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Panzer Dragoon Saga has amazing gameplay.. but isn’t the story supposed to be amazing too?


Craigly1234

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Maybe I’m just not to the point yet, but I finished disc 2 today so I’m guessing I’m halfway through the game. I adore the music and the battle system. The game is ugly as sin and walking around is very clunky, which I can look past due to its age, but I’ve heard the story is supposed to be as legendary as the game itself. Is it overhyped or does it pick up in the second half?

 

also for those who have also played the game, do you think it lives up to the hype? Was it worth the high buy in price to play in your opinion?

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It has been 20+ years so my memory might be hazy

I really dug the by the atmosphere and music.  Graphics didn't bother me, the whole Saturn diamond polygons just added to the sense of other-worldly-ness of the setting.  It was very bleak and desolate, really a lot different than other titles at the time, before or since.  The real star is the combat system, being able to rotate position mid battle made for some nail biting moments.  Being able to evolve your dragoon mid-fight is freaking sweet.  I don't remember walking around being that bad, but there are only few areas to explore on foot most of the time you are exploring by flying over everything on your dragoon which is pretty sick.  It did sport a fully 3D town, which was kind of novel because other rpgs just used pre-rendered 2D backdrops.

Going to try to be kind of vague talking about the story here, you prob know most of this if you are that far along

Spoiler

So it turns out you are actually in a post apocalyptic setting where the world was destroyed by super weapons.  Nature either evolved or radiation made normal creatures turn into alien looking monsters.  Outside of the empire, who is using old tech, it seems the world is full of scavengers, mercenaries, and sky pirates all struggling to survive and unearth weapons from the past.

The dragoon you ride, is not actually a dragon in a traditional sense, but an biologically created weapon from the ancient age.  You explore an abandoned lab where they were created and fight a couple.  It is very Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind inspired, but besides Crystalis, not many RPGs use this type of setting.  Gash, Azel, Crayman are all pretty cool and memorable characters and heck even your Dragoon has a bit of personality.  Ending is a bit of a mindfu(<

I was fully entraced and engrossed in the whole journey.  If you aren't digging it by the second disc, it might just not be for you.  Lived up to the hype, if there was much hype because very few bought into the Saturn and fewer stuck with it till its dying days when Panzer Dragoon Saga hit.  Worth $50 easy, what a ride.

 

Edited by fox
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5 hours ago, Craigly1234 said:

Was it worth the high buy in price to play in your opinion?

How much did you pay for it?  I don't see the price dropping anytime soon, so you can always flip it after you beat it and get your money back.  Just consider it a rental.

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@fox thanks for the input! I’m gonna stick it out to the end to see if the ending does it for me. Plus I do love the gameplay enough to keep going either way. 
 

also I got it last year for 400. For some reason I was the only bid on an eBay listing for a complete copy so at least I got Lucky and got it for about half the asking price 

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PDS is cool, just overhyped by people pulled in by the mystique of it having been very expensive and exclusive forever IMO. The story and cut scenes certainly aren't Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy VII quality, although the music is. It's just too short for an RPG too, which made some plot points feel less weighty, because often RPG twists and payoffs have dozens of hours built up behind them.

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33 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

PDS is cool, just overhyped by people pulled in by the mystique of it having been very expensive and exclusive forever IMO. The story and cut scenes certainly aren't Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy VII quality, although the music is. It's just too short for an RPG too, which made some plot points feel less weighty, because often RPG twists and payoffs have dozens of hours built up behind them.

Good points. The music is incredible. Your right about the length. I'm not unhappy about it being short as of now, but the fact I finished disc 1 and 2 in 6 hours was very surprising 

Edited by Craigly1234
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25 minutes ago, Craigly1234 said:

Good points. The music is incredible. Your right about the length. I'm not unhappy about it being short as of now, but the fact I finished disc 1 and 2 in 6 hours was very surprising 

Yeah, honestly I think RPGs can get boring quickly if they're too long, but dragging an epic story is the one thing length can do for a game. Besides the story, I think being relatively short helps the game in every other aspect.

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