Software:Panzer Dragoon Mini

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Panzer Dragoon Mini
Game Gear Panzer Dragoon Mini cover art.jpg
Cover art depicting the Blue Dragon and three Imperial flying battleships
Developer(s)Rit's
Publisher(s)Sega
Artist(s)Hiroshi Kajiyama
Composer(s)Hitoshi Sakimoto
SeriesPanzer Dragoon
Platform(s)Game Gear
Release
  • JP: November 22, 1996
Genre(s)Rail shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Panzer Dragoon Mini[lower-alpha 1] is a 1996 rail shooter video game developed by Rit's and published by Sega for the Game Gear. It is a spin-off entry in the Panzer Dragoon series. In the game, the player controls one of three playable dragons across five levels, shooting down enemies with an aiming reticle. Mini was handled by Sega with no involvement from series creator Yukio Futatsugi or Team Andromeda. The soundtrack from Panzer Dragoon II Zwei was adapted by composer Hitoshi Sakimoto. It garnered mixed reception from critics.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot featuring the Blue Dragon targeting three enemies onscreen
Gameplay screenshot of the first stage

Panzer Dragoon Mini is a single-player rail shooter that spans five levels, with each after the first including a boss encounter.[1][2][3][4] Gameplay is scaled-down compared to the Sega Saturn entries, featuring no story and three difficulty levels. The player controls an aiming reticle for one of three selectable super deformed flying dragons without a rider as they move through the level.[1][2][3][4][5]

The reticle can be controlled with the D-pad, and the player can attack enemies by either shooting or locking on them to fire shots simultaneously. During boss encounters, the camera occasionally switches to the side of the dragon. The boss' projectiles can be shot down but cannot be locked on. Each dragon has a health bar, which is reduced whenever the dragon takes damage from an enemy. If the dragon's health is depleted, the game is over, but the player can keep playing via unlimited continues and resume their progress via a password feature.[1][2][3][4]

Development and release

Panzer Dragoon Mini was developed by Rit's, a Japanese game developer established in 1991.[6] Artist Hiroshi Kajiyama worked on the game's pseudo-3D models,[7] while the soundtrack from Panzer Dragoon II Zwei was adapted by composer Hitoshi Sakimoto.[8][9][10] Mini was handled by Sega with no involvement from Team Andromeda apart from the game's cover art, which was approved by Panzer Dragoon series creator Yukio Futatsugi.[11] The game was published by Sega on November 22, 1996, as part of the Kid's Gear lineup, a brand applied to Game Gear titles intended for children.[1][3][12] Its late 1996 release, near the end of the Game Gear's lifespan, makes the game harder to find than earlier releases. It is considered a rare collector's item that commands high prices on the secondary collectible market.[1][13][14]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.com4/10[5]
Famitsu14/40[15]

Panzer Dragoon Mini was poorly received, with praise for its art style and boss designs but criticism of its pacing and lack of a plot. Famitsu's four reviewers found Mini monotonous compared to the previous Sega Saturn entries and faulted its graphical presentation.[15] In a retrospective, Polish magazine Click! Konsole commended Mini for its visuals and simple gameplay premise.[13] 1Up.com's James Mielke disagreed, regarding Mini as "a dumbed-down, cartoony shooter for kids that bears little resemblance to the epic adventures on Saturn."[5] Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata felt Mini was similar to Space Harrier but much shorter than the original Panzer Dragoon (1995). Kalata noted the game's slow pacing and saw the bosses as its only positive aspect.[1]

MeriStation's Ramón Méndez González deemed Mini as a fun and "endearing curiosity", citing its super deformed (SD) artstyle as well as the simple controls and gameplay. Nevertheless, González concurred with Kalata regarding the similarities with Space Harrier and noted the game's lack of plot.[16] Retro Gamer's Darran Jones criticized Mini for its basic visuals, erratic reticule, simple enemy waves, and bland gameplay approach compared to previous entries in the Panzer Dragoon series.[17] Ollie Barder writing in Forbes labelled Mini alongside Panzer Dragoon for R-Zone as "pretty terrible" games, adding that "their music wasn't that noteworthy either."[18] Martín Fernández of Spanish publication Bonus Stage Magazine expressed mixed thoughts towards the audiovisual presentation and repetitive gameplay, but gave positive remarks for its simple controls and duration, ultimately calling Mini an acceptable shooting game.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: パンツァードラグーン ミニ Hepburn: Pantsā Doragūn Mini

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Kalata, Kurt (July 25, 2008). "Panzer Dragoon Mini". Hardcore Gaming 101. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/panzer-dragoon-mini/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fernández, Martín (December 2019). "Análisis: Panzer Dragoon Mini" (in es). Bonus Stage Magazine 9 (34): 26–27. https://bonusstagemagazine.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/bonus-34-bubsy.pdf. Retrieved May 28, 2023.  (Transcription by Bonus Stage Magazine. ).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "ゲームギア&キッスキア Fan: パンツァードラグーン MINI" (in ja). Saturn Fan (ja) (Tokuma Shoten) (33): 223. October 4, 1996. https://archive.org/details/saturn-fan-1996-20/Saturn%20Fan%201996%2020/page/223/mode/1up. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Panzer Dragoon Mini 取扱説明書 (Game Gear, JP)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mielke, James (September 11, 2007). "Phantom Dust — Life After Panzer Dragoon: Retro/Active Review — Panzer Dragoon Mini". 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment. http://www.1up.com/features/phantom-dust-retrospective. 
  6. ↑ CRV (March 29, 2015). "Rit's". Game Developer Research Institute. http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Rit%27s. 
  7. ↑ Kajiyama, Hiroshi [@KAJIYAMA_] (March 16, 2014). "@st01_madox イラストじゃないけどパンツァードラグーンミニの３Dモデルとかもやりました。Macがまだ8500とかの時代。" (in ja). https://twitter.com/KAJIYAMA_/status/445265139743211520. 
  8. ↑ "崎元仁 / Hitoshi Sakimoto — Works". Basiscape. 2009. http://www.basiscape.com/arts_sakimoto.html. 
  9. ↑ Greening, Chris (January 20, 2013). "Hitoshi Sakimoto Profile". Video Game Music Online. http://www.vgmonline.net/hitoshisakimoto/. 
  10. ↑ Okunari, Yosuke [@okunari] (April 17, 2020). "ちなみにゲームギアのパンツァードラグーンminiはツヴァイのBGMをベイシスケイプの崎元仁さんがPSGに落とし込んでいるというレアなサウンドなのですが未CD化です。今年ゲームギア30周年だし、@Moba_Ito さん興味持ってくれないかなあｗ" (in ja). https://twitter.com/okunari/status/1251035111706918912. 
  11. ↑ Mielke, James (September 11, 2007). "Phantom Dust — Life After Panzer Dragoon: Interview with Yukio Futatsugi". 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3162635. 
  12. ↑ "ゲームギア対応ソフトウェア（セガ発売）" (in ja). SEGA HARD Encyclopedia. Sega. 2023. http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/gg/soft.html. Retrieved November 14, 2023. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Oldschool: Panzer Dragoon Mini" (in pl). Click! (magazine) (pl) (Wydawnictwo Bauer (pl)) (5): 70. September 2003. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AClick!_Konsole_5_PL.pdf&page=70. Retrieved May 29, 2023. 
  14. ↑ Reichert, Nick (May 25, 2021). "The Rarest & Most Valuable Sega Game Gear Games". Racketboy. https://www.racketboy.com/retro/the-rarest-most-valuable-sega-game-gear-games. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: パンツァードラグーン ミニ" (in ja). Famitsu (ASCII Corporation) (415): 35. November 29, 1996.  (Transcription by Famitsu.com. ).
  16. ↑ Méndez González, Ramón (March 6, 2012). "Regreso al pasado: Panzer Dragoon" (in es). MeriStation. PRISA. https://as.com/meristation/2009/07/18/reportajes/1247896800_037471.html. 
  17. ↑ Jones, Darran (May 22, 2014). "Retro Revival: Panzer Dragoon Mini". Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (129): 98–99. https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games90/panzer-dragoon-mini/. Retrieved May 28, 2023. 
  18. ↑ Barder, Ollie (February 22, 2018). "'Panzer Dragoon' Fans Can Rejoice As The Soundtracks For The Games Are Now Available Online". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2018/02/22/panzer-dragoon-fans-can-rejoice-as-the-soundtracks-for-the-games-are-now-available-online/?sh=7072630016d6. 

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