Panzer Dragoon II Zwei

"An excellent rail platformer that shows what the Saturn is all about."

There are many systems that have been left in the dust after the wake of a big console launch. The best example is the Dreamcast when the PS2 came out. The Dreamcast was a gem, but forgotten about.

The Sega Saturn is another example of this, boasting one of the best game libraries ever to grace the gaming world. The wonderous games range from NiGHTS, Guardian Heroes, Shining Force III, and to this game I'm writing about....Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei.

Gameplay

The first Panzer Dragoon was a revolutionary game, making the rail genre known to the world and popular. A rail game is when you only control your character's direction, but the movement is strict and stoic...like a rail. Get it? Zwei does it again, and makes advances in every weakness the first game had.

You ride a Dragon as an enemy of The Empire. They send their hordes of enemies at you, and you must keep on fighting waves and waves of them. Your dragon gains experience as it goes, and can evolve and transform to be stronger at, it seems, the best time to kick butt.

While the gameplay is tedious, it never gets boring. Sometimes you barely survive with an inch of life left, and just feel the greatness of the game.

Control

The Sega Saturn controller feels at home with this game. What else can I say?

Sound

The sound is good, but after playing through the game over and over again the tunes will get old sooner or later.

Replayability

The game is short, there's no doubt about that. However the game is always fun no matter how many times you play it. There are multiple paths you can take on each stage with different experiences. The boss battles are a different level of challenge on each difficulty you set the game on.

The bottom line is this series is a great one to have, and Zwei doesn't fail to succeed. If you have a Saturn, then get this game if you want a fast, upbeat game to keep you entertained when NiGHTS isn't doing it for you and you can't get your hands on a copy of those rarer Saturn gems.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/26/04