Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Apple Arcade, now out on PC/NSW/PS4/ONE)

[Lord-Dreamerz]

52 minutes ago, JosepHenry said:

I think Jammies, Beach, Ninja and Mighty Force mode are not the most necessary thing.... Risky and Rotty/Sky/Bolo mode is fine cuz is new characters and have sort of new substance... but those other modes should be after thoughts. Although making new levels is not as easy as making the level design slightly different.

I think Sonic 3k is not a good example because Sonic 3K was a massive game to begin with, Shantae HGH is super small and underwelming if you play just the main mode. When Sonic 3k you can just play as Sonic and see what the game has to offer just fine.

this is my opinion on it, I don't like how they focused too much on extras over more levels and things that feel completely new. I wasn't trying to make it be the "superior opinion" heck, I like HGH, is just that people already said what I wanted to say about it. Sorry if it looked like that.

I will agree it is a shame the other remaining extra level Kickstarter goals were not hit because I do also agree the base game needed to be longer... I just wouldn't had sacrificed 100% ALL the other stuff to do it. Either way they didn't have a choice which content mattered more after the Kickstarter goals were reached. Also because of how Kickstarter hype works... extra bonus content entices people far more instead of if all the goals simply said "We will include more levels if this number is reached!"  If HGH had at least 8 locations I think all the other extra stuff would had been fine for the most part.

And no problem. Not saying your opinion is wrong here. I just don't want to hear mine is absolutely wrong either. Hahaa! Like I said I do think there is a good middle-ground to all these things. I do hope they handle the balance better in the future including this new upcoming game.

[Meta77]

Another reason some goals were not reached was that was the real hay day of ks. It's still great but that's when people were just getting into it. Mighty no 9 came out with thier ks close to the time of hgh and I personally know a few that backed it instead of hgh as they had to choose one or the other to fund

[Multikaris]

34 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

HGH was an indirect game from the start and as a backer rereading the campaign I think many do not realize just how small the game was going to be beforehand.  thankfully the ks helped some. Her popularity spiked thanks to hgh as well I think. Hopefully they can continue to expand upon the series.thats the thing on ks you pretty have to lock into what you say you'll add

Rerailed?

The Risky I knew wouldn’t go as far as to do something like using the Tinkerbrain to corrupt countless innocent genies.

[Meta77]

10 minutes ago, Miragnarok said:

The Risky I knew wouldn’t go as far as to do something like using the Tinkerbrain to corrupt countless innocent genies.

Well she is evil. And didnt she state the corruption of the pirate master would eventually make her more evil/evil again

[Multikaris]

29 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

Well she is evil. And didnt she state the corruption of the pirate master would eventually make her more evil/evil again

Yeah, it does seem natural for the Pirate Master’s corruption to make her gradually get more morally bankrupt. 

[Tara]

4 hours ago, Lord-Dreamerz said:

Personally I am really happy we got to play as Risky and other silly stuff such as ninja Shantae. More levels and extra stuff added to the base game would had been great... But I wouldn't sacrifice playing as Risky for that... MAYBE some of the other stuff I would... but not playable Risky at least.

I'd probably be more happy about it if I had backed the game and thus didn't have to pay for it.  Under that context, a kind of mediocre attempt to return to the play style of Pirate's Curse isn't as greatly appreciated when I have to pay $10 (about half the price of the base game currently) for it.

[Lord-Dreamerz]

16 minutes ago, Tara said:

I'd probably be more happy about it if I had backed the game and thus didn't have to pay for it.  Under that context, a kind of mediocre attempt to return to the play style of Pirate's Curse isn't as greatly appreciated when I have to pay $10 (about half the price of the base game currently) for it.

I had no idea it costed $10. xD ...That is a lot! As a backer I got it for free. I would had assumed it was only $5. But regardless it is playable Risky so I still would had quickly paid $10 for it no problem myself. I honestly wish I would had gave them more money during the Kickstarter then I ended up doing.

[Tara]

It also doesn't help that the Ultimate Edition is on Steam now, and it's actually cheaper to buy the Ultimate Edition than it is to buy the base version with all the DLC.  In fact, just the DLC alone comes up to $26, while the Ultimate Edition goes for just a little bit more and has everything.  At the very least, why not allow an upgrade to ultimate edition as DLC?  As an owner of the regular edition, it just feels kind of like a slap in the face lol.

[Plasme]

Shantae Half Genie Hero gets good reviews though. What's the general fan consensus on the game?

I'd like to get into the series.

[PC the Hedgehog]

I really enjoyed 1/2 Genie Hero, but then again, I'm more of a fan of linear platformers than metroidvanias. I can understand the various reasons why the game wasn't everyone's cup of tea.

Anyhoo, yay, Shantae 5! Whichever route they go, as long as the game has charming characters and witty writing, I'm good.

[Tara]

34 minutes ago, Plasme said:

Shantae Half Genie Hero gets good reviews though. What's the general fan consensus on the game?

I'd like to get into the series.

I think fans generally like it, but find it to be a step down.  I enjoyed it, but the linearity and forced retreading of old areas really hinders it, I think.  (Not to mention that earning the ultimate upgrade that essentially makes you invincible isn't particularly challenging to get)  Basically, if you like previous Shantae games, you'll most likely not hate HGH, but it likely won't be your favorite.  And if you've never played a Shantae game in your life, it can be a pretty bad first impression.

Shantae GBC is a good game but hasn't aged terrifically well and isn't really important to understand the plot.  I think Risky's Revenge is a good starting point.  And if you like it enough, you can move on to Pirate's Curse which is fantastic.  And if you like those games, THEN give Half Genie Hero a try.

[Meta77]

41 minutes ago, Plasme said:

Shantae Half Genie Hero gets good reviews though. What's the general fan consensus on the game?

I'd like to get into the series.

Depends on who you ask. I love all of Shantae. But Shantae 1..well lets skip it as it was sort of linear in a way. But 2 and 3 were metrovania type games. Requiring you to learn maps a bit more to remember where certain things were more than shantae 4. In HGH aka Shantae 4 it was more linear and many levels required coming back to it to gain moves you may have missed the first playthrough.

[JezMM]

8 hours ago, Plasme said:

Shantae Half Genie Hero gets good reviews though. What's the general fan consensus on the game?

I'd like to get into the series.

Shantae is one of those annoying franchises where there's no one easy game to point to as a starting point, they all have some major thing that makes them non-ideal.

Shantae: It was ahead of it's time in a lot of ways, but still has a lot of "old game" difficulty such as giving no direction on what to do, an archaiac lives system, no world map, etc.  I found it enjoyable to play later on, but only with a guide at my side.

Risky's Revenge: Where most existing fans started, so it's usually the recommended one on that basis (I mean it got US into the games right?  I think I'm always just a little worried that it's aged more than I think it has or something).  It's a little on the light side content-wise as it was just a DSiWare game (the original game is bigger despite being two generations of consoles older). The characterisation and dialogue isn't quite as strong as the other games either, but it's charming enough.  The re-releases of this game are slightly better than the original DSiWare release (still purchasable on 3DS eShop) due to having an improved warp system to get around the overworld with.

Pirate's Curse: The best game in the series, but unfortunately for a newcomer it's the black sheep gameplay-wise.  Instead of Shantae's traditional magic transformation powers, you steadily expand a set of pirate gear to increase your movement abilities throughout the game.  It's a little more linear than the first two games, which both utilised a sprawling sandbox world - this game divides the overworld up into islands, with each of those being a mini metroidvania setup in themselves. Since the entrance to each island's level design is linear, backtracking can be a little repetitive, but thankfully you unlock abilities to speed up getting around as the game goes on.  It's the most charming game in terms of humour and dialogue too.

Half-Genie Hero: As said, the most linear game in the series.  The backtracking here is even worse than PC, since getting around old areas never really speeds up much, and using a menu item to skip to the next area of the stage (since they're all divided into a three act structure like a lot of old platformers) feels really clunky and unsatisfying etc.  A first playthrough is plenty enjoyable, but it makes up for it's short length with multiple bonus campaigns that are easy to get burnt out on.  Also, it feels like a step down to go back to the traditional transformation gameplay after PC so enjoyably streamlined the platforming abilities.

 

The biggest frustration with recommending a game is that the storyline in the games IS continuous, relationships between characters do grow a little, and sadly, every game assumes you've played the previous ones, they never do anything to recap the events of the last game.  It's not the end of the world, as said, most fans started with Risky's Revenge which does nothing to explain how the characters all know each other and why they act towards each other the way they do, but it's a real shame that playing all the games in order is the best idea story-wise but the worst idea gameplay-wise.

[StaticMania]

9 hours ago, JezMM said:

...which does nothing to explain how the characters all know each other and why they act towards each other the way they do...

This isn't really as big a deal as some people might think it is.

The only time it's really mattering is if they reference things that happen as more than noodle incidents.

[Tornado]

10 hours ago, JezMM said:

Risky's Revenge: Where most existing fans started, so it's usually the recommended one on that basis (I mean it got US into the games right?  I think I'm always just a little worried that it's aged more than I think it has or something).

As someone who only started playing Shantae with this game a few months ago, I don't think "aged" is the problem with it so much as it's just clunky in general. It can be confusing to navigate levels already because of how they're tiered, and the map system if anything makes it harder. Especially early on, there's a real sense of just not understanding what you need to do to proceed.

[Meta77]

Shantae maps have never been the kindest lol

[JezMM]

3 hours ago, StaticMania said:

This isn't really as big a deal as some people might think it is.

The only time it's really mattering is if they reference things that happen as more than noodle incidents.

I guess I'm just quite attached to Shantae's personal little quest to learn more about her family and heritage as a genie (and am endlessly frustrated at how they drip-feed it to us across the games lol).  Because I personally am attached to it it's hard to recommend playing the games in an order that puts the chronology of that story element as a non-concern lol.

[Plasme]

I'm a little surprised by how critical people are here towards Shantae considering its a fan beloved franchise and gets exceptional reviews. To be honest I have a feeling its just people on here being incredibly critical about everything again, but I could be wrong.

I'm going to buy a Shantae game just to make my own mind up. Might start with Risky's Revenge since it's cheap on Steam.

[Meta77]

I think its cause starting out they were not sure Shantae was going to be a hit with people so the deeper story came later and they are still trying to figure how best to go about it overall

[StaticMania]

3 hours ago, JezMM said:

...they drip-feed it to us across the games...

That does indeed sound pretty lame-osis.

[Tara]

1 hour ago, JezMM said:

I guess I'm just quite attached to Shantae's personal little quest to learn more about her family and heritage as a genie (and am endlessly frustrated at how they drip-feed it to us across the games lol).  Because I personally am attached to it it's hard to recommend playing the games in an order that puts the chronology of that story element as a non-concern lol. 

The narrative of Shantae is probably the aspect I'm most critical over.  Not because it's bad, but because the characters have beautiful designs and extremely fun personalities punctuated with charmingly-written character interactions, but actual instances of character development are few and narrative progression is extremely unfocused.  So I'm critical of it not because it's bad--it's perfectly serviceable for the individual games in question--but because it has the potential to be so much more, and I really want Shantae to reach its full potential both in terms of gameplay and narrative.

[Meta77]

I am sure if they ever get a large sum to back the game they could expand upon more. Same for MSF. Yea that one is more loose in story but still there.  Though I have heard apple is the one funding this title.

[Meta77]

17 hours ago, StaticMania said:

That does indeed sound pretty lame-osis.

honestly the stories are good but main things we dont know1. Is the legendary hero shantae dad 2. What happened to rottytops body 3. What threat are the adult genies protecting the world from.

 

 

[Blue Blood]

On 3/27/2019 at 8:08 PM, Plasme said:

I'm a little surprised by how critical people are here towards Shantae considering its a fan beloved franchise and gets exceptional reviews. To be honest I have a feeling its just people on here being incredibly critical about everything again, but I could be wrong.

I'm going to buy a Shantae game just to make my own mind up. Might start with Risky's Revenge since it's cheap on Steam.

Think what you like, but people here are mostly just being critical of HGH. It's the only game in the series that I've properly played, so it's my only fair gauge for the series... and it's not good. From what I can tell, Shantae is fairly niche. For the people that it appeals to, it really hits the nail right on the head. For the rest, it's a much harder sell.

This is a much more personal thing, but I really dislike the obvious fanservice design of the characters. We're looking at a cast of mostly excessively cute but scantily clad and very well endowed women. I get that it's thematic of Shantae being a belly dancer, but it's just irksome to me when do-much of the cast looks that way. This criticism isn't exclusive Shantae; I feel exactly the same way about other games and a lot of anime that go for this type of design. It's bland, and feels like such pandering. I left this out of my original post, but if you're going to accuse people on here of "being incredibly critical about everything again", I'm just going to go all out and levy each my nitpicks.

[Meta77]

I still remember one person on the forums that had gripes of shantaes design back in the early days on the kickstart forum. Granted Wayforward did not listen to them. But that is their thing. Same with MSF. As Blue said its a niche fanbase but most all like shantae as she is and Matt and his Wife Erin (mostly erin) created a character they like.  Not really sure how it pandering to anyone when its something they originally wanted.