And also, who do you think is the strongest?
A) Type_02
B) Guardian D
C) Atolm
D) Abaddonmare
And also, who do you think is the strongest?
A) Type_02
B) Guardian D
C) Atolm
D) Abaddonmare
I move to have selection D called the Abaddonmare.
I don’t think Abadd really count. He engineered it from a dragonmare. I don’t think it was guarding anything.
That said though, it’s a tough choice. Atolm was really a huge pushover and kind of a joke of a dragon, but the rest were sweet as hell. Guardian D was mediocre in its armoured form, but it felt right on par with you in its natural state. Agile enough to be a real challenge to shoot down with those lethal laser blades and particle trail and really strong homing lasers.
The white dragonmare likewise is like a flying fortress. Incredible amounts of health and an absolute ton of attacks. That was a battle that felt really intimidating, where a couple of shots meant death, and his weird phasing in and out of reality was equally cool.
Unit 02 looks probably the most badass out of all of them (never been a fan of the Unit 01 design) and was a really cool opponent in the first game, since you chased and fought him several times. His armour form was weaker than he was, like the Guardian D, but you don’t get to fight his true form after, which makes him easier in total.
In the end, which one is the strongest I have to base off of Zwei. Atolm is a weenie and dies easily without hitting you. The white dragonmare is a real beast and slaughters Els Enora like nothing but is a much bigger and bulkier type with little direct combat ability other than its sheer firepower, making it more of a seige or conquest unit. The Guardian D has really strong “lasers” and quite a bit of health and basically has the effect on the game that the Blue Dragon does on Panzer Dragoon Orta, being individually extremely powerful. Like “possibly the other faction’s Light Wing equivalent” powerful.
In the end I have to give it to Unit 02 though just because it’s even more broken than the Guardian D. 12 Simultaneous locks rivals that of event he end forms of Azel. The gargantuan healthbar is pretty worthy of even the white dragonmare. The lasers are pretty much Blue Dragon powerful and the gun you get is insane. Most importantly though, its Berserk mode puts the Panzerwing from Orta to shame. It really feels like the Panzer to Unit 01’s Dragoon. Fast and relatively agile while being monstrously powerful and well armoured. You feel like you’re unstoppably blazing through everything while riding it. It makes sense to me that it’d be the most powerful, since it actually had its own drone unit, was used by Sestren first, and was important enough for the Blue Dragon to be sent after (which also actually lost in direct combat to it).
Nice post Dial ^.^
Personally i think Atolm is pretty powerfull as well, his health bar is huge, his Ne-Rai attack can leave you with more holes than a swiss cheese and also like Type_02 he also had he?s own Drone, Azel.
However my favorite is Guardian D, 1st he?s capable of fusing himself with his tower, shelcoof, to form a formidable oponent that really gave me some headaches when i first fought it. If thats not enough, he can then get himself that gigantic armor plating and bomb you with multiple attacks, wearing you down. If you manage to survive, then he will attack you in what is clearly his ultimate form, his natural state!
And here is were things get fearsome, his laser blasts are incredibly powerful, he?s extremly agile and anyone in pursuit is at danger of getting damaged by his acid trail. Also, he can ram you with his laser wings/blades.
He is actually the first dragon to be used by Sestren, since chronologically Zwei events happen before the first game.
And on a final note, after blasting him on Zwei, it turns out he was actually alive in Panzer Dragoon Saga, and managed to recover some of his armor plating, this tell you a lot about his real power and endurance. Also, the fact that he operates without the need of a drone may sugest his artificial intelligence ( since he was a human creation) may be on par with the AI used on the drones and maybe even Sestren.
So my pick goes to Guardian D, in my opinion he is the ultimate dragon right after Type_01.
Oh right I totally forgot about that didn’t I. He does come back in Saga. Gash says something about “beasts that cannot die” and all that doesn’t he? That does leave questions as to whether the original Guardian D unit plunged into the sea and just fell in with its armour, or whether the armour itself is a separate creature. A symbiotic organism designed by the tower for defense against enemies that instinctively reacts to the presence of powerful bio-engineered creatures. I think that might make sense, given you always blast the armour free of the dragon. It seems attached not integrated. Plus you can see the thing clinging to the underside of the ship earlier, like being brought out from some hangar or something, and we know how much the Ancients like making everything a living creature.
Atolm I guess I didn’t give enough credit. He really was statistically pretty amazing, but the way Saga’s combat system works makes him way too easy to just dance circles around, since his lasers in all forms take forever to warm up. I imagine he’d perform differently in a rail shooter game rather than the RPG. After all, even the Solo Wing wasn’t that big of a deal in Saga.
Now I’m wondering if all towers have a battle symbiont for their guardian? The tower with Unit 02 certainly did. Might be kind of a neat idea.
I have to say Guardian D (in Zwei only") and Atolm are tied for me.
Atolm
Though I don’t think it’s technically a guardian dragon. But I suspect if Atolm were a playable dragon in any game, it might even be my favorite dragon design period. And it’s too bad we’ve never seen it landing…
And Dial I appreciate your near scientific assessment there! But I would agree it’s hard to fairly judge them against each other on those merits, because their evident power / difficulty as foes needs to be considered in the context of each game. As most enemies can seem like a pushover in Azel; and every boss in Orta takes forever to kill compared to the other shooters.