Topic: So.... The original Shantae game...

[Claimh Solais]

Am I missing something here..? It's just... not that good. At all.

Like, it's damn pretty. Easily the nicest looking game I've ever seen on the Game Boy Color. How WayForward was able to push the graphics that far along with have damn nice audio is something to ponder. But the game itself is just... it's kinda crappy.

Shantae herself has garbage for attack range, but her hitboxes are HUGE. On top of that, enemies are freakin' relentless. They attack like no one's business, and it's annoying how often they spawn in the exact spot you're standing in. The game punishes you for being too slow because enemies can hit you so easily, but then the game also punishes you for going too fast because you'll run into enemies that were not there a second ago. This would be all fine and dandy if it were a stage-by-stage game like Castlevania. In fact, I'd LOVE it if it were stage-by-stage.

But the game is instead a more open-ended experience, with a world to explore. And Egoraptor actually made a point about that in his first Castlevania Sequelitis, in that the enemy placement couldn't be as relentless as the first game for Simon's Quest, since no one will want to go back and forth through that over and over. But that's exactly what's happening with Shantae.

Even worse is that because you don't have a map, you have no semblance of where to go. At the beginning, they're all "GO TO THE WATER VILLAGE!" but they don't tell you which way to go. And even then, I don't even know if the place I made it to is the water village, because I can't figure out how to get inside.

Overall, the gameplay is like it wants to be an action-platformer like Castlevania 1, but the game structure and level design is like it wants to be a more open-ended experience like Simon's Quest.

I'm just at a freakin' loss here. Am I missing something? Do I need to git gud? Or is Shantae just simply badly designed? I'd like to know people's thoughts on this, because I really want to love the game. From the things I've seen of the Shantae series, it looks lovely, and what little I played of Risky's Revenge was really fun.

[X]

The first Shantae game leaves some things to be desired. A lack of a map system being one of the main issues. Relentless enemies is another. And yes, her attack range isn't as refined as it was in Risky's Revenge, or the more improved Pirate's Curse. I love the art style in the first game and I really, REALLY wish they'd go back to it. It was unique yet it harked back to a more classic anime feel that I hadn't seen in a while. The music was okay and I'm glad they brought all the main tracks back in Pirate's Curse so I could hear them again in a much higher quality format. I think Shantae could have been a better experience if it were a straight-up action platformer rather then being an amalgamation of action/exploration. Risky's Revenge did a much better job because they addressed the issues from the first game.

[Claimh Solais]

Yeah, for now, I skipped over the first and went straight to Risky's Revenge, and man, that game is fun. Was up all night playing it. Sure, it's significantly easier than the original game, but that's okay, because the difficulty compliments the constant traveling you're doing. I've only played one dungeon so far, but the dungeon was difficult enough for a first one. And man, the boss fights are fun and easy to understand in this.

I just dunno if I can stomach the first game's cheap design. If it were structured more like Castlevania, in that it's played on a stage-by-stage basis, this relentless enemy design would be perfect. But as it stands, the Game Boy Castlevania trilogy, Kid Dracula, Kid Icarus, the Mega Man games, and Metroid II are ALL far better Game Boy side-scrollers than Shantae, even if they aren't as pretty to look at.

[KaZudra]

Ironically, I picked up Risky's Revenge.... but found it rather hard to "get into". After getting Pirate's Curse and having a blast with it, I did go back to complete Risky's Revenge.

Shantae is a technical marvel for the GBC, but not really anything amazing, maybe it would have been something in it's time, but IMO the Original GB/GBC lineup didn't have many good titles, but that had a lot with me never having one to grow up with so no real nostalgia...

Risky's Revenge is pretty, has a few great moments, but the backtracking and secrets were more of a chore.

Pirate's Curse on the other hand, is THE game to get into the series, and my only worry for 1/2 Genie Hero is that can it stand toe to toe with this Gem? Ditching the genie aspect and in place giving rather the most useful equipment in recent memory was a wise choice, but that's not to credit the great level design which made it all work, which in turn gives me hope that a more traditional Shantae can be as good as a rather more practical Shantae.

[PFG9000]

I've never been able to get into Shantae, mostly because of the high difficulty level and lack of a map.  Which is strange, because those same two things were never a problem with the original Metroid.  Anyway, I've played through the first dungeon, and I believe after that you're supposed to backtrack to the left, but it was somewhere around there that I lost interest.

That was far enough for me to see the connection between the original Shantae and the bonus dungeon in Pirates Curse, so I guess that's a small plus.

[Claimh Solais]

Yeah, I've been playing Risky's Revenge the last few days and man, I'm having such a blast with it. Just yesterday I tried playing some more of the original and man, I just can't stomach it. I get that it's a Game Boy Color game, but come on. The game came out in 2002. And even then, you'll find less cheap enemy design in games like Castlevania, Mega Man, or Kid Icarus, all of which are on Game Boy.

I'm not even exaggerating when I say I had more fun with Castlevania Legends than Shantae. It's a real shame, because the game has so much personality behind it.