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Panzer Dragoon Orta - Dragooning in ~4K60

Leonidas

Member
W5zFEYL.jpg


From the Shadows of History a Legend Reawakens.

Information
Genre: Rail Shooter
Release Date: April 17, 2018 (Xbox One Digital)
Platforms: Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Developer: Smilebit
Publisher: Sega
Distribution: Digital and original Xbox discs
Size: 3.04 GB(Xbox 360) 3.6 GB(Xbox One)
Price: $9.99
Framerate: 60 FPS
Sound: Dolby Digital
Players: 1

About
Panzer Dragoon Orta is a rail shooter for the Xbox, published by Sega and developed by Smilebit. It is the latest release in the legendary Panzer Dragoon Series and is among the most critically acclaimed Xbox exclusives of all time.

Take control of a powerful dragon and annihilate a great number of enemies.

Reviews
Metacritic: 90

Gamers' Pulse: 94
May very well be the most gorgeous console game ever made. The game maintains the classic gameplay basis of the original, while introducing enough new aspects, such as dragon morphing...

IGN: 92
Addictive, fun, and fantastic, this one is a true demonstration of the power of Xbox. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful game, and you won't find a better rail shooter anywhere.

GameStop: 90
An outstandingly well-executed game, featuring gameplay that's easy to grasp but rewards continued practice, exceptional graphics and sound, a good story, and a lot of worthwhile extras.

Graphic Comparison


Links
Xbox Marketplace
Soundtrack
 
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EBE

Member
dont understand the love for this game. maybe i just dont "get" the rail shooter genre. its a thread ive wanted to make for a while now--what makes a good rail shooter? ive played most of the big ones and i simply couldnt tell you what makes this better than crimson dragon, or even something like blackwater kinect.

is it false dreamcast love? sega nostalgia? am i just an uncultured asshole? what am i missing?
anyway, dont get me wrong, i do like that its been made backwards compatible. it shows a real commitment to the more obscure elements of the xbox catalog.
 

Leonidas

Member
I still have a physical copy of the game.

Me too, but I'll be picking up a digital copy also to show support to both Microsoft and Sega, who knows, if the digital release does well enough maybe they'll consider bringing more of this or other classic series back for a new audience.

Wait... Orta is gonna be in 4K60???

All original Xbox games on Xbox One are rendered in 4x resolution(Xbox One) or 16x resolution(Xbox One X). This brings the resolution very close to 1080p on Xbox One and very close to 4K on Xbox One X.
 
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Pejo

Member
Well holy shit. I need to find my cables for my XB1 and plug that shit in.

Sega, you better be paying attention when I re-buy this game again.
 

Oemenia

Banned
dont understand the love for this game. maybe i just dont "get" the rail shooter genre. its a thread ive wanted to make for a while now--what makes a good rail shooter? ive played most of the big ones and i simply couldnt tell you what makes this better than crimson dragon, or even something like blackwater kinect.

is it false dreamcast love? sega nostalgia? am i just an uncultured asshole? what am i missing?
anyway, dont get me wrong, i do like that its been made backwards compatible. it shows a real commitment to the more obscure elements of the xbox catalog.
I can't stand DC 'fans' but this is legitimately an amazing game but also just an incredible experience. I'm no expert but SEGA's arcade heritage clearly shows in this game.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I love this game so much - I still have my physical copy but I'm still leaning towards buying it again. I want to support the devs, and also I'm going all-digital for Xbox One so having this in my "library" would be nice.
 

ilfait

Member
dont understand the love for this game. maybe i just dont "get" the rail shooter genre. its a thread ive wanted to make for a while now--what makes a good rail shooter? ive played most of the big ones and i simply couldnt tell you what makes this better than crimson dragon, or even something like blackwater kinect.

is it false dreamcast love? sega nostalgia? am i just an uncultured asshole? what am i missing?
anyway, dont get me wrong, i do like that its been made backwards compatible. it shows a real commitment to the more obscure elements of the xbox catalog.
I'd say that the allure is mainly stylistic/aesthetic (it sounds good, it looks good and people like dragons); and that it benefits from being a continuation of the (superior) Saturn entries, which were released at a time when people with a Saturn were looking for anything to latch onto, and at a time when the original and Zwei were impressive audio/visual feats. Orta was also considered a real beauty, "technically" and artistically, in its own right on release.

There are some minor mechanical flourishes that you could point to, like being able to look and aim in multiple directions through 360, and the multi-target lock-on charge shot stuff as well, but I think that the most powerful reasons are the ones I already mentioned. If I think of rail shooters as pure games in the traditional sense (Tetris), then I don't really get them either. But if I approach them as interactive experiences, the same way I approach Rez, the great ones are worthwhile.
 
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Meh3D

Member
Yeah, played the first 3 chapters so far.

Game looks amazing with the enhanced resolution, so many more details I never noticed before. The game-play also holds up very nicely after all these years.

Thank you so much! I have to wait until I pick up an xbox gift card from Office Depot (for 5% cash back.
 

rmatheso

Member
This game was sub-hd in widescreen mode on the og xbox. Looks insane on the Xbox One X. Heard the unlocked Panzer 1 is still upscaled 480p. Oh Well, just an excuse to release the 4K Panzer Dragoon Trilogy on Xbox One.... rigghhhht Sega?
 

KAOS

Member
Awesome awesome stuff!!!! Had to zoom it a bit to make it full screen but it looks fantastic. The game and it's play mechanic hold up surprisingly well. One of the best rail shootemups has new life! Kudos BC MS team please bring on Otogi 2!👍👍👍
 
D

Deleted member 738976

Unconfirmed Member
What a price jump. Luckily I came prepared and bought just about every Sega game for the Xbox years ago.
 

cireza

Banned
Orta has always been one of my favorite games. This BC version runs like a dream. It is also refreshing to have such gameplay and game-design in the current landscape.

A true masterpiece.
 

Alx

Member
dont understand the love for this game. maybe i just dont "get" the rail shooter genre. its a thread ive wanted to make for a while now--what makes a good rail shooter? ive played most of the big ones and i simply couldnt tell you what makes this better than crimson dragon

To be fair I think Crimson Dragon is a quite competent rail shooter, no worse than the Panzer Dragoon games I've played (except for a slightly different visual design, especially the dragons and their limbs).
I've enjoyed playing Orta again (can't even remember how far I went with it originally), even if I got my ass kicked by the first boss on normal difficulty (but then I couldn't remember you had to tap A to shoot down projectiles). The menu interface feels slow and clunky compared to modern standards, though, but that's just a minor complaint.
 

CRAIG667

Member
dont understand the love for this game. maybe i just dont "get" the rail shooter genre. its a thread ive wanted to make for a while now--what makes a good rail shooter? ive played most of the big ones and i simply couldnt tell you what makes this better than crimson dragon, or even something like blackwater kinect.

is it false dreamcast love? sega nostalgia? am i just an uncultured asshole? what am i missing?
anyway, dont get me wrong, i do like that its been made backwards compatible. it shows a real commitment to the more obscure elements of the xbox catalog.

It's super fun!
 

Chinbo37

Member
Im thinking about buying an X just for this game. Am I crazy lol.

(and BC for all my 360 games and the 4k BR player and a couple Xbone games).
 

Oemenia

Banned
Coming back to this game so many years later and it really is the hype. Plays like a dream and absolutely breathtaking as an experience.
 

Alasterion

Neo Member
Even more amazing than I remembered, now in glorious 4k... what a wonderfull world in which you can see three generations on just one system...
 

Chinbo37

Member
The difference in effort between Sony and ms regarding BC is extremely frustrating for me.


I mean Sony is on top right now. They don't have to put any effort into BC. Microsoft did, they had to do something because they were getting crushed.

We can only hope that the efforts of MS will be seen by fans and they will start to make up some ground on Sony. Personally I refuse to buy digital content on PS4 until BC is confirmed for PS5. All games I buy are physical.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
One of the all time great games. A timeless masterpiece. They don't make them like this anymore.
I never thought we would see orta on modern consoles. MS's bc is the best thing about this gen.
 

ar0s

Member
Wow. What a shocker. I was reading a retrospective of the Panzer Dragoon series only a couple of days ago so really weird to see this announced right after.

Is it a remake or the old game just made to run on the xbone?
 

phil_t98

#SonyToo
I mean Sony is on top right now. They don't have to put any effort into BC. Microsoft did, they had to do something because they were getting crushed.

We can only hope that the efforts of MS will be seen by fans and they will start to make up some ground on Sony. Personally I refuse to buy digital content on PS4 until BC is confirmed for PS5. All games I buy are physical.


I think reguards to backwards compatability Sony as been quite arrogant. fans seem to want it, yes I know they want new games to but Microsoft it killing it with these games and they look so much better than they were originaly.

will get the usual sony fanoys saying we don't want back compat blah blah blah but when games play and look this good why wouldn't you want to have it?
 

Chinbo37

Member
I think reguards to backwards compatability Sony as been quite arrogant. fans seem to want it, yes I know they want new games to but Microsoft it killing it with these games and they look so much better than they were originaly.

will get the usual sony fanoys saying we don't want back compat blah blah blah but when games play and look this good why wouldn't you want to have it?


Agreed. But at the same time, they are arrogant about it but so what. PS4 still sold tons, so even if fans say they want it its not a decision maker for them not to buy a PS4. So in the end it doesnt even matter (cue Linkn Park music).

Anyways I REALLY hope PS5 is BC with PS4. At this stage I can forget PS1/2/3. Just start with PS4 and make sure that its all working going forward and I will be happy.
 

Trogdor1123

Member
I mean Sony is on top right now. They don't have to put any effort into BC. Microsoft did, they had to do something because they were getting crushed.

We can only hope that the efforts of MS will be seen by fans and they will start to make up some ground on Sony. Personally I refuse to buy digital content on PS4 until BC is confirmed for PS5. All games I buy are physical.
Agreed, I buy digital when it's highly discounted though. If Sony doesn't have BC for ps4 in ps5 im thinking itight be time to jump to MS (assuming they do it as well).

Sony really doesn't have an excuse for not getting at least PS1 games working.
 

phil_t98

#SonyToo
Agreed. But at the same time, they are arrogant about it but so what. PS4 still sold tons, so even if fans say they want it its not a decision maker for them not to buy a PS4. So in the end it doesnt even matter (cue Linkn Park music).

Anyways I REALLY hope PS5 is BC with PS4. At this stage I can forget PS1/2/3. Just start with PS4 and make sure that its all working going forward and I will be happy.


yes they are top of sales and by a long way but it makes a mockery of their tag "FOR THE GAMERS" realy doesn't it
 

Chinbo37

Member
yes they are top of sales and by a long way but it makes a mockery of their tag "FOR THE GAMERS" realy doesn't it

It does but I am so cynical when it comes to companies. I figure all that is just BS anyways. They care about sales and they are getting them, by a wide margin!

BC compatibility for the PS5 isnt looking good TBH. Lets hope they have a change of heart.
 
Ok, Ms, you win. I'm buying an X.

EDIT: by the way, does playing it on a regular Xbox One offer some enhancements?
 
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3rdman

Member
dont understand the love for this game. maybe i just dont "get" the rail shooter genre. its a thread ive wanted to make for a while now--what makes a good rail shooter? ive played most of the big ones and i simply couldnt tell you what makes this better than crimson dragon, or even something like blackwater kinect.

is it false dreamcast love? sega nostalgia? am i just an uncultured asshole? what am i missing?
anyway, dont get me wrong, i do like that its been made backwards compatible. it shows a real commitment to the more obscure elements of the xbox catalog.
I want to punch you in the larynx. :p

Seriously though, for me its the art direction, mythology, and gameplay. All of the previous games in this series built up the story from the previous version with the best being the RPG. Orta is "just" a rail shooter but it is also a damn nice, highly polished one. It's mechanics are unique compared to the others in the series but it also manages to borrow from them as well.

If you haven't already, I really recommend getting a Saturn and playing through Zwei and Saga and then perhaps our love for it will be clearer to you.
 
Wow! The difference on the One X is astounding.

Orta was an amazing game, I loved playing through it. It's a pity that it didn't really catch on much with most of the original Xbox fanbase at the time.

It really does almost make me want to buy a One X. Question: Is the PAL version still broken like on the original Xbox BC?

If not then this could persuade me to get one. Kudos to MS BC team for the amazing effort getting all of these working.
 
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