Part 37

Guide to Part 37 of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Learn how to navigate the Inner Palace, defeat enemies, and overcome traps to reach the end.

Alright, let's dive into Part 37 of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This section covers Level Five, also known as The Inner Palace. The main goal here is to just get through it quickly, so don't worry too much about fighting unless you absolutely have to. The source text mentions skipping the LEP (which is likely a collectible or power-up) and just running past enemies. If there's a yellow guard near the exit, you can apparently just open the door, get close, put your sword away, and run past them while they stand there confused.

Exploring the Start and Potential Glitches

As soon as you enter this level, right after stepping out of the Level Door, you can try a little trick. Run to the right and just before the cutscene triggers, hit the 'Shift' key. Prince will draw his sword, but then put it away when it hits the gate on the right. This is a neat little moment where he draws his sword without a fight. You can only do this at the very start, and if you mess it up, you'll have to restart the level (Ctrl+A) to try it again.

There's also an optional path to the left from the start where you can fight a yellow guard. It's just a distraction if you want to sidetrack yourself, but it's not part of the main path forward.

Level Five: The Inner Palace Walkthrough

Stuff To Pick Up: 5x Healing Potions, 1x LEP (unobtainable)
Enemies: 4x guards
Level Difficulty: 6
Enemy Difficulty: 4
Password: XRTLQC

You'll start in a pretty complex-looking area. Head to the right first. Climb up the ledge and take out the guard waiting there. Keep moving right and climb up another ledge. You'll reach a junction.

The Right Path: A Trap

Going right leads to the LEP, but it's guarded by a complex series of traps. The source says that no matter how you navigate the traps, the gate will open, but then your shadow will appear and snatch the LEP. So, it's a wasted effort and a trap.

The Left Path: Progress and Peril

So, you'll want to go left. A big pit separates you from the next platform. You'll need to make a running jump to cross it. Once you land, climb down and head through the open gate on your left.

Dealing with the Purple Guard

Here you'll encounter a purple guard. You can push him off the platform. Make sure you push him off the platform to the *right*. If you push him to the left, the drop isn't high enough to kill him, and you'll have trouble getting down yourself. There's also a floor above you that you can explore, but be warned: it's a trap. Hitting a switch up there will close a gate, trapping you. You'll have to restart the level (Ctrl+A) unless you know how to get out (which the 'Exploring' section might cover).

After dealing with the purple guard (by pushing him off to the right), open the gate on your left and proceed.

The Yellow Guard and Potions

Next, you'll face a yellow guard with 5 life bullets. Defeat him and move on. You'll spot a healing potion under a ledge. You can grab it if you need it. Climb down below that ledge to find a cutter guarding another potion, with spikes below you. Climb back up and continue.

The Green Guard and the Slab

You'll encounter a green guard, and a gate switch is separated from you by a loose slab. You have two options: either fight the green guard and move on, or climb down the loose slab if you want to avoid the fight. Be aware that climbing down the slab will still cost you one life bullet due to the fall.

The Underground Route (Risky!)

If you choose the underground path (down the slab), you'll see spikes behind you, a pit, and two cutters positioned to make crossing difficult. A simple running jump might get you over the pit, but the other cutter will likely get you. You need to measure your jump carefully. The source suggests stepping as close as possible to the first cutter and jumping from there. You'll need to hold onto something after the jump to avoid falling onto spikes.

After clearing those obstacles, you'll find another cutter near the ledge. Don't jump over it; just walk carefully across to avoid the spikes below. This underground route is tricky and ultimately leads back to needing to fight the green guard anyway to activate the switch for the gate on the left.

The Direct Route (Recommended)

It's generally better to just kill the green guard directly. Then you can simply walk across the path without worrying about spikes or cutters, and you'll still need to activate the switch to open the gate on the left.

Exiting Level Five

After activating the switch, jump across to the gate. The level switch and the level door are right there. There's another gate ahead, but it seems impossible to open, so just enter the level door to complete Level Five.

Runthrough! (Speedrun Strategy)

If you're going for speed, the advice is simple: run away from all fights. Switch sides, hit guards once if you must, and then flee. It's all about speed here.

Additional Stuff: Exploring the Trap Area

After the big jump (to the left of the trap LEP), climb down to find a blue guard. There's a platform above. If you step on the trap mechanism, the gate will close, trapping you. To escape, climb up and drop the loose slab onto the trap, then press the switch to open the gate to the right. Above the switch, there's another loose slab. Drop it to reveal 2 Healing Potions.

Level Six: The Drop

The game will show a scene of the princess waiting by the hourglass before you start this level.

Stuff To Pick Up: Absolutely nothing
Enemies: Fatso, Shadow
Level Difficulty: 4
Enemy Difficulty: 9
My Time: 54 minutes
Password: UHLCQC

Level Six is described as pretty straightforward, with no major traps and taking only a minute or two to complete. At the start, you have two routes: left or right. The right route apparently ends...