Panzer Dragoon series
Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:37 am
I've recently been replaying the first two games (still haven't found Saga cheep enough on eBay yet) and what a world they immerse you in. Even if the plot is simple, those few great FMV sequences really help cement the awe of the whole future environment. You can really see how the series naturally progressed into an RPG; they did such a good job setting up the situation, surroundings and characters the first two times, that you find yourself really wanting more than just straight shmups.
For a launch game, Dragoon has some amazing graphics - that opening level in the water has some beautiful textures, some nice transparency effects (remember though, the Saturn can't do those ) and great character design. In ways, the first looks better than the second, which had a lot of drab and almost illegible characters and textures. Sega got it right, right from the get go!
Zwei though, is a much better game on the whole though, with far more replay with the save function (the first feels like an arcade port with those "credits") and more importantly, a vastly smoothed-out gameplay engine. Zwei really benefits from the addition of analog control with the 3D pad, making it a much smoother experience than the at-times frustrating PD control (although the first plays better on the mission stick). The 360 degree turning is also much more effective the second time around, without those awkward perspective shifts that plagued the function in PD. Add in the addictive dragon growth element, and you really feel like your skills evolve with the dragon's.
In theory this game should be little different from the likes of Virtua Cop, but in the way the story is presented, and the world the Panzer team creates, this is a series that really resonates.
I'd love to hear what you all think of this flagship Saturn franchise.
For a launch game, Dragoon has some amazing graphics - that opening level in the water has some beautiful textures, some nice transparency effects (remember though, the Saturn can't do those ) and great character design. In ways, the first looks better than the second, which had a lot of drab and almost illegible characters and textures. Sega got it right, right from the get go!
Zwei though, is a much better game on the whole though, with far more replay with the save function (the first feels like an arcade port with those "credits") and more importantly, a vastly smoothed-out gameplay engine. Zwei really benefits from the addition of analog control with the 3D pad, making it a much smoother experience than the at-times frustrating PD control (although the first plays better on the mission stick). The 360 degree turning is also much more effective the second time around, without those awkward perspective shifts that plagued the function in PD. Add in the addictive dragon growth element, and you really feel like your skills evolve with the dragon's.
In theory this game should be little different from the likes of Virtua Cop, but in the way the story is presented, and the world the Panzer team creates, this is a series that really resonates.
I'd love to hear what you all think of this flagship Saturn franchise.