History VideoGame / PanzerDragoon

[[folder:Games in the series:]]

The games which comprise this series include:

-->-- OpeningMonologue to Panzer Dragoon

-->-- ''OpeningMonologue to Panzer Dragoon''

** A VideoGameRemake called ''Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake'', also developed by Forever Entertainment, has been announced, but has yet to be given a release date and platform.

** The game was praised for its very unique art direction, eclectic soundtrack, interesting combat engine, engaging story, and gameplay. It also expanded the mutation concept from ''Zwei'' to allow real-time transformations of Edge's dragon. Four stats were separated into two inversely-related pairs, and allowed the player to boost one of each pair while making the deficiencies in the other more pronounced (Attack boosts the power of the dragon's HomingLasers, while Spiritual increase damage of special attacks; Defense decreases the amount of damage taken and Agility allows the Active Time Battle-like gauge to charge faster and dodge faster).

The series went dormant following ''Orta'', especially after Smilebit was folded back into Sega in the mid-2000s. The creators, however, have never been anything short of enthusiastic about the potential future for the series, and the fan following for the series remains very strong to this day.

* TheEmpire: The Empire of the series were power-hungry and seeking the power from the Ancient's lost technology.

* InsignificantLittleBluePlanet: It's obvious the world is half-way colonized, but nobody remembers what planet they originally came from or how the hell they got there.

* OrganicTechnology: Almost all technology is organic, including the snail-sized guns, which are ''living organisms''.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Dragons are only dragons in the most general sense. They perform more like living [[Franchise/StarWars X-Wings]] and shoot lasers and tend to look more like giant armored fish with horns crossed with an Creator/HRGiger doodle. They're really "dragons" InNameOnly; meanwhile, the Ancients simply referred to any biological creature with the highest tier of power to be referred to as a dragon. InUniverse, the modern day usage is on par with using the word "dragon" to mean a god or an instrument of god. Considering almost ''all'' wildlife presented in ''Panzer Dragoon'' is spectacularly alien with the exception of "humans", this really isn't that far of a stretch.

* BonusFeatureFailure: The game has an unadvertised "wizard mode" which bumps the framerate up to 30, but it does so by just speeding up the game to hit that mark, meaning you lose the intended accompaniment of the music. Not to mention that it oftens drops back down in busier sections of the game, and cutscenes are capped at 20 frames anyway.

* BattleShipRaid: Lundi and Lagi take on the Shelcoof itself at Chapter 6 where they finally take down the ship by destroying one of the ship's wings and fighting the Guardian Dragon in its cocoon. However, the duo must confront the Guardian Dragon in its full glory as the FinalBoss.

* DevelopersForesight: In addition to the OldSaveBonus, the game has an option to format its picture for widescreen displays; this is almost unheard of in MediaNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When the Emperor orders the imperial fleet to chase Shelcoof, he gets an idea to create a giant ship. This comes into fruition in ''Saga'' as the nightmare known as Grig Orig.

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: Certain rare enemies often give upwards of 10x the amount of experience points that other enemies at that point in the game give but aren't really any stronger. However only really applies to rare enemies that the player has to go out of the way to find. Notable examples are Sand Mites which are found in the final section of the Garil Desert after defeating the Gigra, Kolba which are found in the northwest area of the first part of Uru from the start of disc 3 and the 2 Golia variants which are found in the Forest of Zoah after defeating the [[spoiler: Infested Grig Orig.]]

* BattleShipRaid: This installment really likes this trope, since the first boss is the Vermana, where you fly around the ship to attack its various weakpoints, followed by an Imperial flagship in the fourth stage. This trope is more pronounced in Stage 8, since it pits you against a rematch of Vermana, and its stage boss is the [[HumongousMecha humanoid battleship]], Bacharsuha.

* CastFromHitPoints: The Els Enora boss shoots spears made from its own ''body fluids'' and can [[PerpetualMolt shed a veritable wall of crystalline feathers]] to try and snare the dragon. Once you break all its arms, it TurnsRed and shoots out ALL of its blood at you. At this point, it becomes immune to player attacks, but loses health every time it shoots at you until it finally passes out.

* RayOfHopeEnding: Although ''Orta'' technically ends as a {{downer|Ending}}, [[spoiler:TheStinger shows Orta walking into the wilderness with a new dragon pup by her side, a tone that's less somber than it seems. Recall in the beginning of the game on the amount of angst she had on being alone for all her life, until the dragon rescued her]].

* WakeUpCallBoss: Ikrakav for the Episode 2 will force players to come to grips with the boost and brake mechanics of the dragon in order to flank it and AttackItsWeakPoint, including evading its attacks. Knowing when to transform the dragon into its other Wings to take advantage also becomes a necessity (if it wasn't already by this point in the game).

->"The fate of the world rests on the wings of an armoured blue dragon..."
-->-- ''Opening narration to Panzer Dragoon''

** A UsefulNotes/HighDefinition VideoGameRemake for the Platform/NintendoSwitch was released on March 26, 2020, simply called ''Panzer Dragoon: Remake''. Developed by Forever Entertainment, it features new visuals and changes to game-play to reflect modern standards, but retains the story. A Platform/GoogleStadia version launched in June 2020, while Platform/{{Steam}}, Website/GOGDotCom and Platform/PlayStation4 got their respective versions in September of the same year; Platform/XboxOne received its version on December 11, 2020.

* DevelopersForesight: In addition to the OldSaveBonus, the game has an option to format its picture for widescreen displays; this is almost unheard of in UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames.

** A UsefulNotes/HighDefinition VideoGameRemake for the Platform/NintendoSwitch was released on March 26, 2020, simply called ''Panzer Dragoon: Remake''. Developed by Forever Entertainment, it features new visuals and changes to game-play to reflect modern standards, but retains the story. A UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia version launched in June 2020, while Platform/{{Steam}}, Website/GOGDotCom and Platform/PlayStation4 got their respective versions in September of the same year; Platform/XboxOne received its version on December 11, 2020.

''Panzer Dragoon'' is a tetralogy of games developed by Sega's Team Andromeda for the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and by Smilebit for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}. The first, second, and fourth games are {{dragon|Rider}}-riding {{rail shooter}}s, while the third is a unique EasternRPG. The series is famous for its beautiful soundtrack, AfterTheEnd plotline and surreal ScienceFiction atmosphere, owing a lot to ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'', French artist Creator/{{Moebius}} (who drew the box art for the first game in Japan and is credited with design inspiration, particularly from his 1975 comic, ''Arzach''), and ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' (more of the manga than the anime).

** Released for the Sega Saturn (and PC) in 1995, players take control of [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Keil/Kyle]], a mutant hunter whose excursion into the desert is interrupted when he witnesses a battle between two dragons, the most powerful genetically engineered monsters spoken of in legend. The Dark Dragon mortally wounds the blue dragon's rider, who urges Kyle to mount his creature and stop the Dark Dragon from reaching the Tower and harnessing its destructive power.
** The game was notable for being a rail shooter that allowed a full 360-degree camera rotation to fight enemies in all directions. There was also a [[UpdatedRerelease Sega Ages]] version of the game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, which spruced up the visuals and smoothed everything out (including bumping the frame rate to a more natural 30 FPS). Naturally, this version stayed in Japan.
** A UsefulNotes/HighDefinition VideoGameRemake for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch was released on March 26, 2020, simply called ''Panzer Dragoon: Remake''. Developed by Forever Entertainment, it features new visuals and changes to game-play to reflect modern standards, but retains the story. A UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia version launched in June 2020, while UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, Website/GOGDotCom and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 got their respective versions in September of the same year; UsefulNotes/XboxOne received its version on December 11, 2020.

** Only a handful of copies of the game were made, as the Saturn was on the way out to pave the way for the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast. It remains highly sought after to this day, and commands extreme prices on online markets. As such, having a copy is considered a badge of honor for Saturn owners. While the game received critical acclaim, Team Andromeda disbanded after it was released. To twist the knife further, Sega lost the game's source code after these events; unlike some Saturn classics that have been ported to later systems, the chances of a ''Saga'' re-release is virtually non-existent.

** ''Orta'' took the Berserk System of ''Zwei'' and the transformation mechanics from ''Saga'' and adopted it to the series' original shooter formula, with a dragon that could mutate into three different forms on the fly: "Base Wing" ([[JackOfAllStats a standard form with no noticeable strengths/weaknesses except for the largest amount of lock-ons]]), "Heavy Wing" ([[MightyGlacier powerful offensive form with limited mobility and less lock-ons]]) and "Glide Wing" ([[FragileSpeedster most nimble form]], but lacks HomingLasers, yet can shoot down enemy MacrossMissileMassacre with ease and carries a unique HealingFactor via its Berserk Attack). In order to increase each form's capabilities, "gene bases" must be acquired by either destroying enemies or the environment. ''Orta'' was lauded critically for showing off what the Xbox was capable of (and, to this day, ''still'' looks gorgeous), tight controls, numerous throwbacks to the original trilogy, and a veritable slew of bonus content that could stretch the replay value for hours ([[EmbeddedPrecursor including the original]] ''Panzer Dragoon'' as an unlockable bonus). Alas, as with most of the series, it went by relatively unnoticed. However, Microsoft has since made it compatible with the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne, with the latter version available for purchase digitally.

** A Sega UsefulNotes/GameGear SpinOff, which takes the series and creates a FunSize variation, ''Mini'' was basically ''Panzer Dragoon'', minus the rider, but with extra "cute" added in place.

In 2011, a SpiritualSuccessor, headed by the creator of the series, was announced for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} and the Kinect. Entitled ''Project Draco'', this is the closest thing fans will have to a new ''Panzer Dragoon'' game. As of [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3]] 2013, it has been rebranded as ''VideoGame/CrimsonDragon'', which came out as a launch title for the UsefulNotes/XboxOne. Sega also threw the series a bone when they included "Dragon Valley" in ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperStars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', and the series made another surprise appearance in the 2015 comic book crossover ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite''. Although in both these cases, the first game represented the franchise.

** As is tradition, [[spoiler:Orta's Dragon dies from its battle wounds after defeating Abadd and his Dragonmare, all while devoting its existence protecting Orta and bringing TheEmpire to an end.]]
** [[spoiler:After saving The Seekers by non-violently warding off the Dragonmares with the Ancient's supersonic machine, [[HeroOfANotherStory Iva's story]] ends with him dying in the hands of his OnlyFriend because he ran out of the medicine that staves off the genetic disease he's born with. He dies happily, knowing that he did a good deed in his life.]]

ClimaxBoss: Before Orta and her dragon take on the Dragonmares and [[BigBad Abadd]], they must face TheEmpire's greatest creation: [[HumongousMecha The Imperial Defense Unit Bacharsuha]], a towering mecha that is fought as the boss of Episode 8 (out of 10). It's a brutally hard boss fought in a grandiose battle, it has plenty of nasty attacks, like firing a [[MacrossMissileMassacre barrage of missiles]] or a WaveMotionGun, and its destruction [[spoiler:marks the end of The Empire and its emperor's life]].

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Iva's story]].

* PsychoForHire: Evren and her Dragonmare squadron.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: The Emperor is the boss of Episode 8. The remainder of the game has you dealing with Abadd, who has seized control of the Dragonmares.

** Also known as ''AZEL: Panzer Dragoon RPG'' in Japan, ''Saga'' is an EasternRPG released for the Sega Saturn in 1998. It tells the story of Edge, a boy who finds a [[GirlInABox female]] Drone named Azel at the dig site he's assigned to protect, only to be double-crossed and killed by the Black Fleet, the Empire's elite soldiers. Led by a man named Craymen, they claim the girl for their own in their rebellion against the Emperor, who has gone mad with power and intends to harness the Towers for his own nefarious purposes, for which he needs Azel. Edge is mysteriously revived and rescued by a strange but powerful dragon, who seemingly has its own agenda concerning the Towers. Together, they set out to exact revenge on Craymen, unwittingly thrusting the pair into the conflict between the two factions.

** The GrandFinale for the series, ''Orta'' was developed by Smilebit (who had many of the original Team Andromeda developers) and released on the Xbox in 2002, and stars [[CharacterTitle Orta]], [[spoiler:the daughter of Edge and Azel,]] who is fought over by various factions [[spoiler:because of [[HalfHumanHybrid her unique nature]]]]. She's taken prisoner but rescued by a dragon and flies her way to freedom away from a villainous Drone called Abadd, who believes she's the key to restoring the Ancients. ''Orta'' ends on a bit of a more positive note as human civilization and mutated creatures begin to bond with each other to form a real working ecosystem without the influence of the Towers. It also includes a separate story mode that follows an Imperial boy named Iva Demilcol as he fights for the Empire, as well as his encounters with Orta.

* AnyoneYouKnow: This game loves this trope.
* BigDamnHeroes: The game also loves this trope.

* NiceHat: Kyle's hat is pretty distinctive, and comes with goggles to boot!

* NiceHat: Orta's, which doubles as a ScarfOfAsskicking due to it being a turban.

* TheAnimeOfTheGame: Based loosely on the first game; included a blind LoveInterest named Alita who became the Black Dragon's rider.

* BattleShipRaid: This installment really likes this trope, since the first boss is the Vermana, followed by an Imperial flagship in the fourth stage. The Vermana also returns in the eighth stage for a rematch.

* HumongousMecha: Bacharsuha, the Episode 8 boss.

[[caption-width-right:280:[[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragons don't breathe fire]]... they breathe ''{{homing lasers}}''.]]

* VendorTrash: All sorts of it.

* RecurringBoss: The Dark Dragon.

* ThatOneAchievement: The Lifeless achievement is awarded for playing the game for more than 100+ hours. To put this in perspective, the main campaign is 30-45 minutes and you can get all of the other achievements in five hours TOPS.

* DragonRider: {{Justified}} as the Ancients engineered them so they specifically wouldn't work without a human rider, so they wouldn't go berserk. Riders can at least help the dragons by deflecting shots with their laser guns. Also ties into MeaningfulName. However, the Guardian Dragon in ''Zwei'' seems to be the exception as we never see a rider.

* ShoutOut: Achievemtns in the remake include "[[Film/AustinPowers Sharks With Lazer Eyes]], "[[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Leeroy Jenkins]]", and "{{Literature/Dune}}".

* NotSoDifferent: Iva's Story demonstrates how the Empire views Orta and her dragon - a witch hellbent on destruction.

* MindScrew: The ending has [[spoiler:the Divine Visitor, who is revealed to be the player]]. Read it [[http://www.panzerdragoonlegacy.com/chapters/part-4-panzer-dragoon-saga-ending-sequence here]].