Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse Review

Genie With a Magic Bikini

Shantae’s back and just as bubbly as ever in WayForward‘s latest foray into the world of the skimpy half-genie in Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse. Destined to be one of 3DS’ true platforming classics, Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse does everything right, from its charming story, rich world with hilarious characters, challenging and thoughtful platforming, varied and useful items and power-ups, and fantastic boss fights. The pacing of the game is well set, and the power-ups received throughout the game make you feel suitably powerful as you progress. Revisiting old areas to talk to an NPC or search for undiscovered secrets with your new gear is never a chore because the world is so well constructed that you can’t help but want to spend more time in it.

Although I found the game a bit easy, particularly the bosses, fans of Shantae will be happy to know that this game does the franchise justice, but even if you don’t know what a Shantae is (and this was me when I got my hands on this delicious game), don’t let that discourage you as this is one of the most thoughtful and fun platformers released this year.

Story

Recuperating in Scuttle Town after having lost her genie powers in her last adventure, Shantae’s pirate nemesis Risky Boots appears and accuses Shantae of kidnapping her crew and stealing her weapons. It turns out however that the crew were cursed by the nefarious undead Pirate Master and transformed into cursed cacklebats, and all of Risky’s gear transported to the Dens of Evil. In order to stop the Pirate Master from fully recovering and taking over Sequin Land, Shantae must travel with Risky Boots across the Forbidden Isles to the various dungeons and make use of Risky’s pirate weapons to stop the Pirate Master from achieving his full power.

The story is driven by the game’s cast of quirky and irreverent NPCs, many of whom return from previous outings in the series. There’s the brain-obsessed halter-top wearing zombie Rottytops, the bird-loving husband-craving Sky, the somewhat-inept but always saves the day inadvertently Bolo, the over-the-top cannon-aficionado Ammo Baron, and a mid-boss crisis-having squid named Squid Baron. With all the puns and general wackiness in this series, you’ll be laughing your way through this 8-10 hour adventure. Shantae herself also provides the funny, much of it having to do with her making quips about her somewhat “inadequate” outfit and her dance moves. Parents might want to take note that while this is a charming game, it is at times chock full of innuendo, so you might want to think twice about getting it for your 10-year old. That being said, there is a scene with a nod to Star Wars that has cemented this game forever in my nerdy heart.

Gameplay

Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse is a platformer at heart, and you will be jumping and shooting your way across the various isles and through menacing enemies. Since Shantae has lost her genie powers, she must now rely on Risky Boots’ pirate weapons, which you unlock as you progress, along with her ever-present hair whip to fight enemies and explore the Forbidden Isles. You get a pistol to shoot far-off switches and enemies, a parachute-like pirate hat that allows you to drift and float on air currents, a scimitar to perform downward strikes, boots which allow you to dash through obstacles, and a canon which allows you to jump multiple times in the air while also shooting enemies below. You will have to use all of these items to succeed, and it feels gratifying watching Shantae gain new abilities and become more and more powerful. As you progress you will have to revisit previous areas of the game and use your newer pieces of your arsenal to discover hidden objects, heart squids (four of which allow you to expand your health bar), and cursed cacklebats, but as previously mentioned this does not feel like a chore, rather you get the sense of joy that you get to revisit older areas that are so well realized.

There are a large variety of enemies to fight that are reflective of the environments in which you find them, and they have intelligent movements and attack patterns that will keep you on your toes when they work together. You never feel truly overwhelmed, however, as you have ample opportunities to collect items such as bubble shields that protect you from projectiles, food which restores your health, and monster milk which allows you to increase your damage output. You can also get auto-potions which automatically refill your heart meter when you die, but these cost a premium, and you’ll want to save the gems that you find from monsters and jars to upgrade your hair attacks and weapon damage. The bosses in the game are larger than life and a lot of fun to fight, but as I previously mentioned they can be a bit on the easy side.

All of the islands you visit offer different environments and challenges that feel truly unique from one another and offer a number of surprises, and the dungeons you visit require some thought to get through offering a great deal of challenge. Meanwhile, Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse occasionally mixes things up by having you engage in different types of gameplay that offer a refreshing change from the hack-and-slash archetype. One memorable sequence has you automatically run and use the jump button to avoid obstacles, and another portion of the game offers surprisingly well implemented stealth gameplay that never feels too oppressive and works well with Shantae’s platforming milieu. Overall Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse is an epic game that doesn’t suffer from its short length, but rather feels just right in its quality to quantity ratio.

Graphics and Sound

Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse is the last in the series’ “pixel trilogy” of games, and boy howdy do those pixels look good. Shantae and the NPCs are well animated making them feel like they’re straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon, and the environments are richly rendered and lush. I don’t often play my 3DS games in stereoscopic 3D, but like with WayForward’s other titles Mighty Switch Force 1 and 2 they have once again proved that they are the masters of 2D games with rich 3D layers. In 3D the game feels fully fleshed out, with objects in the fore and backgrounds really adding to the game rather than feeling forced. Also, the characters have lovely drawn portraits when speaking which, egads, also take advantage of the 3D by bulging in certain areas. Think Shantae’s curves.

The game’s soundtrack by WayForward staff composer Jake Kaufman, the musical chiptune genius behind the soundtrack of Shovel Knight, also deserves a glowing mention as the music really feels fit to the world in which Shantae lives and explores, complete with subtle Arabesque notes and earthy overtones. The sound effects are also well done, and though there is no full speech for the game, Shantae’s little outbursts here and there are charming and add life to the character.

Verdict

Shantae and The Pirate’s Curse is a real treat for adventure / platform fans everywhere. The game has achieved what few other platformers have, effectively combining story and gameplay into a satisfying package that truly makes you care about the main character and her goals. All of the power-ups are useful and make you feel powerful, the environments and enemies are well designed, and the graphics and music are sublime. If you’ve yet to experience the world of Shantae on your Nintendo 3DS, now’s the time.

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse arrives in North America on October 23, 2014 on the Nintendo eShop.