Before the festivities for the largest game show in Japan even kicked off, Forever Entertainment let fans know that one of the classics that they are working on is indeed alive and well. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake was playable at Tokyo Game Show 2025 and we got a chance to check it out. How is the game shaping up? We’re here to tell you all about that [give you a chance to look at some off screen footage] and more. Let’s get into it.
Background on Demo
The Panzer Dragoon demo was being hosted by the Japanese publisher for the game, Rainy Frog. There were two demo units at the booth, both running the game off of Steam Decks connected to monitors. The controller that was on offer here was a PS5 controller. There is one episode available, Episode 2 from the game, and players have the option to choose between a Hatchling of a Wind Rider for their mounts.
If you want a look at some direct feed footage from Forever Entertainment of the demo, you can check that out here or in the video below.
Gameplay
If you played the Panzer Dragoon Remake from 2020 or are just familiar with on-rail shooters, you’re going to feel right at home with this one. Before starting the demo, I opted to make sure that the control settings to classic versus modern - this just felt a little bit better for me. One difference from the previous title and this is that there are now multiple ways to shoot the primary weapon. This can now be done with X or O, as well as L2 and R2. L and R are still used to rotate the camera, while Square and Triangle are now used to initiate a “Berserk” attack which doles out quite a bit of damage. This simply can’t be spammed either. A gauge fills up while playing, so you have to wait for the opportune time to unleash fury.
While the initial cursor speed seemed a bit slow to me, after some tinkering with the settings, I was smoothly mowing down enemies in no time. My only complaint with this snippet of gameplay is that some of the areas in the demo stage feel very bare with long stretches where no enemies are in sight. I didn’t play the original, so I’m not exactly sure if that was the case then. Even with that said, gameplay felt fun and responsive. Just as another note here, as I mentioned there were two mounts to choose from when starting - Hatchling and Wind Rider. I honestly could not tell any difference between the two outside of the look of the creatures.
Visuals, Audio and Performance
Panzer Dragoon II: Remake isn’t going to blow you away visually, but what has been crafted here still looks quite nice. The Episode in the demo features an open desert environment with craggy landscapes, desert foliage and some sections taking place in the sky. Enemies will look familiar if you played the first remake, which makes sense from a story perspective, but I found myself wishing for a little bit more variety. It’s not a deal breaker, though. Overall, things are fairly detailed and the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second. I’m excited to see what the other locations will bring to the table aesthetically.
Conclusion
I really liked what I saw out of Panzer Dragoon II: Remake. The gameplay is similar to the first title, it runs well and is still fun to play. While some of parts of the episode on offer seemed a bit bare from time to time, I’m excited to pick this game up when it releases. Currently, the game is listed as “Coming Soon” on it’s Steam page, but is scheduled to be out on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam, and GOG.
But, let’s go ahead and turn things over to you guys. Are you excited about Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake? Did you play the first remake? I actually picked up the first game on a fire sale a little bit before Tokyo Game Show and loved it. Sound off in the comments down below. We’d love to hear from you.
by Danny Bivens
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