GZ Reviews--Panzer Dragoon Saga


 The Final Word game review

Panzer Dragoon Saga -- Sega

Evan
So, you want to talk about the evolution of a series? Then, look no further than the Panzer Dragoon trilogy. I'm not going to bore you with the details of the other two games in the series, so go ahead and check out our reviews of Panzer Dragoon, and Panzer Dragoon Zwei in the archived contents.

In comparison to most of the RPGs on the Saturn, Panzer Saga (heretofore known as Panzer Dragoon Saga) is a revelation. That it came during the twilight of the Saturn's run caused an intense feeling of sorrow to rise in my heart. But, as we all know, and as news is official that Sega is ceasing production of the Dreamcast, Sega will always screw the hardcore early adopter in the end.

The graphics in Panzer Saga are nearly astonishing considering the limitations of the Saturn. Since it is a well known fact that the Saturn's graphical horsepower pales in comparison to the PlayStation, Panzer Saga vindicates all those who believed that the Saturn could, at least, perform some interesting graphical feats. (I don't really care for comparison charts and numbers that suggest the Saturn is more powerful than the PS if no games, save for a few 2D fighters, actually exceed the PS in the graphics department.)

The battle system that Panzer Saga hinges upon is nothing short of fantastic, considering most RPGs force you to slog through conflicts that are just drop dead boring. I found myself developing strategies against even the common weak enemies. Given that RPGs, and I'm skeptical that this fact must remain true, consistently contain a battle system that slows the adventure down to a painful crawl, I hope that future games in this genre will have a battle system as good as the one Panzer Saga operates on.

Since I put this review off for over two years, I can't really comment on the music/sfx quality of Panzer Saga, except that I get a good feeling when trying to conjure up the memory.

To merely say that Panzer Dragoon Saga is a classic game on a dead system would betray the fact that it is THE classic Saturn game--one that warrants a purchase of the hardware even with the foresight that no other Saturn game will ever grace the CD drive.

>>>>> 24.0/25 <<<<<		Evan

Graphics		5.0
Sound		4.5
Gameplay/Control		5.0
Longevity/Playability		4.5
Overall		5.0

Total		24.0

(01/2001)