Review cover Panzer Dragoon: Remake (Nintendo Switch)
Official GBAtemp Review

Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): March 26, 2020
  • Release Date (EU): March 26, 2020
  • Publisher: Forever Entertainment
  • Developer: MegaPixel Studio
  • Genres: Rail shooter

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Panzer Dragoon is a game that I’m playing 25 years after its initial release on the Sega Saturn. That’s because firstly I never owned the console and also I was too young to play any game at that time. However, I’ve heard good things from this title and it was the perfect opportunity to jump right on into it with a fresh coat of paint on the Nintendo Switch.

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It all begins when a group of nomads riding… *checks notes* … ehhh... two-legged creatures are stopped short in their tracks by a spaceship of sorts that crashes nearby. The bravest one among them decides to explore it and is shortly attacked by a metallic-alien thing. The latter is then itself found under a pile of rubble as two armored dragons and their riders swoop in, chasing each other.

This action-packed sequence all happens in the opening cutscene and sets the trend for the game: shoot everything that moves. Panzer Dragoon plays as the opening scene, full of shooting in expansive-looking environments. 

Our protagonist brave nomad is then approached by the blue armored dragon’s rider who is apparently injured. The latter entrusts to our hero to stop the other dragon from reaching a mysterious tower and that the blue dragon will lead the way, and off you go on your newly-found purpose!

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Panzer Dragoon: Remake is a complete remake of the original title, with beautifully-rendered landscapes varying from lush green vegetation to deserted lands filled with cybernetic life. The latter will comprise a significant chunk of your foes, blasting bombs, bullets, rockets, and whatnot at you.

As a shooter, Panzer Dragoon is quite disappointing when it comes to attack types. A couple of more options would have made for a more diverse experience and satisfying kills. To defend yourself, you’ll have at your disposition a limited but effective arsenal: instant bullets and projectiles. The latter are accessible by holding the fire button and it will shoot all enemies you’ve marked with your reticle and they’re the most effective offense. However, you will also have to alternate with the weaker bullets for quicker response like when a projectile is hurling towards you with no time to dodge.

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Additionally, the controls aren’t the most up-to-date. You’ll have the option between Classic and Modern inputs. The former tries to replicate the Saturn’s controls while the latter allows you to use both sticks to move and aim, and shoulder buttons to shoot. The modern controls should, in theory, feel more intuitive but the truth is that the classic button mapping made for an easier execution of commands. The modern layout will have you use the right stick most of the time, and the left stick, used to move, is barely accessed given that this is a rail shooter. Add to that, mashing the shoulder button incessantly and Panzer Dragoon: Remake became the first game I ever had a thumb-ache playing. So the Classic controls were the ones for me, even if only slightly better than the Modern ones. Additionally, rotating your view, which you will do as much as shooting, requires hitting the L/R buttons which made for awkward and not the most intuitive gameplay. An option to freely remap the controls would have gone a long way. 

So getting used to the controls took me some time, as I tried to find which option was most optimal for me. Once I did, I could manage to clear levels and beat end bosses successfully but rather awkwardly. Upon completion of ‘Episode 6’, I was greeted with the following screen:

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After less than 2 hours, I managed to beat Panzer Dragoon: Remake. This includes retrying missions and getting acquainted with the awkward controls. Sure, you can replay the levels to best your score and even try it on different difficulty but the bland nature of the game didn’t entice me to do any of this. At the time of writing, the game is priced at $25 on the eShop and despite packing a visual overhaul, the terrible controls and ultra-short playthrough don’t justify the price. 

There are some redeeming features like the music score and a Photo Mode, which I undeniably found cool and arguably enjoyed more than the controls, which says a lot. These are but the exceptions to an otherwise bland game. The levels could have been expanded upon and the beautiful assets made more use of. Even as a rail shooter, giving some more control over the Blue Dragon would make for a more enticing experience.

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Review image Review image Review image Review imageReview image

At this point, I can only recommend the title in its current state to those looking to play this game to relive some childhood memories but only after a significant price drop. Here’s hoping the devs come up with free DLCs to add more content and replay value.

Panzer Dragoon - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Beautifully rendered levels
  • Option to choose classic controls
  • Photo Mode
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Controls
  • Super short game
  • Levels feel bland overall
6
Gameplay
Classic controls might have been added to do lip service for fans of the original but it turned out to be the most manageable way to play the game, while still being an awkward control scheme in 2020.
7
Presentation
With a visual overhaul, Panzer Dragoon: Remake looks aesthetically pleasing but that much can't be said about the game in general.
4
Lasting Appeal
With barely two hours of gameplay, terrible controls and overall bland levels, there's not much lasting appeal to this title.
5.5
out of 10

Overall

Alas, Panzer Dragoon: Remake rode on the nostalgia hype train too quickly and didn’t deliver a compelling contemporary experience.
Excellent review. Passed it along to my Saturn & Panzer Dragoon obsessed friend, and he echoed a lot of these same issues. Looks like this just missed the mark on every front
 
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You realize the game is a remake of something from 25 years ago, right? How do you expect the levels to be complex and unique while also being a long game when it was just a minor game, a rail shooter might I add (aka inherently short), from a forgotten console (Saturn)?:/
 
You realize the game is a remake of something from 25 years ago, right? How do you expect the levels to be complex and unique while also being a long game when it was just a minor game, a rail shooter might I add (aka inherently short), from a forgotten console (Saturn)?:/
Well this is a Remake, they could've done whatever they wanted to improve it.
Review reads like a botched remaster, not a remake.
Either way, this is one of those games that was great at the time but should've been left down nostalgia lane.
 
Well this is a Remake, they could've done whatever they wanted to improve it.
Reviews reads like a botched remaster, not a remake.
Either way, this is one of those games that was great at the time but should've been left down nostalgia lane.

Or, could have at least been put in some, oh, IDK..."Sega Saturn Stars Collection" or something from Sega themselves, consisting of ports of the first two Panzer Dragoon games, NiGHTS, Fighters Megamix, Guardian Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, Shining Force III with the whole game being translated, and if Super Mario 64 could be reverse-engineered like what's mentioned by our boy MVG in the following video, then put in Panzer Dragoon Saga.



That's 8 games for the Saturn collection, (10 if you want to count the additional two parts of Shining Force III) with more value than what seems to amount to a glorified shot-for-shot remake with a better camera to use a film analogy. I mean, maybe if they did both remakes together and bundled this game with Panzer Dragoon Orta (yeah, can we not have to get on the Xbox platform for the games exclusive to these consoles currently, Sega) in some sort of Panzer Dragoon collection, then sure, but just one game for $25 that can be beaten for about the same amount of time as the non-Prime Metroid games? With no additional content like what Metroid Zero Mission did for the OG? (in addition to just outright killing the need for the OG these days outside of romhacks)

But then again, Sega just doesn't...
 
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Paying too much money for a very short entertainment time is something I try to avoid. I remember buying the game "The Terminator" for the Sega Genesis back in 1992 for around $80 CDN, as it had received great reviews from the like of EGM magazine (no internet back then). It was fun, yes, but only 4 small levels, which could be beaten in about 20-25 minutes. I was so mad! They never mentioned the length of the game in the review. :angry: A fool and his money...
 
So the game is still bad, eh? The original was already (it was just a novelty then), and the formula can't really offer much.
I never understood the hype about this one and Nights.

Novelty factor, mostly?
 
So the game is still bad, eh? The original was already (it was just a novelty then), and the formula can't really offer much.
I never understood the hype about this one and Nights.

Novelty factor, mostly?

Maybe it was that and its association with Panzer Dragoon Saga? I couldn't tell you much on that one.

But Sega needs to do a better job than just going and being all like, "Fine, here's an old IP we haven't done anything new with in years; yeah, just, you know, make it like that one Dragon game on that Unreal Engine 4 or whatever you young'uns use to make games these days; bundle two games into one? Why do that when we could make more money!?"

Kind of what I envision how that conversation went. Still, depending on how this does commercially (I can't imagine well, tbh), we may get a remake of the second game and who knows, maybe they'll port Orta over to modern systems not associated with the Xbox brand. But I doubt it.
 
Maybe it was that and its association with Panzer Dragoon Saga? I couldn't tell you much on that one.

But Sega needs to do a better job than just going and being all like, "Fine, here's an old IP we haven't done anything new with in years; yeah, just, you know, make it like that one Dragon game on that Unreal Engine 4 or whatever you young'uns use to make games these days; bundle two games into one? Why do that when we could make more money!?"

Kind of what I envision how that conversation went. Still, depending on how this does commercially (I can't imagine well, tbh), we may get a remake of the second game and who knows, maybe they'll port Orta over to modern systems not associated with the Xbox brand. But I doubt it.
Thing is, these games aged very badly. They had their time and were prime examples of art direction, despite the gameplay being obnoxious (for me) and generally slow. I'd rather see something derivative, like Star Fox on the GameCube, after Nintendo saw the best shooter on the system was Rogue Squadron.
Or maybe they could work as VR games.
 
Fix controls and you'll get solid, yet short, game. This can be made via patch even.
If that patch ever comes, and maybe introduces a remix mode, challenge mode, endless mode, boss rush and something else along those lines things could stand to be revisited.

We have held back on a review pending a patch for an obvious bug (had one once where it could not be completed but the core gameplay was fun) and revisited following a patch being present and sorting the issues but holding back on a hypothetical is a bit much.

Anyway I just read that MS patched Panzer Dragoon Orta for the 360 the other year (as in 2018) when I was not looking so might try this 360 backwards compatibility lark rather than hoping my original xbox still functions.
 
....Yeah congrats for trolling me Nintendo with the available now message on the Mini Direct - I bought it straight away, and while I enjoyed it back then, it hasn't aged well, and this low budget remake hasn't helped. The traditional control method is the way to go, don't go the twin stick route as it just doesn't work, and the graphics are rather tat (certainly isn't 60fps either)
I much preferred Zwei anyway, which is apparently also coming - but judging by this one I'm not gonna start salivating at the prospect just yet..... Back to Orta on Xbox One (fyi it's available on Game Pass if you've got that) then, or better still, stick with Rez.
 
IRREGARDLESS

I am curious enough and thanks to a certain foxi member of this site, I have a love for the weird and Saturn. So I'll be picking this up eventually.
 
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This game is probably getting treated as a stepping stone for the team to now remake the sequel.
 
This game is probably getting treated as a stepping stone for the team to now remake the sequel.

The devs have stated on the Steam discussion boards that Zwei is confirmed, just a matter of time.

No word on Saga/Azel or Orta yet.

Speaking of the Steam version of this game, there has been NO word on when the hell it's going to be released, if ever. Infuriating, really. But I've played the Switch version (before my Switch was stolen, anyway) and was not very impressed.
 
Best I ever got me Panzer Dragoon Orta XBOX in pandora box unlock orginal Panzer Dragoon and the best graphic and textures ever I hope Switch bring 2 orginal Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Zwei unlock in Pandora box
 
Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): March 26, 2020
  • Release Date (EU): March 26, 2020
  • Publisher: Forever Entertainment
  • Developer: MegaPixel Studio
  • Genres: Rail shooter
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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