izigame.me

I was skeptical of this game at first, mainly because the conflicting art styles, obviously reused assets, and cheap animation positively scream low-budget. I guess they needed to dial it down after the Herculean task that was making Half-Genie Hero. What you're getting here is definitely not the most polished Shantae game in terms of production value. That being said, I think there's still all the same heart and charm in the story and the dialogue as there ever was. It's also still fun to play. I really liked the new dances and transformations. I like that you can use animal transformations automatically and use the dances for exploration instead of just for transforming. I think that's a really fresh take on the series' magic system. I hope this game is a sign that Way Forward hasn't completely given up on this franchise and is instead taking a step back and trying new things. If they do make a new game, here's what I would add/change if I could:
1) The monster card feature is the only part of this game that felt weak to me. Drops are rare, so grinding for all the cards takes forever. I also learned far too late that they only drop if you use your hair whip to defeat enemies, which means I wasted way too much time trying to use magic to harvest cards. Even after learning this, it still felt like a chore to get them all. If they're ever brought back, I think either the drop rate should be higher or else there should be a power or item that makes them easier to get. Maybe some could also be purchased?
2) The difficulty is absurdly unbalanced. The first boss took me an hour to defeat because each attack does massive damage and they're all almost impossible to dodge. The final boss was a joke because I had collected so many items that I could just cheese the whole thing. There are also enemies that do massive damage but take almost no effort to beat. I think there could be more strategy overall.
3) Stop teasing information about Shantae's mother and then leaving us with nothing, good gRaVY. would it have killed you to include what Shantae's mother wrote in the scrapbook? We're not even getting a bone here? I get that they have to keep people interested in these games, but after five games of doing the equivalent of the "will-they-won't-they" game, it just feels like I'm being led along with no payoff. You guys have so many great characters and so much interesting lore here, just take that to the next level instead of giving us a plot that's on the level of a Saturday morning cartoon. At least we have more half-genies now, so maybe that's a sign that the writers are trying to tap more into that aspect of the world.
Also can we maybe get more clothes on the women? I'm not saying we need to erase all their curves or even that we need to eliminate all the little innuendos (I get that the whole thing is harmless and tongue-in-cheek in this franchise), but it's getting disturbing watching the characters become visually younger with each entry and yet still barely have anything covered. Maybe it made sense to make the characters eye candy back in 2002 when this series was new and female protagonists didn't sell as well without some cleavage showing, but it's 2023 and there are so many games with female protagonists that have found sizable and loyal fanbases without the weird pedo vibes. I think the series would have an easier time finding an audience if the devs would either commit to making the visuals as child-friendly as the story or else commit to making a more mature adult experience. I imagine I'll be pilloried for this, but that's just my opinion.
I'm not sure where I'd rank this game. It's definitely below Pirate's Curse and Half Genie Hero, but it doesn't feel right putting it at the bottom. I think this is a good Shantae game, but not a great one.