Panzer Dragoon Orta

A Panzer Dragoon Game, Finally

I finally played a Panzer Dragoon game, and it was Panzer Dragoon Orta on the Xbox. The only other rail shooters I've played prior to this are Space Harrier (briefly at an arcade) and Starfox. As much as I love Starfox, especially growing up with it, I must say I had more fun playing Orta. It's not a fair comparison, of course. Starfox came out on the Super Nintendo and Orta came out on a much more powerful console. It's still ok to have preferences, and you simply can't go wrong with either of these great games.

First Acquiantance

I first heard of Panzer Dragoon Saga in high shool, I believe. Or maybe it was middle school. It was nearly twenty years ago. I can't believe it took me so long to finally play a Panzer Dragoon game. Given the rarity, and absurd pricing, of Saga, I don't think I can be blamed too much. Anyways, I read about it in a magazine, probably Game Informer. The writers absolutely praised Saga to the highest possible extent. They even lamented how Saga saw an extremely limited release, adding that the source code was destroyed. It's no wonder that this game is difficult to find and outrageously expensive. I did see all four discs without the case and manual for well over 500 dollars local store one time. That was nearly a decade ago. It's going for well in excess of a thousand dollars nowadays.

Unique World

Luckily, Panzer Dragoon Orta is nowhere near that rare and not even a fraction of that outrageous price. The very first thing that one notices about this game is the setting. It's a world set centuries after a high civilization collapsed and left its technological advancements in its ruins. Among these advancements where bioengineered dragons which the current world's inhabitants have discovered and are using as weapons. You will be one of these characters, named Orta, that commands a dragon of her own. The resulting world is equal parts desolate and exotic. The art direction is definitely unique. The creatures and even the empire's combatants are something you won't see in any other game.

Combat

Not only is the art direction and setting unique, but the so is the gameplay. As mentioned before, this is a rail shooter. This means you won't be able to fly freely about. You will generally be only be able to fly forward as the game directs you. However, you can change your view by looking ahead, left, right, and behind to attack enemies wherever they are located. On top of that, you can shift your position relative to enemies by either boosting or slowing down in order to position yourself behind, to the left, to the right, or in front of the enemy. This enables to attack your enemies from different angles and adds another dimension of dodging.

Dragon Forms

Another interesting aspect is the three different forms of the dragon at your command. You can wield a small, nimble, but less powerful dragon. There's also a slow, bulky, but powerful dragon. Finally, there's the dragon that sits right in between these two forms. You can favor any one of these forms and evolve them to your liking. However, there is definitely situations in-game where one of these dragons is the best option.

Recommended

It's these gameplay mechanics together with the unique setting that make Panzer Dragoon Orta highly enjoyable. I can easily recommend this. I am, without a doubt, going to track down and play the first Panzer Dragoon, Zwei, and perhaps even Saga at somepoint. I also want to add that not having any kind of Panzer Dragoon game, or more similar rail shooters, on the Dreamcast seems like massive missed opportunity.