On January the 29th, 1998, fifteen years ago today, Panzer Dragoon Saga was released in Japan. Known as Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG in its country of origin, Panzer Dragoon Saga was released near the end of the Saturn’s lifespan when the system was spiralling towards its demise. Because of this, Panzer Dragoon Saga was overlooked by gamers, while the majority flocked to Final Fantasy VII and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on competing systems. Nevertheless, Panzer Dragoon Saga has received overwhelmingly high praise from the few who have experienced it.
Looking back, there still hasn’t been a game quite like Panzer Dragoon Saga. Even though Panzer Dragoon Saga’s graphics haven’t aged well, its art style remains incredibly distinctive all these years later. Its music ranks up there with any great film soundtrack. While the current generation of consoles has moved game story telling forward in some respects, most modern games fail to convey the maturity and conciseness of Team Andromeda’s masterpiece. And in a world where humans are rapidly depleting resources and changing the very climate we depend upon to survive, Panzer Dragoon Saga’s environmental message remains more relevant today than ever.
Panzer Dragoon Saga deserves to be played by more than just a small group of core gamers. We’re going to hold off sending our Panzer Dragoon Revival petition to Sega until the fifteenth anniversary of Panzer Dragoon Saga’s US release in April. In the meantime, I encourage those who haven’t done so yet to sign the petition and share the link around in the petition’s final months.