Panzer Dragoon Saga

"Hey, what movie are you watching?"
"Hmm?"
"Is this that movie where Sean Connery plays the voice of a dragon?"
"Uh, no, actually, I'm playing a game."
"Oh. It's beautiful."

This conversation occurred twice while I was playing Panzer Dragoon Saga and the game is beautiful. The skyscapes through which the game moves are absolutely cinematic. The world and the environments which Team Andromeda have created are among the richest and the most beautiful which I have played. One of the environments includes a spectacular glass, underwater tunnel through which you can see the columns that stand in the water and a whale-like creature swimming in the water. The richness of this world is a real testament to the work and creativity that went into the original Panzer Dragoon which was essentially a simple, ride-the-rails type shooter. The Panzer Dragoon world was rich and beautiful enough to spin out the role playing game that is Panzer Dragoon Saga.

The World

Panzer Dragoon Saga is set in a struggling world, dotted with the relics of an ancient age. The present world excavates and looks to these relics for their technology, their sustenance, their power and their salvation. The monsters and the weapons used to fight them are all relics of this ancient age. There is a fairly stable, if greedy, empire that tirelessly seeks for more relics, technology, resources, territory and power. Within the empire is a dissident, breakaway group led by a man called Craymen. A third, mysterious group called the Seekers hides from the empire and scours the ancient relics with their own agenda. All must contend with the monsters that infest the world like a terrible plague. Ironically, some say the monsters were created in the ancient age to serve almost as an immune system for the planet. They say that the monsters were intended to preserve the planet from the avaricious destruction of resources of which mankind is so prone. In any case, the present age is one of terror and instability. So it has been since the end of the ancient age. All is somehow tied to the mist-enshrouded Dark Tower. Legends and religion speak of the Divine Visitor who shall end this age of chaos. Which is where we come in.

Hey, A Hero With Brown Eyes

Edge, pronounced edgy or itchy, depending on how you hear Japanese, begins as a guard in the empire, charged to defend an excavation site. Trouble ensues and a monster attacks. Edge saves the day, but in the midst of the battle is discovered the relic for which the empire sought. Encased in stone is a girl/woman (depending on your interpretation of anime characters). Her name is Azel and she is a key player in the adventure. Everyone wants her. Craymen attacks the site and everyone, save Edge, is killed in the capture of this strange woman. Our brown-eyed hero (not blue for a change) falls into a deep chasm and somehow survives the fall only to find himself, upon regaining consciousness, to be surrounded by monsters and facing certain, painful death. A scream and a fireball descend from the sky and Edge is saved. He is saved by a creature of mythology, a creature commonly held not to exist. A dragon.

FMV

All of the above, and much more of Panzer Dragoon Saga is told in beautiful, computer animated full motion video. There are four discs full of data for this game, which takes less than thirty hours to play. There is enough FMV in this game that you could put it together and have a film. Whoever orchestrated these scenes has true directorial talent. They are very well directed and rife with tension and emotion. The voice acting is also brilliant. Though all of it is in Japanese, I still listened to the dialogue for the heartfelt emotional information it carries. The translated sub titles are free from the spelling and grammatical errors that usually plague these sorts of translational efforts. The cut scenes are brilliant and beautiful.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

Panzer Dragoon Saga, like the very best of stories (literature, movies or games) has mythical themes. Perhaps the main one is the knowledge of good and evil. At the beginning of the adventure, Edge is clear in his motivations. His friends were murdered and a relic stolen. Evil was done. He sets out in the spirit of an eye for an eye to bring justice to Craymen and his band. As Edge and his dragon battle towards this goal, things become less clear. Some of his well-intentioned actions have results that he had not considered. Results which are probably closer to evil than good. Good and evil seem confused and intertwined and Edge has to begin all over again to consider what exactly is good and what is evil. He has to look past the unconsidered prejudices and assurances that he previously held and to examine the contradictory things presented to him as true and good. Edge's ideals begin to evolve with the evidence but still things are not clear. It is only when Edge acts with the direct intention of discovering the truth that things begin to crystallize and able to move forward with freedom. Along the way, Panzer Dragoon Saga investigates love, friendship, religion, power, and other themes. The entire world and its monster technology are an allegory for seeking and wielding knowledge without concern for the constraints of morality and ethics.

Is There a Game in Here?

So far, I've spoken of the world, the art, the mythology, but not the game. The reason is that sometimes the game, which is quite good, seems secondary. There are two modes to this game. For most of the game, Edge rides the back of the dragon that has chosen him. Graphically, this is very reminiscent of Panzer Dragoon although smoother and clearer. There are some areas where the dragon can not go and here, Edge finds a slider, which he rides much as his dragon. The other mode of the game is in the towns and camps. Here Edge walks on his own and interacts with the non-player characters in an attempt to find the next step that will bring him closer to his goal. Most of the NPC interaction is scripted FMV. There are only a few times when there is the issue of scrolling through dialogue boxes to ask questions. Also in the town, Edge can enter shops to buy and sell items. This is not a game that involves much trade for items. Most of the items Edge finds are simply sold back to shop keepers for money. There are some weapon power ups and healing remedies which are useful and which Edge may even find necessary to purchase. The only item that is ever equipped is Edge's gun. Different gun power ups may be equipped at different times. Otherwise, inventory management is restricted to selling off what Edge has found and looking for the odd healing remedy. Anyone who believes the idea of a good RPG is tons of items and inventory management (a la Final Fantasy Tactics) will find Panzer Dragoon Saga very different. On the other hand, if you hate the inventory management portions of RPGs then once again, you will find Panzer Dragoon Saga very enjoyable.

As Edge and his dragon battle the legions of monsters and human enemies in this game, experience and levels are gained. The dragon also learns special attacks and defenses. Further, certain events trigger metamorphoses in the dragon. In these metamorphoses, the dragon gains more power and changes appearance.

Combat

The combat system of Panzer Dragoon Saga is very good. As in many other games, the dragon has action bars that charge with time depending on the dragon's agility. Simple actions like shooting the dragon's homing lasers or firing Edge's gun take one bar to complete. Special berserk attacks require two bars and there are some additional full bar berserk actions. Besides the timing aspect of combat, there is also positioning. The dragon may fly to any of the four quadrants (front, rear, left, or right) surrounding an enemy. Edge and his dragon attack and defend equally well from any of the quadrants. Most of the enemies in the world have strengths and weaknesses. Some have a chink or weak spot in their armour, which Edge can exploit. Some can only attack into certain quadrants or attack more powerfully in some than in others. The monsters will try just as hard as Edge to manoeuver into a battle position that favours them. Sometimes moving into one position and then back out before the enemy can fire will cause the enemy to waste a powerful attack into empty air. So, besides just timing and attacking, Edge is constantly battling for position. This makes the combat more active and involving than the standard "select the enemy to attack and the attack to use" mind set of some RPGs.

Besides the metamorphoses through which the dragon periodically passes, Edge can control the dragon's type. The dragon can concentrate on attack, defense, spiritual, or agility. Points can be allocated between these attributes and make a big difference in how combat goes. Load up the attack and the homing missiles hit harder. Load up the spiritual and the berserk attacks cost less. Each class also has some special abilities unique to it. Having the optimal configuration can make a big difference in combat success and different players will choose different configurations as their favourites.

There is no necessity to roam around looking for fights in order to level up. Edge and his dragon will win most combats fairly easily. Some of the bosses are tough and require good battle tactics to defeat. At the end of each battle, Edge's performance is evaluated. There are five possible ratings. If Edge did Excellent (the best rating) he receives about 50% more experience than if the battle were a Close Call (worst rating).

Exploring

There are three types of exploring in Panzer Dragoon Saga. There is the exploring done in towns, searching for new information. There is the World Map where Edge decides which area to visit and there is exploring the ruins of the ancient age. These ruins are the dungeons of this world. In them clues to Edge's dilemma can be found, as well as items and monsters. Many of the environments, such as the one with the previously mentioned underwater tunnel are beautiful and very well done. Unfortunately, not all are. Towards the end of the game some of the areas really degenerate. They begin to look alike and suffer from some flawed level design. Some of the levels must be explored roller-coaster style: Edge must ride to the top of an area and then work his way back down. Back-tracking is impossible, so each time, Edge must slide to the bottom, ride back up and slide down a different path until all of the paths have been explored. This rapidly gets tedious. Most of the levels in the final tower feel like a bad and rather easy 3D action/adventure game on the back of a dragon. Descending the tower becomes an issue of solving quite simple puzzles and avoiding the security system. This section of the game is weaker than others but by no means unplayable.

The climax of the game is a surreal battle with the final boss and an unparalleled ending. The ending of this game gave me more joy and sense of satisfaction than I have previously experienced from completing a game. The end scenes really are superior and reward enough to make up for the weak levels which led up to it. The final video indicates a sequel which will probably set the mysterious relic girl, Azel, as the main character as she seeks to be reunited with Edge, who is now missing. Personally, I can't wait and should this sequel be produced for the Dreamcast, with the talent of this crew of developers it could be the most beautiful game yet released. Anywhere.

Play Result

One of the interesting things about the end of Panzer Dragoon Saga is that it rates your performance at the end of the game. For example, I had a Target Destruction Rate of 82.8% and 51 Spiritual Closeness Points, (which, near as I can tell, are earned by positively interacting with the dragon in camp). These ratings were almost enough for me to go back to my last save game to try and improve some of my ratings, especially my Field Map Coverage Rate which was only 63.9%. I'm not used to being rated by the games I play. I'm used to rating them.

I loved both the look and the play of this game. Panzer Dragoon Saga has the best and most mythical story I can remember. In that way, it is the Star Wars of role playing games. But this isn't a movie, it is a game. The epic questions which the story examined and the fog of understanding good and evil, begged for the player to have a choice, any choice, just one single choice in the development and direction of the story. There were already four discs full of FMV, why not five and give one option for an alternate ending? Sigh! Guess you can't have it all. Panzer Dragoon Saga remains a brilliant game. It is an RPG for everyone. Role play fans will love it. If you've never played a role playing game, this is a perfect one to begin on. No arcane inventory systems, no lists of dialogue questions to ask, excellent and entertaining combat and perhaps the superlative example of what the Sega Saturn is capable of graphically.

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