Sega has made a lot of mistakes over the years, but back when they manufactured consoles their libraries were always stocked with unique and interesting titles. I’ve always been impressed with how many new franchises they’ve launched throughout the years. Take Panzer Dragoon for example. This is a 3D rail shooter and also one of the premier launch titles for the Sega Saturn console. What’s striking about this is the fact that Sega already had a franchise that fits within this genre; Afterburner, and instead of simply churning another one out they instead created something brand new. Heck, they didn’t even have a Sonic game at launch, and unless you were satisfied with the sub-par ports of their arcade titles Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter then Panzer Dragoon was just about all you had to work with. Fortunately it just so happens to be one of the very best on-rail shooters of all time. At least they were doing something right.
Taking advantage of the CD format of the console Sega threw in a full motion introduction to the story, characters, and world depicted in this world. Panzer Dragoon takes place in the distant future where mankind has been left mostly in ruins. You play as a young hunter who one day stumbles upon a cavern. Within here he encounters a monster and his powerless before it. Just as he’s about to meet his untimely end a cave in is caused by a battle between two dragons. The blue beast has a rider atop its back, but this pilot meets his untimely end during the battle. With his dying breath he begs our young protagonist to stop the dark dragon from reaching a mysterious black tower in the middle of the sea. The soon to be hero takes over as the dragon’s master, and the two set out to stop the winged beast and Empire from destroying the world using the ancient weapons in the tower. A lot of detail went into crafting this world and its backstory. The developers even went so far as to create their own language for this game which is a fantastic touch.
Panzer Dragoon at first appears to be a pretty basic third person on rails shooter, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it a unique experience. You control the on-screen crosshairs that direct where the shots from your characters gun will go, and the dragon moves according to where you’re aiming. You only have two types of shots in this game, and there are no power-ups to alter these. The first is a single shot that can be fired in rapid succession, and the second takes advantage of the dragon’s lasers by locking on to and firing homing projectiles at any opponent your crosshairs pass over. You can target multiple opponents at once with this, and you will stay locked on for as long as the enemy is still within range. There’s a lot to pay attention to in this game and you’re never left with a screen devoid of enemies for long. On top of that there’s also environmental hazards and a near constant barrage of projectiles coming from all directions. Your dragon has a life-bar that depletes as you take damage, and when it’s spent you must start the stage over again and will lose a credit. This game is tough so this will be a common occurrence.
What sets Panzer Dragoon apart from the pack is that you can view the action in 360 degrees. Pressing either shoulder button will turn the view to the corresponding side, and once more will allow you to look and target enemies behind you. You will need to use this skill in every single level of the game because enemies approach and attack from all angles. It can be difficult to track which angle baddies are attacking you from, but thankfully the developers alleviate this issue by giving you a radar at the top of the screen. This does an awesome job of highlighting all incoming threats, and it’s placement is perfect therefore not distracting you from incoming projectiles. With that said the range of view does cause a few problems. First of moving your crosshairs to the edge of the screen does not automatically move the camera to another angle. This can only be done with the L and R buttons, and it took me a while to get used to this limitation. Furthermore given the placement of these and the twitch gameplay I found myself occasionally pressing them by accident. A simple mistake like this can spell instant doom here in Panzer Dragoon.
The stage designs are one of my favorite aspects of this game. They don’t vary on a wide degree, however, the hazards are constantly changing and this is enough to keep things fresh. The first level in particular is my favorite. This stage has you flying over ruins that have long been washed over with water, and many pillars and buildings crumble as you fly past them. Chapter five has you flying within a tight corridor with less room to maneuver, but the sense of speed and flight is handled really well even on this archaic hardware. The boss encounters are particularly well done. These are generally hulking machines or monsters with specific weak points, and they frequently send out smaller monsters to impede your progress. These boss characters also move to all sides of the gameplay field, but they’re indicated on the radar as a bigger dot which makes them easier to track. The end of level encounters are quite engaging.
The Saturn wasn’t exactly a 3D powerhouse, and this was a launch title. What does that tell you? Panzer Dragoon is pretty rough around the edges when it comes to graphics. The textures are heavily pixelated and it can be difficult sometimes to tell what they’re trying to represent. In addition the framerate stays pretty constant at around fifteen frames a second. Even with no enemies on-screen the game never runs particularly smoothly. The art style on the other hand is utterly fantastic. The ruins and terrain look absolutely magnificent. The designs for everything from your dragon to the enemy ships are very distinct and tasteful. The artists did an excellent job of creating a whimsical post apocalyptic world and it’s best compared to something along the lines of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind from studio Ghibli. The soundtrack is one of my favorites to ever come out of a Sega game. The first chapter’s theme is fully orchestrated and very memorable, and although not as much effort was put into the rest of the music it’s quite enjoyable and fits very well. The composers did a great job with this one.
Panzer Dragoon might not have aged particularly well, but it’s still as enjoyable as it ever was. No other shooters have the same artistic and fantastical feel as this one (aside from the sequels of course) and it’s a bonafide classic in my book. This is pure unadulterated classic Sega magic at its best, and this set the tone perfectly for one of the greatest consoles. It’s a crying shame they haven’t ported it to any modern systems.
