Panzer Dragoon Orta

 

After giving Sega fans the few bones they could get with the Saturn, Panzer Dragoon stayed dead during the Dreamcast days. However the long awaited sequel did hit the Xbox, and although it didn’t become a RPG like Saga might have left fans thinking where the series might head, it was arguably the best in the series.

With little question or doubt either. It was easily the best looking PD so far, and it expanded the gameplay with 3 wing forms which could make you faster, or stronger, better shots, etc. The bosses were rather lamely designed visually, but were unique in a Japanese version of Tim Burton on crack kind of way. Despite my criticism, the boss fights were pretty fun, and the levels were like going on a visual roller coaster ride that used your mind and reflexes.

 

Granted it is a bit short, and I really couldn’t care less for the story or characters. Something about a girl and her dragon, blah blah, evil empire, blah blah. Kinda left me with melancholic feeling honestly. I guess the story doesn’t matter, but it did rub me the wrong way.

A nice bonus in Orta, is that it came with a free version of the original Panzer Dragoon, just in-case you were one of billions of people who didn’t own a Sega Saturn. It holds up rather decently, though the graphics do show their age. Starfox 64 defiantly whoops the original Panzer Dragoon in all aspects.

 

It might be a tiny gem in a great pile of Xbox games, but you can find it rather easily and quite cheap. If you like Starfox, Panzer Dragoon, rail shooters, or good games in general and you have an Xbox (I guess the 360 plays it too) then you are truly missing out of one of Sega’s best efforts in recent memory which is pretty sad since the game came out in December of 2002.