To quote: “PDS is the greatest game ever created by human hands.”
Unfortunately, the review is only two pages long and is kind of vague. It’s cool that the game isn’t quite forgotten, though. That means there’s still hope for a sequel.
If memory serves me correctly, Game Informer originally gave Panzer Dragoon Saga a 9, devoted a paragraph to the review, and said that FF7 was a better game.
I’m also pretty sure they gave RPG of that year to Xenogears.
Yeah they reviewed it not too long ago in issue 140.
pdsoasis.panzerdragoon.net/gisagareview1.jpg
So they reviewed it again? Still cool though.
They reviewed it again? They need to make up their minds. o.O
So this review is two pages? Meaning, it’s more than just the little blurb that legaia linked to?
I’m looking forward to reading this (whenever I end up getting the new issue).
yep, it’s two pages long, and is on the third to the last page in the mag in the retro reviews section.
I picked up this issue just for the article on the upcoming Ghostbusters game. Imagine my surprise when I turned to the back and spotted the article about PDS. I wouldn’t call it a review. More like a “look back in time” tribute kind of thing. In the last paragraph, it says that several of the old members have expressed interest in trying to create another Panzer Dragoon game. One can only hope. Games have gotten far more complex nowadays, and Panzer Dragoon Saga’s charm lies in its narrative prowess, not in how much it offers the gamers or its technical abilities. I like those little tidbits it had in the article like “ditching the tired amnesiac saves world formula”(cough FFVII) or “the organic style of the game was a reponse to what the team felt was a sterile sci fi element seen in too many RPGs”.
I’m glad to see a consistent amount of articles concerning PDS over the past few months. The more attention this gem gets, the better chance we have to see a new game. I mean we got a sequel to Nights and a potential sequel to Skies of Arcadia (if the rumors are true), so we can only hope a sequel to PDS is not too far off in the near future.
Here’s a link to the scanned article:
pdsoasis.panzerdragoon.net/pdsretro1.jpg
It’s kind of sad that Sega lost the original code to the game, making a port almost impossible, but oh well I’ll always have my trusty Sega Saturn to play my original copy in. 
P.S. Sega’s making a remake of Nights into Dreams for PS2!
i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/ … 523106.jpg
[quote=“Kadamose”]To quote: “PDS is the greatest game ever created by human hands.”
[/quote]
I finally got my issue in the mail. Either we have two different prints, or you’ve simply misquoted. Mine says: “…what would be a better time to look back on one of the greatest games ever crafted by human hands?”
This helps to explain the FFVII and 'gears comment several posts above. Sorry to nitpick, but quoting people properly is something I consider to be extremely important.
Anyway, it was a decent read. Nothing compared to 1UP’s recent “Panzer Dragoon Forever” cover story, but solid enough. I liked the majority of the shots and artwork used, and its information seemed to be mostly accurate. If it can get some of my friends and acquaintances interested in the game, I’ll certianly be happy! 
EDIT: On a side note, to anyone who has played the Japanese version of the game, how has the ending been changed? I keep hearing that it was changed in some small ways, and I’d like to know how, and if it was for worse or for the better. I’m going to be importing the JP version sometime after Christmas (so many gifts to buy…), so I have a while to wait. 
The issue isn’t so much that the ending was changed, rather the English translation of the script is not particularly accurate in general. (Note that I can’t read Japanese myself: I’m just summarizing what others have reported in the past. Also, this isn’t a dig at PDS’ translation specifically: I’m aware that many, if not most, text-heavy Japanese games don’t have very accurate English translations.)
As far as I can remember, the big difference in the ending is that Azel doesn’t explicitly state that she loves Edge in the original script. However, at least one poster on this forum (I forget who) has pointed out that it seemed to be implicit anyway.
yeah, she just says “I don’t want to be alone any more, I …” from what I can tell the translation isn’t that far from the original. keep in mind that it is also a “localization” and chris (lucich) did a great job. from what he told me he didn’t have a complete japanese script in the first place, so he had to improvise a lot. also it doesn’t really matter if azel’s love for edge is romantic or in a friendship way, or if she had just started to realize it or whatever.
you can make that out for yourself, and that is what i like about PDS, it lets you figure out stuff for yourself, which gives the characters extra depth. I just came to the seekers stronghold and talked to paet. he doesn’t seem to particulalrly mourn his fathers death… he probably had friends in zoah as well
You’re right, that is the beauty of Saga’s storytelling, and a method that too few gems in gaming actually offer: the story feeds off of your imagination.
Thanks for the info guys!
[quote=“Brandt”]If memory serves me correctly, Game Informer originally gave Panzer Dragoon Saga a 9, devoted a paragraph to the review, and said that FF7 was a better game.
I’m also pretty sure they gave RPG of that year to Xenogears.[/quote]
Game Informer wasn’t the only magazine that did that, though I can’t remember off hand which magazine I read that pulled a similar maneuver in their annual awards issue. One of these days I’m going to have to dig through my old gaming magazines and scan stuff like that in. It’s fun looking back and reading stuff like that 10 years later.
Another nice article I’ve been wanting to scan in is PC Gamer’s “Game Gods” articles and then the followup from November 2000 with Stevie Case, Cliffy B, and American McGee on the cover. Everyone loves to misquote it as a reference to Stevie Case being labeled a “Game God” when it was actually something more along the lines of “Meet the next Game Gods”. Handy C.Y.A. in case some of them didn’t pan out (and some sure didn’t pan out very well at all). Hey, at least CliffyB kept it going strong through the Unreal games and then on Gears of War. Go Cliffy!
[quote=“Brandt”]If memory serves me correctly, Game Informer originally gave Panzer Dragoon Saga a 9, devoted a paragraph to the review, and said that FF7 was a better game.
I’m also pretty sure they gave RPG of that year to Xenogears.[/quote]
Gaming journalism at its best, indeed.
LMAO.
[quote=“lordcraymen”]yeah, she just says “I don’t want to be alone any more, I …” from what I can tell the translation isn’t that far from the original. keep in mind that it is also a “localization” and chris (lucich) did a great job. from what he told me he didn’t have a complete japanese script in the first place, so he had to improvise a lot. also it doesn’t really matter if azel’s love for edge is romantic or in a friendship way, or if she had just started to realize it or whatever.
you can make that out for yourself, and that is what i like about PDS, it lets you figure out stuff for yourself, which gives the characters extra depth. I just came to the seekers stronghold and talked to paet. he doesn’t seem to particulalrly mourn his fathers death… he probably had friends in zoah as well[/quote]
So many questions, so little answers, then even more questions. Its neverending, I suppose. Thats one thing that made PDS good is the story. But now days, no one cares about game stories and cliffhanging endings. They only care about gameplay coughcoughhalo3cough.
[quote=“Light Wing”]
But now days, no one cares about game stories and cliffhanging endings. They only care about gameplay coughcoughhalo3cough.[/quote]
There are plenty who care if you know where to look. ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Beyond Good & Evil, The Legacy of Kain Series, Killer 7, Planescape: Torment, Mass Effect, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, BioShock… they’re to my tastes, at least.
And I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at. If anything, most of gaming is trying a bit too hard to be “cinematic” (the key word being “trying”: big cutscenes don’t necessarily amount to an intelligent storyline or a cinematic flow) and I am absolutely sick of cliffhanger endings, to a point (and I don’t know if I would consider Saga’s ending a cliffhanger, anyway).
And there’s not anything particularly wrong, in my opinion, with playing a game primarily for its gameplay. I can tell you now that I don’t love Treasure because they’ve told the greatest stories known to man, and I absolutely love Castlevania, Metroid, Katamari Damacy, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, Otogi, Ninja Gaiden, Rez, ZOE2, etc, etc, etc. Not every game has to change my life or be mind-bendingly revolutionary for me to find it fun, well-paced, and addictive.
Story is absolutely crucial in a game - otherwise, it’s not worth playing. You can have both a good story and highly addictive gameplay…take Starcraft for example - it has an absolutely awesome single player mode and a highly addictive mutliplayer mode. Starcraft is a perfect example of brilliant game design, and it’s something that, unfortunately, is not duplicated by the majority of game companies – who are more interested in making a quick buck than making a quality product.
It’s funny, too - because in one of the gaming journals this month it was mentioned that we are currently living in the golden age of videogames. Obviously, whoever wrote that article was not around during 1998 - the true golden age of videogaming.
With all that information floating around, I wonder if a journalist does have to play the game at all to make a nostalgia review. It?s not like there is any risk involved in giving praise to Saga. If you ask me, the article is a page-filler.
a page filler would probably be an advert, that would give at least money 
With adventure and puzzle games dying out, I may actually be inclined to call that person a moron. But hey, that’s just me.
Let’s give the latest first person shooter clone yet another 9 out of 10 for originality.
I was thinking about that recently after the Bioshock scores… it truly seems if a game hits 3 criteria:
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It’s an FPS
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It’s exceptionally PRETTY
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It’s got any above average level of adventuriness
… then it’s destined for lots of TENS!