PuyoWitch
Smash Apprentice
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2018
- Messages
- 171
Job #169: Blue Dragon (Panzer Dragoon)
BLUE EYES! WHITE DRAGON! CAN'T LOSE!
So just to make a little bit more of a case, since I've submitted this a few times by now, and not really had much to add on before: I'm going to be biased as both a Saturn lover and a fan of the franchise, but I feel like as a flagship franchise of SEGA in the 90's, not having this franchise feels like an omission. Nowadays, I'll admit the series is more like what the Mother games are, where they're incredible self contained experiences, and we're probably not going to get a new entry. SEGA really believed in the franchise enough to give it four games, attempt to have the first one as a launch title for the Saturn, and one of them is an RPG that spawned Skies of Arcadia, and by degrees of seperation, Valkyria Chronicles.
This series really has cool lore, settings and music to pull from, too. For the record, I wouldn't mind submitting more than the Dragon if we want a human rep, but I'm saying Blue Dragon because they're technically who we control, and fudging the size lets us have a really cool powerhouse character.
BLUE EYES! WHITE DRAGON! CAN'T LOSE!
So just to make a little bit more of a case, since I've submitted this a few times by now, and not really had much to add on before: I'm going to be biased as both a Saturn lover and a fan of the franchise, but I feel like as a flagship franchise of SEGA in the 90's, not having this franchise feels like an omission. Nowadays, I'll admit the series is more like what the Mother games are, where they're incredible self contained experiences, and we're probably not going to get a new entry. SEGA really believed in the franchise enough to give it four games, attempt to have the first one as a launch title for the Saturn, and one of them is an RPG that spawned Skies of Arcadia, and by degrees of seperation, Valkyria Chronicles.
This series really has cool lore, settings and music to pull from, too. For the record, I wouldn't mind submitting more than the Dragon if we want a human rep, but I'm saying Blue Dragon because they're technically who we control, and fudging the size lets us have a really cool powerhouse character.
Job #120: Type 01 a.k.a. Blue Dragon (Panzer Dragoon)
The blue dragon is the mascot of the Panzer Dragoon franchise, and a type of dragon that is featured in all seven games in the series (including the remake, the Japanese exclusive Panzer Dragoon Mini, and the Tiger Electronic R-Zone game, which is a real thing). The story differs from game to game, but the general idea is that these dragons have cyborg elements to them that affect their brain and body that give them protection, allowing them to breathe lasers. With the help of a rider, the consistent goal in all games is to destroy a 'tower' built by an ancient civilization that was created as life support for their planet but will kill anything it deems a threat to the planet.
While the franchise is currently not being published by SEGA, it is a SEGA franchise through and through. The original trilogy of games were all published by SEGA, and it was considered one of the greatest cult franchises to come from the Saturn alongside NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams and Sakura Wars, and SEGA came back to publish Panzer Dragoon Orta on the Xbox, a release that was one of SEGA's first string of titles on the Xbox after leaving the console business, alongside GunValkyrie and Jet Set Radio Future. Although the series has had several commercial failures in America, it has received nothing but praise, and SEGA knows there is a fanbase. It has gotten an anime OVA/Movie commissioned by SEGA by the same people who did the famous Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie OVAs to coincide with the release of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, plus cameos in the form of a stage in Sonic and All-Stars: Racing Transformed, and an extended guest role in the Sonic & Mega Man Crossover comic, World's Unite.
Only two of these dragons is properly named (Lagi from Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Atolm, who is one of the dragons in Saga), but all dragons do share a very similar look with usually small changes. My idea is not to just feature the dragon from the first game, but all dragons from the main series, with their respective riders on a cut-down to size version of them.
From left to right, you have Azel and Edge, respectively, from Saga, who each have their own dragons in that game, Orta from Orta, who has an older version of Edge's dragon, Lundi from Zwei, who was the very first dragon rider and raised a dragon from birth, and Keil from the original, a hunter who takes a dragon from his previous rider, in that rider's dying request.
They will be necessary as on top of the dragon's abilities, they assist in helping shoot down smaller enemies with a gun from time to time. For this character, I'm imagining one focused around the idea of having 180-degree firing capability at all times, and 360-degree firing while in the air, meant to reference the game's gimmick of different angles to shoot from. Recovery and long-range attacks will be the character's big appeal. In addition, Saga and Orta both incorporated a few extra moves you can add: the ability to morph into other forms mid-battle for things like agility or extra armor, and the ability to cycle around the opponent for an advantage.
Not only would it be a perfect pick to represent a well-loved cult franchise, and the definitive character to represent Panzer Dragoon, I feel, but I just think there's so much potential in a moveset. You get a big powerful dragon that can knock things down, AND a zoner-type character.
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