Shantae Switch Review

 Shantae (Nintendo Switch)

Developed By: Wayforward/Modern Vintage Gamer

Published By: Wayforward

Date of Release: April 22, 2021

Price: $9.99

 

I can't believe it's finally happened! After all these years, the entire series of Shantae is playable in one place, in particular the Nintendo Switch. The original game, previously only available on the Gameboy Color and 3DS has received an amazing switch port created by Modern Vintage Gamer. The original Shantae was a game that absolutely pushed the Gameboy Color to it's limits, so to emulate it so faithfully is an amazing feat in my opinion.

As this is where the series started, you can pretty much expect how Shantae will play. It's an action platformer like the rest, with mild metroidvania elements thrown in. However since this is from back in the days of the GBC things are a fir bit more primitive. For one thing there's not even a map feature, which can make the dungeons and backtracking a little bit tricky. Not only that but the levels are more than a fair bit more primitive than the later games. However the controls are snappy and responsive, and with a bit of practice you can git gud, despite the harsh difficulty in the beginning of the game.

Not that any of that makes this a bad game. The chiptune soundtrack by series veteran Jake Kaufman is a treat for the ears, and the crisp pixel art, now blown up to a much larger size than the original version, is quite nice to behold. These were some of the best graphics back on the GBC, and even featured palette swaps to show the day/night cycle. Shantae truly was a showcase of how to make a Gameboy Color game back in it's time, and no collection is complete without it in my opinion. Furthermore at $10, it's not going to break the bank either. I'd recommend it for anyone who is a fan of the series.