| Panzer Dragoon Saga | |
|---|---|
 European cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Team Andromeda |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Yukio Futatsugi |
| Designer(s) | Manabu Kusunoki |
| Artist(s) | Katsumi Yokota |
| Composer(s) | Saori Kobayashi Mariko Nanba |
| Series | Panzer Dragoon |
| Platform(s) | Sega Saturn |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Panzer Dragoon Saga, known in Japan as Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG,[a] is a 1998 role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Team Andromeda and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. The third entry in the Panzer Dragoon series, it replaced the rail shooter gameplay of the previous games with RPG elements such as random encounters, semi-turn-based battles and free-roaming exploration. The player controls Edge, a young mercenary who rides a dragon and encounters a mysterious girl from a vanished civilization.
Sega felt an RPG was critical to compete against the PlayStation and Final Fantasy. Development began in early 1995 alongside Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (1996). The project was arduous and repeatedly delayed; incorporating the Panzer Dragoon shooting elements with full 3D computer graphics and voice acting, both unusual features in RPGs at the time, pushed the Saturn to its technical limits and strained team relations. Two staff members died during development, which the director, Yukio Futatsugi, attributed to stressful working conditions.
Panzer Dragoon Saga is one of the most acclaimed Saturn games, earning praise for its story, graphics, and combat. Sales were low, and only a few thousand copies were published in the west, where Sega had shifted focus to its next console, the Dreamcast. Retrospective reviews have been positive, and many publications have named Saga one the greatest video games.
After the release, Sega disbanded Team Andromeda. Several staff members joined a new Sega studio, Smilebit, and developed a fourth Panzer Dragoon game, Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002), for the Xbox. Although Panzer Dragoon Saga became a cult classic, it has never been rereleased and English-language copies have sold for more than US$1000.
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