When it involves unlikely success tales within the video game trade, WayForward‘s Shantae franchise ranks fairly excessive on the checklist. The character made her debut in a self-titled Game Boy Color game launched in 2002. At that time, the Game Boy Advance had lengthy been accessible, and most avid gamers had moved on from the GBC. Despite this, Shantae managed to discover a devoted fanbase, and the character is now starring in her fifth sequence entry, Shantae and the Seven Sirens. Whether you’ve got been there because the starting otherwise you’re a newcomer to the franchise, there’s so much to like in Shantae’s newest journey.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens sees the game’s titular character on trip. Shantae and her supporting solid have arrived on Paradise Island for a Half-Genie Festival, however she shortly discovers that the whole factor is an elaborate entice. Shantae manages to keep away from seize, however her fellow Half-Genies will not be so fortunate, and gamers should uncover the island’s many secrets and techniques to be able to rescue them.
While 2016’s Shantae: Half-Genie Hero took a break from the Metroidvania format, Shantae and the Seven Sirens represents a return to kind for the sequence. For the uninitiated, everything of the game takes place throughout an interconnected, 2D map that slowly opens up because the participant beneficial properties extra powers and skills. Upon rescuing every of her fellow Half-Genies, Shantae is given a brand new Fusion means. With the press of a button, Shantae is ready to briefly rework into one other animal and use its powers to entry beforehand locked-off areas of the map. In whole, there are 5 completely different Fusions to seek out all through the game.
In addition to Shantae’s means to rework, the character also can achieve talents by means of the brand new Monster Card gathering system. When Shantae defeats her foes, it generally prompts them to drop a Monster Card. Each card grants Shantae an extra means, and gamers can equip as much as three at a time. The playing cards supply quite a lot of completely different buffs; they may strengthen the harm carried out by Shantae’s hair whip or trigger gamers to take no coronary heart harm when falling in a pit. Players also can commerce gold nuggets for uncommon playing cards and dump duplicates which might be picked up. Discovering what every card can do could be a spotlight, however I discovered that I principally caught to the identical three playing cards all through the game. Completists will admire having one thing additional to look out, however it actually is not something groundbreaking.
As far as graphics are involved, Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a beautiful game. Paradise Island is vibrant and well-designed. One of the trickiest parts of making a profitable Metroidvania game is making a map that is interesting and memorable, so gamers have much less problem backtracking. Seven Sirens completely accomplishes simply that. The character designs are each bit as sturdy. Everything has a beautiful type, whether or not it is within the animated lower scenes or within the nonetheless photos that seem throughout regular gameplay.
Humor has all the time been one among MethodForward’s strongest fits, and that holds true for Shantae and the Seven Sirens. The game is kind of humorous and can doubtless elicit various laughs out of gamers. Shantae is as soon as once more voiced by Cristina Vee, and her comedic timing is absolutely sturdy. None of that humor would work, nonetheless, if not for the fantastic world MethodForward has constructed up over the past 18 years. I discovered that Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse leaned a bit of too heavy on the continuity for newcomers, however Seven Sirens finds the candy spot, providing references to the previous with out overdoing it. All of the sequence’ acquainted faces are again, however new gamers do not must go play the final 4 games to know the dynamic between every character and Shantae. Instead, they will doubtless be impressed to research its predecessors, and that is a praise to the builders.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens provides a reasonably sturdy quantity of content material. The major quest could be accomplished in about 10 hours, relying on how a lot time gamers commit to seeking out the entire varied coronary heart containers and Monster Cards. The game offers gamers entry to a wealth of therapeutic objects, so it isn’t a very tough journey. However, as soon as the game has been accomplished, gamers can entry a quest with fewer therapeutic objects.
All these years after that first Game Boy Color game, the Shantae franchise continues to ship some of the pleasant experiences in gaming. Shantae and the Seven Sirens is humorous, healthful, and simply plain enjoyable. It additionally provides a killer soundtrack. Some may discover that the primary quest is a bit of too simple, and the Monster Card system would not supply something too vital, however these are minor quibbles. Shantae and the Seven Sirens is one other nice entry in an already sturdy sequence.
Rating: Four out of 5
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is presently accessible on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and iOS. A retail code was supplied by the writer for the aim of this evaluate, and it was reviewed on a base mannequin Nintendo Switch.
