Shantae: Half Genie Hero

[Feathers]

Choosing a platform is going to be really tough. Most likely will pick PC though. I want to play with all of those monster girl forms (especially that snow harpy ♡) already! They are all so cute. This game is going to be a top favorite I KNOW IT! >_<

[Feathers]

A gameplay video, woot!

[youtube]DO4YQ4l6xX8[/youtube]

Also since they pretty much met the stretch goal, the new characters will all be added! Sky looks right up my alley too! The only bad part is that the October launch is delayed, but oh well, I waited this long. It will be worth the wait.

1. Shantae -Normal Costume: Belly Dance to transform into creatures with new abilities.
2. Shantae - Beach Day Costume: greatly reduced defense, summer props & sunbathing aid.
3. Shantae - Ninja Costume: additional speed, agility, and magic at the cost of defense.
4. Shantae - Patricia Wagon Costume: ranged Pellet Gun attacks and increased armor (Heart Discs restore health)
5. Shantae - Blue Costume: plays the same, looks totally swank.
6. Risky Boots - Normal Costume: Blueprints let her Slice, grapple, fire a pistol or cannon, and command Tinkerbats.
7. Risky Boots - Classic Costume: plays the same, looks more game boy color...ish
8. Sky - Boost using birds, collect and hatch eggs to gain new powers!
9. Bolo - Charge and release steel ball ‘n chain attacks. Grapple, smash, and take punches like a champ!
10. Rottytops - Gameplay based on (ick) feeding, (yuck) self-dismemberment, and maybe a little cosplay!

Harpy form and monster girl form Shantae AND a cute girl named Sky that uses bird type abilities? So glad I funded this game!

[Kaijin]

My, you beat me to it.
It seems that they reached the goal you actually wished for, huh. You'll be able to play as the bird girl now ^^

And truth to be told I don't mind a delay as long as the wait is worthwhile (besides being a donator I have a digital copy of the game waiting for me regardless of when it's released ^^).

[Feathers]

New monster announced, called Slime Gal. Pity she's a villianess and not a form. They are so cute, I don't want to hurt them. Bad enough I had to slay countless gorgons in the other one.

Slime Monster.png

Slime Monster 2.png

Why do they have to make the (now the) slimes and mermaids so cute? Meh, this game is going to be torture if we have to just be killing monster girls..

[Feathers]

New E3 Trailer. Forgot how much I love that song! Christina Vee usually isn't one of my favorite voice actors, but she did really good with singing it in my opinion.

Also love how there is so many monster girls. Seems like a beautiful mix of platforming from Sonic and Aladdin (Sega version is best version). The fact that there is so many playable characters is going to make this one have some nice replayability. Sadly no harpy form sighted yet. All they showed was her elephant and monkey forms.

Inafune's people should study this video carefull for how to make a REAL trailer.

[youtube]Kfc7VHv2uFc[/youtube]

New Shantae will be Dancing to the Danger on September 27, 2016.

[Blake81]

Oh dear.... it's almost here.... just 3 months to go...

[Helios Leinheart]

Not to sound like a big stick in the mud, but my fears for this game came true. I even made an account on the Wayforward forums and left my thoughts on Shantae and the Pirates Curse and mentioned that I hope steps backward aren't taken in the next game. Here's my full review of Pirate's Curse that covers these issues.



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The original Shantae was difficult to enjoy due to the restrictions of the Gameboy's screen, forcing you to play with a very small field of view. Risky's Revenge had confusing maps and slow gameplay that eventually turned me away from it.

But here we finally have what I can confidently call an excellent Shantae game. The gameplay is so much faster here and the world has been split up into different islands, making map navigation no longer an issue. And the music, man, I swear Jake Kaufman gets better with every album he releases. Rave in the Grave just blew my mind when I first heard it. It's so catchy. And I was really surprised when Scorching Dunes started out kinda generic, but then slowly evolved into a tune very reminiscent of the old Sonic games. And the tracks actually change a little bit on their second loop, keeping them from getting repetitive.

But of course, there are issues. The Monster Milk items, which greatly boost your attack power, make most boss fights utterly worthless. The only boss that I kinda enjoyed was the Steel Maggot, because it had mechanics that went beyond just using the item you got in that dungeon. You need a little bit of observation and trial and error to beat it.

Here's the problem with all of the Shantae games. Your most effective method of attack is a hair whip that can't be used while moving unless you're in the air. The devs then have to design the entire game based around that limitation. So levels are a lot of running, then stopping to attack, then running, so on and so forth. It's a lot like Castlevania Simon's Quest. Most regular enemies are no challenge and only serve to hinder your progress. (This is also why I appreciate the new pirate items so much. They let you speed through areas much more easily.)

Bosses are pretty much the same. They all have periods where they just stand still and let you hit them repeatedly, which is required because of the limitation of Shantae's hair. It's a fault by design and should really be changed for the next game, Half-Genie Hero. I should never get to a final boss and not be intimidated.

But hey, Wayforward isn't the biggest company out there. They did what they could and I think they did great. The art, the music, the characters, the humor, and the improved gameplay thanks to the pirate items make Shantae and the Pirate's Curse a memorable experience. I just hope that Half-Genie Hero doesn't squander the achievements made in this game and takes steps backwards.

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The Shantae series has great music, artwork, and characters. What isn't all there (Pirate's Curse is the exemption to a certain extent) is the gameplay. And that's the most important aspect.

[Feathers]

None of those things bother me. I'm very used to game companies adding "easy mode" options to their games. I don't have to overpowered items if I don't want to, just like the exp share item in Pokémon. Can't say whipping hair is my favorite method of attacking, but thanks to multiple player characters, we can look forward (heh) to experiencing the game in different ways if that is actually a problem.

[Helios Leinheart]

None of those things bother me. I'm very used to game companies adding "easy mode" options to their games. I don't have to overpowered items if I don't want to, just like the exp share item in Pokémon. Can't say whipping hair is my favorite method of attacking, but thanks to multple player characters, we can look forward (heh) to experiencing the game in different ways if that is actually a problem.

Then again, I'm not sure how you are reviewing a game that hasn't been released yet?

The review is for Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. The issues of Shantae's hair whip are universal for the series.

[Feathers]

Ooops, my bad. I just got Pirate's Curse last week and enjoying it so far though my biggest complain is the fact that they reused old sprites from the one I got on the DS a few years ago.

[Helios Leinheart]

Ooops, my bad. I just got Pirate's Curse last week and enjoying it so far though my biggest complain is the fact that they reused old sprites from the one I got on the DS a few years ago.

Lol, I didn't really have a problem with that since the sprite work is so good, but I did joke a few times about how Pirate's Curse should've been called "Reused Asset Simulator".

[Feathers]

The HD sprites in 1/2 Genie totally blew me away though, so good! One of the main reasons the game hooked me as hard, because it combines old school with new tech.

[Feathers]

Temmie from Undertale!

Please welcome to the Shanate dev team, Temmie! You probably already know Temmie from her indie smash hit UNDERTALE. Now she’s lending Shantae her expertise to help bring our massive animation load to a speedy conclusion. Look at the rad animations she's created for our Backer Enemy Slimegal! Thanks for the helping hand, Temmie!

Hmmmm...slimegirls, succubus, lamia, spidergirl. mermaid, zombie, etc. all in one game...if they don't include the harpy I'm going to be surprised/raging mad.

[Blake81]

..... How come nobody is saying anything here?

The game came out a few days ago for what I've heard, and it seems to be AS DAMN GOOD as expected.

if they don't include the harpy I'm going to be surprised/raging mad.

Then you'll be quite gleeful to know that SHE MADE IT!!

[Feathers]

I love the game, and was holding my review till I saw a harpy form. And great, can't wait to see. I would of loved to of found out in the game though.

[Kaijin]

I got it, but I have yet to try it.
Between Christmas and advancing on my Sun Pokédex (I'm spending more time fulling it than advancing on the game since it's the only thing it poses an actual challenge so far on Gen VII) I haven't got enough time to try it.

However I'm kinda unsure about how it will run on my computer (I asked for a PS3 copy but since the PS3/XBOX360 got cancelled...due to reasons I was pretty much forced to switch my reward to the Steam version, since the only system where I could actually claim it) since it's quite old.

So for the time being I'm more worried about if I'll be able to properly enjoy my reward than the quality of said reward...^^U

[DogKama]

I got it, but I have yet to try it.
Between Christmas and advancing on my Sun Pokédex (I'm spending more time fulling it than advancing on the game since it's the only thing it poses an actual challenge so far on Gen VII) I haven't got enough time to try it.

However I'm kinda unsure about how it will run on my computer (I asked for a PS3 copy but since the PS3/XBOX360 got cancelled...due to reasons I was pretty much forced to switch my reward to the Steam version, since the only system where I could actually claim it) since it's quite old.

So for the time being I'm more worried about if I'll be able to properly enjoy my reward than the quality of said reward...^^U

Same here, just bought it but playing through Dragon Quest 7 at the moment.

[Flare]

Introducing: Shantae 5.

[Blake81]

Whoa! Looks like Wayforward ain't gonna leave the embers of the last game's success get cold before making a new one...