Is anyone shocked that anyone was still releasing Game Gear games in 1996? I know I was when I first learned this. By this year Sega had moved away from development on their 16-bit Genesis console and were instead focusing on the brand new Sega Saturn. Where did this leave the Game Gear? Well this handheld platform was never particularly popular, and the fact that it wasn’t abandoned within a year or two is kind of a shock. Moreso that Sega was still plugging away at new software for the platform years after the height of it’s relevance. It’s even more shocking that they released an installment for the Game Gear in their newly formed franchise that was created for the launch of the Sega Saturn console. This was Panzer Dragoon, but this portable installment was only released in Japan. Panzer Dragoon Mini is the most obscure of the franchise (yes, even moreso than Saga). I was super stoked when I got my hands on this title, but unfortunately I was left disappointed. They turned one of the best shooter franchises of its era into a third rate Space Harrier clone. The price tag does not warrant picking this one up even for collection sake.
There’s absolutely no story here as far as I can tell. This has no place in the series canon, but that’s okay because the interloping plot is a little too confusing for me anyway. It is worth noting however that you just play as a dragon here and there’s no rider on his back. The developers have stated that they released this installment as a means for kids to play installments in series that their older siblings were. Either way, let’s get to gameplay. The Game Gear obviously could not handle the 3D graphics this franchise is known for and so it was scaled back significantly. This means that the title is completely sprite based, and it makes use of tactics used back in the eight bit days by using a behind the back perspective with heavy use of scaling. It almost feels like this title is based off of the Space Harrier engine, and I’m a huge fan of that game so I had high expectations when I got my hands on Panzer Dragoon Mini. You control an on-screen cross hair which you can move all around the screen and your dragon moves in tandem. There are two types of attack at your disposal both of which are activated with the face buttons on the unit. The first of these is a simple circular shot the moves straight forward, and the other is a homing shot (typical in this series) performed by holding down either of the buttons and moving the reticule over the foe and releasing.
Whereas Space Harrier had a myriad of different foes and environmental factors Panzer Dragoon Mini is decidedly lacking in this area. There are maybe seven different standard enemies at most, and their attack patterns aren’t particularly interesting. They mostly fly past you and fire an easily avoidable projectile. I found it easiest to avoid the ones that you can. Unfortunately you’re left with a lot of down time while you play because the screen is often devoid of absolutely anything. There’s no terrain here; just scrolling colors lined up horizontally at the bottom of the screen. Your dragon is limited to only the lower third section of the screen which is annoying despite the fact that your cross hairs can target everywhere. Okay so I’m going to be blunt; Panzer Dragoon Mini is not a good game. This is coming from a huge fan of the franchise, and even of Space Harrier. The screen is often devoid of anything, and when enemies do show up a simple lock on attack and they’re done with. The only entertainment I got out of the basic gameplay was while trying to see how many foes I could lock on to before they went off screen while I was dodging their occasional fire.
Honestly there’s very little that’s actually Panzer Dragoon about this game. The biggest feature is the rotating camera which is signature to the series. Past games often had enemies attacking you from all sides, and you could manipulate the view point in order to target them on both sides and behind. Unfortunately the Game Gear wasn’t up to the task, but the developers did still give it a noble effort. Now the camera moves on its own. Unfortunately this is all for looks; it doesn’t really affect gameplay in any significant way whether you’re being attacked from the front or side but it’s still kind of neat. This often happens during the boss fights, and it helps make them feel more cinematic. The lock on mechanic is another feature that’s deeply ingrained into Panzer Dragoon, but here it’s not nearly as cool. It makes Mini far too easy. With so few enemies on the screen you can easily decimate them all with the lock-on. Bosses are a little different because they are best dealt with by the standard shot and because of this they require a bit more finesse. The standard stages are a cakewalk, and the bosses aren’t even particularly challenging.
I couldn’t tell for sure but Panzer Dragoon Mini seems to run off the same engine as the Space Harrier port did. Unfortunately it wasn’t optimized here, and actually looks worse than the game it was based upon despite being released several years later. At first look the scrolling is pretty decent. In each stage the ground consists of bi-colored stripes that are used to give the simulation of movement within 3D space. It’s pretty decent here by 8-bit standards, and slightly better than the Game Gear port of Space Harrier. Unfortunately there is absolutely no terrain here. There are no trees or rocks, and you’re stuck looking at the same two colors over and over again in each stage. Sure, you have decent looking backgrounds for each stage but these do little alleviate the eyesore that is Panzer Dragoon Mini. Actual terrain would have gone a long way toward making this more visually appealing. The enemies are also very lame looking and hardly representative of anything else in the franchise. Just generic robots and the like. Bosses fare a little better, and are actually large, but they’re still nothing special. The soundtrack on the other hand is pretty decent. The music fits, and even fits the overarching classic Panzer Dragoon style.
It’s a sad fact that the Panzer Dragoon franchise was forgotten long ago. This isn’t a good way to relive its glory days unfortunately. I would stick to either the original Panzer Dragoon or Zwei if you’re looking for a great shooter. Even the Game Gear port of Space Harrier is a better pick for this genre, and that itself is not even a great game. Still, this one might be worth owning purely for collection sake because, hey, it’s an obscure title from Sega in what was once one of their premier franchises that is still held in high esteem.
