Panzer Dragoon

 Switch
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 103 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 103
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 103
  3. Negative: 22 out of 103
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  1. Delonocisms
    Mar 26, 2020
    5
    As someone who has played and beaten every Sega Saturn Panzer Dragoon game (Orta you’re on my list, don’t worry) I believe I have something of an authority on the quality of this game. This breaks my soul in half to say, but besides the impeccable visuals, this game is a downgrade in almost every way possible. Let’s start with the positives, the game looks fantastic. Almost every regionAs someone who has played and beaten every Sega Saturn Panzer Dragoon game (Orta you’re on my list, don’t worry) I believe I have something of an authority on the quality of this game. This breaks my soul in half to say, but besides the impeccable visuals, this game is a downgrade in almost every way possible. Let’s start with the positives, the game looks fantastic. Almost every region will blow you away with its distinct style and intense detail. You may even find yourself fiddling around with the photo mode which allows you to put the controller down and appreciate how much went into this game artistically. The developers somehow managed to keep the charming (albeit alienating to modern day players) cutscene style that was so distinct to the Sega Saturn original with its confusing gravity and trademark stiffness. I found this charming and sincere, and I’m probably the only one. Now, time for the bad. The music is definitely all the tracks you remember, albeit it less charming and more run of the mill. The controls are slow, and there is noticeable lag in the hit detection and camera movements. The aiming reticle even feels like it’s struggling to lock on to enemies and when it does you hear a pathetic sound effect that sounds like a memory of a translation of what used to be the Panzer Dragoon sound effect. For some reason, some one up the ladder decided to chang the gun the rider wields (all non lock-on shots) from a multi shot to a single shot, and with unreliable controls it just turns into a button mashing fest. Load times are unreasonably long, although to be fair it was downloaded to my micro-sd rather than the switch itself. Even though the original only ran at 20 frames a second, it still managed to convey speed properly, your lock-ons were instantaneous, your dragon moved across the screen swiftly, AND IT WAS STILL DIFFICULT. I tried to bust this review out as quickly as I could so that people have an idea of what to expect. I looked everywhere for reviews on this game to see if I was crazy and I found no voices speaking out. Hopefully that adds some weight to mine. I’m giving this game a 5 (which for me is quite low) because although it failed my expectations to give me 7 satisfying levels due to fighting with the controller the whole time- I do believe we are only a couple of patches away from this game being at least decent. I do truly believe that Nintendo it rushed out as there is no pc version available yet and the Corona Virus has given Nintendo’s online store quite a platform; However, this is just a (game) theory. I do have hope that patches can fix many of the issues keeping it from being an exceptional remake, and I hope all of these issues are ironed out when we get its sequel remade- which is arguably the best in the series. If nothing else, hopefully this put Panzer Dragoon on the map, and shows Sega that we fans through word of mouth do grow, and that we do still hold a candle- especially when our memories of it shine so very brightly.… Expand
  2. epicwinpt
    Mar 27, 2020
    5
    As a HUGE Panzer Dragoon fan (I've beaten and owned all of them.. Saga being one of my all time fave games EVER).. Remake.. is.. a disappointment.
    Positives:
    The music is the same.. and it sounds as stirring and amazing as it ever was. The graphics do look pretty. You can see the limitations of the switch with some draw in and the framerate is definitely not stable but overall it looks    As a HUGE Panzer Dragoon fan (I've beaten and owned all of them.. Saga being one of my all time fave games EVER).. Remake.. is.. a disappointment.
    Positives:
    The music is the same.. and it sounds as stirring and amazing as it ever was.
    The graphics do look pretty. You can see the limitations of the switch with some draw in and the framerate is definitely not stable but overall it looks great.

    Negatives: - Here we go.
    The controls are laggy and very jarring. Enemies end up between quadrants and rather than just panning from side to front.. it actually won't let you.
    Aiming and shooting is more annoying and fiddly than enjoyable.
    The sound effects should have been the original.. especially the dragon screams. Those noises from the dragon are iconic for the game.
    The graphics, while updated are missing that gritty organic look so iconic with the originals. It all looks a touch cartoon-like and often it cheapens the feel of the game. The main character's face is a bit weird also.
    I finished in about an hour and 15 minutes. No issue with that as I've beaten the original but there are no extras once you finish the game. Nothing I could see at least. No Pandra's Box. I feel no compulsion to return to the game as the controls made it so cumbersome to play.. so for me - $37.50 AUD seems like a very steep price to pay for a game that has nothing else to offer.    … Expand
  3. Samuel_Drew
    Mar 27, 2020
    5
    A graphically beautiful, yet poor imitation of the original. Input delay, drastically reduced difficulty, and major movement speed issues make this game a lackluster remake. Here's to hoping they can produce a decent match, but the game should have never been released in this state.
  4. Electrohead
    May 9, 2020
    5
    The game is far too expensive, especially when you take into consideration that the game can easily be completed in under an hour. On top of that, the remake itself is mediocre. The controls are poor, load times are long and there's a complete lack of any extra content.
  5. EnigmaXtreme
    Aug 5, 2020
    7
    From the very beginning with the opening cinematic, it’s clear the small crew over at MegaPixel Studios are certainly Panzer fans like myself, putting a lot of time and effort into making this as familiar as possible, the recreated opening cinematic runs in sync with the original version on Saturn, just with far much more detail.

    Graphically, the game obviously looks far better, even on    From the very beginning with the opening cinematic, it’s clear the small crew over at MegaPixel Studios are certainly Panzer fans like myself, putting a lot of time and effort into making this as familiar as possible, the recreated opening cinematic runs in sync with the original version on Saturn, just with far much more detail.

    Graphically, the game obviously looks far better, even on Switch the game runs with nary any framerate issues to speak of. That being said, MegaPixel may have bitten off more than they can chew, with this being one of the first games they have ever released besides the Switch ports of Agony and Grave Keeper, with the character animations feeling a little stiff in places.

    But it’s not all bad news, the game still utilizes the old arcade feel with credits, but you can thankfully resume your progress if you decide to leave after several levels. Plus, the remake introduces the best upgrade for the game, dual stick aiming and being able to fire and turn using the shoulder buttons, so aiming is an absolute breeze and plays more like Sin and Punishment then Starfox, but this can be a real double edged sword, the original controls were horse **** even with the 3D Control Pad, it could be a real struggle getting past even Episode 4. But with these new controls, I was able to breeze through the entire game in almost a day.

    Aiming can have a learning curve for other people though, I found that the three spinning squares used as a targeting reticule could prove disorientation to where you are actually aiming, but the game seems to allow you to lockon to an almost infinite amount of enemies on screen, so just wiggle the reticle around and hope for the best at first, and in just the latest adjustment, it seems you have fair more energy compared to the original.

    Despite the ups and downs I’m still going to support this game, hell I’m gonna shell out for the Limited Run physical release. Why? Because I want more, I bloody love Panzer Dragoon, more specifically the 3rd Iteration in Panzer Dragoon Saga. That game alone justified the purchase of a Saturn……and a modchip because holy **** have you seen the prices online. However, while it is certainly in vogue right now to get RPG’s from the Mid 90’s remade in glorious HD, I wouldn’t want Saga in the hands of such an untested studio like MegaPixel, recreating an on rails shooter like Panzer Dragoon and Zwei is one thing, but Saga is a multi hour adventure spanning four discs and unlike a similar game released at the same time on Playstation, barely anyone played it legitimately. Which is sad as it truly is one of the most uncovered Gems in Sega’s history. There has been suggestion that Yukio Futatsugi, the man behind the series wants to tackle a Saga Remake himself, and expand upon the original with a much larger world to explore, and all I can say is, Yes, Yes to ALL that please.

    But back to Panzer Dragoon on Nintendo Switch, if you are a fan of the original then you really can’t go wrong, it is everything you loved about the original back in 1995, with a really really shiny new coat    … Expand
  6. Luigidefuego
    Jun 23, 2022
    7
    Es un poco complicado hablar de un juego del que por una parte hay que valorar su calidad como juego en sí y, por otra parte, de su calidad como remake, sobre todo cuando lo uno resulta dispar de lo otro. Es decir, Panzer Dragoon es un gran juego de la generación de los 32 bits, pero éste es un flojo remake. El problema es que Panzer Dragoon ha envejecido regular, por lo que un remakeEs un poco complicado hablar de un juego del que por una parte hay que valorar su calidad como juego en sí y, por otra parte, de su calidad como remake, sobre todo cuando lo uno resulta dispar de lo otro. Es decir, Panzer Dragoon es un gran juego de la generación de los 32 bits, pero éste es un flojo remake. El problema es que Panzer Dragoon ha envejecido regular, por lo que un remake requería un mayor trabajo de actualización. Así que nos encontramos un buen juego, por supuesto, pero evidentemente sin el impacto que tuvo en su época, lo que puede hacer que los nuevos jugadores no aprecien lo que este juego fue en su momento.

    Terminando de hablar ya del trabajo que se ha hecho en el remake, lo más destacable es la actualización gráfica, lejos del borroso pixelado del juego original nos encontramos con un correcto apartado gráfico que hace lucir el fantástico diseño artístico de este juego, pero sin destacar tampoco en este apartado técnico, modesto y poco espectacular. Por lo demás, tenemos al juego con la misma esencia arcade de entonces, ¡hasta con tiempo límite para continuar como si fuese una máquina recreativa! Y el problema es que todo esto resulta desfasado, encontrándonos un juego corto y poco rejugable. Tampoco son agradables las cargas más largas de lo que uno quisiera.

    Pero hablemos del juego: esto es un "rail shooter", con la posibilidad de girar sobre nuestro eje, es decir, nos exige estar atentos a los enemigos de detrás y de los flancos. Por lo demás, tenemos el disparo normal del piloto y el potente disparo dirigido del dragón, lo que da ciertas posibilidades dentro del sencillo esquema jugable. El gran atractivo de este juego es el mundo creado, muy a lo Moebius, el cuál colaboró para algunas cosas del juego. Recoge el estilo llamémoslo biotecnológico de Moebius, donde tanto la tecnología como la arquitectura se ha hecho integrándose en la naturaleza. Pasear por los paisajes del juego es uno de sus grandes placeres, y aunque comienza en un entorno desértico como en Arzach de Moebius, después encontramos diferentes biomas. Por supuesto hay que mencionar la música, fundamental en la creación de su atractiva atmósfera, con una banda sonora entre lo orquestal y lo New Age, evocando la fuerte sensación telúrica del juego y, a la vez, tecnológica, y es que la música New Age, por ejemplo con sintetizadores imitando flautas, realmente crea esa ambientación entre lo orgánico y lo tecnológico.

    Todo esto con buen diseño de niveles, que no deja lugar para aburrirse, y situaciones y enemigos variados y espectaculares, que mantienen siempre el interés, hace que tengamos un clásico, puede que obsoleto en buena parte ya que el remake no aporta todo lo que debiera, pero no por ello deja de ser un disfrutable clásico que con su belleza apocalíptica es recomendable para quien busque una directa experiencia arcade.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Cubed3
    Jul 6, 2020
    60
    At a cheaper price this could be recommended for a quick Sunday afternoon stroll, especially for anyone nostalgic of the original title. A nifty touch would have been to include the original game as an unlockable, which would at least help sweeten the fact that this can be completed within an hour or two. Despite its abundant and underwhelming flaws, Panzer Dragoon: Remake is still a piece of gaming history that deserves to be played, and shooting down waves of enemies does still prove to be satisfying.
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  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 1, 2020
    70
    Hopefully the first footstep (or in this case, wingflap) toward flying back into the larger Panzer Dragoon world. [Issue #46 – May/June 2020, p. 29]
  3. COGconnected
    Apr 24, 2020
    60
    Panzer Dragoon: Remake won’t be for everyone. I never played the original game, but I have a basic knowledge of the franchise. It looked familiar to a personal favourite of mine, Star Fox, but unfortunately, Panzer Dragoon was nowhere near as enjoyable. It simply lacks a lot of the fun touches and personality that make the Star Fox franchise so good. Panzer Dragoon does have some fun moments and some of the visuals are quite impressive. I didn’t care much for the story and the game is quite short. If you were a fan of the original, nostalgia alone might be enough to make the purchase. It’s worth noting that a remake of the sequel is already in development, so if you do enjoy Panzer Dragoon: Remake, you’ll have something more to look forward to.
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