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Topic: Panzer Dragoon Saga

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lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Mon Jan 04, 2016 3:10 am
quote : #1
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Posts: 5902
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How many of you own a real copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga now?

How many of you have played it before? and what are your thoughts?
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Green Ranger
rank 4
Posted:
Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:57 am
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Posts: 23
Bought a copy back in 2005, still in excellent condition. Played through the entire game, and thoroughly enjoyed the battle system. The monster designs are great to look at, can't say the same for the human 3d character models though- they're so low poly it hurts my eyes.
 
Wargo
rank 8
Posted:
Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:30 pm
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I always wanted this game but never had the chance too. Is it still worth playing?
 
lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Wed Jan 27, 2016 10:33 pm
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Yes it is worth playing. It is in my top 5 games of all time. I consider it "the" game to play on the Saturn because it is such a unique experience.

Panzer Dragoon Saga is talked about for many reasons. The time it was released in North America, the limited number of copies in US/PAL regions, the stupid "...its maybe even better than Final Fantasy VII" quips, and the high ebay prices. All of this increases the likelyhood of a stereotypical "Collector" slowly pulling out his copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga on his Youtube Channel in his round table discussion on his gaming collection.

Casting all of this aside, Panzer Dragoon Saga is such a good game in and of itself. I wish more people had the ability to experience it. Imagine the world of Panzer Dragoon I & II, and being able to explore it, along with a very fun battle system. It is hard to explain, but its turn based and realtime bundled into one.

Whether or not it is worth the asking price it currently goes for on eBay, I am not sure. I got my copy for $100 complete in 2006 at a time when the game was selling for around $150. Now it is selling for completly obnoxious prices that range between $400-550+. As I am typing this I cannot understand why there is a copy on ebay going for 600 dollars BIN. At this point I am almost wondering whether it is worthwhile to start recommending people play the import version. While the game does have story and a few things like notebooks to read in-game, so much of the game is atmosphere that you can get 80% of the amazingness of Saga without necessarilly reading the text. Also the text isn't going to impede you from progressing in the game. The import "Azel Panzer Dragoon RPG" is going for around $25-30.

If you are willing to forego running the game on real saturn hardware, then please do find the ISO and run this game in an emulator.
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Green Ranger
rank 4
Posted:
Fri Jan 29, 2016 4:38 pm
quote : #5
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Posts: 23
You've got a lot of passion for this game lordnikon. I must respectfully disagree with you however on one thing- being that it's an RPG, understanding the game's text/dialogue is essential, otherwise the player will never be fully immersed in the game's atmosphere. Playing the import without a full grasp of what's being said would be playing the game with a severe handicap. Just my two cents.

The pricing of the game has indeed skyrocketed, which leaves fewer people the opportunity to afford it (much like the PAL release of Deep Fear which is also super expensive nowadays). I too would recommend playing it via emulation if you can't afford the NTSC/PAL English copies. The game is short though, which is disappointing.

A pity Sega didn't make a sequel because this and Skies of Arcadia are RPGs that would benefit from sequels.
 
lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Fri Jan 29, 2016 7:49 pm
quote : #6
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I agree with you that language is a critical component.

My point about the language wasn't to say that it was not an important part of the game, but rather that it does not impede the player from progressing in the game. One should still be able to figure out where to go and what to do via trial and error.

The game still excudes plenty of atmosphere and originality to a decent degree via the graphics and gameplay. Obviously with the language, it is even better.

Maybe the best pathway is for people to emulate the game to play it in their native language first, and then get the Japanese version for a second play through to run it on real Saturn Hardware. I feel there is something special seeing this game run on an actual Saturn, that is why I think playing the Japanese version is still viable, even if it serves as a second play through. (It's only 25-30 bucks lol.)

What was the total time on this game again? 12-14 hours?
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Green Ranger
rank 4
Posted:
Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:52 am
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Posts: 23
I'd say around 14 hours. I also stumbled across a page that documents approximately how long it should take to complete based on specific playthroughs-

http://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=6903
 
Starwalker
rank 14
Posted:
Sat Jun 04, 2016 10:10 am
quote : #8
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Posts: 228
Type: PAL
I own a copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga but I only have the 4 Cds and one of the boxes. I bought it at a 2nd hand store by mail using a catalogue back in the early 2000’s, so I didn’t really knew the condition of it. When it arrived I was a bit disappointed when I realized it was not complete, but not totally, because at the time the game was already rare and I paid 35 euros for it. Not to mention that finally I would have the opportunity to play this great game that I always wanted.

The game was amazing at the time, and I think it still is.

The graphics are really great, especially because the art of the game is amazing. Moebius made some illustrative art for the game series and the aesthetic design of the game was clearly inspired by his work. I love exploring that world. I remember that there were many doubts at around 1997 that the Saturn could make good 3D graphic games like the PlayStation did, and PDS and some other of the late games proved it wrong.

For me at least some of the soundtrack and sound is also great, especially if you think that the soundtrack is all made by the sound chip of the Saturn and are not CD tracks.

The battle system is the best, really, they combine the shooting mechanic of the other Panzer Dragoon games, which are great shoot ‘em ups, with tactic RPG elements to it, and it’s really well done. You have to think what type of dragoon is better to use, managing the attacks on the week spots vs the danger of the increased power of the creatures, and if it’s better to use the gun bullets or the dragon attacks. I love it.

The model of the human characters when you are on foot is probably one of the not so great things about the game, but it’s ok.

The “on foot” sections which includes mainly the villages, are not as good as the “flying sections” (exploring and battles) but this not mean they are bad, is just the “flying sections” are so great that you are always eager to get back to them.

The story is also good and it adds to the will to progress in the game, even if it’s only to see what the next great environment looks like.

The price of the game unfortunately is very high, especially because I think I’ve read somewhere that they lost the game's source code, and so it’s really difficult to ever see a re-release on a digital platform or other machines.

I would say this game is one of the best games ever and it deserves to be played. It’s a unique experience, there’s nothing like it, but if it’s worth $400-$500? I don’t think so. Unless that amount of money if not really that great for you. It is really hard to say if certain thing worth certain type of money or not because that depends greatly of your economic situation and how much you love certain thing.

The prices of many videogames have been increased dramatically in the last few years, that is absurd, mainly because of many pseudo “collectors” that are just hoarders really.

If the difference for the Japanese versions is 20x more I will say that it is worth getting that version. But I suggest to have some type of plot, control and mechanic guide along with you while playing it. I do not suggest a tactic guide of how to beat every combat in the game, because you don’t really need it, and would ruin one of the best gameplay experiences you can have, but just a guide on how the mechanic of the combat works so you can then decide what to do.

This way you can still experience the great combat and environments the game can offer. And that is already more than many games can offer.

What is clear is that I would love that many more people would have the opportunity to play this great game. I also would love to see another game like this. I will not say with the same quality as Panzer Dragoon Saga, as this is almost impossible really to recreate all the things that made/make this game great, unless it is a well-made remake. But at least a good quality Panzer Dragoon RPG game.
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