![]() When Shantae crouches down, for example, she wriggles like a kitten about to pounce, and while the foreground and background don’t have a lot going on in terms of activity (I presume because on the smaller screen that this was originally designed for animated backgrounds would have been confusing), there is a lot of variety between levels, and so repetition never sets in. Still, WayForward have crammed a lot of personality into the game’s design. ![]() Related reading Wayforward also builds entertaining games away from the platformer genre, such as Silent Hill: Book of Memories on the PlayStation Vita. Unfortunately as it stands they clash quite glaringly with the in-game action. Character portraits during dialogue sequences are “HD” and highly detailed, and these act like a tease of what could have been. It’s highly pixelated, and while it’s beautiful in terms of that aesthetic context, I am disappointed nonetheless that a “HD” Shantae is still not a thing. Sadly, Pirate’s Curse instead looks like a deliberate homage to SNES games. Games like Bloodrayne and the Ducktales Remastered remake demonstrate pristine sprite work, lush backgrounds and an intensity to the art that can very easily distract you away from the actual game. Shantae should have been the same, because here WayForward had an exotic fantasy Arabian setting to work with, and I was quite literally jumping with anticipation to see that vision realised with the same graphical fidelity of Duck Tales. WayForward is a company that understands how aesthetics work on 2D platformers better than any other developer out there. It's also set to hit PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms around the same time.Allow me to explain. Look for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero to make its Wii U debut this winter. There are other elements that the game will feature, including a playable Risky Boots, but those were not available for this particular demo. Visually, it's a major step forward and it doesn't compromise any of the gameplay elements that have made the original games so enjoyable. The Shantae games have always been underappreciated gems, but the young genie has never looked better than she does in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. ![]() And unfortunately, the enemies do respawn. With the level I was playing employing vertical layers, getting hit mid-air caused Shantae to fly all the way back to the bottom, where she was forced to work her way back up. Players must be careful, since enemies all have their distinct attack patterns and an errant hit can cause major setbacks. The rest of the game is classic Shantae, navigating platforms and making sure to take out any incoming enemies along the way. Those sandstorms appear fully animated, as do the expressions on Shantae as she attempts to trudge across them. A desert level, for example, throws in fierce sandstorms every couple of seconds. The new art similarly brings life to Shantae's environments. For the seabound level I was playing through, Shantae turned into a monkey that allowed her to climb walls, as well as a crab that could duck underneath objects. Holding the X button will see Shantae perform a quick genie dance and transform her into a helpful animal. In fact, the new art style feeds into Shantae's new transformation mechanics.
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