The Saga of Sentiment: Playing Panzer Dragoon Saga in 1998

WARNING: this piece discusses events in Panzer Dragoon Saga and contains many spoilers. You have been warned.

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Loss…

Released near the end of the western Saturn’s commercial life, Panzer Dragoon Saga routinely finds itself on shortlists of the console’s most celebrated pieces of software. To have experienced the game, especially at release time, is to have experienced fine wine: not exactly rare but certainly not common, and significantly pricier than most other Saturn games… but so very good as to make other games feel pale and shallow in comparison. The ever-rising going rate the two Western editions routinely command adds to the game’s near-mythical status as a triple-AAA Saturn title.

Edge travels through the Garil desert

1998 was the year the Saturn took its Western curtain-call, arguably far sooner than it needed have done. Over the preceding year and a half, the Nintendo 64 had supplanted the Saturn in the West as the formidable second-place choice to the PlayStation juggernaut, and both leading consoles went from strength to software strength whilst anything Saturn-related was unceremoniously dumped into discount bins nationwide. A deluge of cancellations following the infamous ‘Saturn is not our future’ E3 1997 proclamation transformed the Saturn’s intriguing 1998 software outlook (Policenauts, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Wild 9s, Grandia, and many others) to a mere trickle of final titles. Burning Rangers, Shining Force 3, Magic Knight Rayearth, and of course, Panzer Dragoon Saga all released in ’98, but unfortunately… at that point, none but the most hardcore SEGA fans cared anymore.

Assaulting an Imperial Battleship in the first Panzer Dragoon

Those of you familiar with my writing know how deeply 1995’s launch game Panzer Dragoon impacted me. From the mesmerizing opening FMV sequence to the sweeping orchestral soundtrack to the absolutely mind-blowing 3D graphics and full 360-degree freedom of movement, Panzer Dragoon shone brightly as an example of where SEGA was taking gamers on the 32-bit bullet train. The following year, with the Saturn having taken quite the beating from the upstart PlayStation, Panzer Dragoon Zwei swooped in to once again prove that SEGA was the absolute premier software developer in the world. The sequel’s visuals were both artistically and technically on a whole other level compared to anything else available, and the game generated palpable excitement and positive coverage in Western gaming press. As the Saturn began to slide in 1997, the first screenshots of “Panzer Dragoon 3” began to surface, and even though the game was not scheduled to appear until 1998, it rekindled my hope. Panzer Dragoon Saga would no doubt once again show the world that the Saturn played host to the very best gaming experiences anywhere.

Lundi and Lagi take on the Episode 2 boss in Panzer Dragoon Zwei

Panzer Dragoon Saga finally arrived at the end of April 1998, and I had my copy in hand in early June. At that point, the Saturn was no longer available at most retail outlets. Hunting for Saturn games meant visiting speciality stores, and even those only supported the system on a diminishing basis. The owner of a local video game chain happened to be going to E3 that year and had asked me if I wanted him to find me anything. To hell with Zelda or Metal Gear Solid, “Panzer Dragoon Saga” was my succinct reply. He returned with the game as promised, and on the bus ride home from his modest shop, I was already tearing into the game manual. I knew I would be in for a very special gaming experience.

Both Edge and Azel grow through their adventure

Playing the game was an unforgettable experience. In many ways, the game was at once innovative and familiar. The game wisely maintained the shroud of mystery over its world, revealing its greater story in drips and delicious drabs, such as in the data vault at the lab in Uru. Starting as a straightforward tale of revenge and mystery, the story unfolds masterfully, transcending into something much bigger by the end.

An’jou, leader of the Caravan, mending his weapons long into the night. He longs to find a peaceful place for his people.

Team Andromeda certainly put in nods to the first two Panzer games into Saga, with some locations (Forest of Zoah, Garil Desert) being expanded upon from the previous titles. Enemies from the previous games make appearances, and eagle-eyed players also noticed visions of the Panzer future with the Water Tower in some scenes. Those with a Panzer Dragoon Zwei save file on their Saturns received bonuses during their Saga playthrough – a brilliant feature. These touches made the game feel all the more special as they absolutely required foreknowledge and prior experience of the Panzer universe to truly appreciate. Moments like these drove the seeds of nostalgia deeply into my subconscious.

Taking down the massive Shelcoof, Tower of the Sky

For me personally, the game evoked strong sentiments of solitude, of goodbyes, and of loss.

The Seekers Stronghold is ultimately abandoned, and Edge once again finds himself alone.

For much of the game, Edge journeys on his own, interacting with ancient relics of a civilization long gone. When he encounters settlements – The caravan, the Seekers’ stronghold, the Village of Zoah – they aren’t overly populated. This gives each settlement a particular feeling, and interactions with other inhabitants take on a new dimension. Conversations carry on a few lines longer than in most contemporary RPGs. People in these settlements have a purpose to their lives, and for many, it is no more complicated than to survive in this harsh world. There is warmth, certainly, but it is overshadowed by a constant need to remain vigilant and to survive. And yet, Edge makes deeper connections with a number of the characters, including the opportunistic Seeker Gash, the young yet ambitious Paet, and the enigmatic drone Azel. It was particularly devastating to find Paet’s crashed airship, the young man presumably killed in the battle with the infested Grig Orig, so soon after finally finding his life’s calling. A life extinguished too soon.

Imagine finding the most beautiful locales… and having no one to share the experience with.

There is an immense sense of emptiness in Panzer Dragoon Saga. Flying around in watery Uru, hearing the dragon’s wings beating against the wind, and especially experiencing the setting sun on the massive lake, I couldn’t help but feel that the sun was setting on the entire Saturn experience. It was exceedingly beautiful and powerfully lonely, because I knew there were so very few other gamers that were savoring this passing. The sinking of Shelcoof was another such moment – in a way, the player was saying goodbye to a once-proud behemoth of the past as it sank forever beneath the waves of Georgius. The sentiment of saying goodbye is further amplified as some areas of the game become lost forever – the village of Zoah is incinerated, Georgius becomes inaccessible once Shelcoof has been destroyed, and even the Seekers Stronghold is abandoned as the story progresses. In 1998 the real-life gaming world was changing, ‘old SEGA’ was increasingly fading away, and the events in Panzer Dragoon Saga certainly paralleled this passing in a deeply visceral way.

“Nobody knows when or how their life will end, only that it will. If the Seekers continue my research, my life’s work will make this world a better place.” -Paet, shortly before being killed.

In the end, after the credits had rolled, I was treated to one more FMV sequence: that of Azel relentlessly searching for Edge. In the sequence, we infer that Azel asked how to cross a desert; the leader of the nomads was trying to dissuade her, warning of monsters and of electrical storms, but she would not hear it. Exasperated, he asked “The person you’re looking for… is he really worth risking your life?” Azel did not need to answer with words. She was unwilling to admit it was over; unable to let Edge go. He had helped her grow beyond what she was at the start of their journey. Perhaps deep down, she knew that she would never find him again – that this period of her life was over, and that her quest was now futile; that she was hanging on to something that no longer existed. The scene concludes with Azel mounting her coolia and taking off into the unknown desert, slowly growing smaller in the distance and ever more obscured by the blowing sands of time. An incredibly powerful scene. For me, in that moment, Azel WAS my Saturn experience, now concluding and fading away from contemporary relevance. Although the game itself is certainly worthy of the high esteem in which it has steadily been held over the past 25 years, it was extra special to have experienced it in 1998. Emblematic of the passing of the Saturn in the West, and the fading of that particular brand of gaming that SEGA brought to the 32-bit table, I couldn’t then and still cannot now underscore how bitterly fitting it is that Panzer Dragoon Saga should end with Azel riding off into frontiers unknown, doomed to forever seek that which time had just passed by.

About the author

Peter Malek

A Saturn fan since the beginning, Peter plays Saturn almost exclusively. For Peter, Saturn represents a moment in time where 2D games were at their best, 3D was just rising, and fascinating gaming 'firsts' were commonplace.  There are very few Saturn games that Peter cannot find some enjoyment in!

Readers Comments (2)

  1. Marco Lampreia 2021-08-09 @ 12:28

    You put into the right words what it meant for me playing this legendary videogame in 1998. Fun fact: by coincidence, i was listening to it’s original soundtrack when i came across this text of yours.
    Thank you so much for it.

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