Shantae (video game)

Shantae is a platform game developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Color in 2002. It is the first title in the Shantae series.

Plot
A gang of pirates, the Tinkerbats, led by Risky Boots, attacks Scuttle Town and steals a prototype steam engine from Mimic, the town's resident treasure hunter. Mimic tells Shantae, the guardian of Scuttle Town, that if Risky retrieves four magical "elemental stones", she could power up the steam engine and create an unstoppable weapon out of it. Shantae travels across Sequin Land, determined to retrieve the steam engine and the elemental stones and stop Risky.

With help from her friends Bolo and Sky and her acquaintance Rottytops, she gains access to three dungeons where she retrieves three of the stones. At the fourth dungeon, Shantae finds the fourth stone, but is ambushed at the exit by Risky, who leaves with the stones. Shantae subsequently discovers the location of Risky's hideout with a magical flying telescope called the Sky Scope, and teleports there. Shantae reaches and destroys Risky's weapon, the Tinker Tank. Risky tries to kill Shantae but is defeated; and as Risky's hideout collapses, Shantae escapes. After, she is magically abducted to a place called the Genie Realm where the genies offer her a chance to remain with them as a reward for her courage, but at the price of never seeing her friends again. She refuses and is sent back to Scuttle Town where she announces to Mimic that she had to destroy the steam engine, but is relieved to hear from him that it was probably for the better.

Why It’s Ret-2-Go!

 * 1) Outstanding graphics.
 * 2) Lots of replay value.
 * 3) More than 50 different locations to explore.
 * 4) Bright colourful visuals.
 * 5) Smooth animations.
 * 6) Variety of spells to choose from.
 * 7) Shantae can shapeshift into different animals such as monkey to climb up to places.
 * 8) Interesting and creative light hearted story.
 * 9) As you progress through the game you can unlock even more spells and abilities in order for Shantae to be much more powerful.
 * 10) The character and enemy designs is pretty well done.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) This was the only game in the series where Mayor Scuttlebutt is likable.
 * 2) The 3DS Virtual Console and Switch versions can sometimes crash when collecting a Baby Warp Squid, which could damage and erase your save file.
 * 3) The Rottytops race can be very hit-or-miss.

Reception
Shantae was generally well received by critics, however it sold terribly due to the game being released on the Game Boy Color when the Game Boy Advance was already out, even though the GBA was backwards compatible.

Trivia

 * This is considered to be the most expensive Game Boy Color game ever, due to the poor sales.
 * Shantae was originally supposed to have a blue outfit.
 * This game is GBA enhanced. If you use a GBA (or play the game on the Switch), you can unlock a completely new transformation, which combines all transformations together. If you play it on a GBC or 3DS, you can also just use a debug mode to unlock it.
 * Playing the game on a GBA makes the game use a lighter color palette.
 * This transformation was also added into Shantae: Half Genie Hero for high tier Kickstarter backers, and was made available for everyone in Half Genie Hero: Ultimate Edition.

Videos
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