Topic: Panzer Dragoon Saga (at last I have you)

[KisakiProject]

Hey guys.  Who else is a big Panzer Dragoon fan?

I have been since I played the second one on my friend's Saturn.  Orta was the first game and main factor in me getting an xbox back in 2003.

I after many years have finally broken down and spent the $180 odd dollars to track down a copy of Saga.

I played through the first disc.  Man this game is incredible.  Everything just flows together perfectly.  The presentation is great.  Every second has something going on.  The music and art style fit together to create this barren desolate atmosphere.  The battle system is the perfection of ATB form that 32 bit era.  It uses positioning to create a strategy/tactical element to it.  I had no idea you could take rail shooting and actual translate it to brilliant ATB turn based RPG.

I currently just beat the first disc.  About 3 horus and change (them game is supposedly 15-20hrs)

However my Saturn's internal battery is dead.  So if I turn off the power my save file is lost. I ordered some replacement batteries but I'm hoping to not have to restart.  Hope leaving the thing on for days doesn't kill it.

I have a save cart that region unlocks it but this game is late enough to block it out cause it knows I'm hacking.  Wish I knew that so I could have replaced the internal clock battery before buying this.

Anyways I'm creating this thread for discussion on the Panzer series in general.  Once I beat Saga I'd be more than willing to have a spoiler discussion on the story.  However lets keep it blacked out.  Considering the fortune people spend to get this the last thing they want is something spoiled.

Hope there are more PD and bitter Sega fans out there.

[Nick DiMola]

So much jealousy right now. I want this game so badly, but I'm far too cheap to drop the cash on it.

[Ceric]

I bought a Sega Saturn off of ebay some  years back for the soul reason of getting, Nights into Dream and Panzer series.  I don't have any of them...

[Morari]

Just make sure your Saturn has round buttons. Those games are way too expensive to put up with oval buttons...

[NWR_insanolord]

It saddens me to see Sega bring the games it has brought to the current-gen download services when they could be porting over stuff like this (and Shenmue, goddammit!). Then again, it is Sega, so it's not all that surprising.

[Morari]

Sega really hasn't done a lot worth noting since it left the hardware business. Their initial batch of third-party titles were great, but only because they were already in development as first-party titles (Toe Jam and Earl, Crazy Taxi 3, etc)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Dreamcast is still the finest example of console gaming to ever grace any living room. The combination of forward-thinking hardware and addictive games made for a very endearing experience.

It does sadden me that I'll never find out how the Shenmue franchise ends now... even after importing the sequel from Europe and going through hell to transfer my save file over from the first.

[NWR_insanolord]

Sega has said they'd be willing to finish the Shenmue series, but they want someone else to pay for it. So yeah, it really sucks that we're never going to see how it ends.

[SixthAngel]

The xbox PD Orta was my first experience with the series too.  I really enjoyed it and thought about picking it up again recently to play on a friend's 360 but the game doesn't work on it and l am not going to get a huge xbox for one game.  I skipped over the Saturn but I've gone back and played a few of the games.  The PD games hold up surprisingly well and I have really enjoyed PD and Zwei.  I like them much more than the Starfox games.  They did a great job with the style, it just seems like there is something special about it.  I was also surprised how much I enjoyed the on the ground sections in Zwei.

I've never really been able to play Saga though.  I was able to try it once for a couple of minutes once but it wasn't enough to actually see what the game is like.  The asking price is just way too ridiculous for me.  It doesn't stop me from looking through any Saturn games I happen to see at a flea market or yardsale though.

There is a Saturn emulator that would eliminate the battery problem you had and plays directly off the disc, of course you would lose your save though.  No worries about legality since it plays directly from the disc and doesn't need roms.  There is an admittedly shitty emulator that Sega was even giving away in Japan with a service they had to sell saturn games for pc.

[KisakiProject]

Yeah I love Zwei as well.  I've gotten through the first two discs without my Saturn catching on fire.  So I think It will make it until I get a new watch battery in the mail.

I've only played the demo disc of 1 on Saturn and the original was unlockable in Orta.  I'll have to get it and experience it in its original form soon.

Seriously though all the positioning in this battle system.  Its incredible.  Its to bad it didn't do better.  I would love to see JRPGs move in this direction in terms of combat and strategy.