| Panzer Dragoon Orta | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art featuring protagonist Orta and her dragon | |
| Developer(s) | Smilebit |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Akihiko Mukaiyama |
| Producer(s) | Takayuki Kawagoe |
| Designer(s) | Takashi Iwade |
| Programmer(s) | Takashi Atsu |
| Artist(s) | Takashi Iwade Kentaro Yoshida |
| Writer(s) | Shigeru Kurihara Kenichiro Ishii |
| Composer(s) | Saori Kobayashi Yutaka Minobe |
| Series | Panzer Dragoon |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Rail shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Panzer Dragoon Orta[a] is a 2002 rail shooter game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox. The fourth Panzer Dragoon game, it was released in Japan in 2002 and in North America and Europe in 2003. The story follows a girl, Orta, who is freed by a dragon and embarks on a quest to prevent the abuse of ancient technology. The gameplay features the player moving an aiming reticle and shooting enemies while the dragon flies through 3D environments on a predetermined track.
Production of Orta began in 2001. The previous Panzer Dragoon development team, Team Andromeda, had disbanded after the release of Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998). Around a dozen staff returned to work on Orta, including the artists Takashi Iwade and Kentaro Yoshida, the composer Saori Kobayashi and the battle designer Akihiko Mukaiyama, who directed Orta. While the greater power of the Xbox allowed for more freedom in gameplay and graphical design, the production was troubled by a lack of art design direction and problems with the team's graphical and gameplay ambitions.
Panzer Dragoon Orta received positive reviews, with praise for its gameplay and art design. Several publications have named it one of the best Xbox games, and it is remembered favorably for its gameplay and technical achievements. Panzer Dragoon staff have voiced mixed feelings regarding Orta for its continuation of the story after Saga. Orta was the final Panzer Dragoon game until the 2020 remake of the original Panzer Dragoon.
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