Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse Review: Time to Set Sail

 

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is an interesting game for me. This is my second time finishing this game, as I ran through the entire franchise on the Xbox earlier this year (with the original Shante being played on the Switch since it’s not on the Xbox). When I did play the game, I loved it. In fact, I consider it my favorite of the franchise to date. However, personal enjoyment and an objective review are not necessarily the same. For example, Sonic Frontiers has a fantastic story, but the gameplay could have used more polish and fine-tuning. So, while I’d recommend the game, I can also see it not doing as well critically. Which begs the question of how Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse holds up. So, is this game worth picking up? What lasting impact did it have on the franchise? Let’s set sail and find out, starting with some background about the series.

The Story of a Half-Genie Metroidvania Heroine

 

The Shantae series is one many people have heard of, but surprisingly, not a lot have seemed to play. Before this year, I was actually in this group. My only experience being a demo of Half-Genie Hero’s Pirate Queen’s Quest DLC at E3 one year. However, I knew of the character and understood she was quite popular among people who had played the games. So, what’s the deal?

In short, the series stars the titular Shantae, who is half-genie/half-human in most games. She’s the guardian genie of Scuttle Town, located in Sequin Land. Her first adventure (Shantae) had her battling the nefarious pirate Risky Boots and stopping her scheme to take over the world (of course!). This was followed up by Risky’s Revenge, which was originally a DSi ware title, of all things. In which, Risky attempts to get her revenge. Shocking, I know. However, for the purposes of Pirate’s Curse, it does have a direct effect on the narrative. We’ll get into that later but know you can easily pick up each game and play them without playing the others. What’s important here is how the first two games set up the franchise.

Both games are side-scrollers that have Shantae traveling the world, entering various labyrinths, defeating guardians, and learning transformation dances that give her various abilities. In fact, the games borrow elements heavily from the Metroidvania genre. While Shantae feels like it has more in common with Zelda II than Metroid, I’d say Risky’s Revenge fully embraces the Metroid formula. With speedrunners even being rewarded for their efforts. Much of this translates over to Pirate’s Curse, but what’s interesting is how Pirate’s Curse both improves upon and subverts much of the formula. How? Well, let’s talk about the premise itself to see why.

Evil Stirs and Rivals Set Sail

 

The events of Pirate’s Curse take place after Risky’s Revenge. The main thing you need to know is that as a result of events in that game, Shantae has lost her genie magic. As such, she’s just an average human. Though, her hair can still be used as a weapon. While one might think it’s time for her to hang up her duties as Scuttle Town’s guardian, if anything, she seems more resolved now. So, when the game kicks off with the Ammo Baron invading the town, it’s up to Shantae to rush to the rescue. Too bad our mono-eyed baron has every right to invade.

Due to… well, the mayor being the mayor, Ammo Baron now owns the town, and Shantae is confined to her house to await trial. With the possibility of her hair being cut as punishment. So, with nothing else to do, Shantae decides to take a bath; and promptly gets captured by Risky Boots, mainly because that bathtub is a trap. Shantae doesn’t even own a bathtub. However, Risky looks slightly different; notably missing her iconic pirate hat. The reason for this is the real impetus behind the plot.

Risky thinks Shantae and her uncle have kidnapped her Tinkerbat crew. Her evidence? The fact one is being held in Shantae’s uncle’s workshop. However, shortly after they arrive, the Tinkerbat transforms into a new demonic-looking form. And at that point, Risky knows what’s going on. It seems the Pirate Master is reviving.

Who’s he? Well, he’s just such an evil dark force that it took the power of every genie to banish him. Also, he’s Risky’s old boss. That means this is personal for our villainous pirate queen. After all, she can’t rule Sequin Land if he does. Seeing how serious a threat this is, Shantae offers to help Risky in her quest. While Risky outright refuses at first, she eventually agrees to an alliance to stop the Pirate Master’s return. And with that, our duo set sail for the many islands around Sequin Land. As you can see, it’s quite an interesting setup, and the idea of Shantae and Risky teaming up offers many possibilities. However, let’s move on to the graphics and discuss how this adventure looks.

Setting the Scene With Both Pixels and Drawn Art

 

Pirate’s Curse is a bit interesting as it was initially released as a 3DS game in 2014. However, it was also ported to the Wii U later that year. Since then, the game has been ported to various systems. Even so, the game still retains its pixel art roots and feels almost in line with something like Blaster Master Zero III in the sense that while both evoke a retro style, they also take advantage of the abilities of modern platforms. A good example is Shantae herself.

Shantae’s movements are incredibly fluid. The way she moves, jumps, and fights all give the character a lot of personality and charm. Something that might not have been as possible back in the 16 and 32-bit console era. The same can also be said of the enemies and all the game characters. This is a colorful cast; you can recognize everyone by their looks alone. Another neat aspect of this game is the character art.

While Shantae may be pixely, full-size art of the characters is shown during cutscenes. And it looks beautiful! You can tell a lot of work was put into the character designs and expressions. What’s interesting, though, is how neither style clashes with the other. You can look at Shatae’s sprite and character art and appreciate how they complement each other. So, what about the environments?

Well, they are good, but this is one of those things WayForward does that I need to point out. There is a lot of reusing of ideas and environments between the first three Shantae games. Now, this does make some sense. And, unlike Compile Heart, where you feel like you’re playing half the game again, this feels more like an attempt to re-explore things.

For example, Spiderweb, Tan Line, and Mud Bog island are all heavily based on areas from the first Shantae game. Mud Bog even features the same enemies. In its defense, though, the 2^nd half of the island is an entirely new area. It’s not a major gripe, but it is something you’ll notice if you play the games back-to-back-to-back. Still, the backgrounds and environments are wonderful looking, and they are still creative. It’s just after three games, you start to want some more variety. This also extends a bit to the music. So, let’s talk about that next.

The Sweet Sounds of a Pirate Adventure

 

Some of the music in Pirate’s Curse are remixed tracks from previous games. Again, this, by default, isn’t bad. It does give a sense of familiarity. However, this can also be negative if the developer isn’t careful. The New Super Mario Bros. franchise is an example I like to cite, as the music never really seems to change much between games. It’s all too similar and feels lazy. So, what’s the deal here?

I think the remixed tracks work in this case. There’s enough of a difference where it feels just fresh enough to keep your interest. Add in a few original compositions, and you have a good soundtrack. This is probably my favorite of the entire franchise, to be honest. So, kudos there. One more thing I want to touch on quickly is the voice clips the game uses during cutscenes.

Now, this isn’t fully voiced dialogue. But, during certain events, Shantae or the others will say a short line. “Tinkerbats” is a common one that Shantae says. While I like giving the characters a voice, I would have preferred more lines to be voiced. I’m not sure if this was in the original 3DS version or was added later but considering how good the voice cast is; it’s a shame more isn’t done. If there’s another port of this game in the future, this is something WayForward should consider. One thing that does not need to be improved on is the gameplay. Why? Let’s dig in to find out.

Turning a Genie into a Swashbuckling Pirate of Legend

 

The Shantae series has always been pretty consistent with its gameplay. Except for Half-Genie Hero (which is more stage-based), the games fall under the Metroidvania genre. Meaning that you’ll traverse the world from area to area, gain new abilities, and then use those abilities to backtrack and access new sections. Metroidvania-style games also give you a feel of traversing the world. Rather than selecting a stage or level, you’ll need to manually walk there until you open up a fast-travel option (if one exists). Pirate’s Curse strikes an interesting middle ground between the previous two games and Half-Genie Hero, all while maintaining that Metroidvania formula.

While the game starts you in Scuttle Town, it’s not long before you’ll find a map with your next destination: Spittle Island. From here, you’ll need to board Risky’s ship to traverse to said island. This is where that middle balance comes in. The general flow of gameplay is that you’ll arrive at an island, solve a problem to open a “Den of Evil,” get a new ability, defeat a boss, and then get a map to the next island. While the sounds linear on the surface, you’ll often need to backtrack to previous islands and use your new abilities to obtain items that will allow you to progress. Thankfully, as long as you have a Pirate Flare, you can instantly warp back to Risky’s ship. Something you’ll be doing a lot if you’re trying to speedrun this game. Which is required for a few of the trophies. Before we move on, there is one more thing we need to touch on—the abilities.

In most Shantae games, you’ll earn magic dances allowing Shantae to transform into various cute creatures. Such as an elephant or harpy. These grant you specific abilities, such as breaking blocks or flight. However, Shantae doesn’t have her magic. So, how do you get such skills in this game? Well, the answer is Risky’s gear.

In each Den of Evil, you’ll find one of Risky’s items. These are the pistol, hat, scimitar, boots, and cannon. Each of these will grant you a different ability. From the pistol allowing you to shoot remote switches to the boots giving you a dash attack. And honestly, this choice was for the best.

While the dances are iconic, the problem is that they slow the gameplay down and take you out of the moment. You’d always have to hit a button and then (depending on the game) input button commands or wait for a particular beat so you could transform. The pirate abilities, conversely, allow you to chain several actions and work fluidly together. In fact, this idea worked so well that come Seven Sirens; the transformation abilities were made automatic. Hit the water, and you’ll transform. Need to tunnel through sand? You’ll transform. While some may miss the dances, this needed to change to help the gameplay. And it shows how much Pirate’s Curse influenced the rest of the franchise for the better. Speaking of better things, let’s next delve into the story and characterization.

Heroes Don’t Need Magic. They Need Boobietraps!

 

Shantae has never been a series that takes its story too seriously. And I mean that both as a compliment and a little bit of a criticism. On the one hand, the story is pretty simple regarding these games. There’s a problem; go be a hero and save the day. This is a bit of a shame since the world of Shantae is fascinating. There have always been hints of advanced technology in the games. Almost as if this world is a survivor of a previous apocalypse. There’s a lot of potential here! However, the game focuses on being a game first and having a story second. Which is perfectly fine. Where it does shine is the dialogue.

As I mentioned, Shantae games never go too serious. There’s a lot of humor and jokes in the writing. With a lot of them being rather clever. Additionally, this game walks that fine line of fanservice reasonably well, with much of the fanservice coming in the writing. Case-in-point, Risky calls the bathtub trap she sets for Shantae, in the beginning, a “boobietrap.” The writers knew exactly what they were doing. But the writing has always been tongue-in-cheek and comedic. It’s honestly one of the franchise’s strongest points. However, my favorite part of the writing is the characterization of both Risky and Shantae in this game.

It would have been so easy just to have Shantae and Risky forced into a situation where they have to work together and be at each other’s throats the whole time. After all, Risky was responsible for Shantae losing her magic. However, they don’t go that route. Shantae sees someone in trouble and offers a hand in assistance. She can see something in Risky that no one else seems to and wants to help. Additionally, she’s also doing this while a human.

Remember, no magic. It’s just her wits, determination, and her hair. Sure, Risky’s gear helps, but the game truly sets up Shantae as a genuine hero. After all, it’s easy to be heroic when you have powers, but once you’ve lost them? To me, that’s the actual test of heroism. Additionally, Risky gets a fair bit of development as well.

During the game, we learn a bit about her past, and we can see that while she is a villain, she’s not an idiot. She can see the more significant threat is the Pirate Master and that stopping him must be the priority. And, while she is hard on Shantae, there is also a sort of mutual respect there. Bonus points as well for the ending. While it’d be easy to have the game follow the standard clichés you’d expect, they don’t. I won’t spoil anything, but I enjoyed this story and this tale. It’s probably the best in the franchise. However, with all that good, there is some bad. So, let’s talk about that next.

She’s Taking on Water! (But Just a Bit)

 

If there’s one thing I can say, the Shantae series is consistent in both its good and bad. Many of the issues that I have are present throughout the series. Let’s run through these one at a time. Starting with the most subjective, getting lost.

For the most part, it’s not hard to figure out what you need to do to progress in the Shantae games. While there is some backtracking, the game will usually point you in the right direction. However, sometimes during my original playthrough of Pirate’s Curse, I got stuck. One is what to do with the ham on Spittle Island. You know you need to do something with it, but I had completely forgotten that you could suck up the scent with the magic lamp Risky gives you. I didn’t think of it since we had only used it for dark magic up to that point. It’s a minor thing, but an example of the developers being too clever. Another example? The sarcophaguses during Tan Line Island.

You’ll need to backtrack to various areas to find a trio of sarcophaguses to open a door during Tan Line Island’s quest. While one is given to you in Scuttle Town, the other two must be sought out. While I was able to figure out their locations, I could see a player getting frustrated trying to figure out where to go since one of them wasn’t even on Tan Line Island. We don’t always need signs saying, “go here,” but making things a little easier to figure out never hurts. Especially if it’s to progress the story. However, these are small potatoes compared to my biggest issue—the bosses and mini-bosses.

Now, before you think I’m not too fond of the boss fights in these games, that’s not the problem. Each boss is unique and well-designed. In fact, WayForward made defeating each of these bosses without taking damage a trophy. And while this seems daunting, it’s not as bad as you think. Instead, the problem comes from the boss’ health and communicating said health to the player. Let’s start with the former.

Bosses in this game (and mini-bosses) have way too much health. If you do not bring monster milk (boosts attack) and pike balls (an orbiting attack item) to each fight, you will hate yourself. Without these items, you will be sitting there whipping an enemy with your hair forever. This is a problem that all the Shantae games have. And I don’t know why. Bosses should not be a marathon test of health. Sure, I’m not too fond of Mario’s three-hit rule, but conversely, my fingers shouldn’t be tired from mashing the button to do damage. This leads to my subsequent complaint—no health bar for the boss.

While Pirate’s Curse shows how much damage you’re doing to the boss in terms of HP numbers, you have no idea how much health each boss has. So, you don’t know if you’re close to defeating a boss or not even through 1/4 of its health. Health bars are a standard thing in games. It communicates to the player how well they are doing against a foe. This isn’t the heyday of rentals where that was a thing. Be kind to your players. We’re all here for a good time, not to be frustrated. This leads to one last issue—the final area.

Shantae games are notorious for having final areas that are the definition of Platform Hell. And I don’t know why. Yes, the final area of a game should be a test of skill. You should ensure the player has competence or mastery of all the skills given to them. However, you also need to ease the player into that challenge. The last few stages or areas in most games get harder to prep you for that final challenge. But the jump between those last areas isn’t massive. In Shantae? It feels like I’ve been thrown into a Brutal Bonus Level. The difficulty curve goes to 11, and it’s rough the first time you tackle any of these final areas. Pirate Curse, in particular, is nasty with many insta-death traps. The difficulty curve just needed to be smoothed out here. I like the idea, just not the execution. With all this said, you might think this would be a crazy-hard Platinum, right? Well, no. Let’s talk about that.

Claiming that Platinum Pirate Booty

 

We don’t usually talk about trophies in a review. However, I like discussing them since they are part of the game’s design. A well-put-together trophy list should reflect the game. It should be a fair challenge that’s integrated into your playthrough(s). In this case, Pirate’s Curse is a nice one with all the basics of finishing the game and having some good challenges.

I already mentioned beating each boss damage-less, but there’s a trophy for beating the game while gathering all the Heart Squids and not using any of them to upgrade your health. This sounds formidable initially, but it’s not too bad with a bit of practice and farming some healing items. In this case, Mud Bog Island was the worst part of the run due to how much damage you take but take it slow. Additionally, there are a few speedrun-related trophies you’ll need to get.

These speedrun trophies, again, sound difficult, but they aren’t terrible since the game allows you to save and quit. I always kept a backup copy of my save file, so if I didn’t like how I played a section, I could copy that over to my primary file and try again. Additionally, you’ll be doing these on New Game+, giving you all the pirate abilities from the start. This makes the gameplay really fun, and it’s neat to see just how much you can sequence-break things. But are there any tricky trophies I’d warn you about? Well, yes.

The one trophy I detest is Zombie Survival Guide. You get this one from completing the Run Rottytops Run section of Spiderweb Island without taking damage. On the surface, this sounds doable, but this section is 16 screens long. Mess up on one, and it’s time to reload your save and try again. The first time I did this on my Xbox, it took me a good few hours to complete. I managed it in just a few tries this time, but it does take practice. Really, much like the bosses, this is just too long for its own good. But as a whole, I’d recommend this Platinum as a good practice for novice trophy hunters. However, what about the game itself? Is it worth a recommendation? Let’s wrap this up and talk about that finally.

Set Sail for the Greatest Shantae Adventure!

 

As you can tell, I have many thoughts about Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse and the Shantae franchise as a whole. But we are here to talk about Pirate’s Curse so let’s start there. Is this game worthy of being in your collection? As always, that will depend on what types of games you like, but in short: Yes.

If you are a fan of platformers, Metroidvanias, or just quirky games, I can’t help but recommend this. WayForward knows how to make a good game. While I do have some issues with Pirate’s Curse, you can at least say those issues can be subjective and are consistent throughout the franchise. There’s nothing broken or non-functioning here. It’s a solid game. And if you’ve never played a Shantae game, this is an excellent first choice. What about its legacy on the franchise, though?

I think Pirate’s Curse also has a solid win there. While Half-Genie Hero would try to take the series down a slightly different path, Pirate’s Curse shares the most DNA with Seven Sirens, the most recent game. Honestly, Pirate’s Curse refined the franchise the most and gave fans a lot to hope for and look forward to. While I can see an argument that Seven Sirens is the best game of the franchise, for me, that honor belongs to Pirate’s Curse. And this replay on the PlayStation 5 only served to crystalize that fact for me. So, if you haven’t tried it yet, give the best Shantae game a chance and discover why so many people love this underrated franchise.

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Final Verdict: 4.5/5

Available on: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One; Publisher: WayForward Technologies; Developer: WarForward Technologies; Players: 1 ; Released: September 27th, 2022 ; ESRB: T for Teen ; MSRP: $19.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a retail copy of Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse the reviewer purchased on their own.