Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (Xbox One) Review

To start, Shantae looks gorgeous. The vibrant colours and well-animated environmental elements add such a charm, and part of the enjoyment derives from just how great the game looks and plays. From the subtle leaves that blow on the trees, to the way Shantae's hair twitches here and there, nothing seems to want to stay still, and it definitely helps in making this world feel alive and rich. There is a great Odin Sphere feel to this game, both in art-style and gameplay, and considering how awesome that game turned out, this is a terrific thing.

While the game is not specifically a "reboot" of the franchise, the story in no way harkens back to the previous games. It instead opts for a narrative that reintroduces the characters and the locations so that new players do not have to play catch-up, while it does not overdo it for the returning players to roll their eyes at or get frustrated by. Risky Boots returns as the villain of this piece, as she and her pirate band of Tinkerbats threaten the peace and serenity of Sequin Land, and Shantae must embark on a quest to rid the realm of her evil with the aid of her friends and her genie powers.

Shantae attacks with her hair, as she whips them to defeat enemies. However, being a genie has its benefits, such as the ability to perform spells. Unfortunately, for her, these spells must be purchased from an item shop first, but it is not long before a manner of spells is at her disposal and they are fun to use. While the base spells may rarely be used at the beginning, the upgraded versions are incredibly handy to have, and makes life a lot easier as the difficulty of the enemies get greater.

However, the real point of this game is Shantae's ability to transform into a manner of animals in order to surpass obstacles and caverns. Transform into a monkey, and climb up the face of walls, or fly across terrains as a bat. Or squeeze into tiny spaces as a mouse or explore the depths of underwater spaces as the sideways-walking crab. Each of these transformations plays an integral role to the game, and they each need getting used to in order to get the most of the game.

There are certain obstacles and the like that can only be passed by certain animals, and the game does a great job of teaching their abilities without the use of a tutorial. Unlike some games, where the chances of getting confused in the latter stages when the challenges become complex, Half-Genie Hero never feels overwhelming in the slightest. It is easy to figure out which animal is meant for passing through certain sections, and for a game of this nature, that is a great thing to have.

The stages themselves may feel like they are limited to just the left-to-right screen-scroller, but there really is a lot of hidden sections that make this game feel a bit larger. Revisiting the earlier stages with newly unlocked animal transformations just adds to the fun and joy of exploring this world. The point of exploring these new areas is to discover the abundance of hidden collectibles that are worth their weight in gold in the end. The stages are flexible in that multiple different animals can complete the stage, so trying to find new ways to conquer that is fun, and finding the secrets require exploring these stages as many of the animals.

The boss fights are epic encounters, with large-scale battles that play out in a series of phases. Backed by a rocking backing track, these moments are creative and joyous to take part in. None of the battles play out in an overly difficult way, as they provide the right challenge for it to not be a walkover, but without causing players to rip their hairs out either. This free-flowing nature extends to the general stage layouts and enemies as well, and it allows the game to be played at a consistent pace.

Well, the game is almost consistent. Occasionally, the difficulty will spike up quite a bit at a random time, and generally, this is due to a combination of quirky stage designs and the drawbacks of controlling certain animals. While nothing is perfect, trying to guide the Harpy through a series of spiked-walls is infuriating when Shantae constantly follows-through the stopping animation right into the wall that she is meant to be avoiding. But alas, with the constant spikes and troughs of the difficulty, the overall theme of the gameplay is on the lighter side of the challenge, which would be a welcome sight for the younger players, who the games art style and humour really lend themselves to.