Panzer Dragoon: Remake

There isn't much of a story here, other than you play a man in an obscure fantasy world who rides a dragon. He's sole motivation, to seek out and destroy another man and his dragon. Not much else. The cut-scenes sure show their age, even with the improved graphics. However, the in-game visuals make for a much smoother and vibrant experience than the original. For the game-play, it is a rail shooter, so that's pretty much it. Lock onto enemy and shoot shoot shoot. However, what set this one apart from others at the time was the ability to target the 360 degree environment. Meaning you always have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. Very much a product of its time, there isn't much here unless you were a massive fan of the original. If you are a fan though, it's a nice revisit due to the re-vamped graphics. Regardless, $35.95AUD at the time of writing is too much for such a short game. If you're keen, get it on sale.

I want to start by saying that this remake is very well-made. The visuals are stunning and the cutscenes are a joy to watch. It truly invokes that feeling from back in the days of the early 3D consoles where the technology was just advenced enough to render these worlds but primitive enough to be slightly....ominous. In that your mind had to fill in the gaps with regards to the story. I think that element and spirit of the game was retained while still overhauling the graphics. You can tell the devs put a lot of passion into this project. However, the game is just too short to justify its full price tag. That isn't so much a fault of the remake as it is the original was short to begin with. There are 7 levels altogether and I was able to complete it in about an hour of play time. You can get some replay value out of it by chasing the achievements and higher score rankings but for the most part, it's over before you know it. I managed to pick this up during a recent sale for $8 and I feel that I got my money's worth. For the amount of content on offer, I would say that it is much easier to recommend during a sale. Watch out for the remake of Panzer Dragoon II coming in 2021!

Yes, it's short. Shcmups are short. This is a 3d schmup/rail shooter. It's also cheap. Looks great, runs great (60 solid on a 1050ti at 1440p). Gameplay is awesome and exactly as you remember it. This is a fantastic remake done with care. The v-sync/59fps issue is now fixed thanks to a patch. I wholeheartedly recommend this game.

I played an emulated version of the original many, many years ago on PC, mainly because I love dragons. Like the original, this is a very fun and simple flying shooter game. The graphics in the remake are quite nice and lively, too. I should point out that the game is very short and you can beat it in an hour. Even though I mainly play games with a lot of story and choice, I found the simplicity of this game quite relaxing and even enjoyed the fact that I finsihed it so quickly. I ended up replaying a few levels just to get a better score. That being said, I did get it at a 90% discount and I don't think it's worth the full price - simply due to how short it is, no other reason.

Avoid Forever Entertainment/MegaPixel, they also barfed out those bad remakes of House of the Dead and Front Mission, continuing to milk the nostalgia bubble with soulless, cheap cash grabs. The original had a unique art style, rare for a 1995 polygonal 3D console game, whereas everything in his remake looks like cheap plastic. It's hard to aim with the terrible target reticle obscuring your view. Play Panzer Dragoon Orta instead, which is arguably the ultimate rail shooter, or any quality rail shooter like REZ, Sin & Punishment, Star Fox 64, Gamera 2000...and avoid this publisher/developer.