Shantae Half Genie Hero is a new, highly anticipated game from Wayforward. Starring Shantae the eponymous half-genie heroine, players follow her in her never-ending guardian duties of Scuttle Town against Risky Boots, the four Barons, and many more enemies.

She’s Back, and more heroic then ever.

The game starts with Shantae drawn out of her home and to a mysterious shrine under her Uncle Mimic’s place, and warned by a mysterious white light that danger is afoot. The very next day, Shantae starts juggling between helping Mimic create a new town defense system and various dangers happening around the world, including just down the street of town.

Shantae vs The Tinkerbat’s P.O.O.P. T.O.O.T.

Shantae Half Genie Hero is actually the fourth game in the series, dating all the way back as simply “Shantae”, the Gameboy Color’s swansong (which I had missed out on sadly). Shantae herself is a platformer hero, moving and jumping to find collectibles or advance in the stage. She fights with her long purple hair, can use magic spells bought at a store, or even dance and transform into certain animals.

The transformations vary from a small and agile monkey to a slow and strong elephant. These forms are valuable and allow Shantae to explore further in stages, such as climbing walls or breaking down blocks to clear a path.

Shantae Half Genie Hero was brought up as a Kickstarter project back all the way in September 2013. It took many years for the game to finally be released, but it’s here and amazingly well done. I had the benefit of playing this a whole week early, and the base content alone with Shantae on her adventure was fulfilling.

Having played at two Shantae games prior, the gameplay was very similar, and the dialogue was just as witty. The art is much more detailed than the blockly bitty stuff from Risky’s Revenge or Pirate’s Curse, which shows the budget was put to good use. It’s like Ducktales Remastered good (also done by Wayforward).

To compare, this is a screenshot from the last game, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse.

The game was on the short side though, compared to the previous games. That might be virtue of how the stage mapping was less like “Mega Man XZ”, where you had to backtrack a LOT, and more like classic Mega Man where you could pick stages and just go there. Between that and the “Teleport Dance” you could buy, it makes speed running in as quick as two to three hours very plausible. Plus, there are also promised of added content, such as four playable character modes outside of Shantae herself.

I strongly recommend buying this game if you’re looking for a fun adventure where you can uncover secret items or power-ups. It is open to the listed platforms: PS4, Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, and Windows PC. It also makes a good Christmas present for your gaming friends!