Panzer Dragoon: Remake (2020) [Switch]

“Who wills, Can. Who tries, Does. Who loves, Lives.”

-Anne McCaffrey, The Dragonriders of Pern

Fifteen years after its initial release on the Sega Saturn, Team Andromeda and Yukio Futatsugi’s post-apocalyptic rail shooter can’t entirely shake the clumsiness of its era of origin. However, the recent version 1.3 update smooths out a lot of wrinkles and the Dune-ish, Nausicaä-ish, Star Fox-ish science fantasy Panzer Dragoon: Remake is better than it has ever been. At least if my hazy memory of the original back in the ’90s can be trusted.

Left: Sega Saturn. Right: Nintendo Switch.

Armored Dragon

“Panzer dragoon” in German, the game centers on a desert hunter and it plays out like an elaborate chase sequence. Protagonist Keil Fluge is saved from a mutant monstrosity by a blue dragon and its rider, but he witnesses a battle between the blue dragon and a black dragon which results in the death of the rider. Keil inherits the rider’s mission: stop the black dragon from reaching the tower of the ancients, a technological cache of weapons the Empire wants to get its dirty world-conquering mitts on.

Keil climbs atop the blue dragon and embarks on a hot pursuit through ruins and cities, over sands and seas, past forests and factories, a one-man/one-dragon army against a horde of mutants and machines. The dragon knows the way.

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority…” -John Dalberg-Acton

Ancient Civilization

In tech terms, 15 years is more than a lifetime. Like the archaic bio-engineered weapons awaiting the dragons at the end of the adventure, MegaPixel Studio and Forever Entertainment pursued an ancient powerhouse with the goal of re-releasing Panzer Dragoon upon the world, albeit with much more than a simple fresh coat of paint. So how does Panzer Dragoon: Remake handle the iconic 3D classic?

Much has been said elsewhere about the symptomatic tonal shift resulting from the updated graphics, visuals that aren’t merely polished for the HD era but also flooded with extra detail and complexity. While I find that discussion interesting, and important for the subject of remakes and authenticity, I think better writers more familiar with the original game are the ones equipped to make that comparison. For the rest of us, 60FPS, reduced input lag, upgraded animations (thanks for that version update), and a dedicated photo mode are more than enough.

Not all of the bells and whistles are created equal, ranging from the more useful (rapid-fire, my poor thumb thanks you) to the less useful (easy boss mode alongside easy mode) to the downright anachronistic (cheat codes when the internet exists).

There’s only so much that can be done with such a short game, though I do think for the most part that the additions and improvements have been meaningful, though of course adding in all of the features from the original game not present at the remake’s launch goes a long way (such as Episode 0). It’s that brevity which is, perhaps, the most fundamental barrier to Panzer Dragoon: Remake truly soaring. Maybe a Panzer collection would have made a bigger splash.

The 8-bit Review

 Visuals: 7/10

As a rail shooter, the shifts in camera direction don’t always make sense, and the more rapid twists and turns can cost you a shot or sense of direction. Panzer Dragoon: Remake can’t always escape the drab palette and muddiness of its era of origin, though when its dreamscapes are at their most open and majestic and colorful, they really capture the imagination.

Audio: 6/10

I’d have given the Panzer Dragoon: Remake soundtrack a 5/10 when the remake first launched, but since then, the soundtrack and sound effects received a bit of a boost from a patch. Though its synth and orchestra are occasionally interesting, half-fairy tale and half-science fiction, and though it is far from the normal shmup soundtrack fare, I didn’t find it quite as inspired as the visuals and setting.

Gameplay: 7/10

At launch, Panzer Dragoon: Remake managed to stick a rocky landing relatively unscathed, version 1.3 update is a step in the right direction but there are still rough edges like long load times, superfluous and unnecessary additions, and battles with the camera, to name a few. Still, my now sore thumb appreciated the draconian dogfights at their most intense.

Narrative: 4/10

Despite the inspired elements of its science fantasy world, Panzer Dragoon: Remake tries to skirt the narrative chasm between arcade shooter and home console adventure, a gap better bridged by its RPG successor, Saga, so while it includes several cinematic cutscenes, there isn’t enough in the game to support much of a story. I found myself heading to the internet to find more information beyond the background and premise frontloaded in the game.

 Replayability: 6/10

As a deliberately arcade-styled shooter, Panzer Dragoon: Remake is short with only 7 stages plus a special Episode 0. After completing Normal mode, I unlocked a cheat code for Pandora’s Box which grants access to new options such as god mode, stage selection, speed up, and easy boss mode. Episode 0, or Performance Mode, can be accessed from the title screen via cheat code, as can Super Weapon Mode and Pandora’s Box.

Challenge: 5/10

Normal mode is very manageable up to Episode 4 when you start getting claustrophobic. It’s easy to get surrounded and bombarded by off-screen enemies if you don’t keep an eye on your mini-radar, but I died just once in Normal mode and oddly not once in Hard mode.

Uniqueness: 8/10

Panzer Dragoon: Remake is a brief excursion but its world full of warring dragons, imperial ships of floating stone, arcane technology, and hideous aliens remains one of the most distinctive in all video game sci-fi. It is, however, still a remake of an original game.

Personal: 7/10

I enjoyed the frantic aerial skirmishes of Panzer Dragoon: Remake and played through the core game twice. There’s a lot I didn’t remember but a lot that felt like I played a faded memory brought to life again, I could just wish for more of it (not all of the secret options provide real replay value). Whether this facelift, which admittedly didn’t put its best foot forward at launch, will please the entrenched fans of the series after all these years or not… that’s another question for another time.

We would like to thank MegaPixel Studio and Forever Entertainment for providing us with a copy of Panzer Dragoon: Remake for this critique.

Aggregated Score: 6.3

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage, Mage Cast, or Story Mode.