Orta is the perfect gateway to Sega’s well-regarded rail-shooter series: it’s seen as the best of the lot, and also contains the original game as an unlockable bonus! You just have to own the Xbox Zero, which luckily I do.
Of course whenever I get it out I have to relearn how to open the stuck disc tray (I guess Microsoft knew it could be a problem, because there’s a little hole to stick a pin in to open it freely). But with that out of the way, I was able to enjoy this quite a bit. Loving Lylat Wars as I do, I was able to get on board with the heavily homing-laser-based mechanics; in PD the idea much of the time is to lock on to multiple targets and let loose a flurry at once.
The series has its own tricks up its sleeve though; from the first entry, you’ve been able to rotate the camera to combat threats coming from different angles. This makes for some cinematic battles, especially when your flight path weaves and whizzes in all dimensions. Orta has other complications, with a boost/brake system, three different dragon shapes to transform between for the situation, and an attempt at a levelling-up system over a campaign run.
They make it work though. There’s a reason this entry is lauded. I will say it is quite difficult; I found myself unwilling to slog repeatedly through a level, only to die at the miniboss again (there is very limited health recovery, but it does at least checkpoint at bosses and there is no life/continue limit). There’s logic and skill to it beyond memorising enemy patterns in a level: your shot can cancel some projectiles, and swapping to the right dragon is important. Either way, easy mode had my back and I got through the campaign.
Orta doesn’t sacrifice story for shoot-em-up action. There’s FMV sequences which hold up quite well, and occasional in-game dialogue in the series’ made-up language (subtitled, of course). It’s a classic story of ancient weapons being rediscovered in a post-apocalyptic age, with plenty of bizarre-looking flying machines and oddball mutant creatures, including the eponymous dragons. The plot too is your usual mysterious youth with a destiny, stop the bad guys from activating their doomsday plan, a chaotic third party, etc. But it too works, helped by the cool visual design language of this sci-fi/fantasy world.
This particular game is known for its wealth of bonus content, with an in-game encyclopedia/glossary/loredump, illustrations and cutscenes from previous games in the series, and bonus missions (including a nice story told from the perspective of a minor player inside the evil empire). And of course, a port of the PC version of Panzer Dragoon 1, which is an extremely cool thing to include.
To digress into a short mini-review of said original instalment, the graphics are shaky and the gameplay simplistic, but for its time it’s an impressive 3D rail shooter indeed. The features core to Orta are present in more limited form, and it creates an effective world and a very playable game experience, with a lighter touch in regards to the plot. It’s also quite difficult, and easy mode here quite rudely locks you out of half the game content. However there are cheats for invincibility and level select, which I recommend using if normal mode is kicking your bum as much as it did mine. It’s a fun extra, but the main event is a much more polished and meaty product. Polished meat. Like a hot dog.
No, to describe Orta as a hot dog does it no justice. It’s a delicious crispy falafel. Check it out if you like cinematic rail shooters: it’s cool.