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Dancing through a series of indie my personal MetroidVania darlings.
So, there I was, taking a good hard look at the "Let's Talk About" schedule when two things hit me. The first is that my article about gaming subscriptions would take longer to finish than two weeks. Those types of articles require a lot of work due to the amount of research needed—really digging into what other people think of gaming subscriptions, a bit of history on the subject, and so on.
The second is that it has been a while since I put a bunch of games from one series together and talked about them in one go. Give my thoughts on each of them, about which ones are my favourites and such. In other words: a good old ranking! I've only ever made two: one about all the Zelda games I played and my ever-popular list of all the Pokémon Generations. So, I thought this was a good moment to add another one to my library and give that gaming subscription post some more time in the oven.
With that decision made, the next question arose: What game series should I talk about? A few franchises came to mind, from Fire Emblem to Uncharted, but the one that I settled on is the one starring everybody's favourite Half-Genie Hero, Shantae. It's a 20+ year-old series of Metroidvania and platforming games by independent developer WayForward. That original GameBoy Colour game was overshadowed by the GameBoy Advance's release a year earlier, resulting in poor sales for that first outing.
Over the years though, Shantae would grow to become something of a pseudo-indie darling and WayForward's mascot series. It was my first exposure to the Metroidvania genre and turned me into a fan of the genre. Not only have I played (and reviewed) every single entry, but a new, well, sort of new, game is coming later this year—Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution! The GBA game that almost was, now finished at last. That makes today a fitting moment to go over the entire series so far, don't you think?
Without further ado, let's talk about, and dance through, Shantae's long but still short career!
Oh, and as always with these lists, you can go to my review on each title by clicking the purple headers.
5. Shantae
Let's begin this list with, well, the beginning: the original on the GameBoy Colour. Look, I know this is the game that started it all, and it’s regarded as one of the best GBC games, but I don’t find this first outing all that great. I would even go so far as to say that I don’t recommend playing this game unless you
Why is that? Because the original has lots of issues. The screen is very zoomed in, meaning that you don't see much of your surroundings. Combined with unforgiving level design filled with bottomless pits, leaps of faith, and the damage sponges that are the enemies, you have the recipe for some very frustrating and not-fun game design. There’s a lot of backtracking, avoiding enemies, and whatnot.
On the up and up, the groundwork the game laid for the series is strong. The music, the graphics, the writing—while not as catchy as in later games, it's still catchier than its contemporaries. It’s easy to see why these aspects were further developed in later games. The dungeons are well-designed, so while getting there is a hassle, once you’re there, the game shines.
So yeah, not a game I’d recommend to start the series with, but if you’ve played other games in the series and are hooked, I would give it a try—even if only to see where it all started.
4. Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut
From a game I wouldn’t recommend starting with, to a game that I do: the second game in the series and the DSiWare’s greatest title, Risky’s Revenge is a solid start for two reasons—its length and its pricing. As the shortest and also cheapest Shantae game, it’s the perfect step-in point for anyone looking to get into the series.
While only sporting three real dungeons and being beatable in one sitting, this small game still packs everything Shantae is about. The combo of more traditional platforming and Metroidvania 'search-action.' The lovely, in this case, still sprite-based, graphics. It has a punchy and witty writing style. Plus, the director's cut comes with some neat QOL updates and a second mode: magic mode.
Why isn't it higher on the list? Because the short length and, I presume, development time don’t do it many favours. On top of being short, it feels like stuff has been cut out, like a proper second dungeon, and it feels unpolished in areas. To name one example: the main gimmick, switching between the back and foregrounds, feels seriously undercooked in how underused and basic it is.
Still, a great starting point without breaking the bank or taking too much of your time.
Right in the middle is the latest release: Shantae’s exploits on Paradise Island, tussling with the titular Seven Sirens. Now, I have to start with a disclaimer here. Since I reviewed this game, an update came out that addressed some of the issues I named. Better difficulty balancing and bosses with actual intros and dialogue, to name two. However, I haven’t revisited this game post-update. I intend to, but I haven’t yet, and thus my opinion on the game is based on the state it was originally released in.
That said, the original release of Seven Sirens is still a whole lot of fun. It’s Half-Genie Hero's art style dialled up with 2D backgrounds and very cool animated FMVs from renowned anime studio Studio Trigger, which make the title pop, presentation-wise. It’s a game that went back to its roots after a little detour (we'll get to that) and brought along a slew of improvements and new features. From a new set of animal transformations to a card-based buff and debuff system.
The latter is both an asset and a liability. While Seven Sirens does a lot that in theory only improves the title, in practice, it just doesn’t come together. Transforming with a press of a button is oh-so-snappy, but the new animals just aren’t anything to write home about. The card system, while neat, already breaks the game's poor difficulty in half, and the map is not very helpful at all.
Add to that the problems mentioned earlier, and you get a good game that, while fun and well-designed in areas such as its dungeons, is less than the sum of its parts. A good and enjoyable Shantae game but far from the best.
2. Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero - Ultimate Edition
Next up is by far the most content-rich title in the series, thanks to its crowdfunding origins. All those stretch goals the Kickstarter achieved gave this game more meat on its bones—from different transformations, to plot beats, to new modes. You won’t get more Shantae bang for your buck than this game’s Ultimate Edition! That isn’t the only oddity of 1/2 Genie Hero, though. In an attempt to make our favourite belly-dancing heroine more approachable to a general audience, this game dropped the Metroidvania gameplay in favour of just pure platforming.
I can’t say that this approach didn’t work. Half-Genie Hero was my first Shantae game because it dropped the Metroidvania aspect. I had finally come around to Mario and platformers after the one-two punch of Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and became interested in Shantae thanks to SomecallmeJohnny, but I wasn’t yet ready to try my hand at a Metroidvania. I had heard how difficult those games could be and just wasn’t up to that at the time. This was a good step in point for me.
This game is a great 2D platformer, no doubt about it. Some very good and fun platforming challenges in a colourful world. The core animal transformations are probably the most useful set we’ve ever seen. The title’s micro-plots are fun little scenarios to go through, and fully completing this title is such a good mix of fun and challenge that it’s one of the few titles I have gone for a 100% save file. With all of that extra content thrown in, especially Risky and Shantae friends-focused modes, it’s a hefty package.
You certainly won’t go wrong with this content-packed platformer, but I do have to say that if you want to experience Shantae at her truest, I would try out another game first. Metroidvania is, in my opinion, really what the series is about. This game lacking that is... unfortunate. There are also some minor nitpicks that do add up, and for a game with so many modes, it really could’ve used more level variety to keep things fresher. All of these points add up, and I do like one Shantae game more...
1. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
And that is the third game in the series: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse! It’s most fans' favourite Shantae game, I know, I know, but for good reason! It's the most entertaining Shantae game in my eyes. It has the best story of the Shantae games, teaming Shantae up with her long-time nemesis for an interesting tale about how these two ladies are, well, more frenemies than enemies at this point.
What also helps a great deal is that the game's big villain, the Pirate Master, is the most memorable bad guy we’ve had. A good mixture of ominous presence, a cool design, and ties to our characters. Said characters are well-written, with that typical snappy writing and humour at arguably its best.
The graphics are the same style as Risky's Revenge and what worked there, works here, though that does lead to an odd quirk. Shantae's new animations all have the spiffy vest and bandana you see her wear in the art above, but all the old ones have her in her standard genie outfit. The music has some of my favourite tracks in it as well, now that we’re talking about presentation and stuff. My favourite rendition of what can be considered the main theme, 'We Love Burning Town' and the headbanger that is 'Run Run Rottytops!'
It's, like Half-Genie Hero, odd that one of the staples of the series is gone—the transformations in this case—but the pirate equipment is more than a worthy replacement. Very useful and snappy to activate. These abilities lend themselves well to some great platforming and Metroidvania challenges, of which this game has plenty. A bit easy, maybe, but since Shantae has always presented itself as a more approachable and 'spunky' Metroidvania, that is no big deal.
If there’s any Shantae game you should play after getting into the series with Risky's Revenge, it’s Pirate's Curse!
..........
And that’s a wrap! That’s how the five Shantae games out on (digital) shelves rank up to me at the moment—from the not-so-well-aged original to the beefy package that is Shantae’s Kickstarter adventure. Emphasis on 'at the moment' as I do intend this list to be a dynamic one. I mean, once Risky Revolution drops on the eShop, I intend to play it and add it to the list. I guess some of the stuff in the opening will have to be put in past tense! Plus, I still have yet to experience that 'Super Spectacular' update for Seven Sirens. Once I do, its position might very well change.
But that’s something for the future. For now, I hope that this list might not only have brought back some fond memories of the series if you’ve played it but if you haven’t, might convince you to give it a shot. It’s a remarkably fun and good series and a very good stepping-in point for anyone who wants to try their hand at the Metroidvania genre.
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