absorbing story. He summarized: "In a surprising victory for art and plot direction, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei proves that visual sophistication and compelling storylines can sometimes overcome less than revolutionary gameplay." Rob Allsetter of Sega Saturn Magazine praised the impressive attention to detail in the graphics and the multiple routes. He concluded that it "belongs up there with VF2 and Sega Rally as the standard-bearer for its genre." Maximum'''s Daniel Jevons concurred with Scary Larry that the game "positively laughs in the face of any competing PlayStation 3D shooters." He pointed out that the much-maligned on-rails format is necessary to create the experience the game offers, noting as an example that it allowed the developers to synchronize the soundtrack with what is going on. He also praised the animation, 3D graphics, high frame rate, absence of pixelation even on the heavily detailed bosses, precise controls, lock-on attacks, and the ability to adjust the game's difficulty by choosing different routes. The game held a score of 88% on the review aggregation site GameRankings based on five reviews.Panzer Dragoon II Zwei was a runner-up for Electronic Gaming Monthlys Shooter Game of the Year (behind Alien Trilogy) and Best Graphics of the Year (behind Super Mario 64). The following year they ranked it number 90 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", citing its atmospheric levels and evolving dragon, as well as how, like the original, it represented a true 3-D evolution for the shooter genre through the player ability to rotate the perspective. IGN staff writer Levi Buchanan ranked Panzer Dragoon II Zwei fifth in his list of the top 10 Sega Saturn games, saying that "The original Panzer Dragoon'' that flanked the Saturn at launch was nothing short of revelation. But this sequel improves on almost everything, offering better graphics, smoother animations, changing dragon forms, and branching routes." Notes References External links 1996 video games Airships in fiction Cancelled PC games Panzer Dragoon Rail shooters Sega video games Sega Saturn games Sega Saturn-only games Video game prequels Video games about dragons Video games about revenge Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the future