Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context VideoGame / Shantae

Go To

1%%%%%%
2%%
3%% If an example is specific to a single game, please put it on that game's page.
4%%
5%%
6%%%%%%
7[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a0975219_40d1_44a6_82ce_46c3ae0fe7e0.jpeg]]
8[[caption-width-right:350:''We will dance through the danger until the world is saved!''\
9''Can't stop me now, 'cause I'm Shantae!'']]
10
11In far-off, magical [[MagicalLand Sequin Land]] lies a quiet [[PortTown port village]] by the name of Scuttle Town. It's a nice enough place, if it wasn't for its citizens constantly being under attack by Risky Boots, Queen of the Seven Seas with ambitions to TakeOverTheWorld, and her gang of vile pirates, as well as countless other evils. Thankfully, like many other places in Sequin Land, Scuttle Town is host to its own guardian hero that can protect them in times of need. In their case? A {{cute|MonsterGirl}}, sassy purple-haired [[HalfHumanHybrid half-genie]] named Shantae whose arsenal of choice happens to be her PrehensileHair and ability to [[MagicDance magically belly-dance]] into various creatures.
12
13An unabashedly quirky member of the {{Metroidvania}} genre, ''Shantae'' is a franchise created by Matt Bozon that began its life in 2002, at the extreme end of the Platform/GameBoyColor's lifespan. Upon the second game's release eight years later, the franchise slowly gained popularity as Creator/WayForwardTechnologies' flagship series. The titular character has since gone on to appear outside her own games as a playable character in other indie games such as ''[[VideoGame/MutantMudds Mutant Mudds Super Challenge]]'', ''VideoGame/{{Runbow}}'', ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero'', and ''VideoGame/HyperLightDrifter''. In Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', Shantae and her main nemesis Risky Boots represent the franchise as Spirits; the former also got a Mii Brawler costume based on her, which is included as DLC alongside the track "Neo Burning Town" from ''Half-Genie Hero''.
14
15!!Games in the series
16[[index]]
17!!!Main series
18* ''[[VideoGame/Shantae2002 Shantae]]'' (Platform/GameBoyColor, 2002)
19* ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'' ([[Platform/{{NintendoDSi}} Nintendo [=DSiWare=]]], 2010)
20* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'' (Platform/Nintendo3DS and Platform/WiiU, 2014)
21* ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'' (Multiplatform, 2016)
22* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'' (Multiplatform, 2019)
23* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAdvanceRiskyRevolution'' (Platform/GameBoyAdvance, Multiplatform, 2024)
24!!!Spin-offs
25[[/index]]
26* ''Watch Quest! Heroes of Time'' (2015): A MobilePhoneGame [[https://wayforward.com/games/watch-quest-game/ exclusively for the Apple Watch]]. A combination puzzle-RPG, it's a GaidenGame that features Shantae and Bolo, time displaced from the usual setting of the series. The title has the player aid the characters in undertaking a series of quests that update with new events throughout the day.
27----
28!!These tropes are RET-2-GO!
29* OneHundredPercentCompletion: With the exception of the Game Boy Color original, depending on the number of collectibles and the speed with which players clear the game, they will be rewarded with special illustrations. This also extends towards the various DLC campaigns in ''Half-Genie Hero''. Thankfully, the [[RandomDrop Monster Cards]] in ''Seven Sirens'' aren't required for 100% completion in that installment.
30* ActionGirl: Shantae herself, as well as her ArchEnemy Risky Boots. Shantae's personal theme song is titled "Dance Through the Danger," which includes lyrics about how unfazed she is by the threats she faces.
31* AfterBossRecovery: At least in ''Pirate's Curse'' and ''Seven Sirens'', beating bosses sends Shantae to the entrance of the dungeon at full health, and {{Mana}} in ''Seven Sirens''.
32* AfterTheEnd: While it's never said outright, the first few games imply that the entire setting takes place on Earth after some unspecified apocalyptic event which humankind survived, but reverted to pre-industrial era culture as Mimic is said to be unearthing lost technology, much like Ammo Baron and his crew. It seems this kind of lost technology has once again become commonplace over the years, as it goes from a single steam engine being unearthed and treated as a great novelty in the very first game, Ammo Baron's war machines in ''The Pirate's Curse'', and by the time ''Half-Genie Hero'' rolls around there's mechanized factories and hovercrafts all over the place, and one NPC mentions taking her grandkids to the movies.
33* AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles: When describing the Dribble Fountain boss to her uncle in her CharacterBlog.
34--> '''Shantae:''' [[https://twitter.com/Shantae_WF/status/25729737875 I had to fight a huge slimy tentacle monster like in your anime shows. Oh so gross!]]
35* AllThereInTheManual: If you didn’t read the first game’s manual or [=WayForward’s=] statements on the matter, you’d be forgiven for assuming Uncle Mimic is the brother of Shantae’s human father, as he was the one who raised her and the games never try painting him as anything other than a close family member. He's actually an HonoraryUncle who was acquainted with her genie mother rather than her father, as mentioned in those supplemental materials.
36* AlreadyUndoneForYou: In the first game, Risky Boots enters the dungeons before you, and in later games Save Guys are a regular sight, yet all doors are locked and puzzles left untouched.
37* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Risky Boots has lilac purple skin despite otherwise being a normal human. Meanwhile, zombies such as Rottytops and her brothers all have sickly green skin.
38* AmbiguouslyBrown: In perhaps the most literal sense of the term. Shantae's skin tone constantly changes in each new entry, with the only common thread being that her skin tone is always some shade of brown.
39* AnachronismStew: The games' setting mixes Middle-Eastern culture and aesthetic with magic and advanced technology.
40* {{Animesque}}: The games' art style shifted into once Creator/IntiCreates became in-charge of character illustrations from ''Pirate's Curse'' onwards. ''Seven Sirens'' even has its opening animation done by ''Creator/StudioTrigger''.
41* {{Animorphism}}: Shantae can turn into animals in order to access new areas or battle her enemies.
42* AnotherSideAnotherStory: The "Pirate Queen's Quest'' DLC in ''Half-Genie Hero'' tells the events of the game following Mimic's completion of the Dynamo from Risky's perspective. The "Friends to the End" DLC is also a variant of this, explaining exactly how Rottytops, Bolo, and Sky [[spoiler:got Shantae back to normal]].
43* AntiWastageFeatures: Averted:
44** ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'': Life restoration pickups are attracted to and absorbed by Shantae no matter the state of her LifeMeter.
45** ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': Healing items can be eaten no matter the state of Shantae's meters.
46** ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'': Healing items can be eaten no matter the state of Shantae's meters.
47* ArabianNightsDays: [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Sequin Land]].
48* ArtEvolution: [=WayForward=]'s art style (as established by Matt and Erin Bozon) has evolved quite a bit, from the an angular style with full body proportions seen in the first game's illustrations, to the softer animesque style present in later entries.
49* ArtShiftedSequel: ''Half-Genie Hero'' has a cuter artstyle where everyone has larger heads and shorter necks, possibly due to GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed. While not as dramatic a shift, the style used in ''Pirate's Curse'' and ''Watch Quest'' is much more detailed and {{Animesque}} compared to the somewhat more simplistic styles used in the first and second games. By comparison, ''Half-Genie Hero'' seems more like a cuter take on the first two games' designs (albeit using character design updates -- such as Sky's corset and pants -- from ''Pirate's Curse'').
50* AttractiveZombie: Rottytops is drawn in the same cute anime girl style as the rest of the female cast (albeit with green skin and a stapled on arm and leg).
51* BackgroundBoss: A couple in the series. Most notably [[spoiler:the Empress Siren]] in ''Shantae and the Seven Sirens''.
52* BadassNormal: [[spoiler:Shantae loses her powers at the end of ''Risky's Revenge'' and in ''Pirate's Curse'' has to rely on pirate equipment.]]
53* BagOfSpilling: Shantae loses all her abilities and items between each game, and there's always a different story to justify it.
54** Between ''Shantae'' and ''Risky's Revenge'', Shantae forgot her transformation dances; a villager {{handwave}}s that she has been skipping belly dance classes and that's why she can't remember them.
55** Between ''Risky's Revenge'' and ''Pirate's Curse'', [[spoiler:Shantae lost her genie powers]].
56** Between ''Pirate's Curse'' and ''Half-Genie Hero'', [[spoiler:Risky took all the pirate equipment back that was hers in the first place]].
57** Between ''Half-Genie Hero'' and ''Seven Sirens'', not only has Shantae forget her transformation dances ''again'', an early conversation with Zapple suggests that she also forgot about all of her forms [[SignatureMove except monkey]].
58* BareMidriffsAreFeminine: Something of a series staple. The titular Shantae is a frequent source of midriff- and navel-focus as a SultryBellyDancer, but pretty much every single other major female character is young, cute, and shows off a [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure slender stomach]]. For that matter, virtually every non-child female character -- including villagers and some {{Mooks}} -- bares her belly or [[NavelWindow shows just enough to reveal the belly button]], suggesting midriff-baring is customary in Sequin Land. In the (very rare) case a female character's abdomen is fully covered, she'll sport a NavelOutline, solidifying the trope of female belly button fanservice as something of a series hallmark. By contrast, male characters like Bolo, Uncle Mimic and the various Barons tend to full shirts, although on some males it's open in the front.
59* BatPeople: [=BatGals=] are humanoid enemies with yellow eyes, batlike wings on their helmets, and the ability to turn into bats.
60* TheBeastmaster: Sky, a falconer, trains birds of prey. Her favorite bird is Wrench ([[MeaningfulName who can act as a wrench]]), and in ''Half-Genie Hero'' can transform to monstrous size to carry passengers.
61* BlackComedyBurst: The series is very fond of quickly throwing in a dark joke here or there, from Shantae killing Sky's unhatched eggs to Rottytops' diet including puppy brains. One notably joke is that you can kill a dog in ''Risky's Revenge'' (and get an achievement for doing so); said dog appears in the Village of Lost Souls during the end credits scene of the sequel (the creators handwave it as the dog just getting lost, though).
62* BlobMonster: A MiniBoss in the Dribble Fountain labyrinth. The Mud Bog in the first game and Mud Bog Island in the third are filled with various monsters of this type, and the second game features green slimes that [[ReverseShrapnel spew bits of themselves]] as an attack.
63* BoringButPractical: The Pike Balls (and their upgraded variant, the Scimitars) are rotating satellites that float around Shantae in a rotating circle. They aren't necessarily as cool as summoning fireballs or storm clouds, and certainly aren't as powerful as the Homing Rockets. However, as long as you have magic, they'll continuously do damage to any foe (including bosses) in their orbit until you turn them off; this is especially helpful when the enemy is out of reach of your standard hair whip attack.
64* BottomlessPits: ''All. Frigging. Over.'' Interestingly, the Float Muffin item in the first game actually renders them harmless to you for a short period of time -- and you actually ''need'' to use it in one place to cross a long, un-crossable Bottomless Pit to reach a HeartContainer. Starting in ''Risky's Revenge'', they conveniently emit skulls with crossbones to warn players on which pits are bottomless.
65* CallBack: When traveling to the first dungeon of ''Shantae'' the in-universe game clock will inevitably change to nighttime, prompting the music track "Night Travel 2" to play and making all the foes in Scarecrow Fields and Tangle Forest more dangerous. When travelling to the final dungeon of ''Pirate's Curse'', [[spoiler:the Pirate Master blots out the sun, you fight your way through those same two areas filled with tougher enemies, and an updated remix of "Night Travel 2" begins to rock your speakers.]]
66* CallingYourAttacks: After getting a voice actress in the third game, Shantae will do this once in a while.
67* TheCameo:
68** Shantae in her monkey form made one in a ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' minigame.
69** The Drifter from ''VideoGame/HyperLightDrifter'' cameoes in Kickstarter-backer versions of ''Half-Genie Hero'' in the "Pirate Queen's Quest" DLC. In exchange, backers of ''Hyper Light Drifter'' got a Risky cameo and sidequest in that game.
70** Shantae is one of several crossover party member available in ''VideoGame/{{Indivisible}}''.
71** Shantae is a DLC character in ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero'', vastly more powerful than the base character.
72** Shantae and Risky appear as Spirits in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', with collecting them actually being required for OneHundredPercentCompletion of the story mode.
73* ChaosArchitecture:
74** Scuttle Town is vastly different in each games. Partly justified in that the inhabitants regularly have to rebuild it after Risky's repeated invasions. The unjustified bit comes in the distance between Shantae's lighthouse and the town, which varies being just outside of town to a long walk across a bridge.
75** ''Pirate's Curse'' brings back some areas from ''Risky's Revenge'', but since the main action now takes place in new islands, the returning areas are massively simplified. The Pumpkin Field and Lilac Field are combined into the Scarecrow Field. The Tangle Forest is only one screen instead of the large, multi-layered area in the previous game. The Mayor's Seaside Retreat was at the end of a lengthy obstacle course, but now it's just a short walk away from Shantae's lighthouse.
76* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Shantae is noticeably more abrasive and short-tempered in the first game and ''Risky Revenge''. While she still has a short fuse, ''Pirate’s Curse'' onwards emphasize her dorky and AllLovingHero traits.
77* ChekhovsGun: Not only did Risky's weapons [[spoiler:once belong to her old boss, the Pirate Master]], her iconic skull bra and jaw belt, seen in all the games, [[spoiler:were originally his face!]] Another one from the same game are the dark pieces. [[spoiler: Or, more accurately, the remains of Shantae's corrupted Genie half, which becomes VERY important at the end of the game...]]
78* CollisionDamage: In all the games. A general rule of thumb is this: If it moves, it hurts you. This even the case when you play as Risky Boots in the [[VillainEpisode "Pirate Queen's Quest"]] [[DownloadableContent DLC]] for ''Half-Genie Hero''; touching Shantae during the boss battle will still damage the player.
79* CriticalExistenceFailure: Get low on life and Shantae will have a tired animation when she is idle. She can do all of her actions (jumping, whipping) just fine, but take one more hit and she ''explodes in a shower of sparkles''.
80* CuteMonsterGirl: For starters, there's Shantae herself, including some of her alternate forms. Then there's people like Rottytops and other members of the Zombie Caravan. Also quite a few female {{Mook}}s, like the Nagas and the Archers... Basically, {{Cute Monster Girl}}s are kinda all over the place, with the majority being of the zombie variety.
81* CutsceneIncompetence: Sometimes Shantae just stands there during cutscenes when she really ought to be trying to save the day.
82* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: Downplayed. It's not Shantae's mom herself, but rather one of her mother's fellow Genie Spirits who tell her this in the [[spoiler:good]] ending of Half-Genie Hero.
83* DarkActionGirl: Risky Boots, Shantae's archnemesis.
84* DashAttack: The Elephant transformation can do this to destroy obstacles and enemies. It's replaced by [[SprintShoes Risky's Boots]] in ''Pirate's Curse'' and the Bonker Tortoise fusion in ''Seven Sirens'', both of which require a short build-up, and the latter of which being much harder to control.
85* [[invoked]]DeletedScene: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8JFp0lGY1A That's what WayForward calls it, but you can tell it's just for fun.]]
86* DenserAndWackier: The first ''Shantae'', while not lacking in comedic moments, was a simple adventure story about a girl who goes on a quest for magical artifacts. ''Risky's Revenge'' and onward jack up the silliness to the point that the franchise's comedy is now a defining trait.
87%%* DirectionallySolidPlatforms
88* DisappearedDad: While Shantae regularly inquires about her mother, Shantae's dad barely gets a passing mention, and no explanation has ever been given for his disappearance.
89* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The theme songs for both ''Half-Genie Hero'' ("Dance Through the Danger") and ''Seven Sirens'' ("Rise and Shine, Shanate") are performed in-character by Shanate's voice actress Creator/CristinaVee.
90* DudeWheresMyRespect: Starting in ''Risky's Revenge'', no matter how many times Shantae saves Scuttle Town from disaster, Mayor Scuttle still regularly fires her whenever anything goes wrong.
91* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early games were a bit wishy-washy about what Shantae's unique genie power was intended to be. In her debut game, it was implied that all genies were versed in transformation dances while the Ponytail Whip was what made Shantae special. Then in ''Risky's Revenge'', Shantae's hair-whip remains with her after [[spoiler: she loses her genie half,]] establishing that it wasn't from her mother's side at all. ''Seven Sirens'' finally confirms that the transformation dances are her actual special power, while still keeping the hair-whip as an unexplained separate ability of hers.
92* EpicFlail: Bolo's weapon.
93* EvilLaugh: The "Ho ho ho!" Risky lets out whenever she does something dastardly is more akin to a NoblewomansLaugh, but it still qualifies.
94* ExplodingBarrels: The boss battles against Risky's ship would be a lot harder if she didn't put these [[AttackItsWeakPoint within hair whipping distance]].
95* ExposedToTheElements: Characters won't fear cold despite being rather inappropriately dressed in icy places.
96** Discussed in the first game, when Rotty gives you directions to Mount Pointy (the ice area):
97--->'''Rottytops:''' Err... you don't have any warmer clothes, do you?\
98'''Shantae:''' Why would anyone want to wear warm clothes?\
99'''Rottytops:''' Heh! No reason!
100** Averted at least partially in ''Pirate's Curse''. Frostbite Island's wintry weather obviously makes Shantae uncomfortable.
101--->'''Shantae:''' OH MY GOSH, IT'S FREEZING! I'll take the hot sand and burning lava any day over ''this!''
102* EyeDentityGiveaway: Shantae's animal transformation all retain her normal eyes, alongside a few additional traits in certain forms.
103* FetchQuest: A few in the games.
104** Finding baby squids and coffee in ''Risky's Revenge''.
105** In ''The Pirate's Curse'', one of the quests provides a short cut in one of the islands.
106* FirstTown: Scuttle Town, with the first stage usually being Shantae running into town to stop Risky Boots' latest attack.
107* FlashOfPain: Some enemies and bosses do that when hit, others don't. In ''Risky's Revenge'', all the enemies flash.
108* GameOverMan: Risky shows up on the GameOver screen in the first and second games. Shantae herself appears on the game over screen for ''Seven Sirens''.
109* GenkiGirl: Rottytops. She's basically a zombie cheerleader/pirate girl who loves brains, especially Shantae's.
110* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Almost every game, starting with Risky's Revenge, Shantae loses her job as Scuttle Town's guardian, only to be rehired by the end.
111* TheGoomba: Tinkerbat pirates and their variations are pretty easy to defeat. {{Lampshaded}} in the manual, which describes them as pretty lousy pirates. The [[EasterEgg Tinkerbat transformation]], however, is extremely powerful and versatile.
112* GoneSwimmingClothesStolen: Happened in [[https://twitter.com/Shantae_WF/status/25510214821 her Twitter posts.]] [[spoiler:Turns out, [[DumbMuscle Bolo]] [[https://twitter.com/Shantae_WF/status/25523369088 buried them]] after taking one look at her EmptyPilesOfClothing and thinking that she melted]].
113* GreenHillZone: The areas outside Scuttle Town--at least, toward the east. Toward the West, and it's more of a DeathMountain.
114* GroundPound: The Elephant transformation gains one of these if you hunt out its super attack. The Scimitar also functions this way in ''Pirate's Curse''.
115* GuideDangIt: It is a Metroidvania, after all, but it's more needed for the plethora of items you are looking for to get 100% rather than a complex labyrinth maze you need to navigate.
116* HalfHumanHybrid: Shantae is half-human, half-genie. And all adorable!
117* HappilyAdopted: Shantae and her beloved Uncle Mimic.
118* HardLevelsEasyBosses: Boss battles in the games are often simple affairs save for the FinalBoss, in contrast to the levels that are filled with painful enemies and tricky jumps over pits and spikes.
119* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: A transformation that lets Shantae fly.
120* HeartsAreHealth: The health bar is represented by a series of hearts.
121* HeartContainer: Heart ''Holders,'' actually. Some games use Heart Holders, while others use "Heart Squids," where finding four of them and going to a specialty smith unlocks more health.
122* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Every time something bad happens that Shantae was unable to prevent, she beats herself up over it because she thinks her Half-Genie powers are no good for protecting anyone. On a lighter note, in ''Pirate's Curse'' she jokes that she's probably a bad role model compared to another NPC thanks to her short temper and BedlahBabe outfit.
123* HeroWithBadPublicity: Despite being genuinely heroic, Shantae tends to suffer from this. In ''Risky's Revenge'', she becomes the target of a vicious, unrelenting smear campaign by the mayor in retaliation for her failure to stop Risky from stealing the Lamp. ''Pirate's Curse'' takes it a step further by [[spoiler:having her become ''a wanted criminal'' after assaulting the "rightful" owner of Scuttle Town and then violating her probation by going on the run with Risky.]] And in ''Half-Genie Hero'', she once again gets fired by the mayor for failing to stop Risky from wrecking Shuttle Town's main street.
124* HeyYou: How Risky Boots always refers to Shantae, constantly referring to her as an annoying brat. In ''Half-Genie Hero'''s Ninja Mode, she claims that she doesn't even ''know'' Shantae's name, stating that has so many enemies and enacts so many evil schemes that anything involving Shantae and Scuttle Town is a case of ButForMeItWasTuesday.
125* HotWind: Seems that even the wind likes Sky.
126* IdleAnimation: In Shantae Advance demo videos, she would re-tie her waist and adjust her top. In ''Risky's Revenge'', she adjusts her top in a different way.
127* InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist: For all the snark she loves to throw at others, Shantae has a bunch of insecurities and tends to put herself down more often then not. Many of her foes, in stark contrast, are often confident in their power to the point of arrogance, with the best example being the BigBad, Risky Boots, who is the self-titled "Queen of the Seven Seas".
128* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: In dungeons throughout the series, using a key once on a locked door destroys that key.
129* InterfaceSpoiler:
130** The original Game Boy Color game makes it was pretty obvious from the start there are twelve items, four dungeons, and four other things, while the dance screen also shows you all the transformations and towns ahead of time.
131** ''Risky's Revenge'''s map shows the entire game world from the start, meaning you can tell how close you are towards the end of the game by keeping up with what sections you haven't explored yet. Averted with the inventory screen, however, which only shows enough to display the current items you have.
132** ''Pirate's Curse'' shows you the number of islands. Subverted in that [[spoiler: the last island is actually tiny and the last dungeon is actually the Sequin Land Palace]]. That being said, savvy players might have realized that [[spoiler: the palace is too huge to just contain the Library]].
133** ''Seven Sirens'' has four icons appear on the screen whenever using the powers of another half-genie. [[spoiler:This is an early tip-off towards Fillin the Blank not being an actual genie.]]
134* ImpossibleHourglassFigure: Most of the females.
135* JigglePhysics: It actually really shows off both games' gorgeous animation, especially considering the limits of the Game Boy Color. Shantae will even adjust her top if you stand idle for a while in ''Risky's Revenge''. Especially pronounced in ''Half-Genie Hero'' with its gorgeous new graphics engine, where literally every adult female has varying but always generous amounts of bounce.
136* JustifiedSavePoint: Save Guys (yes, ''Save Guys'') appear on the overworld in various locations, keeping track of our heroine's progress.
137* KamehameHadoken: The Flashbolt attack and the Fireball magic family.
138* KickTheDog: Well, hair-whip the dog, in Risky's Revenge. You even get gems and a Steam achievement for it! In a less literal sense, you also get an achievement for withholding the dog from its master.
139* LateArrivalSpoiler: The fact that [[spoiler:Shantae is BroughtDownToNormal at the end of Risky's Revenge]] is such in Pirate's Curse. The fact that [[spoiler:Risky and Shantae work together]] in ''Pirate's Curse'' is also briefly lampshaded in ''Half-Genie Hero'''s "Ninja Mode", where Shantae points out that [[spoiler:Risky seems to have completely forgotten that adventure]].
140* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Risky [[spoiler:robs Shantae of the magical stones]] the pause menu shows up [[spoiler: and the four stones get removed from your inventory]].
141* LegendFadesToMyth: The series is implied to take place long AfterTheEnd of our civilization. Numerous references are made to an Old World, with all of the modern technology in the series being excavated and replicated by artifact hunters like Uncle Mimic. What exactly happened to the old civilization is unknown.
142* {{Leitmotif}}: The first few seconds of the title theme are reused quite a bit in ''Risky's Revenge''. Risky Boots has her own Leitmotif in the first game. [[spoiler:It's one of the clues that the guardian genie of Bandit Town isn't what she claims to be. [[PaperThinDisguise Not that it wasn't obvious already...]]]]
143* LetsPlay: On Website/YouTube, a user named Brickroad did a 59-part Let's Play of Shantae. You can find it [[https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=41D0DFF62BCAFA50 here]]. [=WayForward=] actually linked to this LP on their official site... and when they heard that Brickroad would be unable to play ''Risky's Revenge'' because he didn't have a Platform/DSi, '''they bought him one.''' Several of the LP's injokes even make it into ''Risky's Revenge!''
144** A guy called [=SilverDSlite=] did a Let's Play of the sequel on Website/YouTube, claiming it to be the first ''Risky's Revenge'' LP on the site. It can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL71D9440839FFC4D1&feature=view_all here.]]
145** Brickroad has also done his own Let's Play of ''Risky's Revenge'', using the iOS version, apparently at the behest of [=WayForward=].
146* LikeBrotherAndSister: [[ChivalrousPervert Bolo]] sees Shantae like a sister, so she is off his radar when it comes to chasing women.
147* LovableSexManiac: Bolo, pretty much. He has a crush on Risky, thinks Rottytops is cute, and brags that good looks run in his family -- just look at his grandmother...
148* MacGuffinDeliveryService:
149** In the first game, [[spoiler:Risky steals all the Relics from Shantae after Shantae collects them all.]]
150** Shantae expects this to happen again in the sequel, [[SubvertedTrope but is surprised when it doesn't]]... at which point she learns [[spoiler:Risky instead kidnapped Mimic to force Shantae [[DoubleSubvertedTrope to trade over the Magic Seals]]]].
151** In ''Pirate's Curse'', [[spoiler:not only does the Pirate Master steal all of the pirate equipment Shantae has been collecting, he also has Shantae release the dark magic she's been collecting for him in exchange for Risky's life. However, it turns out that the dark magic has since changed into light magic due to being in close proximity of [[AllLovingHero our heroine]], and so Shantae gets powered up instead of the BigBad]]. When Shantae ponders this at the end, she learns that Risky [[BatmanGambit predicted that outcome]].
152** In ''Half-Genie Hero'', Risky surrenders the blueprints to Mimic's Dynamo after that first boss fight. [[spoiler:Truth be told, Risky had tampered with the blueprints so that the device meant to protect Scuttle Town would instead be used to corrupt the magic of the Genie Realm. She comes to collect once the device is fully functional, gloating that she tricked Shantae into assembling the MacGuffin for her.]]
153* MascotMook: Risky's Tinkerbat pirates, though they're not so much traditionally cute as much as [[UglyCute strange]] and amusing. You can even turn into one if you play the original game on the Platform/GameBoyAdvance, and ''Half-Genie Hero'' reintroduces the transformation to Kickstarter/Paypal backers who pledged $55 or higher.
154* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Inverted. A majority of enemies are female.
155* MercyInvincibility: Taking damage will trigger this.
156* MsFanservice: Shantae herself, and Rotty to some extent, but ''especially'' Risky.
157** It's safe to say that ''all'' female entities barring children, a few N.P.Cs, and certain enemies are Ms. Fanservice in [[CuteMonsterGirl one way]] or [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure another]].
158* MissingMom: Shantae's mom "had" to leave her in order protect the human world from inside the Genie Realm. The same goes for all the other half-genies that Shantae meets.
159* MoneyForNothing: While it varies from game to game, it really doesn't take much effort in any of them to earn enough gems to buy every upgrade and item in the shops. ''Half Genie Hero'' and ''Seven Sirens'' are the biggest offenders, as the process of replaying levels or exploring the world for hidden stuff as you unlock new powers will net you enough money to buy everything two-thirds into the game. In addition, the former has an optional dance you can buy that outright ''creates gems'', while the latter lets you cash in excess cards for gems once you reach Armor Town.
160* MoneySpider: Zombies in ''Pirate's Curse'' drop a gem when their heads are knocked off, then another when they explode. Defeating their bodies is also like to drop one, so farming money off of them is quite easy.
161* MookMaker: The holes in the walls that continuously drop snake enemies on you.
162* NonMammalMammaries: Sequin Land is home to mermaids, harpies, lamias, spiders, slimes, and scorpion-women among others, many of whom Shantae can transform into. All of them have visible breasts.
163* NonLinearSequel: ''Risky Revolution'' retroactively became this, taking place between the first game and ''Risky's Revenge'', but releasing long after the both of them.
164* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Mimic, who is apparently a historian, an engineer and an ''archaeologist'' -- he found Shantae's lamp while on a dig.
165* OneGenderRace: Genies are AlwaysFemale in this universe.
166* OrbitingParticleShield: The Pike Balls, which which orbit around Shantae body when used / cast.
167* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Water dragons are blue, reptilian monsters that hide within waterfalls and lunge out to ambush passers-by. Only their heads are seen, which have toothy maws, horns, slit pupils, and fins framing their faces. A red version lives in the lavafalls in the Oubliette of the Damned.
168* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Rottytops and the other zombies are as intelligent as anyone else, and maintain their intelligence and sanity by consuming coffee. However, they are not above eating brains, [[EatTheDog or in Rottytops's case, puppies.]]
169* ParentalAbandonment: Shantae's mother was apparently raptured away into the Genie Realm; her father's absence, however, remains a mystery.
170* PirateGirl: Risky Boots, and in ''Pirate's Curse'' Shantae herself is pressed into becoming one [[spoiler: to make up for her lost magic.]]
171* PortTown: Scuttle Town is one, and it's where Risky Boots docks her ship.
172* PostDefeatExplosionChain: This is standard for bosses. Virtually anyone bigger than Shantae herself will go up like a string of firecrackers once defeated. They're also seemingly [[NonFatalExplosions harmless]]; characters that have been thus defeated can show up later none the worse for wear, and RecurringBoss Squid Baron remarks that "you get used to it" after a few fights.
173* PrehensileHair: Shantae's ponytail is a deadly whip! According to the [[MagicAIsMagicA rules of the 'verse]], half-genie powers are almost always "quirky" such as having prehensile hair or being able to shoot milk out of your eye. [[spoiler: ''Risky's Revenge'' suggests her prehensile hair was actually inherited from her father or otherwise her own unique skill, and is not a half-genie power. Her self-taught [[MagicDance belly-dancing transformations]] are.]]
174* ProtagonistTitle: The series is named after its protagonist, with the first having just her name. All the sequels, as noted by Shantae herself, utilize either a colon or the CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase formula.
175* RecurringRiff: "Dance Room", "Burning Town", and "Boss Battle" are each remixed in each of the games after the first (though with the removal of the actual dance room the former track serves as Scuttle Town's theme).
176* RedIsHeroic: Shantae's default outfit is a red bedlah.
177* RunningGag:
178** In each game except the first and the fifth, somebody fires Shantae from her job as Guardian Genie of Scuttle Town, only to rehire her by the end of the game[[note]]Mayor Scuttlebutt fires her in ''Risky's Revenge'' and ''Half-Genie Hero'' while a Sequin Land Royal Guard fires her in ''Pirate's Curse''[[/note]].
179** In every game following the first, there is at least one gag concerning how the developers once confused "east for west" in the Game Boy Color game and wasted many a gamer's time.[[note]]Sky tells you that your next destination is east on the map, but it's actually west. Since the map is WrapAround, you'll still get there ''eventually'', but the realization of how close the location actually is to where you started once you finally do is painful.[[/note]] One of the characters in ''Seven Sirens'' even reassures you that she knows her west from her east.
180* SeashellBra: The problem behind this idea is demonstrated in the following post in Shantae's Website/{{Twitter}} [[CharacterBlog account]] when she was trying to find something to cover herself [[GoneSwimmingClothesStolen after someone stole her clothes while she was swimming]].
181--> '''Shantae:''' [[https://twitter.com/Shantae_WF/status/25517291070 Well, I’ve tried wearing all sorts of aquatic creatures and am pretty badly hurt at this point.]]
182** An averted trope with the Mermaid enemies, who are topless but undetailed. Played straight in ''Half-Genie Hero'' when we meet the Mermaids' titanic Queen.
183* ReverseShrapnel: The Pike Ball and Fireball items.
184* RewardingVandalism: Breaking pots usually gives Shantae some money.
185* ScaryScarecrows: Enemies in the games. In the first game they come out from the tall background grass in certain areas continuously. In ''Risky's Revenge'' they can either walk, throw exploding pumpkins, or spew some sort of gas.
186* SchizoTech:
187** Scuttle Town hasn't reached steam power yet, but there's an automatic coffee machine, and the friendly neighborhood zombies have ''plastic explosives?''
188** A four-year-old in Scuttle Town somehow has a digital watch.
189** One of Shantae's remarks in the [[http://twitter.com/#!/Shantae_WF/status/25729737875 recap]] mentions how the first labyrinth boss [[AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles looks like something from her Uncle's animes]].
190** The Ammo Baron's forces are kitted out with tanks, rifles, and "potato masher" stick grenades. He tries to upgrade his artillery to use computerized targeting.
191** Most of this might be LostTechnology, as some things are occasionally mentioned as explicitly coming from a previous lost era.
192* ScorpionPeople: [=ScorpGals=] are a recurring enemy resembling red-skinned humans with six-legged scorpion torsos, and are found in [[ShiftingSandLand desert areas]]. They attack either [[BewareMyStingerTail with their stingers]] or with scimitars. There are indeed males (named [=ScorpMen=]) who attack with their stingers at range, though they are rarer than their female counterparts, appearing in the GBC game and ''Seven Sirens''.
193* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: Shantae was rather self-conscious about her appearance during the official recap, while Risky was flat-out stated to have ''modesty'' as one of her Dislikes in the [[https://youtu.be/STfLWs6XGkM?t=142 Risky's Revenge OST Trailer]]. It's also pretty clear based on their character portraits in the games as well: Shantae will usually have rather unassuming or cute portraits, while Risky has more poses designed to flaunt her figure, including [[MaleGaze bending over]] and [[TitsAndAssPose T&A]] poses.
194** Being a [[HeelFaceTurn former]] [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain antagonist of sorts]], Rottytops flips the trope entirely by having no shame about her looks, and out of all the girls that got captured in ''Pirate's Curse'', she enjoyed wearing her princess outfit the most.
195* ShiftingSandLand: The game ''does'' have a vaguely Arabian theme, so deserts are all over the place.
196* ShoutOut:
197** Many other [=WayForward=] games pay tribute to Shantae in them somewhere; ''Risky's Revenge'' features several references to other games developed by the company.
198*** One of the alternate costumes in ''Half-Genie Hero'' is the uniform of Patty Wagon from ''VideoGame/MightySwitchForce''.
199** Thanks to Brickroad's LetsPlay, there's a character in the second game called Barracuda Joe.
200*** If you watched BR's LP, you should remember the point where he threw a fit after realizing that Sky told him to go the wrong way. In ''Risky's Revenge'', Sky scolds Bolo's sense of direction: "What kind of moron doesn't know EAST from WEST?" This joke has escalated further in Half-Genie Hero - Sky's hatchery has a sign with a compass on it, backed by a gigantic arrow pointing east.
201** Several of Matt's favorite games also show up in one way or another: Shantae's drinking animation resembles Link's from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''/''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', while her death animation follows Samus' movements from several ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games.
202** "[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest And grabbing the white crystal in hand, I knelt for several seconds at what appeared to be an ordinary cliff face...]]"
203** In ''Risky's Revenge'', the shop's description of the Flamethrower spell is "[[Film/{{Spaceballs}} Kids love it!]]"
204** When Mimic is describing his adventures in ''RR'', he talks about [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk replacing a relic on a pressure plate]] by [[ToiletHumour emptying his bowels]].
205** Matt Bozon reveals in an [[http://www.girlgamer.com/zine/article/2985/ interview]] that the title of ''Shantae: Half-Genie Hero'' was inspired by ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''.
206** The sequel's TitleDrop ends with the line [[VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars "Let's attack aggressively!"]]
207** One of the Steam Achievements in ''Risky's Revenge'' is "[[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie Got the Touch, Got the Power]]"
208** In ''Pirate's Curse'', Shantae thinks the Dancer Outfit makes her look like a "[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi space princess]]''.
209** Also in ''Pirate's Curse'', Twitch and Vinegar while stripping down into their swimsuits remark that one should be careful to not [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 "cross the beams"]] emitted off their skins.
210** The outside scenery of Mud Bog Island in ''Pirate's Curse'' is an homage to the Sea of Corruption from ''Anime/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind''. It even has shells of giant pillbugs.
211** In ''Half Genie Hero'', enemies die by [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros blasting off out of the screen with a particle effect explosion]].
212** The controls for Shantae's Harpy Dance form are ripped straight from ''VideoGame/{{Joust}}''. The first game even has a BossBattle using the [[DeathFromAbove same technique]] used to defeat enemies in that game.
213** At one point in ''Half-Genie Hero'', Grandma Blobfish requests Shantae to bring her a new hat. The one she ends up giving her is called the [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants Foxy Grandma]] hat.
214** ''The Seven Sirens'' features a room that acts as a HubLevel which can warp you to different areas of the game. The entrance to this room is labeled with a [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} Warp Star]].
215*** The Water Lily Siren from the same game can summon giant thorny stems that are remarkably similar to the Skewers from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker''.
216* ShyBlueHairedGirl: A purple-haired variant is hinted at in ''Risky's Revenge''.
217* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Firmly on the silly side. The series wears how silly it is like a badge, with lampshades, [[NoFourthWall fourth wall]] breaking, and meta humor all over the place. The games are able to put such antics on pause whenever things get serious towards to end of their respective plots though, such as when [[KnightOfCerebus the Pirate]] [[VileVillainSaccharineShow Master]] shows up the third game.
218* SnakePeople: The Naga enemies. Prior to the release of ''Half-Genie Hero,'' a Naga form was even demoed and concepted for Shantae herself, while there's a Naga merchant who appears in several places in the game itself.
219* SpikeBallsOfDoom: Shantae's Pike Balls, which orbit around her body when used.
220* SpikesOfDoom: Present in some places. Instant kill in the first game, return to the room's entrance minus a bit of health in all subsequent ones.
221* SpriteComic: There is one made by Matt Bozon in the [[http://s111111919.onlinehome.us/shantae/GG_Index.htm original Shantae website's]] Gallery called "Bolo gets Taken Out". In short, it is about the girls of ''Shantae'' trying to get a date with Bolo for the Harbor Town Festival.
222* StatusQuoIsGod: Don't expect Shantae to find out any concrete details about her parents' whereabouts, or for Bolo and Sky to make any progress with starting romantic relationships, or Risky Boots to drop her villainous ways and become a good person.
223* {{Steampunk}}: Actually, the onset of Steampunk technology is something you're trying to ''prevent.'' [[TheWorldIsNotReady Sequin Island is not ready.]] And when Uncle Mimic tries to ''make'' it ready in ''Half-Genie Hero'', Risky is along to bugger it up.
224* StockFemurBone: Some of the enemies in the original game and ''Risky's Revenge'' disintegrate into these when killed.
225* {{Stripperiffic}}: Almost, if not ''every'' female character in the game. Primarily achieved through outfits that show off some bare bellies. There's even a stripperiffic ''zombie.''
226* SultryBellyDancer: This is how Shantae transforms into her various animal forms. This is also her day job.
227* SuperDrowningSkills: In the first game. She has learned to swim in ''Risky's Revenge'' though.
228* {{Trilogy}}: The original game, ''Risky's Revenge'' and ''Shantae and the Pirate's Curse'' are considered the "sprite trilogy". Double as a TwoPartTrilogy: the first game being a standalone story, while "Risky's Revenge" ends with a few [[SequelHook Sequel Hooks]] that are directly addressed in "Pirate's Curse".
229* UnexpectedGameplayChange: There are a few.
230** In the first game, the (very unforgiving) RacingMinigame against Rottytops.
231** The [[UnexpectedShmupLevel Shoot 'em Up]] section in the Sunken Cavern in ''Risky's Revenge''.
232** "Run Run Rottytops!" in ''Pirate's Curse'', in which Shantae cannot attack, and must survive a long obstacle course while carrying Rottytops, with both girls as a OneHitPointWonder.
233** The stealth section on Tan Line Island in ''Pirate's Curse'', where most of the enemies are invulnerable and will send Shantae back to her quarters rather than hurting her.
234* VagueAge: [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/515/977/2f8 Despite a brief instance of fans believing the titular character is 16]], none of the characters have an exact age, with Shantae and her friends simply being defined as young adults.
235* VagueStatValues:
236** In ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'' and ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'', the precise range of the PowerUpMagnet passive effect, "Attract" and its stronger versions are unstated:
237---> '''Attract:''' Automatically draws in nearby Gems and Hearts!
238---> '''Super Attract:''' Automatically draws in Gems and Hearts from a greater distance!
239---> '''Max Attract:''' Automatically draws in Gems and Hearts from a significant distance!
240** ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': The Revive Dance restores "some" health while its stronger version, Super Revive Dance, restores all health.
241* WallCrawl: Shantae can do this in her monkey or spider transformations. The monkey form lets her climb up side walls, whereas the spider form lets her crawl along background walls.
242* WorldOfActionGirls: Keeping to the game's flavor, the vast majority of strong characters and a lot of the stronger monsters in this game are female. Of the few major male characters, Mimic is [[DistressedDude rather helpless]] and Bolo is a [[PluckyComicRelief comic relief character]]. Also, genies are {{Always Female}}.
243* WorldOfBuxom: And for that matter, pretty much every single female character fails to be lacking in the chest department. Bouncing is a common sight.
244* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: Natural hair colors unlikely in real life such as the purple of Shantae and Risky Boots, blue of Bolo, and green of Rottytops and her brothers, are all treated as nothing out of the ordinary.
245* XtremeKoolLetterz: The Leetspeak-esque "ret-2-go". It serves as Shantae's {{catchphrase}} and originates as an in-joke in the studio dating back to the game ''Xtreme Sports''.
246* YankTheDogsChain: Every game from ''Risky's Revenge'' onwards will have some sort of tease about Shantae's [[ParentalAbandonment parents]].

Top