There is always something special in the games we played when we were children that we could not find with modern games.
I do not mean that gaming is not getting better over the years. Modern games are much superior to the older games, in various ways. But there is also that 1st game influence that stuck to our brain, just like they leave a mark in for our whole life.
My childhood favorite - Panzer Dragoon
In my case, the game is Panzer Dragoon. It initially launched way back in 1995. At that time, I was having my sweet teenager time.
I tried the game for the first time on a Sega Saturn of a friend, then got one on PC for myself in 1997. Panzer Dragoon got all my love from a teen. Undoubtedly, the protagonist going about with his life when luck gets him to the adventure together with a dragon. It was of the on-rails shooter genre, a pretty big thing back then.
Moreover, I love the soundtrack in that game, which was composed by Yoshitaka Azuma. I still keep listening to it until today.
I could say that this game summed up all of the offerings of the Sega Saturn console, but sadly that system was doomed to fail.
Panzer Dragoon featured a new and fresh cinematic style to the console world which was not a thing back then. 1995 was also the time when the gaming industry was moving from 2D to 3D graphics. Panzer Dragoon also followed that trend to feature a 3D great adventure that I enjoyed so much.
Sega built this game from the base up to show off the graphics rendering capability of the mighty Sega Saturn, but it would become a victim of the PlayStation of Sony. So instead of an empire, we only got a few more games in the franchise before it faded out.
An odd promise delivered
Yukio Futatsugi (the creator of this game) said that they wanted to make the game softer than other titles of the time. That is why they opted for the idea of dragons rather than the original design of driving vehicles.
It worked out. Apparently, he also remembered about being too invested in the dragons back then. Something is exciting and terrifying about the dragons that make the whole things worked on the scale that wouldn't have happened if we drove a vehicle instead. I think that there has never been a game that could live up to the promise that this game has displayed. It went on a console that could not keep it up with the competition but became a remarkable indication of the future direction of game design.
Nintendo is bringing it back
Now, the game is making a come back, to all of my surprises. Just a few days ago, during the Direct Event of Nintendo at this year E3, they revealed that they are remaking Panzer Dragoon for the Switch. Admittedly, this remake going to bring lots of improved controls and graphics to the title. They will bring this classic game up to the standards today.
However, I still hope that they keep the old soundtrack.
I realize that Panzer Dragoon must seem somewhat quaint in comparison to games these days. Nowadays, we have games like Monster Hunter, where you could combat gigantic beasts. Skyrim also features dragons, and there are too many titles out there that full of enormous creatures that you can befriend or fight.
But I hope that they could try Panzer Dragoon out. The game is much more than just a simple on-rails shooter game. And there was a good reason for it to achieve its current cult-classic status.
We still don't know the release date for this game yet, but I expect to see it in late 2019. I cannot wait to go back to the game again.
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