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Panzer Dragoon Saga: Masterpiece or Crap?

duckroll said:
Okay I'm actually going to go ON TOPIC based on the thread title and ask a question. Why did you choose a thread title that has nothing to do with your post? When you have a title like "Masterpiece or Crap", people will click expecting some sort of debate on the pros and cons of the game.

What you're basically done is post an overwhelmingly positive review of the game with tons screenshots to illustrate why you LOVE the game. If you wanted to create a LOVE thread for PDS, at least represent it properly with an appropriate title. There's no room for debate in this thread since it's an obvious love thread, I have hence wasted my time clicking on it.

My feedback is that you should get a mod or admin to change the title of the thread before more people like me waste their time. Thank you and have a good day.

I'm sorry for wasting your time duckroll. Now hurry up and gives us the impressions of Mother 3.
 
Can we talk about the ending of this game, or is it a spoiler for anyone really going all the way back to finish it in this day and age?

Anyway, the first truely poignant ending to a game I had played. Certainly much more artfully done and emotionally resonant than anything in cheesy, overwrought FFVII. =)
 
Loved this game. Was lucky enough to buy a PAL copy but unfrotunately the box is somewhat marred by stupid stickers (damn you game shops!)

One of my all time favourite gaming experiences.
 
Someone should start a rental service for rare games like this one, Radiant Silvergun, etc. It would let many more people get a chance to play the games, even with no new copies being made. These people who own the games but haven't played it in years could sell or rent their copies to the rental service. Then people who never played the games could rent it for a period of say one month, for a nominal fee (could include a Saturn system), then return it to the rental service or original owner. The renter would put down a hefty but refundable deposit (maybe $200) to insure that the discs will be returned and in good condition.

I have Sin & Punishment and would be glad to participate in such a program, though it's not as rare as some of the Saturn gems.
 
You should probably black out any text talking about the ending.

Coinicidentally I found a Japanese copy for ÂŁ20 today
 
FortNinety said:
I still don't understand why the whole world hasn't ripped off Saga's brilliant fight system. As its been mentioned before, its the only RPG I have ever actually gotten into.


Its funny you like this game so much, and you love Rez, two of the lead enemy planners (placing and designing enemies from a non-aesthetic viewpoint) were senior level designers from all 3 Panzer Dragoon games. Yamada-san and Okitsu-san.
 
GFord said:
Somebody videotaped themselves playing thru the entire game and then put it on the internet calling it the "Panzer Dragoon Saga Video Project"...

http://pds.roushimsx.com/

This site is awesome. If anyone wants to know what the game is like, just watch a couple of videos off the first disc to get an idea of the gameplay and the graphics and music and everything.
 
What a superb write up, thankyou Polygone.

I've had a strange relationship with this game, The official Sega Saturn Magazine gave away the 1st disk for free so thats safely in my draw. Great game and it left me wanting more, so I went to Blockbuster who were having a "If it ain't sony, Dump it" sale with all Saturn games ÂŁ20 ($30ish).

It was Guardian Hero's or Saga, Guardian Hero's got the nod (no regrets) and I've been watching the price of Panzer rise ever since I just can't justify paying what is now ÂŁ80 for a game.

Still one hell of a game though.
 
impressive and sooo ahead of FF7 in my opinion... that game was (is) just... perfect. no fails. it makes 100% (maybe 200%?) use of saturn hardware, has an epic and compelling story, great... no, awesome BS... what else?
 
i had the isos for this at one point, and always wanted to play it, but no emu is good enough, so alas, its one of those great games i will never get to play unless some crazy asses homebrew guy makes a windows port
 
DoctorWho said:
So I should drop $300 on it then? Sounds awesome but I fear I will never get to play it.

God, no. Most overrated RPG of all time. Painfully linear, ridiculously short, a combat system that's nowhere near to being as good as its fans claim - though it has a lot of potential, that's all pissed away by the fact that it doesn't make good use of any of its neat features outside one or two battles. While the default approach to battles is generally a little more involved than 'press X to win', it's not much more advanced, and you can beat every battle in the game with one exception trivially by following the same technique over and over again. Graphically it's aged horribly, as well. Worse than even FFVII, and that's saying something.
 
Orta was a fabulous title and easily my favorite Xbox title by far. I am saddened at my inability to experience the other titles in the series :(
 
Llyranor said:
Orta was a fabulous title and easily my favorite Xbox title by far. I am saddened at my inability to experience the other titles in the series :(

???

Aren't all of the PD games except Saga unlockables in Orta?
 
duckroll said:
My feedback is that you should get a mod or admin to change the title of the thread before more people like me waste their time. Thank you and have a good day.
Here's your chance!
 
Glix said:
???

Aren't all of the PD games except Saga unlockables in Orta?

nope, no Zwei

iapetus said:
God, no. Most overrated RPG of all time. Painfully linear, ridiculously short, a combat system that's nowhere near to being as good as its fans claim - though it has a lot of potential, that's all pissed away by the fact that it doesn't make good use of any of its neat features outside one or two battles. While the default approach to battles is generally a little more involved than 'press X to win', it's not much more advanced, and you can beat every battle in the game with one exception trivially by following the same technique over and over again. Graphically it's aged horribly, as well. Worse than even FFVII, and that's saying something.

My first experience with the game was in 2006, shortly before writing this thread. I'm not really one of those graphics whores who needs old games to somehow live up to today's expectations, so I didn't mind the graphics. If you are like me, and can appreciate games based on the system and time when it was made, I don't think it'll be a problem. And the music is still some of the best I've heard, really great compositions in this one, and a lot of them, too.

Secondly, though many of the battles aren't that challenging, you WILL have to learn how to make the most of your attacks and positioning in order to do well in battle. Depending on how you did, you get different ratings and loot. You can win by just using one attack, but chances are you will have taken damage or will be too inefficient to score highly, which is kinda the point I guess. Also, since when do RPGs really require that much strategy? I just finished DQ4 and that game was all pressing A (except for a couple bosses), but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the game.

The boss battles are awesome in this game, I don't see how iapetus can claim only 2 of them are interesting. Most of the bosses will require you to make good use of your positioning, which is a big part of what makes this game fun.

That said, the game is very short. Its only about 20 hours or so. If you are a fan of the Panzer Dragoon series I would say to buy it, if you have never played a PD game or you didn't think they were special, you should probably save your money for something else. Obviously I'm a huge fan of PD, I consider Zwei to be the greatest railshooter ever made. So getting my hands on PD Saga was something I had to do, and I wasn't disappointed.
 
Wait, wait. You're right, PD1 seems to be unlockable.

Which is weird, since I never saw it despite having finished the game. Will check later.
 
You know. I was reading this thread with a big smile on my face until I saw my own comments. I suddenly thought to myself, "Huh?! Why is my comment on there?! It's... OHHHHhhhhhh". I realised that the thread was over 2 years old.

I wonder if my infamous Shenmue appreciation thread would ever re-surface? Oh yeah, that was on the classic Dreamcast Technical Pages forum. Classic times...
 
duckroll said:
Okay I'm actually going to go ON TOPIC based on the thread title and ask a question. Why did you choose a thread title that has nothing to do with your post? When you have a title like "Masterpiece or Crap", people will click expecting some sort of debate on the pros and cons of the game.

What you're basically done is post an overwhelmingly positive review of the game with tons screenshots to illustrate why you LOVE the game. If you wanted to create a LOVE thread for PDS, at least represent it properly with an appropriate title. There's no room for debate in this thread since it's an obvious love thread, I have hence wasted my time clicking on it.

My feedback is that you should get a mod or admin to change the title of the thread before more people like me waste their time. Thank you and have a good day.
What a difference two years can make! Now you could change the thread title. :lol

This game is still in my top five of all time, and the Panzer Dragoo series is my second favorite series ever. The art, story and audio design work to create such a wonderful game universe.
 
aw man I played this game back in June...

freakin incredible game... like omg Metal Gear Solid 4 had nothing on this when I played it soon afterwards.

DoctorWho said:
So I should drop $300 on it then? Sounds awesome but I fear I will never get to play it.
buy it for $300, beat it, then sell it for $300.

either that or jus steal the game, seriously.
 
Best game ever made. It's such a pity more people didn't get to play this series. If there's a market for Ico and SotC I'm sure PD could have survived. Alas PDS was released on a dying console and not in a very popular one.
 
PolyGone said:
My first experience with the game was in 2006, shortly before writing this thread. I'm not really one of those graphics whores who needs old games to somehow live up to today's expectations, so I didn't mind the graphics. If you are like me, and can appreciate games based on the system and time when it was made, I don't think it'll be a problem. And the music is still some of the best I've heard, really great compositions in this one, and a lot of them, too.

I'm not entirely a graphics whore, and obviously the graphics didn't stop me from playing through the game after the release of the DC/PS2 either. But some 3D games of that era have aged better than others, and PDS isn't one of the best by a long way.

PolyGone said:
Secondly, though many of the battles aren't that challenging, you WILL have to learn how to make the most of your attacks and positioning in order to do well in battle. Depending on how you did, you get different ratings and loot. You can win by just using one attack, but chances are you will have taken damage or will be too inefficient to score highly, which is kinda the point I guess.

Except everything's so painfully obvious. Weak points are highlighted, dangerous points are highlighted, and it takes one shot to see what type of weapon the enemy's weaker to.

PolyGone said:
Also, since when do RPGs really require that much strategy? I just finished DQ4 and that game was all pressing A (except for a couple bosses), but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the game.

Some of them do, some of them don't. Fans of PDS hawk that as one of its advantages, when really it doesn't have that.

PolyGone said:
The boss battles are awesome in this game, I don't see how iapetus can claim only 2 of them are interesting. Most of the bosses will require you to make good use of your positioning, which is a big part of what makes this game fun.

See above. It's all so mechanical. There's potential in the combat system, but it's mostly wasted. Compare and contrast something like the FF games, which have a far more standard combat system but do more interesting things with it a lot of the time.

PolyGone said:
That said, the game is very short. Its only about 20 hours or so.

Short and horribly linear.
 
I consider myself very fortunate to have played this when it initially came out in 98. Truly terrific game that I wish I still owned so i could go through it again. It is a bit short, which is strange since its 4 cds, but in a way thats a plus since it isn't padded out.
 
I got the game on ebay in like 2000 for $68. It's neither a masterpiece or crap, although it comes a lot closer to the positive end of the scale than the negative. As RPGs go, it's certainly a unique experience, and one I think every RPG fan should give a try. The Panzer Dragoon universe is appealing and being able to delve deeper into it than in the shoot 'em ups is interesting.
 
SEGA didn't have money to print more copies of the game, but they did have money to run a full color, back cover ad on the back of pretty much every gaming magazine in the country, advertising to make fun of the fact that you couldn't buy the game.

Really now, SEGA? You were so fucking stupid.
 
Seth C said:
SEGA didn't have money to print more copies of the game, but they did have money to run a full color, back cover ad on the back of pretty much every gaming magazine in the country, advertising to make fun of the fact that you couldn't buy the game.

Really now, SEGA? You were so fucking stupid.
wait what, really? they did that? You know its scary that i'm asking the question because we are talking about Sega here, AND IT WOULDNT SURPRISE ME.
 
shuri said:
wait what, really? they did that? You know its scary that i'm asking the question because we are talking about Sega here, AND IT WOULDNT SURPRISE ME.

yeah it had a cut-out mask of Edge, and the ad said something like "cut this out and wear it to pretend you're the hero of Panzer Dragoon Saga if you're unlucky enough to get a copy of the game"
 
Finally picked up a copy today on Ebay. I was somehow able to get it for $150. I think that's pretty good. Now I've finally got the two games I ever wanted for the Saturn [Nights with Christmas as well and Panzer Dragoon Saga]. Woot!
 
Wow...old thread. PDS is in my top 10 all time favorite...It's the story and the atmosphere I love most. It isn't particularly challenging but it does a great job of keeping you interested in the story and its battle system is engaging throughout the game. I freakin' love it...I can only hope that one day SEGA does a remake with an epilogue or sequel or finds a way to port it to the PC for others to enjoy.

The GiriGiri emulator SEGA worked on did a fantastic job of running this game but it's got hanging points in the game that keep it from continuing. Such a shame.
 
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