Turns out, arcade design and pacing makes for a pretty damn compelling concept album mood piece. Who knew?
For years, Panzer Dragoon has existed in a part of mind labelled "love this series, love to finally play it someday" thanks to the evocative art and legendary status of titles like Saga and Orta, and now, due to the much-improved state of Saturn emulation, I've finally shed my "Panzer Dragoon Poser" status and become a full-fledged Fan because I was absolutely enthralled by this wonderful little game.
There isn't too much to say on this one, because, frankly, Panzer Dragoon speaks for itself, being a short, sweet, and gorgeously moody rollercoaster ride through a world that is beautifully evocative, like a playable mid-90s anime OVA. The gameplay is simple, but as it turns out, 25 years later, it's still fun to drag a cursor across a bunch of enemies and let loose a volley of lasers. The fact that this kind of game still hasn't changed that much from Panzer is a testament to that.
You can see touches of Naussica, Dune, and, of course, Moebius all over, but the final effect of this swirling melting pot of influences is distinctly this game's own. A post-apocalyptic earth(?) destroyed by a humanity that turned their own myths and legends into weapons, bio-engineered dragons and sandworms, the fiction of humanity carved into it's very ecosystem is one of the all-time best hooks for a videogame setting I've ever seen, and even if Panzer Dragoon doesn't explore it beyond the suggestion, it's thought-provoking enough on the surface that I immediately crave a whole RPG set in this post-pulp world. Good thing they made one, eh?
Honestly, I kind of loved it, for what it was, and I can't tell you how excited I am to play Zwei and Saga. A lovely little game to sink into for the hour or so it lasts for.
For years, Panzer Dragoon has existed in a part of mind labelled "love this series, love to finally play it someday" thanks to the evocative art and legendary status of titles like Saga and Orta, and now, due to the much-improved state of Saturn emulation, I've finally shed my "Panzer Dragoon Poser" status and become a full-fledged Fan because I was absolutely enthralled by this wonderful little game.
There isn't too much to say on this one, because, frankly, Panzer Dragoon speaks for itself, being a short, sweet, and gorgeously moody rollercoaster ride through a world that is beautifully evocative, like a playable mid-90s anime OVA. The gameplay is simple, but as it turns out, 25 years later, it's still fun to drag a cursor across a bunch of enemies and let loose a volley of lasers. The fact that this kind of game still hasn't changed that much from Panzer is a testament to that.
You can see touches of Naussica, Dune, and, of course, Moebius all over, but the final effect of this swirling melting pot of influences is distinctly this game's own. A post-apocalyptic earth(?) destroyed by a humanity that turned their own myths and legends into weapons, bio-engineered dragons and sandworms, the fiction of humanity carved into it's very ecosystem is one of the all-time best hooks for a videogame setting I've ever seen, and even if Panzer Dragoon doesn't explore it beyond the suggestion, it's thought-provoking enough on the surface that I immediately crave a whole RPG set in this post-pulp world. Good thing they made one, eh?
Honestly, I kind of loved it, for what it was, and I can't tell you how excited I am to play Zwei and Saga. A lovely little game to sink into for the hour or so it lasts for.
Woodaba
3 years ago