Played all the way up to the final level, it got somewhat frustratingly hard at that point. Absolutely gorgeous game that doesn’t need beating to appreciate. One of the Sega Saturn’s finest gems
you already know I'm obsessed with it. burp i can't get enough. back with another shit game. Help! Help! Help me! Help!
ive known about panzer dragoon for a while. i decided to try it out cuz it was only one hour(or so i thought) and a bit ago i got the remake on sale. nice easy 2 hours total for both games(or so i thought). the first level took me a couple tries. being that this is my first rail shooter, and the game is from before my time, and the controls are a bit weird, i expected this. after a few tries, i got the mechanics down and was enchanted by the ost. the first level's ost is so magical, dunno how else to explain it. i found myself fascinated with the graphics and art, that technology happened to move so fast that in 10 years graphics like this were already portable on the ds. it's no technological marvel, and i found it pretty ugly at times, but it's still crazy to think even a bit of the game is beautiful.
anyway, the first few levels were great, and i was considering a 8 or even 9 because of the ost and fun gameplay. then, the later levels struck. level 5, 6, and the final boss are all pretty ass. there's too many enemies, too much shit to avoid, and the boss in level 5... dear god its awful. so looking at the manual, i found it weird why there were 3 attack buttons. up until level 5 there was never any need to engage carpel tunnel mode, except now there was. OW, my fucking hands, my poor hands. you gotta button mash all 3 attack buttons to get enough dps so the incredibly overpowered canonballs dont hit you. it hurts doing that. and the boss itself, its super hard to hit whilst youre trying to avoid certain death. theres so much shit on the screen, and the game gets muddy looking. level 5 took me probably about 2 hours, even with abusing save states. level 6 and the final boss a similar amount of time. it became less fun and more frustrating. compounding this with the fact youre supposed to beat the game in one sitting.
i dont know why it was advertised on HLTB to take 1 hour when it took 5. 90s kids are built different i guess. it would probably take me 10 to get through 5 and 6 without using save states. as for the final boss, i found it pretty frustrating as well. hard to dodge attacks, big ass health bar, a false promise of taking only an hour.. i was exhausted at this point, but somehow after attempting him for an hour straight i got him without even needing a save state. was kinda rewarding, ngl.
and then the credits roll, and im met with these beautiful concept art pieces. and i guess it put things into perspective for me. the opening line is somewhat hyperbole, panzer dragoon is not shit. however, it leaves a lot to be desired with it's dated design elements. it doesnt exactly make up for it, but the soundtrack is whimsical and at least some of the art direction is beautiful for the time it was released in. the whole thing gives me the same vibes as damacy, in the sense that the devs were clearly passionate about what they were creating, and that's a win in my book. but i also feel like id reccomend the remake any day, and being that im writing this before i played the remake we'll have to see.
ive known about panzer dragoon for a while. i decided to try it out cuz it was only one hour(or so i thought) and a bit ago i got the remake on sale. nice easy 2 hours total for both games(or so i thought). the first level took me a couple tries. being that this is my first rail shooter, and the game is from before my time, and the controls are a bit weird, i expected this. after a few tries, i got the mechanics down and was enchanted by the ost. the first level's ost is so magical, dunno how else to explain it. i found myself fascinated with the graphics and art, that technology happened to move so fast that in 10 years graphics like this were already portable on the ds. it's no technological marvel, and i found it pretty ugly at times, but it's still crazy to think even a bit of the game is beautiful.
anyway, the first few levels were great, and i was considering a 8 or even 9 because of the ost and fun gameplay. then, the later levels struck. level 5, 6, and the final boss are all pretty ass. there's too many enemies, too much shit to avoid, and the boss in level 5... dear god its awful. so looking at the manual, i found it weird why there were 3 attack buttons. up until level 5 there was never any need to engage carpel tunnel mode, except now there was. OW, my fucking hands, my poor hands. you gotta button mash all 3 attack buttons to get enough dps so the incredibly overpowered canonballs dont hit you. it hurts doing that. and the boss itself, its super hard to hit whilst youre trying to avoid certain death. theres so much shit on the screen, and the game gets muddy looking. level 5 took me probably about 2 hours, even with abusing save states. level 6 and the final boss a similar amount of time. it became less fun and more frustrating. compounding this with the fact youre supposed to beat the game in one sitting.
i dont know why it was advertised on HLTB to take 1 hour when it took 5. 90s kids are built different i guess. it would probably take me 10 to get through 5 and 6 without using save states. as for the final boss, i found it pretty frustrating as well. hard to dodge attacks, big ass health bar, a false promise of taking only an hour.. i was exhausted at this point, but somehow after attempting him for an hour straight i got him without even needing a save state. was kinda rewarding, ngl.
and then the credits roll, and im met with these beautiful concept art pieces. and i guess it put things into perspective for me. the opening line is somewhat hyperbole, panzer dragoon is not shit. however, it leaves a lot to be desired with it's dated design elements. it doesnt exactly make up for it, but the soundtrack is whimsical and at least some of the art direction is beautiful for the time it was released in. the whole thing gives me the same vibes as damacy, in the sense that the devs were clearly passionate about what they were creating, and that's a win in my book. but i also feel like id reccomend the remake any day, and being that im writing this before i played the remake we'll have to see.
Pretty but barebones.
Sega saturn's famous title. Panzer dragoon. Or to be exact: Armored Dragon.
It's one of those games where it does have story at the beginning and end, but the rest is pure gameplay. The arcadey kind. But is it good tho? Answer is yes.
Is it still worth playing tho?... Kinda but with a caviat?
You see, this game is about a novice rider's adventure with a dragon to destroy an evil tower that is the reason that all those monsters. How do we do that? With destroying enemies of course.
While our trusty partner dragoon rides the way automatically like a railway, we point and shoot or hold the attack button to do a lock on shot. That's the entire thing. The entire game. But if so, how can this game be good?
With good variety, short length and good pacing of course. It's just a one hour game where every mission just takes 8 minutes or something. Also it's unique looking both technologic and natural artstyle adds to the experience with a nice energetic songs as well.
Unfortunately there are some problems. First one is your aim reticle kinda moves slow, so I am not sure how the heck killing every enemy in levels is possible. But the bigger problem is, there is no save system. It's just uses life system and it's pretty annoying. I myself died multiple times at the middle point of chapter 4 bc I couldn't understand the timing to dodge those drones. Then it send me back to title screen...
Then I looked up and learned there is a stage selection cheat combination and of course I used that. With that I finished the game in a single sitting. If it's in the game why not just enable it? If they did that, I wouldn't be here to complain.
Anyway even if I complain a bit, it's still a fun game and it's short so it's never goes to infuriating level as long as you get the timing to dodge enemies(not dodge, but kinda moving away from their attack) and attack back.
Tho when it comes to if it's worth playing today, I said kinda because it's hard to return to this kinda simplicity after playing n64's Sin and Punishment arcadey gameplay with it's own added parry mechanic. But it's sure as heck panzer dragoon is a fun time. After all it's a full of content kinda one hour so it's still a great time.
It's one of those games where it does have story at the beginning and end, but the rest is pure gameplay. The arcadey kind. But is it good tho? Answer is yes.
Is it still worth playing tho?... Kinda but with a caviat?
You see, this game is about a novice rider's adventure with a dragon to destroy an evil tower that is the reason that all those monsters. How do we do that? With destroying enemies of course.
While our trusty partner dragoon rides the way automatically like a railway, we point and shoot or hold the attack button to do a lock on shot. That's the entire thing. The entire game. But if so, how can this game be good?
With good variety, short length and good pacing of course. It's just a one hour game where every mission just takes 8 minutes or something. Also it's unique looking both technologic and natural artstyle adds to the experience with a nice energetic songs as well.
Unfortunately there are some problems. First one is your aim reticle kinda moves slow, so I am not sure how the heck killing every enemy in levels is possible. But the bigger problem is, there is no save system. It's just uses life system and it's pretty annoying. I myself died multiple times at the middle point of chapter 4 bc I couldn't understand the timing to dodge those drones. Then it send me back to title screen...
Then I looked up and learned there is a stage selection cheat combination and of course I used that. With that I finished the game in a single sitting. If it's in the game why not just enable it? If they did that, I wouldn't be here to complain.
Anyway even if I complain a bit, it's still a fun game and it's short so it's never goes to infuriating level as long as you get the timing to dodge enemies(not dodge, but kinda moving away from their attack) and attack back.
Tho when it comes to if it's worth playing today, I said kinda because it's hard to return to this kinda simplicity after playing n64's Sin and Punishment arcadey gameplay with it's own added parry mechanic. But it's sure as heck panzer dragoon is a fun time. After all it's a full of content kinda one hour so it's still a great time.