Platform: Sega Saturn
Release date:
JP: January 29, 1998
NA: April 30, 1998
PAL: June 5, 1998
Panzer Dragoon Saga is a rare game. The price has steadily gone up since the mid-2000s, but it can sometimes still be found for less than the price of a PS4 Pro. The dream is to see this officially ported to modern platforms, but Saturn development was notoriously difficult. That said, there have been a number of articles about the game's development as of a year ago, and the 20th anniversary of this game has brought attention back to this lost gem. Recent polls that Sega's held have been encouraging as well, with the Panzer Dragoon franchise placing high among fans as a most-hoped revival. For those who can't spend the money on such an expensive game, then I hope you can still use this thread to learn about the title and its history.
Articles on the history of the series:
The Ringer: The Ruinous Road of Gaming's Missing Masterpiece
Polygon: Panzer Dragoon Saga: An oral history
There's also a pretty thorough fansite about the Panzer Dragoon series called Panzer Dragoon Legacy. Thanks to Skye Welse and Projekt Nemesis 117 for contributing the artwork that I used for the image at the top of this OT.
Trailer
Back of box details
Enter the world of Panzer Dragoon Saga, and experience a game like no other: a fusion of classic Panzer action with the most technologically advanced RPG to come to Saturn. Board your morphing dragon and behold as the mysteries of the Panzer wrold unfurl across 4 massive CDs. The new "rail free" 3D engine lets you soar deeper into role-playing adventure than you ever before imagined. Your destiny awaits.
-Classic Panzer action fused with deep RPG gameplay.
-"Rail free real-time 360-degree flight.
-Dynamic Metamorphosis system enables real-time dragon morphing. Your dragon will grow and mature during your adventure.
-Epic adventure spans 4 CDs.
Uncompromising conclusion to the classic Panzer Dragoon saga.
About the game
Set after Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, Panzer Dragoon Saga takes the series in a different direction. While the first two games were on-rail shooters like Star Fox or Sin & Punishment, Panzer Dragoon Saga adapts some of these mechanics for a unique RPG battle system. There isn't a party system, nor are there items to enhance defense or offense. Instead, you can change your dragon's stats and balances in the in-game menu, and this will also determine the shape and look of the dragon. Battles are a constant fight against your enemy who will try to maneuver to your weak point, so you have to try and do the same, although sometimes the best way to damage an opponent is to place yourself in harm's way, so strategy and timing is key. Outside of battle are large free-roaming flight sections, which makes up the majority of the traversal in the game.
The story is a simple revenge story, but that's to the game's benefit. Panzer Dragoon Saga doesn't waste the player's time, with a runtime that clocks in around 15 hours. The cast is tightly focused and the plot moves along at a smooth pace. There are very few side quests and only one town/village (which is where the game shows its age the most). However the game is fully voiced in Panzarese or Japanese, even during FMV cutscenes at a time when that wasn't happening.
While the story is set after the first two Panzer Dragoon games, they are not that necessary to playing Panzer Dragoon Saga. Saga mostly references the happenings from Panzer Dragoon II Zwei though, and having save data of Saga or Zwei will unlock items in the other game.
Screenshots
Reviews
Gamerankings
James Mielke said:Panzer Dragoon Saga has been called Sega's answer to Final Fantasy VII, but that is an unfair comparison. Panzer Saga, in its own way, is so much more than Squares' ultimate RPG. It is a worthy successor to a series that with each installment has grown in stature and scope. It is flawlessly executed, limited only by the hardware (and barely that at all) and medium. Unlike other recent RPGs, such as Parasite Eve and Grandia, Panzer Dragoon Saga is truly a "cinematic RPG." Wide-screen in vision and Technicolor at heart, you can only imagine where the next one will take us. It's almost fitting, in the twilight of the Saturn's years, that it should end as it began. Panzer was always the brightest example of what the Saturn had to offer, and this third and final chapter reveals what Team Andromeda was up to all along - to fulfill the legacy of Panzer Dragoon and deliver Panzer Dragoon Saga, possibly the finest RPG of 1998.
RPG Fan said:But all of those gripes are minor and don't effect the experience negatively. This is an incredible game and one that every RPG fan should own. And hopefully it will hook many that never considered playing an RPG, and make them love the genre. RPG's are experiencing a renaissance right now, and Panzer Saga is a Michelangelo in the genre. Team Andromeda is a rising star in the industry and are easily the equal of the greatest developers in the industry. You can tell when a developer really cares about making a great game, and it's obvious everywhere you look in Panzer Saga that they love what they do.
Where to Buy:
eBay
Amazon
About the Music
Additionally, the soundtrack was rearranged in 2018 by the original composer. An article by The Verge can be read here.
Resurrection: Panzer Dragoon Saga 20th Anniversary Arrangement
CD or Vinyl
Digital
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