5/17/2023 0 Comments Shantae petrify![]() ![]() Shantae and the Seven Sirens, by all means, solves that problem, and it does so in the simplest of ways: by picking up where Pirate’s Curse had left off. ![]() And in that quirky indecision, the game failed to take full advantage of any of those two worlds. The result was neither a fluid action-platformer of straightforward goodness nor a lighter version of the backtracking-filled Metroidvania giants. Oddly, however, instead of approaching its adventure as a linear road to glory, like the one seen in the two-dimensional Super Mario platformers from which it borrowed its world map, Half-Genie Hero retained franchise staples that forced players to retrace their steps. Gone was the intricate overworld, and in came a level-selection map presenting the stages like items in a menu. Rather than building upon what Pirate’s Curse had constructed, it actually disassembled the structure that was in place. Half-Genie Hero, though, brought that progression to a halt. And that concept was neatly expanded as Shantae navigated through her self-titled debut, her anticipated comeback nearly one decade later with Risky’s Revenge, and her arguable peak in the fantastic Pirate’s Curse. Ever since its inception, which happened in the tail-end of the Game Boy Color’s lifespan, the series had thrived in mixing action-platforming with expansive maps, tying what would otherwise be standalone levels by using an overworld that brought exploration, backtracking, and maze-like constructions to the table. The fact of the matter is that Half-Genie Hero went against a good portion of the elements that had always made the property so unique. ![]() Although generally perceived in a very positive light by critics, the game was met with a mixed reaction from its fanbase, with some perceiving it as a pleasant change of pace and others looking at it like an odd misstep. Such a status is earned due to the nature of the installment that immediately preceded it: Half-Genie Hero. Yet, that is perhaps the best way to approach Shantae and the Seven Sirens, the fifth entry in the popular platforming saga created by Matt Bozon and developed by the independent studio WayForward. Shantae and the Seven Sirens restarts the progression that the first three installments in the series were slowly developing and rehabilitates the saga by reconnecting it with what made it originalįor a franchise that had, in all four of its releases, yet to produce a miss, it may be weird to talk about rehabilitation. ![]()
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