Panzer Dragoon Saga

The Good
One of the last games I bought on Sega Saturn before the system quickly disapered in 1998 and probably the best game I ever played.

I never really taken much notice of the two previous 'Dragoon' games, although I played them they never really gripped me as much as the last game - Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Saga is an engrossing game, the cut scenes are absolutely fabuloues that drags you in further into the rich world that Team Andrommeda have created over the previous 2 games.

Everyone goes on about the graphics, although good, it is how the story is told that make this game stand out. The growing friendship between the teenage human Edge and the mysterious drone girl Azel grips you and some of the scenes are quite moving and strangely haunting...

Also comes to mind is the soundtrack...amazing!

The Bad
Being one of my favourite games of all time it is hard to find fault with this game.

I did find some parts of the game dragged. One part that comes to mind is the tunnel level where Edge and Azel are on a hover craft, the level seems to go on forever and with little in the way of scenery it does become a little boring - which games should NEVER be.

As mentioned, its hard to find fault in such a gem!

The Bottom Line
Video game story telling at its best!

The Good
Panzer Dragoon Saga occupies a somewhat unusual place in the long list of Japanese RPGs. It is a part of a series, but not role-playing series - its two predecessors were rail shooters. As such, it focuses largely on dramatic presentation and visual flair - and doubtlessly succeeds there.

This game was often called "Saturn's Swan Song". It was made for a console that was already sentenced to death, and only a few copies of it were released outside of Japan. This must have contributed greatly to its status of a cult classic.

The game has some of the best graphics of its era, and certainly the best I've seen on the Saturn. Every location is reasonably detailed, with some superbly crafted, imaginative areas that come to life with their breadth and vivid colors. It is enough to take a look at the sea ruins at night to fall in love with the game's graphics.

Many games claim to be "cinematic", but Panzer Dragoon Saga really deserves to be called that. Excellent camera work, orchestrated background music, and surprisingly good voice acting leave almost nothing to be desired. The game is not just a collection of pretty pictures: with its visuals it conveys drama and emotions. Even simple navigation is rendered more pleasant because of the lovely vistas spread beneath our dragon. All this graphical splendor is complemented by well-directed, theatrical full-motion videos that advance the story.

The game is set in a sort of post-apocalyptic environment, where a new, still primitive culture is trying to gain access to the Ancient Civilization with its strange devices and powerful weapons. It is an interesting setting - neither a medieval fantasy nor sci-fi, but something between. The plot seems incredibly sparse at first, but this laconically told story succeeds, in a way, more than its overblown, melodramatic brothers of the Final Fantasy order. There are sad moments and an overall feeling of pervasive melancholy, which gives the story a certain dignity that was all but shattered by the overwritten, overacted Japanese RPGs of its time and beyond.

It's needless to say that controlling a flying dragon and being able to change its altitude is much more fun than just moving around a character on the ground. The battles are dynamic and fast-paced thanks to the limited ability to move around.

The Bad
Panzer Dragoon Saga may have all the eye candy in the world, but as an RPG, it is not satisfactory in any way. In fact, its role-playing elements are so weak that you hardly notice them. Much of what happens in the game are semi-automatized procedures with beautiful views and cutscenes.

There is no party management or character management in general in this game. You have only one character to control in the entire game, who uses only one weapon and doesn't wear any equipment. There is virtually nothing you would expect to see in a RPG here, except automatic leveling up, a couple of weapon enhancements to equip, and a choice of spells for your dragon.

When this simplicity is coupled with an utter lack of challenge, you begin to feel the game is playing itself. There are a few secret items and two non-mandatory dragon transformations, but they don't mean anything. Who needs the super-powerful Light Wing dragon model if your current dragon is overpowered anyway? The supposedly interesting dragon class feature is an almost useless gimmick, since it is perfectly possible (and even easier) to complete the game while staying a "normal" dragon.

Even easier than the battles is the navigation. The game is totally linear - you can only jump from location to location on the world map, and the areas themselves are small and straightforward. You should never care about being lost, unprepared, underpowered, trapped by too many enemies, or running low on supplies. In short, Panzer Dragoon Saga can take such a good care of itself that I'm surprised they didn't just make a movie out of it.

The game's world is small and almost empty. There is one (!) real town in the entire game, and there is barely anything to do there. There are hardly any characters to talk to. Also, the game is very short - completing it in ten hours or so is not uncommon. I understand all those reductions must have occurred due to hardware limitations. But if that was the case, why bother designing an RPG in the first place? This game clearly wanted to be a rail shooter just like its predecessors. Perhaps fans of that genre will be satisfied by its "streamlined" gameplay, but it's the death sentence of role-playing.

The Bottom Line
It's easy to see why Panzer Dragoon Saga has gotten glowing reviews everywhere - it looks great and you can ride and fight dragons in it. But if you are looking for anything resembling depth and flexibility in your RPGs, this game isn't going to cut it.

The Good
The RPG game stands out from the rest because of how they delivered every single aspect of the game. It feels very well thought of. The story alone, is very interesting and mature. Imagine that the developers even made a new language for the game even though it is rarely used.

Visually, its beautiful every where you look. The graphics looks smooth and eye-candy is everywhere. Though it is not as impressive as looking at the original Panzer Dragoon for the fast paced graphics, but the over all look is amazing. What strikes me is that when the console RPG style of the game comes in, it has a unique way of representation that I have not seen anywhere. Most console-RPG games are turn based and everything seems like its standing still, but here you are moving all the time. It is still turn-based but it is great to look at because it keeps the game alive and on the move.

The music is very fresh to listen to. The new age style is so unique to the ears that you'd want to listen to it over and over again. It is very fitting the the new world that your playing and it gives a sense of touch to it. The voice acting is great, even though I don't understand Japanese, you can feel their emotions through their voices. I can't expect more than that.

The game itself is very similar to other console-RPG games but in the game you feel more free, since you can fly almost anywhere. Flying feels so fast and exciting. It feels more graceful than previous Panzer Dragoon games because those games were action games than anything. What is unique in this game is that when in combat mode, it is important to consider your position which is either, front, left, right or behind your opponent. This really matters because of the strength of damages which can affect any opponent even you. Also at some point in the game you can change your dragon to some specific attributes like more magic, strenght or defense. This affects his way of attack.

This is a unique game, which is fun and exciting all the way. The story is great and straight forward and no side stories that distract you from the main concept. This game is an experience by itself.

The Bad
I wish it had a longer gameplay. For 40+ hours of gaming it seems very short.

The Bottom Line
This game is unique RPG experience. If you like console-RPG games, this one is one game that you can't miss out.