push for ten levels despite designer protests that it was impossible, reused the series' recurring Pandora's Box system to offer bonus stages, and added difficulty modes while keeping it challenging overall. The aim was to prompt players to understand and use the game systems. Kawagoe felt that they had mostly created the game as planned. A notable extra was a port of the original Panzer Dragoon, which was converted from that game's Windows port by its original programmer Kazuhisa Hasuoka. The Windows port was used instead of a direct port from the Saturn version due to difficulties with the original's complex source code. Art and graphics With a background in role-playing games rather than shooters, Mukaiyama initially had trouble adjusting to his role as director, as his usual approach of designing game mechanics first was leading to a game that was not fun to play. During early demos, it saw mixed reactions from players. As development progressed, Mukaiyama realized that Orta was missing the trademark presentation and aesthetic style which had made the Panzer Dragoon series stand out, resulting in broad redesigns. There was also tension between the new staff, as represented by Mukaiyama, and the Saga veterans, particularly due to Mukaiyama's negative feedback on early art and creature designs being too similar to earlier games. This caused a deadlock between the staff, worsened when Mukaiyama wanted to bring Yoshida back on board, as Iwade felt his ability in the job was being questioned. When Yoshida joined, he and Iwade were able to work out their differences and divide the workload efficiently, smoothing the development process. To facilitate staff communication and allow for greater communal input on game and art design, a private forum was set up for posting sketches and concept ideas. Iwade, a visual effects artist on earlier Panzer Dragoon games, became art director for Orta. The team wanted to preserve and honor the work of artist Manabu Kusunoki, who had helped define the series' visual identity. The art design drew from both the earlier Panzer Dragoon games and the photography of National Geographic. Following positive reactions to cel shading for Jet Set Radio (2000) and its sequel, the Orta team considered a cel-based graphic design, but ultimately chose realistic graphics as earlier series entries had attempted. Orta's dragon was designed by Masaharu Nakayama, while enemy designs were handled by Iwade, Ryuta Ueda and Koichiro Tamura. Tamura was