I've never played Shantae. Should I rectify that?

[KeRaSh]

I recently played Curse of the 7 Sirens as my first Shantae game and it was pretty enjoyable, although I would have liked for it to have a better map system. Give me a way to mark collectibles on the map that I can't reach yet.
Other than that it was a perfectly OK 7/10 to kill some time between bigger releases.

 

[tmarg]

Pirates curse is the only one I've enjoyed from a gameplay perspective, though I haven't tried all of them. The sexualization definitely detracts. While playing it I didn't necessarily read the characters as being underaged, but apparently the devs has specifically said that they intend for them to be, so uhhhh....

In any event, the genre has exploded since pirates curse came out, you can do better even if you're willing to look past all of that.

 

[Gravidee]

This might not be a popular opinion but I actually found Pirate's Curse a little too difficult for my liking although it definitely got easier with the upgrades and magic items towards the end. I think Half Genie Hero struck the right balance for me and I'm hoping that Seven Sirens will too.

 

[Scheris]

Don't play it if you get annoyed at hyper difficult final dungeons when the rest of the game isn't like that. (Plus the sexualization people mentioned.)

I literally uninstalled Pirate's Curse due the asinine final dungeon that required pixel perfect movement to clear.

From what I heard, it's a thing in the other Shantae games too.

 

[babyzelda]

I like Shantae because she's cute and I like the Wonderboy gameplay, but yeah, I wish she had just a little more of a shirt. A little midriff is fashionable sometimes, but you can't just wear a bikini top all the time. I guess she lives on the beach.

There are excuses for some things maybe -- she's a genie, it's hot -- but she's often getting in situations where she's vulnerable because she loses her clothes. At least her rival isn't an older man with authority or it'd be just too far, but it's still pretty gummy. Risky Boots can say "Spank this one extra hard for mommy," and I can say "Really?" instead of turning off the system and restarting Monster World IV. Still, Shantae is very cute and bubbly and I like her as a heroine; I just have to be ready to cringe a few times a game.

 

[Semblance]

Pirate's Curse is my favorite of the bunch and you don't really need to play them in order, honestly. It's $10 right now on Steam fwiw.

 

[Rikimaru]

Play Pirate's Curse.

 

[Deleted member 5086]

I got Pirate's Curse on 3DS through humble bundle, and it was ridiculously sexualised and off-putting. And that was before I found out WayForward said her age is "around 16". I haven't played a game in the series since then.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

I think they are all fun tbh

 

[Arta]

They are all fine.

 

[CrocodileGrin]

They're average and fun, though Pirate's Curse is probably the best of the bunch as a very well-made Metroidvania.

 

[Buckle]

So, here's the question: do you have the patience for putting up with a LOT of sexualization of underage cartoon girls for a decent platformer with some good sprite work and occasional funny jokes?

Because more than anything else, your ability to put up with the sexualization will determine whether or not you can stomach Shantae as a series. I made it through like three hours of the most recent Half-Genie Hero before I had to stop.

Click to shrink...

Yeah...this is kind of whats been stopping me from taking the plunge despite people raving about the gameplay in the series.

 

[BasilZero]

I see she's a pretty popular demand for Smash, but I've never played any of her games.... how many are there in the series? What was the first system she debuted on? I'd love to to play them in order if I can.

Click to shrink...

Shantae 1 came out on Gameboy but good luck getting a copy and to actually work on a GB/GBA these days. Even emulation of this specific game is a bit....wonky. This came out in 2002.


Shantae 2 Risky's Revenge you can get on PS4, Steam and WiiU (Also on DS)

Shantae 3 and the Pirate's Curse - you can get on Steam, PS4, Xbox One and Switch (also on 3DS)

Shantae 4 Half Genie Hero is on PS4, Switch, Xbox One and Steam (Also on Vita and WiiU)

Shantae 5 Seven Sirens is on PS4, Switch, Xbox One and Steam.


I've played 2 and 3 - enjoyed it. Good cast of characters and story. Great art style, visuals - sound/music is good too.

I dont have 4 yet - planning to get it in the future and will be waiting for 5 to go on a decent sale



Hoping we see 1 get ported....it was ported to the 3DS eshop I think....?


Edit: Pirate's Curse is my most favorite so far mainly cause of the art style is my most favorite - also the gameplay is way way way better than Risky's Revenge (though I have Risky's Revenge on iOS, DS/3DS and Steam lol). Got the DS/3DS and iOS versions for free as a giveaway and humble bundle respectively.....I think I got the Steam version from a bundle too.

 

[Deleted member 26156]

Pirate's Curse is good and very worth playing. The others... eh.