
The player travels through environments including canyons, deserts, forests, and subterranean ruins. In one sequence, Edge rides a hoverbike instead of the dragon. When the player explores on the dragon, this reticle is used to fire lasers to activate triggers or break objects. On foot, Edge can talk to non-player characters (NPCs), upgrade his weapons, buy items such as potions, and use a targeting reticle to interact with elements such as doors and locks. Gameplay is divided into three modes: traversing large areas on the dragon, battling enemies, and exploring on foot. The player controls Edge, a young mercenary who rides a flying dragon.

Unlike the other Panzer Dragoon games, which are rail shooters, Panzer Dragoon Saga is a role-playing video game (RPG). Several staff members joined a new Sega studio, Smilebit, and developed a fourth Panzer Dragoon game, Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002), for the Xbox. After its release, Sega disbanded Team Andromeda. The Andromeda artist Katsumi Yokota attributed the low sales to the creative spirit of the team, who were not interested in creating a mainstream product.Īlthough it became a cult classic, Panzer Dragoon Saga has never been rereleased and English copies sell for hundreds of US dollars.

As Sega had shifted focus to its Dreamcast console, Saga had a limited release in the West, and worldwide sales were poor. Panzer Dragoon Saga is one of the most acclaimed Saturn games and is often listed among the greatest video games, earning praise for its story, graphics, and combat. Two staff members died during development, which the director, Yukio Futatsugi, attributed to stressful working conditions. The project was arduous and repeatedly delayed incorporating the Panzer Dragoon shooting elements with full 3D computer graphics and voice acting, both unusual features in RPGs at the time, pushed the Saturn to its technical limits and strained team relations. Development began in early 1995 alongside Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996). Sega felt an RPG was critical to compete against the PlayStation and Final Fantasy. The player controls Edge, a young mercenary who rides a dragon and encounters a mysterious girl from a vanished civilization.

The third entry in the Panzer Dragoon series, it replaced the rail shooter gameplay of the previous games with RPG elements such as random encounters, semi- turn-based battles and free-roaming exploration. Panzer Dragoon Saga, known in Japan as Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG, is a 1998 role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Team Andromeda and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn.
