PDS Disc 1 Free Items from Gash Criteria

Contributions
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After a bit of messing around, I think I may have discovered what criteria is needed for Gash to hand the player 3 Elixir Minors and 3 Beserk Micros in the Village of Cainus : if you have less than 2 Elixir Minors and Beserk Micros in your inventory when you reach Cainus, then Gash will give you 3 of each item. However, if you have less than 2 Elixir Minors but more than 2 Beserk Micros, then Gash will only give you 3 Elixir Minors; I’ve found that this is true for the opposite as well.

I’m afraid I am unable to provide video evidence for this but this is how it has worked for me using the US version of the game. I would very much appreciate it if anyone else would be able to replicate it as I’ve described.

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That’s good to know. Good work figuring it out! I had never really even given it much thought. But it’s good to know Gash gives you those items if you are very low on Elixirs.

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If someone else can verify this, I’m happy to update the disc 1 secrets guide (and credit all contributors appropriately).

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I am afraid I haven’t had a chance to revisit PDS, but has anyone else been able to verify this? @legaiaflame?

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Televandalist has confirmed this on Discord. I’ve updated the “Free Items from Gash” section of the page with this information; thanks @MotorBug2005 for sharing.

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Hi,

This was true for me regarding Gash’s awesome-kindness/help, but only the very first time I played (demo disc 1, original release).

So that’s how you recreate those events. Gash. So sad how it ends.
Though someone on this forum mentions their ‘dream of a game’ where Dragon reunites with Azel/Gash; something along those lines.

Manga: what would Azel go about doing, checking in with other drones (maybe Abadd), and what’d Gash do.
Prequel of Orta - not necessarily same Orta as seen before.

Hopefully this will be a good moment to think, if Gash had his eye issue (monster battle?) and seen so much wildness, harshness, he’s still showing (my personal concept at least) a humane side of things, some grounding/stability, whereas, what’s the deal with Zastava’s belligerence/volatility?
Even Anjou’s little laugh when he see’s Edge’s pendant, says something like, “oh Gash sent you” or “you met Gash” - glimpses of niceness that exists amidst a mostly tough hostile sequence of events.

Personally, lots to go back learn about these two characters and their backstory (what little there might be).

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Zastava probably saw the much darker side of The Empire, and vented it on the mercenaries guarding the excavation site (who were working for The Empire). Mercenaries don’t usually have a good reputation either.

Something I would like to do is show how large The Empire actually was.

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Thank You Geoffrey.

I think it was the impression that Zastava was someone direly trying to subdue a flood of past (poorly handled) unresolved memories and ultimately lost it.

Unresolved, disentegrated memories causing internal conflicts, handled with ill-advised coping mechanisms and/or unhealthy/unwholesome milieu overtime grew and added to the destructive subset seen in PDS.

Deeper convolutions of discrepencies and second-guessing himself too often, in the episodes in his life, ultimately added to this unresolved laughing/crying, so that everytime Zastava was met with having to make a key decision, it’d spur on these memories, and it would get messy and inculcate that subset.

Maybe some dynamic variance to the laugh (voice acting) to suggest that backstory, it was flatly (over)done, unless that’s the point, Zastava is at all wits end and had lost it. Then the FMV animation might have needed adjusting too though.

Note: that zastava waits for Edge and then teases and mocks him at URU; doesn’t help Edge defend/fend Nuri Shinha (ヌリシンハ) Drenholm.
Whereas, just how much did Gash knew about the events/dragon reactivation and the happenings regarding Craymen/excavation site & mercenaries situation? Talking about when Gash tells Edge ‘it wasn’t by luck that we met [at the valley’s culminating area]’ (at the the stronghold).

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I think both The Seekers and The Empire were searching for any Drone they could find. Craymen simply found Azel first. It would actually be interesting to see how Azel would react if The Seekers had spoken to her first.

Overall I think there was a larger game being played, and Gash himself was aware of it. At that point it is simply whoever is the fastest wins.

I think Zastava’s laugh was simply to make him memorable.

Do you play other RPGs? I don’t think developers normally consider the psychological background of a character too deeply unless it is a main character, but it is something to consider.

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Thanks once again.

Regarding Azel and Seekers instructing her first
If so, being a tool that acts as a conduit to Sestren, would she have just followed on after briefing?

In this scenario, the following would need to happen, the seekers would have to convince the mercenaries into giving Azel over to them before Craymen’s arrival. Transport her bed (or maybe reactivate her safely there, unless reactivating required going to Uru labs/finding Atolm). Also, avoiding Craymen/Empire throughout the remainder of the game to achieve their goal of destruction/neutralization of all the towers in the game; to free themselves of Ancients’ idea of environmental management/bliss (that had gone awry/ignored externalities/faults I’m guessing).

Of course this sounds like an alternative game scenario/narrative, where the Empire maybe co-operated with the Seekers only to turn on them at the ‘right moment’ or not. Or, another one where Seekers fending off the Empire, while trying to work through the necessary procedures in opening the portal to Sestren and shut all of them down. Different kind of Seeker community would be need to be written in. If Gash were the chosen rider?

As it was, Gash didn’t try to intervene to abrasively, he had to see how things pan out. I don’t think he had a choice, the Empire code denotes zero-tactfulness towards Seekers. The guide (Regulation of Imp Troups.). I think Craymen was learning what Gash and co knew thanks previous dragon riders and Lagi.

Regarding fastest wins point
If the game did have this race-against-time feeling, it may have been more obvious between Craymen and Emperor’s perspective and Edge’s narrative to catch upto Craymen. Recalling Gash though, he tellls Edge the Seekers were always ‘a step ahead of the Empire’ and ‘we might have another chance in 20-30 years’ (during the massive setback) makes it feel like the seekers’ race course was less obvious/linear or much more nimble and fragile?

Gash/seekers, felt nuanced in that they found their cause coinciding in the integral moments, window of opportunities, that were the events of the game. If Gash/seekers were in a race, being met with a destroyed Cainus would have been one big hurdle that caused to alter route. I can’t remember why he didn’t ask Edge to visit the seekers hold with him after the desert passage. It seems Gash was ‘waiting for someone’. Doesn’t seem like linear race strategy. So many reasons, maybe he wanted other seekers to witness the dragon at the campsite, or the person genuinely didn’t turn up. Or Gash realized the Divine Visitor has arrived, so there’s not much he really could do besides stay alive to see the end.

Zastava’s laugh was to make his character more memorable
I see what you mean. Recalling the opeing FMV, at the bridge, the way the camera cuts is pretty straight forward (fx and all are probably in the later encounters?), the laugh of this character seems conflicted (keeper of life/death). I don’t know why Zastava waited for Edge to be on the bridge, maybe he felt he could toy with Edge, must have been a jumble of reasons why something may have played out like it did; yes yes, plot convenience, I’d rather go with, he was second-guessing himself again and wasn’t sure how to deal with Edge, ending in that hasty judgement of ‘stubborn、kid’. It would be possible to write in a much more gloomier character of Zastava where he didn’t chance it to to that point - to see who is still alive, still, the Divine Visitor would’ve revived Edge or guided Gash.
The narrative is Divine Visitor comes to deshackle humans - or just completely end everything - from the current scenario (?).

Other RPGS
Hope you don’t mind character/story explorative discussion of Zastava etc.
The statement has pivotal semantics, not wanting to interpret whether it’s a constructive/destructive statement. PDS = deeply felt their effort in making this story, beyond the mistranslations, the effort comes across as more than just escapism and riffing on code.

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In my opinion, The Seekers would be a very complicated group of people with radically different ideas in many cases who somehow learnt how to work together. I want to add more to later. The original leaders of The Empire were Seekers, for example. You have to wonder who and what would create such people (but I will write about that later).

Now that you bring it up, Gash was probably looking for The Dragon himself. I can’t say for certain how Azel would react to meeting The Seekers first, because if you look at the real world, and especially Craymen in the game, people agreed with what the Ancients who built The Towers did. It is a frightening thought. I was considering the idea that parts of The Empire wanted to control everyone in a similar way, and/or use the power for other purposes.

It is something I need to think about.

You have a point. I think The Seekers simply couldn’t compete with The Empire. But who knows what Gash knew. All I am saying is he would certainly be aware of the larger game. It seems he was taking many risks by simply being there, but he might have possessed technology that made him invisible to everything and everyone.

You might be overthinking the introduction to PD Saga. The cinematic set the stage for the player. I think one thing it showed was how small and powerless Edge was compared to The Imperial Army.

The reason I bring up other RPGs is because there are so many other RPGs out there that curious minds can study that it is worth pursuing.

I am hoping, however, to continue this series, even if I have to go to Japan and invest the 50 million+ dollars into it myself as a Sega investor. The setting has a great deal of potential, and if recreated properly, could take the whole RPG genre forward. There will unfortunately be a temptation there to turn it all into a soap opera though, which we need to guard against IMO.

Yes I can see it already. The main character has spikey hair and never grows facial hair and has a love interest who shapeshifts into a dragon.

I lack the words to continue this conversation with you at the moment.

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Original Leaders of Empire
I can’t remember where it was said that the original leaders of the empire were seekers.
Will look for it, of course, would appreciate if you could expediate that reference chase by mentioning the reference. Is it in Orta? Or Saga?

Gash looking for the Dragon and Seekers Complexity
Revisiting the opening FMV, would you agree or see the perspective that the Captain and a select bunch of mercenery and/or excavation crew had, by now, all ready sealed Azel in a storage unit (with the empire seal on it), ready to take?

Note Craymen’s ship crew guy says “30 minutes Time of Arrival to Excavation site 4”, so they were going there anyway, but with the knowledge of Azel ready to be collected. Craymen says, tell them they’ll get their “15 minutes” only after the distress signal relay.

Did the excavation members all ready make a run for it? What’s left to watch in the FMV is a misguided/doomed mercenary team left to fight off any defense from the ancient age, unless excavation team members also perished with what seems like the impression of quite a few mercenery. May be the prior.

Merceneries, different from Excavation site team.
There is an Excavation Director, mentioned in Captains Diary, who was looking for over 20 years, all ready might have known what happens once a find like Azel is excavated, or not; maybe should have joined the old school seekers to speed that up the 20 years. Edge isn’t there as part of the Academy sanctioned Excavation team, looking for things up close, just guarding, there must be a seperate part of the team assigned different tasks/duty: one part telling another where to dig and when needs be, why/what for. This would mean a Mercenery tier who’ve been kind of briefed about the finding at some point, the captain, maybe Rhua, but not Edge.

Gash’s & Seekers’ Proximity/Knowledge Extent
I think Gash/Seekers had to wait for various Academy’s knowledge & means dept. (mentioned above) to use their appropriated brain/man power to locate up and proceed through the sequence of events. To what was the extent of knowledge Gash and co. know what was being unearthed and whether this would trigger a dragon reawakening, or the dragon re-awakening?

How closer were the seekers’ group to Edge all this time? Were they watching closely enough that they knew even where the Dragon’s nest after Panzer Dr. 1 was? Or, just at some point during the valley, while locating memory report structures or something, got lucky and went along in hopes to meet Edge at some chance point. Maybe they knew as far as the dragon nest. Though, how to write that in convincingly.

Regarding '‘people agreed with what the Ancients who built The Towers did.’'
Apparently Lundi writes this (in Old Diary)
Even in the Ancient Age, there were people against the presence of the Towers. The Towers’ creators feared these rebels would rise to destroy the Towers, so they created monsters to guard their creations. And the dragons.

By Disc 3, Craymen voices his thoughts to Edge. Craymen was nearing completion of knowledge of what the towers were, but was too entangled with the Empire to live on and see for himself.

Personally, the towers/ruins may well have been a ruse for habitat-stabilization, but were hyper-appropriated knowledge process that convinced the favoured audience for a while, for whatever the other reasons they may have been implemented, but the method of the ancients found itself where it was by PDS. I think Seekers’ believed in another way and only Divine Intervention would’ve undone all that.

Abadd trying to revive the Ancients was interesting though right?

Other RPGS
Please list some.

Thanks once again.

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"About the Empire

{Zadoc} The Empire originated from a group of seekers who sought the power to destroy Sestren. As their power grew, they became corrupted by greed and they forgot their original purpose. It was this power that caused them to become evil."

Conversations with Zadoc

This is something I want to raise in another topic. The original leader of The Empire was a Seeker. There is something different about these people at the highest levels that separate them from regular people. If a normal person met Gash for example, they wouldn’t believe he was anyone special.

I would say there were more and they were all killed. It is hard to say from my point of view here.

I wish I could answer you. I personally want to go forward with all of this lore. If Gash were a real person maybe he could work for us and tell us more. He might actually be a few hundred years old. You never know what tech The Seekers discovered.

A voice in my head says that Gash might have been aware of Imperial fleet movements. In my opinion, what we saw in Saga was small compared to the entire Imperial military. I think The Seekers somehow knew about Drones a long time ago.

It crossed my mind a long time ago that the true purpose of the Ancient technology was perhaps to create a new environment, and it was slowed down and stopped. I actually wondered if The Ancients who created technology became the victims of it (they either lost control or saw themselves as the problem).

I think the Ancient technology would leave very primitive peaceful people alone. And maybe even protect them. I will have to discuss this with Solo.

Abadd’s story was interesting. He seemed to elevate his masters far above normal humans.

My question to you would be: why would Gash disagree with The Ancients who enslaved the world when in nature might arguably always makes right?

I am thinking we need another topic for ideas, and we should try and save them for a new RPG. There is huge potential for a great story here. I always loved dark science fiction stories like the ones seen in shows like The Outer Limits.

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As for RPGs, I recommend something like Nier, or the Star Ocean games, or Shadow of The Collosus. There are quite a few good Dungeons and Dragons RPGs, and Baldur’s Gate 3 will be here soon.

I think there is a fascination with PD Saga because of the art.

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That is very close to Nausicaä’s manga story (which is a different story than the anime)

The ancient tech was a purification- all the mutated monsters and plants and pollen were trying to re-purify a destroyed world.

But ironically, people who remained in the world, evolved and partially adapted to the purification process

The ancient people would be reborn once the purification process was complete, but the existing people will go extinct because of their own adaptive mutations

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Thanks.

Not sure of the ‘when in nature might arguably always makes right’ bit of the question but trying to answer:

Through Zadoc’s conversations as you shared, thanks, it may be that Gash doesn’t disagree with any or all of the Ancients, the issue may be how the use or reappropriation of technlogy may have caused the enslavement, ‘being kept alive, not living’ scenario. It could be that the current modus operandi of the towers weren’t the productof the loudest Ancients taking reigns to roll out a misimplementation of reality under a tower infrastructure.
If it were a praxis based on conceited thinktanks, Or just bad luck, I think the Emperor might be a microcosm here of the prior. This would make sense as to what Gash disagrees with Craymen. That a faction not to dissimilar to the Empire may have caused the prevailing situation that needed stopping; again also referring to the Old Diary (Lundi’s) where it mentions people were against implementation of the Towers as a resolve to whatever environmental necessity, or, the idea in general.

Gash gives beserk micros and elixer-minors, he had working knowledge of how the ruins systems/tech operated; also had knowledge of Garil Desert monsters and more.To conclude, the disagreement may have been with the implemented/mis-utilization of knowledge of the Towers/ruins infrastructure; affecting or expediating a direction towards the scenario seen in this game’s world.

Gash’s mask
official guide p.21
ガッシュの装備

シーカーであるガッシュは街 に住む人達とは異なる服装で身を包んでいる。これはシーカー独特の衣装であり，この衣装を着ているものが何者であるかがー目で分かるようになっているのだ。さらにガッシュは特異なマスクで顔を被っている。マスクの下の顔は、攻性生物によってひどいキズを受けてしまっているらしい。

Gasshu no sōbi shīkādearu gasshu wa machi ni sumu hitotachi to wa kotonaru fukusō de mi o tsutsunde iru. Kore wa shīkā dokutoku no ishōdeari, kono ishō o kite iru mono ga nanimonodearu ka ga ̄-me de wakaru yō ni natte iru noda. Sarani gasshu wa tokuina

Gash’s equipment

The seeker, Gash, dresses differently than the people who live in the city. This is a seeker’s unique costume, and it is possible to see who is wearing this costume. In addition, Gash covers his face with a unique mask. The face under the mask seems to have been severely scratched by an aggressive creature.

Which may go a bit differently to idea that:

If someone treated him normal, he’d give them the optic beam (set to midly amuse the surface)? Joke #1 [activated].

Regarding Gash being a real person
Sticking to the story’s fictional realm, I meant that, there are books in PDS that talk about the save game devices written/compiled by Seekers. In the Story, the Seekers gained knowledge of surrounding environment from them. I am wondering if the seekers were only by-chance at the excavation site area in the valley, or to see the opening FMV events unfurl.

If other factions didn’t know of the significance of the devices (save game devices within story narrative), that’s another reason why Gash may not come across as someone who seemed to operate out of outright disagreement with Ancients’ or the underpinning knowledge behind the tech. Gash knew enough to have the stance he did, which was technology from the Ancient age whether intended or not, needed to be stopped/neutralized?

Would have to read through the books/translations versions to substantiate or crystalize this.

Thanks. Will try to look into the manga vs. movie differences of it.

I’d need to check the references to see where the above points are coming from.

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No one game has ever come close to replicating the atmosphere, mystique, lore, art style and music of the Panzer Dragoon series, but here are some games that meet some of the criteria:

Skies of Arcadia
Gravity Rush 1 and 2
Shadow of the Colossus/ICO/TLG
Beyond Good & Evil
Rez
Journey
Outcast Second Contact
Elemental Gearbolt
Metroid Prime Series
MDK series

Upcoming:
Sable

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I like the moral dilemma in this kind of story. Thanks for the response. I think the technology in PD Saga was created to save a dying world and it went too far. The question for me would be: how did human beings survive? Was it intentional?

I think there is a very deep story here.

It is arguably a law of the universe. I simply wondered where Gash would stand on the subject. I believe he would have an answer.

Gash begins and carries through to completion to an absence in place of one or some degree (adverb not) to zero in place of one or some degree, agree.

Gash does here agree with any or all of the Ancients.

Meaning there is an absence (mental) in place of Gash going in the opposite direction to any or all of the Ancients, except in the case that they wanted to enslave everyone.

Did you ever watch The Patriot? There was a deleted scene where Colonel Tavington loved the plants that grew in North America. I am debating at the moment if The Towers were like him in this scene – protecting nature from people – or something else that controls everyone. He might be one of the people who are controlled (A tyrannical British officer).

That a faction too here similar to the Empire.

You can’t save the world without getting your hands dirty.

In my opinion there is a potential evil in human nature that needs to be stopped. People can become machines in human form to the point where they are not human. It is called psychopathy. Sadly this bahavior can be very efficient and rewarding.

I am hoping the Ancients saw this, or maybe they were it.

I would say that Gash would look normal in somewhere like Zoah.

But I am going to stop here. This is something for the future developers of the series to discuss.

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Thank you for the game references, legaiaflame, Geoffrey and Lagi_webmaster.
I think I got words you are expressing Geoffrey.
Once again thanks.

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Clarifying the first decontextualization.

'not sure of the ‘when in nature might arguebly makes right’
Those are your own words from the second part of your own question

not my words. That part didn’t make complete clear sense but you later ellaborated:

Before addressing this…
The below bit is too messy, I couldn’t make sense of reasoning/sequential flow of thought:

Taken out of:

Addressing if Gash felt law of nature taking it’s course. I think in helping Edge/Dragon, he did try to help.
It is just linked to what I think may have been Gash’s stance:
world didn’t need of Towers/ruins or a Sestren to resolve whatever issues.

I don’t think the game forces on a ‘save the world scenario’. As Edge, player is trying to help the Dragon complete it’s cause and find out stuff (for Edge). Craymen tries to reason with Edge throughout. Gash explains what he knows throughout.

Time to write a story/game brief?

I didn’t watch the patriot. I did come across the games mentioned above by yourself and others. Played some, watched some.

Be well. Take care.

p.s. I’ve been editing away to make this a good, kind post. Apologies in advance if anything edit worthy remained.