Having never partaken of the Cotton series I was pleasantly surprised by its intense take on the traditional side-scrolling arcade shooter, so I was intrigued to see a very different take on it with Panorama. With its quasi-3D feel that immediately brings back memories of my enjoyment of the arcade classic Space Harrier I’ll absolutely say that out of the gate I was completely on board. Perhaps just a bit too similar to that arcade title I spent an enormous amount of time with back in the day, I was a bit let down that unlike the last title I played this iteration was lacking in originality. The other big issue is how quickly the second stage jumped up in difficulty, but more in a cheap-ish way with a lot of enemies coming from behind, really requiring more rote memorization than being in the flow of things. The port is absolutely spot-on though, with pixels flying by smoothly and without even a stutter. I would say this firmly lives in the shadow of the likes of Space Harrier but if you’re a fan of that style of play and would enjoy some time in that unusual experience it offers it does deliver some fun. ****/2021/10/mini-reviews-october-29th-edition.html

Panorama Cotton is a rail shooter released on Genesis in 1994 and is the third entry from the popular series. As someone that has never played the Panorama or even heard of it before, I came in not knowing anything about the series, and in all honesty, I still have no idea. The story for Panorama Cotton is—actually, I am not sure what the story is about. The game is played entirely in Japanese, which may be reason enough to learn Japanese now because part of me wanted to know exactly what was happening in this game. Good thing the story didn’t matter in a game like this, so I was able to move on, but it was a tad disappointing that there were no language options (language options will be added in a later update). Panorama plays a lot like Space Harrier perspective wise and gameplay-wise. Except, in this case, you play as a witch on her broomstick with a fairy sidekick. Like Space Harrier, everything is hectic, with enemies and bullets coming towards your character like she’s a magnet for this stuff. As a fan of Space Harrier ever since I played it in Shenmue, I was in love with Panorama the minute I started playing. Yes, it may have been hard at the start when getting hit by enemies as everything happened so fast on the screen. It did take getting used to all the bright colours, but like any hectic shooter, I realised what was happening on the screen. Like most modern remakes, Panorama includes a host of quality-of-life settings that make the game more enjoyable in most circumstances. If you have played any modern remake, the one option everyone has come to expect in them is the life-saving rewind feature, and I am happy to say Panorama includes the best feature since sliced bread. We all know how hard they made the games from the 90s, and Panorama is no different, with its relentless enemies and cheap deaths. Normally, this would annoy me to a level where I would be going crazy at the number of times I had to restart, but I was actually able to beat the game because of rewind. Sure, I had 100 deaths, except nobody will know that, except for you and me. It does mean with the rewind feature that Panorama can be finished in about an hour. Besides the rewind feature, Panorama includes save and load states, cheats (which unlock when players finish the game once) and difficulty options (which may have been in the original release) to give gamers a more laid-back experience with the series. I enjoyed my time with Panorama, it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but those that enjoy rail shooters similar to Space Harrier will have some fun with this one. I never experienced the series and never heard of it in my life, which may be a good thing as it allowed me to experience Panorama from a fresh perspective. If you love retro rail shooters, there is a good chance you will enjoy this, but if not, then it might be worth waiting for a sale. Panorama Cotton is available on Switch and PS4 digital, or a physical copy from Strictly Limited. A review code for Panorama Cotton was provided by Ratalaika Games.