Okay so I’m ashamed to admit the only PD items that I own are PAL copies of PDZ,PDS and PDO.(the first two in bad conditions).
I want to redeem myself and start a PD shopping spree.Stuff like artbooks, soundtracks and whatnot.
I’m already buying Sega Ages PD and I’m wondering what strikes you guys as essential in any hardcore PD fan’s collection. (I don’t believe in owning multiple copies of one game as of yet;apart from Sega Ages PD which has some extra content that fellow Twotaers failed to mention ;or maybe I just forgot).
I’m assuming all 3 soundtracks (pun intended hehe).What else?
As someone who owns an awful lot of PD “stuff”, I have to be honest and say that apart from the games themselves, very little of it is worth buying for any practical reason.
Most PD items are either games, soundtrack CDs or books (guidebooks, novels, etc.). As you say, there’s little practical reason to get multiple versions of the games; if you could read Japanese, I’d think it would make sense for you to want the Japanese versions, but nothing apart from that really. Similarly, it probably isn’t worth buying any of the books; they’re all in Japanese, and almost all of the images in them are up on The Art of Panzer anyhow. As for the soundtracks, I assume you already have them on your hard drive in some form or other.
But if we’re just talking collectibles-for-the-sake-of-collectibles, I’m not sure what to say. The various soundtrack CDs are nice, but they also tend to change hands at silly prices. If you do decide to go after any of them on Ebay (or anywhere else for that matter), please use the scans I’ve done for the site as a reference, as there always seem to be idiots selling bootlegs on Ebay now (which tend to look obviously different). You’ll probably have a better time getting hold of the various books, as they don’t fetch the same sorts of prices.
Well even tough I can’t read kanji yet I’m taking japanese lessons and I hope in the future I can actually be good enough to do it.Regardless I’m very interested in the books.I didn’t realize there was so much (japanese) PD merchandise.Thanks for the reply.
Btw you mentioned Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG Mini Album having a slightly different recording of the themes in the game.Do you mean actual music composition or just the quality of the sound?
PS: If anyone knows where I can find posters from the Saturn games PLEASE tell me.
If you ever plan on getting the pewter figure of Lagi and Orta, I’ll let you know that there are fake ones going about. I have the actual figure but found another one and got it for a friend’s birthday, so I compared the two. The second one was heavier, lighter in color and bendable. I should take some pictures to compare.
Ah, that does change things somewhat: if you’re buying for the future, then I suppose most of the books would be fair game, as most of them look like they contain some amount of interesting info that hasn’t been translated yet. Also, the Japanese versions of the games are usually relatively cheap (especially Azel compared to the two Sagas).
If I remember correctly there are minor differences in both for some tracks; Arcie’s site has a more detailed description of the differences than what I wrote there (see the notes on the tracklist). When I (finally) get around to doing the updates for that section I’m planning to include more detailed descriptions of what’s on each album, how any tracks differ from the tracks in the game, how any tracks differ between albums, and so on. There have been a few questions on this forum about the different cuts of the Guardian Dragon theme, for example, so it seems worth mentioning things like that.
Interesting, I never even considered that the statue I got might have been a fake: though I’m quite sure that mine is rigid rather than bendable, so hopefully it’s not.
[quote=“Atolm”]If you ever plan on getting the pewter figure of Lagi and Orta, I’ll let you know that there are fake ones going about. I have the actual figure but found another one and got it for a friend’s birthday, so I compared the two. The second one was heavier, lighter in color and bendable. I should take some pictures to compare.
Here are some differences which I have noticed from my limited listening to the ‘mini album’ (thanks to Solo; I dug out those DVDs last week ):
Many tracks are longer, i.e. loop twice, obviously due to the reduced number of tracks.
Chaos and Mutation 1 are exchanged in the track list when compared to the full albums (for some reason).
Giant Being 1 has the shorter intro which would play when encountering Gigra (as opposed to the longer version from the Arachnoth FMV and battle) and is positioned accordingly in the track list, after the Blue Ruins theme. Also, the panpipes during the middle sound slightly ‘muffled’ (quick and dirty description!).
Forbidden Zone has some different instruments/effects and sounds less atmospheric; this is probably the most noticeable difference.
Regarding the Guardian Dragon theme, the extended version from Saga is on the Zwei OST; the version that actually plays in-game in Zwei is shorter, for whatever reason.
[quote=“Ancient Weapon”]Here are some differences which I have noticed from my limited listening to the ‘mini album’ (thanks to Solo; I dug out those DVDs last week ):
Many tracks are longer, i.e. loop twice, obviously due to the reduced number of tracks.
Chaos and Mutation 1 are exchanged in the track list when compared to the full albums (for some reason).
Giant Being 1 has the shorter intro which would play when encountering Gigra (as opposed to the longer version from the Arachnoth FMV and battle) and is positioned accordingly in the track list, after the Blue Ruins theme. Also, the panpipes during the middle sound slightly ‘muffled’ (quick and dirty description!).
Forbidden Zone has some different instruments/effects and sounds less atmospheric; this is probably the most noticeable difference.
Regarding the Guardian Dragon theme, the extended version from Saga is on the Zwei OST; the version that actually plays in-game in Zwei is shorter, for whatever reason.[/quote]
The ‘mini’ soundtrack also has upsampled tracks. Don’t believe me? Listen to A Premonition of War and Giant Being I and compare that to the official album - HUGE differences; you can actually hear all of the percussion instruments in the background.
I don’t hear any differences like that. What do you mean by “upsampled”? Which instruments are you referring to and which soundtrack sounds better to you? If your albums are in MP3 format or similar, perhaps one was ripped at quite a low quality, explaining your perceived effects.
I’m not intending to come across as rude, but i don’t understand what you mean. (In any case, it gives me another excuse to listen to PD music! )
[quote=“Ancient Weapon”]I don’t hear any differences like that. What do you mean by “upsampled”? Which instruments are you referring to and which soundtrack sounds better to you? If your albums are in MP3 format or similar, perhaps one was ripped at quite a low quality, explaining your perceived effects.
I’m not intending to come across as rude, but i don’t understand what you mean. (In any case, it gives me another excuse to listen to PD music! )[/quote]
I have both of the albums on CD and the mini album brings the nearly inaudible background instruments to the forefront compared to the original album. For instance, with Giant Being I, you can hear the Wind flute as the dominate instrument. If I had to choose between which album is superior to the other, in regard to sampling, it would definitely be the mini album.
Granted, if you’re not an audiophile, you won’t find the changes easily.
Yeah, I noted the different flute in Giant Being 1 in my post, but didn’t notice any of the extra ‘background percussion’ that you mentioned in either track.
Nothing that I haven’t already mentioned stood out to me from the mini album, aside from perhaps a slightly higher overall volume. I certainly heard no “HUGE differences” or anything “vastly superior”.
However, I don’t wish to be deliberately argumentative or be pulled into an unwinnable ‘audiophile’ debate. Do you have any other examples that might be more noticeable?
[quote=“Ancient Weapon”]Yeah, I noted the different flute in Giant Being 1 in my post, but didn’t notice any of the extra ‘background percussion’ that you mentioned in either track.
Nothing that I haven’t already mentioned stood out to me from the mini album, aside from perhaps a slightly higher overall volume. I certainly heard no “HUGE differences” or anything “vastly superior”.
However, I don’t wish to be deliberately argumentative or be pulled into an unwinnable ‘audiophile’ debate. Do you have any other examples that might be more noticeable?[/quote]
Sure. In A Premonition of War from 1:42 to 2:08 the background instruments are brought to the forefront…and you can also hear the chorus. Compare that to the original, and you’ll hear a huge difference.
I’m sorry, but I can’t hear that kind of effect. The strings and female vocal that I assume you are referring to sound the same to me in both versions (I am comparing the ‘mini album’ and Complete Album, by the way). Perhaps someone else on the forum can compare and see what they think.
;or maybe I just forgot).
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