Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) review "I don’t know the name of this world, but it’s a bleak, somber wasteland hoping to get by on scraps left behind by a dead people. An advanced civilization known as The Ancients originally spanned the globe until it was destroyed by an unknown cataclysm years ago. Sparse nomadic tribes of humans band together in order to fend off vicious mutants that roam the lifeless hillsides and dead seas. An emerging civilization – The Empire – grows stronger by salvaging The Ancients’ God-like technology. "

I don’t know the name of this world, but it’s a bleak, somber wasteland hoping to get by on scraps left behind by a dead people. An advanced civilization known as The Ancients originally spanned the globe until it was destroyed by an unknown cataclysm years ago. Sparse nomadic tribes of humans band together in order to fend off vicious mutants that roam the lifeless hillsides and dead seas. An emerging civilization – The Empire – grows stronger by salvaging The Ancients’ God-like technology.

Panzer Dragoon Saga’s story is unusual for a j-RPG thanks to its barren and morose setting. It’s a lonely game. The protagonist, Edge, is quickly orphaned in the first ten minutes when a renegade Imperial commander guns down his adoptive father. Edge is only saved by the miraculous arrival of a dragon, a rarity in this world. With the help of his only friend, he initially sets out for revenge. That quickly changes. Edge encounters few friends other than his rather intimidating traveling companion. Saga’s world has more rotting plants and freshly-stripped bone than NPCs. Edge is alone for most of the game until he encounters the only other dragon rider in the world, Azel. The narrative shifts quickly exploring Azel, the history and future of the Panzer Dragoon world, and his role in things to come.

It isn’t the best written RPG and the dated presentation dampens the impact of some cutscenes, but Saga offers a different kind of story than the usual Final Fantasy ilk. It’s easy to forget the story. It’s fantastic and sometimes beautiful, but its world can be ugly and unpleasant. Getting swept up in the game’s engrossing, unique combat blending elements of RPGs and the series’ rail shooters can do it too. Rather than a party, battles are fought solely by Edge riding atop his dragon. Combat is a mix of executing turn-based actions with real-time maneuvering.

As Edge takes to the skies, he and his dragon have three action bars that continually fill as time passes in battle. In exchange for one action bar, a variety of commands can be used at any time. Traditional RPG commands like items and spells (called Berserks here) can be employed for support or to utilize devastating attacks, such as razor-sharp chakrams of wind leaving battered mutants in their wake or a bolt of lightning that curls and slithers across the screen while electrocuting all that it touches. Basic attacks consist of two types: a flurry of energy shots from Edge’s gun concentrated on a single enemy for maximum damage and a blast of the dragon’s lasers capable of eviscerating multiple targets.

At any time during combat, the dragon can be positioned in four quadrants using the left and right directions to swing around monsters. Optimal movement is key during many encounters. Early on Edge encounters a disgusting creature with twitching feelers emerging from a bulbous cobra-like head. Its body is a slender serpent-like design with a quivering sac of flab at its posterior. By no discernable means the beast floats in the air occasionally vomiting gastric juices. In every fight a compass in the HUD shows the location of Edge’s dragon. Quadrants are colored to denote their relative danger. Go to the green spots against cobra-fiend and Edge will be safe from its attempts cram him into its gaping maw, but staying in the red zones leave Edge susceptible to the enemy’s strongest attacks.

But it’s not as easy as staying put in a green zone. Some bosses are impervious to the strongest laser volley when Edge is in a safe area and others have weak points hidden in the red “danger zones.” For example flying in the red zone will tempt the cobra-fiend to ram its thick skull toward Edge, but doing so will put it on a collision course with a mountain ledge, thus momentarily dazing it and exposing its soft underbelly. Countering with all kinds of hurt at its now unprotected weak point (appropriately labeled in flashing letters and all caps WEAK POINT) will really bring the pain.

Not every enemy has a weak point and they all can’t be felled with the same strategy. Sometimes quickly pouncing on a weakness will kill an enemy before they can even react, while other times it’s better to constantly move in and out of danger. But that’s not the only strategy the game has to offer. Like the other Panzer Dragoon games, the dragon can evolve into various forms based on different attributes: attack, spirit, defense, and agility. However unlike previous games, the dragon’s attributes can be set on sliding scales between two linked stats (attack with spirit, defense with agility). Putting more points into one reduces the other.

When Edge is leading an assault on an Imperial outpost and fending off against salvaged Ancient death trains barreling down the perimeter of the base and armed with nukes, it may be advantageous to mount a defense-type dragon. On the flip side, high defense will reduce its agility, causing the action bars to fill slowly. Fortunately the dragon isn’t limited to an extreme of one stat. Teasing out a good ratio between attributes is most effective. Ultimately the dragon will be designated a certain “class” based on its highest attribute granting bonus abilities, such as counters for attack types or Berserk Point regeneration for spirit forms. Morphing is available any time outside of combat, and often it’s best to experiment and find new combinations.

Though blocky, the graphics have a melancholy look that match the feel of the game. The art direction is as fantastic and inspired as the Panzer Dragoon rail shooters. Saga equally employs desolate wastelands as well as The Ancients’ ornate, alien architecture in ruin. One dungeon consists of turbulent sea overcast by dreary grey clouds with the slightest hint of sunlight poking through. Jutting out of the churning water are white obelisks shooting blue pulses into the heavy rain. It’s easy to appreciate the vision Team Andromeda had. The enemy designs are equally memorable consisting of surreal monstrosities both biological and technological. The music is also exquisite and fairly atypical of the genre. The soundtrack has an earthy and tribal flavor often featuring various percussion, synthesized keys and a warm-sounding flute. Additionally the game sports an impressive amount of voice acting in the series’ own beautifully demented Panzerese – an amalgamation of ancient Greek, Latin and Russian.

If there is one disappointment to Saga, it’s the game is relatively short. Unfortunately it clocks in at 10-12 hours. I wanted more when I was done, but I had to admit the game had zero filler or low points. Once the story gets moving, it doesn’t falter and neither does the combat. Many gamers know of this unique and fantastic RPG, though far fewer have played it. No doubt people would be snatching up copies and pre-owned Saturns if it weren’t for several small details: this game is rare, extremely expensive, and in-demand. Saga was one of the last Saturn games released outside of Japan, with only approximately 30,000 English language copies pressed. Secondhand copies can go for over $200, and at that price tag it’s a tough sell. Adding insult to injury, GameTap has had the rights to release the game since 2009, but have made no attempts to do so citing “lack of demand.” Correct this please.

Community review by Genj (July 01, 2010) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.