Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, PC[reviewed])
Developer: WayForward Technologies
Publisher: WayForward Technologies
Released: December 20, 2016
MSRP: $19.99

Shantae is one of the most overlooked franchises, despite having been around for almost fifteen years. Although the first title was received positively by critics, it never became the commercial hit that its publisher, Capcom, hoped it would be. From their second installment onward, WayForward Technologies has self-published Shantae games, including the latest one, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. With over $900,000 funded via Kickstarter and Paypal, Half-Genie Hero manages to stay faithful to the series with its hair-whipping, belly-dancing, titular protagonist returning to restore peace to Sequin Land once again.

As a newcomer to the series, what instantly drew me into the game was the vibrant, playful presentation. The game uses hand-drawn 2D characters in conjunction with 3D environments, all in HD.The 2D and 3D aspects of the visuals harmoniously complement each other to make the game feel polished and pleasant (though I did feel a little nauseated running in circles at the main hub of Scuttle Town). The art style used is more cartoony than its predecessor, with large heads and big eyes. Even though I prefer the art direction in the Pirate’s Curse for its bold strokes and definition, the new style makes the characters lively and irresistible.

Gameplay-wise, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a Shantae game, which takes heavy cues from Metroid and Castlevania. Shantae can use her hair as a whip to deal damage and spend mana to perform magic. Additionally, she can learn dances to transform into various creatures such as a monkey, elephant, mermaid, and harpy. Each transformation adds a layer of gameplay elements; turning into a monkey increases movement speed and jump height, while being a mermaid allows for underwater navigation. That means you have to backtrack to reach certain parts of previous stages using your newfound abilities. Thankfully, retracing your steps is much less arduous because you can use Whistle and Warp Dance to hearth back to town and skip to the next area.

Like a true Shantae game, Half-Genie Hero is essentially divided up into two parts: platforming and puzzles. The platforming segments of the game feel responsive and snappy, without making the player feel too bad for missing a jump or running into spikes. Traversing the six stages spread across waterfalls, desert, race tracks, and industrial locations, I never felt like platforming was a chore, and often had to wrestle with the happy dilemma of whether to finish the game quickly because I wanted to see all the stages, or to savor every moment while delaying the ending. However, the puzzle segments of the game are where it gets tricky, since they require you to search for clues to advance the story. Luckily, the developer has the bath house lady and other townsfolk giving you clear hints on what to do next. Still, if you’re not one of the people who thrive on solving puzzles, it’s likely that you will get stuck every now and then.

For example, you’re asked to go back to Mermaid Falls to retrieve an important story item after learning the Mouse Dance. To get to the NPC, you have to look for a small opening to enter the maze as a tiny rodent, which is marked by faint sparks with a lush waterfall behind it. I eventually found my way in, but I didn’t feel good about how the game just put a mechanic that wasn’t properly introduced before to progress the story. Perhaps I’m spoiled by modern video games hand-holding me through the whole thing, but at the same time, I applaud the developer for not dumbing down the game and keeping the flavor of the Shantae series intact.

Speaking of keeping the spirit alive, it was also a fresh change of pace to see how the difficulty is handled. As with previous titles, Half-Genie Hero does not ask you to select a difficulty at the beginning like many other modern games do. I imagine most people opt for normal because easy may be too stompy and hard may take too much time. This is compounded by the fact that a new player usually has no knowledge of how easy or difficult any given game is prior to playing. Instead, Half-Genie Hero allow players to set their own difficulty by toggling on and off very powerful items.

For instance, you can purchase Bikini Armor early in the game, which decreases the damage you take by half. As Heart Containers are rather hard to find in the beginning, effectively having double the health pool is an immense advantage. If some players feel that items like this make the game too easy, then they can simply turn off the armor in the inventory system. This is a much more elegant solution than having players blindly guess which difficulty they’d like to play in.

Another noteworthy aspect about Half-Genie Hero is the music. Veteran video game music composer Jake “virt” Kaufman, who worked on all previous Shantae games, produced an excellent variety of highly dance-inducing music. Even many major characters including Shantae bob their heads and hips while idle, as if they’re dancing along to the background music. Although I raised the issue of mandatory puzzles being too obscure, one of the things that kept me playing without looking up a guide was the upbeat, electronic chiptunes. Specifically, the factory in Mermaid Falls has one of the best video game soundtracks I’ve heard in recent years, reminding me of Sonic 3.

Not everything is perfect in Half-Genie Hero, as the story is somewhat incoherent. In Pirate’s Curse, the character interactions were rather bland and generic, but at least the story was cohesive enough to understand; it was a story of collecting Risky’s stolen belongings to exact revenge on the Pirate Master. This time around, though, the situation is reversed in which witty, self-aware dialogues are keeping together a disjointed, uninspiring story. The Pirate Master’s presence is felt throughout the previous game, whereas each boss in Half-Genie Hero seem to lack the connection and relevance that build up the climax. I understand that most people don’t play Shantae for a rich, engaging story, but I think this area is where the game could have the most improvement.

Another minor issue is how the game keeps track of side quest objectives to get the good ending. While it tells you in the inventory system how many quest items you currently possess, it neglects to inform the total number needed to finish the quest. To get the all the information, you’ll have to use the main map or talk to the quest giver again. It’s also a shame that the full voice-over Kickstarter goal wasn’t reached, and now we’re stuck with intermittent, partial voices that only tease at what the game could have been. Although it’s unlikely that voice acting will be implemented later, the developer said that there is a chance that unfunded additional chapters may be provided as DLC if the game does well.

I can confidently say that Half-Genie Hero is a worthy entry to the criminally underappreciated Shantae franchise. Even as a novice to the series with a general aversion to puzzle elements, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. Whether you’re into platformers or puzzles, WayForward made sure that there is plenty to like. Even if you think you won’t enjoy one aspect as much as the other, that’s absolutely fine because various items let you to adjust the difficulty of platforming segments and NPCs give ample tips to solve puzzles. Gameplay aside, I think the game has merits with its colorful characters and exceptional music alone.

Despite the suspicion surrounding Kickstarter and similar websites, I think it’s wonderful to live in a time where creators can ask prospective consumers for funding to collectively produce products that people want. Apparently, that number was over 18,000 backers for Kickstarter alone, and you can be sure I’ll be a part of the effort in the purple-haired guardian genie’s future endeavors.

Pros

- gorgeous graphics that combines the best of 2D and 3D
- solid platforming and puzzle experiences for modern Metroidvania fans
- outstanding soundtrack that perfectly blends with gameplay

Cons

- disorienting story line
- no clear tracking of objectives

Overall Score: 8/10