#prince of persia warrior within

[astrariums]

[liugeaux]

The Best Games of 2004 | 20 Years Gone

A long time ago, in the late 00s, I REALLY wanted to be a Video Games Journalist. I was writing and podcasting for local tech website Techpedition and we even worked our way to E3 2009. I was able to parley my mask of legitimacy into getting a couple dozen free games from publishers, but was never able to break into the "business".

It's fine, I've still paid super close attention to the industry and have a handful of podcasts that I follow. One thing that I missed out on was creating the end-of-year best-of lists that have become so popular with pundits of video games. Partially because I didn't have a big enough outlet for it to matter, but more so because I didn't have the resources to play all the relevant games within their release years to render a judgment.

I typically get around to playing all the games I'm interested in, but it usually takes me about 2-5 years. It's partially a time thing but mostly a budget thing. So, what this is, is the beginning of my trip through the last 20 years of video games. I'll be creating a top 10 list for the last 15 years and going forward, I'll post a new list every year of the top 10 from 5 years ago. That is assuming I keep up with it, lol.

These will be written as if they were published the year of the list, so there will be no references to future games or better sequels, etc. Let's get started. Travel with me back to the year 2004 which, news flash, is now 20 years ago.

#10 - Metroid: Zero Mission

Not only is Zero Mission a solid remake of the classic original Metroid, but it succeeds at both making it feel modern and ultimately super-playable, which isn't something you can say about the old NES game.

#9 - Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within

Much more agro than its predecessor, The Warrior Within builds on the foundation of the standout Sands of Time and smooths out a lot of the jagged edges, specifically in the combat department. Your mileage will likely be tied to how much you like Godsmack-itude, but POP2 is a great sequel.

#8 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Paper Mario was a weird novelty and shadow follow-up to Super Mario RPG, but despite its clear creative direction, it was missing the character needed to fully succeed in the RPG space. The Thousand-Year Door has character in spades, and it will charm your staples off.

#7 - Sly 2: Band of Thieves

Making Sly Cooper into an open-world heist game took what was a decent platformer to the next level. Where the first game was a solid third place behind Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter, Sly 2 makes the argument that it's a top-tier Sony series. Each mission matters and each of its characters is special.

#6 - Pikmin 2

Better than its predecessor in every way, Pikmin 2 shows the first game's primary game loop wasn't a fluke. The addition of Louie, as a second playable character who's played simultaneously with Olimar, adds a heightened level of stress, making each recovery mission a manic exercise in task prioritization.

#5 - Halo 2

Is Halo 2 as impactful as Halo: Combat Evolved? Not really. The story isn't stellar, and the surprise Arbitor missions are little more than a pallet swap, but dropping the proven Halo action onto the Xbox Live service is game and industry-changing. I'm not a multiplayer guy, but I enjoyed the single player and I recognize how important Halo 2's success is to gaming as a whole.

#4 - Mario vs Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong '94, on the Game Boy, is secretly one of the best games of 1994. Mario vs. Donkey is Nintendo fleshing out that idea and making an addictive puzzle platformer. It starts out simple and sweet and ends hard and satisfying. Had this been the direction the Donkey Kong franchise went rather than Rare's DK Country series, SNES games may have had a very different trajectory.

#3 - Spider-Man 2

Licensed games always suck. Movie tie-in games always suck. Spider-Man 2 is an anomaly on top of an anomaly and it's 100% powered by the Swinging mechanic Treyarch built for the web-crawler. It feels SO good to swing around NYC that it's hard to believe Spider-Man as a character wasn't created specifically for video games.

#2 - Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

R&C3 is undoubtedly a great game, I'd even say damn near perfect, but its placement this high on the list may seem a bit weird. That's where my opinion comes in. I'm a huge 3D platformer fan, it's probably my favorite genre. With that factored in with the depth and polish of this shiny new Ratchet game, #2 on the list doesn't seem so outlandish.

#1 - Half-Life 2

There's always talk of "importance" when it comes to works of art. Abbey Road is important, Michelangelo's David is important, and even A Clockwork Orange is important. Video Games, a medium that's still technically in its infancy, has only a handful of important titles. I'd say Half-Life 2 fits the bill. It's use of physics as a gaming mechanic is as technically impressive as it is clever. It's an FPS but it's not "just an FPS" and the mood and tone established throughout are as compelling as that of Blade Runner. Half-Life 2 is a stunner that will be studied for years.

Notable Omissions:

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - I've never liked GTA games. I respect their scope and ambition, but when it comes to playing them as games, GTA titles just stink.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - I've never gotten into the Metal Gear games and the more people yell at me to play them, the less I want to.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - This one technically came out in North America in 2005. So, with me being from the US, It will hit next year's list.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords - I might end up playing this one eventually, but as of 2024 I have not.

What are your favorite video games from 2004?

See you next time. Cheers!

[rukiexramen]

I saw this template and had to do it

[bellmo15-blog]

If you have ever played the Prince of Persia games and you say you DIDN'T have something awake inside you the moment you played Warrior Within and saw Shahdee, your lying!

Yes, this is actually official artwork of her and how she looks in game.

Casual reminder this is the same game that has a super serious story line about the main character trying to change his own fate because of the years of being chased by an un killable Gigachad monster who protects the timeline and yet it has an antagonist who dresses like she's trying to compete with Ivy from Soul Calibur!

[gambling-jester]

A really old fanart of Shadee from prince of persia warrior within

[wei39warehouse]

it looked more fun in my head

[dexter-diesel]

One of the best chasing scene in gaming history 🤩🤩 #shorts #princeofper...

[imperotenebre]

Prince of Persia Trilogy Spirito Guerriero PS3 gameplay - Un sequel d'az...

Una svolta action

[astrariums]

[road-breakin-slasher]

"Uncle Spark-a-Lot, where have you been? And...who did you slain??"

"Umm... Just some bad monsters."

"In that dress??"

"...... What about it?"

"...... Can I call you Tita Spark-a-Lot?"

"No."

(Apparently, he's wielding Warrior Within's Water Sword, his personal weapon.)

(No-blood version)

[tsevile]

2004 in video games

[bellmo15-blog]

I can’t help but find it amusing the way the back of the box for Prince of Persia Warrior Within advertises the multiple endings because to me it comes of as “Finally, we got multiple endings! ‘Bout time right!?”

[jimmawww]

Fave Game Over Screens

Ocarina of Time

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Shadow The Hedgehog

Resident Evil 4

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Nier

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

GTA V

Devil May Cry 3

Super Metroid

Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Mass Effect

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Sonic The Hedgehog

Super Mario Bros

Super Mario 64

Luigi's Mansion

Donkey Kong Country

Banjo Kazooie

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Dark Souls

Gears of War 2

Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy XII

AeternoBlade II

[but-a-humble-goon]

It just occurred to me what this game is. Prince of Persia Warrior Within is Puss in Boots: The Last Wish for edgelords.

[novelmonger]

Arbitrarily-Chosen Video Game Tournament, Round 1.3

Welcome to the Arbitrarily-Chosen Video Game Tournament, where we will find out which of the games I've played is the best game of all time!

Why? Don't ask. Just vote and reblog!

[mirra-kan]

"When a man is faced with his own death, he finds the impossible less of a barrier."

Prince of Persia - Valentine's Day art. Prince's archetype seems to be forever imprinted in my heart and soul. ... coz no one could replace this guy in my geeky heart <3 ...

Can't believe it's been almost 20 years since the first game of the POP trilogy was released!