Panzer Dragoon Saga - Critical and Consumer Reaction

Critical and Consumer Reaction

Panzer Dragoon Saga was received with unanimous praise from international gaming publications, citing its sophisticated art direction, vivid and unusual story, and its cinematic, fluid battle system as particularly noteworthy. Official Sega Saturn Magazine UK gave it a review score of 96%, and provided the entire first disc of the game with a £4.99 edition. However, the game, coming late in the Sega Saturn’s life, was released in very small quantities in the US and Europe. Only 6,000 copies were first produced for the game’s American launch in May 1998, and many retailers failed to meet pre-order demand. Sega released a second batch of 12,000 copies the following June and then another 12,000 in the late summer.

Because of the title’s limited print run, English-language copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga are rare. What copies do exist tend to be recognized as valuable by their owners and, as a result, copies tend to sell for a relatively high price on eBay, often raking in over $300 US. Although the game is frequently requested to be re-released on a modern format, thus far the game remains a Saturn-only release. Team leader Yukio Futatsugi has also confirmed that the original source code for the game has been lost, adding further weight to the unlikelihood of a port. There is now a demand from fans for the source code to be recovered.

In addition to its persistent fan following, Panzer Dragoon Saga continues to be well regarded by critics and was featured in IGN.com's list of the top 100 games of all time in 2007 and in G4's top 100 games of all time in 2012.

In May 2009, online game-downloading service GameTap’s general manager Sene Sorrow stated they had the rights to publish the game, but didn't believe there was enough demand to make it a priority.