Exploring the Lore of Panzer Dragoon

An often overlooked part of the Panzer Dragoon series is the wealth of story surrounding the games. With this one I hope to somewhat decently chronicle the stories of the world and the games within the series.
A massive thank you to the efforts of the community for preserving all the information and making it readily accessible.
Panzer Dragoon Legacy:
www.panzerdragoonlegacy.com/
Panzer Dragoon Wiki:
panzerdragoon.fandom.com/wiki...
Emperial City artwork by Tyler Edlin:
www.artstation.com/tyleredlinart
Livestream: / gilluria
Twitter: / gilluriattv
An extra thank you to my friend Tark from Tark's Gauntlet for the help with the script for the video and for keeping me motivated!
/ tarksgauntlet
#panzerdragoon #sega #retro
Timestamps:
0:00 - 2:30 Intro
2:30 - 3:43 Opening
3:44 - 9:11 Order and Terminology
9:11 - 16:17 The Ancient Age and The Empire
16:17 - 23:15 Panzer Dragoon Zwei
23:15 - 29:00 Panzer Dragoon
29:00 - 49:36 Panzer Dragoon Saga
49:36 - 58:04 Panzer Dragoon Orta
58:04 - 59:23 Closing

[@Gilluria]

Small addendum: When covering the forest area of the original Panzer Dragoon I refer to the fortress as a pure-type, whereas it should be an Imperial battleship. Hopefully that clears up some minor inconsistencies.

[@claydogg234]

It's astounding how what began as a railshooter project became such a well fleshed out universe and story.

[@augustday9483]

When I played Panzer Dragoon Orta as a child, its bizarre world and unique aesthetic held me absolutely enthralled. To this day there are few settings that have captured my imagination in the same way this world has.

[@dan_perry]

To me this was the greatest IP to come out of the 32-bit generation. Thank you for this great compilation! I for one would love to see this incredible story made into a movie.

[@Gilluria]

Or maybe a series? Gives it a bit more room to breathe in the right hands!

[@KOTEBANAROT]

Amazing video. If i were to describe Panzer Dragoon in a few words i would call it "Dune if it had a heart".

[@Gilluria]

Thanks!

[@princepjohnson]

Wow. THIS is the best breakdown of the series lore. Amazing job!

[@Gilluria]

Thank you!

[@MagillanicaLouM]

This series is so enthralling. When i first gave it a curious looking into i wasn't expecting such majesty in world crafting and profound lore. Wish the series was made more available in modern times but thanks for this video as a good rundown for someone born just a smidgen too late to enjoy Panzer Dragoon firsthand lol

[@Gilluria]

If I recall correctly most of the PD games emulate quite well if you want to check them out. Despite covering a lot of the story there is still so much more to explore!

[@explosivehotdogs]

A local game shop was my only avenue for playing the first one at release. Then a friend got a Saturn and we played the 2nd one quite a bit on his grandfather's big screen over school holidays... the amazingness of Zwei when it first came out cannot be understated (IMHO). Thanks for the synopsis of Saga + Orta as well; unfortunately didn't get around to them but the world still fascinates me ~25 years later.

[@Gilluria]

The lore of PD is such a fascinating thing to dive into. Thanks for checking out the video. Hope it fueled some nostalgia

[@archmagosdeciuskronen1501]

The world of Panzer Dragoon has dominated my mind since it released. What fascinates me is the Empire, it's technology and it's goals, ideals and structure

[@Gilluria]

For something that is largely a series of rail shooter games that can be completed in under 2 hours, the games certainly offer a vast level of depth to all the factions and lore

[@Loinscurvey]

the music and atmosphere of this series holy balls

[@Gilluria]

It's incredible!

[@explosivehotdogs]

Agreed, and to even go so far as to create an artificial language for the world... Team Andromeda et al really did something incredible. And don't get me started on the soundtracks !

[@josephforjoseph]

Incredible documentation and record of the Panzer Dragoon world. Thank you for making this video and fleshing out fully the massive well of info of this series.

[@Gilluria]

Thank you very much!

[@hellwashere3821]

Thanks for doing this, this game must never be forgotten, its an absolute gem of a series. Nothing quite like it..

[@Gilluria]

You're very welcome! Thanks for checking the video

[@Beavernator]

After fully playing through the Horizon Zero Dawn games. I realized just HOW much they straight up borrowed from the Panzer Series... 👁👄👁

[@TKUltra971]

As one childhood fan of this underrated and forgotten series we thank you! Thanks for explaining the story and its setting. You helped me fill in gaps that just couldn't be conveyed at the time due to the console era they were created in and the graphical limitations.

[@Gilluria]

It's an incredible world to visit. I'd love to see the quadrilogy be released for modern systems at some point so more people get to explore it!

[@ToastyHeresStreamArchive]

"How japanese would you like your story?" "Yes"

[@Gilluria]

And yet, this is ONLY the riders stories

[@zydomason]

You've done a fantastic job covering the lore of Panzer Dragoon series. It's my all time favorite game and while it may sound silly it has defined my childhood. I probably played 1st and Zwei more than 100 times, and saga at least 3 times. Some people might be disappointed in how this whole series is underrated and widely unknown but I like to think it's a kind of an Easter egg that once uncovered, makes you feel like you've found something of immense value. It is a hidden gem and to relieve the experience of Panzer Dragoon universe is a privilege. I pray Yukio Futatsugi will have a chance to make one more game in the series while he's still alive. I think he once said he would like the series to have a clear closure. Unfortunately we will never get a good remake, especially of Saga.

[@Gilluria]

Thank you! Who knows with the remake of Zwei somewhere on some unknown horizon. A lot of the more challenging mechanics to replicate have been deconstructed within other engines now, such as the morphing. So there's always a possibility!

[@IronBearVA]

Thank you for not letting this be forgotten. Such an epic game! I played this so many times, printing out guides and secrets. The Panzer Dragoon series is a favorite of mine. The art and music is top notch as well. Played the remake and now I need the other two to release. Praying for that day 😂

[@Gilluria]

This series is absolutely mesmerizing. Thanks for watching!

[@alinasir-py4np]

I love the music so much in saga it’s definitely my top soundtrack of all time

[@altrogeruvah]

Wow, that was truly incredible, thank you for taking the time to create such an amazing video. After having finished all three Panzer Dragoon games on the Saturn, I spent so much going down the rabbit hole of its lore, being so deep and complex I had to take some time offline to process.

[@Gilluria]

Thank you!

[@timoratus_music]

Found this video while doing reseach for a song by our sludge band, Azell. Great work!

[@Gilluria]

Thanks!

[@BayouCityAstronomy]

I know this will never happen, but I would love to experience an open world RPG based during the time of the ancients, of all the events that led up the world that we see in the trilogy. That has the potential to something truly spectacular. Sega holding onto the rights of this IP, I fear this will never happen though. One can only dream...

[@Gilluria]

Who knows? Maybe the remakes gain enough traction to revitalize the series again.

[@drunkensailor112]

The ancients never was a real time period. They are basically the developers.

[@MsTatakai]

A open world with the combat system of zwei or saga ?

[@BayouCityAstronomy]

@@MsTatakai If I had my way, it could be a combination. Perhaps when fighting with the protagonist on foot, it would be real time like the Final Fantasy remake. Combat while riding a dragon, or airship should be as it is in Saga. I'm no game dev but that would be fun to me, not sure how it would be received by the general public.

[@MsTatakai]

@@BayouCityAstronomy I prefer Final fantasy ATB style but on panzer dragoon i prefer the Zwei one...

[@CRedd9830]

Finally a nice condensed Panzer Dragoon lore video on KZbin and it's amazing!!! This is my favorite series of all time, the lore being a huge factor in that. Great job!!!

[@Gilluria]

Thanks for checking it out! The world is extremely fascinating to delve into!

[@marielle8986]

Crazy to now know just how deep the lore goes within this series. I never expected there'd be so much to these games. It's pretty amazing, super interesting. I'm impressed, well done.

[@Gilluria]

In general they implemented far more than they would've needed to make a fun rail shooter. Zwei and Saga really open everything up in terms of worldbuilding and lore, it's great!

[@dustingd1]

This was wonderful. Brought a tear to my eye. I hope we see this universe again.

[@Gilluria]

I hope so as well

[@kadosho02]

Fantastic coverage, of the vast lore within this amazing series. I should add, there is an additional connection to another long running Sega series as well.

[@Gilluria]

Thank you

[@maksymushka]

How does this not have way more views?

[@Gilluria]

Thank you!

[@magundah14]

Great video! I just finished Orta again and was wondering if anyone made a complete recap of the lore. Glad I found you :)

[@Gilluria]

Hey, thanks for checking out the video. Hope you had a blast with Orta!

[@NIGH11]

Did not expect to see the algorithm finally send something I wanted to see much less panzer ! Great video !

[@Gilluria]

Sometimes the algorithm just lore dumps! Thanks for checking it out.

[@Kazzastuntplane]

Beautiful video, thank you sir

[@Gilluria]

Thank you!

[@robb3633]

This is amazing work. You have me nostalgic enough to set everything up for a game of Saga.

[@Gilluria]

Hell yes!

[@jonhatanlopez8622]

It's was beautiful, thanks for making this video

[@Gilluria]

Thanks for watching it!

[@neerajkonyala]

These games have everything to become "iconic"

[@Gilluria]

Here's hoping the remakes will do well enough to warrant a complete rerelease of the series

[@princeofmisrule775]

Amazing and so well done. Thank you

[@Gilluria]

Thank you!

[@WildWestSushi]

Amazing video! I got to know Panzer Dragoon saga through its music, and since then was interested in the series

[@Gilluria]

Thank you! The music for Saga does an excellent job at complimenting the games vibe. Excellent game as well

[@MsTatakai]

Dayum the lore of one of my favorite sega saturn games... its like matrix =o

[@Gilluria]

Time to get red pilled!

[@alinasir-py4np]

Orta is 21 years old , I wish they would make a sequel and make it an rpg Ike saga

[@AlessandroSchiassi]

Great video!

[@Gilluria]

Thanks!

[@blueroman460]

Very cool video!

[@Gilluria]

Thanks!

[@alinasir-py4np]

This game and SOTC have the best worlds and atmosphere, and I would put the panzer world ahead of sotc

[@See4urSelf]

Interesting stuff. Seems i already knew some of the music, without knowing it was from Panzer Dragoon.

[@Gilluria]

The soundtracks are great!

[@alinasir-py4np]

Sega needs to make a new panzer dragoon game it’s been over 20 years since orta

[@charlesanthony6368]

awesome job dude, ne rai..

[@Gilluria]

Thanks!

[@alinasir-py4np]

Saga is my goat

[@yanwain9454]

this was good but it seems like a huge chunk of information about the towers, their purpose and the puretypes was repeated twice

[@bobross7977]

>ancient race engineers bio-mutants to control and cull the populace for the "greater good". And I, the divine visitor, must do the lords work in eradicating these monsters Just finished saga for the first time in years and is team Andromeda saying what I think they're saying 🧐

[@Kenlo2023]

Great job. Thank you.

[@Gilluria]

Thanks for watching!

[@mattcy6591]

Bluepoint Games pls...

[@madmachanicest9955]

So your playing the bad guy cool

[@Gilluria]

A bit of yes, a bit of no

[@TarksGauntlet]

Great job dude! Just the type of video series fans will love to find I bet! But on that note, I'm leaving a dislike for it being under 60 minutes. Shame. (That's sarcasm, just in case anybody can't tell.)

[@Gilluria]

Thanks man! And thanks again for helping me stay sane throughout the process.

[@firebrony101]

But at the end of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, if you get 90% or more accuracy in all levels, Lagi will morph into the blue dragon from the first game, implying that he is the same dragon in both games. not just a re-incarnation.

[@Gilluria]

Reincarnation is a loose word in this case. Considering the dragon itself is a program. It isn't confirmed whether the dragons are the same, but generally the form the dragon program takes has a similar end result. So it could be that they are the same dragon or the same program.

[@firebrony101]

@@Gilluria also, in Panzer Dragoon: Remake, if you pause when the Dragon is about to fire his laser breath and go into photo mode, we can see the glow from the blue lasers is coming from his throat, which matches up with the glow in Lagi's throat.

[@normbreakingclown676]

Gash is the best character

[@lisun5804]

Time for panzer dragoon saga 2 not another shooter or remake , a full sequel to PDS

[@Gilluria]

Would be curious to see. The format leans well towards an Ancient Age prequel of sorts. Modern systems could allow for some grand setpieces