Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Sega's 1996 fantasy rail-shooter for the Sega Saturn, Panzer Dragoon Zwei.
Played through on the normal difficulty level. The true ending (requires every stage is completed with a 90% kill rate while taking the hardest path at every stage branch) is shown.
The original Panzer Dragoon was an incredible game, and I can't help but imagine that it couldn't have been easy designing a sequel that could stand up to it. So many times we see a fantastic game followed up by a mediocre one, but let me assure you - the Panzer Dragoon series does not fall victim to its past successes or a willingness to compromise on vision.
The second game is in many ways an equal to the first, and in some ways it far surpasses it. The story still focuses around a boy and his dragon, but it tells a different tale that's somehow even more endearing than the original one. I won't speak about it here, though, since so much of its impact lies in how its presented. It should be experienced, not spoiled. Suffice it to say, it's very good.
The gameplay systems have seen a number of upgrades that add depth without taking away any of the artful simplicity of PD's gameplay. It's still a rail-shooter, but this time you have multiple paths that can be taken within stages, a new "bezerk" power attack, and a dragon that evolves into new forms over the course of the game. His evolution reflects your performance, so you'll only get the "final" form after a lot of practice and effort.
The only complaint I can muster over the gameplay, and it's a minor one, is that the game is just too easy. The original Panzer Dragoon was known for its difficulty, and the sequel tones it down considerably. Of course it's very hard to play well enough to get the true ending, but if you like, you can cruise through the game without too much difficulty for a bad ending.
The graphics are amazing for a 1996 Saturn 3D game. The game supports widescreen (stretched), hence this video's 16:9 aspect ratio, though I should note that I scaled the video cutscenes to fill the frame. In-game they are surrounded on all 4 sides by heavy black borders so I tidied that up a bit. The animation and texture work is much smoother this time around, and the framerate has seen an impressive jump to 30fps from the original's 20fps, making everything more fluid while also improving the controls. And some of the effects on display are beyond impressive - just look at the water in the cave stage! The soundtrack is equally as excellent, with its mixture of symphonic, "ethnic," and synth instrument driven tracks, and I can't fault the sound design: the voice work and sound effects are spot on.
Panzer Dragoon Zwei is yet another of the Saturn's classic exclusives that have been relegated to obscurity and largely forgotten, but if you are a serious Saturn fan, this is truly a must-own title.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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[@NintendoComplete]

Panzer Dragoon Zwei is one of the best sequels I've ever played. It seemed impossible that they'd ever match the first game, let alone surpass it, but... well, I guess the impossible does happen sometimes. It's truly one of the must-own exclusives of the Saturn library.

[@deja-vugamer2374]

They even went further with Saga ;)

[@ebe7157]

to people who werent there day 1 for this on saturn, you cant imagine the impact it had. This game more than any other, showed that Saturn could not only keep up with PS1 but surpass it in many regards (in the right hands). This ushered in the golden age of Saturn, as brief as it was.

[@costumeninja1914]

Yes!

[@davgod9251]

11:05 one of the greatest moments in gaming

[@nobitanobi]

When I was a kid this moment was pure magic.

[@costumeninja1914]

Epic

[@RAFFIZUMZ]

yeah when i was a kid, taking that leap was mazing. Id say that boss jumping down in the jungle may be a bit greater!

[@SicketMog]

Didn't have this way back when, only the first, but bought it a few years later. Thus I haven't played it nearly as much as the first one. The demo was on the Flash 1 though, with episode 3 that I played over and over, and coming from a Famiclone before that... Well that level and the intro give me chills to this day. Major nostalgia. Edit: Looking at it now the effect of the sun shining through the forest ceiling is pretty damn cool (it always was ofcourse but even more appreciation for it now; clever use of the graphics to use the same transparency as for the radar).

[@zydomason]

41:43 I remember as a little kid I cried at this moment because I spent possibly hundreds of hours in the game and I finally managed to get the Blue Wing

[@NathanGatten]

One of my favorite games of all time. Absolute tragedy that it hasn't come to PC yet.

[@NintendoComplete]

Seriously. The game even supported the Saturn mouse. How much better of a fit could you ask for?

[@AlidarJarok1]

I just got the Japanese version of this. Made me wish I had a Saturn back when it was new. Such a great game.

[@NintendoComplete]

Have you played 1 and 3? All of them are some of the best games I've ever played. Especially 3.

[@AlidarJarok1]

Yeah I have the first one as well. I have never played Saga. I want to but the price of that is way to much.

[@katogojira7223]

Best game I ever played as a child memories ☹️

[@mspeter97]

they pulled off some pretty impressive things for such a console.

[@NintendoComplete]

For sure, they pushed the hardware hard. Even more so in the sequel.

[@desertrose1226]

The dragon is so cute!!

[@MarkCabaniss]

Here’s hoping that Sega puts the _Panzer Dragoon_ games on the Switch as part of the _Sega Ages_ line. Well, them and _NiGHTS into Dreams_. 😊

[@NintendoComplete]

They have so much good stuff that they should focus on that isn't Afterburner or Outrun. We've had enough of those (well, I could still go for Outrun 2 and Afterburner Climax, but...), but they have so many amazing IPs that they just let sit and rot.

[@MarkCabaniss]

NintendoComplete I’d also love to see games from the post-Dreamcast days be released as part of _Sega Ages_, such as _Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg_, _Super Monkey Ball_, _Beach Spikers_ (yes, really), and _Sonic Colors_ (my favorite _Sonic_ game of the lot).

[@NintendoComplete]

@@MarkCabaniss Those would be great. I'd love to see the Dreamcast's Rent A Hero and the Xbox's Panzer Dragoon Orta. And maybe Toe Jam and Earl 3. The game wasn't super great, but I'd love to play it again in HD.

[@BattlefieldRoBin]

imagine 9 months later your wish would be officially announced lol

[@PartyUpLive]

Such an Amazing game. Would love to see it relaunched, like Sega Ages games

[@shiggityx2]

Best game on the Saturn IMO.

[@summerishere2868]

Beat this game today, though before that I lost to the final boss second form. Then when I replayed the last level I was able to win by just defeating the first form... Do you know why did this happen, why didn't the second form appear?

[@blob7115]

I loved the part where gustavo and cement! 😂

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

Saturn Does...what Nintendo (64) Don't. What a lovely 64-bit title, but shame it looks way too easy!! Oh well, we can't have everything be just perfect now, can we? Every game has its flaws. If you were a bunny girl on a dragon instead, maybe this game would have sold better. But then again, neither did Keio Flying Squadron. ...A crossover between these would have been AMAZING! While we're talking crazy, just throw Parodius into the mix and...God dammit, shut up and take my money!!!

[@danielalejandro6335]

This game is awesome

[@TheGuiltsOfUs]

Wow!