Panzer Dragoon Saga- my review

[Zerodash]

Well, I finally finished Panzer Dragoon Saga, the game both famous and infamous for its rarity. Aside from its rarity is the amount of praise this title has garnered over the years. I went into this game expecting to be totally disappointed and left with a burned feeling ($150) in my soul.

My first impression was that the game looked very dated. The heaping loads of CG FMV looked downright archaic compared to the latest (and no-so-latest) CG from Square, Namco, and Blizzard. Also, the first time I saw the in-game player and Dragon-stage graphics, I was a bit put off by how aged it all looked (the human character walk animation is awful).

Fortunately, the graphics later on in the game turned out to be quite nice- some of the best 3-D seen on the Saturn (as it should be, considering that this was amongst its last). The later dragon-flying stages and especially the highly-detailed town environments are exquisite. Even the CG that comes later in the gae look better, if only because of the more interesting imagery.

PDS does have one graphical aspect that is actually of the "see-it-to-believe-it" caliber- the morphing Dragon models. You can alter statistical aspects of your dragon (strength, speed, etc.) and with each alteration, your dragon morphs accordingly. Using the analog stick, you can quickly change the aspects of your dragon, and watch as it drastically morphs in real-time. simply beautiful.

Another highpoint of the visuals rest on the art design of the world of PDS. Inspired by the French artist responsible for 'Mobius' (his name escapes me), the PD world has culturala flavor all its own. Everything from the clothing to buildings to artifacts to animal life all have a distinct look that is unmistakable and unforgettable. This isn't a typical Tolkien-based fantasy world. In fact, the PDS world's art design rivals that of any Final Fantasy.

The music is well-set to the mood and style of the game world. It seems to take more of a cue from Panzer Dragoon Zwei in tone than the original PD. That means a more synthetic, tribal-percussion sound and beat as opposed to the more ochestrated fantasy-style music of PD. However, most (if not all) of the music of PDS is forgettable and seems to be designed as backdrop and not take any center-stage attention. The only tunes worthy of dedicated listening seems to be in the title screens and intro.

Where PDS really shines, brighter than all other RPGs is in its battle system. To call it 'briliant' would be an understatement. To describe it in any detail would take quite a few paragraphs, but
that won't happen here. In short, the battle system features the ability to position and reposition your dragon in relation to the enemy at any time. You have 3 FF-style action meters, which may be
stockpiled (some spells require 2-3 stocks). You can implement a variety of items, gun variants, the famous dragon laser, and magic spells throughout the fight (standard RPG stuff here). The trick
is in how you use your action-meter stocks (attack in frequent bursts, or unleash a huge spell later on), how you position your dragon (look for those weak spots), and on how you morph your dragon. In some cases, a fast dragon is needed, in others, a high-defense (albeit slow) dragon is in order.

The combat system is so much fun and interesting, that it is actually disappointing that random monster battles aren't as frequent as in other (less fun) RPGs...

Then there is the story. Well, its not bad by a long shot. The premise it offers of a distant future populated by genetic bio-weapons gone wild is interesting. Its just that the main character is
so one-dimensional and dull, that it is hard to care about him. He goes through minimal development throoughout the game. The more interesting co-stars of the game, specifically Azel, are not given
the time or chance to be all they can be in the story. The real draw to the story is the dragon and the world in which it takes place- not the characters.

All in all, PDS is a complete package for an RPG. If judged by its story alone, this one is purely average. However, factor in the intriguing world and the amazing battle system, and then you have a
game that stands tall amongst the best of RPGs. For me, it was one of the few games that actually lives up to the hype. Well worth $150, methinks. With a plethora of hidden items, unlockable areas,
and new Dragons to evolve into, coupled with the downright fun combat system, this is also the only RPG that I am enthusiastic about playing through multiple times. Its THAT enjoyable.

Methinks PDS would be well served to be brought to multiple consoles NOW. Just update the graphics, redo the CG, but keep everything else the same, and Sega would have a BIG hit on their hands...

If only.

[x2y]

Good review. How I wish had never sold that game for $40.

[Captain Vegetable]

Excellent review.

I think the same as far as an update.

[Tain]

Grins at the fact that he bought the game for $50.

Erm, yeah, good review.

[K3V]

Originally posted by x2y
Good review. How I wish had never sold that game for $40.

I did the exact same thing. You are not alone

-Kevin

[Dyne]

*glad he picked up the 3 copies in his city the day it came out*

anyway, yeah i played thru it AGAIN (like the 10 time) and the grapics really hurt nowadays but its all about the STORY. and THAT is why i keep going back. an RPG can have the best graphics but if the story lacks then so does the game. thats why ill be playing PDS years from now and not even care how much worse looking it gets.

[Punky Skunk]

Very nice review. I think I'll stick this game in the back of my mind and label it "open if remade." I'd definitely pay $40-$50 for it, but that's it.

[Cafeman]

Ah yes, PDS. The INFAMOUS game. Well, it was excellent in its day, and I played through it many times before I finally sold it to a fellow gamer online for $80 or so. I don't regret getting rid of it; PDS lives on in my 1998 memory, untarnished in the light of prettier 3D.

Panzer Dragoon Orta is coming soon, and it's an adventure shooter, more my kind of game. Personally, I thought PDS had very good Saturn visuals, but sometime weak 3D.

The good thing about Team Andromeda's use of the Saturn was the VDP2 chip,which allowed the water and ground to go on forever into the horizon without clipping, and also allowed the nice cloudy transparencies. Still, the pop-up was very ugly and that one orange-hued sky sliced into my eyes like a knife, but PDS isn't about visuals only anyway. One particular scene that I loved: when Edge goes back to the town to meet "somebody". You assume it will be his friend, but it is Craymen! Out of the shadows he comes, just like Darth Vader coming out of the tree cave in The Empire Strikes Back, in slow motion. That scene and the music, and the surprise of it all, it really startled me for some reason. There were many such revelatory scenes in the game, I liked how they fleshed out the story.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei has the best visuals in the series, IMO.

[NeoZeedeater]

Good review.

PDS is up there with NiGHTS for my favorite Saturn game.

And lucky for me, graphics don't become outdated, they become nostalgic.

[johnk_]

anyone remember the ads sega took out for PDS in magazines like EGM?

it was a cutout of the main character's face, and the idea was that since you probably wouldn't be able to get a copy of the game (only something like 10,000 copies were made), you could use the face cutout to wear as a mask so you could...uh.. "experience" the PDS world or something like that..

lame.. only sega would take out an ad like that..