![]() ![]() Though some of the jokes can fall flat, with more than a few feeling a bit childish, there’s plenty of cute fun to be had in Sequin Land. Instead of a strong main story, Shantae focuses on comedic dialogue and characters to be remembered. Shantae wakes up to an attack by pirate queen Risky Boots, and ends up embroiled in a quest to fight various evil barons and help the quirky citizens of Sequin Land. While the gameplay feels fresh and evolved, the story of Shantae stays just as simple as it ever was. Boss fights can seem overwhelming, but most of them are push-overs. Having every form serve its purpose, even Shantae’s base form, really completes the gameplay loop in a way that makes even the hardest parts feel fun. You never really have to go too precise or in-depth with your transformation planning, but the quick moment to moment changing and whipping feels really satisfying once you really get the rhythm down. Most forms have an ability to attack, but the most effective way to damage enemies hard and fast is with Shantae’s default hair whip attack. Nearly every puzzle is solved by changing forms, and the ones that aren’t almost feel like a form-change anyway because of their unique set-piece mechanics. That metronome will end up feeling like a necessity, because you’ll be transforming many, many times throughout your stay in Sequin Land. The only real issue this abundance of new forms causes is a much more complicated transformation dance, but even this can be solved very early with a purchasable metronome to speed up the selection cycle. ![]() While some forms can end up feeling a little one-note (the bat form is only used twice and gets superseded right away by the harpy), they still add a lot of variety to help mix up the puzzle design in meaningful ways. While classic forms like elephant, monkey, and harpy return, newer forms like a crab, a bat, and a mouse add new means to get around and, more importantly, solve puzzles. By the time I reached the final level, I had access to a whopping 12 different forms, each with their own gimmick and purpose, a huge step-up from the usual four past titles gave access to. The core mechanic of Shantae has always been the titular character’s genie powers, which let her use standard magic like fireballs, or more drastic abilities, like taking on multiple animal forms to suit her needs. Watching objects in the environment float in and out of the foreground adds a depth to the world that really makes the characters stand out, Coupling the improved visuals with a fantastic soundtrack full of classic Shantae songs remixed at a much higher fidelity, the game really feels like the ultimate rendition of Shantae. With Half-Genie Hero, WayForward has jumped from pixels to a more complete hand drawn animation style that looks fantastic in-motion. Even the more recent titles have boasted a vibrant pixelated style that immediately set them apart from the competition. Since conception, Shantae has always been a series about impressive presentation, with the first entry in the series boasting incredibly detailed and colorful sprite-work that felt almost too good for the GBC. Merely saying the environments are diverse feels like an understatement. The environments and character design all blend together to look beautiful in action From a jungle-turned-factory, to a Super Mario Bros 3 style airship sequence, each new level is full of bright colors, unique enemies, and interesting mechanics to really set them apart. Moving to this wider setup allows the environments to all feel different in presentation, without sacrificing the fun intrinsic to the series structure. Instead of retreading the same old paths to reach new areas, you select where you want to go from a world map, and you’re able to return to said world map at any time. Half-Genie Hero doesn’t change any of this, but it makes the whole process feel a lot smoother.ĭitching the inter-connected world of its predecessors, Half-Genie Hero takes on a more Donkey Kong Country approach to its level design. You get new forms, you get new abilities, and you use them re-explore past areas to uncover new secrets and paths. If you’ve ever dabbled into previous entries, you’d know the series has always felt akin to a Metroid, or Castlevania-type platformer. Shantae started out small, an incredibly late game released for the Game Boy Color to financial failure but ever since its revival in 2010, it’s been met with great success and critical acclaim. With Half-Genie Hero, Shantae looks, sounds, and plays better than ever before, and in our modern gaming environment, it feels like a rarity. More specifically, Shantae has never tried to transform into something it’s not.With each new entry, WayForward has gone out of their way to evolve, streamline, and adapt more and more each time. ![]()
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