While the Epic exclusivity deal is no doubt a disaster, I’m surprised to see generally positive receptions from the people who played Shenmue 3 at E3. I was honestly expecting a broken, unfinished game at this point, so it’s actually looking better than I had expected.
As for being unsure Grounding Inc has what it takes: they have key members from Team Andromeda, and Futatsugi still has close connections to SEGA of Japan and other SEGA icons like Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez). And they already worked on a rail shooter in the form of Crimson Dragon (which would have turned out to be a better game if it hadn’t been for some unfortunate business decisions from Microsoft). Who could possibly claim to be in a better position to remake Panzer Dragoon? Meanwhile, Forever Entertainment is only really know for Fear Effect Sedna, which wasn’t exactly received well. Nobody predicted FE of all companies to get the Panzer Dragoon license, and I think it’s perfectly normal to be wary of how they’re going to handle the Panzer Dragoon franchise, especially without input from the people that actually worked on the original games.
That’s not to say it can’t turn out to be a good thing. Streets of Rage 4 is looking great in my opinion, and barely anyone had heard of the 3 companies making it. But that team is actually making levels and implementing things based on the original design documents of Streets of Rage 2. So far, Forever Entertainment doesn’t seem to have much, if any, access to basic assets (sound effects) or documentation. We don’t know how much they’re interested in the story and the world of Panzer Dragoon, or if they just want to focus on making a good railshooter. I hope they can still do both, but hearing them say that they need to alter the original level design because “players request nice and detailed backgrounds today” is rather worrying. I also found it to be a really odd thing to say when you consider that they reveal the game on the Switch, which is known for games that value artistic direction over graphical prowess. The gameplay trailer was far from achieving a constant 60fps for that matter, so it’s not like they had room to spare for the added details. And there’s the example of Panzer Dragoon Orta’s episode 5, which was somewhat of an homage to the first episode of the original game (possibly even set in the same location). They didn’t add more details even though they could have.
Anyway, long story short, I’m worried about the remakes. We still haven’t seen much, and to their credit the developers seem passionate about what they’re doing and they put a lot of work in already. I don’t want to draw conclusions this early when so much still has to be revealed. And I’m fully aware that the majority of people who’ll play the game won’t care about many of the details that worry me. But we’re relatively close to release already, so I’d rather send constructive feedback now in the hopes that they take it into account during development.
As for the future, if the remakes end up doing well, I’m all for Futatsugi working with them. I do regret that he was sidelined for this project. It’s not like they’re unable to contact him. I kind of still hope they reconsider and get him involved. If I was asked to work on a remake, I’d certainly be looking to ask input from the very people that created the franchise.
I think the new art direction is growing on me. It’s warmer, more vibrant, a bit more surreal. And I like that. I don’t think I’d be too distraught if it stayed just the way it is.
I don’t think the PD series was meant to look photorealistic. It always had sort of a hand painted, on the fringes of being subtly cell shaded, kind of aesthetic. I would have been mortified if it had an uninspired plastic looking, mainstream look.
Also, I think the first level in the remake is at dusk or sunset? So, they might have been going for a different mood regarding this level, considering how outdated the graphics are in the original.
I would have felt better if Grounding and Land Ho were handling the remake. Both studios have ex TA staff , also Long Ho did a great job with the Sega Ages version
Agreed. Sega have a bad track record for hiring the wrong companies to make remakes of their games.
As for the trailer; I understand wanting to modernise it. But why is the colour palette so fugly? Whether you’re targetting a new audience or the hardcore fans, however you look at it, the game looks drab. This isn’t want modern audiences want to see.
“Earthly” is the term I would use to describe Panzer Dragoon’s colour palette. There’s the sense from the colour palette that the games take place in a desolate world. Instead, the trailer is hyper-colourful with bloom everywhere. The orange in the dragon’s wing is almost fluorescent.
The main thing fans have been concerned about here is how it makes sense from a historical point of view. What would the city have looked like before it was sunken? Do cities normally have lots of rock formations in them? Does it even need elements added, or would an empty world that uses open space well (see Journey, Shadow of the Colossus) better convey the post apocalyptic mood?
Which is why this new team like the one that did the SOTC remake are misinterpriting Team Andromeda’s work. Bluepoint added a bunch of filler within Team ICOs world that gave the remake almost a different tone. Same thing with this PD remake.
I hate when a completely new team takes control of a beloved franchise without at least consulting the original team members.
I’ve already talked a bit about the Shadow of the Colossus remake, but for what it’s worth, I liked what they did with that remake a lot more than what I’m seeing in this trailer. Hopefully they’ll have time to fix some basic issues like the colour palette at least.
I want it to be very faithful also, but I think I am ok with some of the visual differences as long as gameplay and story is consistent. It is exciting as I feel it is going to be good for the community. New players joining us and hopefully leading to more visibility for the series.
On a side note, it would be really great if they included an emulated version of the originals with each of the new versions as part of the release. Saturn emulation has come a long way and is very accurate these days. Including the classic version would be a good way for satisfying original fans/purists.
I one up that frelled. Actually, the higher rez PS2 re-release, or the PC version of the original might be better. Even on the smaller Switch screen, the first game would seem a blocky mess.
I need to mention that my previous post was too negative. In spite of what I said, Im still excited to play this remake. As long as they dont completely mess up the controls, it should be a fun ride.
I do, however, already really, REALLY hope they include the original soundtrack. I can’t play the rereleased Onimusha or Spyro titles because they composed new music.
Finally, there needs to be more than the standard arcade mode in this re-release. I’m not precisely sure what they ought to include as well, other than a level select, but there needs to be some extra modes to up the longevity of the title. Perhaps some bonus side missions where they reuse the levels, but taking different routes, different enemy layouts, etc.
I agree, it does need some kind of new mode. We’re all going to beat this in one play session. It’ll only take a few hours…So, maybe include a mode in which we unlock things for Pandora’s Box? Having to get certain high scores, or completing certain extra objectives.
Or have an extra level where we do said objectives in a new unique way. They could take inspiration from Moebius’ artwork and craft a unique level…
It would also be cool if this game or in Zwei remake, they have a hub village you can walk around in. Where in-between levels we can talk to inhabitants and apply certain attributes to our dragon. Sort of like “very light” rpg elements. That would be awesome! And it would give it that Panzer Dragoon Saga feel.
As another option, they could re-release it for a low price on digital stores. Perhaps Sega could re-release the Sega Ages version outside of Japan on the PlayStation Store?
It would be difficult to fit this in with the story, considering that in both of the first two games you’re chasing something. In Saga it’s mentioned that Lundi stops at a caravan, so perhaps that’s an option, but many of the later levels occur one after another so I’m not sure that it would work well to keep returning to a hub.
@Solo_Wing On a side note, I never understood why Kyle wasn’t the leader of the Seekers instead of Lundi. Since Kyle came after Lundi. Lundi in his notes to you says the dragon will rise again and find a new rider (obviously talking about Edge). But, the dragon already did rise again with Kyle, since Zwei is a prequel or happened before the first PD game. With the first PD taking place before Saga.
And I always thought to myself: why doesn’t he mention Kyle, the rider that came before Edge? Lundi, makes it sound like the dragon had still been sleeping all this time until Edge found him…It’s strange how he skips over Kyle making his story and time with the dragon seem insignificant.
Probably because Lundi was entrusted with a detailed vision about the dragon’s mission (see his journals) whereas Kyle was not. I think Lundi was referring to other riders in general that would come after him, be that the Sky Rider, Kyle, or Edge; he didn’t know specially who the new rider would be or whether they would get a hold of his writing.
I don’t know Polish, but I think the part about needing to sell copies “from the start” might be a mistranslation. Seems to me like they’re saying that they’re working on a small budget, so they don’t need to sell a whole lot of copies for the game to be profitable. Bing translated the sentence as follows:
There is a small budget for the game, so you just need a small sale to make the production get paid.
They’ve also stated that they “never said the game was a Switch exclusive”, so it’s likely that additional platforms will be confirmed later on.
Well, You can actually do a lot with ruins and water. The problem here is what they did. They turned it into Thai ruins in the middle of a swamp with muddy water at sunset.
Something like an “exaggerated” and elaborated version of the ruins of Kekova would fit the much better: https://turkishtravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/sunken-city-of-kekova.jpg
I was surprised by how good the trailer looked. I’m really keen to play this when it gets released.
I understand the gripes about the different art direction, but I can’t say I mind it too much. Yes, since the first level is supposed to be a sunken ruined city, it does look too populated at the moment. Hopefully this is something they can adjust as they continue development. I just hope they make the look more earthy like the original games.
My main concern at the moment is the sound effects. The sound of the dragon’s scream is really off at the moment and the sound effect for the lasers doesn’t sound organic enough. I’ve discussed this with the developer on their discord server and hope they will create sounds closer to those in the original game.
As for gaming modes, an RPG-lite mode, as suggested above, would be good, where Kyle and Lagi visit villages, the dragon grows and develops over the course of the story, and so forth, similar to PDS. But I would want this to be a mode players unlock after they play and beat the original arcade mode.
Still, I’m very happy that we have this remake and I look forward to seeing how it develops.
@Pyteo I guess realistically all those rocks protruding out of the ruins is a problem. There is no accounting for where they came from if this is supposed to be a sunken city…
