Shantae: Half-Genie Hero |OT| Proving 0.5 Is Better Than 9

I've been aware of the Shantae titles for a while, but never played them before. Spying this on the PS4 store yesterday and then watching the accompanying video, I had to buy it.

Its Vanillaware quality graphics really really impress me and the gameplay is excellent. What a wonderful game!
 
Corleth the Fey said:
I've been aware of the Shantae titles for a while, but never played them before. Spying this on the PS4 store yesterday and then watching the accompanying video, I had to buy it.

Its Vanillaware quality graphics really really impress me and the gameplay is excellent. What a wonderful game!
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I think that's a really odd comparison, the artwork here really doesn't compare to Vanillawares, but it's good in its own right. I mean, this games environments are 3D modelled, so that's a huge difference, and then vanillaware games have incredibly detailed shading, and this is cell shaded... as far as artstyles go I think they're incredibly far apart and hard to compare in regards to quality.

This games art direction reminds of Papermario, the sense of humours quite similar too, but slightly more mature.
 
I truly hope wayforward's way forward is a way that is forward from here on in.

I still need to beat the first game. All I've done is just push select and watch her dance with the dpad over and over again.
 
A-V-B said:
Does anyone know if there's an instrumental version of Dance Through the Danger? Is there an album?
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Digital and physical soundtracks (depending on your backer tier) were offered as backer rewards on the kickstarter, but nobody has those yet.

There's a physical soundtrack CD included in the physical versions of the game published by XSEED (XSEED is calling their physical release the "Risky Beats Edition" because it comes with the soundtrack), but the soundtrack in the XSEED release is supposed to be slightly different from the kickstarter soundtrack. Supposedly both soundtracks are going to have something unique and exclusive on them to make them worth owning, so it's possible that one or the other might have an instrumental version of Dance Through the Danger (or maybe both of them will, or neither).


If you're interested in soundtracks, Limited Run Games just recently sold physical CD versions of the soundtracks to the previous three Shantae games, but they were limited (obviously) and are sold out now.

If you would like to buy them in digital, check out Jake Kaufman's Bandcamp page. You can listen to a bunch of his work for free, or even pay him for it if you're feeling so inclined.
 
Should I list the OST that came with the physical version (once I'm home) to see how it might differ from the kickstarter version?

I think I might like this a bit more than Pirate's Curse, at least on presentation. A shame it's a pain to get my car's CD player to work in this cold weather.
 
Zonic said:
Should I list the OST that came with the physical version (once I'm home) to see how it might differ from the kickstarter version?
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I would wait until the kickstarter soundtrack arrives, but I guess there's no harm in posting it now (or tomorrow, or next week, or whatever).

Ferrio said:
It seems I have stumbled upon an infinite money strat right after the 2nd boss.
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It's an obvious strategy once you get the right ability. You naturally want to test the ability, see how it works, and if you were doing any exploration or paying any attention you quickly realize how that ability can become completely broken.

It's a bit tedious to perform and it sucks the fun out of money in the game. Use it at your own risk.
 
Pure old-school game with incredible art.

Some games just dont need anything more.

My first Shantae game and I'm loving it.
 
I still haven't played a single Shantae game and am interested since I saw screenshots for the first time a few years ago. Especially since it reminds me of Wario World 2+3 (or maybe Metroid? But probably more of the former). Maybe I finally pick this up. xD
 
With blessings from Caz, the opening post has been vastly improved with new material! If there's any suggests, please feel free to send them my way!
 
Just finished it up and man what a game. It's got a few design decisions that bothered me at first like not having a world map. But as I played more I started to like how the game encourages you to talk to people and get hints. Without the world map you really memorize the layout of the levels. Beautiful game, good humor, doesn't take itself too seriously. A very lighthearted and endearing title that I needed to send the year off. Thanks, Wayforward!
 
Here's the "Risky Beats" track list:

  1. Title
  2. Dance Through the Danger
  3. Dark Caverns
  4. A Mysterious Fountain
  5. Scuttle Town
  6. Main Street
  7. Risky's Song
  8. Boss Battle
  9. Uncle Mimic's Song
  10. Let's Go Shopping
  11. Art Gallery
  12. Bolo's Song
  13. Mermaid Falls
  14. Counterfeit Mermaids
  15. Barrel-O-Mermaids
  16. Tassle Town
  17. Tower Chase
  18. The Sky Bridge
  19. Rottytops' Song
  20. Cape Crustacean
  21. Flirty Time
  22. Creeping Suspicion
  23. Hypno Baron's Castle
  24. Tinkerbat Factory
  25. Suspenseful Encounter
  26. Dynamo
  27. Chaos Realm
  28. Lava Wave
  29. All Clear
  30. Sky's Song
Click to expand...
 
Just hit 100% completion and the achievement is glitched :((((


Edit: I had to run back thru the last level and upon the credits ending, once you receive your scorecard, you will unlock the achievement. Kinda weird but whatevs.
 
Chronospherics said:
I think that's a really odd comparison, the artwork here really doesn't compare to Vanillawares, but it's good in its own right. I mean, this games environments are 3D modelled, so that's a huge difference, and then vanillaware games have incredibly detailed shading, and this is cell shaded... as far as artstyles go I think they're incredibly far apart and hard to compare in regards to quality.

This games art direction reminds of Papermario, the sense of humours quite similar too, but slightly more mature.
Click to expand...
I wasn't comparing the artstyles at all. They are clearly different. What I was postulating about is the smooth animations and wonderful feel of a 2D scene full of life and beauty. Which both of these games do have.
 
YD5wSmU.jpg


Wtf do I do here? I'm assuming I need to go through this hatch to be able to progress but nothing I tried can open it. Help please.

EDIT: Fuck you just have to hold down and press jump. Lol.
 
JediLink said:
http://i.imgur.com/YD5wSmU.jpg

Wtf do I do here? I'm assuming I need to go through this hatch to be able to progress but nothing I tried can open it. Help please.

EDIT: Fuck you just have to hold down and press jump. Lol.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it would have been good to include that as a forced thing in an earlier part of the stage to show the player it's an option. There are a bunch of spots where you can do that earlier in the level and get stuff, but it's easy to miss.

I couldn't figure it out the first time and wound up jumping down the hole in the middle and dying, lol
 
Corleth the Fey said:
I wasn't comparing the artstyles at all. They are clearly different. What I was postulating about is the smooth animations and wonderful feel of a 2D scene full of life and beauty. Which both of these games do have.
Click to expand...

Right. Seems like a very subjective and individual comparison. The game has smooth animations, but they look little like Vanilaware's really. It's just so night and day to me, but yes, in terms of 'feeling wonderful' and 'beautiful' I can see your perspective, Shantae is a really nice looking game, both in motion and as a still scene.
 
Movalpolos said:
Listen I hate Mighty no. 9 as much as the next guy (I backed it for $250, I backed Shantae too). But you honestly couldn't think of a better thread title? Seems petty.
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Could have done with something more a little more postive as well. Especially given the jolly vibes of this game. There's already too much reactionary negativity on GAF as is.

Nice OT otherwise though.
 
Played for a bit last night until Risky Boot's first boss battle, and the game is sooooo good.

Sadly, it appears Wayforward did not care very much about the translations. The spanish translation is an utter mess, and it seems the french translation is broken as well.

It looks like they just put the textes in google translate and called it a day... Just like they did with the Pirate's curse.
 
Psyrgery ES said:
Played for a bit last night until Risky Boot's first boss battle, and the game is sooooo good.

Sadly, it appears Wayforward did not care very much about the translations. The spanish translation is an utter mess, and it seems the french translation is broken as well.

It looks like they just put the textes in google translate and called it a day... Just like they did with the Pirate's curse.
Click to expand...

Dont insult google translate. Google translate can do things a lot better that the awful translation we actually got (the spanish one).

Had to switch to english and no problem.
 
I've started the game, it's awesome as usual and very pretty :)
But the French translation is problematic. Spelling mistakes and some expressions that have been translated word for word and make no sense in French :/
 
Having a lot of fun with this still. Probably about 80% of the way complete, I think (all abilities unlocked, fifth stage cleared, etc.)

It's definitely given me some old-school vibes where practice makes perfect. Stuff that was giving me issues in the beginning I'm racing through with ease now.
 
Garlador said:
It's definitely given me some old-school vibes where practice makes perfect. Stuff that was giving me issues in the beginning I'm racing through with ease now.
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The sand stage kicked my butt.

I've been trying to use the Steam controller but I think its d-pad emulation options aren't well suited to this game. Touch-only is error prone, even with the cross gate deadzone style, and click requires too much force. Will probably just swap that out for a DS4.
Edit: yup, much better.
 
JackelZXA said:
Really love the game though. Can't wait for the dlc's to come out. In an interview like a year ago I think it was said that the stuff that didn't get funded MIGHT have a shot if the game sells well enough and DLC interest is there. I would love a special edition with animated cutscenes, full (optional?) voice acting, and 2 extra levels sandwiched right before the end of the game to really boost this game up to truly rival Pirates' Curse.
(It's like Pirate's Curse is Sonic 2 and HGH is like Sonic 3, but the remaining kickstarter tiers would have been Sonic 3 & Knuckles..)
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It would be be nice if it's succesful enough to just get the two extra levels.
Anything more would be a bonus. Still. Have to wait till the new playable characters etc are released first
 
Famassu said:
Only Wii U is getting a retail edition with the soundtrack CD? Or are other versions coming later?
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All initial retail copies for Vita, PS4 and Wii U are receiving the "Risky Beats" treatment. The first two platforms are available for order right now whereas Nintendo doesn't launch until Dec. 27th due to some issue that prevented a simultaneous release.
 
As someone who felt really indifferent towards Pirates Curse how does this one compare? I didn't hate PC per say but I felt that it wasn't really all that special and don't really get any of the higher praise towards it. All things considered it was a fairly safe and by the numbers platformer IMO.
 
I hope the update addresses the slowdown on PS4, revisiting the mermaid stage is soul crushing given that it runs at 60 the first time you go there.
 
The game was lighthearted good fun. Backed both 1/2 and 9 and I haven't even touched that other game yet. OT title is on point.
 
Shiggy said:
Just wondering, why did the game get delayed so much?
Click to expand...

Garlador said:
Small team, first HD Shantae game, multiple platforms, added stretch goal content...

Nothing really more complicated than that, I think.
Click to expand...

All of this plus the game had to take a back seat to other contracted development projects until they were completed.

I don't mind though because the end result is quite good.
 
ArjanN said:
Could have done with something more a little more postive as well. Especially given the jolly vibes of this game. There's already too much reactionary negativity on GAF as is.

Nice OT otherwise though.
Click to expand...

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero |OT| It'd sell like buns

Shiggy said:
Just wondering, why did the game get delayed so much?
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They mentioned a long time ago that the stretch goals more than doubled the size of the game, more than doubling the number of man-hours needed to make it. And part of their intention was was always that they were going to be the ones to make the game, not that they were going to outsource it to someone new (it ensures the game's quality AND it makes it easier for them to make Half-Genie Hero 2).

Fuzzy said:
They probably also prioritized other games that were paying the bills.
Click to expand...
And before anyone complains about that, remember that $950,000 can't buy a game this good. Wayforward covered the difference on this one using their own money.
 
I'm stuck two hours in.

The second racing ticket is said to be somewhere beneath the factory, behind a block on the east wall. Said block is underwater. I can reach it with mermaid form but you can't be an elephant underwater. What am I missing?
 
Mellahan said:
I'm stuck two hours in.

The second racing ticket is said to be somewhere beneath the factory, behind a block on the east wall. Said block is underwater. I can reach it with mermaid form but you can't be an elephant underwater. What am I missing?
Click to expand...

That's not the block you're looking for.

Also you'll get an additional mermaid power later that can break that brick.
 
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