(www.plasticpals.com)The first two Panzer Dragoon games were coined "dramatic shooting games"; a rail-shooter with a plot and character development in a dazzling setting reminiscent of Miyazaki's Nausicaa. So dramatic, in fact, that the designers decided a third game in the series should be an RPG to expand on the setting, the end product being a massive 4 CD game. Perhaps due to the failing Saturn sales, or because of the production costs (the first 4 CD console game), SEGA made only 32,000 copies for North America – a ridiculously small number – causing Panzer Dragoon Saga to become one of the most rare and sought after video games.
The setting is a future world controlled by the remnants of a once powerful (but now extinct) ancient civilization. The gigantic structures left behind by this civilization, though masterless, still pulse with life. Biological mutant terrors, bred to control human population and maintain ecological equilibrium, continue their gruesome task. There is the typical power-hungry Empire (and its fleet of airships), excavating ruins in the hopes of finding war machines left by the Ancients. There is Craymen, a rogue general who is trying to overthrow the Empire. There are the Seekers, a rebel group that believes the ancient technology is evil and must be destroyed. In the middle of all this conflict is the hero, Edge, and the mysterious bio- organic woman found at the excavation site, Azel.
The battle system is very unique and fun to play. Using a variation of the "Active Time Battle" system, you have a series of meters which must fill up before you can perform specific actions. Equally important is the dragon's position in relation to his enemies in order to avoid their super attacks and pinpoint their weak spots. For example, some enemies have safe zones (allowing you to prepare a big attack or heal without worry), but often in order to destroy them you have to move into their super attack zone to pinpoint their weakness. You're constantly moving during battle, sweeping into hot zones to deliver an attack while deftly dodging the enemy's counter attack.
With the exception of exploring towns, you are riding your dragon. Therefore, most of the time you are flying around, interacting with the environment by targeting things and shooting with the breath attack. This works well, because instead of having to walk right up to a treasure chest to open it, you can just shoot it from a distance. The same goes for towns, you can target NPCs and speak with them from a distance.
Graphically, the game is perhaps a bit overly ambitious. Full 3d environments with full 3d characters, in a time when games on the technically superior PlayStation had rendered environments or sprite-based characters, was no small feat for the Saturn. Unlike the N64 which hid pop-up with dense fog, the Saturn was never designed to do transparency. Because of this, there is some unsightly pop-up on the horizon of some stages (like the ocean stage) but in most instances they have hidden it rather cleverly. Slow-down is kept to a minimum. Battles look great, and there are some cool special effects for the spells. And of course, the hallmark of Panzer Dragoon, the best water effects of the 32-bit era, and there are a number of different techniques used!
In terms of sound, the game is no less ambitious. Featuring full voice- acting for every single character in the game, from the hero on down to the lowliest peasants, with up to three separate exchanges per character (per disc), is a mind-boggling technical achievement when you consider we are only now reaching that standard in the latest RPGs. The music was composed by Saori Kobayashi, and is amongst the finest you will hear in any video game.
Presentation is good, but not great. CG animation is used frequently throughout the game to accentuate the storyline, but the quality is inconsistent. The introduction and ending are suitably higher quality than the rest, however the general standard is not even in the same league as Final Fantasy VII's worst stuff. Most FMV games from that period look dated by today's standards anyway, and should be appreciated for what they get right, not condemned for lack of technology or production values. The implementation of voice-overs required lip- synching, which few games of the time even bothered to attempt (let alone implement) in every scene, as this game does.
SEGA, by combining such a unique and in-depth battle system with a completely different method of exploration, created a new type of game that is a hybrid between shooters and RPGs. The marriage of unique game play to a Nausicaa-inspired setting, with the addition of the most in-depth dragon mythology ever, amounts to an instant and timeless classic.
The setting is a future world controlled by the remnants of a once powerful (but now extinct) ancient civilization. The gigantic structures left behind by this civilization, though masterless, still pulse with life. Biological mutant terrors, bred to control human population and maintain ecological equilibrium, continue their gruesome task. There is the typical power-hungry Empire (and its fleet of airships), excavating ruins in the hopes of finding war machines left by the Ancients. There is Craymen, a rogue general who is trying to overthrow the Empire. There are the Seekers, a rebel group that believes the ancient technology is evil and must be destroyed. In the middle of all this conflict is the hero, Edge, and the mysterious bio- organic woman found at the excavation site, Azel.
The battle system is very unique and fun to play. Using a variation of the "Active Time Battle" system, you have a series of meters which must fill up before you can perform specific actions. Equally important is the dragon's position in relation to his enemies in order to avoid their super attacks and pinpoint their weak spots. For example, some enemies have safe zones (allowing you to prepare a big attack or heal without worry), but often in order to destroy them you have to move into their super attack zone to pinpoint their weakness. You're constantly moving during battle, sweeping into hot zones to deliver an attack while deftly dodging the enemy's counter attack.
With the exception of exploring towns, you are riding your dragon. Therefore, most of the time you are flying around, interacting with the environment by targeting things and shooting with the breath attack. This works well, because instead of having to walk right up to a treasure chest to open it, you can just shoot it from a distance. The same goes for towns, you can target NPCs and speak with them from a distance.
Graphically, the game is perhaps a bit overly ambitious. Full 3d environments with full 3d characters, in a time when games on the technically superior PlayStation had rendered environments or sprite-based characters, was no small feat for the Saturn. Unlike the N64 which hid pop-up with dense fog, the Saturn was never designed to do transparency. Because of this, there is some unsightly pop-up on the horizon of some stages (like the ocean stage) but in most instances they have hidden it rather cleverly. Slow-down is kept to a minimum. Battles look great, and there are some cool special effects for the spells. And of course, the hallmark of Panzer Dragoon, the best water effects of the 32-bit era, and there are a number of different techniques used!
In terms of sound, the game is no less ambitious. Featuring full voice- acting for every single character in the game, from the hero on down to the lowliest peasants, with up to three separate exchanges per character (per disc), is a mind-boggling technical achievement when you consider we are only now reaching that standard in the latest RPGs. The music was composed by Saori Kobayashi, and is amongst the finest you will hear in any video game.
Presentation is good, but not great. CG animation is used frequently throughout the game to accentuate the storyline, but the quality is inconsistent. The introduction and ending are suitably higher quality than the rest, however the general standard is not even in the same league as Final Fantasy VII's worst stuff. Most FMV games from that period look dated by today's standards anyway, and should be appreciated for what they get right, not condemned for lack of technology or production values. The implementation of voice-overs required lip- synching, which few games of the time even bothered to attempt (let alone implement) in every scene, as this game does.
SEGA, by combining such a unique and in-depth battle system with a completely different method of exploration, created a new type of game that is a hybrid between shooters and RPGs. The marriage of unique game play to a Nausicaa-inspired setting, with the addition of the most in-depth dragon mythology ever, amounts to an instant and timeless classic.