Developer: Wayforward
Back in 2011, I played this game on the Nintendo DSi eShop prior to the recent HD port. This release was a sequel to the critically acclaimed indie game, Shantae, which made its debut in 2002. The sequel, which took eight long years to make, was a significant landmark release because it was exclusively available digitally on the relatively new service that Nintendo was trying to push forward and flagged as a tent pole release.
Shantae starts off needing to deliver an item to her Uncle Mimic for their annual relic hunters’ ceremony where it goes all wrong as Risky Boots, the main villain from the first game bursts in on the scene and steals the magic genie's lamp, you are now thrown into pursuing Risky having to gather the 3 magic seals hidden across Sequin Land, to stop Risky’s evil plans of ultimate power..
Shantae is a visually stunning game that showcases Wayforward's mastery of pixel art. The game's animation is beautifully crafted, and the sprawling environments you traverse are thoughtfully designed with their own distinct themes and charming details. The pixel art is a standout feature that really brings the world to life, something that is often missing in modern games that rely on more cost-effective '2.5d' graphics. Despite being an HD up-res of a DSi game, Shantae holds up well and is a testament to the timeless appeal of classic pixel art but does feature borders to help keep the pixel art at the correct dimensions.
The game's music is equally impressive, with a varied and catchy soundtrack that harkens back to the classic songs of the Game Boy Advance, which makes sense as 'Risky Revenge' was initially planned as a GBA sequel to the first game, which makes perfect sense given the game's overall aesthetic and design.
Shantae is a Metroidvania game, the game leans more towards the Castlevania aspects of the genre, with repeating braindead enemies and melee-focused combat. In combat, Shantae will use her ponytail as a close-ranged melee attack that can be upgraded to whip even faster with hidden jam jars. However, she also can cast magic spells, which can be purchased from the item shop in Scuttle town, these spells include a fireball that explodes on impact, a lightning cloud that strikes enemies with a bolt of lightning, and a ball that spins around your body, that acts as another constant projectile.
The game’s brief adventure will guide you to the picturesque sunny seaside town of Scuttle Town, where the sun is always shining and the characters are as diverse as they are friendly. The town serves as the focal point of your adventure, as you embark on a journey to discover the 3 magic seals hidden throughout the far corners of the map. Along the way, you'll get to explore a barren desert, overgrown woodlands, and a sandy beach area, each with its own unique charm, disappointly there are literally only a handful of different enemy designs throughout, which with wayforwards unique style feels like a missed beat , in order to uncover the many hidden collectables scattered throughout these locations, you'll need to put your platforming skills to the test, ranging from basic to advanced.
During my playthrough, I made it a priority to collect as many of these items as possible before reaching the endgame, knowing that having the right transformations would be crucial to stagnating my progress.
In this game, much like other Metroidvania games, there is a convenient and time-saving warp system that players can use to travel quickly from one point of interest to the other, however, to take advantage of this system, you must first activate it at both ends of the journey. Once you have done so, you will be able to skip challenging areas that you have already explored, making it easier to navigate Sequin land.
Dungeons in 'Risky Revenge' are simple puzzle rooms, much like those in Super Metroid. They are structured with locked doors that players can unlock by retrieving keys hidden in either chests or enemy gauntlets. However, I was disappointed with the dungeons as they lacked the vibrant and diverse design that can be seen in the rest of the game. The level design was also quite boring, especially in the first dungeon, which consisted of simple puzzles on a very linear path. I found this to be a bit of a slog to push through, even though I encountered it very early on.
The second dungeon wasn't even a traditional dungeon, but rather a boring enemy gauntlet. To make things worse, it lacked a map, which made it difficult for me to navigate through the same 'copy paste' rooms when I got lost backtracking.
One of the standout features of the game is the final dungeon. Although the art style may seem a bit dull like the rest, the puzzle design is excellent and requires players to think for more than a few seconds. While most of the other dungeons were underwhelming, the bosses at the end of each one were fantastic! They were all beautifully animated and had unique battle patterns.
The dungeons themselves are not the game's strongest aspect, the lead-up to entering them is enjoyable and unpredictable. For instance, one dungeon can only be accessed by presenting a cooked meal to the boss, who will then open the locked door for a "valid" trade.
Although dungeons have some downsides, the process of reaching them is enjoyable and unpredictable. For instance, one particular dungeon can only be accessed by providing a cooked meal to the boss, who will then open the locked door to allow entry for a fair exchange.
The supporting cast of Shantae is wonderfully written, with quirky one-liners and great Wayforward animation that helps elevate each character and gives the town of Scuttle town a boatload of charisma. A personal highlight is a boss whom you end up befriending after battering and giving an ultimatum, in return he helps you access the final area. The story, while very light-hearted, has a lot of charm and doesn't take itself too seriously.
Shantae may have limited combat abilities, but she compensates for it with a set of transformations that she can use. These transformations come in handy in solving puzzles and collecting hard-to-reach items in the latter part of the game. For instance, the elephant transformation can be used to charge through enemies during combat or even perform a body slam with a hidden power-up.
While the game isn’t necessarily difficult by any means, what does help it become frustrating is the lack of checkpoints and the archaic save system it implies, which are few and far between, while the overworld has a scarcity of save points, dungeons have aplenty of them, which I couldn’t get my head around the design choice but when matched up with my prior gripes with the game, makes it feel like a relic of a bygone era.
VERDICT:
While Risky's Revenge features excellent pixel animation, enjoyable boss fights, and a quirky well-written cast, however, the game is let down by its rough save system, limited enemy design, and some bland dungeons. It is difficult to recommend this as a 'must-play' Shantae game when there are several better games in the series available on most current-gen systems. Nonetheless, if you can overlook some of the game's glaring problems and appreciate the charming characters, it's worth giving it a try, especially if you can find it on sale.
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Time to beat: 4 hours
Pros:
· Pixel art
· Great supporting cast
· Challenging diverse bosses
Cons:
· Save system
· Simple level design
· Limited enemy designs
· Basic Combat
Rating 6.5/10
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