This game pales in comparison to Sands of Time in almost every way. It's praised for better combat which in fairness, has more variety and you can't just spam the same move over and over to beat every enemy like SOT.

But the story is just lacking. You can understand the Prince is desperate to solve his dilemma but the tonal shift in his character and aesthetic make it hard to get behind him. Kaileena is given barely any screen time to actually develop her character or her relationship with the Prince, that for some reason turns romantic during the good ending.

The constant going back through the same areas again and again feels very tedious in the last hour or two. And the lack of any proper puzzles is just such an odd choice when it made some of the finest areas in SOT.

This certainly isn't a timeless classic but a solid action game that has good first half but lackluster second half.