3ERSS PanZwei

Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei is Team Andromeda's impressive follow-up to
the game that revolutionized the rail-shooter genre. Zwei (which means
two in German) is the prequel to Panzer Dragoon, and it improves on the
original in every way.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the human race barely survived
the wars wreaked on them by the bioweapons (genetically-altered
creatures) they created, the renewed civilizations of the Panzer
universe are now excavating ancient weapons as they fight for control.
Although humans have tamed some of the creatures, which they use for
transport and manual labor, they still live in fear of the past. Thus, they
have adopted a strict code calling for all creatures born with a blue-
white light in their throats to be killed.

In the village of Elpis a boy named Lundi has violated the code, raising
one of the feared creatures in secret. He names the winged creature
Lagi. One year later Lundi takes Lagi out for a ride to test his wings
when he witnesses an Imperial (one of the factions of humans fighting
for power) battleship nukes his entire village. In response Lagi emits a
series of blue-white lasers from his mouth; and thus, we learn why the
creatures were feared by the villagers. His home destroyed, Lundi rides
Lagi in a chase after the battleship.

For those intrigued by the Panzer plot: Zwei's storyline fits in with the
original Panzer Dragoon in that the featured dragons in both games are
the same. That is, Zwei provides the background story for Lagi, the
dragon in Panzer Dragoon that Kyle Fluge (the hero of the first game)
took over after the Sky Rider died, and which, aided in the destruction of
the Dark Dragon.

Gameplay

Like the original, Zwei is a rail-shooter. The basics remain the same: hit
the triggers to rotate your viewpoint up to 360 degrees (and this feature
adds just as much to the game as it did to the original), and switch
between your laser gun and your dragon's lock-on laser to gun down
enemies. For those frustrated by the gameplay problems of the first
game an obvious concern you can exhale. Team Andromeda kept what
worked, fixed everything that didn't, and added even more stuff to
drastically improve Zwei's gameplay over its predecessor.

These are the issues I had with the original Panzer Dragoon: it was
difficult to maneuver the dragoon to avoid enemy attacks; the laser did
not lock-on to enemies very well; the single-shot gun was not effective
enough; there was no save feature; and the overall game was too
difficult. They were serious issues that detracted from the overall
brilliance of the game. So, what did Team Andromeda do? They made it
easier to maneuver the dragoon and lock-on to enemies; they
strengthened the gun by having it fire off multiple shots in succession;
they added a save feature; and they lowered the difficulty level.
Collectively, these adjustments lead to a much stronger game.

But that's not all Team Andromeda did. They also added some brilliant
new gameplay features. Most notably is the new Berserk Attack. Above
your life meter is the new Berserk meter. Fill it up by attacking enemies,
if you suddenly become overburdened by enemy attacks simply press
X,Y, or Z to unleash the Berserk Attack-an onslaught of laser attacks
from your dragon that annihilates every onscreen enemy. The length of
attack is determined by how full the meter is, and it can take awhile to
refill so you need to use it wisely.

Another new feature is the Evolution system. Initially your dragon is a
hatchling, but throughout the game it will morph, or evolve, into more
advanced dragons. You can speed up the process (and gain access to
special class dragons) by collecting Evolution points in every level.
There are Clear Points, which you earn by beating a stage, Route Points,
which you earn by taking different routes throughout a level (which is
another new gameplay feature), and Technical Points, which come from
your shot-down percentage. As your points add up your dragon will
morph, allowing you to ride dragoons that can lock-on to more enemies
(ranging from 4 enemies at a time to 12).

In short, the game runs smoother, the controls are tighter, everything
that brought down the original has been fixed, and the new gameplay
additions make Zwei one of the best shooters of the 32-bit era.

96%

Graphics

With a higher resolution running at 30fps with no slowdown, Panzer
Dragoon Zwei's graphics are significantly better than the original. The
colors and textures are sharper, and the FMV sequences are once again
brilliant and breathtaking-resulting in even more proof that criticism of
the Saturn's graphical capabilities was unfounded. The beautiful art
direction of the series remains impressive even today.

96%

Sound

I loved the music of the first game. I liked the music in the second. It's
not that Zwei's soundtrack is bad. In fact, some fans prefer Zwei's
tracks over the other Panzer games. I just preferred Panzer Dragoon's
soundtrack. That said, the music complements the mood of the game
well, and the sound effects are just as sharp as the original. The voice-
acting is well done, and the fact that it is in Panzereze (the language
Team Andromeda created for the series) only adds to the ambience.

90%

Replay Value

I don't say this often, but Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei was too short. Like the
original it is only seven levels, but unlike the original it should have been
longer. Because the original didn't have a save feature and it was too
difficult, I felt the short length was perfect (as anything longer would
have been very redundant and frustrating). But since Zwei's gameplay is
that much tighter, when you conquer it in an hour you can't help but feel
short-changed. In fact, rumors claim that Team Andromeda regretted
not making the game longer.

However, Team Andromeda packed enough into Zwei to warrant an
impressive amount of replay value. The Evolution system is one reason,
as you could spend many hours finding alternate routes, improving your
shot-down percentage, and unlocking special dragons. In fact, there are
five alternate endings depending on which dragon you conquer the
game with.

The biggest reason to come back for more, though, is Pandra's Box.
After you defeat the game a new a new mode appears. In it you will find
new weapons, new dragons, cheat modes, and secret modes. The more
you play the game more extras you unlock. It'll take you hours to unlock
them all and it's a blast playing with the new weapons. So, despite the
disappointing length of the game, Team Andromeda made up for it in
extras.

90%

Overall

If you liked Panzer Dragoon you will love Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei. If you
didn't like Panzer Dragoon, give Zwei a shot anyway because the
developers improved upon the original in every area that matters. Zwei
is the best rail-shooter of the 32-bit era and everything that makes the
Panzer series so magical is here. The Panzer series is reason enough to
purchase a Saturn, so if you have the cash and are even remotely
interested in shooters, grab this game and become engulfed by the
impressive world that Sega created.

93%