Shantae and the Pirate's Curse takes place shortly after the previous game in the story, Risky's Revenge. Though I've never played that game, Pirate's Curse does a fair job of explaining the previous events. At the end of the previous installment Shantae's rival, Risky, stole her genie magic so she has now become a full human who is just living a regular life. That is until a baddie by the name of Ammo Baron (who I assume was also in the other installments from the way the characters talk about him) comes to town and proceeds to pillage and plunder the place. Shantae rushes to the rescue in a fantastic opening level that hits all the right level design beats. After a short boss fight with the Baron, she discovers that the Ammo Baron isn't raiding the island out of pure malice. Rather, it is because the Mayor sold the town to him for food for himself. Because of her actions, Shantae receives a court summons where they will cut off her hair - the only magical part left of her. Just when she is feeling her lowest, however, she runs into Risky who is in dire need of Shantae's assistance. Risky explains that the evil Pirate Master is returning and they need to work together to stop him. I have to admit that, at the start of the game, the story seems convoluted and random but it does pay off in really well-rounded ways. The set-up isn't fantastic but it does give the player an intrigue that will last throughout the rest of the experience.
Though the story isn't great, the characters definitely make up for it. And there are a lot of them. Each of the characters are so memorable and unique that I could rattle off all the personalities and motivations of each one without breaking a sweat. This is mostly in part because of the very great and clever writing but is also in part by the memorable character designs. Each character's designs coincide perfectly with their personality. Rottytops the zombie is enthusiastic but lazy and even kind of a dunce sometimes which is reflected well by her constant dancing and bright-green skin. Rottytops is also very great with her constant joking around. Have I mentioned Rottytops yet? If I have it's because she is the best character in the entire game. In the latter half of the game she even gets her own arc that gives her a somewhat tragic backstory. All of the other characters are great in their own ways but Rottytops is incredibly memorable. The only problem with any character that I had was with Risky Boots. She wasn't bad but she really wasn't given much of a personality besides cynical and mysterious. Maybe if I had played the previous games I would have understood her better but what I got wasn't very great. Overall, the characters are unforgettable. Also Rottytops.
The gameplay in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is very clean and very satisfying. The combination of the whipping sound when Shantae sends her hair flying with the animations that happen during and after the hit feel very good. I love every part of how Shantae controls. Her movement speed is a brisk walk and her attacks are instant. Her jumps are high and she can snap instantly while in the air. The only problem I had with this isn't with the controls itself but how some of the levels are designed. From the get-go it seems that Shantae's movement was made for levels with a focus on vertical movement as well as horizontal but in Pirate's Curse most of the levels are simply left to right with not a lot of vertical exploration. This is, however, a minor problem and is quickly remedied as soon as the player gets to a dungeon, which are all fantastic. Though their themes and mechanics aren't exactly new and innovative, their use of the powerups that you obtain in said dungeons can be very clever which makes for some interesting puzzle scenarios. Speaking of the upgrades, I just love all of them. In each dungeon you find more and more of Risky Boots' equipment which ranges from a pirate hat that lets you float in the air to a cannon that gives you three extra jumps while in the air. Though these aren't exactly new concepts the ways the game tends to use them are great. You can also buy upgrades for Shantae's pre-existing abilities as well as her equipment. Though most of these are just simply faster firing of your attacks and more damage output, some of them give you extra abilities like a handy dodge that lets you effectively get out of the way of enemy attacks.
Jake Kauffman is a mad genius. I had already known about him from other games he's worked on (and I also follow him on Twitter) but I find the Shantae soundtrack to be especially great. Jake "Virt" Kauffman does a great job at creating memorable themes in his tunes. And here we come full circle to the best song in the game - Rottytops. It perfectly encapsulates everything about her character and I love it immensely. The only negative I have about the OST is the boss themes. I still can't tell for sure but I'm pretty sure that they are all the same song. Either that or they are just plain unmemorable. Virt can't take all the credit for the atmosphere of the game. The sprite team that worked on the graphics need a huge round of applause. All of the characters just jump right out of the screen with their colors and animations. The backgrounds are also gorgeous.
I feel bad for myself that I hadn't played this game sooner. Take wonderful music and visuals, tight gameplay, and wonderful characters (mostly Rottytops), and you get Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. I can say for sure that I am very excited for the next game in the franchise Half-Genie Hero and I really want to play the previous installments.
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is memorable.
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