Pirate's Curse is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best games of all time in its very crowded genre, so I'm kinda not surprised if this is a step back. As long as it's still fun, I'll be satisfied.
Pirate's Curse is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best games of all time in its very crowded genre, so I'm kinda not surprised if this is a step back. As long as it's still fun, I'll be satisfied.
Oh of course Pirate's Curse is extremely difficult to follow up on. The only two black spots on that game were Run Run Rottytops and the final dungeon (which was unintentionally skippable). It was my goty when it came out on 3ds. I bought that game like 4 times. I never expected it to be on that level.
Oh of course Pirate's Curse is extremely difficult to follow up on. The only two black spots on that game were Run Run Rottytops and the final dungeon (which was unintentionally skippable). It was my goty when it came out on 3ds. I bought that game like 4 times. I never expected it to be on that level.
yeah wow those were my two big beefs too. I didnt realise the final dungeon had those skips at the time but I'll use those on my next playthrough because fuck those are some optional area level challenge rooms. Run Run Rottytops feels weird and goes on too long.
I think this game is awesome in it's own way though. One style of game isn't necessarily a perfect evolution and, like with JoJo, I love seeing different styles explored in their own way. I like that we switched to stage based gameplay and if we'd gotten the other 2 added stages we probably wouldn't have seen these complaints. Most of the backtracking is optional though and if you talk to townspeople you can figure out how to optimize return visits (And the stages you go back to change anyways, so it feels fresh still.) I really like both games and can't wait to get more characters and maybe hints of them starting on a fifth game.
I'm hoping for either a zombie focused game where
the hamster bites shantae one time while she's playing with it and turns her into a half zombie hero, and then she could travel around with rottytops as her companion
or simply another game in this style with completely new animal transformations. This game kind of brought all the old forms back together in one game, so if we get this style again the only way to really keep it fresh would be to throw all the old forms out, even monkey, and start over with all new forms. We had the original game, then we had the false start game RR (tried to relaunch the series but it didn't kick until a few years later) and now we have a game that feels like a true followup to the animal forms from the first game. Building ontop of that AGAIN might feel like too much, so it'd be good to either do another new style like with the third game, or do another game like this with completely different powers but still in the dancing theme. (I still just want more Shanty...)
Yeah. This one's great. It's a sequel but it's also kind of a soft-rabbit reboot robot relaunch where you can still play it as your first game and really get a taste of the humor, characters, and fun gameplay of the series. There's some differences but it's still a great jumping on point.
Shantae 1 is a little rough if you don't use a guide (it's a really old game and kind of unpolished so it's easy to get lost and frustrated, but it's still a fun game once you know generally what to do and what not to do)
I do recommend playing Risky's Revenge as a prequel game to Pirate's Curse, which are the 2nd and 3rd games respectively. RR ended up being a much shorter game, but it's similar in graphical style to PC that it sort of feels like a ground zeroes/phantom pain scenario. PC is the real meat of it, but RR will give you context for that game and enhance the experience.
Oh of course Pirate's Curse is extremely difficult to follow up on. The only two black spots on that game were Run Run Rottytops and the final dungeon (which was unintentionally skippable). It was my goty when it came out on 3ds. I bought that game like 4 times. I never expected it to be on that level.
But yeah, Pirate's Curse is rather good & goes for a more Metroidvania style where as 1/2 Genie Hero felt a bit more linear, but is still a good place to start. I need to try Risky's Revenge one of these days, but heard it's not as good as the newer games. The original, I barely got far because I just had no idea where I was suppose to go.
So far it seems that the game is designed less like an exploration based adventure platform like Wonder Boy, and more like a linear stage based action-platformer.
Is that accurate or is this just the first bit of the game?
Oh of course Pirate's Curse is extremely difficult to follow up on. The only two black spots on that game were Run Run Rottytops and the final dungeon (which was unintentionally skippable). It was my goty when it came out on 3ds. I bought that game like 4 times. I never expected it to be on that level.
I liked the final tower. and Run Run Rottytops is pretty fun on a casula playthrough (fuck that place being on a universal timer though. It makes speedrunning it hell) I felt that Tan Line Temple was the worst thing in the game.
Guess I'm the only person so far who likes Half-Genie Hero more than Pirate's Curse eh? I just loved the more streamlined approach, gorgeous graphics and music. Both HGH and PC are neck in neck for me but HGH is just a bit higher.
Guess I'm the only person so far who likes Half-Genie Hero more than Pirate's Curse eh? I just loved the more streamlined approach, gorgeous graphics and music. Both HGH and PC are neck in neck for me but HGH is just a bit higher.
The point of Shantae is to have a modern "adventure platformer " title, similar to the Wonder Boy series. If it's a linear action-platformer then it's just like all the other dozens (hundreds?) of games we receive in that genre just this year. To be fair Pirate's Curse was a step down from Risky's Revenge in that regard, but most people forgave it due to it being a much tighter game and being slightly longer.
The point of Shantae is to have a modern "adventure platformer " title, similar to the Wonder Boy series. If it's a linear action-platformer then it's just like all the other dozens (hundreds?) of games we receive in that genre just this year. To be fair Pirate's Curse was a step down from Risky's Revenge in that regard, but most people forgave it due to it being a much tighter game and being slightly longer.
I beat it 100% last night. It took about 8 hours, but that's because I revisited stages more times than I needed to trying to grab everything that was available at every step of the way. That and I left Shantae standing in the middle of a stage just to listen to the music more than once. �� Some assorted thoughts:
- At first I was worried hearing about the switch from Metroidvania world exploration + dungeons structure to more linear Mega Man X action-platformer stages. I felt like Shantae typically doesn't have enough combat to hold up that "action" part of the equation to last a whole game. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, but there's still room for improvement on the level design front.
- Linear level design for this game isn't bad on its own, but the level progression is suspect as fuck. Adapting the series' "find secrets in the overworld and give them to NPCs" system to linear levels just made the usual backtracking seem worse than before. Where in the first three games there'd at least be a journey to the destination, here you're repeatedly entering playing through old stages. Clearly WayForward knew this, because the Warp Dance and the Whistle are godsends. Their existence is a saving grace, and without them this would be a serious issue. It did leave me with a bit of a chilling thought, though. What the hell was this game going to be like if they hadn't reached the chapter stretch goals...?
- Difficulty is... questionable. It's way too easy to become OP after just the second level. And yet, getting the attack speed & damage upgrades early is probably the preferrable way to play. Then you've got an early transformation totally trivializing the very next level:
Bat transformation can be found in the Mermaid Factory. That can bypass a large portion of Tassle Town's desert, and most of The Sky Bridge. Ironic, because there are at least two secrets and Tuki the snake that require the bat to access. I bet putting the bat in a later level would have messed with the placement of something else, so this was the best compromise.
WayForward should try experimenting with general game balance, see if they can make a more consistently even challenge.
- I struggle to think of what more could be said about the soundtrack (it's amazing as usual, good stuff virt). But since I've already gushed about Mermiad Falls, Mermaid Factory, and Tassle Town, here's my favorite track that isn't one of those: The Sky Bridge. It's such a cool track
- I have things to say about the story but... does it really matter? Lol
- (ability spoiler)
Mouse was an unexpected and really damn clever addition. I wish there was at least one more major puzzle for like Mermaid Falls or the Desert Tower key.
- (ability spoiler)
In that same vein, Spider was a disappointment. I get why a spider abillity could quickly become OP if you give it too much, but as a result it's pretty underutilized. On the other hand, I'm not the biggest fan of spiders, so I'm not too broken up about it. ¯\_(ツ_/¯
- This game needs health bars for bosses. (endgame spoiler)
Thankfully I knew ahead of time about the Queen of the Seven Cheese trophy and just wailed on Risky until I felt she was low on health. But she has a lot of goddamn health, so it still took a bit.
As expected, it's a fun, solid romp overall. I enjoyed it, though not as much as Pirate's Curse. It's almost a shame that the one entry to fully realize the series' hallmark gameplay was the one that departed from the main hook of the franchise. I'm sure WayForward will figure out how to make Shantae shine in HD eventually; this is a good first try, all things considered. In the end Half-Genie Hero falls under the same adage I ascribe to most WayForward output: "Good, but could be better."
I've already gotten started on my Hero Mode run. Just need the two speedrun trophies and I'll have my 2nd Platinum.
I must have played a different version than because the frame rate never really bothered me throughout my entire time playing the game when playing the Vita version.
Sorry the frame-rate/performance is a big issue for some for the Vita version though .
I hate that but the music fade out happens to other games (Axiom Verge on Vita). Glad to hear that frame rate on Vita didn't bother you as it really didn't bother me.
I think the game feels like they didn't have enough levels, so they made you go looking for stuff in them to make the game longer. If the game is going to be more like Mega Man, then it needs like, twice as many levels. At least. I hope they go back to the old style for the next game. I feel like they could make a longer and more fun game with about the same amount of art assets if they just made dungeons instead of Mega Man levels.
Not about HGH but, I just want to throw in my 2 cents about the GBC game. I really feel like the first game is the second best after PC. It does have a steep difficulty curve at the beginning and it is held back by the GBC hardware, because it just doesn't have enough buttons, but it's a great game. It is the game that RR was trying to be like. It is the most Monster World-like game that they never fully realized with the other games. It had all the forms, dungeons, and a huge world connecting everything. I wish they would remake that one. It would probably be the best game if it was.
Got 100% completetion just now. Took my longer than it should have but I kept missing a very obivous heart piece.
I think the game is really fun overall, but I'm a little surprised at how little content there is. I originally backed this on Kickstarter in what seems like ages ago, guess I just expected a few more levels than this.
Is there any word on when the Risky DLC will be available?
I had a glitch just occur where I started that desert stage Tassel town. I went to transform immediately to the elephant form and the character sank below the ground. I transform back and try jumping to get back above ground but it's stuck until the screen starts scrolling around and I ended up at a screen with a underwater section that looks like a sewer with a pipe and something was shooting fireballs.
I couldn't get my character on screen still so I just reset the game. Again, this was at the beginning of Tassel town and it didn't replicate again when I tried to do it once more.
Edit: I now found that underwater place (normally) I was talking about, it's the one you access breaking the boulder with the elephant stomp and you have to avoid those statue heads that blow fireballs.
I had a glitch just occur where I started that desert stage Tassel town. I went to transform immediately to the elephant form and the character sank below the ground. I transform back and try jumping to get back above ground but it's stuck until the screen starts scrolling around and I ended up at a screen with a underwater section that looks like a sewer with a pipe and something was shooting fireballs.
I couldn't get my character on screen still so I just reset the game. Again, this was at the beginning of Tassel town and it didn't replicate again when I tried to do it once more.
Edit: I now found that underwater place (normally) I was talking about, it's the one you access breaking the boulder with the elephant stomp and you have to avoid those statue heads that blow fireballs.
Pirate's Curse is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the best games of all time in its very crowded genre, so I'm kinda not surprised if this is a step back. As long as it's still fun, I'll be satisfied.
Is Pirate's Curse much of an improvement over RR? As I failed to get into RR much due to it feeling like some mobile port and the rather simplistic gameplay.
But yeah, Pirate's Curse is rather good & goes for a more Metroidvania style where as 1/2 Genie Hero felt a bit more linear, but is still a good place to start. I need to try Risky's Revenge one of these days, but heard it's not as good as the newer games. The original, I barely got far because I just had no idea where I was suppose to go.
Finished Risky's Revenge recently and yea it isn't too great. Similar to the original, it can be a pain navigating through the world and finding destinations. A couple interesting levels didn't really outweigh the problems. Found myself forcing myself to finish it at points as I was ready to quit at a few spots.
Riskys revenge is alright, but the series really only got great with pirates curse and half genie hero is almost as good as it's predecessor. Hopefully this sells well enough to justify another sequel in 2-3 years. I'd certainly be there for another kickstarter if they went that route again.
Is Pirate's Curse much of an improvement over RR? As I failed to get into RR much due to it feeling like some mobile port and the rather simplistic gameplay.
Just finished this last night with 100% with around 8 hours or so. I really enjoyed it a lot, and it was easily worth the time and money, but I'd still rate the previous game a bit higher. Like others have said, it just had too few levels, and relied on backtracking to pad the game length. Even with the low amount of levels, a few sections seemed to be lacking in great design and just weren't that special. Again though, the game was still very good and a lot of fun. Music was excellent as expected.
Now I'm gonna replay Risky's Revenge and Pirates Curse and patiently wait for the new Wonder Boy games.
Pirate's Curse is only a little bit better than Risky's Revenge for me. It doesn't really have interesting dungeon design either or find itself particularly challenging. The world design is also more linear than I'd like at this point (while not inherently a bad thing). Alas, Risky's Revenge only took advantage of the "3d movement" in the town/jungle and the dungeons remained largely feeble even with the multiple routes. The only major boon I can really give Pirate's Curse is that Risky's Item Moveset (built with the context of constant motion in mind) is much more fun to play with than transforming.
Had a clear time of 9 hours because 1) I forgot you can just warp-whistle out of levels (d'oh!) and 2) I forgot I had the waterfall relic already and kept looking for it without a guide (d'oh!).
On the positive, I'm pretty sure I can speed through the levels now since I know them so well. Lol. Not sure about a speedrunning attempt though. I'm still a rather clumsy character around those instant-kill spikes in the last level...
I kinda like Pirate's Curse a bit more mostly because the pace is faster and doesnt stop for transformations and some items make your movement faster. Apparently Risky Boots plays similar to Shantae in Pirate's Curse so that should be interesting to watch.
So, I'm right up to the end of the game now and looking at the trophy list the only thing I have left (bar the speedrun stuff) to do before proceeding is to crush 10 skeletons as an elephant. Problem is, I don't actually remember fighting any skeletons during the game, so whereabouts do you actually find them?
So, I'm right up to the end of the game now and looking at the trophy list the only thing I have left (bar the speedrun stuff) to do before proceeding is to crush 10 skeletons as an elephant. Problem is, I don't actually remember fighting any skeletons during the game, so whereabouts do you actually find them?
Oh duh, how dumb of me, it was those armoured guys in the castle. I thought they were just possessed suits of armour so I was looking for regular looking skeletons.
Edit: And that's the game all done (well, bar the 2 speedrun achievements that I'm not doing). Really enjoyed it from start to finish, I think it's probably now my favourite Shantae game as I never enjoyed Pirate's Curse as much as most people did.
Oh duh, how dumb of me, it was those armoured guys in the castle. I thought they were just possessed suits of armour so I was looking for regular looking skeletons.
Edit: And that's the game all done (well, bar the 2 speedrun achievements that I'm not doing). Really enjoyed it from start to finish, I think it's probably now my favourite Shantae game as I never enjoyed Pirate's Curse as much as most people did.
While the game has issues, I loved Half Genie Hero. While not my Game of the Year, it easily falls under my top 10 games of 2016 for me. The soundtrack is fantastic and easily some of Jake's best work yet.
Well, I've finished the main storyline. Can anyone tell me if it's like Pirate's Curse
and there's a hidden 'true' final boss that you get along with the good ending?
Because if not, I'll probably put it down for a while and finish it properly later. I really enjoyed my time with this game, but I thought all the cool parts were closer to the beginning. The first handful of bosses and stages just seemed more exciting and
the final dungeon and boss fight were pretty lame.
Well, I've finished the main storyline. Can anyone tell me if it's like Pirate's Curse
and there's a hidden 'true' final boss that you get along with the good ending?
Because if not, I'll probably put it down for a while and finish it properly later. I really enjoyed my time with this game, but I thought all the cool parts were closer to the beginning. The first handful of bosses and stages just seemed more exciting and
the final dungeon and boss fight were pretty lame.
I saw someone in the other thread say something about a bad ending, but I've beaten the game 4 times in 3 different completion percentages and haven't noticed any differences.
I saw someone in the other thread say something about a bad ending, but I've beaten the game 4 times in 3 different completion percentages and haven't noticed any differences.
I haven't tried it myself, but the game is pretty clear about how something bad will happen if you go after Risky right away instead of collecting her stuff first. I have no idea what it happens, but that's probably what leads to a bad ending, provided there is one.
I haven't tried it myself, but the game is pretty clear about how something bad will happen if you go after Risky right away instead of collecting her stuff first. I have no idea what it happens, but that's probably what leads to a bad ending, provided there is one.
I beat it without getting Risky's thingys and didn't notice anything. I guess it could be something small, like a few lines of dialogue, but I didn't notice.
I beat it without getting Risky's thingys and didn't notice anything. I guess it could be something small, like a few lines of dialogue, but I didn't notice.
Really loved this game, but I agree it isn't as good as Pirate's Curse. Hell I'd even argue that Risky's Revenge was a better game. Still a great game however throughout. Shantae is always a lot of fun.
It'd have been nice if more of the levels had had as much to explore as Mermaid Falls, since you had to go back to them all regardless. I had a few other issues with the level design, but on the whole, it was a good time. Don't think I'll go speedrunning for the other trophies, though.
Quick tip for anyone thinking of speedrunning the game: Loading screens don't count towards time on your in-game clock.
I just spent 10 minutes jumping in and out of the art gallery door and smashing the pots outside of the art gallery (because the art gallery has a longer loading screen than other places in town, and it causes the pots to reset), and it only counted as ~2 minutes of game time, during which time I earned about 600 gem.
Quick tip for anyone thinking of speedrunning the game: Loading screens don't count towards time on your in-game clock.
I just spent 10 minutes jumping in and out of the art gallery door and smashing the pots outside of the art gallery (because the art gallery has a longer loading screen than other places in town, and it causes the pots to reset), and it only counted as ~2 minutes of game time, during which time I earned about 600 gem.
It must be, and I think it's complete bullshit. Like, I went to every retail store in downtown Vancouver yesterday, and they all said the same thing. (Despite the other versions being available.)
It must be, and I think it's complete bullshit. Like, I went to every retail store in downtown Vancouver yesterday, and they all said the same thing. (Despite the other versions being available.)
I don't know if it has anything to do with this but I pre-ordered the Wii U version from CD Universe and it went from pre-ordered to back ordered on release day =/
They say they reserved enough stock to meet demand but their vendor still run out of stock. They should get more in one week.
_/¯
