The Panzer Dragoon Remake: Flying Blind Through Familiar Skies

I’ve always been sympathetic to, and even charmed by Sega’s mid-‘90s transitional struggles. For a time, the company was caught perpetually off guard as the industry conventions it had relied on (and indeed, helped define) crumbled amidst a swift generational shift. Sega adapted, more or less. It eventually forged its own creative renaissance that continues to endear the company to many of us today, even if it was ultimately a victim of that sea change.

In my mind, no game exemplified that precarious phase more than the original Panzer Dragoon. As something of a killer app in the Sega Saturn’s early days, the original title stands as a cult classic, particularly by association with its offspring. Fans maintain an enduring fondness for the original Panzer Dragoon, of course, but it remains even better known for kicking off a remarkable and criminally underappreciated gaming franchise.

For its part, the original Panzer Dragoon was a timid first step in a bold new direction. It navigated a generational chasm between a familiar arcade-action framework and the unbound possibilities of 3D gaming. Between them, Panzer Dragoon took a contorted middle path. It utilized the third dimension to great artistic and mechanical effect, hoisting players atop a majestic dragon and immersing them in a 360˚ perspective as they locked lasers with fantastical beasts in a mysterious, post-apocalyptic setting. Those concepts contributed to a distinct vision and tone that felt entirely new. However, several of the game's structural aspects – like its rigidly linear pathways, finite life/continue counts, and lack of upgrades or progression systems – did not.

The game is about dragons, after all, so in those terms the original Panzer Dragoon was like a young fledgling: confined to well-trodden ground despite its loftier ambitions for flight. With later installments, the series would grow its wings, evolve with more modern conventions, and soar with a swagger to match its ambition.

But now, 25 years later, developer MegaPixel Studio and publisher Forever Entertainment return us to that young fledgling via the Nintendo Switch (for now, with PC and other platforms eventually).

At face value, the Panzer Dragoon remake basically does what it promises. It lets me hop back into the dragon’s saddle and guides me through the linear pathways and familiar locales from the original game. Homing lasers in tow, I again blast the waves of monsters surrounding me. The remake largely succeeds in replicating the basic structure of Panzer Dragoon, no doubt, but it overlooks many of the things which defined its novel vision in the first place. At no point does the Panzer Dragoon remake ever make a compelling case for why it really needed to exist.

Nobody should have this many copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga. NOBODY!

In my monthly ebay browsing for SEGA Saturn goodies, I came across this ebay  seller who has WAY too many copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga on his hands. I was actually quite pissed off to see how many he had. Of course, he's selling them now, but imagine how many years these sat unplayed. No great game deserves to sit on a shelf with seven identical copies of itself. Game hoarding at its worst.

Still, if you have $200+ to spare, here are multiple chances to buy a copy of the game.
http://shop.ebay.com/mwerking/m.html?_nkw=panzer+dragoon+saga&_sacat=0&_odkw=&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3911.c0.m270.l1311

Panzer Dragoon spiritual successor coming to Kinect

Alright, alright. So this is neither a Saturn game, nor is it published by SEGA. However, the director of the original Panzer Dragoon Saturn trilogy, Yukio Futatsugi, is responsible for this piece of news. Yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show, Yukio Futatsugi took the Microsoft stage to announce the spiritual successor to Panzer Dragoon, Project Draco! While it hasn't been said officially that the game will take place in the Dragoon world, the visuals and fact that the gameplay remains the same makes it pretty apparent that this is what they're going for. Also: Panzer/Project, Dragoon/Draco? PD and PD? Hmm...

The game will be playable via Kinect, though it hasn't been said if the game will also be playable via standard controller. Microsoft describes the game as an “epic 3D flying shooter.” Via the Kinect, players nurture and communicate with the dragon to help develop its skills and train it in combat. Project Draco also includes online multiplayer over Xbox Live.

Very cool to see the series return in some form, especially with the creator behind the project! 

'Panzer Dragoon Saga' Sequel = Necessary

We haven't had a post in a while and I'm short on time! Thankfully, Game Trailers did the work for me and listed 'Panzer Dragoon Saga' in their "Top 10 Necessary Sequels" list. Watch, enjoy and weep:

Video Games | GT Countdown | Top 10 Necessary Sequels

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Game Core 2009 - Saturn Edition

Yesterday I attended Game Core 2009, a current and classic gaming convention in Pennsylvania which had a Dreamcast oriented day of contests and competitions. My report of the event can be found at SEGA Nerds, but it's not the FULL report. Consider this the "Saturn Edition" of my day.

When I entered the dealer section of the convention, I had Dreamcast on the brain. However, after flicking through row after row of so-so Dreamcast games that I wouldn't mind owning but would be better off NOT owning, I found myself shifting to the Saturn sections. Maybe it's the fact that the past year has been so Dreamcast heavy, or that I've bought a good fifty Dreamcast games over the past eight months. In any case, the Saturn was a much more exciting library for me to browse and so a good portion of my convention budget went towards SEGA's big white, gray or black box that could.


Three dealers in particular had a HUGE selection of Saturn games, one of which had an excellent import selection. The photo above was of the dealer with the best deals, many games going for $4 to $15 dollars. I picked up Sonic 3D Blast for $8 after a bit of haggling.


That same dealer also had the holy grail of Saturn games, Panzer Dragoon Saga for $190. This is actually a fair price for the game. Another dealer across the hall had been asking $300!


The bin with the hand browsing through it was full of mint Japanese Saturn games and the bin to the right was full of mint Japanese Dreamcast games. Before I spotted my final purchase, I was very close to buying Napple Tale for $50.


As you see, my final purchase was a white Japanese Saturn (joy!), Sonic 3D Blast, an Action Replay Plus, MSR and a Dreamcast vinyl sticker (a prize for those who competed in one of the Dreamcast tournaments). Now that I think of it, both Sonic 3D Blast and MSR were composed by Richard Jacques. UK:RESISTANCE would be proud.


And here she is unboxed. As the Dreamcast anniversary has passed, I think it's time for me to focus much more on feeding games to this white beauty. For those curious, the console and Action Replay Plus came out to $90. Goddamn am I happy to finally have one of these!

Panzer Dragoon Awesome!!!

By the title alone you probably already guessed what happened. I beat Panzer Dragoon Saga! Me, the guy with the short attention span, jRPG hater, just spent 15 hours with this game. And I loved it! It was a blast to the very end, although at some points near the end of the 3rd cd/beginning of the 4th it can get somewhat...I wouldn't say boring, but the pace slows down a bit and it can get a bit confusing at times, with the player not knowing what to do. I admit it, I had to use a guide from time to time, and throughout most of the 4th disc where things really get complicated. There's a whole area (won't say exactly what it is to prevent spoilers) that's just like a giant maze, and the boss fights can be somewhat unforgiving. After you understand the enemy patterns and realize what attacks to use, it's easy, but once you figure that out your life bar is probably already so low that you can't turn the tide of battle and have to do it all over again.


Still, this game is an experience like no other, which I guess makes the Saturn über relevant even in this era of HD and online gaming, achievements, and gamerscores, and casual shit. So, yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is simply that I can't recommend this game enough, to any kind of player. No matter what are your favourite genres, if you like the Saturn you gotta play this game. It instantly became my favourite Saturn game of all time, even surpassing my childhood favourites, and is probably also one of, if not the, best jRPG I've ever played. That is, if you even consider it a jRPG, because its style of progression and combat system are so far ahead, so wildly different from everything else I've seen, so much better than even those in current, recent games, that I'm not sure you can, or you should, put it next to such boring, stagnated, repetitious games.



By the way, while browsing the interwebs I found some interesting articles about this game in particular or the whole series. Check them out:

A look back to PDS by Game Informer - here

Retrospective of the series by Gamasutra - here

Retrospective by 1UP - here

IGN's top 100 games of all time (44th place) - here

1UP's top ten cult classics (1st place!) - here

EGM review

Game Informer review

GamePro review

*Kudos to Panzer Dragoon Saga Oasis (link) for most of the links.

A game worth the price tag

The sentence that serves as a title for this post is usually one of the first things that come to my mind when I think about it. You see, for there are a lot of rare and expensive Saturn games out there, some of them good, some of them bad, but all not worth the hefty prices they demand these days. But, alas, I've found one such a game! It can go from 50 to 200€/$/£, depending on region (Europe - semi-rare, USA - rare, Japan - cheap as fuck), but even the biggest price tag is thoroughly deserved.

I'm talking about Panzer Dragoon Saga!


Now, you all know I'm a big fan of the series, and this game was the only one missing from my collection (not counting the spin-off Panzer Dragoon Mini or whatever that gamegear game was called). It has been on my list for quite some time, but now I finally decided to take the plunge and just play it. And OMFG it's awesome!!!

Seriously, this game was so ahead of it's time! I'm only in the middle of disc 2 and it's already one of my favourite RPG's ever! For a start, the game is very cinematic. There are a lot of FMV's (real, lengthy videos, not just short clips) that illustrate the story thoroughly and put you in the right mood for this hallucinating trip, and not only they're technically irreprehensible, but also masterfully designed, with shots worthy of Hollywood. Then, it's freaking accessible for an RPG. For a start, everything is thoroughly explained in a series of interactive tutorials. That way you won't enter your first fight without knowing the combat system in detail.



And also, the combat system is one of the most engaging and fast-paced I've ever seen using a turn-based mechanic. It's kind of complex for me to explain here without a video to illustrate while I describe it, but just bear in mind that position matters, you have to be constantly moving around your enemies to dodge their attacks and find their weak-points, and your choice of attacks depends heavily on your action bar's charge.

Then there's the story, the surreal setting on which the action takes place and the gameplay outside the fights. You'll explore villages on foot and breathtaking scenarios mounted on your faithful dragon, reminiscing of some areas from the previous games, and the slower pace of the games let's you learn more about this strange world and admire the absolutely stunning graphics. This takes me to the graphics, which are simply amazing. It's almost impossible to get more out of the Saturn's limited 3D capabilities, but enough to make you realize how amazing the system is/was back in the day. Also, the game has a unique "Saturn look" to it. I can't really explain, but I think there are certain graphical effects that were most used on Saturn games, so that you can immediately tell this was not released on a Playstation, for example. But, more stunning than the technical aspect is the art direction, which is everything you can expect from a Panzer Dragoon game.



To sum it up, even though I'm not halfway through it yet, this is already one of my favourite game on the system, and given it's accessible nature, chances are a lot of you faithful readers will enjoy it too, even if you usually don't fancy RPG's. This game is pure magic. Go buy it and see for yourself, you'll thank me later :)

And Father K, I know you have this one. Go play it, go play it now!

Games you need in your import collection pt1

I thought it might be useful to collate some of my import collection for those of you new to the scene. It's easy enough to get games in your own territory, but people often rave about Japanese games circa 1990-2000. 

The thing is, a lot of these games are now overhyped or just plain old expensive. Let's hit on a few that are great games, but won't break the bank. Welcome to part 1 of my import special.

Saturn Bomberman Fight!

Oh yes. It's Bomberman! What a cainer. Blow the crap out of your opponents. The best part? Having a sleep over? No problem. With a multi-tap or two, you can have up to 10 players. 10 players. Most teenagers these days don't have that many physical friends*. Anyway, this is a great game. You all know bomberman and this is one of the best. Get it!

Layer Section

This is an often overlooked shooter. Everyone raves about Radiant Silvergun. It's often sold for over £100. Sod that. Don't bother unless you are a collector - which you would have to be to pay that for it. It's a good shooter, but overratted. Layer section is pretty old school but feels really tight and can be found cheaply.

Panzer Dragoon

Yes, this can be found PAL for cheap cheap cheap, but... look at the artwork on the Japanese game. Worth the price of an import Saturn if you ask me. Which you aren't, but I am telling you anyway. Gorgeous.

Great game too!

This concludes the round up of the games you should own on your import Saturn. Part 1. Stay tuned!

*complete guess and probably quite offensive. If you're a teen, write in to let us know.

Sega + Xbox = Awesomeness!

Can you guess what was the first game I tried on my recently purchased Xbox? No, not Jet Set Radio Future, I was already playing that on my 360. It was none other than Panzer Dragoon Orta! The only title in this magnificent series not released on the Saturn, I've waited for a chance to play it ever since it was first announced. Now, I'm not the biggest Panzer Dragoon fan out there, but I played the PD Zwei demo to death when I was a kid, and one of the first games I played when I bought my second (and current) Saturn was the original PD, so I really like the series, even though I've yet to beat Zwei and never even played Saga (it's on my list...).


Anyway, now it was the time to see how the only 128bits game in the series compared to the rest of the pack, and oh boy, was I in for a surprise. This game is fucking brilliant! I know you were expecting a more elaborate opinion, but to cut it short, that's just how it is. The game plays very much like the predecessors, you control a kid (in this case, a girl) riding a dragon through a pre-determined path and you basically just have to shoot your way out (though you don't necessarily have to kill everything), hence the name "on-rails shooter".


But, of course, Sega didn't just want to do the same thing again, they had to introduce some new twists. Now you can accelerate and decelerate your dragon to strategically position yourself on the battlefield and, even better, you can change its form. No shit, it's like having 3 dragons instead of one! Don't worry, though, for this doesn't mean that you'll have to bust your head trying to figure out what to do. The acceleration thing is only needed in some situations and the forms of the dragon are more a matter of personal taste than necessity. Some situations call for a specific form, like when there's a swarm of weak, little enemies the rapid fire of the "glide" form comes in handy, and the powerful shot of the "heavy" form helps beating some bosses, but in the end this is an action game, not strategy.


Then come the graphics, and OMG, isn't this game gorgeous. Even nowadays it still blew me away. That's because it excells not only from a purely techically point of view, but from an artistic one too. The PD universe is unique and surreal, no question about that, and this game explores that like no other. It's just...I can't really express it through words, but trust me, this game is beautiful, in any and every sense of the word. Pictures don't do it justice, and neither do videos, you really have to play it and see it in motion before your eyes. The level design is basically perfect, the scenarios are unique and varied and everything fits together so well... Playing this game is an unreal, truly fantastic experience.



Finally, to top it off, there's the extras. Not only is this a pretty long game considering genre standards (depending on player skill, it can last as long as most action games/FPS of today), but it features tons of unlockables. Really, there's a lot of stuff to unlock. You'll find detailed information about the game's universe, concept art, bonus missions with new character's/dragons and even a port of the original Panzer Dragoon! Woot!

So, in the end, this game is awesome. It's a god-send gift for fans of the series, a must-have, game something that proves that Sega didn't die with the end of the Dreamcast. Heck, it's so awesome they even made a limited edition Xbox after it!

The History Of Panzer Dragoon

Whenever people talk about the Sega Saturn they also talk about its great games. Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter often lead the fanboy discussions but there is this third game, which the Saturn is known for. Panzer Dragoon. Released in late 1995 it was the first, truly great game for the Saturn, which was not an arcade port. And it has made its impact. So much, that Gamasutra.com - a site which looks behind the scenes of the gaming industry from time to time - features Panzer Dragoon in a whooping 8 pages tribute, called the history of Panzer Dragoon. Go for it, it's a nice read and may bring back some memories or even tears for you.

A game collection do die (or kill) for...

So, remember that awesome collection i talked about somedays ago? For those of you that don't know anything about this, let me re-tell you the story.

I was wandering in the PTGamers forum (pardon me for the publicity, but it's the fucking best portuguese videogames site!) when i stumbled across a topic named "game collections". Curious as i am, i entered the topic just to find out one of the most impressive collections of saturn games i've ever seen, especially from a portuguese gamer!

I immediately asked for permission to post the picture here, and not only he said yes, he also took more photos for me to publish! What a guy...

Anyway, here they come, so be sure to clean your eyes, you'll want so see this as clearly as possible... (as always, click the picture to see it in full size)

Tcharan!


This is the first picture i saw, and according to him it's a little outdated, the following are more complete. Notice that, not only this guy as alot of good games, i also has at least 3 of the "great 5" (that's what i call the 5 most rare/expensive titles for the Saturn). If you watch carefully you'll see Guardian Heroes, Shining Force 3 and...Panzer Dragoon Saga! Oh yeah!

By the way, about that hallowed game, he said that he bought it a long time ago in a store that closed just a few days after for the ridiculous amount of 4.000 escudos (our old money, before the euro came), something like 20 euros. Yes, 20 euros for a game that easily sells for 100 or more nowadays. As the gnome would say, "you lucky bastard, you..."

This is basically the same picture, although here we can see Christmas NiGHTS, Virtua Fighter Remix (i didn't know that it was released in such a large box) and some other games that weren't in the previous picture.

Here we can see even more games, including Soviet Strike, another case where i had no idea it came in such a large box, Virtua Cop 2 and there's even room for some nintendo love, as we can see by the DS, GC and Wii games. (hey Father, looks like the Saturn and the Wii really make a good combination)

And here it is in all it's glory, one of the most sought after titles ever, Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Well, and that's it. Hope you liked as much as i did, i know this gave me the will to never stop collecting Saturn games.

As always, good bye and good games ;)