The Divine Visitor

Panzer Dragoon
1

Who is the Divine Visitor? What is it exactly and what is it’s purpose? If you look at it in a spiritual sense, you get a pretty good idea of what it is.

For instance, take OUR world for example. Humans were created by an alien race known as the Anunnaki (they look just like us), and we were originally created as a slave race. But later, Enki, (the head scientist who originally came up with idea to combine their genes with the homo erectus to create mankind), realized that a much higher power than himself was in control…and it was Destiny, not Fate, that mankind was created (Fate can be changed - Destiny can’t)

Anyway, in regard to PDS, I believe the Divine Visitor was actually an emissary of the higher power in question - a power much greater than the Ancients, themselves. I believe the whole purpose of this was to create the ‘perfect being’, and this higher power used the Ancients and the world as pawns to achieve this goal.

There isn’t alot of data on the Divine Visitor within the games themselves - other than what Gash tells Edge about it. In any case, it’s another one of those mysteries that makes the Panzer Dragoon series so enthralling.

2

The divine visitor is the player. That is what Team Andromeda had in mind.
Of course this is a pretty unsatisfying explanation, so I have a few of my own theories in mind. :wink:

3

I’d like to think of the Divine Visitor as an actual god who sought to help the people of Panzer world, or as one of the ancients (who claimed to be gods) seeking to atone for old mistakes. Unfortunately, the truth doesn’t fall into the realm of the grandiose.

4

You never beat the game, did you?

5

The Divine Visitor is the player as much as I hate to admit it. However, I want to believe in something… grander.

6

Of course, I beat the game. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. I’m just thinking what the purpose of the whole Divine Visitor thing was about…if there wasn’t a purpose, Edge would not have been murdered in the beginning.

The Divine Visitor has SOME sort of significance in the Panzer Dragoon universe…and no, it’s not meant to represent the lame ass player. It has to mean something, otherwise Team Andromeda would have never included it in the first place.

7

It doesn’t have to mean anything. It might mean something but the truth is it probably doesn’t.

8

I very much doubt that, considering the FMV’s show the Divine Visitor entering Edge’s body. If it didn’t mean anything, they would have never showed that nor dedicated an FMV sequence to it. If they would have just left the Divine Visitor at the naming screen and never mentioned it again…then it probably wouldn’t even mean anything. But that simply is not the case…especially since Gash has knowledge about the Divine Visitor.

9

Have you ever seen “The Neverending Story”?

Same thing.

Just because the Divine Visitor is the player, doesn’t mean it’s “lame ass.” It was a way to include the player in the story that had never been done before. It shows that the events of the world of Panzer Dragoon are shaped by the actions of the people playing the game. If you have the power to control a person in a world, to shape world events… does that not make you a divine being of sorts within that world?

10

[quote=“Abadd”]Have you ever seen “The Neverending Story”?

Same thing.

Just because the Divine Visitor is the player, doesn’t mean it’s “lame ass.” It was a way to include the player in the story that had never been done before. It shows that the events of the world of Panzer Dragoon are shaped by the actions of the people playing the game. If you have the power to control a person in a world, to shape world events… does that not make you a divine being of sorts within that world?[/quote]

I agree with Abadd. When you find out you are in fact taking on the role of the Divine Visitor in the ending sequence of PDS, well all i can say is wow. That was a really nice touch to the story and the game as well. It was very well done.

11

When I first played Saga I liked the idea. But in that time I also liked giving the hero my own name which I do no longer do. Why? I can’t say. :wink:

For me the divine visitor is the lead character from another story. :smiley:

12

[quote=“Kadamose”]Of course, I beat the game. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. I’m just thinking what the purpose of the whole Divine Visitor thing was about…if there wasn’t a purpose, Edge would not have been murdered in the beginning.

The Divine Visitor has SOME sort of significance in the Panzer Dragoon universe…and no, it’s not meant to represent the lame ass player. It has to mean something, otherwise Team Andromeda would have never included it in the first place.[/quote]

I have to disagree with you on this. Plot-wise, Edge was murdered by Zastava, who was obviously crazy; it had nothing to do with the Divine Visitor. Storytelling-wise, it ties in with the twist and irony in the ending, which is that it defnintely, unquestionably is meant to be the player. Allow me to remind you of the exact text:

**"The only one who can free us is the one from the outside world. [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]… You are the Divine Visitor. Now, Divine One, The voyage that began, when I tried to return the world into the hands of the people… The duty that spanned thousands of years, is about to come to an end. Now… press the button, …the soul who dwells inside Edge, [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]… For a new beginning. …Thank you, we must go.

[EDGE TURNS TO THE PLAYER]

“So, you were guiding me… Then you must be the Divine…”

[FADES OUT, IN THE STYLE OF A TELEVISION BEING SWITCHED OFF]**

If that doesn’t confirm it as the player, I don’t know what does. I mean, since when did Gods or spiritual entities use buttons? :slight_smile:

I personally don’t think that this lowers the tone of the game in any way, though. It is even integrated into the gameworld in the form of the legends that Gash has pursued; and - getting philosophical - consider this:

Panzer Dragoon Saga is a game. We know that it is a game, we pick up control pads and play it on a television screen, and we enjoy it because it is a game. Isn’t it unique, bold, honest and only fitting that, in the end, the game acknowledges itself as a game?

13

Allow me to dig up this quote from PD Orta’s memory cells again:

*"We’re not really alive. We’re just being forced to live.?

“The Ancients’ spirits are making sure of that.”*

Let’s change it to this:

*Edge isn’t really alive. He’s just being forced to live.

The Divine Visitor is making sure of that.*

In what way are the actions of the DV better than those of the Ancients themselves? Isn’t it ironic that in order to give people control of their own destiny and free humanity from the Will of the Ancients, the DV enslaved a human to exercise his divine will on the world? Wouldn’t it have been better if Edge himself could have freed humanity from the Ancients will? Everything Edge did was pretty much meaningless because he wasn’t really alive anyway.

Maybe I’m looking at this in the wrong way, but I’m not sure if it was necessary to involve the player in the game in this way.

14

To end fire you have to use fire to fight fire.

15

It’s amazing how only the Divine Visitor had the power to shut down Sestren in the end. You brought the will of the ancients to an end by pressing a button, but after doing so, you yourself shut down.

How strange.

16

[quote=“D-Unit”]Allow me to dig up this quote from PD Orta’s memory cells again:

*"We’re not really alive. We’re just being forced to live.?

“The Ancients’ spirits are making sure of that.”*

Let’s change it to this:

*Edge isn’t really alive. He’s just being forced to live.

The Divine Visitor is making sure of that.*

In what way are the actions of the DV better than those of the Ancients themselves? Isn’t it ironic that in order to give people control of their own destiny and free humanity from the Will of the Ancients, the DV enslaved a human to exercise his divine will on the world? Wouldn’t it have been better if Edge himself could have freed humanity from the Ancients will? Everything Edge did was pretty much meaningless because he wasn’t really alive anyway.[/quote]

A very interesting philosophical point.

Though I’m not yet sure of my opinion on the subject, has anyone considered that the Heresy Program was “using” the dragon in the same way that the Divine Visitor was “using” Edge? It may not have been literally keeping the dragon alive, but it was certainly guiding and empowering it in a similar fashion. Lagi would not have done what he did if it was not for the Heresy Program’s intervention; he would have lived out his days as a beast of burden, just as Edge would have spent the future in death.

Yet these actions were all to free the world, and neither Edge nor the dragon seemed upset at how they had helped these spiritual entities in their respective missions. So what is right and wrong in this situation? Can these terms even be applied?

17

[quote=“Geoffrey Duke”]It’s amazing how only the Divine Visitor had the power to shut down Sestren in the end. You brought the will of the ancients to an end by pressing a button, but after doing so, you yourself shut down.

How strange.[/quote]

Ah, but was the Divine Visitor “shut down” as you say? It seemed to me that it returned to the “outside world”, which is exactly what you - the player - did after completing the game. This would explain why Edge could have no future between the events of PDS and PDO; because we weren’t there to play it.

18

I’d like to believe the Heresy dragon pursued its mission to free humanity from the will of the ancients because it cared, but I’m more open to the idea that it was simply carrying out its programming. Like Azel, someone modified the Heresy dragon to oppose the ancients.

[quote=“Lance”]

[quote=“Geoffrey Duke”]It’s amazing how only the Divine Visitor had the power to shut down Sestren in the end. You brought the will of the ancients to an end by pressing a button, but after doing so, you yourself shut down.

How strange.[/quote]

Ah, but was the Divine Visitor “shut down” as you say? It seemed to me that it returned to the “outside world”, which is exactly what you - the player - did after completing the game. This would explain why Edge could have no future between the events of PDS and PDO; because we weren’t there to play it.[/quote]

I’m not disputing the fact that the Divine Visitor was the player; it just seems there’s more to this than meets the eye. The way the Divine Visitor shuts down is the focal point of this debate for me. You can argue that this is the player’s screen being shut down, yet we still watch the ending. How can the player keep Edge alive? How can the player actually exist in the game world at all? Players usually play the role of a character, whereas here we literally take control of Edge.

19

Can we really say these actions freed the world? By destroying the Tower network, the DV killed half of the human population on the continent. And the Empire rebuilt their Empire to lead humanity into oblivion once again. The only thing we know is that humanity is now free, but from what exactly? Nothing seems to have changed. Humanity was offered a chance to create a new world. Instead, both the Empire and the Seekers seemed to think that only through war the world could be changed. The only being that seemed to think otherwise, was Azel a drone.

What made Azel special was the fact that she didn’t seem to be programmed in any way. She had a free will and could make her own decisions. I think the Heresy dragon really cared for humanity, but perhaps not in the same way humans would. After all, it was still a program. However when it says “watch over our friends for me” in PD Orta I think he really meant “watch over humanity”.

I assume that after the DV shuts down, we simply watch the events take place like we did in the beginning of the game. Our mission was over but we could still see what was going on. The way the DV shuts down seems more like a program ending to me. Since Sestren is a data network, that would make sense. I assume the player was projected into Sestren as data just like everything else. The fact that Sestren is situated between space and time can explain why we could enter it. I wonder if somehow Sestren was programmed to retrieve the DV. That would explain why there were records of it in the Ancient Age. The rebels must have known only someone from another world could free them from the Ancients will.