Panzer Dragoon Series Retrospective - A Complete History and Review

What causes video games to be remembered? Why do Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and the Legend of Zelda live on while others fade into the background?

Today we're going to be exploring one of the forgotten - Panzer Dragoon. It's a series that not only deserves to be remembered for it's innovations and creativity, but also tells the story of Sega's downfall from console giant to struggling publisher. We're going to follow both from birth to death and discover what ties Nausicaa, the Dreamcast, Final Fantasy 7 and Star Fox 64 into a tragic story of noble failure.

It's part critique, part retrospective, part review and part history lesson - obviously full of spoilers and obviously full of my opinions.

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Credit for the incredible thumbnail goes to the immensely talented - @MicahTheBrave

All media in this video is used for the purpose of review, commentary or criticism and is defined as fair use under US Copyright law.

=== Chapters ===
00:00:00 – The Question (Introduction)
00:02:51 - The Sega Saturn (A Tragic Genesis)
00:12:41 – Panzer Dragoon (Development)
00:20:17 – Panzer Dragoon (The Video Game)
00:33:39 – Panzer Dragoon (The Experience)
00:48:29 – Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Development)
00:54:35 – Panzer Dragoon Zwei (The Prequel)
01:07:51 – Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Evolution)
01:20:28 – Panzer Dragoon Mini
01:29:49 – Panzer Dragoon Anime
01:42:32 - Panzer Dragoon Saga (Development)
01:50:36 - Panzer Dragoon Saga (Foundations)
01:58:54 – Panzer Dragoon Saga (Breath of Fire)
02:08:42 – Panzer Dragoon Saga (House of the Dragon)
02:19:24 – Panzer Dragoon Saga (Side Quests)
02:26:38 – Panzer Dragoon Saga (Four Disc Finale)
02:40:43 – Panzer Dragoon Saga (Divine Twist)
02:51:38 – Panzer Dragoon Saga (What Happened?)
02:59:39 – Sega at 2000 (A Dream of Spring)
03:06:40 – Panzer Dragoon Orta (Development)
03:12:58 – Panzer Dragoon Orta – Rebirth (Gameplay)
03:27:04 – Panzer Dragoon Orta – The Daughter (Story)
03:34:01 – Panzer Dragoon Orta – Pandora’s Box
03:43:32 - Crimson Dragon (A Failed Encore)
03:58:42 - Panzer Dragoon Remake (Swansong)
04:08:49 – The Answer (Conclusion)

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#PanzerDragoon #Sega #retrospective

[echoversa]

The production value on these videos is sky high. I can sit and watch a 4 hour video about a game series I never played and be interested the entire time simply because I know what I am watching is of such high quality that it deserves my attention

[johnchiu]

History is written by awesome video essayists

[gamesandplanes]

2:20:15 - the dragon pup DOES do something. He seeks out valuable items.

In free-flight mode, you'll notice sometimes he flies away from you. When you then fly over to see what he's doing, you then highlight him it interact. He'll then give you an item.

[andersdenkend]

Panzer Dragoon was and still is so unique. The stars aligned during its production it seems, from the crazy music, to the gorgeous visuals and awesome gameplay, Panzer Dragoon is one of the Saturn's defining games.

Thank you for this retrospective!

[LavenderRex]

I cried near the end of this video. The lost art of this franchise I've never really seen much of really hit me hard as an aspiring artist. It is much worse to be forgotten than to be criticized. Thank you for your documentation.

[projektEnigma]

Just want to say Thank You for all your hard work in the countless hours you put in recording and editing! You're one of the best!

[normtrooper]

History is written by the people who write history. If someone matters to you, then talk about it. Share that love and nothing will be forgotten

[jackdavis]

Panzer Dragoon Zwei was one of the first videogames I vividly remember playing as a child. I was scared, I was fascinated, I was hooked. Thanks for all your hard work and I'll be cruising through this video throughout the evening! Cheers!

[bingobongo]

Ironically I love Panzer Dragoon Orta more than any other game in the series…

The visual story telling, style and atmosphere is simply amazing

[MrMango-llnf]

I've never played these games and had only heard the name Panzer Dragoon before watching this video and I still LOVED this upload.

The thing I love most about your vids is that I always know, whether I am familiar with the series/game or not, I will get a fully fleshed out perspective with historical context to boot!

Every upload of yours is nothing short of a gift and I am very thankful for what I am sure is many 100s of hours of hard work and dedication. Much love brother.

[blinxman]

The development story of Panzer Dragoon Saga is a such a tragic to read, as two members passed away as one died of a motorcycle accident due to stress and another took his life away as they were given a very tight deadline. Even Futatsugi was affected by the loss of the latter staff member as they had a great relationship together. Even some staff members were depressed working of the project with dealing a tight deadline, a console that's difficult to develop games for, SEGA undercoming financial difficulties, all of that for the game and the series to be obscure of a long time.

[Issalzul]

I came to have feelings about panzer dragoon, and i did! I got my saturn back in the day to play this series and it left a lasting impact

What I didnt expect is a childhood mystery to be solved in showing me friggin STARBLADE. I was drawing that ship for years ahd thought it was a fever dream!

[billdabeast]

I've literally never heard of this series, but your editing and research keeps me so invested I can't help but binge every video on your channel

[Paul_Lucas]

Amazing video. I lost a whole summer to Saga in 1998 - it is a short game, but the plot exposition and the immersiveness of the environment meant you could easily spend a lot of time in the game. I recall 100% completion took about 65 hours for me at a very leisurely pace. It was the first properly cinematic game I played and the art direction in this was absolutely incredible. I remember trying to figure out how the Imperial ships managed to fly, and not until I got to the Forest of Zoah and encountered a Golia did I realise "oh, yes look they are using repurposed monster carcasses for flotation" - the distinctive airy pulsing sound for the Golia is the same as any large Imperial ship. The rushed nature of the game works in its favour. I liked the blank slate of so many game elements - the Capital is levelled in the opening sequence of the game - what would it be like to walk around there? Was it a busy and thriving economy? Was it dangerous? The whole game is set against utter bleakness, has a bleak beginning and a bleak ending with the eventual, true death of your character - it's left to you to fill in many of the gaps in your head. I actually missed the true ending of the game - I have never liked using my own name for character names in save files, and never considered it important, so my first "alias" was "Edge", thinking "well so what, it's just a save file, why not just use the protagonist's name?" - of course Sestren tells me the Divine Visitor is Edge then, at the end of the game and I was very confused! Overall a great game with many flaws but unsurpassed in its world building and consistent art direction.

[hauntedhotdog]

I love these games so much. I have Orta basically permanently installed on my Xbox Series S. It's aged unbelievably well. I will never forget the time I stepped into a Toys R' Us to pick up a new console and played the Saturn for the first time. Panzer Dragoon was running on the kiosk, and the music was the first thing I noticed. It was so clear, so beautiful and grand. Even my dad commented on it. I wouldn't get a Saturn until maybe 1999, as I opted for the PS1 that day. In hindsight it was the right choice, but Panzer Dragoon made that choice very difficult. The world, the music, the brutal gameplay... it was familiar, but so foreign and alien at the same time. To this day, the combination of the art, the sweeping music, the minimalist storytelling, and the refined gameplay creates an experience that is singular and unique.

I doubt the series will ever really come back, as Sega's spectacular mismanagement killed the chances of many people being exposed to it back in the day, but it's one of those things where... if you know, you know.

4+ hours of Panzer Dragoon content. My guy, an absolute banger of a video.

[omargod]

Panzer dragoon always existed for me as that elusive collectors grail for the saturn, even back in the mid 2000s when i had just begun to collect. It eventually priced itself out of my realistic grasp, but emulation is great and having a modded saturn to play CDR backups is even better. Thanks for the deep dive as always, really excited to see this one go up! Fantastic video!

[Sudo_Nimh]

This takes me back to the PanzerDragoonLegacy community. Thanks for the memories
Edit: Slight correction, you can complete the game as Arm wing, the vanilla "final" evolution of Edge's Dragon.
Finding all the D-Units evolves it into Light Wing, which gives you access to the level 6 laser. Without D-Units, 5 is as high as it'll go. Light Wing also comes with an interesting function of you not being able to morph into classes, but having the advantages of all of them.
Then if you have the crest/pup you can evolve to solo-wing, which curiously gives you back the class morphing function.

[IzumiKonata]

So many of the comments are of people who never played the series and are now interested because of this video essay. If more YouTubers spent more time doing actual research and making better videos, things would be extremely different in the gaming landscape. Thank you so much for the hard work, it's a great window on the series' and Sega's history. Loved it all the way through!
Go play panzer dragoon now if you haven't yet!!

[timpize]

2:49:38 The Nomad Soul (Omikron) did this too, and brought the idea arguably further albeit in a more obvious way. At the very beginning, the player is asked by a character to enter the game and transfer his "soul" into his body. And when we die or want to switch to another character, we simply transfer our soul into another one. Pretty fun gimmick.

[rodrigogarciamartinez]

What a beautiful tribute to such a great yet misunderstood work of art. I am one of the few Spaniards who dared to enjoy this game as a child, despite it not being translated into Spanish. I still remember those long hours of gameplay and the ending of Panzer Dragoon Saga with "Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu" playing in the background. It still gives me goosebumps. The only thing I missed is that you didn't talk more about the Saga OST. Thank you very much for this tribute that I have watched from beginning to end. Thank you.