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    Panzer Dragoon Remake

    Well... It's just a bit disappointing, isn't it?

    I mean it's fine; it's perfectly serviceable (except for the glaring problem that enemies blend in too much with the backdrops - that's a really basic "game design 101 fail" there).



    I gave it the benefit of the doubt, because I thought it would be a shame to judge it on the strength of a short video, but it's pretty much as presented.

    I dunno. Look at this:



    I just think in 2020, now that we're past the era where we stick HD normal maps on everything for-the-sake-of-it, a Panzer Dragoon remake with vision could've looked like that. And it can be done, too! Look at this:



    I'll go back to it (for £23 I'm going to try and get as much out of it as I can) but my first play was not favourable.

    #2
    Yep. I mentioned it in the Switch thread but my first impression was that it is just okay. The intro sequence was a really bad start to it because it’s just about the ugliest part of the game so that didn’t set a good tone. The game itself I found got better from there but it feels like a low end remake to me. I do like some of the visual design in places and feel they added some pretty detail but, in other places, I don’t think it lived up to the design of what the jaggedy Saturn version set down.

    And yes, enemies blend into the scenery and I also find the aiming reticule thing to be terrible. I know they inherited that from the original but they should have changed it to the simpler system from the sequel. Also switching camera view is pretty slow and loading times are terrible.

    All that said, I played some more yesterday and enjoyed it a lot more. Partly because now my expectations are reset but partly because I am getting used to the controls too, which I find a bit twitchy on the loose Switch stick. Struggling to beat the boss of episode 4 though.

    I’m still hoping we get the remake of the sequel and I’d even be fine with it at this same standard because I think the core game itself is so much better that it would feel much better than this remake of the original.

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      #3
      It feels like a budget game, which I guess is apt given that it is.The production values are reasonable, and will no doubt look a lot better on more powerful platforms. My main complaints are that even with the camera pulled back the dragon is still gigantic on screen which makes avoiding enemy fire often impossible, and the targeting lock on feels woolly and doesn't always work.

      It's not terrible, just mediocre, which is what I always expected it to be. Frankly I'd sooner have had a 4K port of Orta on the PS4.

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        #4
        There’s another update coming for this which, really, reads like stuff they should have had sorted for release because it probably would have helped those first impressions - http://www.nintendolife.com/news/202..._gyro_controls

        I guess I’m glad they are working to improve it.

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          #5
          Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
          There’s another update coming for this which, really, reads like stuff they should have had sorted for release because it probably would have helped those first impressions - http://www.nintendolife.com/news/202..._gyro_controls

          I guess I’m glad they are working to improve it.
          Curious about the 60fps thing. I assume that it's an actual game mode which strips out a lot of detail. It might be an improvement too, given that the game's visually a bit cluttered.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Asura View Post
            Curious about the 60fps thing. I assume that it's an actual game mode which strips out a lot of detail. It might be an improvement too, given that the game's visually a bit cluttered.
            Yep, I was thinking the same thing. There is a chance it could look cleaner if that's the case.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
              Yep, I was thinking the same thing. There is a chance it could look cleaner if that's the case.
              Hmm, no word on when this patch is coming. I checked yesterday and no update.

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                #8
                Just a heads-up - that update is out now. I haven't yet tried it but the fix list looks very good. They say they have improved the targeting system and that could make a big difference to the game for me if it's actually a genuine improvement.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                  Just a heads-up - that update is out now. I haven't yet tried it but the fix list looks very good. They say they have improved the targeting system and that could make a big difference to the game for me if it's actually a genuine improvement.
                  Yeah, just came here to ask if anyone had tried it yet.

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                    #10
                    From someone obsessed with the OG3 games, this doesn't look right at all. Maybe I just don't like remakes.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Asura View Post
                      Yeah, just came here to ask if anyone had tried it yet.
                      Tried it now and it’s a massive improvement. Huge. It’s way smoother and the aiming is far better on default settings. A really great change is the speed of the direction switches. They are lightning fast now, to the point where it really took me by surprise at first but it really helps gameplay. The dragon looks different too although it could be just the animation amends - I’d love to see a side by side comparison to see what has actually changed and what just aappears better due to the improvements in feel.

                      If they get to do PD Zwei to this standard, I’d be very happy. But really... it should have been released this way in the first place. I do appreciate that they went back and did what it took to get it better though. Not all companies could justify that extra work.

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                        #12
                        So worth a punt now?
                        It'll be my first time anyway.

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                          #13
                          It’s hard to recommend without reservation just because of what it is. It’s a short Starfoxy experience and it’s a remake of the oldest one, before they really refined it in the sequel (IMHO). I love it, although was a little disappointed with this remake but now this patch has made a big difference.

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                            #14
                            I played through this again now that the update is in and, overall it’s great. The update makes a massive difference and I love how this feels and how it plays now. There have been lots of other tweaks with the update that they didn’t even mention but make the game just a bit smoother and more enjoyable (such as changing how the boss passes you in episode 4 so it doesn’t knock off a massive chunk of health). So I’m really happy with this.

                            One downside that comes with the update is that, to get the smooth performance, the resolution of episode 5 takes a hit, giving a kind of rippling look. That was a really nice looking episode before and, when I got to it originally, it really upped my opinion of the game’s graphics. And the issue of enemies blending into the background are worse in that episode as a result. I guess that won’t be an issue on other platforms but here it’s a bit of a shame.

                            But overall, I really like this now. Enjoyed playing through it again.

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