Panzer Dragoon: Remake Version 1.3 Update Adds 60fps Support, Gyro Controls And More

Wow, pretty big update!

I think this game is fantastic, the best way to enjoy a Sega classic the days IMO, playing the Saturn version feels really rough in comparison. I think it got unnecessarily criticized by people who don't really appreciate the games from that era, or they were very nostalgic for the original and didn't like any changes. I think the changes were welcome.

@graysoncharles Are we seriously going to pretend like nobody updates games after they release these days? I mean take a look at Animal Crossing, they just added features a month later. Heck Mario Maker 2 took about 10 months to add the world maker.

It looks like this patch fixes most (or all) of the issues that people are currently having with the game.
I agree with @graysoncharles, even if it was a Day 1 patch after a delay, it would been fine.

What deadlines could there be, though?
It's not a holiday game, so that deadline is completely out of the question.
I can only think a March 31st deadline (usually end-date for Q1 sales), or an anniversary deadline (as I believe the OG Saturn game came out in March of 1995).

Yes I hope all these updates made it to the physical release.

Very close to purchasing once this update goes live. Of course if they couple that with a sale I’ll be easier to sway 😏

You only get one chance to make a first impression. I played this game a little bit in late March when it was released. I wasn't very impressed and decided not to purchase it myself.

The updates mentioned are likely to make it a more enjoyable experience. However I've already moved on. It's not that I dislike it, it's just that I'm no longer interested.

What a shame they couldn't have released it in a better state. I might have purchased it.

@graysoncharles I think we can only blame the current state of the industry for that one. Once upon a time games had to remain the way they released, making sure all the content was there and going through all the bugs was an essential process if they wanted it to be as good as it could be. Now a days thanks to online patching being a regular part of using a modern game console, most games are just set around releasing on a set date no matter what because they know they can just patch it up later. To be honest I think it's just a part of the time we are living in and it's nice to know that games can often get better after their initial release, back in the day games felt more complete but there was also a lot of games that had serious problems that could have been fixed.

I think it has gotten to the point where I am just happy to get games that make all their content available and don't lock it behind "live services" and other pay to play mobile gaming inspired schemes.

@JayJ adding updates to great games that are running great on release is not the same thing as updating a game that’s unfinished, unoptimized.

Now I just need a 60-70% discount. No way I’m paying full price.

@HardcoreDaBoss True but there has been no shortage of games that have received very high praise that felt unfinished and unoptimized when they released. On PC it's just a regular part of the platform. It's a bad reason to dismiss a game.

Man. I really, REALLY, need to get the dosh for this

Can anyone who played it both pre and post update give their thoughts? I’m curious to know how it changes.

@graysoncharles Well if you're an assassins creed fan it sounds like you are being awfully selective in your outrage towards such practices. Whatever your problem is the fact remains that a lot of games are developed on PC first then ported over to consoles later, and as someone who plays a lot of games on PC that are later ported over, most of those games were in a pretty rough state when they initially released. I don't see why I should get angry about a game for the way it was in the past when I can enjoy it for the way it is.

This and No Man's Sky happen to be examples of games that were released on a console before PC, so that is probably why such a common occurrence seems to be an issue to you in these cases.

The LRG release is going to have that patch right??

This is it. This is the update. Beyond the rotation/input delay overhaul, they're adding gyro aim. Compared to that, everything else is supplemental. I need a date!

@ACNHislit I'm sorry, but have you ever heard of budgets? What on earth are you talking about?

@JayJ I could not agree more! As a HUGE fan of all three on the Saturn, and as someone who has played them countless times (even, yes, Saga; thanks Toys R Us in a rural area! haha...) over the years, I've had a blast. It's a terrific upgrade from the original, visually, too. I saw people saying the graphics had barely been upgraded... haha... WTF.

@graysoncharles agreed. that's how many games are released unfinished because they use the excuse "we can always use a patch" and if people won't complain they don't have to put extra work and money. So as cheap possible make a game. if no one moans then this product will be as it is released. Just make sure you finish the game properly before releasing. You want to have better sales right? you want to see reviews with more positive stuff than the negative right? Take a month or 2 more time before you release unfinished producht. Nuff said

Hope the LRG cartridge comes with the update.

Will still wait for a sale but it's nice to see the devs continuing to improve the game.

All these updates better be on the physical getting released by Limited Run...

Also, it seems like people are releasing unfinished games, as they think, "Bah we can just patch it later." Dont like this process at all. Would rather have a delayed game than a broken one.

Too bad the original Saturn game isn't playable thru emulation.

The Xbox game allowed you to play the original as an unlockable.

Wow, worth buying now.

Gyro controls!!! 😍 Plus 60fps! I already really enjoyed the game, but these additions should make it a lot more fun.

I wonder if NintendoLife would consider re-reviewing it in light of these additions? I know that's not the norm, but this does seem like quite a game changing update (pun intended 😉).

I was interested before, I'm more interested now. Sometimes things take a while to catchup with the customers expectations - and that's ok.

And for those saying they have moved on, or they lost their chance. Sorry but how fickle.

Exactly how many 3D on-rails shooters do you see in the eShop? This took a while but still deserves support for bringing such a rare treat to the Switch.

@graysoncharles Who the hell does that these days???/

I think it's great that they are continually working on it. I will now order a physical.

Wow...that's a big update. Nice! Glad that they keep working on it. Hope that they will remake Zwei too.

This is why I never play games when they first come out!

Glad I supported to give the team an opportunity to update, but it's always a bit frustrating not to get the complete package

@graysoncharles
Is the original release bad or unplayable? I mean, as long as version 1.0 is a good game without major bugs, I don't really care if developers release updates which make the game even better.

Gyro??? Amazing!!!

I was very disappointed with what I saw of this remake to be honest, from the lackluster dragon animations and movement that aren't as good as the originals to the underlying controls, aim cursor, and even the camera system that once again aren't as good as the originals. Even the graphics somehow look more generic, dated, and less artistically accomplished now than I think a remake like this deserves. How can you mess stuff like this up when the original is right there as a reference and baseline? If you can't even match the original game in some of the most basic yet core and important elements--I mean, seriously, the frikin' dragon actually flies outside of the camera view and indeed player view at times in this new version when you move near the edge of the screen (that's just fundamentally flawed game/gameplay design 101)--then I just think this kind of remake is worthless. Maybe some of these changes will fix things, but I'm not entirely confident the people making this version truly know how to do things right to be honest. . . .

This really makes it sound like they simply released an unfinished build at launch, not gonna lie.
And at that price point, that's not a good look.

But anyways, depending on how that turns out, it might actually put the game back on my radar.

As this update is so significant, is there any potential of a re-eview?

Could they patch in a lower price point?

Game was clearly unfinished. I'm assuming Sega needed to hit targets so rushed it out. Glad they allowed the development team to finish up. As they've probably got a ton of flak directed there way, for something out of their hands.

The damage is done! 6-10 review with many other sites slating the release a ridiculous price tag.
The only way this will see any sales now is when the shop sale kicks in!

I agree that the game should have been released like this, and should have been delayed. But from what I gather from that interview with the developper (in French), they had to chose if they wanted to release the game right now (which was still fun mind you, even with its flaws) and get that sweet Nintendo Direct window, or wait to release a better game, but just flew under the radar of everyone. I think they may have made the right choice business wise, and all the changes they're making right now will be already there when they remake Zwei. I just wish that the game get a rereview after 1.3, but I know it won't happen.

I am very glad they are cleaning it up. I will happily purchase if this correct the issues, I just did not want a worse version did the 20 year old version! that is just weird and odd that they would release it without at least making the old version The standard.

60 FPS option at what cost? Are the other visual characteristics going to take a nosedive?

If the update really does make the game better, without a significant tradeoff, I'll reconsider a purchase... once it is also has a large discount.

@Keldorek
Yes, I know that there are budgets.
@graysoncharles said something earlier about deadlines, so I was going off of that.

@Drac_Mazoku @CupidStunt @BulkSlash, and anyone else who wants them to do a re-review once 1.3 releases.
Let me ask them real quick.
Hey @Liam_Doolan, are you guys going to re-review Panzer Dragoon Remake, once this update releases? 🤔

Still no rebindable controls?

I have an 8bit-do M30, which is a 6 button controller similair to a Sega Saturn controller, but turning camera left and right is bound to C and Z not the shoulder buttons and I can't seem to change it

@GamerDad66 It is playable through emulation, mednafen runs both Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon 2 just fine.

Saturn is one of the harder ones to emulate due to the kind of hardware it used, but Saturn emulation has made a lot of good improvements as of lately.

@JayJ Adding new features is one thing, but these patches are mostly just fixing an unfinished, very unpolished original release. It's really saying something when people were complaining that there were a few things that even the original Saturn version did better.

Also, last time I checked, most game reviewers don't wait for patches to come out before writing their reviews, so fair or not games like this do not receive high praise and are indeed dismissed for being initially released in a mediocre state. That's without even mentioning what it does to the value of the physical release years in the future if these patches aren't automatically included...

I was interested in this until reading many negative comments about it. Might reconsider now.

@dharmajones93 Yeah Xbox One X enhanced games is probably where I get most of my enjoyment from video games these days.

@BulbasaurusRex You are giving far too much credit to the video games journalism industry when it comes to sales and promotional material these days. Most people just watch someone stream the game, and streamers are always playing the most up to date versions of whatever games. If you think none of the popular games today have been heavily improved upon with a steady stream of patches you are living in a fantasy world.

@wazlon The vast majority of negative comments in this section are from haters who never even played the game.

@JayJ Many gamers like myself still rely on written reviews to decide what to buy, either because we don't have time to watch streams of every interesting game release, or because we want to avoid spoilers.

Most popular games indeed are in a mostly complete state upon release and only receive minor fix-it patches afterwards. Any other significant patches deal with extra bonus content and/or balance updates, not necessary content and features and technical polish that should've been in the game to begin with.

@wazlon We're only making negative comments about the original unpatched version. If you think this patch will improve the game enough for your liking, go ahead and get it once the patch is released.

@BulbasaurusRex Sorry but that is simply false in this day and age of live services and early releases being a popular business model. It is also quite ignorant to be latching onto a critic's opinion as opposed to forming your own opinion.

@JayJ
Why do you think the negative comments are "from haters who never even played the game?" 🤔
I think the game looks fun, (I got more interested once I realized it played like Star Fox), but the issues kind of put me off from getting it, as I feel it's slightly rushed.
I think most people are just put off by the issues, that have appeared either in the Remake, or were from the original game and stayed in the Remake.
Mainly, issues that appeared in the Remake.

@ACNHislit Well because a lot of people hating on it have admitted to having never purchased the game.

Excellent! I haven't given this game enough attention (only two playthroughs) due to the atrocious loading times, but the game is otherwise pretty damn good considering it's Forever Entertainment.

@JayJ
Oh, okay. 👍
That's really weird.
Why would people hate on it, then? 🤔

@ACNHislit I think some people just latch onto what some other person might have said and adopt that as their own take.

For those curious, LRG have confirmed the patch will be in the cartridge:

https://twitter.com/LimitedRunGames/status/1253366338015367168?s=19

@RazumikhinPG Well, good chance of being on there anyway. I'll go ahead and take the risk and order a copy. If not, I'll sell it later on and get the Steam version.

It's like releasing a remastered version of the outdated old Panzer Dragon back from March. Exciting!

Does it update the graphics? Or let you choose the original graphics. The new graphics seem so lackluster.

@ACNHislit My point was that deadlines and budgets go hand-in-hand. You can't push a deadline very often without blowing a budget, so games sometimes come out and features are added later. Blowing a budget means you even risk NOT releasing the game at all.

@graysoncharles Agreed. I don't know why companies have to always rush games out like this

Cool stuff. Will download

Fantastic - one month wait for them to do all this is fine by me. It's a special game and I'm hardly surprised they didn't 'nail it' completely on first release. This isn't Nintendo - some smaller teams just have to get the product out, make some money, then improve a few things.

@ACNHislit I think they rushed it a little so it could be an immediate download in a Nintendo Direct.

Watching some youtube videos of the new patch...and it looks like the graphics are worse? I know that lately some youtube vids seem to be really compressed and inaccurate (more than usual) so I'm hoping someone here can tell me what's up. Been waiting to buy this game until they patched it up a bit.

It is 13/5/2020. Just a reminder of the date to the NintendoLife people who think it's modern to read a comment at #6 and then a reply to the 6th comment at comment #43 and then a reply to the 6th comment at comment #77.

Well they finally came through!

Sadly for them the reviews will remain as they were, and that is a big influence over potential buyers. Too late.

@Moroboshi876 If anything that just shows off the problem with reviews in this era of frequently updated games. It's no wonder most people just watch someone stream it.

@JayJ Just because other people do it, is a rather poor excuse but it is the world we live in.

@zionich Well a review is just one person's opinion, not exactly the best basis for what you will personally enjoy.

Imagine releasing a game that runs at 30 fps :0

Is this game worth it now that updates have been released?

Gyro controls appeal to me so will be getting this at some point.

Just got 20% off for buying one of their other games on the eshop. I bought a .19 cent game😂

@JayJ I am referring to releasing and unfinished, unpolished game.

@zionich Well you better get on complaining about over half the AAA games these days.

@JayJ I did in my original comment.

@JayJ No, you're wrong. Sure, it's relatively more common than it used to be, but Nintendo almost always puts outs an acceptably finished product upon initial release, as do many other high quality developers. We wouldn't be complaining about such an unfinished product like this if it weren't a somewhat rare occurrence. I suppose there are early access and beta releases on Steam, but those are clearly advertised as such, and only digitally exclusive releases can use that kind of practice, anyway.

Why wouldn't I rely on critics' opinions if there's no demo? How do you expect me to form my own opinions without being able to play the games first? I'm not about to go waste my money buying games blindly without doing my research first. That's why game reviews exist in the first place! If one review isn't good enough, just read multiple ones. While being opinion-based, they'll still generally tell you everything you need to know about how the game plays as you would get from watching an online gameplay video but in a much more timely manner.

So can anyone else describe how well the new gyro controls work? For one thing, do you need to use the right stick for anything?

@BulbasaurusRex Dude, over half the new release games I got this gen needed many patches, some still played poorly even after many patches.

So like, are you not going to review it again?

A substantial update like this warrants an updated review.

Now I will take a plunge.

Is there a physical release for this announced at all?

@graysoncharles At least they are doing it, and quickly. Which is far more than lots of others do.

@RPGamer Limited Run, ended a month ago.

@GuruOfGreatness Limited Run, it ended a month ago.

@YANDMAN Is that all? Had a feeling they had released something, but was hoping that it might get a normal, mainstream physical release. Oh wells. Thanks anyway.

@GuruOfGreatness if there is to be a japanese release it's usually announced before anything lImited run puts out, but you never know.

@Hikingguy I think the made the right decision to release it sooner, at the same time as the last Direct, which gave them TONS of publicity. They already told that they made tons of profit with the game, and maybe they wouldnt have been able to did that if they would have released it in the middle of nowhere after everything was patched. And if the game sold well, it means they can continue with the Zwei remake, which is the REAL thing we want, and all the improvement we're getting with the first remake will follow in the Zwei one. Overall, they made the right decision, and they quickly patched almost eveything that was bugging people instead of just going radio silent. Kudo to the developper!

@JayJ no it's not a bad reason to diss the game.. it's a perfectly good reason actually because it shows the incompetence of the developers and their only objective is to milk more money from the hype for the game.

Animal Crossing wasn't broken when it was released. Using that as an example is just plain silly.

This game was a mess on release. Outside of that, it's still a short game that doesn't warrant even half of its price.

There are mobile games that offer more content than this game does.

@Razer I wasn't using Animal Crossing as an example, but literally every game that comes out on PC seems to have serious problems and needs patching for performance improvements, not to mention every game that comes from publishers like Ubisoft, EA, Activision, the list goes on. You are literally citing the only examples out there that actually deliver games that don't need much in the way of patching, and even then glorious Nintendo has still had their fair share of games that needed patching for serious issues. You seem to be acting like video games never need patching besides this one which is a statement that is completely detached from reality.

Oh man, they’ve RE5’d the gyro controls. 😢

You can’t invert the gyro and the left stick independently, it inverts both controls from the single toggle, so sadly I can’t use the gyro.

I will probably eventually get it now that gyro has been introduced and it seems to have been improved via these updates from the 6/10 reviewed game.

However, it appears from the comments it's still awkward even with gyro?