Shantae: Half Genie Hero

Gameplay

Like the previous installments of the series, the player takes control of Shantae, a half-genie who can use her hair as a whip to attack enemies. Throughout the game, Shantae can obtain dances that allow her to transform into various forms, each with their own abilities. Along with returning abilities, such as the monkey and elephant transformations, new forms include a bat that can cross long gaps, a crab that can maneuver underwater, and a mouse that can crawl into small mazes. These transformations can be further upgraded with new abilities. The game is divided up into several action stages, which can be replayed to obtain new items that become accessible with the use of certain powers, some of which are required to progress through the story. A new magic meter is added to the game, which allows Shantae to use unlocked spells at will instead of purchasing them individually. The game is presented in high definition, with 2D vector character sprites on 3D environments, unlike previous entries' dedicated pixel art aesthetic.

Forthcoming updates will add additional playable characters to the game, each with their own story campaigns and gameplay styles. The first planned update will add Shantae's nemesis, Risky Boots, who uses "Tinker-tools" as substitutes to Shantae's powers, similar to Shantae's abilities in Pirate's Curse. The game in this case follows a similar structure to that of Shantae's mode. Additional characters will include Sky, who can use birds, Bolo, who uses a ball-and-chain, and Rottytops, whose playstyle will be based on feeding and self-dismemberment.

Plot

Late one night, the half-genie Shantae is awoken by the sound of a voice. Following it outside, she discovers a secret cave, where a messenger from the Genie Realm warns her of an impending evil that only she can defeat, but disappears before it can elaborate further. Shantae suddenly awakens, revealing the experience to have been a dream. She goes to visit her Uncle Mimic, who is working on a new invention, the Dynamo, which will keep Scuttle Town constantly powered and safe from attack. However, the pirate Risky Boots begins a siege on Scuttle Town, with one of her Tinkerbat minions stealing Mimic's blueprints. Shantae gives chase and defeats Risky, retrieving the blueprints, but Mayor Scuttlebutt once again fires her from her position as the town's guardian genie due to Risky's escape and the damage incurred. Mimic reveals that several components are still needed to complete the Dynamo, so Shantae begins searching across Sequin Land for the remaining components, helping those she finds in need of assistance along the way.

With help from her friends Sky, Bolo and Rottytops, Shantae retrieves all of the components needed to finish the Dynamo. Mimic switches the device on, but the Dynamo goes haywire and blasts Shantae with dark magic, turning her to her Nega-Shantae form. Risky appears and reveals she had swapped Mimic's blueprints with her own, and that she plans to power up the machine and use it to invert the magical polarity of the entire Genie Realm, turning them evil. Shantae attacks the group while Risky escapes with the Dynamo in tow, but Shantae's friends manage to snap her out of her trance, returning her to normal. To prevent Risky's plan, Mimic creates a Magical Polarizer to reverse the Dynamo's effects, and Shantae sets out for Risky's hideout. Upon arrival, Shantae defeats Risky and the Dynamo-powered Tinkerbrain, but the messenger from her dream pulls her into the Genie Realm and reveals their magic has already been corrupted. With no choice left, Shantae decides she must destroy the Genie Realm to keep the world safe and destroys the repowered Tinkerbrain, returning to the real world and escaping the exploding hideout as Risky swears vengeance.

Shantae reunites with her friends at her lighthouse, where Mayor Scuttlebutt announces Shantae is rehired as Scuttle Town's guardian genie. As the others depart, Shantae expresses regret for having to destroy the Genie Realm, but the messenger appears and reveals that Mimic's Magical Polarizer worked, purifying their magic and saving the Realm. The messenger also explains that Shantae's mother is alive and well in the Genie Realm, having given up Shantae as a child to keep her safe while devoting her own life to protecting the real world from greater threats. Finally understanding her mother's sacrifice, Shantae leaves to celebrate with her friends as the messenger returns to the Genie Realm.

Development

WayForward Technologies unveiled Shantae: Half-Genie Hero in early September 2013 as the first game in the series for home consoles, featuring graphics by Inti Creates. The financing of the game was based on the crowdfunding principle, through a Kickstarter campaign with a target goal of $400,000 which ended on October 4, 2013 with more than $800,000 (including PayPal donations), which was over double the target. Although the campaign has ended, WayForward still accepted donations via PayPal on its website up to December 16, 2014, when the campaign closed at nearly $950K. The original release date was October 2014, but because of the additional funding and promised stretch goals the game was delayed. Development was completed by November 2016.

Matt Bozon, one of the creators of Shantae series, revealed that the title of the game was stylised as ½ Genie Hero as a tribute to Rumiko Takahashi's manga Ranma ½, which he cited several times as an influence on the Shantae series.

Release

Along with its digital release, Marvelous USA published a retail edition of the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Wii U versions of the game in North America. The limited "Risky Beats" edition contains a thirty track soundtrack CD.

Reception

Shantae Half-Genie Hero received an 81/100 aggregate review score on Metacritic indicating "generally favorable reviews".

USGamer's Nadia Oxford rated it 4 stars out of 5, praising the game's "lush backgrounds and butter-smooth animations", as well as its "surreal sense of humor", but expressed disappointment at the game being a "soft reboot", not following the plot from Pirate's Curse. IGN's Vince Ingenito rated it 8 out of 10, approving its varied action and level design, comparing Shantae's animal transformations to the suits in Super Mario Bros. 3; he also commented that "its hand-drawn look and toe-tapping music successfully channel a joy and enthusiasm that has become far too rare in modern video games." Kotaku's Mike Fahey called it "a whole lot of fun", praising its gorgeous visuals, rich music, and smooth gameplay. Destructoid's Kevin McClusky rated it a 7.5 out of 10, calling its visuals "unbelievably gorgeous" and the soundtrack "excellent"; however, he criticized the excessive difficulty in some spots and the lack of a map system.