Panzer Bandit

Panzer Bandit (パンツァーバンディット, Pantsā Banditto) is a video game developed by Fill in Cafe and published by Banpresto for the PlayStation in 1997 and for PlayStation Network in 2011, exclusively in Japan.

Panzer Bandit is a side scrolling beat 'em up game that uses the same engine used in Mad Stalker: Full Metal Forth, also for the PlayStation. There is a total of 12 characters, including the four story characters and the eight unlockable bosses. 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.

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, 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.

Panzer Bandit is based on Axion, an unreleased fighting game for the Mega Drive under development by Treasure before being reworked into Yu Yu Hakusho Makyō Tōitsusen. The music was composed by Kenta Watanabe.

Initial reviews for Panzer Bandit were positive. Multiple critics pointed out similarities between Panzer Bandit and Treasure's Guardian Heroes (1996); Hardcore Gaming 101 in 2019 wrote that Panzer Bandit was a far better follow up to Guardian Heroes than the official sequel, Guardian Heroes 2 (2004), for Game Boy Advance. The site liked its RPG inspired mechanics and gameplay, though they claimed its repetitiveness and lack of additional content prevented it from being as polished as Treasure's game. Retro Gamer said Panzer Bandit made for "the spitting image" of Guardian Heroes, and worth the time of its players.