Panzer Dragoon Saga

[Limbrooke]

...because the OST is megabucks too! Well, not on the level of the Super Mario RPG (beware the expensive forest mushrooms!) or the Donkey Kong Country Trilogy but still around $100. Also, Premonition of War.

There are a couple of versions... I don't think all are expensive, and the track difference is only a couple. Forgot which one I gots.

Yeah, there's the original from 1998 (Complete Album, 2 discs) then the Memorial Album (also 2 discs) in 2001. Then there was an arranged 1 disc album around the same time. Not sure which is cheaper but both 2 disc'ers are seldom seen anymore.

Atolm Dragon. No words.

[GaijinPunch]

That's the one I got.
Makes me want to play the game again. I own a sealed copy. When I get settled down I just might do it.

[DestroyTheCore]

And for the love of God, nobody's mentioned the dope soundtrack yet!

This track! (it's the longer version of a track from Panzer Dragoon Zwei if I'm not mistaken)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkVLYROEJCk

[Shelcoof]

I absolutely love Panzer Dragoon... guess where my handle comes from

Anyways I really don't know what to say other than anyone who loves RPGs should at least play this game. I absolutely hate RPGs and I love this game lol. I only have a handful of RPGs that I've actually beaten and enjoyed and those were way back in the SNES days.

The biggest negative is the length... you can beat this game in one sitting.... just a few hours. I think it took me about 7 hours to beat? The game is short but its extremely satisfying.... after beating it your left feeling complete. What I've always hated about traditional JRPGs are the length. Most of it is grinding and powering up etc.... just boring stuff.. and the boring turn based battle systems they all have.

This game on the other hand cuts out all the boring stuff. Battles in the game isn't based on experience, magic power ups etc... its all strategy and knowing what to use. The pacing of the battle if played quick feels like the actual rail shooter itself. Battles in this game is fun.... I'd actually wish there was more grinding because each area and stage has a limited amount of enemies to battle.. you sort of can't really grind in this game because of it.

This isn't a traditional RPG its really special.....I absolutely love the music in this game. Graphics are dated but still very beautiful... the whole world is so dark and mysterious that it'll suck you right in and want you to discover it. I honestly can't get enough of the game.. I can easily boot it up and play it again.

If you've played and enjoy any of the previous games or Panzer Dragoon Orta then you'd most likely enjoy PDS.

[bcass]

And for the love of God, nobody's mentioned the dope soundtrack yet!

This track! (it's the longer version of a track from Panzer Dragoon Zwei if I'm not mistaken)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkVLYROEJCk

Love this track. There are a couple of other decent tracks on the Zwei CD too.

As for the PDS OST CD, the cheaper reissue (AZEL Panzer Dragoon RPG Memorial Album) is the one you want to get hold of as it has all the tracks from the more expensive first release, plus some decent bonus remixes.

As others have said, PDS is probably the finest example of a lean RPG ever. It's probably the only RPG I've played that I'd ever consider replaying. Awesome soundtrack too, especially the battle themes.