Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (Sega Saturn vs Sega Saturn) Real Hardware Comparison

A side-by-side comparison of Panzer Dragoon 2 on Sega Saturn with Aspect Ratio: Normal and Widescreen.

[@vcdecide]

Some issues occurred during the capture process due to a combination of factors, such as the use of an upscaler, capture card, oxidation, analog connections, aging cables, and even a lack of attention on my part. As a result, in situations where a very bright color, like white, occupies a large portion of the screen, the capture struggles to function properly. When this happens, the capture card fails to process the information correctly, and the upscaler loses synchronization, leading to random color variations while the bright color remains on the screen in significant amounts. An example of this issue can be seen in the video during the second stage when the Dragon starts flying. At that moment, the predominance of white causes the colors to become unstable. Once the Dragon returns to the ground, the colors normalize, and the capture stabilizes. It’s important to note that this problem is not related to the game but rather to the limitations of the capture equipment when handling very bright and uniform colors on the screen. I hope this explanation clarifies the situation. These types of issues happen occasionally but do not significantly affect the overall experience. After all, the goal of this video was to showcase the widescreen mode, not color differences, as there are no cutscene discrepancies. Obviously, if the cable isn’t properly secured, gets loose, or doesn’t have full contact, there will be instability. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

[@vcdecide]

However, it's interesting to note that this game natively supports widescreen, at a time when probably 90% of players were using 4:3 TVs. This means that the vast majority probably never experienced the expanded screen of Panzer Dragoon II on the Saturn. And before anyone mentions NiGHTS as another Saturn game with widescreen support, the widescreen in NiGHTS is fake, as it simply crops the top and bottom of the screen, similar to how old 4:3 movies are adapted to 16:9 to avoid black bars on the sides. For example, the widescreen in GTA3 on the PS2 is also fake, as it works in the same way as NiGHTS on the Saturn.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

"Oxidation" one of the scariest words ever, when dealing with vintage electronics.

[@RaidenRkD]

I'm one of the lucky ones who played it on a widescreen CRT TV. A friend had one back in the mid 2000's and I just had to try it out.

[@gibsonadd1542]

What upscaler do you use?

[@Rolodzeo]

I clicked into this video very confused iniatially.

[@Jamesfo8rf]

Saturn was so underrated.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Blame the people who made it.

[@ciredecgellar8232]

Only by people who never play with ...

[@segasdreamer]

I loved the second game because they really showed what the Saturn could do for 3D more than what the first game did.

[@costumeninja1914]

First game though was an amazing launch title and the Main Reason I bought a Saturn back in the day. Still works. 2nd one to me is the most impressive 3D game in the system.

[@parappatherapper4141]

@@costumeninja1914 I feel the same, it's by far the most impressive use of all the Saturn's features, with an outstanding use of VDP2 and so on... And the Saturn had been barely 2 years out at the time. Imagine what they could have achieved in 1998-1999 had they focused more on what they should. Look at what the PS1 achieved around that time...

[@JustAnotherGamerUS]

its a tough decision but i gotta go with my gut and choose the sega saturn over the sega saturn

[@SGADRM]

This actually looks like it was designed wide-screen and compressed for standard tvs rather than being stretched for widescreen

[@shuckylad]

Wide screen looks boss.

[@segat-800]

I love this game. One of the few games to offer widescreen support back then.

[@dan_perry]

A masterpiece in either AR.

[@Beavernator]

One of my favorite games if all time... And its actual widescreen, not animorphic... Which was super rare at that time...

[@JohnCharb87]

While for the most part there's a noticeable tell between two. The fonts, energy, and health bars are larger and stretched on widescreen version. However the Dragon radar on the top right corner stays relatively the same size on both versions. I assumed the widescreen version would've been a little stretched but not the case.

[@64kram]

Love this game. Bought it off my friend in high school, and played it until I unlocked everything in Pandora's box. Was excited for a remake, but sounds like that's not going to happen now.

[@nelsonjmeloni]

A sega sempre esteve à frente de seu tempo! Esse game é fantástico!

[@stephandolby]

Love this game, but I prefer the PAL version for the slightly improved soundtrack to fit the slightly slower action. It would be interesting to see if VCDECIDE could do a comparison between the two, even if just for Destiny Begins.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

At least the actual gameplay isn't stretched and distorted.

[@flaviorpg-zeiro1133]

Cara panzer dragoon I e II do sega saturn tem um dos melhores efeitos visuais 9:35 alias chegou o momento mágico

[@SomeOrangeCat]

One of the many titles Sega lost the source code to. The only way to play this on modern hardware is through emulation.

[@costumeninja1914]

Hello sir 🎉

[@Charlie-eq3dj]

With enough time, the gaming community will reverse engineer this game and have the source code to it.

[@shaggymcdaniel3216]

Perhaps the performance is altered? The colors look a bit different. Who knows. But I’m sure we will know when you make a post comment about it. Thanks for another awesome comparison. I’ve always wanted to pick up a second mission stick to play this in that configuration.

[@albertodiez4215]

Y luego dicen que a 30fps no se puede jugar. La gente cree que sabe y no tiene ni la mas remota idea. He jugado mas a estos panzer dragoon que a todo el romset de psx junto, o casi

[@MsonicBoom]

Que game incrível!!!!!!😍

[@graalcloud]

In hindsight it's clear this game makes everything on PS1 look a generation behind

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Comments like this make Sega fans look like morons.

[@maquiztop6018]

Don't overdo it

[@graalcloud]

@@SomeOrangeCat Not really it's true so it makes me look cool and smart

[@jayclarke777]

I'm a Saturn fan as much as the next guy... But there are plenty of PS1 games (GT2, MGS, Vagrant Story, etc.), that I don't think Saturn could run.

[@graalcloud]

@@jayclarke777 Those games are only as good as they are because of developer skill under the limitations of the hardware. In no way were they helped by the PS1's rendering abilities. Same goes for the PS2 Gran Turismo games, despite running on far inferior hardware they could fool someone into thinking PS2 has better graphics than it does, and some people even thought PS2 had better graphics than Xbox and Gamecube due to it. It doesn't, the game's developer just used every trick imaginable to circumnavigate the PS2's very real limitations.

[@thiagoleitenovaes8014]

Em wide screen é possível aproveitar melhor a arte do jogo que é muito bonita.

[@FranMatsusaka]

I didn't know PDZ had a wide screen mode! Besides that, SS wins as usuall

[@NiGHTS1980]

I wonder what happened to team Andromeda. They were all in house Sega devs.

[@RaidenRkD]

They disbanded after Azel/Saga was released, and Yukio Futatsugi, the creator of the series, left Sega. Some remaining members ended up joining Smilebit, the team that later developed Orta.

[@FabricioMatiasVega9923]

@@RaidenRkD also Jet set radio 1 (DC) and 2: future (xbox)

[@ВладиславЗимин-г2ц]

SEGA опять прыгнула выше головы, игровых движков еще нет, а они уже пытаются в 3D в итоге я вижу много сплайтов которые крутятся в трех измерениях, мне кажется что в чем то это вина x32 сама игра выглядит незамысловатой, но это единственный Shoot 'em up в который я играл в эпоху 3D игр, потому что мне не нравится этот жанр правда уже на XBOX в Panzer Dragoon Orta.... Panzer Dragoon дает и погружение и при этом не доводит до стресса сложностью, потрясающее визуальное исполнение и прекрасная музыка

[@fabiojuniooliveira6862]

Na cinemática percebe-se que a versão wide está esticada

[@ribenasquash]

mucho bello.

[@costumeninja1914]

Is there anything on PlayStation, a rail shooter, comparable to Panzer Dragoon Zwei? Could PS have done a Panzer Dragoon game?

[@polynektar]

Omega Boost is the closest.

[@retroboy-fh1ji]

​​@@polynektar Wrong. Sony's answer to Panzer Dragoon 1 and 2 "Zwei" is Gamera 2000 (a japanese only on rail shooter very similar to both Panzer Dragoon). Gamera 2000 was released in 1996, the same year of PD Zwei

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Gamera 2000 comes to mind. Which for a game with Gamera in the title, you'll be disappointed to know that you do not play AS Gamera.