given to misjudging leaps and such, your sands of time are better used for reversing badly timed stealth kills instead of on falls and stuff you can avoid. This power also comes in handy against bosses or during chariot races, so when you think you can get away with reversing time, do it!

Slow Time (a.k.a., Eye of the Storm)
(... Tap TIME key ...)

This power is useful in open (non-stealth) combat and in moving around the world. Basically, time slows to a crawl while Persian Ninja moves at normal speed. This allows you to access fast shutting doors and get by traps that are too fast to bypass in normal time. Slow time is available only by the third sand portal, so expect puzzles to increase in difficulty there. The problem is this power and reverse time both use one sand tank. When trying to bypass a trap, make sure to do it well with Slow Time the first time since if Persian Ninja falls off, reversing time costs another sand tank and cancels slow time. This means to successfully pass a slow-time trap with one failure requires three sand tanks. Dying and retrying may be a better choice!

In combat when slow time is used, quickly press primary attack to mass up the damage -- if you want to expend your secondary weapon, do it as well. Needless to say, once you acquire Sharaman's Sword, you may not need to rely on slow time unless odds are really stacked against you. However, Dark Persian Ninja may find slow time useful in some fights where enemies are faster than he.

Sand Wind (a.k.a., Something Useless)
(... Hold BLOCK, tap TIME key ...)

This move is similar to the one in Warrior Within, and is almost as useless, since Persian Ninja often can slow time and simply throw enemies off into pits instead of relying on the this power. It knocks down enemies around Persian Ninja, but does not affect bosses. Once enemies are down, Persian Ninja can strike for more damage using the down strike. Instead, save the sand for slow time and toss enemies into the drink. However, this power may be of some use against the sand-sucking dogs -- if you knock them down, they cannot devour sand, and the dogs being prone lets Persian Ninja kill them as they struggle to right themselves. This power costs two sand tanks.

Sand Storm (a.k.a., Something Useless #2, except maybe rarely on Hard)
(... Hold BLOCK, hold TIME key ...)

This move is similar to the one in Warrior Within, and is almost as useless as the weaker power above. It not only knocks down enemies around Persian Ninja, but kills them instantly (does not affect bosses). Since the consumption of this power is three sand tanks, you may only want to use it in the most dire circumstances. Also note that once the sands are drained, the power still needs a little lead time to unleash. Being knocked down will have the sands expended for nothing. It may only be useful in places where sand is plentiful (i.e., attacking a sand portal without stealth) or if enemies are too many.
 

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