About 20 years ago, few probably could’ve guessed that the Shantae series would be firing on all cylinders by now. The initial release of this charming Metroidvania series saw a release late in the life of the Game Boy Color and never received the spotlight it deserved, but after about a ten-year hiatus, the series came back and has been seeing a new entry every few years. The latest of these is Shantae and the Seven Sirens, a sort of ‘back to basics’ entry in the series that sees a return to previous series staples like an interconnected map and themed dungeons. Through taking such cues from the handful of games that preceded it, Shantae and the Seven Sirens demonstrates in abundance that WayForward has nailed down what makes this series so enjoyable.
The story picks up with Shantae and her crew taking a vacation to a tropical island paradise, where a half-genie festival is being thrown in which Shantae and five other new half-genies are the guests of honour. Shortly after the curtain rises on their first belly-dancing performance, a sinister force swoops in and kidnaps everyone but Shantae. It’s soon revealed that their disappearance was linked to the eponymous Seven Sirens who live beneath the island, and it’s up to Shantae to save the day and hopefully still have time to get some sun on her much-needed vacation.
As expected for the series, the storyline itself isn’t anything particularly memorable, but nonetheless remains consistently excellent due to the strong writing at play. The plot is treated with a kind of snarky irreverence that shines through in some fashion in nearly all the dialogue, which keeps the tone lighthearted and bubbly. It’s a given that not all the jokes land quite the same, but it’s tough to not become enamoured with the constant barrage of self-aware humour and fourth-wall-breaking jokes. Shantae and the Seven Sirens doesn’t take itself seriously at all and it’s stronger for it, leading to some deliciously absurd subplots that are sure to delight.
Gameplay takes the shape of a standard Metroidvania, with you slowly unlocking access to more of the map as you gain more transformations and abilities for Shantae. You’ll spend most of your time traipsing back and forth throughout the map in search of new secrets and collectables to strengthen your combat prowess, but the storyline will also route you through several dungeons that play out a bit like the sort you’d find in older Zelda games. These dungeons are easily some of the highest points of Shantae and the Seven Sirens, as they feature the perfect blend of self-contained exploration, puzzle-solving and combat, along with a new upgrade of some sort that’s required to finish the dungeon and beat the boss at the end.
When not crawling through a dungeon, the overworld still has plenty of solid platforming challenges and light combat, but part of what makes it all such a dream to play through is the new approach to transformations. Taking a cue from Pirate’s Curse, transformations are now a simple matter of pressing a button or holding a direction to instantly activate the necessary ability. It may not sound like a major change, but the freedom of not having to pause and perform a dance every single time you need to climb a wall or break a block proves to have a surprising effect on the overall flow. Fans need not worry that the dances have been completely dropped, however, as they now take the shape of one-off spells that manage to still be helpful while not needing to be triggered on every screen. WayForward did an effective job of listening to fan feedback in this respect, as transformations are now easier to use than ever before, and each one feels like it’s properly utilized throughout the whole adventure.
Shantae’s combat prowess is more effective than ever, too, as you can now depend on both the traditional shop system and a new collectable card system for buffing her up. As per usual, gems can be spent on new sub-weapons and upgrades to your hair whip, giving Shantae plenty of room for growth while also expanding her repertoire to a rather diverse offering. Most enemies don’t require much more than a few quick whips to dispatch, but having the extra combat options goes a long way towards giving the gameplay more variety.
Defeated enemies will also occasionally drop cards, of which there are several dozen. These can do things like increasing certain movement speeds and raising the effectiveness of some tools, and you can equip up to three at a time on Shantae to utilize their benefits. Though not game-changing by any means, it’s satisfying how this adds a light means of creating a ‘build’ for Shantae, and the number of available cards practically guarantees that there’s always something new to try out as you keep progressing.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens clocks in at around ten hours to beat on your first playthrough, but you’re encouraged to keep re-running it via New Game+ and speedruns, with new win screens being unlocked for hitting certain objectives. Some may decry the relatively short length, but we’d argue that this is a great example of the ‘less is more’ principle in play. Those ten hours are a good time, and we found ourselves jumping back in for another run immediately upon the first clear. There’s something to be said about a game that’s designed to be all killer and no filler, offering up a somewhat brief but consistently great experience that’s not concerned with wasting your time.
WayForward decided to splash for some flashy animated cutscenes this time around, and they add a great deal of production value to this short but sweet adventure. Upon booting up the game, you’re greeted by an opening movie produced by none other than Studio Trigger, and various short scenes will also play at key moments in the story as you progress. These scenes are each impressively well animated, and they match the 2D art style beautifully. WayForward has tossed out the 3D backgrounds and environments of Half-Genie Hero in favour of an all-2D approach, and it’s a change for the better. Though the old look was excellent in its own right, this slightly adjusted art style gives the adventure an overall more coherent feel. Each screenshot looks like a piece of concept art in the best of ways, and WayForward takes full advantage of this with the varied and colourful island setting it’s chosen.
Unfortunately, the legendary Jake Kaufman didn’t return to compose the soundtrack for Shantae and the Seven Sirens, but we’re pleased to report that the music hasn’t suffered a major dip in quality in his absence. The whole soundtrack consists of an energetic mixture of chiptune and pop music, and there are plenty of catchy tracks here that’ll stick with you even after you’ve put down the game. Alongside this, voice acting remains top-notch across the board, with each character putting on a suitably hammy and over the top performance.
Conclusion
In many ways, it feels like Shantae and the Seven Sirens is the culmination of everything WayForward has learned since that initial release a little less than two decades back. Shantae and the Seven Sirens pulls some of the best elements from the titles that came before it – such as the dungeons and fast transformations – while adding in several cool new ones too, like the collectable cards and lovable new characters. A short but sweet runtime, well-drawn visuals, a catchy soundtrack and a well-designed map make this one an easy recommendation to anybody looking for the next must-have Metroidvania for their Switch.
Comments 92
Wasn't expecting such a high score. Can't wait
Sorry, but it's Shulk time right now.
I really don't like the artstyle of these later games. I really prefer the pixel art.
I've never played a Shantae game before but I love Metroidvanias, might have to pick this one up after Xenoblade.
@theiRiS I'm surprised they're calling this a "Metroidvania." I had the Shantae game on the Wii U, and that was was essentially Rayman.
I have enjoyed this series and am planning on picking this up.
@TheFox Not sure which game you played then, as they are all considered to be Metroidvanias (that includes Pirate's Curse and Half-Genie, both of which were on the Wii U) =0p
What's the difficulty like? I love Shantae as a concept, but the only one I've ever been able to complete is 1/2 Genie Hero, and that's only because I discovered a way to get lots of gems at the start and max out her stats.
I was expecting this to be good but not that good.
Wow I definitely need to pre order a physical copy for Switch and PS4 asap. Thanks for the review:)
Look forward to picking this up later this year but will wait for a price drop to $20 and need a bit of a break from the genre right now. Glad they ditched the sterile 2.5 d look here, though it looks a notch or 2 below Monsterboy
I’m Ret 2 go for this game.
I barely played the original on 3ds (via vc), but this review has me intrigued that I might pick this up.
Looking forward to this. I own all previous 4 games, although I only played the first thanks to the GBC Virtual Console on 3DS (after all it's the most expensive GBC game in existence), and fell in love with the character and the setting.
It surprises me the way reviews of this game somehow consider Half-Genie Hero not as good as it seemed back when it released.
I quote from Nintendo Life's review: "this is the most polished Shantae game yet, and we can’t wait to see where the Half-Genie Hero goes from here." Why the change of mind here and in other reviews? Why Half-Genie Hero suddenly is the black sheep of the series?
By the way, that game got a special edition easily available everywhere.
Why are we begging for a normal release (not limited and expensive like the one already announced) for this new entry?
I started it last night and I’m enjoying it greatly. I just hope it doesn’t get overlooked by all the other game releases.
@TheFox Which one, Half Genie Hero? That one was a bit different, as it was half linear platformer and half metroidvania, but all the other games are purely metroidvania games.
Straight to the evergrowing wishlist! Another awesome metroidvania is always welcome
Charming Story:Check
Beautiful Visuals:Check
Catchy Soundtrack:Check
Great Levels:Check
The only thing missing is amazing controls and we're golden
The series is so solid I picked it up pre-review. It's the best entry since Pirate's Curse
@ermzzz Much more balanced and paced this time around. The bosses are a bit annoying in that you'll get attacked when you "solve the puzzle" and try to attack, but it's fine. After the third dungeon, do not hesitate to use the magic shields.
Long time fan of the series and Jake Kaufman's work (too bad he isn't in this one), finished Half-Genie Hero last week and Seven Sirens sounds like a no brainer
It's a MASSIVE return to form for the series. Really, it's the game I wanted when I first kickstarted Half-Genie Hero.
This game has integrated many of the best elements from previous titles while still managing to improve the formula.
WayForward outdid themselves this time.
@TheFox Half-Genie Hero traded the non-linear exploration and connected world of previous games for a more arcadey, stage-based approach, but still tried to include backtracking. It didn't work. Seven Sirens is back to the world design of older Shantae titles.
@Blooper987 Out of curiosity, what don't you like about the controls?
Yeah loved pirates curse. Got half genie but only played about 10 mins. Yeah I want this but will have to wait for a sale. Too many options ahhhh xxxxx
I'm almost finished with the iOS version of Seven Sirens. It is very much a Metroidvania game, to whoever said that it isn't.
Metroidvania.
Anyone else tired of hearing that word?
Where does the (absolutely wrong, in my opinion) term "Metroidvania" come from?
"Metroidvania" is a term coined by some journalist to describe games like Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night. Maybe just "Metroid-like games" would have worked just fine.
@Ralizah I was joking about how it didn't mention them in the pros. Haven't picked it up yet but I'm now determined to do so. I did pick up a demo of risky's revenge on the app store. It played terribly but all mobile ports of console games do (;
I love the art style, but I wish they went back to the retro graphics we saw with Pirate’s Curse. That game also had the best music.
I sadly have to wait a long time until I can play this game. I ordered the special edition from Limited Run Games, and they said it will take 2-4 months until they can ship it. Sucks... I want to play it now!
@Darlinfan, I like the Metroidvania term myself. It's one of my favorite genres, and seeing the term used to describe a game instantly tells me what I'm getting into. People were suddenly asking where the term came from, so I tried to give them an answer lol.
@Blooper987 Ah, gotcha. Seven Sirens controls really well on Nintendo Switch, so I wouldn't worry about that.
This game has been partially available on the iphone's app store for a while now in a sort of "early access" state, but I don't think I could ever appreciate a game like this on a mobile device. I need buttons.
@RareFan If they stick to that 2 - 4 month window, expect it to be on the further end of that range. LRG takes forever to ship some of its games out. It has been particularly bad this year with the virus nonsense going on. I have a game from November 2019 that is just now shipping out.
@Ralizah, the full game has been available on Apple Arcade for the past couple of weeks. Part 1 was only available prior to that. And you can use Bluetooth controllers, including PS4 and X1 controllers.
@MrGrim @Ralizah
And thanks to you both to reminding me about it being on Apple Arcade! Downloading now...
Sad I never tried it before, but the backlog is gigantic ... and my time to play games was zero, now that I think about it.
@Moroboshi876 I haven't played any Shantae games, but it isn't that weird for fan and critic response to be different, especially over time. Skyward Sword is a great example: consistent high reviews, considered a black sheep and a controversial entry by fans. Or Paper Mario: Sticker Star: consistent 8/10 reviews, very much a black sheep of the franchise. And both of those games have their fans too.
@Dodger It happens almost every time a game tries to experiment with something new. I love Skyward Sword tho, one of the best in the series.
YOU DIDN’T SAY SHANTAE YOU STAY
For some reason I find the graphics in this really off-putting. I loved Half-Genie's art style but this looks weirdly flat and barren.
I wanna dance in her danger
I jumped in last night and immediately felt like the game was a great return to form for the series. I haven't gotten that far but the game, like all Shantae games, feels great to play and looks great. The music is definitely lower tier than HGH's soundtrack, but that's the only negative I can think of.
This site loves the word metroidvania
@Kirby_Girl I felt the same way but it grew on me.
@Hervine To be fair that is unanimously what these style of games are called. They are Action Exploration RPG's at heart.
Maybe we should coin the term AERPG.
This first one I played was The Pirate Curse. In the beginning, I liked it. I posted on Nintendo Life that. Then I reached later levels and I really think that the game is a total mess, projectiles, enemies coming from behind a waterfall, frogs jumping and enemies running all at the same time in the same place. This developer draws nice graphics and just throw things at you but don't really spend time making good level design. Some dungeons are fine but the maps are another mess. I tried other Shantae games and I can't like them because of this. It's all too cramped, even the music.
I was completely hooked on Pirate's Curse, but could not nearly get into any of the other games in the series due to the transformations. They could never achieve the synergy and wide-spread utility of the items in Pirate's Curse, so the adjustments to the transformations will have me taking a much closer look.
@Hervine As words go, I like Metroidvania, I am indifferent to Rougelike/Rougelite, and I really don’t like Shmup.
would this be a good jumping on point
@Sszx09 cheap
Great to see another great game landing on Switch, but I'll pick this up later down the line. I just got Bug Fables and have Clubhouse Games prepurchased.
@Kirby_Girl
I can understand that but this is what should have replaced pixel art. Not that flash looking stuff we see a lot of the time.
Pixel art can be good too but it has to be REALLY detailed and very well animated. If not I can't stand it.
@Jokerwolf But are they always RPG's? Gets back into that whole debate of "At what amount of math plus self-insertion is something an RPG?" debate. I've seen so many of these without equipment or spells that I prefer Map Crawler, myself (ala Dungeon Crawler).
@Dodger You're right, but what I meant was that even reviews talk now about that entry worse than they did back then. Anyway I think that all those gorgeous designs will be enough for me to really enjoy it as soon as I catch up with the series.
@Ralizah @Krisi It was Half Genie Hero that I had. I'm glad people are saying that that specific game was more of a standard platformer. I was starting to think I was going crazy... Or don't understand the concept of "metroidvania."
@KingBowser86 If you are gaining an item that powers you up that could be considered a lite RPG mechanic.
Ah, Shantae! Another successful adventure for her I see!
Very Good!! ^.^
Well, Now to buy it, I would like it physical, but did not pre-order it ... I do not know how reliable Limited Run games is and if they ship to Mexico without problems (the game is not on Amazon ...).
if not, I had to buy it digital ...
oh well...
Only one thing that I see that nobody said and I will say again:
Shantae for Smash!!!!!
Can I just state that I hate the name “metroidvania?”
The genre deserves something a little more elegant...
I put up with it for a long time, but it’s... wearing on me 😆
With the game been completely 2D there shouldn't be any differences in performance, resolution and framerate between platforms, right? I want to buy it on Switch but only if it runs well.
@SakuraHaruka Limited Run do ship to Mexico. It's not on Amazon because the physical version is exclusive to Limited Run as of right now.
I haven’t even seen ads for this game, but I’m definitely interested now.
I didnt realize the release for this was now! I loved the entire series, going to be getting this one real soon, glad it reviewed well
So far I have not played any Shantae game that is a technically bad game. Enjoyment is subjective and personally I have enjoyed all of them from the DSi ware to the Switch version.
@BlubberWhale ‘Shmup’ is worse than ‘Metroidvania’.
@sword_9mm Still looks on the cheaper side to me. Those backgrounds look so dull and mostly empty. I'm sure the gameplay is great It's just a bummer. I know pixel art requires effort but honestly so does a non-pixel style and other indie games like Hollow Knight look pretty breathless in comparison and that's gotta be a smaller team.
So tired of people complaining about the term Metroidvania... I´ll never understand. It´s short, sounds good, and tells very well what you´re going to find in that game.
And yes, Castlevania is included, because SotN made the Metroid essence different enough and well done to be considered one of the best 2D games ever made. It brought a lot of things Metroid didn´t, like RPG elements.
Please, stop talking about that in every article connected, and focus on the games reviewed... Will you still talk about this when other games like Hollow Knight 2 or Axiom Verge 2 get released...?
@Kalmaro I think you mean it's Reyn's time to shine!
@Nico07 Point made
@Kirby_Girl Shantae games have historically been great 2D pixel based mobile platformers starting on the GBC before others were released on the DS and 3DS. Only more recently did they switch to hand drawn characters with their Kickstarter based Shantae and the Half Genie Hero on current consoles including the Switch. This is a continuation of that same art style with a few improvements. For me the gameplay and quirky story are top notch, been waiting on this game for a while. Most of their games go for a cartoon style image over a more realistic one.
@ermzzz It's very easy. Enemies drop health items all the time and the platforming is pretty straightforward.
@Moroboshi876 I still stand by the high scores I gave it in both my reviews, but I can see how fans were upset by Wayforward switching to a level-based setup and dropping the great pixel graphics. I think the criticism of Half-Genie Hero is also something to be taken relatively. Some may say it's the 'worst' Shantae game, but it's still better than most other games in the genre.
@LUIGITORNADO To be fair, Shantae has a lot more in common with the Wonder/Monster Boy series than either Metroid or Castlevania.
It’s pretty obvious Way Forward is full of Wonder Boy fans; from the cutsey, bright aesthetic, and the beast transformations, to the simple RPG progression. The combat has a similar rhythm to that classic Sega series, too.
Been waiting a long time for this and a return to form. My ultimate wish is still a remake of the original which is still one of the best games in the whole series imo. While I'm not a fan of the 1/2 Genie Hero art style and think the Studio Trigger work is ugly as sin, I am looking forward to playing this when I get through Trials of Mana.
First game I ever prepurchased digitally. It's really fun so far and I can see going another round after I'm done. Still got to back and finish the last games DLC and start Pirates Curse which I bought months ago but forgot I had.
@Jokerwolf Yes, but having unlockable abilities is the only RPG mechanic the majority of them have. They're much closer to being considered 2D action exploration platformers.
Damn Shantae x hollownight? Sounds pretty compelling
@RPGamer I want a full Shantae series produced by whatever production company animated these gorgeous cutscenes. They're all short, but the animation quality is unbelievably good.
@TheFox Oh yeah, it's not you. HGH is an entirely different genre from the rest of the series. Even WayForward, the developer, describes its levels as being "arcade-style action stages."
It's not the worst game ever made, but I hate that HGH introduced so many people to the series and gave them the impression that it was just a series of sub-standard 2D platformers.
Gah, I've said "ret-2-go" because of the last game and wife gave me a look like I had Alzheimer's
Ten hours doesn't seem too short to me, and I have played the last few Shantae games. This will definitely be a game I will be picking up relatively soon.
@SwitchVogel I understand, thanks for the answer. Makes sense.
I agree that 10 hours isn't that bad, and it probably takes me longer anyway. Pirates curse took me around 10 hours and so did Metroid fusion. All great games.
Good to hear that its back to form, Half genie hero was a bit weak. As for Jake being not on the soundtrack: I was shocked at first, but the new tracks are REALLY good. In fact Jake wasn't at its best in Half genie hero, so maybe its better they chose different people to give it all a breath of fresh air (music wise).
@Kirby_Girl
Maybe. I have the first Shantae (half genie) that came out on the Switch and I think it looks really good. /shrug Maybe this one went backwards.
The only con is something you don't even mention in the review? Nice.
@mother_brain_85
I don’t know if I would use cheap to describe the look of the game lol, but I think it’s fair to say the high standard for 2D games is Cuphead, Monsterboy, SoR4 and this falls a bit short of those games. For a $30 release , I do think expectations can be a bit higher now.
10 hr playtime is fine but I like to see at least 1 hr of gameplay for every $2 spent. For these reasons I think WF is a bit high in their pricing here and will wait for a sale
@Kirby_Girl Yeah, it’s the proportions that I have an issue with. I don’t like these bobble head designs and prefer the Pirate’s Curse art style.
I'm still working on half genie hero so it will be a while before I get this one. Glad to see it reviewing well though.
I am very disappointed with this game. Every dungeon is bland and similar, with a god awful, identical encounter with risky boots prior to each caged genie. No variety. Only Metroidvania I’ve ever played that has me walking past save stations without saving because I’m sure that I won’t be at risk of dying. I’m surprised at the high score review. The charm of first 3 Shantae entrees is gone and I’m sad about it.
I am surprised that not many have commented about animation sprites during gameplay, which appear more blurrier and low resolution. This is compared to the previous title which had more higher resolution sprites for the characters in “half genie” on Switch. Perhaps WayForward can provide a software update fix soon.
@Tandy255 I can’t disagree with that! Lol
I usually say scrolling shooter, or to be specific, vertical/horizontal shooter.
@bobbybialo This game was originally released on iOS, that probably has a lot to do with it. It looks pretty disappointing in videos, graphics took a notable downgrade and it has that mobile feel.
@JayJ Ah, that makes.a lot of sense. That is exactly the feel I get from the game, good call. Not a bad game, just doesn’t hang in the same realm of the many outstanding games that we have received in this genre.
@bobbybialo Yeah I think it's an excellent mobile phone game but it falls short of the quality standards the series has built up on consoles over the years.
It's a good Metroidvania (in fact, it's much more like that genre than the series has ever been) and the control system is a genuine evolution for the series. Tonally, I'm not so keen. The series has gone very self-referential and has become too cutesy for my liking, as though they have decided it's better business to make it more innocent and they no longer have the same vision or passion to make it like the 2nd and 3rd games. Maybe I'm wrong but that's just my personal take.
Impatiently waiting for my physical to come in (I'm guessing this autumn?). I have three of the other Shantae's sitting side by side on my Wii U's interface. Such great games. I had to have a physical copy that I could share, so I can introduce them to this series.
The wait is eating me alive though :-0
Just finished it. A solid 7, 7.5 tops. Nowhere near 9, though.
Mostly forgettable dungeons, very few catchy tunes and ridiculous dance power-ups (compared to the previous two entries that are nothing short of stellar). Not to mention the bosses are ridiculously easy. The animation is really smooth, though, and the art style is amazing. The humor is also spot on most of the time.
Would say the only entry that I personally find worse is Risky's Revenge.
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