I wasn’t expecting gamerheadlines.com to have much news at all on the ill-marketed (but incredibly good) Shantae series. It’s a cult-classic series, and definitely not Wayforward’s most well-known set of projects, for sure. But to have absolutely NOTHING written about such a high-quality game whose Kickstarter raised 336k more than its intended 400k goal?
That’s genuinely surprising and disconcerting, especially since the next Shantae game is releasing on the Nintendo eShop 4 days from now.
Why am I so anguished? Why am I waking up at 6 A.M. to write about a purple-haired bellydancing genie who fights pirates and turns into animals every now and again?
Why? I’ll give you 6 reasons why!
1) Shantae is like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with more charm and less grinding
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is often heralded as the best game in Konami’s long-running franchise, but holy CRAP is there a lot of grinding involved, and running around the same castle can get boring pretty fast for most people. Shantae plays like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and her hair whip feels like a less-clunky Belmont Whip. The environments in the game are wildly different from each other and vividly colorful, with the only sections showing signs of repetition being caves. Because Shantae’s growth is based around collecting treasures and, to a lesser extent, money, rather than experience points from fighting monsters, there’s a LOT less grinding involved. This means you progress through the game at a more even rate and have more control over what you, the player, want to improve upon.
2) As stated before, it’s made by Wayforward, and those guys are GOOD
Wayforward is a company famous in the gaming world for making playable, even enjoyable games from shovelware budgets and time constraints. Do you really think that they were given much to work with for the Adventure Time/Transformers games? Wayforward is essentially a Picasso given a color-by-numbers canvas and 30 seconds to do the whole thing.
Shantae is what happens when they’re the ones in charge of time, budget, and the like. And let me tell you right now that Picasso does some fine work without having to use the numbers canvas.
3) If the fans don’t market it, nobody will
Just doing some cursory research on Shantae’s tragic release history will be more than enough to show you that their marketing team isn’t firing on all cylinders. The first game fell into obscurity after being released on the Game Boy Color 1 year after the Game Boy Advance hit the market. The second game, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, was released as a download-only title on the DSi store. You know, that awkward transitionary console from just before the 3DS came out? Frankly, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is the only title so far to release on relevant and current-gen consoles, and it won’t be leaving Nintendo/PC/iOS until Half-Genie Hero comes to XBOX and PlayStation.
4) It’s the closest thing to a new 2D Metroid we’ll be getting anytime soon
Think about it; one female character against the world? 2D side-scrolling exploration? Heart containers? New abilities and upgrades scattered across the map?
A lot of games claim to have “Metroid-Vania” influences, but turn out to be massive grind fests in of themselves. SteamWorld Dig, for example, was indeed “Metroid-Vania”, but without all of the flashy attacks and ass-kicking we enjoyed in those games. In Shantae, every upgrade or transformation you get is flashy ass-kicking or another Metroid-Vania mechanic left unexplored in the industry today. For example, Shantae (in Risky’s Revenge) can transform into three different animals by bellydancing into certain poses- a monkey, an elephant, and a mermaid. Apart from giving the player an entirely new method of movement, attack, and maneuverability, these open up new areas in previously-visited sections of the world where even more treasures and upgrades can be found. The player’s progress, therefore, is rarely gated by anything more than his or her own exploration.
5) The Presentation is Fantastic
Have you ever been playing a 2D platformer and just got sick of constantly running left and right? Like me, you probably have and didn’t even notice that it was an issue. Even in most games that calim to be “2.5D”, the player is almost always running left to right, and the only difference is the movement of the background. This game, through the use of “jump pads” has figured out how to correctly do 2.5D. It’s hard to explain in such a short article, but look up footage of “Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Tangle Forest” and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. There’s a greater feeling of immersion and of being in a 2D world than I’ve ever felt in a game to be found in Shantae.
On top of all of this, the spritework is incredible, utilizing lighting effects on each pixel to make the 16-bit visual style come to life. The dialogue is kid-friendly and actually kind of funny, with a few jokes thrown in for older players. Unlike Castlevania and Metroid, this game never takes itself too seriously, and it makes the whole experience better by doing so. In other words, Shantae’s just as ticked off as you are that she has to do a Coffee run for Zombies before she can save the world.
The music for each level is a mix of traditional Arabic and Chip music, and once again, it sounds fantastic. I’ve never gotten sick of a song or sound effect during a playthrough. The only thing I can complain about is the non-pixelated menus, but even that’s a small gripe in an otherwise gorgeous game.
6) It’s Cheap, and that probably won’t change anytime soon
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge is a downloadable title on Steam and iOS, and Pirate’s Curse/Half-Genie Hero will follow suit. Would you rather spend 60-70 bucks on a mediocre triple-A experience that’s 99% graphics or 10 bucks an aesthetically stunning, immersive, and fun title that deserves a bit more attention? It’s not exactly Sophie’s Choice, people.
We’re always complaining about the lack of innovation in the industry, the drought of new franchise, you’ve heard it all before. Well, here’s your chance to change that; Wayforward’s got the series running, a passionate team at the ready, and a franchise with some history to get into. You want change? Be the change, and have a damn good time while helping out the underdog.
Once again, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is coming tothe Nintendo Wii U and 3DS eShops on October 23rd.
Stay frosty, readers, and keep your eyes glued to gamerheadlines.com, your one-stop site for tech buzz, gaming news, and reviews for the releases that matter to YOU.