WayForward have revealed some new details about the upcoming WiiWare installment in the Shantae series, including talk of a DS version...

WayForward (the developers of the upcoming survival horror WiiWare game, LIT) made an announcement a few months ago at the GDC that their cult Game Boy Color game, Shantae, would be returning once again in a new WiiWare installment in the franchise. Today, we received an entertaining newsletter from the Shantae Fan Club which discusses the Shantae series in detail, including talk of the WiiWare version, and also DS and GBA versions.

In regards to Shantae for WiiWare, it was described as "an ongoing experiment in 2D on the Wii". The game will feature 2D artwork in gorgeous 480p resolution, and will be a traditional action-platformer with no Wii Remote waggling to be seen (we'll assume then that we'll be playing Shantae with the Wii Remote on its side, NES style).

A Shantae DS project was also talked about. WayForward worked on this between 2006 and 2007, creating hero and enemy sprites and commissioning Henk Nieborg (who has helped to design games such as Spyro, Tetris, Batman and Harry Potter) to create half of the game's backgrounds before shifting over to work on Contra 4. However, the game exists only as design, artwork and tech due to the flooding of the handheld market (which was also cited as the reason for the cancellation of Shantae: Risky Revolution). This is still on the cards, so hopefully we'll see it when WayForward have finished off their current projects.

The GBA sequel to Shantae (formerly called Shantae and the Magical Steam Mystery and Shantae and the Steam Power'd Pirates) on the Game Boy Color, Risky Revolution, was also discussed. Unlike other versions of Shantae, this one was actually set for a release but was cancelled, with only a highly polished 2 hour demo of the title surviving. WayForward state that, due to the high demand for the ROM of the demo, the game will eventually be released as bonus content on a 'suitable platform'. Perhaps we'll see Risky Revolution bundled in with the WiiWare release of Shantae.

Elsewhere in the newsletter lies the legacy of Shantae, which delves into the history of the series. WayForward confirm that they were possibly the only licensed e-Reader developer in the US, as they at one point had plans to develop a retro Shantae game for the peripheral done like a NES game. It is also revealed that over 40 Shantae games have been pitched thus far, "ranging from dance games to epic adventures, arcade style games, and RPG's" across formats such as the SNES, PC, N-Gage, PSP, GameCube, and of course Nintendo's handhelds and WiiWare. Now that's dedication.

Make sure to sign up to the Shantae Fan Club to receive these seasonal newsletters and find out more about the history (and the future) of Shantae.