Азель: Panzer Dragoon RPG – Легенда Sega Saturn

1998 video game

Panzer Dragoon Saga, known in Japan as Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG, is a 1998 role playing video game (RPG) developed and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. The third entry in the Panzer Dragoon series, it replaced the rail shooter gameplay of the previous games with RPG elements such as random encounters, semi turn based battles and free roaming exploration. The player controls Edge, a young mercenary who rides a dragon and encounters a mysterious girl from a vanished civilization. Sega felt an RPG was critical to compete against the PlayStation and Final Fantasy. Development began in early 1995 alongside Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996). The project was arduous and repeatedly delayed; incorporating the Panzer Dragoon shooting elements with full 3D computer graphics and voice acting, both unusual features in RPGs at the time, pushed the Saturn to its technical limits and strained team relations. Two staff members died during development, which the director, Yukio Futatsugi, attributed to stressful working conditions. Panzer Dragoon Saga is one of the most acclaimed Saturn games and is often listed among the greatest video games, earning praise for its story, graphics, and combat. Sales were low, and only a few thousand copies were published in the west, where Sega had shifted focus to its Dreamcast console. After the release, Sega disbanded Team Andromeda. Several staff members joined a new Sega studio, Smilebit, and developed a fourth Panzer Dragoon game, Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002), for the Xbox. Although Panzer Dragoon Saga became a cult classic, it has never been rereleased and English copies sell for hundreds of US dollars.

Unlike the other Panzer Dragoon games, which are rail shooters, Panzer Dragoon Saga is a role playing video game (RPG). On foot, Edge can talk to non player characters (NPCs), upgrade his weapons, buy items such as potions, and use a targeting reticle to interact with elements such as doors and locks. When the player explores on the dragon, this reticle is used to fire lasers to activate triggers or break objects. In one sequence, Edge rides a hoverbike instead of the dragon. These are accessed from the map screen, and new areas are added as the game progresses. Three "action gauges" charge in real time; when a gauge fills, the player can perform an action, such as attacking or using items. The speed at which the gauges charge is governed by the dragon's agility attribute. If this is higher than the enemy's agility, the player can act more frequently than the enemy, and vice versa. to expose weak points and escape dangerous positions. A radar at the bottom of the screen indicates safe, neutral and dangerous areas, with the front and rear quadrants typically posing the most danger. Players can morph the dragon to change its attack, defense, agility and spiritual attributes. Boosting one attribute diminishes another; for example, boosting the attack attribute reduces the spiritual attribute, which increases the cost of berserks, The engine had to support free exploration, battle sequences and real time morphing and shading, pushing the Saturn to its limits.

Retrospective reviews have been positive. In 2007, Game Informer called Panzer Dragoon Saga one of the greatest games ever made, and praised the use of dramatic camera angles and animations to make the battles "very cinematic even by modern standards". In 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die (2013), Jason Brookes wrote that only the cutscenes had aged poorly and that "many aspects of the game impress above and beyond even many of the RPGs produced nowadays". IGN in 2007 and G4 in 2012. 1UP placed it #1 in its 2005 list of cult classic games, and Game Informer ranked it #1 in its 2006 list of the "top 10 rare RPGs you need". In 2008, IGN named it the greatest Saturn game, and wrote: "Panzer Dragoon Sagawas the swan song to end all swan songs This dark, solemn game [is] wholly unique. It is the gem of the generation." The following year, in its list of the "Greatest Gameplay of All Time", IGN named Saga the "best game no one played". In 2023, Cultured Vultures named Panzer Dragoon Saga the best Saturn game.

Sega disbanded Team Andromeda after Saga completion and reassigned some staff to Smilebit, which developed the final Panzer Dragoon game, Orta (2002), for the Xbox. Meanwhile, Ueda worked on Jet Set Radio (2000), Sakai worked on Phantasy Star Online (2000) and Yokota worked on Rez (2001), all for Dreamcast. According to Futatsugi, Sega has lost the source code, making porting it difficult. Given the opportunity to remake Saga, Futatsugi said he would make it less linear, with an open world, branching player choices and online communication. In another interview, he said he would consider telling the story from Azel's perspective.