Review: SHANTAE is a Fantastic Port to Bring the Entire Series to the Switch
WayForward has accomplished a big milestone. They have now published every game in the Shantae franchise on a single console. The company recently released Shantae, the original 2002 Game Boy Color action-adventure-platformer, on the Nintendo Switch to complete the dream. You can grab a copy from the eShop for $9.99 now. WayForward was gracious enough to provide me a review copy. Seeing as the game is a port of a 20-year-old game, the review will be focusing on how good the port is and not the core game.
Originally launched in 2002, Shantae is the acclaimed action-adventure-platformer that is often considered one of the most impressive Game Boy Color games ever produced. In this pixel-perfect adaptation, Shantae hair-whips, dances, and transforms as she seeks out four elemental stones throughout Sequin Land to put a stop to the nefarious lady pirate, Risky Boots. During her quest, she explores treacherous labyrinths, gains amazing new powers, conquers mini-games, and encounters friends such as Rottytops, Sky, and Bolo. Alongside the standard GBC mode, this edition also includes the extra Game Boy Advance functionality of the vintage cartridge.
Whether you’re a long time fan of Shantae or a new fan, this port has a lot to offer. First, it has both the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance versions of the game. The GBA version has a bonus Tinkerbat transformation and a brighter color palette. Both versions have three different filters that can be applied with my personal favorite being LCD as that mimics the original screens. You can also use save states to make saving a breeze.
In terms of gameplay, this plays like old platformers. It doesn’t feel as nice as some more modern games, but many of those old games don’t. It’s just the way that it works. I personally found it very challenging, but not impossible.
The sound and music is really good like other Shantae titles and I have no complaints. The visuals are what you’d expect from a GBC title. In menus and cutscenes, the art is gorgeous, but then during gameplay a lot of detail is lost. It is what it is.
Overall, if you like old platformers or are a fan of Shantae, I would recommend grabbing this port. It’s very faithful to the original with a few modern conveniences. This is a great way to see how the adventure started.
