Panzer Dragoon Review

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(More customer reviews)I have very fond memories of Panzer Dragoon. It was the first game I bought for my SEGA Saturn back in May 1995, meaning it was my first taste of 32 bits. It was such a different time then, because the Sony Playstation hadn't been released yet, and the 16 bit systems were still reigning supreme. A real Clash of the Titans, Nintendo's SNES vs. SEGA's Genesis. It was hard to declare a clear winner back then, so the idea of SEGA dominating the 32 bit era didn't seem so absurd. I remember seeing a few tiny pics of Panzer Dragoon screens in magazine previews, and that was enough to get me interested, even though I couldn't really see what was going on. When I finally played it, I was completely blown away. Team Andromeda (the developer) did an amazing job of creating a unique fantasy world. Well, sort of unique; it was heavily inspired by the manga/anime Nausica'. As for the game itself, it's a 3D shooter. It followed in the footsteps of Space Harrier, and Star Fox. The bulk of the simple gameplay was controling a crosshairs and locking onto targets with guided lasers. One feature that was new at the time was the 360' view control. Enemies could attack from any direction, so you had to be quick with those L and R shoulder buttons. Another thing that set Panzer Dragoon apart from other shooters was the presentation. It opened with a beautiful cinema, setting the stage for a war and showing just how you come to possess a flying dragon as your steed. It had its own ficticous language, increasing the player immersion. It was a true masterpiece. About a year later, the sequel was released, Panzer Dragoon Zwei II. (Redundant, I know, but that ~is~ the official title) It stayed true to the original, but threw in some new elements and improvements as well. Unfortunately, by the time the third game in the series (Panzer Dragoon Saga) was completed in 1997, the Saturn was already all but dead in the US. The Sony Playstation, which was initially met with a great amount of suspicion and distaste from the gaming community, had become the most successful game console in history and absolutely crushed its competition. Panzer Dragoon Saga came very close to not being released in the US at all, but in the end SEGA saw fit to produce a severely limited run of 6000 copies. It was extremely hard to find a copy. Those who did find it were treated to one of the most enjoyable and unique RPGs ever made. After PDS was released, members Team Andromeda declared that the Panzer Dragoon trilogy was complete, and they disbanded. They went on to work on other projects. One of them was Omega Boost, a 3D shooter for the Playstation that plays almost identically to Panzer Dragoon. [EDIT: Since writing this review I've been told that no one from Team Andromeda worked on Omega Boost] And now, a Playstation 2 game called Rez is on the near horizon. Supposedly there are no less than seven former TA members on the Rez staff, and would you believe it, it too looks to play much like the Panzer Dragoon shooters. Finally, oddly enough, a fourth Panzer Dragoon is on the way to the Xbox. I would have loved another RPG in the series, but apparently this too will be another shooter. Oh well, good enough.

I didn't expect to ramble on this long. If there is anyone out reading this who owns a Saturn but doesn't own the games in the PD series, do yourself a big favor, and get them. All of them. They're well worth it. But get this one first.

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Product Description:
Synopsis:The game universe is set in the distant future, thousands of years after a great war between humans and their biologically engineered weapons.By the time of the game, humans have regained some level of organization, forming everything from small tribes to large nations. One nation, The Imperials, have discovered a tower that gave them access to large amounts of ancient weapons which they used to beat back and control the ever-present monsters in the world. The Imperials were corrupted by their power and became conquerors of other people as opposed to liberators from a violent world.Gameplay:The player is set along a rail of gameplay with the game moving forward at a predetermined pace. The only time the game pauses, thus giving the player control over how long the game lasts, is during boss battles. The player has a small degree of control, being allowed to move about the x and y-axis, but the overall direction of travel is uncontrollable.The player has a full, 360-degree field of view, and can quickly look left, right, forward, and behind the dragon. Enemies will come from all directions and vary in size and health.The player has two weapons, the hand gun held by the rider which can fired with a single button press, and the homing laser fired by the dragon which is controlled by holding down the fire button and highlighting enemies with the aiming reticle.The game is set out over six levels and a final boss battle. Bosses are encountered at the end of each level, with the exception of the sixth. Cut scenes illustrating plot details are placed before the beginnings of some levels.

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