Panzer Dragoon Orta (1 Viewer)

[Chris Flynn]

Woohoo! Panzer Dragoon XXX!

 

[Romier S]

Gimme a little bit guys and Ill post a synopsis of the story for you. At least something to get you started.

 

[Romier S]

Ok, easiest place to begin here would be with Panzer Dragoon Zwie. The second game in the series. The game is essentially a prequel to the first game and deals with the story of Lundi and Lagi.
Lundi was the first dragon rider in the Panzer Dragoon series (storyline wise). He was raised and has lived a majority of his life in a village that specialize in Coolia breeding (a bi-pedal animal used for farming essentially). He also harbors a secret. He protects a small dragon that has been named Lagi.
From the text given throughout the opening of the game it seems Dragon's are hunted and outlawed by the Empire yet revered by the people of the land as gods. Lundi has a special relationship with this dragon yet he doesn't seem to understand why...
During the intro of the game you will witness the appearance of the Ancient battleship known as Shellcoof. This battleship rains lightning upon Lundi's village and decimates his home. Along with the appearance of Shellcoof comes the appearance of another Dragon which seems linked to the battleship in some way. What is the purpose of this new Dragon?
The ancient battleship has immeasurable power and comes under the attention of the Empire which seeks to find said ship quickly and if needed destroy it. Lundi meanwhile, enraged over the destruction of his village vows revenge and with the help of his Dragon begins to track the whereabouts of Shellcoof. In Panzer Dragoon Saga (the third game of the series) you will find many books called "The Diary of the Dragon Rider" which esentially is the diary of Lundi as he tracks Shellcoof and encounters the adventures that you play through in Panzer Dragoon Zwie. These books provide great insight into the power of Shellcoof and how it literally decimates thousands of Imperial troops as they try to destroy the ship. You discover that the empire eventually abandons the search for Shellcoof with the hopes of no longer losing anymore of its forces.
The last level of Panzer Dragoon Zwie is Lundi's discovery of Shellcoof and his destruction of the battleship (along with the destruction of the Dragon protecting Shellcoof) with the help of a full grown Lagi. It should be noted that as you begin the game you will ride on the back of Lagi as small adolescent Dragon who cannot yet fly. Lagi's evolution will depend on how good you are at playing the game (higher hit percentage so forth so on). If you are very good Lagi will eventually evolve into whats referred to as the "Solo-wing" Dragon. Which is the dragon form/blue winged Dragon from the original Panzer Dragoon (Remember Zwie is the prequel). This lends credence to the theory that the Dragon from the first game and Lagi from Zwie are the very same creature. (this is the accepted storyline for almost all PD fans).
At the end of Panzer Dragoon Zwie Lagi rewards Lundi with a vision. This vision believe it or not shows Lundi his eventual future and more. Interestingly these are events that will occur in the very first game! More to the point, Lagi shows Lundi essentially what happens in the first Panzer Dragoon! Lagi exhausted from the battle eventually loses his strength and it can be theorized that the Dragon lays dormant in the wreckage of Shellcoof for a time. Which leads me to the storyline for the first Panzer Dragoon....
The first Panzer Dragoon game begins with the Empire finding and apparently taking control of a "Tower". The Towers are an ancient device that hold unmentionable power (will explain later). It seems the Tower is calling out to something in the world and its something thats not explained until the very end of the first game.
During the opening cut scene you see a young man named Kyle, hunting on the back of a Coolia with three friends. He eventually becomes separated from his compatriots and comes across a cave that houses some very strange ruins (It can be theorized that Kyle finds the remains of Shellcoof). Inside these ruins he is attacked by an ancient beast. On the brink of death a blue "solo-wing" Dragon breaks into the cave in deep pursuit of something as of yet unseen. The Dragon saves Kyle and as he exits the cave he bears witness to the Black Dragon and its rider fleeing from the blue solo-wing. A battle ensues between the two until the Black Dragon fires and kills the blue rider. The blue rider hands Kyle his gun and much like Lagi shows Kyle a vision of the future. This vision is a plea for Kyle to stop the Black Dragon from reaching the Tower. (Some more alternate story for you hear. It has been theorized by many fans that the blue rider (known in the game as the "Sky Rider") is in fact Lundi (Now a Seeker, we'll get to that) from Zwie fulfilling his destiny according to Lagi's vision. Supporting that theory is the fact that gun that the Sky rider hands Kyle is the *EXACT* same gun Lundi used in Zwie).
Kyle now with a new mission proceeds to hunt the Black Dragon all the way to the Tower itself. He avoids the imperial forces and finally confronts the Black Dragon in front of the Tower. The Dragon enters the tower and emerges as a huge abomination. A creature of total power that must be destroyed. (The final boss battle). Kyle eventually defeats the creature and the story is seemingly over but there is more. This "more" is revealed in teh next game which is aptly set after the events of the first Panzer Dragoon.
This game is known as Panzer Dragoon Saga and it really fleshes out the story of the Dragons, the Towers and more. Here is a great synopsis for the beginning of the game which will save me time writing it:
Edge is a young lad who works as a fledgling guard for the Empire, protecting miners in an excavation site for ancient artifacts. He's bored to death. The guards don't even know why they're still working there; Edge asks his friend Rhua who tells him that they're maybe not supposed to know - inquiring will probably shorten your life expectancy quite dramatically. An alert from inside the mine causes the guards to grab their weapons and enter the tunnels. They discover an ancient armour-clad monster, unlike the usual weak creatures that they fight, and it's hungry for human blood. Edge's bullets just bounce of its shell. His captain, wounded, shouts at Edge to run. Edge can quite plainly see his Captain and Rhua in trouble. To his right, he spots a heavy duty mining cannon, and runs to it as his captain angrily questions his motives. Edge hauls the huge gun onto his back, but a fast clawed lunge by the creature hits the nearby platform, sending Edge flying backwards. He grabs the gun and runs to his right, into an obvious dead end, just as the creature saunters up onto the platform that he is on. He reaches the dead end, and turns to aim the gun, but the creature lunges again, narrowly missing Edge's head as it rips upward through the wall, knocking a hole in the ceiling. As Edge's covers his eyes from the dust, the monster waits so it can see him. It suddenly raises its claws, and as Edge opens his eyes, everything goes white. He sees a girl's face. He opens his eyes again as the vision fades and turns around to see a fossil of a sleeping girl. Edge is stunned by her beauty, but a call from his Captain alerts him to the fact that the monster is behind him. He scrambles to pick the gun up, and the creature raises its claws just as his captain tells him to shoot out the floor below the beast. As its claw descends towards Edge, he manages to fire the gun from his sitting position, smashing the nearby floor into pieces in a fury of smoke, sending the creature down into the lower reaches of the ruins, crashing into platforms on the way. Edge lets the gun drop to his side and he pants for air. He looks to his left, then suddenly puts the gun down and stands up to see his friends. His captain says that they should get out of there because the beast cannot be dead.
As they walk into the brightness that is outside, Edge as their support, the captain is suddenly flung back by the impact of a shotgun bullet. As Edge cries in horror, a maniacal laugh is heard. The gunman stands there alongside his leaders, just laughing at what he has just done. Rhua looks into the sky and sees an airship, and immediately looks at the insignia. Empire? As he tries to tell them that they're on their side, the gunman shoots him as well, which is even more horrifying to Edge. The leader tells the gunman, Zastava, to leave the people alone. They seem to be here for something. Edge, in shock from what he has just seen, tries to ask why they have attacked, and then begins to mention something about what is inside the ruins. The leader turns and, in a rather shocked tone, asks "You saw her?". Edge replies "Yes, there was a girl..." before being silenced by the butt of a gun. The squad head inside, leaving two wounded and one unconscious man outside.
As Edge comes round, his face to the ground, he looks up and sees his comrades. They're not moving. He then hears something and turns his head to see an ascending airship. He looks down and sees the girl's fossil hanging from the bottom - they're stealing her! Edge scrambles to his feet and chases the ship along the nearby bridge. As he runs along in rage, he hears that same evil cackle again, and looks to his right as he stops running. Zastava raises up on his craft, and immediately shoots Edge, who falls down into the canyon.
Craymen has been up to other things. Soon after, an artifact in the Academy of the Imperial Capital, sabotaged by Craymen, explodes, and as a result the entire city is levelled by a massive ball of heat. The Emperor, obviously not in the city at the time, is convinced of Craymen's involvement in the city's demise, and orders that he be hunted down using their flagship, Grig Orig.
When he comes to in the lake below, Edge finds that he's not injured and comes to the conclusion that he was spared by some force. He looks around, trying to find a way to return to the surface, and finds an elevator. Searching for the method to unlock the elevator, he looks up to his right and sees a dragon's crest on the wall. Baffled by its being there, he looks around and finds an ancient gun. He unlocks the elevator and rides it to where, he presumes, is the surface. The lift stops, revealing another dark area, and he looks around. He suddenly hears a bone hit the floor, and turns around to see multiple red, glowing eyes staring at him from the darkness. He hears movement as the beasts move towards him. He's seen them before - they're the same as the creature he fought earlier. He reaches for the gun he found. However, as he aims and attempts to fire, nothing happens. He shakes the gun, and then looks towards the enemy again. He backs off to the edge of the elevator. Just at the right time, a scream from above accompanies the bright light of several homing missiles which immediately obliterate the threat. Edge looks around at the charred remains of what would certainly have been his killers, and suddenly a swooping beats flies past him and down past the elevator. Edge, who has covered his face, moves his arms away, and looks behind him to the edge of the elevator. He looks down to see what it was. Suddenly, a dragon swoops up, causing Edge to fall backwards and on to the floor. It flies towards him and lands very close to him. As they look into each other's eyes, the dragon initiates a mind-meld with Edge. Edge sees visions of the future, and flashbacks from years gone by. When the visions end, he realises where he is and the incredible experience he has just had. He asks the beast if he has been chosen, to which it rears its head and shrieks a form of acknowledgement. He gets up, and the dragon lowers its head. Edge clambers onto its neck, and it then begins to fly vertically, out of the abyss.
He returns to the excavation site, and finds his Captain dying. The captain says that the man responsible for the attack was Craymen - leader of the Empire's Black Fleet, now turned renegade. He directs him to his pocket where Edge finds a map of the continent. As he inquires to what it is, he realizes that his captain has died. Edge breaks down in shock and swears that Craymen will pay for his treachery.
Edge and his dragon set off through the valley in pursuit of Craymen, but this is only the start of the adventure. His objectives are complicated by the Emperor's desire to hunt both him and Craymen, and ultimately his perception of the truth becomes clouded. Is Craymen really evil? Why did the dragon choose him? But more importantly, who was that strange girl in the ruins that Craymen wanted so badly..?
You wanna hear the best part about that syopsis. Thats only the first cut scene of Panzer Dragoon Saga!!. It would take me a millenium to get into the nuances of the story for Panzer Dragoon Saga. There are allot of religous overtones in the game. You will find a boatload of books throughout this adventure that will explain the belief systems for everyone from the Empire to the Seekers.
Edge eventually in his journey will encounter a man named Ghash. Ghash and Edges relationship is very important as they become very close friends. Ghash is a Seeker, which is basically a rogue type clan that specializes in "stealing" ancient artifacts from the Empire (They see themselves as protectors of these artifacts). You save Ghash from a large creature in the beginning of the game and he leads you to small camp of settlers that give you some clues as to how to track Craymen and his ship.
Eventually near the end of the first disc you will catch up to Craymens ship. Your Dragon makes quick work of his attack ships and you decimate his fleet. Finally Edge boards the main ship to exact his revenge on Craymen but the man is nowhere to be found. Suddenly Edge is suprised by the presence of an immense Dragon staring at him through the viewer on the ship. This Dragon is Atholm.
If youll notice Athom also has a rider. To Edges utter suprise this rider is none other than the girl who was found in the ruins!!! She is called Azel and you must do battle with Atholm or die.
After narrowly escaping with his life Edge proceeds to search for Craymen and in his journeys he again meets with Ghash. The Empire is hot on his tracks and the appearance of Azel complicates things for him since apparently he has developed feelings for this girl.
Now I'm not going to give every last detail of the story here but I will however give you the gist of it all...
The Towers again come into play in Panzer Saga, much more than any of the other games. Its seems these towers are an ancient defense mechanism to protect the planet itself against any intruders. The Towers restore life to the environment and even produce and send creatures out for defensive purposes. The interesting part? These Towers consider humanity to be intruders and part of thier purpose is to extinguish human life if necessary. (These towers were built by "The Ancients" who orchestrated all of this).
Edge discovers more and more about the towers and even discovers that the Dragons are actually keepers and defenders of the Towers (This is my theory, though many also subscribe to it). The Dragons themselves are all part of one another. Think if the Dragons as The Borg, one big collective with individual parts. To understand the towers you need to understand Sestren. Sestren is called the "Keeper of the Towers". He/It is the one power that controls the Towers themselves. Disciples of Sestren are called Azel Sestren or "Drones". I will give you one big spoiler here and tell you that Azel (the girl) is no human, she herself is a "Drone" (Kind of an Android). These Drones purpose is of course to worship and aid Sestren himself. Edge again is marred with conflict here because throughout the game he is falling in love with Azel.
Sestren intends to carry out the "Will of the Ancients". Which if the the story is to be followed closely is the annhilation of the human race. Of course it is Edges journey to destroy Sestren (which you do in the final boss battle along with the anit-dragons). One of the many questions posed at the finale of the game is what a happened to Edge and the Dragon? Ghash predicts that the world will be freed from the Will of the Ancients by the Divine Visitor. Here is some insight as to what happened to Edge and the Dragon.
Now the ending of the game confuses this some but there theories as to who the Diving Visitor really is. Ghash tells Edge that the Divine Visitor is the Dragon himself. The curious thing is that the in the game the Dragon speaks to Edge and tells him that he is not the Diving Visitor. The Visitor is of an outside world. Getting the hints yet? One of the most believed the theories on the this is that you the player are the Divine Visitor who destroyed Sestren and freed thier world. Pretty neat huh?.
Heres an excerpt from a gentleman who wrote allot about this thoery (which I find to be the best explanation) that explains a good bit (Major Spoilers):
If you remember the opening videos to Panzer Dragoon Saga you will remember that Zastava, one of Craymen's soldiers, shoots Edge and he falls into the chasm but a ball of light saves his life. Notice that the light ball goes into him right after you enter your name? You, the Divine Visitor, "the soul who dwells inside Edge" as the dragon says, is the one who saved Edge! But did the Divine one really save him or was he not really living, just being kept alive? This is where some guess work comes in, and my guess is the latter - Edge actually died, right at the start of the game but the Divine Visitor was keeping him alive by being inside of him. When the game ends the player leaves the world of Panzer Dragoon leaving Edge to rest in peace.
What about the Dragon (again from the same source):
When the dragon says "Now... press the button, for a new beginning" then the Divine Visitor has to destroy the dragon and leave Edge so the world could be freed from the will of the ancients. The dragon had to be destroyed (along with all other dragons) because the will of the ancients was with him at the end so it's possible that he may have become a new Sestren (although I'm probably going a little too deep here) if the Divine Visitor hadn't destroyed him. The other belief I have is that the Divine Visitor just destroyed his body and the dragon went into hibernation, simular to what happened to Lagi at the end of Panzer Dragoon II Zwei. This last idea is more realistic, but both could have happened.
Those are some excellent thoeries on the what really happened to Edge and I immediately agreed with allot of them after I completed the game which is why I posted them here. Another question is what happened to Azel at the end? Did Edge exact his revenge on Craymen? What was Craymens purpose and why was he after Azel? Who is Ghash and how can he know and predict these things to happen? Sorry, I aint telling because I refuse to give it all away. If Sega does rerelease the game in the future you wil be happy I withheld allot of this information from you as you still have allot of story to delve through.
Now with Orta the really interesting questions arise. Who is Orta and why was she chosen as a rider?(I know and I aint telling). How is thier a new Dragon if Sestren and the Towers were destroyed? Is there a new Sestren? Who is the shadowy figure that resembles Azel? Is it a new Drone? You can see how the storyline would become interesting...
Also as a side note, all of the spoken dialogue in Panzer series is spoken in Panzer-ese. Its a language that is similiar to Japanese. Its very unique and gives the games a very other-worldly feeling since they are speaking thier own language. Can't wait to hear it again Orta.
Hopefully this plot synopsis will help others understand why so many people love this series. Its not just the gameplay, the beautiful art direction and graphics or the music. (those help). Its the fantastic story that really keeps us coming back and its why I and many others would give a right arm to see a sequel to Panzer Dragoon Saga released. So in conclusion get out there and buy Orta so we can see the series continue!
EDIT: Corrected numerous spelling errors.

 

[Romar Armas]

Wow, thanks for the great Recap!! I'm getting goosebumps just reading that. I think I'm going to bust out my Saturn again and play the PD series all over again in preparation for ORTA!! Thanks again.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Romier, you've done it again! What a compelling story; thanks so much for sharing it with us. I have already made up my mind to pick up a Dreamcast so I can play the original Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, et al. Looks like I need to find a Saturn as well! No wonder so many people are excited about Orta.
Great job, man. That must have taken half the night to write! Camp is right, we definitely need to find a way to get you in the biz...

 

[Andre F]

Wow! Nice job Romier!

 

[Romier S]

That must have taken half the night to write! Camp is right, we definitely need to find a way to get you in the biz...

Nah, not at all. Took about an hour and 45 minutes all together (I wrote it this morning). Kind of why I just revisited it and corrected the NUMEROUS spelling errors and grammar booboo's.
As for the second half, trust me I'm working on it!
Edit: Thanks for the kind words guys! Anything to get people hyped up for Orta.

 

[Edan W]

Wow Romier, what a read! I actually had to grab a snack half way through . After reading your synopsis, I'm anticipating the arrival of this game even more. Games that have deep, well thought out storylines like this to go along with great action, graphics, etc. make me invest so much more into the experience. I appreciate the effort that went into putting that overview together, thanks!

 

[Andre F]

Thanks for the kind words guys! Anything to get people hyped up for Orta.

Sega is great for putting games like this together. I'm definately getting this one!

 

[Romier S]

By the way guys, Ill be posting like 2-3 MP3's from Saga's soundtrack here so you guys can get an idea of what type of music to expect from the game (Same group is doing the music for Orta).

 

[Romar Armas]

I have several mp3's of Panzer Dragoon too. Love the music. I was disappointed in the lack of music in the Demo because the music creates the atmosphere of the game.

 

[Dan B]

Thanks much for that post, Romier. That has really got me fired up to learn more about the series. I can't wait. I feel like I really missed out on playing the earlier games in the series now.


-Dan

 

[Romar Armas]

http://www.tokyopia.com/reviews.asp?reviewsid=30
Review about the PDO demo.

 

[Dan B]

Now Gamespot has got on the ball & started a "The History of Panzer Dragoon" feature. Here is their first installment:
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/feature...oon/index.html
-Dan "buy Sega's games!" B.
P.S. Romier, will you be posting those Panzer MP3s before or after you post your Blinx review? Just kidding, my friend.

 

[Romier S]

P.S. Romier, will you be posting those Panzer MP3s before or after you post your Blinx review? Just kidding, my friend.

Actually thanks for reminding me, with the wave of new games and threads I forgot to add this in:
2 of my favorite tracks from the Panzer Dragoon Saga Soundtrack:
This track can be heard as you fly your dragon through the valeys that begin the game. Its very soothing and exemplifies the style the of music that Panzer has been known for:
Panzer Dragoon Saga MP3 #1
This is by far my favorite track on the soundtrack. It is the music that plays at the introduction to the game as wel as during your very first battle with Atholm. It exciting and yet retains that serene feeling:
Panzer Dragoon Saga MP3 #2
PS As for that Blinx review, check your PM tommorrow.

 

[Dan B]

As for that Blinx review, check your PM tommorrow

Did you send it, cuz I didn't get it. I'm starting to feel really bad about bugging you so much.

 

[Dan B]

IGN is also doing a Panzer Dragoon feature, "Panzer Periodical", and they've started it off with a bunch of new movies of PD: Orta here:
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/378/378435p1.html
-Dan

 

[Dave Cukina]

Romier I read through the synopsis and because of you I'm going to get this game as soon as its released. I really had no interest in the game at all but the story is so damn interesting I have to see how it all turns out..until the next game anyway
Dave

 

[Benjamin_L]

OK, OK, I'm pumped already!

Serioualy, I haven't anticipated playing a game this much since the expansion/epilogue to Baldur's Gate II came out. And graphically, that was a whooole different kettle of fish.

Romier: That's definitely one hell of a storyline (reminds me of the goofy old NES game... either Chrysalis or Chrystalis). Check out footage #9 from the previous link for a shot of what may be a brief shot of those naughty towers... not to mention a totally fiendish thingie!


Many of the early 'footage' shots I'd caught before, but at least #9 (and possibly the higher numbered ones) are brand new, and not to mention ABSOLUTELY FRELLING INCREDIBLE! Frankly if part of that clip wasn't a shot of the end boss battle I have no idea how they can top that spectacle!

Dan, thanks for the link!

Check it out now, all of you!

 

[Kami]

There's some gorgeous screenshots in this thread:
http://forums.teamxbox.com/showthrea...5&pagenumber=3
Go about halfway down the page. Maybe you guys have seen them before, but I haven't. Very nice.