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PANZER DRAGOON: Remake |OT| Same Tower, New Power

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SirNinja

SirNinja

One Winged Slayer
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Nov 17, 2017
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Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
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INFO
Original game by: Team Andromeda
Remake Developer: MegaPixel Studio
Publisher: Forever Entertainment
Platform: Switch, Steam, Stadia, PS4, Luna, Xbox One

Release dates
Switch: March 26, 2020 — 4 years ago
Stadia: June 1, 2020 — 3 years, 10 months ago
Steam, GOG: September 25, 2020 — 3 years, 6 months ago
PS4: September 27, 2020 — 3 years, 6 months ago
Luna: November 29, 2020 — 3 years, 4 months ago
Xbox One: December 11, 2020 — 3 years, 4 months ago

Price: $24.99. Free trial on Stadia available here (no account needed).
See FAQs below for info on physical editions and pricing.

Game size: 9 GB (Switch, v2.0), 6.9 GB (PC, v1.4.2)
Genre: Rail shooter
Engine: Unity


STORY​
Thousands of years ago, the people of a distant world were undone by war.

In a series of conflicts fought with increasingly dangerous bio-technology, the Ancients drove themselves to near-extinction. Those who remain live nomadic and often short lives in the perilous aftermath, filled with surreal monstrosities built for a conflict that has long outlived them.

Yet as civilization finally takes hold once more, the many buried secrets of the Ancient Age prove too compelling for a burgeoning Empire, who now use this technology to rule with an iron fist. During their ongoing excavations, they unearth something far more powerful still: a series of monolithic Towers, each a conduit for an unimaginable power lurking far below the ruined earth.

As the Empire searches for a way to harness an offshore Tower for their own ends, they are thwarted by a mysterious Dragon and its mysterious rider, who lay waste to the Imperial forces and prevents the Tower's full activation. The ensuing battles, however, come at great cost to the dragon's rider, who is one day mortally wounded in front of a wandering hunter, Keil Fluge.

Now entrusted with the rider's mysterious destiny, Keil takes flight, unaware of the role he is to play in averting untold calamity....


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ABOUT THE GAME​
29 years ago in 1995, Team Andromeda stunned the gaming world with a rail shooter offering 360 degrees of freedom, set in a world bursting with exotic architecture and monstrous fauna. Panzer Dragoon was a game like no other, and an early showcase of what the Sega Saturn could do. The game was also ported to the PC in 1996, and received an enhanced Sega Ages port on the PS2 in 2006. In addition, the PC version of the game was included in its entirety as an unlockable within Panzer Dragoon Orta.

Today, nearly on the game's 25th anniversary, Panzer Dragoon has been remade from the ground up for a new generation. With all-new graphics, new features, and an optional redone soundtrack from longtime series composer Saori Kobayashi (Panzer Dragoon Saga, Panzer Dragoon Orta), the journey of the Blue Dragon can be experienced like never before.


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FEATURES​
Panzer Dragoon is a rail shooter where threats can show themselves at any angle. You'll have to look to the sides and even behind you to fend off danger. Fortunately, both Dragon and rider are more than capable of defending themselves.

By holding down the attack button and sweeping the cursor over a group of enemies, the Dragon can unleash a volley of homing lasers when the button is released, and Keil is equipped with a rapid-firing gun which can easily fend off smaller threats like projectiles with rapid taps of the fire button. The two attacks can (and often, should) be performed simultaneously, in order to fend off the often-aggressive attacks you'll face on your journey to the Tower out at sea.

The game consists of seven Episodes, each featuring a unique and stunning locale that showcases the surreal world of Panzer Dragoon. From the sprawling ruins on a giant lake, through one of the Empire's active excavation sites, and even a breakneck chase through the coastal Imperial Capital itself, Panzer Dragoon is a landmark journey not to be missed.


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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS​

Q: Is there a physical version of the game?
A: Yes, although it's from Limited Run Games, so don't delay if you want a physical copy. This release comes in two editions: a regular edition for $39.99 and a Limited Edition for $59.99; the latter edition features an art booklet and a Sega Saturn-inspired case.

Q: I know Panzer Dragoon II is also getting a remake; will Panzer Dragoon Saga ever get one?
A: No word on that yet. Although the source code for the game was apparently lost, Panzer Dragoon director Yukio Futatsugi recently dropped some cryptic hints at a GDC 2019 Q&A that it might have been found after all. Whether anything comes of that is anyone's guess at the moment.
 
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Deleted member 21709

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It looks a little bit more faithful to the original art direction than the previous reveal. Waiting for the Steam release!
 
Tailzo

Tailzo

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Oct 27, 2017
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Played docked only so far, and it's fun and much more fluid than the Saturn original. I will take it with me to bed and continue playing it later. Played the first episode, and parts of the 2nd. Loving the colors, and enjoying photo mode :)
 
Weiss

Weiss

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Video Games Are Dumb said:
I kinda loved how busted the original game looked. The pixels were hanging on for dear life and it made it all the more dreamlike IMHO.
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I think that's part of the issue with the reception. Panzer Dragoon, as a series, is intensively driven on emotion, on how it makes you feel while you play. That's not something that can be hard replicated in a remake.
 

Deleted member 8593

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Another game that needlessly adds a 30% Switzerland tax on the eShop. I asked them on Twitter but unless there's a sale or I can find a code, I won't support this for now even though I was looking forward to it a lot.
 
Video Games Are Dumb

Video Games Are Dumb

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Weiss said:
I think that's part of the issue with the reception. Panzer Dragoon, as a series, is intensively driven on emotion, on how it makes you feel while you play. That's not something that can be hard replicated in a remake.
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Yeah and I feel like there's a way to do that but...most developers would never take that risk. Killer7 is always my go to example of letting technology make chaotic art. Or for a more recent success, the amazing Hylics series. But sadly people want art that looks "good" rather than art that makes you uneasy :/

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OneThirtyEight

OneThirtyEight

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Oct 28, 2017
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Never played the originals but i am intruiged.
This gen does not stop to deliver on remakes/remasters and collections. Love it!
 
Weiss

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Just finished. Really glad the final boss is a pushover because I was running low on continues.

So you know despite all my worries and fears, this is what I wanted. It's Panzer Dragoon touched up and given another shot at life. If you're down on it that's fine, really, Panzer Dragoon means different things to us, but I couldn't be happier with what I've got and am eagerly anticipating Zwei's remake.
 
No Depth

No Depth

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Oct 27, 2017
18,248
Loadtimes are a bit long(~20s+ per level), and it is really annoying that you have to go out to the main menu to adjust the controls(which means more loading to get back in and test changes).

I find the default reticle sensitivity too low, and making fine tuning is just a long waiting game to test. Modern controls are a nice addition, but I sort of found the original still just works a bit better or is more comfortable, but I also played a metric ton on Saturn so am used to how this feels on default scheme.

Otherwise a pretty strong remake. The difficulty level feels tuned to be easier as you soak up more damage than I recall. Especially against the boss whose attacks hit like a truck on Saturn, but far less here.
 
Strike

Strike

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Oct 25, 2017
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Looks dope. Will be supporting this in the hope that the rest of the series makes it over at some point.
 
flattie

flattie

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Nov 5, 2017
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Actually quite decent. The graphics and artstyle work quite well, for my tastes. Performance is very smooth in docked mode (certainly more so than the original!)

Not enjoying the slow camera rotation. That should be top of their patch list.
 
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SirNinja

SirNinja

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Nov 17, 2017
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Just finished download the game. That new CG intro is legit, goddamn. Pretty faithful to the original while still adding quite a bit of visual flourish.

Couple other quick things of note:
  • There's a Stats screen on the main menu that shows you:
    • How many games you've started and finished, subdivided by difficulty
    • Game time
    • Normal and Special shots fired
    • Overall accuracy
    • Total enemies and bosses shot down
    • Times you were defeated
  • For whatever reason, you can "Continue" even on a fresh save file. This puts you right into the game (on Normal difficulty?).
  • The game version on Switch and on the main menu doesn't match. Switch says v1.1, menu says v1.0.
  • Load times are a bit long (about 15-20s). I do like that there's a "Press A to Continue" prompt when it finishes, so you can set the game down and do some other stuff while it loads (like, say, if you're frantically trying to manage an OT for a game that just now surprise-released...).
  • As with the original game, there's no tutorial, so it's highly advised to go to Options -> Controls and familiarize yourself. The style defaults to Classic as well; you may wish to choose Modern if you prefer to shoot with the triggers instead of buttons.
  • There's a Photo Mode and it's pretty neat. You can move the camera anywhere around your character, tilt the view, apply various filters, etc. Nothing amazing but it's cool that it's there.
  • Game runs at 30fps on both handheld and docked. Resolution looks pretty solid in both modes.
Will be updating the OT with a lot of this stuff very soon.
 
IronicSonic

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No Depth said:
Otherwise a pretty strong remake. The difficulty level feels tuned to be easier as you soak up more damage than I recall. Especially against the boss whose attacks hit like a truck on Saturn, but far less here.
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Yeah the third boss was kicking my but in its first stage but the health bar just went to the middle. Medium easier than og realease.

I liked what I played till know. Waiting for fixes and that remixed ost!
 
Weiss

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All I know is that the boss of Level 4 is still a right bastard.
 
Karlinel

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On the fence, I loved zwei, saga and orta but never played 1, does it have any for replayability?
Btw I'm loving switch remakes, the very best I've played (Virtua Racing) was only 6€!
 

Hutchie

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Oct 27, 2017
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Not hearing anything about unlockables which is disappointing. Am miffed that this isnt 60fps (so im guessing zwei will be 30fps too.)

will wait for a sale, but most impressions ive seen have been positive
 
Weiss

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The picture in the credits one of the dev's kids drew is pretty darn cute.
 
Baladium

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So stoked to play this later! Good memories of playing the original on Saturn years ago. Here's hoping the devs did it justice.🤞

(They might've missed the original winter release window but at least it was only by a few days. lol)
 
Merton

Merton

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Oct 25, 2017
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I've been waiting and waiting to play this, but my wife got laid off this week and we have to watch funds, so I'm sidelined until we get back to normal. Enjoy it everyone who gets to play this. I remember plowing through this when I was a kid on Saturn, when it got announced I freaked out, and I'm here now and can't justify buying it at the moment, which really sucks.
 
mikehaggar

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I really like the look of this in the Direct (the art direction). Is it 60fps on Switch? Also, is there little to no geometry pop-in?
 
Puffball

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Jan 16, 2018
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hmmm...never played the original but this does look interesting. Although I get it's a rail shooter, is it true that it takes about an hour to beat the game? The price seems a bit high for a game of that length...
 
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SirNinja

SirNinja

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Nov 17, 2017
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captmcblack said:
Downloading this now.

DO IT FOR ZWEI, SAGA AND ORTA.
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Zwei's getting remade soon too, from the same devs. Hopefully these remakes do well enough to stir some interest in some kind of Saga remake, of course...

gameongreggy said:
I've been waiting and waiting to play this, but my wife got laid off this week and we have to watch funds, so I'm sidelined until we get back to normal. Enjoy it everyone who gets to play this. I remember plowing through this when I was a kid on Saturn, when it got announced I freaked out, and I'm here now and can't justify buying it at the moment, which really sucks.
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Sorry to hear. :( If it's any consolation, the game is still due for several patches to add features (like the remastered soundtrack) and refine a few more things like the camera controls. So, you'll definitely be getting a more well-rounded product when you do decide to pull the trigger. This strikes me as something of a soft launch to be honest.

mikehaggar said:
I really like the look of this in the Direct (the art direction). Is it 60fps on Switch? Also, is there little to no geometry pop-in?
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It's 30 (despite the Direct trailer...) but it looks quite nice. There's very little pop-in from what I've played through so far; not bad considering the geometry has been seriously expanded from the original.

Puffball said:
hmmm...never played the original but this does look interesting. Although I get it's a rail shooter, is it true that it takes about an hour to beat the game? The price seems a bit high for a game of that length...
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Think of it like Star Fox; yes, you can go through very quickly, but the challenge lies in conquering higher difficulties (PD's not an easy game...) and increasing your shot-down ratio. It's designed to be replayable in that way.
 

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Yeah, this will be a hard one to wait on the physical edition to arrive...

I'll play my OG Saturn copy in the meantime...but damn!
 
Legion of Primes

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Man, I wish I wasn't low on money and trying to save some cash right now or I would get this right away. Need something new to play on switch and this game always had my interest.
 
IronicSonic

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mikehaggar

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SirNinja said:
Zwei's getting remade soon too, from the same devs. Hopefully these remakes do well enough to stir some interest in some kind of Saga remake, of course...


Sorry to hear. :( If it's any consolation, the game is still due for several patches to add features (like the remastered soundtrack) and refine a few more things like the camera controls. So, you'll definitely be getting a more well-rounded product when you do decide to pull the trigger. This strikes me as something of a soft launch to be honest.


It's 30 (despite the Direct trailer...) but it looks quite nice. There's very little pop-in from what I've played through so far; not bad considering the geometry has been seriously expanded from the original.


Think of it like Star Fox; yes, you can go through very quickly, but the challenge lies in conquering higher difficulties (PD's not an easy game...) and increasing your shot-down ratio. It's designed to be replayable in that way.
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IronicSonic said:
I don't know if I want a remake of Orta with this engine. Orta looks A LOT better than this, even if I liked this remake a lot.



There is geometry pop-in but it's far away
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Ok. Kind of a bummer. Geometry pop-in is like... a pet peeve of mine.
 
Weiss

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mikehaggar said:
Ok. Kind of a bummer. Geometry pop-in is like... a pet peeve of mine.
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FWIW I only noticed it one time during my playthrough in the last level.

Speaking of I actually really love the aesthetic differences. It's not a 1-1 but the world does feel a bit more alive this time.
 
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