Shantae

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

Has anyone else played this gem of a series? It's a pretty unique one, being the "passion project" of Matt Bozon over at WayForward. Although they make games of questionable quality when it comes to licensed titles, they always deliver solid platformers that are an absolute joy to play.

"Platformer" is how I would describe the Shantae games, but a more accurate description for nearly all the titles would be the "Metroidvania" term that people love to throw around. Although I'm not the biggest fan of the word myself, it's rather spot-on for describing what the Shantae games are; exploration-based platforming that is heavily rooted in old-school Metroid games and Symphony of the Night-esque Castlevania games. The setting, as apposed to the more dark and brooding atmosphere that Metroid and Castlevania usually bring with it, is an incredibly lighthearted one based on a romanticized Arabian backdrop, not unlike Disney's Aladdin and multiple other family friendly adaptations of Arabian Nights.

There's currently four games in the series, with three of them being released - Shantae for the Gameboy Color, Shantae: Risky's Revenge available on the Nintendo 3DS eshop, iOS, and Steam, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse available on Nintendo eshop, and Shantae: Half Genie Hero for just about every major HD gaming platform.

Half-Genie Hero is the currently unreleased one, and probably the most ambitious title so far, being fully HD and being available to just about any type of gamer.

For me personally, I absolutely love this series. Exploration-based platforming is my favorite type of gameplay style, and Shantae doesn't disappoint at all. Although the original is a bit dated and rough to play, the more recent titles for the 3DS have been nothing short of excellent, with Pirate's Curse being released just yesterday to overall positive reception. Next to Shovel Knight, it's probably my favorite download-only game at this point in time.

Any other opinions on it? It's been a relatively obscure IP for a while, gaining a lot of attention as a result of its wildly popular Kickstarter for Half-Genie Hero. I really can't wait to buy it for my Wii U.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

they've been on my eye for a while now
the game boy one is actually the next game i plan to download on the 3ds [after oos]

 

[A Link In Time]

I'm a fan of the series having played the first two games. The games tend to become extremely challenging later on though, and I lost interest in the original game and its sequel for fairly long periods of time after getting stumped. While this probably isn't an issue with the newer games (I haven't been tracking them myself), I found the graphics and color palette of the first two games rather disappointing. While I normally wouldn't complain about it, the purple cave dungeons were particularly easy to get lost in because of this. Minor complaints aside, I think Shantae is worth checking out for platforming fans. The various transformations offer more diverse gameplay than most other titles in the genre.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I'm a fan of the series having played the first two games. The games tend to become extremely challenging later on though, and I lost interest in the original game and its sequel for fairly long periods of time after getting stumped. While this probably isn't an issue with the newer games (I haven't been tracking them myself), I found the graphics and color palette of the first two games rather disappointing. While I normally wouldn't complain about it, the purple cave dungeons were particularly easy to get lost in because of this. Minor complaints aside, I think Shantae is worth checking out for platforming fans. The various transformations offer more diverse gameplay than most other titles in the genre.

The first two games definitely suffer from what makes the original Metroid and Simon's Quest virtually unplayable by today's standards - the lack of a coherent and useful map to help with over-world and dungeon navigation. The first Shantae lacked any map of any kind, and Risky's Revenge's map was pretty much useless in every sense of the world because of how broad and lacking in detail it was. Having completed Pirate's Curse twice now for about a combined total of 10 hours, I can safely say that it finally presents a workable map that outlines exactly where you are with respect to your immediate surroundings.

I also find that Pirate's Curse is much more varied with its environments too, so there's not nearly as many purple caves this time around.

 

[Gemquarry]

I hate to sound weird, but I absolutely adore this series! I'm surprised to see someone actually talking about it .

Admittedly I got into the series just last year, but since then I have been a Shantae enthusiast! Platformers have always been special to me, things like Mega Man and SNES titles I <3.
Shantae amazed me because I really thought people were done with games like hers. Guess not.
I haven't gotten Pirates Curse yet, but I know it has got to be good.

I did find Risky's Revenge to be more enjoyable than the first one, even though yeah there really wasn't much diversity in a lot of the stages. I got stuck a whole lot too, cursed purple caves XD.
They really aren't so bad with blind determination on your side though ^^.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I haven't gotten Pirates Curse yet, but I know it has got to be good.

It's the best in the series to me, no doubt. Although $20 might seem a little steep to some people, Pirate's Curse is substantially larger than Risky's Revenge, a game whose greatest shortcoming was just its rather pitiful length. It also streamlines the gameplay in a wonderful manner; it almost feels like Metroid with how you're able to seamlessly switch between power-ups and abilities to really get the fullest out of traversing the game and speed-running.

I actually might buy the Wii U version as well when it comes out this summer, just because I think doing an LP of Pirate's Curse on my YT channel would be a ton of fun. I'd probably follow it up with wit a speed-run too, as I'm actually kind of good at speed-running this game for once, haha.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

never heard of it

 

[Gemquarry]

It's the best in the series to me, no doubt. Although $20 might seem a little steep to some people, Pirate's Curse is substantially larger than Risky's Revenge, a game whose greatest shortcoming was just its rather pitiful length. It also streamlines the gameplay in a wonderful manner; it almost feels like Metroid

Whoa, so it's got more to it? I honestly had no idea . I also didn't know it was coming to Wii U, which was something I thought would've been great. Glad to hear it is honestly. The more praises you give the game the more I want it, I'll definitely wait for the Wii U version :nod:.