The Lost Crown-ZAU

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Tales of Kenzera: ZAU are notable examples of games that revere non-Western or Japanese mythologies and cultures. In addition, these games share other noteworthy traits. Black male protagonists are at the center of their epic stories. ZAU was made by the small Surgent Studios and The Lost Crown by Ubisoft. And unfortunately, they are tritely marketed as metroidvanias.

ZAU marks a milestone in how Bantu culture is presented and represented to a wider audience in a videogame, while The Lost Crown shows that AAA studios can tackle diversity and representation beyond simply being an attempt at tokenism. In notable ways, these games play with well-trotted territory that predominates Hero’s Journey narratives.

Zau grieves and mourns his recently deceased father. In contrast, The Lost Crown’s hero Sargon is a bad-ass out for blood, and as a member of an elite group, the Immortals, he shall bathe in buckets of the sanguineous fluid. Regardless of the narrative beats, both games excel at schooling the ignorant on Bantu, Persian and Mesopotamian myths and cultures.

The Lost Crown is the first Prince of Persia game with Farsi voice acting. It generously shares ancient Persian and Mesopotamian lore with the player. And in true Ubisoft fashion, it has an academic-like standard – even though, ultimately, its plot craters into a Marvel-esque tale of man-gods doing cool shit.

Not to be outdone in the fantastical and yet more grounded in the humanistic, ZAU is so rooted in Bantu folklore that a single thoughtful playthrough is tantamount to a crash course in the customs and legends of Central and Southern Africa. Unlike The Lost Crown, ZAU is a masterclass of emotive writing and voice acting – an empathy engine, if you will.

Both games are billed as metroidvanias – a feeble descriptor. To paraphrase Deep-Hell’s Skeleton, “Does the word metroidvania mean anything to a person on the street?” No, it does not. These games are better served if instead they are described as “search action” (using Skeleton’s better genre descriptor here). In ZAU and The Lost Crown players traverse the world overcoming obstacles and solving puzzles in search of tools and skills in order to acquire more in order to progress. Through actions the characters grow – Zau and Sargon traversing further with each task completed.

Gamers and some critics haven’t come a long way since Pac-Man. “Metroidvania” as a descriptor is indolent. It’s tied to the dark niches of gamer culture. ZAU and The Lost Crown are not. They point to a better future for the industry. Today, there is an increasingly loud and rancorous group trying to actively reduce accessibility and diversity in the wider player base. Tōru Iwatani, Pac-Man’s lead creator, set out to attract a wide player base with his neon ghost eater. Like Iwatani, ZAU and The Lost Crown try to push for a broader audience. The gamer hordes hate the diversity and cultural respect found in ZAU and The Lost Crown.

Why talk about Pac-Man when describing two games released in 2024? Because videogames are not inherently “for” a specific group of people. Target demographics are a choice. If anything, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are an attempt by developers to correct the mistakes of the past.

*This story was first published in Exploits Issue 78 – An Unwinnable Publication.