Panzer Dragoon makes it into Gamespot's top 13 launch titles

Panzer Dragoon
1

gamespot.com/features/6134761/index.html

[quote]Surrounded by gimmicky launch games, Panzer Dragoon for the Sega Saturn really stood out and instantly became one of the Saturn’s greatest showpieces and its first must-have game. It featured an unusually rich storyline and the best shooting action of the time. If only the system had maintained the momentum generated by Panzer Dragoon.

The story begins with an epic cutscene weighing in at nearly 10 minutes in length–unheard of at the time. After narrowly escaping with his life, an unassuming adventurer looks up to see a spectacular battle between a benevolent blue dragon and an evil onyx dragon, and their armed riders. Sadly, the blue dragon is defeated–the rider is shot. The good dragon plummets while the wicked one flies off in victory. With his dying breath, the fallen dragon’s rider imbues the traveler with his abilities. Thus begins a battle in which you must guide your powerful dragon through the ranks of your enemies, single-handedly striking at the heart of their empire. Panzer Dragoon established this premise without a single word spoken, and together with the game’s unforgettable musical score, the introduction really drew you into the game’s unique world and inspired visuals.

While Panzer Dragoon restricted your movement to a set path, you could look in any direction around your flying mount. You could also steer the dragon around the screen, creating the illusion that you truly were soaring high above the unfriendly skies. The game looked stunning for its time; the on-rails control allowed for some spectacular vistas, and during breaks in the action, you could pan around your dragon and just let the gorgeous visuals fly by. But it was more than just eye candy. It was a thrilling, challenging shooter that presented a simple but interesting control scheme.

Panzer Dragoon wasn’t a particularly long game, but it was such a stirring experience that it warranted many, many play-throughs. The game also spawned a number of terrific sequels, and fans of the franchise still like to argue about which among them is the best of all. Whether it was worth buying a Sega Saturn just to play Panzer Dragoon is also debatable, but certainly those who played the game are better off for it.[/quote]

2

I meant to post this yesterday.Well it would pretty much a crime if they dind’t aknowledge PD.

I still can’t understand how there are 3 SM games in the top 4…

3

Many people bought the NES to play SMB, many people bought the SNES to play Super Mario World, and pretty much everyone who bought an N64 bought it to play Mario 64.

4

…or Goldeneye

5

cool!
but where’s Sonic Adventure?

6

Considering the only two games availible at the N64’s launch were Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say that almost every single person who bought an N64 at launch did it for Mario 64. Goldeneye didn’t come out until like a year after the N64 launched, after all.

But yeah, compared to most…well…ALL the other launch games for the Saturn, Panzer Dragoon definately stood out. It didn’t seem rushed or cut down compared to the other games, which is surprising considering how quickly they had to finish it up. Though I agree that Sonic Adventure would’ve been nice to see on that list as well. It was a very good 3d platformer, despite the fact that everyone quickly drew comparisions to Mario 64 from it. Though if they’re going by the US release, then Soul Calibur was probably nearly as influential as Sonic Adventure was.