Panzer Dragoon Saga turns 20 years old. It's time to review one of the best games in history ... and one of the most unjustly forgotten. An unforgettable story, a magnificent artistic section and a great game system make it a role-playing game that marked times.
It was the year 1998 when Team Andromeda made digital magic.It is not possible to define in any other way the work of art that was taken out of the sleeve of the studio of Sega, since it got that the last game in seeing the light in Saturn was the game of the machine of 32 bits more acclaimed by the critic. And that's a lot to say when Saturn has in its catalog works like NiGHTS into Dreams, Burning Rangers, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Sega Rally, Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter 2, Guardian Heroes ... In fact, we are talking about a title to which It is also not uncommon to see those always controversial lists of the best games of all time. And, nevertheless, it is usually one of the titles most unjustly forgotten by the history of videogames. This is Panzer Dragoon Saga, also known as Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG,
The first Dragoon Panzer was Saturn's launching game and became one of the most impressive titles of the year 1995. It was a fairly simple rails shooter, close to what a Space Harrier can offer, but which stood out for its visual spectacle (with designs of the master illustrator Moebius), its wonderful soundtrack, its high capacity for fun and, above all, a shocking storyThat left an unbeatable taste in your mouth. The second installment, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, would not wait long. Already in 1996 we could enjoy a game that followed the line marked by its predecessor but that took a step forward by offering the possibility of choosing different routes and even make the dragon evolve in different ways. But with the third part the deck was broken in an unexpected and spectacular way, since it was a role-playing game that exploited the console's technical potential to the maximum and, most importantly, it deepened remarkably in the universe that was taking us presenting for a couple of deliveries.
You can not talk about Panzer Dragoon without making a small stop at Yukio Futatsugi, the creator and maximum responsible for this dream franchise. This trilogy was his only work in Sega before leaving the company, but later he left us other titles such as Phantom Dust or Crimson Dragon, an attempt of spiritual successor to the Xbox One franchise that was weighed by delays, cancellations, the system of original control with Kinect and the urgent re-adaptation of Xbox 360 to Xbox One. Futatsugi is so proud of his creations, however, that he always states that he wants to create a sequel to Phantom Dust, an HD remake of Panzer Dragoon (and maybe a new one?) or even a continuation of Crimson Dragon that, like Panzer Dragoon Saga, reimagined the franchise as a role-playing game. His passion for dragons is evident and is evident in all his work. In fact,
As we mentioned before, one of the key aspects of the success of the franchise lies in its fascinating creation of a living and credible universe, with many legends, traditions, past ... and its own language: the Panzerese. A mixture of ancient Greek, Latin and Russian that became the hallmark of the franchise, since all the characters in the game spoke during the video scenes, and even the language in which the vocal themes of the franchise. It seems silly, but the development of a whole grammar of its own and getting all the characters in the game to use it very naturally add depth and credibility to the entire production. That, without forgetting all the background that is added to older. The world in which we find ourselves lacks a name, but all its inhabitants feel adoration for the technology of the Ancients, a race that disappeared long ago and that seemed to be an overdeveloped society in comparison with the current inhabitants of the universe. In a way, we are in a devastated world that could remind others like Mad Max at the design and planning level. Only here, instead of gasoline, the real treasure is the relics of the Ancients. Everyone wants to get them and get a lot of money for them, in such a way that there are interests of different factions and a thousand complications that we are not going to detail now because we would occupy many pages. Not in vain, the chronology of the game unfolds over 200 years,
All that we are discussing is a compendium of all the deliveries of the franchise (especially the Saturn trilogy). The first two parts were improving and strengthening that background under the format of shooter, but the genre was too small to Team Andromeda. And what better than the role to get to narrate and delve even more into the precious and dense universe that we were intuiting? It might seem crazy that the developers went from demonstrating their mastery of the shooter to a genre as different as the role. And yet, they managed to have an even greater mastery. Such was the case, that at the time there were few magazines that put the game at the level of Final Fantasy VII itself. Chronologically, Panzer Dragoon Saga is located after the two previous titles, with the Empire at its best thanks to the technology recovered from the ruins of the Ancients. This civilization continues to awaken the interest of all the inhabitants of this world and everything seems to revolve around recovering more and more relics of it.
Within this panorama, the game introduces us to Edge, a young soldier of the Empire who is watching an archaeological excavationwhose goal is, of course, to recover more artifacts from the lost civilization. However, a mutant attacks the area of the excavation and Edge is forced to take action. The brawl is tough, with a mutant who seems almost invincible, but Edge gets cornered and, as a result of the exchange of blows, unearth what appears to be a fossilized girl inside a block of the wall. Edge remains enraptured before Azel, but the ships of Craymen, the leader of the rebellion that wants to end the empire, do not take long to arrive. Dazzled by the girl and forced by the duty to the Empire, Edge tries to prevent them from taking the new find, but the rebels kill everyone and Edge is not free of being shot and fall down a ravine to an area of water hidden in the depths. This is where a crucial moment for the adventure comes into play, although we will not know until we reach the end of it, in a simple but effective plot twist. The game asks us to enter our data, as in any role play, and to answer some questions. All the information that we give to the game acquires essence form that descends until Edge and returns it to the life.
It is at this point that an introduction sequence of about 20 minutes comes to an end, which at that time was a true daringand, most importantly, it resulted in an audiovisual show and very few productions managed to replicate the impact produced by the game in its initial sequence. The protagonist of the story, as is logical, ignores everything we have done and is limited to leaving (already under our direct control) the facilities. However, shortly after moving forward and when it seems to be surrounded by a tide of creatures, a dragon appears to kill them all. It seems that the gun that was found helps him to connect with him and, most importantly, to accept him as a rider. As he has nothing to lose, Edge climbs on his back and thus begins his great adventure. All this in an introductory sequence that lasted for about 20 minutes, which became an authentic audiovisual delight for the time. A sequence that, in addition,
One of the most important aspects of any role-playing game is the plot, and there Panzer Dragoon Saga is not far behind. On the contrary, it becomes one of the deepest games in the whole history of the genre. We will be receiving information at all times, in a way very similar to any other title of the genre: sequences with the engine of the game, more elaborate and cinematographic computer sequences, documents, talking with other characters ... But the main difference with other productions is the depth and gravity that everything in this universe has. To get the most out of Panzer Dragoon Saga you have to understand the past in depth and understand the events that lead us to the current situation. You have to understand well the role of each faction, the origin of this almost desert world, the possibilities of the future of humanity ... and all that, while continuing to delve into the main plot of this story in the present.
Dragons hide a lot of information and are surrounded by many unknowns. What are they? What role do they play in this world? Why has Edge been chosen? Why does Azel also have his own dragon? All this will be resolved throughout the 15-20 hours of play. It is not a particularly long RPG, although it is so loaded with data (especially with videos and voices) that it occupies a whopping 4 discs. During our adventure, Edge's main objective will be to take revenge on the rebel faction of Craymen, but soon he will begin to develop a special interest for Azel. In fact, the relationship between both characters will be a common thread that will reveal many hidden truths. Especially from the moment he unveils himself as a rider and appears on the back of his dragon Atolm ... And, as in other Panzer Dragoon, We will have a Tower that will be the great central axis of all events. TAll the characters are interesting and highly developed. It is true that they are not many, but we get to know them all very thoroughly and understand their interests and concerns, whether they are secondary characters (like Paet and Gash) or bitter enemies (Zastava, Arwen or the Emperor).
Panzer Dragoon Saga is much more than a great plot, as much as we are giving great importance due to this narrative crescendo that ends up leading to an end full of surprises. It is true that there are some aspects that have not aged quite well in these twenty years and, above all, could do with a facelift on a visual level (like almost all three-dimensional games of that first five years with 3D graphics), but that does not imply that it was not a graphic ceiling for a console like Saturn, mainly because it made an effort to offer it absolutely everything in real time, without falling into pre-rendered scenarios or pre-recorded attacks. Great stages, some of them very open, gigantic enemies ... and, above all, an exceptional artistic section. All designs, both environments and characters and enemies, are superb and would lead to a spectacular art book. Manabu Kusunoki, designer and artist of the franchise, was a big fan of the French artist Moebius, one of the best illustrators in the entire history of comics, and it shows in the many sources of inspiration that were several of the works of Moebius , such as El Incal, Arzach, Ballade ... Such was the case, that for the first delivery he directly suggested contacting the French author and he agreed to collaborate on some of the designs of the franchise (such as the Japanese cover of the first game). Moebius did not participate in Saga, but his legacy is present and transmitted in each design and each element of the game.
All this would have been useless without a soundtrack to match, and the Panzer Dragoon Saga goes beyond all limits to offer an epic rarely heard in a video game. So much so, that to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the franchise has just put on sale a vinyl with the most important issues. In a way, the soundtrack retains all the features already seen in previous installments, a fusion of popular folklore rhythms with more modern melodies. It is logical to keep the line marked by the franchise, and the truth is that it is the musical style that best suits the universe that we want to present, in which tradition is reborn under the shadow of the great modernity of the past. Saori Kobayashi and Mariko Namba completed in Panzer Dragoon Saga an exemplary work, which marked the truck to follow for many subsequent RPGs. In this aspect, the vocal theme "Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu" requires a special mention, whose lyrics are in the Panzerese language that we have heard ad nauseam throughout the game. A theme that manages to transmit so many emotions that tells a story by itself and manages to delve even more into that folklore that is communicated through the narrative.
Focusing exclusively on the gameplay, as a title belonging to the genre of the role that is Panzer Dragoon Saga, we have well differentiated parts, as always happens in the genre: dungeons, general map and cities. The difference here is that in dungeons and on the world map we are on the back of the dragon, while in the cities and towns we go on foot. Basically, the dungeons were like big puzzles that extended around us and that we had to solve if we wanted to move on: labyrinths, air currents that we had to avoid, hidden doors to discover, sources of energy to be destroyed ... The game kept us going at all times to explore and search through all corners of the stage to be able to move forward. We are free to find our way and get lost, since the game avoids limiting itself to combats in linear scenarios. In fact, the escape of linearity was even transmitted in things like dungeons in which we were argumentally forced to get off the dragon and defend ourselves on our own, without the great lasers of our partner.
In this aspect, it is necessary to indicate the wonderful combat system that had Panzer Dragoon Saga, since he mixed with great mastery the traditional turns of the role with confrontations in real time. On the back of the dragon, we could turn around the enemies in real time, with four positions (front, back, left and right). A radar indicates the safe and dangerous areas at each moment, according to the enemies and the type of attack that is preparing us; If the enemy started to charge an attack, the radar points out the area of effect and we will have to be quick to avoid the impact. Part of the strategic element, however, lies in that our enemies can also move, changing our position at the most unexpected times and getting into many problems. This defense phase, which is very important, aims to survive while loading our attack meters. They will be 3 and, depending on the type of attack we want to use, sometimes it will be enough just to arrive one and other times we will need all three. And after making our attacks, again it will be time to wait until they are filled in so that we can return to action.
The dynamics of the game give us intense combat, especially when we face the great final bosses, since their numerous and powerful abilities will make it not easy to finish them. This intensity is compensated by the calm of visits to towns and camps, where we will talk with many people, we will face different secondary missions and, in general, we will be calm to delve into history or resupply before starting a new adventure. All these rest environments are treated with utmost care, to the point where time will pass and all the places we visit will be very different day and night; and, according to the needs of each moment, we may have to wait until nightfall to be able to meet with a certain person or fulfill a certain mission.
One of the most important aspects of the game is the dragon, how could it be otherwise. Better said, the possibility of transforming it to our whim and in real time from the specific menu that our partner will have . We will have a series of parameters and, depending on what we prioritize, our dragon will modify its appearance. That is, if we want a very defensive dragon, the image of it will be almost that of a tank, whereas if we want an agile dragon it will be longer and with wider wings. Obviously, this will also have an impact on the different skills you can use (healing, attack, defense, agility, spirit), as well as forcing us to adapt to the needs of each enemy and each combat.
conclusion
In short, Panzer Dragoon Saga is an almost perfect game. This is one of Saturn's most spectacular titles, with a masterful soundtrack, an argument that hooks you from start to finish, an artistic section that you love and one of the most dynamic and fun combat systems you have seen in a role playing game. In addition, once completed, small extras are unlocked, such as the Box Game minigames, the art gallery, the dragon ranch, the counter-rounds with the dragon or aiming minigames. It is not perfect (although it remains close to being) for small details, such as its short duration (15 hours seems to be scarce for a role play, however intense they may be) or for the fact that it is entirely in English (texts , the voices are all in Panzerense). It also plays against you, to this day, that had a scarce circulation and that is difficult (and expensive) to find. But, for everything else, Panzer Dragoon Saga is one of the best titles in the history of videogames, one of those productions that immerse you from start to finish and leave an indelible mark. A pity that the game code was lost a long time ago and that has deprived us of seeing a revamped version of it. But let's dream of a complete remake from scratch. It would be one of the best news that this sector could have today ... A pity that the game code was lost a long time ago and that has deprived us of seeing a revamped version of it. But let's dream of a complete remake from scratch. It would be one of the best news that this sector could have today ... A pity that the game code was lost a long time ago and that has deprived us of seeing a revamped version of it. But let's dream of a complete remake from scratch. It would be one of the best news that this sector could have today...
The best
- The plot, the narrative and the setting of the game.
- Dynamic, intense and fun combat system.
- All the possibilities of transformation of the dragon.
- A spectacular soundtrack.
Worst
- To be a role play is not too long.
- Entirely in English.
A reference title in its kind, which stands out above its competitors and which you will enjoy from beginning to end, surely several times. A game destined to become classic over the years.
1-6 IMAGECREDIT
THANKS FOR READING, ALSO CHECK OUT MY PREVIOUS REVIEW ON MONSTER HUNTER WORLD (PS4)
