Panzer Bandit

パンツァーバンディット

Panzer Bandit is a 1997 side-scrolling beat ’em up video game developed by the now-defunct Fill-in-Cafe and published by the now-defunct Banpresto for the PlayStation in 1997, exclusively in Japan. This video game was originally reviewed on Imprint before that platform was hit by the DMCA revolving around copyrighted content. We need to take caution when reviewing anime series, manga series, video games, western animation, or fonts while using the images/screenshots to depict things as they are always used under fair use. It features music composed by Kenta Watanabe.

In the world of Panzer Bandit, sources have since gone scarce with the reduction in energy that is consistently used by humans. For this, an organization called Arc (no relation to Arc System Works), led by the evil Prof. Fuarado, seek to manipulate the consumption of preserved energy and ultimately conquer the world with that in possession. For the course of the game, four heroes are required to take the preserved energy before Arc and ultimately, destroy whatever is left of Arc.

There are a total of 12 characters, including the four story characters and the eight unlockable bosses. The playable story characters are:

• Kou (Sayama Riko) is the main protagonist who can shoot fireballs and has a floating robot buddy who can assist him as well.
• Kasumi (Hidaka Noriko; no, not the DOA version) is a kunoichi (female ninja) who attacks with a robotic girl by her side.
• Miu (Koike Kanako) is a cute little girl who rides on top of a giant mecha. She’s skilled at piloting this device even though she seems to have trouble with them.
• Ein (Kobayashi Kiyoshi, later deceased 07/30/2022) is a robot who smokes a cigar. This game was not released outside of Japan, possibly to the depictions of smoking, as it happened in the first Biohazard/Resident Evil game where Chris Redfield is smoking a cigarette during the opening.

The game is controlled with two attack buttons (strong and weak) and the directional pad for moving left, right, crouching, and jumping. Shoulder buttons can also be used to change between foreground and background and can be used to activate the character’s special attack. An unusual aspect of the game is that if the player stands still during an attack, it is considered a guard. Other features include a combo counter and a guided elemental attack which launches an enemy.

Fill-in-Cafe, the game’s developer, never released any of their games outside Japan, possibly due to the costs of publishing/translating the games for the western market. Fill-in-Cafe filed for bankruptcy in 1998. Some planned titles, such as a sequel to this game and an untitled, enhanced port of the Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Limited with the now-defunct Kaneko being the arcade publisher, were canceled.

The final conclusion

This was the very last game to be reviewed (and the very last post) on Medium since Shinkansen Retrogaming will cease publishing as retro games will stop being served today.

Aladdin’s (from Magi, not that drab Disney film) bare feet would often mesmerize me, but he would give me a back massage using his bare feet after three years of writing retro games on Medium. I wouldn’t touch his magic flute if I were you, and I don’t wear pink, dresses, or skirts. Kilts? No way! I would rather use male pronouns and only male pronouns.

In the end, thanks for reading the final post. I hope you enjoyed the retrogaming journey as much as I did.