Panzer Dragoon Remake Receives Significant Patch

Is version 1.3 really beneficial?

You may remember our review for Panzer Dragoon Remake. It wasn’t kind. Though Panzer Dragoon Remake was a noble effort, it was ultimately plagued by control problems, among a myriad of other tiny issues.

Update 1.3 for Panzer Dragoon: Remake is now available!

After the successful launch of the Panzer Dragoon: Remake, with your support we were able to work on a next big update for the game! This one brings a ton of new features and fixes frequently asked for by the community!
1/6 pic.twitter.com/mU0kFoj8Hp

— Panzer Dragoon: Remake (@PanzerDragoonRE) May 13, 2020

Today, Megapixel and Forever Entertainment attempt to address some of those issues by updating Panzer Dragoon Remake to version 1.3. The list of changes is quite long:

NEW
– “Episode 0” the Sega Saturn version has been added
– Super Weapon Mode
– HD rumble
– Classic reticle
– Toggle auto-aim zoom
– “Hide HUD” toggle
– Performance mode (60FPS)
– New Cheat Codes (god mode, infinite credits, super weapon mode)
– Gyroscope aiming

 
IMPROVEMENTS
– Sound playback has been reworked
– The ability to use the A or B button together has been added
– Input lag removed from all actions
– Camera rotation speed increased
– Easier and more responsive targeting system
– Full options access through pause menu
– Blue Dragon motion re-work
– Start language based on console account language
– New, reworked Pandora’s Box is now available after beating the game at any difficulty

Having played the patch for myself, I can say that this generally means that the game feels a bit more polished now. Aiming is a lot smoother, and turning is closer to the way it felt on the Sega Saturn. I still wouldn’t classify it as perfect, but it’s a noticeable step up in terms of control.

Part of what contributes to the controls feeling more responsive is the new 60fps “Performance Mode.” Unfortunately, that performance comes at the cost of the game’s visuals. I’ve recorded a video below that may help demonstrate.

In order to hit 60fps, Panzer Dragoon Remake significantly drops the output resolution of the game, even when connected to a TV. This turns the game in to a blurry, shimmering, grainy mess. In theory, you should be able to simply turn off Performance Mode if you want to restore the game’s cleaner, original visuals, but Performance Mode currently seems to be bugged, as it seems to be impossible to disable Performance Mode.

Regardless of whether the menu says Performance Mode is turned on or off, the game is always set to run at the lower-fidelity 60fps settings. Even closing the game and reopening it after changing the settings doesn’t seem to fix it. For the time being, it appears to be permanently stuck in Performance Mode. As long as you can put up with the blurry visuals, it’s great. But for those of you who liked the way the game used to look, it may be worth waiting to see if things get fixed.

Presumably, this also won’t be a problem in the forthcoming PC version of Panzer Dragoon Remake. The release date for the PC version is currently unknown.

This post was originally written by the author for TSSZ News.