Hello everyone, and welcome to my review of Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero! Recently I discovered an awesome retro game series called Wonder Boy that came out on the Sega Genesis, and the Master System back in the late eighties. Somehow I never knew about these games back then, but now that I've played a few it's turned me into a fan of the series. Why am I talking about Wonder Boy you might ask? Well, after playing those games, and having a great time with them, I wanted more, but unfortunately there aren't that many. While I've been waiting for Red Dead 2 to finally come out I went searching for something to tide me over, and discovered the Shantae series. This overlooked set of games is very much a spiritual successor to the Wonder Boy franchise, featuring many of the same unique mechanics, while also maintaining it's own distinct style. Regardless, Shantae is a great game all on it's own. So sit back, relax, and let me tell you all about it.
Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero is a 2D platformer developed by Wayforward Technologies, and was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. This happens to be the fourth installment in the series overall, and it's the first to be specifically designed for high definition, current gen hardware. The previous Shantae games have been mainly on handheld systems like the 3DS. As the game begins, Shantae is awoken by a mysterious, disembodied voice that leads her into a secret cave underneath her uncle's workshop. The voice warns her of an impending danger that only she can defeat, but it disappears before she can ask any questions. The next morning Shantae figures this was just a dream, and moves on with her day. She visits her Uncle Mimic who's working on a new invention called, the Dynamo, which will keep their town powered, and safe from attack, but he needs several specific parts to complete it.
Meanwhile, Shantae's nemesis, Risky Boots the evil pirate, attacks her town, and steals Uncle Mimic's blueprints for the Dynamo machine. Now your journey begins, as you track down Risky to get the blueprints back, and set out to find all the missing pieces. Shantae's main form of attack is using her long hair as a whip to defeat enemies. This can be upgraded to make her attacks stronger, and faster, as you progress throughout the game. Since she is half genie, Shantae also has the magical ability to transform into various animal forms too. To transform into an animal all you have to do is press triangle, for PS4, and simply pick which one you want, but first you have to find each ability out in the game world. She can turn into a monkey, which lets her climb vertical walls, a bat, to fly horizontally across large gaps, an elephant, to smash down walls, a crab, to go underwater, and many more.
There are six main levels, including the town hub where you live, and each one is full of secret areas, and treasures to find. But in order to reach these hidden goodies you're going to have to have the right animal power. This means that your first time going through a level you wont be able to get everything, and you're going to have to play through them again a couple times once you acquire the right animal transformation. Each animal form has further abilities to unlock as well, and there are even four special transformations that you can buy off a secret vendor hidden in certain levels. I really enjoyed trying to figure out how to get all these hidden treasures, and it makes the game last a little longer having to backtrack to open new areas. This is the same premise as the Wonder Boy games that I mentioned before. So if you like this game, go out and get Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap, and you wont be disappointed.
As soon as you start the game you can't help but be impressed by the amazing visuals. Shantae is full of bright, vibrant colors, and highly detailed characters. Every level you go to has it's own distinct art style, from the watery mermaid stage, to the dry, sandy desert level, and there's even a haunted castle that's perfect for Halloween. The enemies, NPCs, your animal forms, and every environment, is polished, detailed, and pops off the screen at you. On top of this you have some of the best music I've heard in a game in a long time. Each stage comes with it's own catchy musical score that will surely be stuck in your head for days to come, and if you set the controller down each character seems to dance to the beat while waiting for you to continue. It's very easy to get caught up in the world of Shantae Half Genie Hero, and it's a very fun, lighthearted experience.
Of course it's not a perfect game, and to be fair there are a few complaints that I have to mention. For one thing, the gameplay, while fun, is a bit too easy. I didn't have trouble with any level, or boss, but there is a hard mode to unlock once you beat the standard game. The objectives can be pretty vague at times, leaving you wondering where you're supposed to be going. And with so many areas blocked off until you get the right animal, knowing exactly where to go next can be confusing. Lastly, the animals that you turn into are great, it's my favorite part of the game, but when you're transforming over, and over, and over again, trying to find all the secrets, it can start to get on your nerves.
These are minor things that didn't drastically affect how much fun I had playing the game, but they will affect the overall grade. This is a solid 2D platformer with some unique mechanics that you don't see very often. It features a bright, colorful world, an excellent soundtrack, and some quirky characters that you meet along the way. The levels are packed full of hidden items, and secret areas that you have to find in some pretty creative ways, and after playing this I can say I'm now a fan of the series. WayForward did a great job, as they usually do, and I hope to see more games like this in the future. I'm going to give Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero a grade of.............................
B
Thanks for checking out my review of Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero, I hope you enjoyed it!
Looks like a fun game that I'd play for sure. Here is an upvote.