Despite appearances, the console wars today just aren't as fierce as the days when we knocked out each other's teeth arguing for the Super Nintendo against the Genesis. The transition to the 64/32-bit era was especially fierce, with Nintendo boasting about the benefits of cartridges over CDs (and convincing idiots like me) while Sega thought it had nothing to fear from a young stallion named the Sony Playstation.
In the end, I got a Nintendo 64. When I couldn't resist the pull of Mega Man anime cut scenes any longer, I got a Playstation. By that time, the Sega Saturn was grabbing its chest and gasping for air and we all looked up from our copies of Final Fantasy VII just long enough to laugh at its suffering. Being something of a Nintendo fangirl during the Hedgehog-Plumber wars, I thought, "Ha ha, Sega. I never needed your stinky games anyway."
Except for Panzer Dragoon. I needed that one very badly.
Ever since I was too young to be significant (what, like I am now?), I've been big on dragons. It pained me to pretend I didn't care about missing the opportunity to slice through the skies as a soldier mounted on the most awesome steed created by human imagination, but I think I did a good job even if it cost me a little piece of my soul.
I'm pretty well over my system bias. Nintendo, just give me my Mario and Zelda...and call me if you ever decide to stop being stupid about the Mother series. Microsoft, give me awesome downloadable games and I'll overlook the 13-year-old who named himself "jOO FuRn@ce." Sony, just give me your leftovers and try not to talk too much. Sega...give me some Panzer Dragoon. You are working on some new games and an adaptation of Panzer Dragoon Saga, right?
...
Oh God. There is no justice in this world.
I have, of course, played Panzer Dragoon Orta and I know I can find the Windows version of the original game easily enough. But in this age of drop-of-a-hat remakes, Panzer Dragoon is the series that deserves refinement and retooling with the love given to Bionic Commando Rearmed and Final Fantasy IV DS. Unfortunately, the original team members scattered to the four winds and have taken their dragons with them.
Panzer Dragoon is one of a handful of series that you can truly say was unique. Its rugged world was instantly distinguishable from tens of thousands of post-apocalyptic worlds ruled by evil Empires. And there's never any mistaking Panzer Dragoon's Miyazaki-inspired dragon designs for another rip-off of Anne McCaffrey's flying pony brigade, AKA the Mary Sues of Pern. The bond between the dragon and its rider isn't overstated or mucked up with a lot of softcore erotica.
Hardcore Gaming 101 has a very excellent write-up about the entire Panzer Dragoon series, including two spin-offs I never knew existed: a Game Gear abomination and an anime adaptation that had the potential to be excellent, but instead was stunk up by the presence of a whiny hero and a blind girlfriend who can (of course) sense the feelings of monsters, including "RRRR" and "I HUNGER."
Drag on, dragons. Wherever you are.
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