RETRO REBOOT | Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox)

When I think about some of the best sleeper games I’ve played, key titles come to mind; Demon’s Crest for the SNES, Mr. Bones on the Sega Saturn, and the Colony Wars series on the PSX. While I don’t think Panzer Dragoon fits the mold of a hit sleeper game or a dark horse that takes home awards, mostly due to the art of the rail shooter has limited appeal, it has quietly been one of the better Sega games since its inception on the amazing Sega Saturn.

I owe the Xbox and apology. I originally took it as a PS2 clone, and didn't give it much notice. In reality, it felt like a spiritual successor to the Dreamcast (as it inherited some games that were to debut on Sega's ill-fated console). Panzer Dragoon Orta is a standout entry as an adrenaline-pumping venture that can heighten your senses. Developed by Smilebit, it stands as the last title in the series (remake notwithstanding).

Orta’s visuals are very impressive, invoking a neo-futuristic, fantasy setting, a bit like Nausicaa Of Valley of the Wind. While rail shooters leave very little in terms of exploring the world you are in, what you do see is stunning. Rocky bluffs and cliffs filled with lots of flora, most of which will try to kill you, in some stages to navigating and veering amongst a huge armada of flying boogies and gigantic warships in aerial levels, the scene is genuinely breath-taking. No two stages look similar, if you aren’t gliding through the open skies, then you are leading an assault through narrow passageways and careening amidst shifting walls inside a laboratory.

The hues in Panzer Dragoon have always been kind of muted or sepia-toned to a degree, which adds to the aesthetic appeal and sets the mood for the atmosphere this series has always conveyed over the years. It represents a tale about a long, dark period of grim oppression from a corrupt empire seeking out those chosen by the Heavens to bring an end to the tyranny. There is a lot happening on the screen and despite all the chaos, the frame rate is stellar. I don’t remember any slow down in even the most action-packed and cluttered moments.

Enemies may be hard to spot at times, but a quick once-over with your cursor reveals their position. I guess one little nitpick I might have is the rapid zooming in and out and twisting that the camera will do, mainly in Episode 6 (left) where it’s just an onslaught of whipping angles and perspectives. It screws with your timing and until I adjusted to it, I took massive damage. With its fantastic environment, a plethora of enemies, and mega gigantic bosses, Orta is pound for pound one of the best-looking games on the system

The music is composed by the team responsible for the previous Panzer Dragoon games and Skies Of Arcadia, one of my favorite RPGs of the modern era, and of all time. It’s beautifully orchestrated and at no point ever overbearing or takes over any events during the story or gameplay. In-game effects are crisp, very familiar if you have played these games before. At points the game dips into complete silence where it seems like a musical cue would be appropriate. That’s always felt weird, it’s not the only Sega game to do that. It happens in Alpha Protocol too.

The longtime Panzer Dragoon formula has always been solid, and it only gets better. Locking on to enemies, even faster moving targets, is remarkably easy and the cursor speed is no slouch. The berserk mode, once again comes in great handy, and you will use it often.

New to the series is the introduction of several offensive modes that can be leveled up, your standard, all-around fire with no weakness or strengths, a heavy defensive mode that delivers massive damage, but no boosting capabilities, and a rapid-fire glider that’s essential for shooting down on-coming projectiles. Using the trigger buttons to shift your POV at a 45 degree angle is very responsive, as well.

Also new to the series is the way some boss battles are structured. After sustaining a certain amount of damage, you’ll have to speed up or slow down by boosting or downshifting (I couldn’t think of a better term, so if you know what the colloquial term is to slow down a dragon, feel free to let me know.) to attack from a different angle or to evade a killer blow that will cripple your health bar. If in the future another Dragoon game was made, I would like to see if they incorporate mechanics similar to Starfox 64 wherein you have the free range to battle in an isolated area. That’s future dreaming, however. Orta’s controls give you the feel that you are in complete control at all times.

Even with all of these adjustments and fine-tuned design, this is still one of the toughest games I've ever played. I try my best to talk about how a game is hard for all the fair and right reasons as opposed to bumping up the A.I. to ridiculous levels, ramping up the cheap kills, shoddy camera controls that stack the odds up against you. I’m still not sure where Orta fits, but this game gets merciless, and quick!

After Episode 3, the game just gets downright brutal without warning! Some enemies take massive amounts of firepower before they go down, while out of nowhere a swarm of lower level monsters will distract you while a giant cannon or some other huge mechanism will charge up a particle beam and destroy you. Your blind spot is your worst enemy in this game, as you try so hard to focus on what’s chipping away at your health in front of you, that foes can appear behind you and pick you apart.

Thankfully, checkpoints are aplenty, but my thumb was completely worn out after long intervals. Even the much-abused Berserk Mode’s volley of missiles will only earn a brief respite amidst the chaos.

Panzer Dragoon Orta is the strongest game in the series to date (I still have to get my hands on the elusive Saga RPG), with its great visuals, excellent control scheme, new and welcome additions to the gameplay, solid story, and some well deserved extras, it’s a strong effort and I hope to see more additions in what I feel is still an underappreciated series of games. The difficulty is insane and might turn away some, but it’s an adrenaline-pumping action game nonetheless.