Topic: Shantae or Shovel Knight?

Which one do you think is better?
What things do you like most about them?
What are the biggest differences (apart from the fact that one of them carries a shovel) in terms of gameplay?

I must admit that I actually am not too much into Jump'n'Runs.
Albeit only because I such pretty much and am easily frustrated.
Anyway I can hardly resist games that are hyped that much and want to at least give them a try.
Though I know they are hard.

To find a compromise I am thinking about buying the VC Shantae, because I can make as many safepoints as I want.

All I can say is get Shovel Knight regardless,it really is fantastic.The graphics,the music,the variety,the level design,the challenge (although never frustrating).,the bosses,the surprises.Everything about it really,
I had my doubts it would fail to live up to the hype but in my opinion it actually surpassed it.I was blown away by this game and will remember it for a long time to come.For me it's GOTY.

As for Shantae,I've only played on the GBC and it's also a quality platformer but between the 2 ,Shovel Knight wins everytime.

Shantae, easily. The game can be kinda hard at times, but has a lot of content for a GBC game - and it's Shantae!
While Shovel Knight is great, it's way too short for its price tag. It also has close to no replayability, which is really disappointing.

Shovel Knight, no question. All of the Shantae games are pretty mediocre Platformers to be honest (although this site seems to have a weird obsession with Wayforward). Shovel Knight however is a game that manages to pretty perfectly recreate a difficult but rewarding NES-style Platformer. If you're not looking for an especially difficult experience then maybe Shovel Knight wouldn't be right for you, but I'd never recommend a Shantae game as an alternative.

@Kaze_Memaryu No replayability? For me it certainly has anyway.I have already run through most levels 2 or 3 times,seeing if I can do it without checkpoints and just for the sheer fun of it or to hear the fantastic soundtrack.Very rarely have I ever felt inclined to do that with any kind of game.

@Geonjaha I wouldn't say it's really that difficult.It gets it just right for me.Challenging but always egging you on to keep going knowing you can do it.Love this game haha

My impressions of Shantae after about an hour is that it's a better Castlevania 2 with the worst weapon possible.

Shovel Knight.

Interesting how opinions are extremely split between these two!
Thank you all for your opinions so far!

My first Shantae game is going to be Pirate's Curse next week on Wii U, but I;ve been hearing good things about the series for a while now.

As for Shovel Knight, there's no two ways around it: it's fantastic. It's a game that gets pretty much everything just right: graphics, music, controls, level of difficulty. Plus, tehre are a TON of free DLC coming to the game next year, including a Smash Bros-like arena mode and actual campaign for several of the bosses. If you enjoy good 2D platformers, get it. You won't regret this decision.

There are three Shantae games and I haven't bought any.

I bought Shovel Knight shortly after release. And I kinda regret not having pledged when it was on KS. One of my favorite eShop games, second only to Scram Kitty.

I'd rate them in this order:

1. Shantae: Risky's Revenge
2. Shovel Knight
3. Shantae (GBC)

As a European I haven't played Pirate's Curse, but would certainly choose that over Shovel Knight too. The big difference between the two "series" is that Shantae has more exploration and each instalment is trying to the be the best platformer it can be at the time. Shovel Knight, on the other hand, is a homage to the NES - particularly Mega Man and Zelda II - so you'll get more out of it if you're keen on the 8-bit style. I'm not a massive fan of the Shantae GBC game, but to me Shantae is by far the better series overall.

Sell a kidney, buy both lol

Shantae (GBC) is the best.

The others are good while they last but there is no satisfaction (I played Megaman 3 (For the first time) after Shovel Knight and enjoyed it far more) and they are over too soon.

It is not perfect buy a long shot some of the subweapons for example are not quite right. Too many cheap tricks for the bosses. Only 4 hours long.

Haven't played Pirate's Curse yet, but Shovel Knight is much better than the first two Shantae games.

Shovel Knight easily, some of the best 2D level design / platforming since, well, ever.......although I really do like the characters for Shantae.

Yeah as I said I view it as a pretty mediocre platforming series. It seems to have risen significantly in popularity ever since the DSiWare game. While it is true that it was one of the better DSiWare games, that's only because there weren't that many good ones, and it cost £10....at least double the price of most DSiWare titles. It's like someone getting into the Warioland franchise through the Virtual Boy version. Yeah its the best game for the system, but that doesn't exactly say much (not the best example since Warioland games are usually good, but you get the point. ).

Shovel Knight any day.
That is not to say Shantae isn't awesome, it just... I don't know how to put it...
Shantae does have great graphics, soundtrack and gameplay. But in the end, I feel that Shovel Knight is even more ambitious. Things got more exciting for me in that game, while Shantae sometimes is slow paced in how you have to spend time traveling to places and looking for stuff or figuring out where to go.
I had more fun with the dialogue in Shovel Knight also.

Shantae. I enjoyed Shovel Knight, but it's not even on the same level for me. Both take inspiration from older games and are highly polished experiences. In the case of Shantae, however, it has its roots in older hardware and the original was quite innovative at the time. It feels like it has mostly followed its own kind of evolutionary path toward its more modern manifestations. Shovel Knight feels like a bunch of really talented guys ripped aspects from all their favorite games and put them all together. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Shantae has always had its own unique identity while Shovel Knight feels like a really good homage to retro games.

Also, I love the personality, charm, and unique character WayForward has built into the Shantae universe. I can't say the same for Shovel Knight. It has some interesting and creative ideas, but it doesn't feel like it really builds its own world. It's a collection of stages, at the end of the day.

I haven't played the Original or new Shantae, but Risky's Revenge is an excellent albeit short game. Shovel Knight is only a bit longer but does have more replay incentive given it's challenge mode and future DLC. The new Shantae game however is supposed to be much longer than the first two so i'd imagine it'll be more comparable in length to Shovel Knight.

The key differences between the two is Shovel Knight is a level based platformer, with a few towns and stuff on a world map. Shantae is a connected world you explore, travelling back and forth between areas as you gain more powerups to explore previously blocked/hidden areas. Shantae is like Metroid, Shovel Knight is like Mega Man.

I personally think both games i've played are terrific but Shovel Knight is a tad overrated, it's very good just not Game of the Year good (Teslagrad for example was quite a bit better IMO), and i would suggest Shantae R.R. was the better game for me. I never found either difficult but i've grew up on the NES/SNES and games nowadays don't stack up in challenge (this is good and bad). I'd be hard pressed to suggest either is overly more difficult than the other but perhaps Shantae R.R. was a tad easier. Shantae had more story and interaction in the towns and starts off at a slower pace, Shovel Knight starts off right in the action and has less essential things to do in regards to NPC's. Shovel Knight is about timing jumps/shovel-bounces and attacking enemies with only a minimal degree of exploration, Shantae on the other hand did have enemies to attack throughout as well as some basic platforming, but the focus in R.R. was more on exploration and puzzles within the environment. Given how close the games are in enjoyability i think it comes down to whatever game sounds more appealing in terms of gameplay focus to you.

I'm sorry, other than the middle eastern flavor, I'm not getting the Aladdin comparison...