5/5 ★ – kahooftheblade's review of Panzer Dragoon Saga.

This is how it's done, and like other games I fell in love with, there isn't another experience like it. Just a preface to this, I refer to Final Fantasy a few times here in ways that could be considered negative. FF9 and 14 are both among my most favoured titles ever so this is not the case. This game is far too focused on actually being a good game. The reviews with high scores are well deserved, and I'm left wondering where this fits on my 'All time best ever' lists. Most of my experience playing fantasy RPGs has (probably like most people) been Final Fantasy so when I started this I had some pre-set expectations. PDS does not play like nor is written like a Final Fantasy game. It's battle system forces you to engage brain in a way most modern RPGs can't, and it is unique;- You are riding a dragon, so it makes sense that threats can come from any direction, you can move around them, spot tells, weaknesses and take advantage of them. It gives you the ability to pause the action to plan your next move, or use one of your dragons abilities or an item to dispel a status effect. The battle system is excellent, fun and engaging and it rewards mastery. In some cases you can't just hit the enemy until it dies, you have to perform a set of tasks first. Some battles can have you face off against 10 or more enemies and all of them do a tiny amount of damage (but it mounts up), others just one, but they have devastating attacks that can hit you over 50 times (Berserker Rage, oof) in a single turn and you wonder if you will actually survive it and when you do you are forced to reassess. I love games which have me 'engage brain', and this does it brilliantly. Panzer Dragoon's art and world is also beautiful, the lore around the world and its inhabitants is unique and intriguing and Saga makes full use of it. Saga's story is never needlessly 'edgy' like most modern single-player Final Fantasy titles, but it is particularly dark at times;- just the way I like it. Everything that happens, happens for a reason. Pure shock value isn't used. The soundtrack is also unique, and like Panzer 1 and 2, is gorgeous and memorable. When the credits rolled and "Sona mi areru ec sancitu" started playing all I could say through teary eyes was 'wow man'. Was there anything negative? No. There really isn't. I loved it, and I'm sad that it wasn't longer, and it's an absolute shame it has the status it does where Sega lacking confidence in it pulled it from the west, leaving a theoretical maximum of 30k ENGLISH copies. More people need to experience this. This is essential playing, except its one of the most expensive games to buy due to its rarity. I regret never growing up with it. I love the world of Panzer Dragoon, and this really felt like perfection.