Year: 2025
Platform: PlayStation 4
Developer: WayForward Technologies
Genre: Action/Adventure
Review Date: 1/11/26
Rating: ***

"I'm just here for the fan service."

Over twenty years in the making, this lost Game Boy Advance "Shantae" game was intended to be the second game in the series, but was cancelled due to lack of funding. The game opens with Uncle Mimic working on another harebrained device designed to protect Scuttle Town, but it ultimately ends up just being a setup for a very clever joke. Once again, the notorious pirate lady Risky Boots shows up with world domination on her agenda, and she's built a machine that can actually move the land around. Naturally, Shantae has to stop her, which involves rescuing three relic hunters so they can work with Uncle Mimic to come up with a counter plan.

I found the game to be refreshingly nostalgic and all of the classic elements are present. Shantae's main weapon is her hair whip, which is effective 98% of the time. She can also learn additional magic attacks which are useful in boss battles. And of course, she learns a variety of transformation dances to deal with different obstacles. These include monkey, crab, elephant, spider, mermaid, and harpy. Thankfully, the transformation process is just a simple button press and not a complicated dance sequence like in the original game. Unfortunately, this also makes it a little too easy to transform, and I often found myself accidentally transforming when I simply wanted to dance and attract gems. Apart from that, the controls are tight and responsive, and the game is super fun to play.

Presentation-wise, the game is reminiscent of "Risky's Revenge" (2014) and the 2D pixel art is cute and colorful. Maddie Lim's soundtrack is reminiscent of Jake Kaufman's original work and is wonderfully energetic. The writing is fantastic and full of cheeky humor and meta references. Shantae herself is charming and delightful, and the character portraits are superb. In fact, they may be the best in the series. While I have nothing against the super cute aesthetic of "Half-Genie Hero" and "Seven Sirens", I feel that Nami Sakurajyousui's Japanese manga approach serves the characters best. It will be interesting to see what direction "Shantae 7" goes in, which is already touting new character designs.

The game world itself can be a bit confusing, as there's no map and it's easy to get lost. Each major area has two depths, which is also challenging, and the world-shifting mechanic makes it even more awkward. Perseverance pays off, although revisiting each area to search for secret squids can be a chore. I admittedly had to resort to the Internet in order to find the last four because I was getting tired of aimlessly wandering through dungeons. Recovering all of the squids earns you a cute new costume, but it decreases your defenses so there's no point equipping it unless you're a masochist. The difficulty felt just about right to me, and I managed to finish the game in twelve hours. Unfortunately, it's the buggiest "Shantae" game I've played, and it crashed on me at least a half dozen times. Thankfully, the liberal save points meant I didn't lose too much progress, but it was still very frustrating having to replay some difficult sections.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with "Risky Revolution" and it really helped me cope with the insanity that came with the new year. While WayForward continues to tweak the formula and presentation, it still falls slightly short of perfection. Even so, I eagerly look forward to Shantae's future adventures.