Panzer Dragoon

The Panzer Dragoon series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which humans have begun to recover technologies from the Ancient Age, a world-spanning, hyper-advanced civilization destroyed thousands of years before the events of the games. The Ancients used genetic engineering to create living weapons, which were unleashed in a cataclysmic war that nearly destroyed humanity. The mutated descendants of these creatures have merged into wild ecosystems, where they pose a continual threat to human civilization and serve as enemies encountered in the games. Various human factions use recovered Ancient Age technologies, such as ubiquitous floating military airships, to defend against the wild mutants and to wage war against each other. Over the course of the series, a succession of characters ride mysterious armored flying dragons of extraordinary power, fighting to prevent humanity from reactivating the most destructive Ancient Age weapons and, ultimately, to destroy the remaining weapons and facilities of the Ancient Age so that humanity can be freed from the threat they pose. ==Games==

Panzer Dragoon (1995) The first Panzer Dragoon was released on the Sega Saturn in 1995. It was developed by Team Andromeda, a Sega development group assembled for this project. The protagonist is Keil Fluge, a hunter who stumbles into a battle between two flying dragons, one blue and one black. The rider of the blue dragon is mortally wounded in the fight and entrusts Keil with his dragon and his mission to stop the Dark Dragon from reactivating an Ancient Age ruin of tremendous destructive power. ''. The yellow aiming reticle appears in the center, the player's life bar in the lower left, and the radar in the top right corner. This game established the core features of the Panzer Dragoon series: 3D rail shooter gameplay, divided into levels with ending bosses, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996) Panzer Dragoon II Zwei was released for the Sega Saturn in 1996. Developed by Team Andromeda as a prequel to Panzer Dragoon, It also added an extras menu called "Pandora's Box" that would return in later entries. Mini was developed by a third party, with no involvement from Team Andromeda. Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998) Panzer Dragoon Saga (titled Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG in Japan) is a role-playing game (RPG) developed by Team Andromeda and released for Saturn in 1998. with the player circling enemies on the dragon to expose weak spots and escape dangerous positions. Saga also introduced the ability to morph the dragon between different forms emphasizing offense, defense, mobility, and other attributes. Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002) Panzer Dragoon Orta was released for Xbox in late 2002 in Japan and in early 2003 in America and Europe. It was developed by Smilebit, which was founded by former members of Team Andromeda. The story follows Orta, a teenage girl held captive until she is rescued by an armored flying dragon during an attack on her town. She is pursued by multiple factions that want to use her connection with the Ancient Age to build weapons. Ultimately, she destroys an army of dragon-like creatures and the Ancient Age facility being used to produce them, along with an Ancient android who hopes to wipe out humanity. A return to the rail shooter genre, Orta introduced several features inspired by mechanics from Saga, such as maneuvering around enemies and shifting the dragon between different forms during combat. The game featured large amounts of unlockable content, including a story encyclopedia, side missions, video cutscenes from previous games, and the entire playable game Panzer Dragoon. Panzer Dragoon: Remake (2020) A remake of Panzer Dragoon was developed by MegaPixel Studio and published by Forever Entertainment in March 2020 for Nintendo Switch. It was released on Stadia on 1 June, with Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Amazon Luna versions later in 2020. The remake features updated graphics and an optional new control system that allows players to aim independently of movement with a second control stick. ==Development==

In the early 1990s, the Japanese video game company Sega asked its developers for shooting game ideas to add variety to its forthcoming Sega Saturn console. a development team that Sega assembled for the project in early 1994. Development lasted almost a year, with a staff of fifteen. The original concept was titled Armored Dragon (kiko-ryu in Japanese), but Futatsugi, feeling that this was too bland, changed to the pseudo-German translation Panzer Dragoon. The post-apocalyptic fantasy world, featuring ruins and relics of a fallen civilization, was particularly influenced by one of Futatsugi's childhood readings, The Long Afternoon of Earth. of whom Kusunoki was a fan, as well as with Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and David Lynch's film Dune. Futatsugi created a fictional language from a mixture of Ancient Greek, Latin and Russian, Sega developed two sequels: while Panzer Dragoon II Zwei would expand on the original's rail shooter gameplay, Panzer Dragon Saga would be an RPG to compete with Final Fantasy VII and other PlayStation offerings. Development of Zwei began in mid-1995, months after Panzer Dragoons release. Team Andromeda split into two teams to work on both projects, with a team of between fifteen and twenty people. Tomohiro Kondo, a senior member of Team Andromeda, was the producer and director. Futatsugi originally oversaw both projects' narratives, but, as his attention shifted onto Saga, Zweis story became the responsibility of Katsuhiko Yamada. Zwei was released in early 1996. Saga used the same engine and tools, but with a team twice the size. The localizers were given incomplete translations and little supervision, so they inserted their own interpretations and invented names for monsters. By the time Saga was released in early 1998, Sega had shifted its focus to its next console, the Dreamcast. Saga had a limited release outside Japan, and sales worldwide were poor; There was also a feeling among staff that the original trilogy had reached its logical conclusion. Following the commercial failure of the Dreamcast, Sega left the console market and began developing and publishing games for other platforms. Discussion about a possible Panzer Dragoon for Microsoft's Xbox began in 2000. Takayuki Kawagoe was made producer and decided that Panzer Dragoon Orta would be another rail shooter. Mukaiyama, Sagas combat designer, directed Orta, and Takashi Atsu was the lead programmer. with a story co-written by Shigeru Kurihara and Kenichiro Ishii. It was released in late 2002 in Japan and early 2003 in the West. ==Music==

The soundtrack for the first Panzer Dragoon was developed after the rest of the game was largely complete, so that the music could reflect each level's art style and events. Additional tracks were composed by Tomonori Sawada, Junko Shiratsu, and Teruhiko Nakagawa. In contrast to the purely orchestral and electronic score of the first game, Zwei added ethnic or tribal elements. Sagas soundtrack was composed by Saori Kobayashi and Mariko Nanba, with vocals by Eri Itō and arrangement by Hayato Matsuo. It includes South American, African, Celtic, classical and new age influences. The Verge described it as blend of traditional European and Middle Eastern folk styles with science fiction-like synthesizer sounds. Kobayashi credited Zwei and Wachi with establishing the series' distinctive sound and shaping her future compositions for the series. The orchestrated, lyrical ending theme was again arranged by Matsuo and sung by Itō. The music continued in the ethnic-influenced style established on the soundtracks for Zwei and Saga, but the Xbox hardware allowed for richer and more varied sounds than the Saturn. ==Other media==

Production I.G released a direct-to-video anime short film adaptation of the first game in 1996. The story is altered to include a female character whom Keil ('Kyle' in the film) tries to save after she is kidnapped by the Black Dragon. An English dub was released by ADV Films in 1998. The film was panned for its poor animation, awkward script, and cliché story. The Sega kart racing game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed features a racetrack based on Panzer Dragoon. The Archie Comics Worlds Unite crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog and the Mega Man comic lines features Panzer Dragoon characters and concepts. ==Reception==

The original Panzer Dragoon received praise for its art design, visual effects, music, atmospheric setting, and cinematic cutscenes, though critics were divided by the difficulty and simple gameplay. A reviewer for Next Generation wrote that the game combined "incredible story animation with brilliant, 3D flight graphics", and an Entertainment Weekly reviewer called it a "lyrical and exhilarating epic" that could pave the way for a "transformation" of the videogame industry. Electronic Gaming Monthly named it the "Best Saturn Game of 1995" and placed it 140th in "The Greatest 200 Videogames of their time" in 2006. Zwei was acclaimed, with praise focusing on the cutting-edge graphics, gameplay refinements relative to the first game, and the continued strength of the art design, music, and atmosphere, though the low difficulty again received criticism. A Next Generation reviewer praised the game's art direction and plot, saying Zweis "visual sophistication and compelling storylines" compensated for its "less than revolutionary gameplay". It was a runner-up for Electronic Gaming Monthlys Shooter Game of the Year (behind Alien Trilogy) and Best Graphics of the Year (behind Super Mario 64), and the following year they ranked it number 90 on their "100 Best Games of All Time". Panzer Dragoon Mini was poorly received, with praise for its art style and boss designs but criticism of its pacing and lack of a plot. The simplistic controls and very short duration divided critics, some of whom thought the game adequate for a handheld game console, and some of whom were disappointed by the contrast with the Saturn games. 1Up.com called Mini "a dumbed-down, cartoony shooter for kids that bears little resemblance to the epic adventures on Saturn." Saga is often listed among the greatest video games ever made, earning acclaim for its story, graphics, and combat, along with criticism for its low difficulty and short play time. Reviewers praised the story's restraint and lack of cliché, as well as the complexity of the characters; even the dragon has been called an "intimate computer companion", drawing comparisons to the later games of Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian). IGN in 2007, and G4 in 2012. Orta was critically acclaimed, receiving praise for its visual design, unlockable content, and faithfulness to the series, while reviewers criticized the short play time and dated, on-rails structure. Opinions of the controls and the increased difficulty were mixed. Eurogamer called Orta "refined, well designed and intelligent", marking "a real progression in the genre", and GamePro said that its complex and beautiful level design almost overwhelmed the senses. Orta has been consistently listed as one of the best games for the original Xbox, by publications including GamesRadar, Digital Trends, and IGN, the latter describing it as the "pinnacle of rail shooters". Panzer Dragoon: Remake received lukewarm reviews upon release. Critics consistently praised the remake's faithfulness to the original's gameplay and the retention of the original soundtrack, but they were divided by the updated visuals and disappointed by the short play time. Nintendo Life found both the Saturn-era control scheme and an alternative added by the remake to be awkward, The Panzer Dragoon series and the Saturn received positive reviews but sold poorly, ==Notes==