Thread by @garius

"But I don't even know your name."

"Just call me... Kakolukia."

One of the finest endings, due to a glorious bit of delayed narrative payoff in any form. Not just gaming.

Regret, redemption, love and loss in a line

[I promise I won't cry. It's just a single frame from a game]

https://twitter.com/LilRecordGirl/status/1439925371814748160

SPOILERS BELOW.

I should explain how good a piece of narrative callback it is.

Prince of Persia: SoT casts you as the swashbuckling son of a king, and opens with you leading an attack on an opposing city. It's gates opened thanks to the betrayal of the city's ruler's Vizier.

At this point you are a brash, spoilt idiot spoiling for war. In the aftermath, you capture Farah - the ruler's daughter - and plan to take her back to your father as a trophy.

You also find a funky artifact. The vizier tricks you into opening it. It contains the Sands of Time.

Turns out the vizier was evil (aren't they all?) and was trying to gain immortality. the rush of sands however turns everyone into monsters apart from you, Farah and the vizier. You flee dragging Farah with you as a prisoner/reluctant ally.

The game now unfolds. Solid mechanics. You fight baddies. You bro swashbuckle. Every time you do Farah constantly calls you out for bro swashbuckling and the damage you've done to her life and others with that attitude. But you have the same enemy. you become reluctant allies.

Throughout these, Farah specifically tells you about how shit life as a princess is, precisely because of people like you as much as the Vizier.

At one point, almost as background dialogue, she talks about how she invented an invisible guardian/friend as a kid: Called Kakolukia

Then, at what seems to be the game's ending, you have a chance to finally destroy the sands of time and end the unfolding curse.

At least if you believe Farah. The Prince hesitates, unsure if he can trust her.

That hesitation loses the chance. The vizier ambushes them.

Escaping death the Prince and Farah are trapped. You (the Prince) finally realise what a dick you are and confess/admit to Farah. He also admits he's developed feelings for her. She admits there is more to him than she thought.

You sleep side by side as equals.

You awake alone.

Farah is gone. She's stolen your magical dagger - the tool needed to destroy the Sands of Time. She doesn't trust you to do it.

The Prince chases her and catches up as she's trying, and (just) failing to take out the sands herself.

She falls off a ledge. You catch her.

With her last act, Farah gives you back the dagger. Then deliberately falls to her death to give you one last chance to end it all.

The Vizier offers you eternal life if you give him the dagger.

You think.

You refuse.

In grief, and regret you destroy the sands of time.

AND... Suddenly you're at the beginning of the game. Pre-attack.

You race to the city, scale the walls and stop the Vizier before he can open the gates to admit your father's army, and capture/kill Farah. He remembers too.

Farah witnesses all this. She doesn't remember.

And at that point you realise the whole game is the Prince trying to explain what he just did to Farah.

She doesn't believe him (other than the Vizier trying to betray/kill her bit, which she just literally witnessed).

And the prince realises she never will.

More importantly, it's clear that the Prince has changed. Old Prince would have been annoyed/boastful. New prince isn't.

He's regretful at his actions, glad he got a chance at redemption, elated Farah lives but distraught that she'll never now meet/love him back.

"Take this." He says, handing her the magical dagger. "Return it to your father's treasure vault. Guard it well. It was just a story."

He moves to leave.

"But wait." She says. "I don't even know your name."

"Just call me..." He pauses, thinks and smiles "Kakolukia"

He leaves

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time came out in 2003.

I can still tell you the plot of that game, see it in my mind and quote the ending, from memory 18 years later.

THAT is good writing.