!Discussion: Combat in "The Sands of Time"

[weber_dubois22]

MY SISTER AND I recently purchased the HD remake of the "POP Trilogy"; playing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time really got me thinking about an issue that's been brought up constantly in regards to this particular game. The Combat/Battle Mechanics. For all the praise SOT has gotten, the biggest problem everyone appeared to have with it was the combat. And as two people who've never really thought to complain or take issue with it (either because we don't know any better or just plain never saw it as a problem), it strikes us as, well, weird.

For the literal ten years we've played this game, we've experienced no problems with the fighting mechanics like we've had with the platforming (i.e., The Prince responding at the last second and missing the ledge/pole and falling to his death when we press, tap, "caress" or mash the x button). He always responded accordingly, did what we wanted and typically never did anything stupid unless it was a error made on our part. It's probably one of our favorite aspects of the game despite acknowledging that the combat system does indeed improve tremendously in games like The Two Thrones or Forgotten Sands. but why exactly is/was it awful to everyone else?