Panzer Dragoon Orta

"Let's hope this one isn't overlooked..."

It was a sad thing when the Sega Saturn became overlooked and completely overshadowed by the Sony Playstation in the North American market. Panzer Dragoon was one of those games, one of those amazing games that people had seldom heard of yet it had quite a large niche following. If the Saturn had lived a long, wonderful life then maybe people would have got to know this great series of games a little bit better. Enter the last couple months of 2002. Though Japanese XBox support is not really taking off, Smilebit, the creators of the original Panzer Dragoon series give the Japanese public a game to rejoice over. Panzer Dragoon Orta. Destined to be released in North America within the month, this may quite possibly be the game that makes the franchise well known to all.

Gameplay - 10

There are people out there that dislike rail shooters. I can understand way. Being contained to a set path in a game where you're blazing at high speeds through the sky may not sound appealing, you may want to explore and look around a much as you possibly can, however that's not the point of the Panzer Dragoon series. You see, this is one of those games that relies on being simplistic and fun as opposed to having heavy aspects of exploration and discoveries. Though there are multiple paths to take within each level, so there is some change each time you play. The controls are simple and extremely tight. The left analogue stick moves your Dragon around and the two triggers on the back of the controller rotate the camera in four different directions around you, as enemies are constantly coming at you from all angles. Without full movement control in your environment, you may find yourself in need of getting in front of; or behind the enemies, as some have particular weak points on parts of their bodies. For this purpose, you have a boost button and a slow down button. One of course, makes you blaze forward super-fast, and the other slows you down. This adds a bit of strategy to the game, making some boss battles especially challenging. Shooting down enemies is the same as it's always been in Panzer Dragoon. You have your regular blaster which fires of shots at an amazingly fast rate, but doesn't really do a lot of damage. Then you have your lock on ability, which fires less, but far stronger shots. To be able to fight effectively you have to be able to utilize both of these ways of shooting down your enemies.
The biggest addition to the series is the ability to morph your Dragon into different forms. This adds a LOT to the strategy of the game and there will be times that you find yourself morphing from form to form so quickly that it may boggle your mind. There are three different forms, each gaining levels and becoming more powerful as you progress. The first form, your normal form is a balance of attack power and speed. The second is low on maneuverability and doesn't have the ability to boost or slow down though it has the most powerful attack. The third form has a weak attack (it can't even use the lock-on attack) but is amazingly fast and is able to boost and slow down more than your Dragon's original form. You'll find yourself using all three different forms a lot through the game, and if you use just one, the other two may become to weak, so it's good to keep a balance.
One thing to keep in mind when you're playing though, is that this game can be amazingly hard. It's not easy nor is it meant to be easy, and can still be a challenge on the simplest difficulty. It stays true to the Panzer Dragoon series while adding new features that make the gameplay even more outstanding than it's predecessors.

Story - 9

For a 3D shooter, this game actually has some story. There will be moments where you'll be confused, sad or happy just as in any other story. It may not be the most complicated story in the world, but here that may be a good thing. The game doesn't have the length of popular RPGs such as Final Fantasy X or Suikoden III so the amount of scope Smilebit was able to put in was extremely limited. However they some how managed to make the storyline compelling and make you want to know what happens next, where Orta is from, and what happens to her in a world where half the population wants to see her dead.
The storyline is far beyond any of the previous Panzer Dragoon games (with the exception of Panzer Dragoon Saga of course) and shows that even a shooter can have some semblance of plot and not just be a game that you play to blow things up, though that's still a lot of fun.

Graphics - 9

Wow. The only word that really comes to mind is wow. Even back in the day, Panzer Dragoon was one of the original 3D polygonal games. For it's day, it managed to pull off some amazing feats in areas such as frame rate, while still looking quite good for it's time. Panzer Dragoon Orta is no exception, it looks absolutely stunning while managing to keep going at a solid 60 frames per second. The environments in each level are varied and are so amazingly detailed that you may find yourself just sitting there, eyes wide open, starring at the screen. The levels are all different as well. You won't find yourself in a dark industrialized world all the time or find yourself spinning through many different tropical forests, which are almost all you see in the previews for the game. There's levels that look like the aftermath of some huge atomic war, frozen wastelands, deserts and some levels with enough lighting effects to make you think someone slipped something into your drink.
Enemies and NPCs look great too. Every character in the game, large or small is something to behold. Enemies are all different, in fact through the entire course of the game I do not think I've seen the same thing more than once or twice. How much it varies with the things you fight is outstanding. And the bosses, oh the bosses. They are truly a sight to see. Some may just be large warships typical to Panzer Dragoon, whereas others, well, who knows what they are?
Panzer Dragoon may well be the most beautiful game on the XBox. I had to dock one mark because, well, the first level doesn't really look all that great, in fact it kind of undermines what the rest of the game looks like. Anyway, Panzer Dragoon Orta isn't trying to achieve the realism found in games such as Splinter Cell, it's trying to make a lush, spectacular fantasy/sci-fi environment that will make people's jaws drop. And it's succeeded very well.

Music - 10

I admit, I was wary at first. When I first popped Panzer Dragoon into my Saturn, I was awestruck at the music. Even the first level had music that would make any composer proud. I didn't know if Panzer Dragoon orta would be able to live up to this auditory bliss. Fortunately for me, my fears were put to rest almost immediately. The score for this game is certainly Panzer Dragoon and certainly fits the game very well. You may not find any of the tracks very memorable at first, but they're sure to grow on you. One track in particular that I can't manage to get out of my head is the boss theme.
Music can make or break a game, and in this case it fits it just perfectly. It may not have the most memorable soundtrack in video game history but it sure does a good job of fitting with the game, and really that's what counts.

Replay Value - 10

A game with this much replay value? You may not think it's possible, but it is. Smilebit delayed this game for a reason, to add extra stuff. And there is a lot of extra stuff. In the game menu there is an option called ''Pandora's Box'' which holds everything from galleries, story history, extra scenarios and much, much more. Of course you have to play through the game getting some incredible scores and ratings and such to unlock all of the things. I haven't figured out how to get everything myself yet. There's one very interesting addition though and that's that they have included the original Panzer Dragoon as an unlockable in Pandora's Box. So really you're getting two games in one here, now isn't that neat?

But or Rent - Buy

In a world saturated in games, Panzer Dragoon Orta goes back to their roots. It's just plain fun and enjoyment. In the end, It turns out that Panzer Dragoon Orta lives up to it's namesake. It is certainly a Panzer Dragoon game but it adds so much more and takes the series to a new level with it's evolution. There's so much to see and do and doing it all is just so fun. You'd be a fool to miss out on this when it's released in North America. I'm sure that it will be one of the first great games of 2003, and may hold that title for the rest of the year.

Gameplay - 10
Story - 9
Graphics - 10
Music - 10
Replay Value - 10
Reviewer's Tilt - 10
Buy or Rent - Buy

Final Verdict: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/03, Updated 01/05/03