Shantae is a half-genie who lives on the outskirts of a place called Scuttle Town. Her first appearance was in the GameBoy Color cult hit Shantae. I'll be honest: I don't know why Shantae got the attention that it has, even on the DSi. Between the unclear game progression, a shop that's hardly labeled, and controls that aren't as responsive as they should be, Shantae: Risky's Revenge leaves much to be desired.

Before I begin, keep in mind that this game comes with a 1200 DSi Point price. That's $12 USD. I don't consider this game worth the $12 I paid for it. Its graphics are nice, and the music's decent, but everything else is lacking. It's a shame, because if this game had focused more on replayability or something to make the gameplay more varied and interesting, you'd have a winner.

Graphics

I cover graphics first because it's the first thing you see. The graphics in Shantae: Risky's Revenge are very well drawn; some of which by people I've spoken to on a forum named Pixelation. There's no doubt in my mind that the graphics were produced professionally by people that know what they're doing. Each of the game's locales have detailed, expressive backgrounds that show a strong understanding of light and shape. Scuttle Town looks like an old-styled Middle Eastern town, the plains look open and vast, caves look dank and cramped, and so on.

Animation is equally good, though the design of enemies is a bit lacking. The only enemies that really stick out to me are the archers and mermaids, the latter of which were the only overworld enemy that took a strategy beyond "duck and keep hitting."

Music

Each track in Shantae: Risky's Revenge reflects the locale pretty well. Dungeon music is somewhat repetitive, but everything else fits together. My favorite track is the desert theme, which keeps a peppy tone while you're navigating the various pits and moving platforms. I'm a sucker for those instruments, too.

Sound effects don't stand out (which is a good thing); no complaints there either. You'll hear the "fwip" of Shantae's hair quite a bit, though, so get used to it.

Difficulty

This depends on whether or not you find the shop, where you can purchase spells and upgrades for gems. I didn't discover it until the game was almost over, so the only spell I had available to me for most of the game was the starting Fireball. Even with the unintentional handicap, the game's difficulty was manageable. With the upgrades, it's cake. You'll only have difficulty with bosses.

Gameplay

I'll be frank; this game does not stand up to $12 of value. If it were $5, I wouldn't be so harsh on it. But considering it's the most expensive DSiWare game, it should live up to its price. Cave Story, which is cheaper, is the better game. And that was made by one person in his spare time! It's also an adventure-oriented platformer, just like Shantae.

The gist of Shantae: Risky's Revenge's gameplay is "hit hit hit, jump, dodge, hit hit hit". Enemies have little in the way of AI and are easily predicted. Any difficulty in regular enemies comes in the number of hits needed to kill them. The max being somewhere around 10 (without upgrades). In similar fashion, that's how bosses are difficult, too. The patterns are extremely predictable, yet they have tons of HP. So it's a gauntlet to see how long you can maintain the pattern, not a matter of how well you can predict and punish the pattern. WayForward could learn a thing or two from the Mega Man series. Their bosses have more HP, but not insanely so. They also have multiple behaviors that they can bust out at any time.

There are the spells and belly-dancing forms, but neither of them do enough to break up the gameplay style. If Shantae's alternate forms could be used in combat more often and came with their own set of spells, I could see the game being a lot more fun. Ultimately, the game just needs more of what made it nominally interesting in the first place: more forms, more spells, better AI, and a reason to play again. That last one's the most important. There's a reason I play through Super Mario Bros. (the long way) every month: it has replay value!

Story

It's really not worth mentioning. It's a platformer, not a deep adventure or RPG. The gist of it is "Risky, the evil pirate, has come back for the lamp! You need to stop her, Shantae!" Cue random artifact fetch quest.

Final Verdict

At the end of the day, this game's been done before. It's just another pretty, empty platformer. If you're looking for something casual, pretty, and expensive, Shantae: Risky's Revenge will suit you well. If you're a die hard platformer or a gaming veteran like me, steer clear and get Cave Story instead. It has a much more interesting plot, deeper gameplay, and is also available on the DSi Shop.

Metadata

Platform: DSiWare
US Release Date: 2010-10-04
Genres: Action, Adventure, Platformer, Sidescrolling
Developer: WayForward Technologies
ESRB Rating: E-10+ (Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence, Suggestive Themes)