“Hey guys, I think Michael really likes the Shantae series! I mean, here he is talking about it again!”

In all seriousness this is something I have actually been considering doing since the release of Seven Sirens. And boy did I pick an ironic time to write it because it was announced today at the time of writing this that the original Shantae and Risky’s Revenge are coming to Nintendo Switch. No word on a PC release for the original game but if you have been collecting these games on your Nintendo Switch then great news, you get to have the entire collection on one system! But more onto the topic of this journal. I have played every game in this series multiple times and my time spent with them was not wasted. Not to mention this is a series that is very dear to me which is why I’m taking the time out to talk about them. This isn’t a full review on each game and this should be pretty obvious at this point that this list is purely my own personal opinion. There’s actually a likely chance that what my personal favourite Shantae game is will actually be someone’s least favourite. Then again there is also a high chance that someone will do that just to bait people. I wish I were joking about that but no, there are people out there. Oh and also, spoilers for all the games, both gameplay and story.

5: Shantae

How ironic is it that I’m starting this list of with the first game in the series? Irony aside in general after playing it for myself I think the original Shantae was an overlooked gem of the Gameboy Colour. It has some really dam good looking and smooth animations for a game that was released on the system, mostly Shantae herself and her dancing, there were various different towns to visit which made Sequin Land feel more alive compared to latter games which only had Scuttle Town up until Seven Sirens and I absolutely love the second labyrinth with the magnets. Helps two that the actual gameplay itself was enjoyable with fun characters as long as we don’t count Bolo because it’s Bolo. Interesting note, in this game Shantae can actually learn a few different attacks aside from using her hair as the monster whipper as she calls it. This is something I do wish would come back as it does add some small variety to combat. I was actually more surprised though to see that Capcom actually published this game especially since the 3DS re-release skips over the Capcom logo in the opening. So yeah, if you have ever question why there’s so much fan art of Shantae and Rouge from Power Stone paired up together you know why.

That being said, for as good as I find the first game to be there’s a reason this game is so low for me. Actually, it’s more accurate to say there is a few reasons. You got stuff like the day night cycle where enemies got stronger at night time which on paper is something I should like but in my experience it always made encounters with enemies more tedious than it should have been which doesn’t help if you need to go from one end of the map to the other. To be fair, there is a fast travel system in the game but even that’s a pain to get use to because you need to find four teleport squids and return them to there mothers in each town before you can learn the dance to return to a town. Also, and this is really more of a nitpick than anything, but I find not being able to learn the Tinkerbat transformation all just because the 3DS release of the game, which is how I was even able to play this game legitimately in the first place, runs on a GBC Emulator rather than a GBA Emulator kinda sucks. That being said I have tried to get this game to run on my GBA Emulator on PC and I can only ever get as far as the title screen before the rom takes a dump on it self for some reason. And then there’s… *sigh* the race with Rottytops. Okay look, I love the character Rottytops. I will openly admit that she is my second favourite character in this series behind Shantae herself. But my god I feel sorry for anyone who originally played this game on a genuine Gameboy Colour or Advanced and didn’t have save states. You have to race Rottytops before you can access the third labyrinth in the game and you better play this race perfectly because if you screw up just once Rotty will go so far ahead of you that by the time you catch up to her she will already of won and argh this is the worst part of a character I otherwise love! Yeah, stuff like this is what keeps me from enjoying the game fully.

4: Shantae: Risky’s Revenge

Oh hey, more irony. The next game on my list is also the next game in the series! Putting aside how my own irony surprises even me sometimes it’s hard for me to not feel kinda bad putting Risky’s Revenge this low on my personal list because this game is actually a really big improvement over the original and any problem I personally do have with the original are either gone or improved on entirely. The fast travel was improved on so that all you have to do is just wake up some squid statues so that they can be used as fast travel points. Transforming is also a lot more streamlined as well since rather than having to remember a bunch of button combinations that you might forget because you have a terrible memory like me all you have to do is hold down the dance button and depending on how long you hold it for your transformation will differ. Even stuff like the map to help find where you are is a god send. There’s no map for the labyrinths, just the over world, but dam it still helps. Not to mention there’s also the Directors Cur release that adds in Magic Mode which aside from changing Shantae’s outfit to be more fan service than her main outfit already is makes it so that magic attacks only use half your magic meeter with the trade of being that you take less damage making it great for it you want an extra challenge. Seriously, try getting to the end of the game in this mode without any heart holders and if you somehow manage to beat the Genie Clone at the end of the game without using potions to heal yourself because trying to that part no damage is about as possible as expecting IGN to not be incompetent then you deserve a medal! Not to mention this game has probably my favourite designs for both Shantae and Rottytops and I kinda prefer this art style over the latter ones. There is a reason the win screens tend to be my desktop wallpapers at times.

But you can’t really blame me for putting this game as low as I have when you consider that this is a very short game. On my first playthrough I managed to beat it in just five hours and that’s including the times I had to reload a save point because I died and how lost I got in Hypno Barons tower which I think we can all agree is the most painfull thing in a Shantae game I have ever had to go though, and I’ve played Half Genie Hero on hard core mode up to Ammo Barons airship! The length isn’t helped either by the cliff hanger ending that isn’t resolved until four years latter with Pirates Curse. And speaking of Pirates Curse this isn’t like that game where there’s a true ending for collecting every single optional McGuffin either. Not to mention the little green slimes which shot out little green things that are so small you likely won’t notice them until they hit you. None of this makes me want to say that Risky’s Revenge is worth skipping and I do find it to be a massive improvement over the original and worth playing even still.

3: Shantae: Half Genie Hero

Some people would probably want to put this game lower on there personal list because of how it’s not a proper Metroidvania like the other four games and it’s more of a liner platformer with Metroidvania elements. I actually didn’t mind the change that much. Hell there are games I love that are part of an established series that change things up. I put Saints Row the Third above Saints Row 2 and I probably shouldn’t have said that. Please send all your hate mail to manwithpoortasteineverything12345@yahoo.com.au. Honestly, I think my love for Half Genie Hero is more of a result of just the timing of when it came out. I had only just played and loved Pirates Curse at the start of 2016 which aside from practically spoiling what my number one is going to be was the same year Half Genie Hero was coming out right at the end of the year. It was only my second Shantae game at the time and I loved it. The new hand drawn and cartoony art style in game which leads to some great animations that rival the original GBC game and I love the updated look to a lot of the classic enemies as well. Mostly the mermaids, nagas and batgirls because of course I would as this whole series is filled with waifu material, though some of you might be surprised to hear me say that last one. The transformation dances came back after being absent from Pirates Curse and voice acting!.. Well, some voice acting, it’s not a fully voiced game. I’m just glad that Shantae isn’t the only character in this game that has voice clips in this game and I’m glad Christina Vee is still the voice of Shantae and a pretty dam good singer two. Yeah the first level in Scuttle Town opens with a song sung by Christina Vee herself. Not to mention there’s all the additional content you can get for this game like Pirate Queens Quest where you get to play as Risky Boots and the game play is a lot like Pirates Curse which I loved, Friends to the End where you can alternate between best girl Rottytops, other girl Sky and… *sigh* Bolo. Not to mention the costume pack where your playing as Shantae but with altered gameplay and the same goes for Jamies Mode. Yeah, with the exception of Jamies Mode which was given to players for free all that stuff is paid DLC but to me I enjoyed this game enough that I was willing to buy all of them as they came out. I mean the Costume Pack let’s Shantae dress up as the main character from one of my other favourite games from Wayfoward, Patricia Wagon from Mighty Switch Force and even changes the music to be that from MSF and MSF 2. Only thing that would of made it better is if the credits music was changed to Rescue Girl from MSF 2 since that song kicks so much ass! I would recommend getting the Ultimate Edition if you haven’t gotten the base game yet because aside from getting all the DLC along side the game you also get content that was previously exclusive to those who backed the game on Kickstarter like alternate colour schemes for Shantae and Risky Boots (fun fact, Risky’s actually references her in game sprite from the original GBC game) as well as the Tinkerbat transformation.

I guess the only things I really dislike about this game is that, yeah I do kind of prefer the Metroidvaina style of Shantae game. That isn’t me saying I would never want to play this game again because of the different gameplay structure, hell I was willing to buy the ultimate edition on Nintendo Switch after playing the base game on PC, and I do think Shantae works just as well in this structure but I do kinda prefer the older style. Not to mention this game didn’t really expand much on the world like with previous games. Yeah, there was the new character Holly but she quite literally disappears not 10 minuets latter not to mention Tuki who I love more than I should considering she’s just an NPC to buy items and transformations from though considering I have a thing for Nagas/Lamias that shouldn’t be a surprise. Though coming up with theories on who she really is or if she herself is a genie because of how she never leaves her pot like how genies in fiction are always confined to their lamp is also just as fun. Not to mention the moment where Risky Boots manages to invert Shantae magic from good to evil which lasts for about 2 minutes unless you play Friends to the End where the whole plot is about saving Shantae and turning back her magic with Nega Shantae being the final boss. And also, despite official artwork of this transformation existing Naga Shantae is not a thing. ☹

2: Shantae and the Seven Sirens

I was a little hesitant to put Seven Waifus… I mean Seven Sirens this high up on my list considering how recent this game is, like only over a month recent, but dam if this game doesn’t deserve to be this high for me. And maybe my decision to put it this high like with Half Genie Hero was influenced by timing. I had managed to play though every other game at this point and this game was announced only a year after I had finished the original and Risky’s Revenge so I was kinda on a Shantae high at that point. And dam if the wait for this game wasn’t worth it. To me this game feels like it takes the bests parts of each game which shouldn’t work and sounds like a terrible idea, but it does work. The fusion coin transformations that happen instantly like the Pirate Gear from Pirates Curse but still has transformations that you do by dancing in the same way you do in Half Genie Hero only this time rather than proper transformations you get to run around in they are more used to open or activate cretin thing then you go straight back to human Shantae which might be disappointing to some but hey, at least we got what’s probably my favourite transformation just for it’s design alone out of it that being Seer Shantae. It’s gone back to the Metroidvania style of gamplay for those who missed it, the world you explore is big with lots of secrets and just the fact it’s set on a new island to expand the world a little is welcome to me as well as how there are multiple towns which is something that hasn’t been in the series since the first game, the fast travel from Risky’s Revenge making back tracking a lot more tolerable, the return of Magic Mode though this time around Shantae trades her very revealing golden bra and panties that were basically just one big un subtle Star Wars reference for a Hula Dancer outfit and I’m just glad after the last two games this one DOESN’T make you just though a bunch of optional hurdles just to get the true ending! Not to mention the animated cutsecene which only makes me want an animated series more, the new characters Plink, Vera, Zapple and Harmony which is probably going to open the way to some more Half Genie OCs. Even the music in game feels like it’s kind of belongs in a Gameboy game. Not to mention stuff like the monster card system where you can get different kinds of stat boots as well as being able to sell any duplicated cards for gems are defiantly a welcome addition and thankfully because of the random nature of when they spawn they are not required for 100%. Oh and if any of you are wondering if I consider any of the Seven Sirens as my waifus well I wanted to wait until the game came out and played it for myself before I… Water Lilly Siren! You know, I may prefer to wait until something comes out before fully forming an opinion on it but even my mind was made up about the Water Lilly Siren being my favourite the moment I saw her before the game came out. Sure as hell didn’t make beating her up in game any easier especially with how she looks withered when you defeat her.

As far as things I don’t like go, and this is kinda a massive spoiler for the games plot so skip ahead to my number one if you don’t want to be spoiled, but it has to do with the “new” character Fillin. I put “new” in quotations because she isn’t a new character. She’s just Rottytops in disguise who snuck onto the island because she didn’t get invited even though Shantae had every intention to invite her but couldn’t find her. One on hand this sucked for me because I genuinely wanted Fillin to be a new character and I though the idea of a Half Genie Zombie would have been cool to see or if one could exist in the world. On the other hand though, it’s still Rottytops so it’s hard for me to be fully upset over it and I always love seeing Rottytops dress up two.

Before I say what my number one is I want to give a quick honourable mention to the cancelled Gameboy Advanced sequel Risky’s Rampage. From what Wayfoward has shown of in the past on a stream the game looked pretty interesting and I’m glad not everything from this cancelled project went to waste as a lot of Risky’s Revenege was made up of assets from this cancelled game. It would be cool if they released a rom for people to download and play but I’m not going to lose sleep over it if all we see of it is the stream from back in 2013.

1: Shantae and the Pirates Curse

This really shouldn’t of come as a surprise to anyone who knows me personally. Shantae and the Pirates Curse isn’t just one of my personal favourite Shantae games but also one of my favourite games of all time. Like, at least in the top 5 or 10 at most. So yeah, sorry if I come of as bias towards this game. No, I’m not sorry as and you really shouldn’t have to apologize for your opinion on a game of all things. But yeah, Shantae and the Pirates Curse means a lot to me and it’s not just because it’s a genuinely fun game but also because it was the first game in the series I played and the time I played it really helped me though a pretty shitty time I was going though. I know some people probably find that sort of statement to be pretentious but that’s a really close-minded way of looking at things. Games are meant to be fun and entertain you. And entertain Pirates Curse does. Rather than the transformation dances of the previous games Shantae this time around uses various pirate gear that use to belong to Risky Boots old master who’s soon to be resurrected and Shantae doesn’t want that to happen because with a title like “The Scourge of Sequin Land” why would you. Risky doesn’t want him resurrected because well, let’s just say she ‘borrowed’ some things from him after she took his place. I actually like that Shantae and Risky have to work together mostly because we actually get some backstory on Risky Boots and how she use to be part of the Pirate Masters crew. No, I don’t’ ship Shantae and Risky together, *cough* Shantae X Rottytops *cough.* The pirate gear is fun to use because other than the boots they don’t need to be charged and they are all mapped to different buttons and it’s great when you get to use two or more in combination with each other, that’s kind of the same reason I love the Fusion Coins from Seven Sirens so much. You use them rather than the dances because at the end of Risky’s Revenge Shantae genie magic is drained from her to create the genie clone that she had to fight making Shantae a full human. She does get back her magic at the end of this game assuming you get the true ending after finding all the dark magic which given Half Genie Hero comes right after this is also the cannon ending. I wouldn’t say that they are better than the transformation dances, I actually enjoy both of them for they own reasons and which one you prefer more of less comes down to personal prefrence, but I would be hard pressed to say I wouldn’t chose the Pirate Gear over the dances if I had to.

But the gameplay alone isn’t what makes me love this game as much as I do. No, rather my love for this game comes from when I played this game. For those of you who don't know my parents are divorced. They have been for over a decade now since 2006. A few years later after my parents spilt my mother meat someone new in 2008. He seemed nice at first and for the first few years we knew him he was. He gave us a place to stay after we moved out of our hometown and I got along with him pretty well. But then 2016 came around. Aside from being my final year in high school which itself was a hard thing to go though right at the start of the year my mother told me that she and I were moving out because the man we though loved her didn't and after we left him we learnt that he was not a very nice person or loyal to my mother. This may of affected my mother more than me but it was still pretty hard to know that someone I had trusted since 2008 wasn't who he seemed to be. So, I turned to what I always did when I was sad, video games. It was around this time that Bayonetta was added to Smash Bro's for Wii U rather than the most popular character everyone was begging for, Shantae and how everyone thought that she "Deserved" to be in Smash Bros. No she does not. No character does. Being in Smash is not the end all, be all for a character. Just simply mentioning Smash Bro's you can probably guess how I came to know about Shantae. And I needed something to play. I needed something to keep me happy. I wanted to play a Shantae game. So a week before we moved out I brought Shantae and the Pirates Curse on my 3DS after I came home from school one day.

And when I started playing, I didn't want to stop. This felt like the only time I could forget that my life was a living hell and just enjoy myself with characters and a setting that was more colourful and cheery than what I was going though at the time. Every session managed to make me smile and most of that was because of Shantae herself being so entertaining and likable and funny. Is it really any wounder why she’s as much of a waifu to me as she is? I played a lot of other games during that year and the only other ones that managed to make me feel as much happiness and joy were Undertale and Pokemon Sun and Moon. Honestly, my experience with this series and this character is some of the most fun I’ve had with a game since I was a child. And in an era where most games think that they have to be dark or serious or something to get people to talk about them it’s great that something like this could come into my life. And honestly, if a game or a series manages to help get you though a hard time then that’s all that matters. And considering what’s going on in the world right now I feel like playing one of these games again now.