Panzer Dragoon Orta

Within the first 20 seconds of playing, you're thrown into a frenzy of shooting. In fact, there aren't many times where you don't hold the trigger button. The dragon you ride has 3 forms- Base, Heavy, and Glide. Each one has its own special features. Base can lock on to multiple targets, and shoot quick bursts of rapid shots. It also has 2 speed boosts or slow downs that it can use before recovering. Heavy locks on to 3 enemies at a time, but damages them more...but it also doesn't have a boost/break feature. And Glide is the smallest, most manuverable having 3 boosts/breaks...but it is also the weakest, having only a rapid gun. Luckily, you can switch between the three forms in a split second as much as you want by tapping 'Y'. With all the combat that goes on, you'll be doing a lot of switching. Also, each form has its own unique special attack. The Glide form is the only one that can recover itself by destroying enemies with it. Oh I guess I should mention- there are no ways to recover your health otherwise (unless you play on Easy, where you heal after every level).

The world of Panzer Dragoon Orta is probably its best quality in addition to being pure action. The lands and creatures you see are breath taking, and quite an achievement. Only Sega could deliver something with this much effort put into it. As for the length of the game, yes, it's pretty short. You could beat it in one sitting if you had 2 or 3 hours probably. But there are also normal and hard difficulties to beat, and then wanting to beat your records for each level. The story was nice as well. Orta is/was a captive in an Imperial prison, when the legendary dragon rescued her. You'll learn more after you beat the game through the Pandora's Box- a collection of tons of extras.

Pandora's box includes picture galleries, an appendix of the Panzer Dragoon world, records for the levels, the original Panzer Dragoon for Sega Saturn (after you beat the game on any difficulty). What I thought was coolest though, was the side-story you can play as a boy whose dad was killed by the dragon. It was pretty emotional when you read his story. The lack of voice overs for it and no music drives it through you even more.

There are just two things I want to clear up from the previous, ignorant reviewers. The game isn't in Japanese. It's a combination of Japanese, Spanish, Latin, German, and a few other languages combined. If you can't take the sub-titles, then I don't get what your problem is. And the cutscenes can be skipped. Just press 'start' and you can go straight into the action. It's that simple.

There's just so much to say about the game itself: music, action, design, replay, extras, etc. It's a pity that it didn't sell very well here in the states. But that's Sega for you- bringing the best quality games, and never getting what they deserve. You'd never see a game like this on GameCube or PS2...or any of their other big name titles (Shenmue in particular). You won't be disappointed with this game, I guarentee it.


Team Andromeda Lives!   January 21, 2003
RandyAU93 (Lithia Springs, GA United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

When a new console is launched, the manufacturer usually releases a handful of games to show off the system and appeal to consumers. Over time, as developers learn the console, bigger and flashier games appear, leaving the launch games in the dust of the clearance bin. Once in a while, though, there's a diamond in the rough ... in the case of the underrated Sega Saturn, it was a stylish shooting game named "Panzer Dragoon," developed by an in-house team known as Team Andromeda.

Its popularity (among the Saturn's limited audience), led to a prequel game--"Panzer Dragoon Zwei"-- and even a lauded RPG-style adventure in the same universe--"Panzer Dragoon Saga." However, both games were released in the waning days of the system, so few people really got to see how the series progressed. Eventually, the Saturn was discontinued and Team Andromeda went their separate ways. Fortunately, it would appear that some of those programmers wound up in Smilebit, one of Sega's new development houses, as they have turned out a worthy successor of the "Panzer Dragoon" title, exclusively for Microsoft's powerful XBox console.

For the fourth title in the series, Smilebit returned to the format of the first two games, that of a linear shoot-em-up. The player, in the guise of a mysterious young girl named Orta, rides a mighty dragon through a series of elaborate levels on a generally pre-set course (or, to use a common gaming term, "on rails"). Armed with a rapid-fire pistol and the dragon's own attacks, Orta must eliminate the evil forces bent on capturing her, as well as the denizens of this strange world that simply will attack anything that moves.

Enemies will attack from all sides, so it's fortunate that Orta can turn a full 360 degrees to face incoming hazards. Orta can shoot down the targets with her own gun, or she can command the dragon to lock onto the target and attack with its "arrows of light." When desperate times call for desperate measures, the dragon can unleash a "berserk" attack, which renders itself invulnerable for a few seconds and its enemies dead meat.

The enemies come in a wide array of shapes and sizes. Some are simply too big (or too well-armored) to shoot directly. Others prefer to attack Orta head-on by ramming the dragon. In these cases, you can use the "Glide Attack," a new feature for the series. This multi-use attack can slow the dragon down (allowing an incoming assault to miss it), give it a burst of speed (with shockwaves that can damage enemies) or allow it to move around a large enemy to evade fire or find a weak spot in its defenses.

Expanding on concepts introduced in "Zwei" and "Saga," Orta can control the dragon's appearance and abilities. The standard form, Base Wing, is a good all-around offensive and defensive choice. The Heavy Wing trades maneuverability (and no Glide Attack) for awesome firepower, and the Glide Wing is small and fast, but not much of an attacker. Orta can cycle through these forms at will, and she'll be doing it frequently. If it seems like there's a lot to do and keep track of, there is ... fortunately, the game has a series of tutorials that teach players the fundamentals.

The game's ultra-detailed world never looked so good. Cut-scenes tell the story in the game-world's unique language (it's not Japanese), with English subtitles. The PD universe is a hodgepodge of natural beauty and man-made horror, and truly comes into its own here. Some story points draw on the original games, but knowledge of those is not required. Graphically fast and expansive, with outstanding effects, like the dragon's sometimes iridescent wings. No slowdown, even with giant enemies on screen, and loading times are generally speedy (or hidden by cut-scenes or dialog).

Replay fanatics will love Pandora's Box, a treasure trove of hidden features and information, all available for the unlocking. I won't reveal what they are, except for one item ... hidden in the game is a complete rendition of the title that started it all, "Panzer Dragoon." As an introduction to the series, or as a chance to relive a classic game, it's a welcome addition.

One very minor gripe ... the game only allows for one save file, so while anyone can start a new game, only one save point can be set. Also, the game's difficulty can be at times frustrating, even for PD veterans ... it's also quite addicting, almost forcing you to "one more time" a level until you vanquish it.

With a detailed story, unbelievable graphics, easy-to-grasp gameplay and tons of replay opportunities, "Panzer Dragoon Orta" heralds the return of a respected gaming series, and hopefully points the way to future adventures in this unique realm.


If you like to shoots things, BUY PANZER   February 2, 2003
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

Yea its short, but the real fun is playing it a million times just trying to get all the powerups and S rankings.