Panzer Dragoon (Saturn) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Sega's 1995 fantasy rail-shooter for the Sega Saturn, Panzer Dragoon.

Played through on normal mode.

Panzer Dragoon was one of the handful of games Sega had ready for the launch of the 32-bit Saturn system in the Spring of 1995, and wow. If only Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA's ports had been done with this much care and polish, one can only imagine how much better the system would've sold in those vital months leading up to the release of the PlayStation.

At its heart, PD is a rail shooter that plays similarly to Star Fox or Space Harrier. To call it a clone of either of those, however, would be to ignore everything that makes it so special.

A ton of effort was clearly put into establishing the world. The art style isn't one you see often - the muted colors, the architecture, and the organic, alien enemy designs really pull together to create an amazingly cohesive picture. Though it takes clear inspiration from a number of European works, it synthesizes all of these elements into a wholly new and unique identity for itself.

The sound design is much the same. The characters all speak "Panzerese," which is a fusion of several real-world languages created specifically for the game, and it does an amazing job at making the speech sound distinctly familiar and alien all at once. The soundtrack supports it well with some brilliant combinations of traditional instruments and synthesizer pads - it's not memorable in the way that you'll hum it forever, but its unforgettable in just how well it contributes to the larger presentation. It's absolutely beautiful, and stands on its own more than well enough to justify buying the soundtrack.

All of these elements mesh in a natural way, and feel "right" in how they each take a role in shaping the narrative. The story is excellent, but it is everything working together in concert that makes it so effective.

The gameplay itself is simple, but it requires a fair amount of strategy and reflexes to stay on top of everything - Panzer Dragoon is not an easy game. I actually wish PD Zwei hadn't dialed the difficulty level back as far as it did from the original. I've always found this one's challenge to be pitch perfect.

Panzer Dragoon is as much a modern work of art as it is a video game, and because of this it has aged well. The framerate isn't great and the low-resolution texture work looks rough, sure. But for a launch game on a system that wasn't known for its 3D power, it did wonders. The aesthetic transcends all of the technical limitations of its era with ease.

It's a fantastic experience that will stay with you long after you've beaten it, and it's not like anything else you'll likely ever play, its sequel included. If you own a Saturn, you need this game. And if you don't own one, the Panzer Dragoon trilogy is more than enough reason to pick one up.

If you're interested, you can find my playthrough of the Switch remake here:    • Panzer Dragoon: Remake (Switch) Playthroug...  
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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