Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei is the sequel to the well-received and acclaimed Sega Saturn launch title Panzer Dragoon. The sequel, or prequel if you are viewing the games based on the story, is a return to form that embraces the gameplay of the original and adds more to create a stunning package that surpasses its predecessor.

For those unfamiliar with the gameplay mechanics of the Panzer Dragoon series, the player controls a duo consisting of a rider and a dragon through an on-rails world filled with enemies to explode and shoot-down. Your main attacks consist of a rapid-fire gun which your rider wields, and a lock-on laser that the dragon emits from his mouth. The game would be rather straight-forward if you only faced enemies head-on, but enemies approach from all sides and angles, and you must use the Sega Saturn’s shoulder buttons to rotate your view 360 ° around the dragon to be able to target and destroy the hordes that assault you. New to the series is a berserk special weapon that builds up as you destroy enemies, and can clear the screen of enemies, or nearly destroy bosses, in a flash of lasers. The sequel also introduces branching paths in a number of levels, these additions make the game feel more explorative and directly relate to another included feature, dragon evolutions. As you progress through each stage in the game you are rated based on your performance, and at the end of a level your dragon will mutate visually and statistically. These evolutions can create dragons that respond faster and tighter to your simple evasive maneuvers, and, more impressively, power-up your lasers, the amount of lasers you can fire, and the power of your berserk attacks. By taking the branching paths you can also unlock the most powerful of the dragons, including the dragon from the first game.

Visually Panzer Dragoon Zwei has improved from its predecessor in a way that has created a more distinctive style, and an improved color palette that makes the game feel like a real improvement upon the first game. Fans of the original will also notice that enemy counts have gone up, and goes to show that team Andromeda had begun to better understand and use the Sega Saturn hardware. Bio-mechanical designs are prevalent amongst the brutal Empire that stands in the way between Lagi, your dragon, and you. The game will take you from a battered scene of your destroyed village, to a large valley controlled by the Empire, and straight into an extravagant jungle filled with dangerous creatures. The game boasts an environmentally thrilling design that changes things up enough to keep you glued to see what’s coming next, and the impressively large enemies stand apart amongst the amazing diversity of smaller enemies that seek your demise. As the game comes to a close you’ll see some of the most amazing spectacles that no doubt taxed the Sega Saturn hardware to its limits. Visually Panzer Dragoon Zwei is a game that set the graphics bar high for the Sega Saturn console.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei is a game that takes its musical score very seriously, and the game has one of the best soundtracks for its time. The music has an orchestrated sound to it with sweeping highs, and strong beats that keep the pace moving along well. The sound effects of the game are also a testament to a strong sound design. Sound effects have a visceral and powerful feel to them, from the flap of your dragon’s wings, to its powerful lasers firing, everything matches well and creates a cohesive whole that helps create a unique universe.

I’ve omitted speaking of the Panzer Dragoon Zwei’s story until now for the primary reason that in shooter games there is usually not a very strong story presence. This is clearly not the case amongst the Panzer Dragoon games. The universe of Panzer Dragoon is filled with moral repercussions, and revenge. The opening scene shows a young boy, Lundi, living in a small village when his coolia, a beast of burden, begins showing signs of mutation. The village he lives in has an open decree that all genetically mutated coolia must be destroyed immediately. Lundi, knowing this, lets the animal live, and as the mutated animal begins to sprout wings he takes him to a hill not far from his village to try to get the animal to fly. While he attempts to become airbone on Lagi, a skyship known as Shelcoof indiscriminately destroys the entire village leaving only Lundi and Lagi alive. Lundi, bent on revenge, follows the skyship with Lagi as his mount. At this point the game begins as the boy and his dragon are assaulted by biomechanical beasts from the ship itself as it flies away. This brief description of what begins the game in Panzer Dragoon Zwei is just a fragment of the rich universe that has been created in the Panzer Dragoon series. Fans of the series are aware of the how the dragon is considered a harbinger of destruction by the Empire, and the importance of the bond formed by dragon and rider. The sheer amount of lore behind the game, and the other titles, is worth several novels and creates a rich and tangible world ripe for anyone interested in learning more about Panzer Dragoon.

Having veered off track in this review of Panzer Dragoon Zwei i’ll sum up my final thoughts here without making anyone have to play the previous games, or the fantastic follow-up, Panzer Dragoon Saga. Panzer Dragoon Zwei is an epic production that is well deserving of any shooter fans time. The high amount of replayability makes this a game your sure to come back to either to see all the dragon evolutions, the branching paths, or experiment with the wide variety of end-game options that become available in Pandora’s Box. And as additional hours are spent in the game, new features open up in the end-game Pandora’s Box feature. Overall it is hard to find fault in such a compellingly complete package. In this case I’ll reserve any negatory judgment and tell you to play the game if you haven’t, and to replay it if you already own it.