There’s also a new ‘Magic Mode’ which acts as a sort of New Game Plus wherein Shantae has enhanced magical abilities, but takes more damage.
SHANTAE SPRITES SQUID ZIP
For one thing, the fast travel system has received a much-needed fix, which makes it far easier to zip from one end of Sequin Land to the next with minimal hassle. It’s never too difficult to find the right way again, but such issues tend to take some of the enjoyment out of exploration.įor the most part, Risky’s Revenge is the game you remember from the DSi all those years back, but the Director’s Cut brings with it some welcome improvements to give this version that extra bit of value. Worse yet, there isn’t a map at all when you go into any of the dungeons, which can lead to some moments of frustration if, say, you’re missing a key to a door and have no means of knowing where it could be or where you haven’t checked yet.
The world is more intricate than before and features plenty of curiosities to reward completionists, but its additional size is handicapped a bit by a weird map that doesn’t do much to help you with remembering points of interest for later. Still, it’s tough to be disappointed with the variety of playstyles present in Risky’s Revenge, and WayForward did a good job of expanding on the gameplay it had established with the first Shantae.Ĭompared to that debut release, the level design has also received quite an upgrade, although this proves to be a double-edged sword. Given the relative ease of dealing with enemies, however, the additional boons offered up by the shop can often feel a bit like overkill, stripping a great deal of difficulty from combat which isn’t all that challenging to begin with. Upgrades are doled out reasonably quickly, with you having the option to buy basically all but the animal transformations at a shop in town. The monkey form, for example, gives her a stronger jump and lets her climb walls, while the mermaid allows for greater underwater movement. Completing dungeons and other objectives will see Shantae receiving boosts to her health and attacks, along with a handful of animal transformations which grant her access to new areas. Risky’s Revenge plays out like a typical Metroidvania, with you having a big, gated 2D map to explore which is dotted with upgrades, collectibles, and a handful of dungeons to navigate. It’s frequent moments like these which remind you that the plot seldom takes itself too seriously, but this sort of goofy levity is what gives the world and its characters their alluring edge. After he scarfs it down, he decides to stiff Shantae on the ‘bill’ (the first of the seals she’s looking for) before running away to his chamber. For example, your ‘key’ to enter the first dungeon is not an actual key, but a tasty meal prepared for the dungeon’s final boss, who lets you in because he’s hungry. Though the larger beats of the story are about as rote as they can possibly get, it’s the personalities of the characters and the amusing interactions they have with each other that instills the world with so much charisma. Thus kicks off a tense race against time in which Shantae must find and obtain the three magic seals hidden across Sequin Land which can unlock the lamp’s power, and she must do this before Risky can get them and enact her eponymous revenge.Īs has become the norm for this series, the plot is hardly the focus, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s to be ignored either. Shortly thereafter, Risky Boots arrives on the scene aboard her living pirate ship and spirits the lamp away, while dropping some cryptic hints of her nefarious plans for it. The story picks up with the annual Relic Hunter Expo, in which Shantae’s Uncle Mimic inadvertently unearths an old magical lamp onstage before the attendees. Ten years on, Risky’s Revenge is certainly beginning to show its age-especially compared to the later entries which are also available on the Switch-but it’s still a remarkably well-built experience that captures the series’ unique identity well. It would be nearly a decade before Shantae would be given another lease of life on the DSiWare service in Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, which has now been ported forward to the Switch as a Director’s Cut. The original Shantae was an indie game in a time before indie games were in vogue, and its release at the very end of the Game Boy Color’s lifespan didn’t do it any favors in garnering a fanbase. Though Shantae has become a mainstay in recent years, it wasn’t too long ago that this franchise was scarcely more than a niche curiosity.
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