Aug 092019
Last week, I finally played Shantae: Half-Genie Hero.
It took me a long time to get around to playing it, mainly because I lost some of my enthusiasm after learning it had changed the gameplay formula.
As you might remember, I enjoyed Shantae: Risky’s Revenge for its Metroidvania exploration and almost Zelda-like dungeons, and I loved Shantae & the Pirate’s Curse even more because of its humor and stronger story.
Pirate’s Curse was one of the best games I played in 2017, and despite my claim that I wouldn’t re-buy the Switch version, I have a physical Switch copy now.
But while Pirate’s Curse retained its exploration-driven focus despite being split across multiple islands, Half-Genie Hero feels much more segmented.
In Half-Genie Hero, you visit several worlds more like in a traditional 2D platformer, complete with finishing the level when you reach the end instead of being able to travel through it freely (although you can leave whenever you want). Gaining new transformations and upgrades does let you overcome obstacles, but instead of opening up entire new areas, it’s usually just a room with an upgrade or collectible.
The world feels much smaller as a result, and while I don’t mind backtracking to unlock new things, here it felt like I was retreading the same levels over and over again.
As for the story, it barely exists. Your reasons for visiting the levels are a series of unrelated events loosely connected through Mimic building a new machine. Finding parts for his invention is the closest Half-Genie Hero gets to having an overarching plot, which was disappointing compared to the previous games and especially Pirate’s Curse.
Of the three Shantae games I’ve played, Half-Genie Hero is definitely the weakest. However, it still has charming moments and a fantastic soundtrack. I can’t say I disliked it – I ended the game with 97% item completion – but I’m in no hurry to get the DLC.
Here’s hoping Shantae 5, about which we still know very little, will be closer in style to the previous games.
Have you played Shantae: Half-Genie Hero? What did you think of it? What are your hopes for Shantae 5? Let me know in the comments.
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[…] The next Shantae game is called Shantae and the Seven Sirens, and it looks like it’s on track to fix all the things I disliked about Half-Genie Hero. […]