The Shantae series first got its start on the Game Boy Color back in 2002, but we’re not here to talk about the original game, we’re here to talk about its sequel, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge. First released in 2011 here in Europe, as one of the last DSiWare releases of note, it brought back Wayforward’s series in a big way and here we see it ported to the Wii U (and soon to be 3DS, despite the original version being currently available as a DSiWare title), ready to be enjoyed on the big screen.

A great game in 2011 and still a great game today (This screenshot is from the original DSi version) 

For those who have never played the original DSiWare version, here’s a quick overview. This game is a sidescrolling action adventure game in the vein of classics like Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link or the Wonderboy/Monster World series. You take on the role of the hair whipping, belly dancing half-genie (yes it matters!) Shantae, as you traverse the world and conquer Zelda style dungeons in search of various plot souvenirs that advance the story. Some Metroid-like elements come into play as well as you find areas that cannot be passed until you gain additional dance abilities (that I won’t spoil for you here) that you can then use to open up the path to new lands that await your arrival.

The controls are simple, snappy and responsive, with a simple jump button, a simple attack button in the form of a hair whip (no Vampire Killer needed here!) and various transformations at your disposal as you acquire them that are activated by holding down the dance button (yes, you can make her belly dance… it’s strangely hypnotic…) and letting go at the right time. Along the way, you can acquire additional support items that give Shantae various abilities such as fireballs that can be shot with the attack button, or the Pikeball which spins around you and damages nearby enemies. Handy!

And like any good action adventure game, you can permanently increase your attributes with other items you find, such as pieces of heart heart holders that permanently increase your health or power-ups that you buy in the Scuttle Town shop, such as hair gel, which allows you to whip faster (trust me, you’ll want to buy this ASAP).

So what makes this game worthwhile in the sea of action adventure titles that are out there? Well, simply put, it’s just really bloody good! Some great level design that manages to encourage exploration without being overly cryptic, while also marrying said exploration with solid action gameplay. And speaking of action… This is a game that just feels great to play; Shantae’s hair whips with a satisfying crack and the exquisite sprite work (despite blown up here on the big screen) goes a long way towards making for a satisfying action gameplay experience. It’s fast paced and doesn’t try to slow you down; indeed, the game is well paced from start to finish and features plenty of enemy and environmental variety that will be sure to keep things interesting all the way through.

On top of that, Wayforward have crafted a set of lovable characters and fittingly silly and irreverent dialogue to go along with them. From the feisty and reckless heroine herself, to the coffee loving designates of the Zombie Caravan and the rather voluptuous (and panto esc BOOOOOOOO!!! inducing) villain, Risky Boots, you’d have to have a heart of stone to not love at least some of these characters and not chuckle at least a few times along the way.  

By booty, she means her treasure… Oh wait, that’s not much better is it?

The fast paced gameplay and level design will also be familiar to Metroid fans in another sense… Speedrunning! As the game rewards you for fast completion times, those who are into completing games as fast as possible will no doubt get a kick out of blasting through this game. So while this is a fairly short game, it is in turn, a highly re-playable one... And once you’re done with the game? That soundtrack is going straight onto your smartphone, because it is superb! Composer Jake Kaufman (Shovel Knight, most of Wayforward’s games), turns in a spectacular performance as per usual and the music sounds great being blasted through some decent speakers (You DO have decent speakers… right?)

Now if you’re coming from the original Shantae on GBC or the recently released sequel, Shantae & The Pirate’s Curse, some may feel a little disappointed that Shantae: Risky’s Revenge is perhaps not as ambitious in terms of scope as the other two titles in the series; with the dancing moves being simplified in comparison to its predecessor and the world being condensed in comparison. However, you’ll surely brush those concerns aside once you realise how well designed the interconnected world in this game is. In fact, getting around is even easier than in the original DSi version as one of the few changes actually made in this “Director’s Cut” makes for easier use of the Warp Squids. In the original, you could only teleport across the map between matching pairs, but in this version? You can freely travel between any warp squid point you have found. Nice.

Other than that, there’s pretty much nothing else new for people who have played it before… well, except for a new hard mode of sorts with a new unlockable costume that grants you extra magic at the cost of lower defence, but that’s barely even worth mentioning. In fact, some people who’ve played the DSi original may be disappointed to find that there has been no attempt to enable the Gamepad to display the inventory or the map like the DSi Touch Screen did originally. A baffling omission, especially since the Wii U version of Shantae & The Pirate’s Curse did exactly just that. In terms of screen options, you have the ability to blow the screen up to full size, with or without a border, display in a small window as an exact multiple of the DS’ screen resolution or uglify the game by stretching the game into full 16:9 (please don’t do this… the game’s sprite work deserves better!). It’s a pretty basic port all round, but there’s nothing to really complain about in regards to performance or visuals, well… ok. I’m not a fan of the use of high-res portraits alongside DS resolution sprites. It’s pretty jarring and I would’ve preferred to see them keep the original low-res portraits. With both a few disappointments and a few nice additions though, it pretty much balances out overall.

Don’t make Shantae sad. Don’t make this game look disgusting by stretching it to 16:9. 

Shantae’s second outing was always a fantastic game and while the title of “Director’s Cut” is perhaps not really befitting of this re-release, that also means that it’s still a fantastic game. There’s no real reason to pick this version up if you already own it on DSiWare (unless of course you fancy playing it on the big screen and are itching to make funny captions on Miiverse, in which case I can absolutely understand you there!), but if you’ve yet to experience this entry in the series, then jump right in! The water’s fine!

And if you’ve yet to play a single Shantae game? Make this your first. It’s the ideal entry point into the series, with the GBC one being perhaps a bit too hard for a newcomer and Pirate’s Curse being a direct story sequel (and trust me, you won’t want to have the ending spoilt for you…).