I wish shoot-em-ups continued developing in this direction.

This game has one of the most gorgeous art-designs I've ever seen. And it's spectacle galore without sacrificing the gameplay depth. That being said, the gameplay is pretty basic (as most shoot-em-ups are). Most of the time you're either shooting or dodging, because your aiming and movement are controlled with the same directional keys. And, when you turn around or to your sides, you can't move at all.

Now imagine this game with a free mouse look on PC. If you could control your aiming and movement separately, the gameplay depth would've doubled or tripled, because the level designers could invent challenges that require dodging and shooting simultaneously. The old shoot-em-up formula would've immediately died off.

Still, Panzer Dragoon feels very fresh even today, largely because of the amazing presentation and meticulously designed levels and bosses.

Half a star removed for the bullshit "easy mode" that removes the last two levels of the game completely. I hate when games do that. It's not easy mode, it's incomplete mode. Had to replay the same levels because of this.