Shantae Gameboy game

Shantae is a platform video game developed by WayForward and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Color in 2002. It is the first title in the Shantae series. The game follows the adventures of the eponymous half-genie Shantae, who must travel across Sequin Land, the setting of the series, to foil the domination plans of the evil lady pirate Risky Boots. During her quest, she learns various dances and acquires items which make her progressively stronger as well as unlocking new abilities and locations, leading her to ultimately face off against Risky in her hideout.

The game became obscure due to its release coming a year after that of the Game Boy Advance. However, it received favorable reviews and has garnered recognition since its release, being included on multiple lists of best games on the platform, and being called a "cult classic" by some reviewers. It was re-released via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2013, marking the first time the game was made available in Europe. A port for Nintendo Switch was released in April 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in June 2023.

The player character, Shantae, traverses various areas to stop the evil lady pirate Risky Boots. Shantae's default attack involves using her hair like a whip. Shantae can also use gems obtained from defeated enemies to purchase items, such as life-restoring potions and damaging items with various uses, as well as learn upgraded combat moves. The game features five towns, with various areas filled with enemies and obstacles in between them. In order to progress through the game, Shantae must seek out various characters who will open up dungeons, with each dungeon containing a guardian genie that will teach Shantae a new dance. By using these dances, Shantae can transform herself into different animals, including a monkey that can climb on walls, an elephant that can smash objects such as boulders and tree stumps, a spider that can climb across webbing in the background, and a harpy that can fly in mid-air. Shantae must use these abilities to reach new areas or find hidden items.

The game features a day and night cycle, with enemies becoming stronger during the night. Other collectible creatures include Warp Squids, which are squid-shaped items hidden within dungeons, and which can be given to larger mother squids in each town in exchange for the ability to instantly warp there. Finally, heart vessels can be obtained to increase Shantae's maximum health. The game also features various minigames, such as dancing or gambling, in order to earn additional gems.

The game takes place in a fictional setting called Sequin Land, described as a magical place, formerly protected by Guardian Genies who won the land years of peace. With time, genies fell in love with humans and had children with them, half-genies with limited magical powers. For obscure reasons, genies ultimately vanished, with their children taking their place as protectors of the land. The main character, Shantae, is one such half-genie, appointed as the Guardian Genie of the small fishing village of Scuttle Town, where she resides in the abandoned lighthouse.

The game features a small cast of recurring characters, including the main character, described as "innocent and somewhat naïve,[...] with a childlike view of right and wrong", although she's also determined and skilled at fighting. Other characters include the antagonist, Risky Boots, self-appointed "Queen of the Seven Seas", who reigns over a silent pirate crew of creatures called "Tinkerbats" who are bound to her will; Uncle Mimic, an aged member of a congregation of adventurers called the Relic Hunters who acts as a surrogate parent figure to Shantae; Bolo, Shantae's sparring partner who happens to be somewhat air-headed and submissive to women; Sky, Shantae's lifelong friend who raises and trains war birds, and is always shown with her pet war bird Wrench; and the zombie Rottytops, who is described as friendly, but mischievous and untrustworthy.

Risky Boots and her gang of Tinkerbat pirates attack Scuttle Town and steals a prototype steam engine from Mimic, the town's resident treasure hunter. Mimic tells Shantae, the guardian of Scuttle Town, that if Risky retrieves four magical "elemental stones", she could power up the steam engine and create an unstoppable weapon out of it. Shantae travels across Sequin Land, determined to retrieve the steam engine and the elemental stones and stop Risky.

With help from her friends Bolo and Sky and her new acquaintance Rottytops, she gains access to three dungeons where she retrieves three of the stones. At the fourth dungeon, Shantae finds the last stone, but is ambushed at the exit by Risky, who steals the stones and escapes. Shantae subsequently discovers the location of Risky's hideout with a magical flying telescope called the Spy Scope, and teleports there. Shantae reaches and destroys Risky's weapon, the Tinker Tank. Risky tries to kill Shantae but is defeated; and as Risky's hideout collapses, Shantae escapes. After, she is magically abducted to a place called the Genie Realm where the genies offer her a chance to remain with them as a reward for her courage, but at the price of never seeing her friends again. She refuses and is sent back to Scuttle Town where she announces to Mimic that she had to destroy the steam engine, but is relieved to hear from him that it was probably for the best. Shantae decides to tell the mayor that she is a half-genie, who ensures her that he is fine with it.

The game was considered for development by WayForward as far back as 1997. The game was planned for the SNES, but after the completion of Xtreme Sports, a Game Boy Color version was greenlit. The game needed a 32-megabit battery-backed-up cartridge to work properly, and was expensive to produce. Capcom eventually picked the game for release, but held back the release for months, during which the Game Boy Advance was released. The soundtrack was composed by Jake Kaufman and was released in January 2019 by Fangamer in a red vinyl format.

Precise sales figures for the game have not been made public, but it sold poorly according to Matt Bozon, one of the game's creators. However, the game received favorable reviews from critics, with praise for its graphics, gameplay, and variety. It has since become a cult classic and has been included in several lists of the best Game Boy games.

Several plans for a Shantae sequel were made, with the first sequel, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, released in 2010. Subsequent sequels include Shantae and the Pirate's Curse in 2014, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero in 2016, and Shantae and the Seven Sirens in 2019. A sixth game in the series, titled Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, is set for release in 2024.

Shantae was digitally re-released by WayForward via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2013. A port of the game for Nintendo Switch was released in April 2021. It was announced in December 2022 that a port for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 would be released in 2023.

The game was praised by several video game journalists, who called it one of the best games on the Game Boy Color. Nintendo Power listed it as the 14th best Game Boy/Game Boy Color game. It was also nominated for Best Game Boy Color Game by IGN, but lost to Pokémon Crystal. Additionally, Shantae was named the 5th best Game Boy Color game by Game Informer. In 2013, Destructoid listed the game at number 5 in their top 10 list of Game Boy Color games, and ranked it as the 70th best game of all time in 2014. In 2016, Paste ranked the game 31st on their list of the 60 best Game Boy games, stating that it "stands as an under-appreciated gem of the genre."