Buy Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

A difficult game but a good game non the less, the last 2 levels were a bit overkill with the amount of bullsh*t on screen at one time be it spikes or tar ladies on the ground, ceiling, and jumping the hell around all over the damn place. Untill that point you feel really good dashing through levels at high speed listening to gorgeous music!

This game exceeded my expectations greatly.

I'm surprised more people haven't played this game.

It had amazing gameplay, an amazing story, and amazing characters.

This game got me so invested, I finished it in like 9 hours.

Thank you so much for this amazing game.

Super fun game

Platforming? Check.
Kickass OST? Check.
Awesome main character? Check.
Great writing? Check.

Buy this Game. It's worth it.

A struggle to get through.

The main problem I had with this game was the motivation to keep going. I'm not saying this is a bad game, it's not. It's quite fun, however it simply lacks something there to drive you forward. Besides seeing each new pirate tool, until the end of the game you aren't given any payoff for doing anything.

The save system needs to be looked over, as when you save, you don't also recover full health. This isn't a challenge thing though, as if you save and suicide, you respawn with full health. It just adds more tedium to the game.

There are only 5 different upgrades to get and none of them feel unique. You get a weak long distance attack (never really worth using), a glide, which is very dull and adds very little bar sections that actually require the use, a pair of boots which allow you to do an equivalent of the Shine Spark from Super Metroid, except you need an even bigger run up and you just run forward, not fly up as well. A down attack, adds very little as the hair whip still can be more effective and only serves to kill a few enemies designed specifically to die to them and lastly a triple jump, which occurs very late in the game and only serves to make you go back and get all the items you saw in plain sight in previous levels.

The biggest problem however is that the game seems designed entirely around these items, rather than the world and the items being designed in tandem.

I can't recommend this game. I did enjoy it, but it was a slog to get through.

What can I say about this game, other than it's just so. damn. good.

Great character designs, great writing, the world navigation is leagues better than Risky's Revenge and the way you platform through dungeons and areas is just SOOOO SATISFYING even before you get the end game key items for mobility. I never once got bored or frustrated playing and honestly it's just so rare to find a game like this.

Soundtrack is great, visuals are great and If you like 2D metroidvania with cute girls then you need to GET THIS GAME. Literally the only thing bad I can say about this game is the steep difficulty spike on the end game level and even then WayForward didn't make it too incredibly sadistic just takes that good old classic trail and error method.

These are the pros and cons I have come up with during my first full (100%) playthrough of this game

+ I have never taken so many screenshots in a single game before
+ Platforming
+ Artwork
+ Soundtrack
+ Plot (not just the story...)
+ Humour in almost every cutscene
+ Death barriers are clearly marked so you know which holes are hidden rooms and which aren't
+ Lots of achievements
+ Didn't feel like I was missing too much backstory even though I have yet to play the previous two games in the series


- Two of the three combat skills you can buy are basically useless compared to your standard moveset
- Maps do not tell you which items you have already found (and where they were located) which can lead to excessive backtracking
- All the achievements are making my OCD kick in


All achievements acquired update:

+ The speed run achievements are quite the challenge and the game rewards you with two "fan-service-y" wallpapers if you can beat it in under 2 hours with any% and under 3 hours with 100% completion.


Completed and acquired all achievements for Shantae: Risky's Revenge update:

Pirate's Curse vs Risky's Revenge

+ More bosses
+ More dungeons
+ Less confusing map system
+ Risky's ship and pirate flares replace Warp Squids (much more convenient travel than before)
+ Twice as long to complete (not counting Pirate Mode)
+ Movements and attacks are faster and more fluid
+ More meaningful dialogue and story
+ Artwork of characters has improved and looks more like a visual novel during dialogue
+ Save files now display %completion and location of last save
+ Different attacks do different amounts of damage instead of them all being considered one "hit"
+ Better quality and more memorable music (the soundtrack is also twice as long)
+ Graphics settings now allow true fullscreen (no black bars or stretch) for 1080p monitors

+/- Graphics are more or less the same as Risky's Revenge
+/- Weapons and items replace transformations and magic (I personally like this game mechanic but some people would prefer the hallmark transformations of the previous Shantae games)


Shantae (GBC) 100% complete update

Its kind of funny how I ended up playing this series in reverse order... Now on to the update:

Pirate's Curse has many references to the original GBC game. Many of the songs heard in this game are actually remastered from the old chiptunes of Shantae. While the original game was MUCH more difficult in terms of travel from one area to the next, I feel like Pirate's Curse was a nice change from most of your troubles being day travel (or rather NIGHT travel when enemies were twice as tough) to more emphasis on labrinths, quests, bosses, and overall story. I still think Shantae is one of the best GBC games out there so don't discount it just because I said Pirate's Curse is better. If you ever do get a chance, play Shantae (GBC).

Verdict: Buy it now out of 10

To all those saying this game is too hard, it's a lot easier with both hands on the controller.

Risky's Revenge review: http://steamcommunity.com/id/stumperman/recommended/277890/

This game is good, and should be bought.

Pros:
- Better and kind of worse item system. You are no longer trying to double tap the bottom screen of the 3DS to use an item. Instead you hit Select or whatever the keyboard control and press A on the item. The downside to this is the key items and map are also here, mainly the map. In the 3DS version you could have the map on the bottom, now you have to hit select then go to the map menu. I already beaten the game 7 times now so I don't need the map.

- Better than both prequels. WayForward know how to make good sequels and this out of all 3 shantae games is so far my favorite. Longer story. fair gameplay, not too easy not too hard, it does get harder as you progress etc etc.

- Good story
- Memorable Characters (nameless npcs are even memorable)
- Good Characters (I love all characters, even nameless npcs)
- Challenging but not impossible
- Excelent Platforming + Puzzles
- Funny and unique dialouge.
- Wonderful sprite animation
- Awesome soundtrack
- High replay value (After beating the steam version 3 different times I will have beaten this 10 times)

Cons:

- Bad for players who do not have a thrill for adventure. This game does not exactly tell you what you have to do and where to do it. You have to use your brain and the tiny amount of hints the game gives to find out where things are. This is however good cause what's an adventure platformer if the game just tells you what to do and how to do it.

- Grinding Gems to get items. The items for upgrades and moves can be way too expensive and useless. Like I said I beat this game a lot of times, I never used the back kick move, or the back dash. Back dash being 100 gems (not bad) and the back kick being 400 which is too much for something I never had to use. Also you have to upgrade your hair strength, whip speed, scimitar, and pistol 3 times which adds up to a lot of gems. It's not that bad to grind for them but it could of been done better.

So if you like Metroid/Castlevenia you will love this game. The story in this one is more deep than Risky's Revenge and the original GBC game. It is totally worth the 20 dollars to get.

That concludes this review with the 2 minor cons (one being really minor), I still have to give this game a wonderful score.

I give this game a 10/10

"I'd like to give you a knowing wink now, but my eyes no longer work."

The music is fantastic.
Everything has boobies.

10/10