Honestly, the mid-2000s were a lawless wasteland for handheld gaming. If you had a hit console game, you shoved it onto a handheld by any means necessary. Sometimes that meant a total rebuild. Other times, it meant trying to squeeze a massive, cinematic masterpiece like The Two Thrones into a UMD disc and hoping for the best. That’s basically the origin story of PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords.
It’s a port. But also not?
Ubisoft didn't just copy-paste the third game in the Sands of Time trilogy. They added stuff. They cut stuff. They renamed it. If you were a kid in 2007 with a Sony PSP, you probably remember the box art featuring the Prince and his gritty, chain-wielding alter ego, the Dark Prince. It looked cool. It played... well, it played like a technical miracle that was constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The Identity Crisis of Rival Swords
Why the name change? Most people assume it was a marketing play to make it feel like a fresh experience. In reality, PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords is essentially Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones with a fresh coat of paint and some exclusive "add-ons" that were hit or miss. You still get the story of the Prince returning to a besieged Babylon, the accidental release of the Sands of Time (again), and the mental battle against his own corruption.
But the PSP had buttons missing.
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No second analog stick meant the camera was a nightmare. Ubisoft’s solution was to map camera controls to the L-trigger and the face buttons, which felt like trying to rub your stomach and pat your head while running from a sand monster. It’s clunky. Yet, once you get the rhythm, there’s something genuinely impressive about seeing Babylon’s rooftops rendered on that 4.3-inch screen.
The game tries hard to be its own thing. It introduces the Chariot Races as a bigger focus. These sections are high-octane, frustrating, and arguably look better than the platforming. You're whipping horses, crashing into obstacles, and trying not to fly off the handle—literally. It was a showcase for what the PSP's hardware could do when pushed to the limit, even if that limit resulted in some choppy frame rates.
What They Actually Added (And What Got Cut)
You can't talk about PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords without mentioning the multiplayer. Yes, a Prince of Persia game had multiplayer. It wasn't "Deathmatch" in the traditional sense. Instead, it was a competitive race through trap-filled environments. You and a friend could use the PSP's Ad-Hoc mode to see who was the better parkour master. It was niche. It was weird. It’s also largely forgotten today because, let’s be real, finding someone else with a PSP and a copy of the game in 2026 is like finding a needle in a haystack made of sand.
They also added specific "World Events" and puzzles. Some of these were designed to utilize the portable nature of the console—shorter bursts of gameplay.
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- The Dark Prince is still the highlight. His Daggertail weapon is incredibly satisfying.
- The stealth kills (Speed Kills) return from the console version, requiring timed button presses.
- Soundtrack? Still top-tier, featuring those heavy Persian-inspired rock riffs.
However, the trade-offs were real. The cinematic FMVs from the PS2 version were compressed into oblivion. They look crunchy. If you’re playing this on a modern emulator or a PS Vita, the compression artifacts are everywhere. It’s a reminder that UMDs only held 1.8GB of data. Fitting a whole AAA action game in there was a feat of engineering, but something had to give. The textures are muddier. The lighting is flatter. But the soul? The soul of the Sands of Time trilogy remains intact.
The Dark Prince vs. Technical Limitations
Playing as the Dark Prince in PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords is the ultimate power trip. You’re faster. You’re stronger. You’re also dying. The mechanic where your health constantly drains while in "Dark" mode creates a frantic pace that the PSP actually handles well.
But here’s the thing: the PSP's single nub was never meant for 3D platforming of this caliber. There are moments where you'll jump for a ledge, the camera will freak out, and you’ll plummet into a pit of spikes. You’ll rewind time, try again, and the same thing happens. It requires a level of patience that modern gamers might find "unacceptable." Back then, we just called it "handheld gaming."
Why This Version Matters in 2026
With the Sands of Time Remake constantly shifting its release date and the franchise seeing a resurgence through The Lost Crown, looking back at PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords is a history lesson. It represents an era where developers weren't afraid to take a massive console game and mangle it just enough to fit it in your pocket.
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It’s a flawed gem. It’s the "Snyder Cut" of The Two Thrones but for a handheld. It’s gritty, it’s difficult, and it’s unapologetically 2007. If you can get past the camera controls, it’s actually one of the most content-complete action games on the system. It doesn't hold your hand. It expects you to master the wall-run, the pole-swing, and the timing of a dagger strike while the screen is vibrating from an explosion.
How to Play It Today (The Right Way)
If you’re looking to revisit this, don't just hunt down a physical UMD unless you're a collector. The load times on a physical PSP are brutal. The disc drive whirs like a jet engine.
- Use an Emulator: PPSSPP is the gold standard. You can upscale the resolution to 4K. It makes PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords look like a completely different game. The textures are still low-res, but the clarity makes the platforming way less frustrating.
- Remap the Controls: If you’re using a controller with two sticks, map the face buttons (which control the camera) to the right analog stick. Suddenly, the game plays like the PS2 original. It’s a game-changer.
- Check the Ad-Hoc: If you’re tech-savvy, you can actually use Pro Online plugins to try the multiplayer over the internet. It’s a ghost town, but a fascinating piece of gaming archaeology.
Moving Forward with the Prince
The legacy of PSP Prince of Persia Rival Swords isn't just about the port itself. It's about the ambition. We don't see ports like this anymore—usually, we just get "Cloud Versions" or downgraded Switch ports that lose the spirit of the original. This game tried to be more. It tried to add value with its racing modes and multiplayer, even if the base game was struggling to stay at 30 frames per second.
If you're a fan of the series, this is the "alternate history" version of the finale. It’s darker, crunchier, and infinitely more portable.
To get the most out of this classic today, focus on optimizing your control scheme. The biggest barrier to entry isn't the graphics—it's the 20-year-old camera logic. Once you solve that with a modern controller layout, you'll find a deep, rewarding combat system and some of the best level design in the history of the genre. Start by downloading a high-compatibility emulator and searching for a "60 FPS patch" specifically for the Rival Swords ISO; it stabilizes the Chariot races significantly and removes the input lag that plagued the original hardware.