Shantae: Half-Genie Hero and General Thread

Won't it be hillarious when its discovered both Shantae and Risky are also part of the Seven Sirens

The Wayforward account specifically said "we don't want to spoil everything yet, but there are seven ladies in the image aside from Shantae". Not sure if that's too obvious a bluff to be a bluff, or what.

I expect Risky Boots to be the Big Bad again, even if the Sirens are also antagonists. She's pretty consistently been the series Big Bad. One of the only times she wasn't was when her former boss came back. And I don't expect the Pirate Master to return.

Edited by M84 on Aug 14th 2019 at 11:09:58 PM

I really liked Pirate's Curse specifically because it made Risky do something other than her typical "oh no, Bowser has kidnapped Peach again!" Excuse Plot. And it was fun getting all the character banter in, say, the desert palace level.

Looks great. I like the idea of a non-linear world and a bit of the ol' Metroidvania.

direct feed of the (presumably) first dungeon

also a reminder that the game is still very early in development

more monster girl waifu!

A couple of things to list off from that video;

• It looks like the Crabs evolved, because now they have Lobster-Man variants!
• The looks to have four Dance Forms and five Fusion Forms, with one of the latter being Dash Newt, who takes the place of Monkey due to having the ability to run up and dash on walls. Fusion Forms come from Fusion Coins, and they're a part of regular Shantae's abilities rather than connected to any Dance Form, so you can use Fusion Forms instantly. I think these were made to address the complaints fans had with the Dance Forms, due to constantly pausing the game just to scroll a menu and select a form.
• Wetmen are back!
• Heart Squids are back. I wonder if the Squidsmith is back too?
• There's a Mini-Boss fight against Risky Boots in the first dungeon, but it ends pretty quickly even though she seems stronger than Shantae should combat her at this point in the game, so it's most likely just a preview for the actual fight against her later on.
• The Boss Battle Theme's pretty funky. I'm just happy that it'a not another remix of the same Boss Battle Theme they've using since the first game, and instead sounds something totally new.
• When you beat the Dungeon Boss, the congratulatory message says "Chapter Clear!", so this game looks to be divided in chapters. If I were to guess I'd say that there's eight total, one for each of the Seven Sirens, and the eighth being the last one.

It's looking pretty neat so far actually! A few thoughts I suppose?

-I kind of wish the sprites got a bit of a touch up. Not that I hate Half-Genie Heroes Sprites. They obviously serve their function well and half-genie hero looks great, but this really feels similar in nature to that game minus the metrovania aspects. I can't say how different everything else will be as the game obviously hasn't come out yet, but I hope to see some more original art as well.

-Some people are sick of the boss battle them, but honestly, this new one isn't going to beat the previous iterations anytime soon. I might be a minority, but I really loved the fact that they did remix the previous theme and MADE IT BETTER each time. It's that good imo. Shantae music rocks and I don't mind a change of pace, but this really isn't doing much for me.

-Heart Squids make their appearance once again. Another fetch quest I assume?

-Since we have Chapters, I'm guessing while this game will have non-linear segments we'll have a more connected story this time around. 1 per siren. But if what was teased is true and we include everyone on the cover art as a potential siren, I'm guessing Shantae will have Chapter as well? Maybe for a beginner round to show her life I suppose.

I'm more willing to believe that Shantae's life would be seen in more a 'prologue' like in Half-Genie Hero rather than a full-blown chapter. Risky Boots, on the other hand, could very well hog the final chapter of the game for herself... And I think that Squid Baron is going to be a filler boss once again...

Edited by CybranGeneralSturm on Sep 2nd 2019 at 11:32:16 AM

Here's more than 30 minutes of Seven Sirens, courtesy of GameXplain;

A couple of things I want to note;

• It seems that this is "PART 1", with "PART 2" being stated to "arrive via a free future update." Since this is the Apple Arcade version being recorded, I wonder if this whole "PARTS" thing is exclusive to that, and the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch versions will have all of the content upon release? Either way, it kinda reminds me of a cut concept from Risky's Revenge, where the original game was planned to be Episodic.
• I have a feeling that the Half-Genie Festival has more behind it than meets the eye. With that said, I don't think the Mayor of Arena Town is as trustworthy as he presents himself.
• Maybe I'm looking too deep into this, but am I the only one who finds Harmony and "Fillin The Blank" a liiiiiiiittle suspicious?
• Oooooo, Voiced Animated Cutscenes! Neato! That was one of the Stretch Goals for Hal-Genie Hero that I was disappointed never got funded. Now I want a Shantae cartoon.
• With this game seemingly incorporating other disregarded elements for past games (The Episodic approach for Risky's Revenge and Voiced Animated Cutscenes for Half-Genie Hero), I wonder if it'll incorporate other cutting room floor material for the franchise?
• It seems we can acquire more than one Monster Card for each Monster. For what purpose, though? Does each card run out after each use, so you then need to restock once you're all out?
• ....What is with the musclemen with fish for heads?
• I really like how the Orcs look in the Half-Genie Hero style.

Seven Sirens part 1 will be out on the Apple Arcade tomorrow.

Man, September's been a good month for WayForward. First River City Girls releasing earlier this month, and now Shantae and the Seven Sirens launching with the Apple Arcade tomorrow.

Edited by WolfThunder on Sep 18th 2019 at 6:57:08 AM

What can you say, Wayforward likes them some pixel art, cute girls, and games with personality. I'm just glad they get to make the kind of games they want to, you can really tell when there's a license they put their passion in.

Do we have a release date for non-Apple platforms?

"Soon."

I'm going to guess that after all the parts are done, there will be a Shantae and the Seven Sirens: Complete Edition or something similar before another game in the series is made.

Here's a full video of PART 1 of Seven Sirens;

Watched the video and well, the Mermaids are hostile again but we don't know why yet. In Pirate's Curse, it could be presumed that they were corrupted by the Pirate Master's Dark Magic flowing out from the Den of Evil on Saliva Island, there's no explanation as to why they attack in Risky's Revenge, and in Half-Genie Hero they only attacked because the Techno Baron captured their queen so after she's freed all of the mermaid enemies are replaced by Nagas.

Edited by CybranGeneralSturm on Oct 1st 2019 at 5:11:32 AM

For the mermaids: could be controlled by a different Queen. Or due to the sirens' influence.

Also, I do think the parts will be Arcade-exclusive. Apple probably wanted Shantae to bolster the Arcade's catalog.

Good overview of why Shantae is a memorable character, from her visual design to her gameplay styles to her personality.

Both "Part 2" and the full Home Console version of Seven Sirens has been pushed to Spring 2020.

More info here and here.

May 28th

I have to feel bad for take those games plot and lore more seriously tham I should ? I know is wrong, but I can't help myself,like with Sonic and Mario sometimes.

Shantae and the Seven Sirens PS4 and Switch limited print physical edition pre-orders open May 15