Panorama Cotton Review

Panorama Cotton, originally released in 1994 for Mega Drive/Genesis, tells the story of Nata de Cotton, an unhinged witch with an unhealthy obsession with a magical candy called Willow. Queen Velvet has been eating burnt Willow causing her to act a bit wonky. It’s up to Nata and her fairy friend Silk to find the culprit behind the burning of the Willow.

Panorama Cotton is another entry in the Cotton franchise, a shoot’em, a.k.a. shmup, series where players need to survive waves of enemies and projectiles to reach the end of each level to take down a boss. However, unlike the recently reviewed Cotton 100%, Panorama features a behind the character perspective instead of being a side-scrolling shmup.

Akin to other entries in the series, our little heroine can pick up crystals that will increase your XP meter and also attack power. However, each time you get hit, you lose gained XP. If you managed to survive and reach the next level, when hit, you can also be dropped back down to the previous level. Levels also have a few different paths. If you see a ramp going down or up, flicking the joystick in the same direction will bring you on a different area of the level.

You also have at your disposal a handful of special attacks that you can use to get you out of problematic situations. And akin to any other similar re-releases/ports, you can use a rewind feature to try to revert any damage received and try to correct your mistake. It’s also a great way to learn enemy and obstacle patterns and be better at dodging them.

Panorama Cotton reeks of Japanese 1990s style thanks to its psychedelic pastel color pallette. Each of the game’s 5 levels feel like quite a unique visual trip and mixed with everything moving around you can give you the impression of having consumed an illicit substance. One thing is for sure, the game is quite colorful. The soundtrack is filled with Kawaii chiptune goodness. However, given that the sound chip from the Genesis/Mega Drive sounded a bit something rattling in an empty can, it does ruin the score a bit.

The problem that holds back this game from reaching the top of the shmup mountain is the perspective in which the game is played. The from behind the character point of view causes a myriad of issues as it can be problematic evaluating the distance between Cotton and enemies and their projectiles. Or even hazardous obstacles that will cause damage. But the biggest sin of it all is the fact that enemies can come from behind and you won’t see them coming until it’s too late.

Another baffling issue here is that while you can use cheats, you need to finish the game first. First of all, this doesn’t make sense because shmups are more often than one and done; unless you’re addicted to beat your own score. Second of all, cheats, while polarizing, it can be a great way to ease in newcomers. But gatekeeping them behind completing the game ensures that newcomers will most likely stay away.

As a fan of the genre, I was looking forward to play Panorama Cotton but unfortunately, the point of view kills any possible fun. I love the aesthetic and the clearly Japanese flavor of the game, but because it can be difficult to gauge the distance between yourself and enemies and their projectile which can lead to unfair hits and subsequent deaths. Unless you need to play all shmups, pick up Cotton 100% instead.