Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse : Eurogamer Expo Preview

One of the sought-after titles in Nintendo’s Indie Zone at Eurogamer Expo 13 was Wayfoward’s latest addition to the Shantae series: Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. Shantae has lost her animal magic powers and must instead use pirate gear to attack enemies and access areas in what is planned to be her biggest adventure yet.

Shantae has her origins on the Game Boy Color in 2002, but due to the recent arrival of the Game Boy Advance in late 2001, Shantae was unfortunately overlooked and left in the gaming dust. This was until 2010 when a sequel (Risky’s Revenge) was released on DSiWare and later iOS. But now thanks to fan demand and the re-release of the GBC original on eShop’s Virtual Console, this 3DS exclusive looks set to be a hit for Wayforward.

She whip her hair back and fourth… just like that terrible Willow Smith song…

Now onto the game itself. The demo at EGX gave us two choices ; the labyrinth or the boss battle with the Ammo Baron. First let’s talk about the labyrinth segment of the demo ; it starts out like the previous in that our half genie hero can only whip her hair to attack enemies and activate objects like moving platforms. However shortly into the level you find a pistol named Risky’s Pistol which enables our hero to shoot at objects and enemies in other places where her hair whip can’t reach.

The graphics look very similar to Risky’s Revenge, but with the added bonus of the 3D effect giving a similar visual upgrade along the lines of Mighty Switch Force. The bottom screen enables you to choose your potions and, in the full game, will have more options like selecting maps and weapons.

This new entry into the Shantea series looks set to have players solving puzzles in new ways…

The boss segment of the demo which can seem challenging since you have no weapons other than Shantae’s hair, involves you fighting the Ammo Baron in his huge mecha tanks. You must either avoid the fast cannonballs he shoots at you or wait for slower cannonballs to come, which Shantae can then whip it back onto the tank, causing him to fall out and giving you the chance to whip him himself.

Another gem from Wayforward to look forward to, and considering the success of their Kickstarter project to get the Wii U Half Genie Hero game funded, we feel that Shantae’s adventures aren’t over yet.

Visuals are up to the franchise’s usual high standards…

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is scheduled for release in Winter 2013.

To find out more about Wayforward please visit : http://www.wayforward.com/

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Tags: Ammo Baron, demo, dsiware, EGX, eShop. half genie hero, Eurogamer Expo 13, Game Boy Advance, gbc, hair, Kickstarter, Labyrinth, mighty switch force, Nintendo Indie Zone, Risky's Pistol. iOS, shantae, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, virtual console, wayforward, whip, Wii U

This post was written by Cyburn, posted on October 14, 2013 Monday at 9:10 am