Panzer Dragoon for Switch

[it290]

It's out. Anyone played it yet?

[BrianC]

It's out. Anyone played it yet?

The Nintendolife review doesn't have me too hopeful. Framerate and control issues (more put off by the latter since the framerate wasn't perfect in the original either). It mentions that changing the view is slower than the Saturn version. I do find it interesting that it has twinstick controls, since the original game actually had something similar. It didn't support the Virtual On twin sticks, but it supported dual mission sticks plugged into the same base.

edit: This website mentions that only Zwei uses the two mission sticks plugged into one base, not the original.

[GaijinPunch]

meaning anyone who doesn’t have any interest in its legacy may not be able to see past the fact that they’re paying about $25 for a game that’s over in an hour or two.

You let a review that has that in it influence your decision?

[BrianC]

meaning anyone who doesn’t have any interest in its legacy may not be able to see past the fact that they’re paying about $25 for a game that’s over in an hour or two.

You let a review that has that in it influence your decision?

I take the review with a grain of salt, but the comments about the controls and the unproven developer have me skeptical. I agree that the comment about the play time and other comments on the page are cringeworthy.

[chempop]

I watched someone play who had tons of experience with Panzer Dragoon on Saturn, PS2 Ages release, and the version on Orta. He said the controls need a patch, plain and simple.

Looks great though so hopefully it gets fixed by the time it's on PS4 (PSVR support would be cool too for those who own it).

[GaijinPunch]

Well, that sucks. I don't have a Switch but that looks like a nice upgrade. Let's face it -- the original is was never really amazing in the graphics department. Zwei was a huge uptick.

[Mischief Maker]

Here's some video footage.

I'm not terribly surprised this is a shitshow because I bought Forever Entertainment's previous title "Prodigy Tactics," a very pretty game that's arguably not even finished to this day.

But having played Prodigy Tactics, I'm shocked how crappy their Panzer Dragoon looks because I know they can deliver the goods visually.

Oh well.

[Ghegs]

Here's some video footage.

I'm not terribly surprised this is a shitshow...

I've never played the original game, but that review sounded horribly nitpicky as well as factually wrong. He complains about the default setting for inverted controls several times (which can be changed, so a non-issue) and apparently doesn't see the pillars' reflection in the water that are clearly there, even if they are less pronounced than in the original.

I'm still on the fence on whether I want to buy this so I've been looking at several reviews on 'tube, the consensus seems to be that the remake is generally good, but the USD $25 price is too high compared to the ~hour of gameplay it'll take to finish it. An argument that holds little value, especially in a place like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RGnUMaiMi0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYW56FscNfg

[guigui]

French people on shump.com say the lack of autofire on the standard shot is bad, especially for stage 4 boss. The difficulty might have increased a little, and the time it takes to turn you dragoon seems to be longer than in the original.
Nothing that cannot be patched though, but lets hope the devs will hear those remarks.

[chempop]

I remember 'piano keying' A, B, C on the saturn pad as a kid, it was the fastest way to rapidly shoot the gun. Lag on the 90° camera control seems to be the main issue here. Personally from what I saw and just looking at screen shots I think the graphics are great for a remake.

[EmperorIng]

I am surprised that they didn't include autofire. That's some... serious faithfulness to the original. The stage 4 boss really wears you out in the original, too!

[TransatlanticFoe]

Ha value for money was a big point against Panzer Dragoon on its original release. It's not terribly challenging and the modern market is even more critical of "short games" because there's no replay sentiment in the mainstream market - too many people simply beat a game then trade it in, or for indie titles simply don't download until it's heavily discounted.

I'd have given this a shot on its physical release but for one thing. The way the dragon bobs around. Felt physically sick after a few minutes.

Loving the nitpicks over the cursor positioning and graphical style though. And from the videos it doesn't look like the camera rotation is an issue but maybe that's because I've played the original as a PAL pleb? But sit still dragon, you're making me seasick!

[Strider77]

The camera rotation is an issue. It's annoying... and the aiming is kinda fickle also.

I love the original and have played it enough to pull off 100 percent shot down rates all the way through the game.

Another noteworthy thing is the orginal had visual cues that synced up with the soundtrack... that's not present anymore. The framerate I can live with but there is no reason it couldn't be running at 60 (even on the Switch).

[spmbx]

The way the dragon moves looks nice for about half a minute, but i can’t play a game where it bounces around like a maniac when you’re flying in a straight line.

[MJR]

I dusted up my saturn and played on that for a while to feel difference, then I tried on Switch handheld mode (for less lag). Controls are certainly little bit more responsive on saturn (surprises: no one), but when playing on handheld it's not that much worse at all, it's quite playable actually. Only the turning feels significantly slower. Playing on telly, even aiming was painful, and I usually don't have lag problems with my OLED tv when it's on game mode.

I think it's a decent remake, and one that has been long overdue. I love the graphics in this remake.

[qmish]

Let's face it -- the original is was never really amazing in the graphics department.

Though imho, like Silent Hill 1, it helped immersion. As it pushed imagination more.

-

Anyway, i just want to hear new arrangement OST.

I love the graphics in this remake.

Did they fix colour palette and other stuff that is not faihtful to art direction of original?

[MJR]

Did they fix colour palette and other stuff that is not faihtful to art direction of original?

What has that to do with me loving the graphics? The original has some choices that work better with it, the remake has other choices that are better.

[GaijinPunch]

Though imho, like Silent Hill 1, it helped immersion. As it pushed imagination more.

The original didn't take long for me to put aside. Choppy frame rate and what not. There's a limit to letting the imagination run wild. Zwei delivered continually.

[null1024]

Well, that sucks. I don't have a Switch but that looks like a nice upgrade. Let's face it -- the original is was never really amazing in the graphics department. Zwei was a huge uptick.

Given the rest of the early releases on Saturn, PD1 doesn't look too bad, and it's got style in spades.
Shame about that 20fps though. I got used to it, which was mildly terrifying. Other games start to look too smooth if I sit down and play it for a while.
Zwei is a real treat for the machine though, keeping a rather solid 30fps and putting a bunch of stuff on the screen. Game just oozes style too, and I'm fairly concerned in that regard when it comes to the remake of that on the horizon.

If there's one thing that kills me about this remake visually, it's the awful color grading, it's just completely at odds with what you'd have seen across the four Panzer Dragoon games. I absolutely hate the weird, yellowy, very saturated tones they decided to go with.
First stage is way too cluttered looking too, but the rest honestly isn't that bad looking. The stage at the end when you're in the city looks great in the remake in particular, even if it's changed a bunch stylistically.

[bigbadboaz]

Are there any concrete expectations out there about the PS4 version, i.e. was it promised for 60fps, etc?

Anyway, if this title doesn't quite pan out, here's hoping they take the criticisms to heart and we at least get a polished version of Zwei. That's the one that really matters

[it290]

Is PS4 even confirmed anywhere? I can't seem to find any info on that other than vague rumors.

[Phellan Wolf]

It looks like a patch is out that adds photo mode, and the arrange OST.
Can someone confirm that it also improves input latency and fps issues?? Can’t believe they have treated PD like this. Shame on them

[CricketyJimit]

Apparently they're about to release a patch for 60fps and reduced input lag -
https://twitter.com/PanzDragWorld/statu ... 8113054722

[TransatlanticFoe]

Also mentions improved dragon animation. Hopefully that means it won't be bobbing around all over the place.

[EmperorIng]

Once I see some footage of the post-patch, I may decide to take the plunge. It's a shame they had to rush out the game when it clearly was unfinished, but at least they won't just ignore it from here on out.

Improved turning-speed + animation fixes are big steps in the right direction.

[guigui]

Any mention/hope for an autofire ?

[m.sniffles.esq]

Any mention/hope for an autofire ?

Not yet, I guess they want players to stay pure. But as mentioned. There are some boss sections that are brutal

Actually, the entire game was brutal, initially. Because the lock shot was straight-up busted before the first patch. (I'm one of the stupid day one buyers. Because I figured we were never going to see Zwei unless the first sold)

The game was obviously just kicked out the door seeing that it just appeared in the e-shop one day with zero advance notice. But, at least the developers have been making good with the patches. i'm one of the few that think the updated graphics look really good. And feel that despite a few things (the aforementioned sluggish turning) the patches did the trick and it's plays really well (at least handheld. Only plain 'well' docked). And it may get better still.

As a fan of the original (who used to love showing it to my Nintendo zealot friends and say "this is why I don't give a fuck about your Star Fox"), I'm happy with the update* and feel like I got my money's worth. Bring on Zwei!

*Except that the sonofabitch is 7GB! That's bigger than Mario Cart 8!

[guigui]

Thank you for the feedback m.sniffles.esq

But wait, is the update up already ?

[BrianC]

Thanks for the feedback on the latest version. I recently picked up Orta for the Xbox.

[m.sniffles.esq]

But wait, is the update up already ?

There's been a few updates since launch. One about three days after release that fixed the aiming, another in early April that added the photo mode and alt OST, and I guess there's an upcoming update.

I sold my copy of Orta for probably 50 cents to Gamestop because my 360 died and I figured that was the last piece of hardware that was ever going to support it.

Three weeks later they announced compatibility on the Xbone


(subtract one sad face because my Xbone died too, so I'd be unable to play it now anyway)