Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (Nintendo Switch) Review

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is proof that a game does not have to be story heavy to cleverly or properly utilise literary techniques. After having her powers stripped by Risky Boots, Shantae now finds and uses Risky's own equipment in her journey throughout the story. It's a nice parallel that makes a lot of sense, while generally just being well realised in execution. It is by no means an overly sophisticated premise, but it's one that serves the overarching narrative in a great way, while developing the relationship between Shantae and Risky, the franchises' two leads.

More importantly, this premise serves the gameplay magnificently. Since Shantae no longer has access to magic, her move-set can't be pasted from Risky's Revenge. On top of that, this change necessitates a grounding in how she plays, meaning her upgrades end up being all the more creative. Were her abilities still over the top without the use of magic, it would negate the entire narrative weight of removing it in the first place.

Coming from the previous two entries in the series, it can be jarring seeing Shantae without her genie abilities. It really is a turn for the best, however. It would have been easy to centre the story round Shantae collecting her abilities back one by one, but it's more satisfying to overcome challenges without them. At its core, it's a clever way of keeping players on their toes, while giving them new goodies to play around with.

As Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a Metroidvania, each island has its fair share of secrets to uncover. Since there's no equipment system, however, these secrets tend to fall into one of two categories: heart squids and cacklebats. Heart squids can be collected and exchanged for more hearts, while cacklebat collection ultimately leads to a new ending and final boss when all 20 are defeated. It's the level of choice involved in both collectibles that make them compelling. Heart squids aren't automatic health upgrades and need to be manually exchanged for a payout, allowing players to keep the two initial hearts in favour of a harder playthrough. Cacklebats, likewise, need to be hunted by going off the beaten path. Many games make their criteria for other endings rather obvious, so it's nice to see a scenario where the best ending actually has to be earned through exploration.

The islands themselves are well designed and home to some great set-pieces. Sequin Land is never in need of any colour. Each island is vibrant and alive with a clear tone, aesthetically and atmospherically; large part in thanks to Jake Kaufman's outstanding score. There isn't a single track that feels out of place. More importantly, the islands just feel great to traverse. Shantae controls very smoothly, with no stiffness in her movement. Jumping is fluid and there's enough control given to her attacks where it's easy to keep a constant flow of gameplay.

It should be noted that, despite being a Metroidvania, there isn't one, single cohesive map to travel across. The islands all have their own mini-maps with secrets to find. This can be a bit disappointing since part of the fun of a Metroidvania is that interconnectivity, but this simplicity allows Pirate's Curse to flow with little-to-no padding. There are instances where Shantae will have to travel to previous islands to progress the plot, but these moments all go by fast and will be obvious to anybody paying attention to the story. More importantly, this allows the pacing to glide by. There's a constant feeling of progression thanks to virtually no filler. This does result in a main adventure that falls on the short side, but it's better than a painfully padded experience.

Along with the story progression, Shantae has her own form of progression through the use of gems. A form of currency is to be expected in a Metroidvania, but it's used differently enough here to be worth noting. Shantae lacks a levelling system, but the lead still needs a method of improving herself. By buying upgrades at the shop, she can increase the damage output for her hair and weapons, the speed at which she whips her locks, and uncover new moves altogether. A fully upgraded Shantae makes for a very versatile half-genie with an incredibly fun set of moves.

Upon clearing the main story, Pirate Mode unlocks; a mode where Shantae begins the plot with all her new gear. This is a great addition that makes replaying Pirate's curse a vastly different experience from the first time around. Like almost every other design element, it's a clever decision that benefits the whole package.