Panzer Dragoon Series

[The Elite MYT]

PDS has loads of threads, but I can´t see no love for the first two so opening this thread..... although I mainly want to talk about the second.

I played the original ages ago on pc.... and it was ok. I think keyboard controls probably spoiled it a bit though, so I really should pick up the Saturn version at some point.

Anyway, Zwei arrived on Friday so I´ve been playing that this weekend. DAMN, it´s good. Like really, really good. I love the level design (especially with multiple routes), the boss design, the evolution mechanic, everything. It´s so well done. What´s more, Pandora´s Box looks like it will add a lot of replayability for extra / less challenge, depending on how you want to play .Definitely one of my favourite games for the system.

So what do you guys think of the series? Which one is your favourite, and why?

After playing this I want to pick up PDS, but I´m gonna have to put some money aside until I can justify spending that type of cash

[barryburton]

PDZ is my favourite too. PDS is epic but I tend to prefer action games on the Saturn and PDZ is one of the best with few contenders.

Great graphics and sound, the wonderful Panzer Dragoon art style, bit of a story, awesome intense shooting action. Excellent throughout.

[sych]

PDS all the way but out of the first two I prefer PDZ. I found the first one a bit 'meh' if I'm honest. Awesome soundtrack in all three games though.

[The Elite MYT]

Yeah I agree with both of your sentinments. I think the fourth stage is my favourite (even though it is the first stage that I failed on), but the one on the ship (stage 6, I think?) is also really good. My only gripe is that I wish it had more levels (maybe the alternate routes could have lead to alternate stages like in Lylat Wars?), but that is a minor gripe really since I´ve beaten it four times in two days

By the way, is there a trigger for the second stage of the final boss? The first time I beat it, the second stage didn´t activate (where it becomes small and flies everywhere). The other times, however, all had this final stage, I´m not sure if it is a failsafe if you have to retry it a bunch of times or whether I did something differently. I know you can purposely avoid the second stage of the fifth boss, for example.

[barryburton]

By the way, does anyone know if "Pandra's" box is a typo for Pandora or an abbreviation of PANzer DRAgoon?

Thinking about it, probably an intentional misspelling

[lilly]

PDS is better for a one time play through, but PDZ has more replay value.
I love both of them equally, and for different reasons !

Zwei is definitely leaps and bounds better than it's predecessor (aside from Dragoon 1's amazing opening level/music)

[tempest]

Dec 12, 2016 17:19:19 GMT The Elite MYT said:

By the way, is there a trigger for the second stage of the final boss? The first time I beat it, the second stage didn´t activate (where it becomes small and flies everywhere). The other times, however, all had this final stage, I´m not sure if it is a failsafe if you have to retry it a bunch of times or whether I did something differently. I know you can purposely avoid the second stage of the fifth boss, for example.

I believe you need to beat the first boss within the time limit. You might also need to be in Lagi's final form. It's been a while since I've played it so I'm not sure about the second one.

My introduction to the Panzer Dragoon series was through Panzer Dragoon Zwei. SSM had been hyping PDS for months when I came across PDZ in Cash Converters. Wanting to see if PDS would be worth full retail price, I borrowed $20 from my dad and have never looked back since. It's still the same copy I own. Episode 1 seemed very lacklustre and chaotic. But from Episode 2 onwards, I fell in love with the game. I loved travelling through the game's beautiful alien world atop an ever changing dragon, the multiple routes through the amazing stages, and the magnificent boss designs. The sountrack is awesome too, capturing the right tone for the moments of frantic action and the moments of epicness beautifully. It's still one of my favourite soundtracks. Episode three is probably my favourite but I love Episodes two and four just as much. Everything afterwards lacks the same epic scope (although six comes close). Episodes five and six really needed multiple routes. Apart from that, I can't fault the game except perhaps for its easiness.

I picked up Panzer Dragoon Saga soon after. The opening FMV sequence blew me away, but the first hour or so of gameplay seemed pretty average to me. While it got better towards the end of disc one, it wasn't until halway through disc two that the game really gelled for me and, apart from a few sections, I felt little lived up to the climatic sequence in Uru. That said, PDS is my favourite game in the series, my favourite RPG, and probably my favourite game of all time. It's such a unique experience that even modern games with their modern flash and superior storytelling techniques fail to eclipse. Whether it's the turns-based fighting system that feels like it plays in real time, the captivating story, interesting characters, the amazing soundtrack, brilliantly designed bosses and creatures, or the intriguing alien world, PDS is simply an amazing experience.

Panzer Dragoon Eine pales in comparison to both Saga and Zwei, though I love the soundtrack and opening FMV sequence. It just seems slow and too difficult on the later stages. I love the imagination put into the game, though, and it's still a fun game.

[Sonnington]

PDS really blew me away. Maybe it was the 15 year wait an anticipation of what many call one of the best RPGs of all time. It was really something special though. What was really surprising was a game fro the late 90's had a similar pacing to most story-based games of today. It was short, sweet, with none of the tedium. Most RPGs at the time were 30-40-50 hour affairs. PDS was only 10-15 hours long and 4 disks long. Nothing was skimped on. It had impressive visuals, an enthralling story, and a unique and engaging combat system. 10/10

I respect the other games in the series a lot; I've just never been able to get into them.

[bultje112]

Dec 12, 2016 13:59:33 GMT The Elite MYT said:

PDS has loads of threads, but I can´t see no love for the first two so opening this thread..... although I mainly want to talk about the second.

I played the original ages ago on pc.... and it was ok. I think keyboard controls probably spoiled it a bit though, so I really should pick up the Saturn version at some point.

Anyway, Zwei arrived on Friday so I´ve been playing that this weekend. DAMN, it´s good. Like really, really good. I love the level design (especially with multiple routes), the boss design, the evolution mechanic, everything. It´s so well done. What´s more, Pandora´s Box looks like it will add a lot of replayability for extra / less challenge, depending on how you want to play .Definitely one of my favourite games for the system.

So what do you guys think of the series? Which one is your favourite, and why?

After playing this I want to pick up PDS, but I´m gonna have to put some money aside until I can justify spending that type of cash

what I can say is that if you love the first 2 panzer dragoon games and it's world and you like a good story then you will love saga!

also it's a 100% must imo to have played the first 2 games (extensively) before playing saga to get all of the story. There are so many things returning from especially zwei.