Since early 1998. I got into the coverage of PDS that SSM were doing at the time, and decided to go and pick up a copy of Zwei to see whether PDS would be worth getting. And what do you know, I became a fan instantly because of the magic in Zwei.
yeah it was sega flash for me too. got me hooked on episode 3 the c**ts went out and bought zwei straight away.
made a massive mistake buying enemy zero instead of saga when in came out, but the official sega saturn mag gave away disk one and i was hooked again. alas it was too late and saga had sold out - thank god for ebay and my well spent ?80.
Well, since you all want to know…
'Twas near the launch of the Saturn (in the USA) and I bought Panzer Dragoon along with the Virtua Fighter pack-in System, Daytona, and Pebble Beach. It’s safe to assume that I didn’t even play the other games. My whole family was amazed…even my parents! 
Woohoo, Meccania Citizen!
I became an instant fan in december 2003 when I completed panzer dragoon saga at the age of 18, I had played and finished panzer dragoon before that though but hating shooters and the lack of storyline except for the great opening clip made me dislike it a bit, I still haven’t played panzer dragoon zwei and I only want to play it for the story…
the moment I finished panzer dragoon saga I was sitting and I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it, as a matter of fact I didn’t sleep for3 days, it was controlling my life that much, such a tremendous story with so many unanswered questions,fortunately I found this site a few days later 
been a fan from when I played a demo of the first game in a shop. though I never actually got round to buying the first one for some reason. I became a true fan once I got Zwei.
I still haven’t played panzer dragoon zwei and I only want to play it for the story… <<
Zwei is really good- I’m not a big fan of the gameplay of PD1 or Orta, but Zwei is still a lot of fun.
I’m starting to be a fan for about two weeks, now.
When I first saw the PDO trailer on the sega gt 2002/Jet set radio future gamedisc, I knew that It would be a good game, was it only for the graphic, the game being about a dragon, and the fact that it was a return to the rail-shooters, just like starfox which I played a lot. BUT, as there is always a but, I didn’t want to buy the game right away, because of one thing: it was made by smilebit. I had bought Gunvalkyrie at 24$ CDN , and as I saw, the game was fun, but it’s life was so short it wouldn’t have been worth to pay full price for it, although it was an innovative game. I thought it was the same for Orta, and I saw that I was partially right when I beat the game on normal in 3 days… and kept replaying it non-stop since then.
So, let’s just say I’m on my way to be a fan, just wait until I play PDS 
dies So many people say Zwei is their first, and I haven’t played any of those.
My true love is the original 
I remember Nights was a big hit at the time. >.<
*I just found out it was in 1995. That means I was eight years old. Yeah that’s about right too. Daaaaaaaaaang :anjou_embarassed:
Hm i think the first time i played it was at 1997. The first game from the Saga was PDII. Cause i am a Dragon Fan i loved this game from the beginning. Later we were go shopping and i saw the first PD Game. It was a Must Have Game ^^, but not so gut like the Second Part 
and later i were searching for the Saga. I heard much from it and thought a PD RPG ? I must have it the only problem was the high price from the game. But i bought it allready ^^ i must have it an the game is really great gg okay thads to big story, i am a fan since 1997 ^^
P.S
I was 10 Years old as i played it the first time.
Since Panzer Dragoon Orta was first announced, I’ve been a fan. I’m sorry to say that I never really had a chance to experience the first three, considering I was far too young, and kind of skipped over the Sega Saturn and went straight for the Nintendo 64 and Playstation.
If it’s any consolation, I never did like Final Fantasy VII.
Anyway, I had always heard of the series, mainly focusing my attraction on Panzer Dragoon Saga. Searching for those ever elusive screenshots and movies, teasing my curiosity like a friend hanging a cookie just within your reach, and snatching it back just as you go to grab it.
At this point point in time, Panzer Dragoon Orta came out. While I was elated, I also lost interest because I did not have an XBOX, and did not think I would ever have one. I played some of the game at my friend’s house on his birthday, but I didn’t play that much because they had Halo, and I had never played Halo.
Then two years later, I finally got an XBOX of my own for Christmas. There was much celebration, and I went out and bought Panzer Dragoon Orta, Dead or Alive 3, and Jet Set Radio Future. Two months later I traded it all for a Gamecube due to anxiety attacks induced by my extreme fear of death.
My God, that was a dumb move.
Then weird things happened, I sold my Gamecube because all my games were stolen, I also traded a useless XBOX memory card for an XBOX and later got the aformentioned games back, finally sitting down and beating Panzer Dragoon Orta. Thus locking my fandom for Panzer Dragoon and the XBOX as well.
When I get a job, I’m buying a Sega Saturn, and a $179 copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga. I love you Sega.
P.S. Sorry for the long winded post, I had a sudden burst of inspiration to write, and the origins of my interest in Panzer Dragoon seemed a likely candidate.
When I was about 10 years old or so, back when Panzer Dragoon Saga was first announced, I was immediately fascinated. I would have gotten into the series before that, but the Saturn’s price was so high that I didn’t figure I could ever afford it, nor that my parents would buy it (I had wanted a Saturn since it’s original announcement in 1994 or so, when I was about 7 or 8 years old). Some time passed, and I finally got a Saturn in about 1997, and became practically obsessed with Panzer Dragoon Saga from the first moment I saw it in EGM.
I bought every EGM from the moment the game was announced up until after it was released and the initial reviews came out. I went out as soon as I could and got the game (had to get money from my father and pay him back), because it was supposed to have such a low production run. I think it costed about $50 or $60, but it was nice to have a game that I had been drooling over for so long. I would literally stare at the pictures in the magazines for God knows how long.
I do believe I still have every EGM with Panzer Dragoon Saga in it, so I might be able to scan those, if anyone is interested. It was damn nice to finally get a game that I had been waiting for, for so long. It was the only game I had ever woken up early before school just so I could get some time in before heading off. Haha, that’s how much I liked that game.
Not long after, I got Panzer Dragoon for the PC, then Panzer Dragoon Zwei for the Saturn, followed by the original for the Saturn, and so on.
A rather interesting sidenote, though… Panzer Dragoon Orta is actually the first and only game which I have ever gone out on the release date and bought. And it’s the entire reason I even went with the Xbox console.
But oh, boy, was I happy when the first reviews for PDS stated that it was even better than FFVII. Haha. I had played through that game a few times and was sort of sick of it and all of the praise it received (though I did like the game to an extent), so it was nice to see another game get more praise than FFVII.
If you’ve got the time to do it, I’d certainly be interested to see those, especially if there are any early articles with screenshots that differ from the finished game. If it’d help, I expect Solo would be OK to host any scans on pd.net for you, if not permanently then at least temporarily so forum-goes can check 'em out…
[quote=“Lance Way”]
If you’ve got the time to do it, I’d certainly be interested to see those, especially if there are any early articles with screenshots that differ from the finished game. If it’d help, I expect Solo would be OK to host any scans on pd.net for you, if not permanently then at least temporarily so forum-goes can check 'em out…[/quote]
Okay, my schedule has been a bit hectic lately, but I’ll try to find and scan those EGM issues tonight. If I can’t do it tonight, then I should definitely be able to do so tomorrow.
I second that.
Yeah, I’d be interested in seeing those pages of that issue as well if it’s not too much trouble OfWintryDeath, but take your time.
Well, I’m having a bit of trouble finding the magazines at the moment, and I’m far too tired to search tonight, so it’ll take some time for me to find them and scan them.
Well, I’ve found a bulk of the EGMs that I had. A few still seem to be missing, from various parts of 1997, including the one with the review of Panzer Dragoon Saga after it’s release, but there’s still some interesting stuff in here. I’ll work on getting some scans later on, but just to give an idea, there are screenshots in here from early 1997, when the game was still being called Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG by the US magazines.
If anyone’s wondering, the scores the game received were 9.5, 9.5, 9.5 and 10. They had some sort of score archive in there. More on this later, when I have the chance.
:o) Well thats exactly what i thought.:lol::lol:
This seems like a good topic to introduce myself in!
I almost feel as though I’ve been a fan of the PD essence ever since I saw the Dragonfly (as they named the game) screenshot in Diehard Gamefan (or was it EGM? possibly both…). And yes it was the same ugly “Emerald Dragon” promo shot from the earliest shown version of the game. It stuck in my conciousness enough that there’s a fundamental continuity of feeling and awareness from that time. In my memory at least.
Now, I was in fact a year or so late in playing the first game, purchasing a Saturn became a mandatory act for me only because of VF2. But I had been acutely attracted to any and all information about this trippy looking dragon game all along, and it was the only other game I picked up the day I bought my Saturn. And I definitely loved the game, just didn’t love the controller so much.
It was really Zwei and the Nights-pad that earned the series a genuinely classic status for me. Zwei is still the game I consider closest to perfection taken for what it is, but it is not my favorite nor is it the game that earned the series all time favorite status taken as a whole.
Having, at that time, never been hooked by any RPG of any obvious design, my initial reaction the first I heard the news about Azel was something along the lines of “WTF are they THINKING?!” And I’m sad to admit that I didn’t feel at all compelled to buy the game even after briefly trying out an import of the JP release at the local shop. I had more or less forgotten about it when the US version shipped. So it’s a good thing I had a friend from said same shop who almost twisted my arm to borrow his copy…
Three days and about five total hours of sleep later, I was left with a conviction that if I were somehow presented with a chioce to irrevocably transport my existence to this other world of strife, majesty and mystery… in that lasting moment I might not have even thought twice before jumping into the void. A psychic trick a handfull of cherished books have managed to play on me, but never one of these mere ‘videogames’.
OK, maybe not everyone wants my life’s story? lol :anjou_embarassed:
Short answer is '96 I suppose, to be honorable… And I am very happy Orta has only maintained my status of proud fan. Indeed it’s because I was jonesing to play PDO a few days ago that inspired this nostalgia induced web expedition that has found me here.
Very nice site, very good format. Very happy to meet everyone!
Welcome to the boards Heretic Agnostic. Yeah, PDS does have that effect on people!
Be sure to introduce yourself in the extended profile topic in the Liberal District.