Shantae: Risky’s revenge is a platform game where you play as Shantae, a half-genie who has to stop her nemesis, Ricky after she stole a mysterious lamp during the annual Relics Hunters Expo. In order the stop the dangerous powers of the lamp she has to collect 3 magical seals before they get into the hands of Ricky.
During your quest to save your hometown Scuttle Town you go to various levels where you fight mystical creatures like zombies, mermaids, blubber… To fight them, your main form of offensive attacks is your hair but you can buy a variety of magic spells including fireballs, storm clouds… to defeat your enemies.
All along your adventure, you find transformation spells. These include a monkey that lets you jump higher and makes you able to climb walls, an elephant that can smash rocks, and a mermaid that allows you to swim underwater. These transformation spells are activated by performing a belly dance. The transformation spells are an awesome mechanic in the game that gives a new dimension to the levels that translate into both challenging and awesome gameplay.
Gameplay:
While you are searching for the 3 magic seals you come across several puzzles that never feel the same and are not too easy. After those puzzles you have to fight the end boss to receive the magic seal. Every end boss felt different to fight and was quite challenging to defeat but was still doable.
The game does not work with levels but has a 2D open world. The open world gives you a lot of freedom but can be a bit confusing to know where I had to go to find certain places where I had to go. This can be tricky because it can be unclear where you have to search. Luckily the open world is not too big so eventually, you’ll wander until you find your destination. Luckily the open world is not too big so eventually, you will find your way.
Although this game is in 2D and looks very retro it still got a fresh feeling to it and after a couple of hours you totally forgot the bad graphics of the game and you’re totally sucked into the world of Scuttle Town.
Shantae: Ricky’s revenge is a very short game, if you don’t get stuck and know where you have to go you can finish this game in roughly 4 hours. This is short but you can play this game a second time without being repetitive. The developers added the game mode: Magic Mode. When you play this mode your magic cost is largely reduced but you take twice as much damage. Definitely worth trying when you complete the game and still are hungry for a Shantae adventure.
Music:
The music fits the theme of the game and blends well with the background of the map but sometimes to music is a bit too much, especially when you are stuck in a level and hear the same music for too long. Globally seen the music is great and makes you feel nostalgic for the old school games.
| The good: | The bad: |
| + Good story | – Sometimes hard to know where to go |
| + Fresh gameplay | – A bit short |
| + Different from the rest | – Can be frustrating |
| + Challenging game |
This game is super cool and addictive with a fresh feel to it. Shantae: Risky’s Revenge is definitely a game you have to check out when you want to try something new. It has a good story with many funny characters you just have to meet. Shantae: Risky’s Revenge is challenging enough but not too hard for the casual gamer. Just find out for yourself.
Score 3.5 out of 5:
