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Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (PS3/4/Vita/360/XB1/WiiU/PC) Kickstarter [800K/400K Funded]
- Thread starter DenisQc
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darkjedi187
Member
I think the Shantae series is a good example of female characters that can be Sexy AND two or three other things without feeling like lesser characters for it. This stuff is totally fine sometimes and not always a negative/bad thing. Every main character in shantae is an awesome character.
Risky actually hasn't ever had her own mode, but in Pirate's Curse she lets Shantae use her gear and that game has a different gameplay style because of it. In Half Genie Hero she's gonna get her own playable mode, as well as Bolo, Rottytops, and Sky. (not sure if their story will be as in depth as Risky's, although I'm curious if her story is parrallel to shantae's or separate entirely as an Alt Universe version of events, or if it just happens after hers...we'll know at some point I guess.)
Risky's kind of absent through most of this game though, compared to others. That's largely due to 2 additional missions that were apparently going to involve her that didn't get funded. (Nega Shantae and Risky's big junk moon sattelite thing being the two stretch goals that weren't met along with voice acting and fully animated cutscenes...hopefully the fifth game gets to have those! I'd love to see more animation like the loop of shantae and sky riding wrench in this game!)
In the first and second games risky showed up at the start and end, but also at the end of levels to taunt shantae or do something sinister. In the third game she was your traveling companion so you got a lot of interactions with her there. In this game they focused on Sky as your buddy instead, which is interesting because she was barely a part of the first 2 games, and had a bigger role in the third. Rotty's actually had a pretty big part of all 4 games by comparison.
I strongly reccomend people going back and replaying the first 3 games in order. You'll get so much out of it (the third game has so many awesome callbacks to events of the other two), although I wouldn't blame you for using a guide to help with the first game. (Hint: You can always get 4 warp squids in each dungeon the first time there, and don't bother sending squids to scuttle town, it's kind of a useless warp, but make sure you deposit 4 into zombie caravan after the second dungeon. As long as you're smart with warp points and have a general idea of where you're going you should have a blast with the first game. The overworld is the weakest part of it until you get the harpy later in the game...)
But yeah, first game's great if you streamline it a little, the second game is great but short because of dsiware size limiations, the third game is awesome (although its best played after the other two for maximum story enjoyment), and the fourth game is awesome too! (even though it didnt get every funding goall...)
darkjedi187
Member
Bug?? Finished the escape and didn't touch a gear but didn't get the trophy.
Most likely something stuck behind one of those statue heads in the tower. The one you have to drop a large block down the tower to reach is usually the one most people miss.
That HAS to be it. Thanks!
From what I heard in this thread:
-Wii U: Rock solid performance (60FPS) and it looks great visually on the Wii U.
-PS4: rock solid frame rate (60FPS) but with slow down when fog becomes part of levels (when you revisit them I think). Not major but it is present.
-Vita: Very stable frame rate (50-60FPS) at native resolution. Honestly impressed when I heard this and will have more in-depth thoughts if I get a review copy (will review it for 3WIREL).
So all around, every version is a great playing and feeling adventure
.I'm glad you mention this, because a lot of people seem to think sexy = bad, but that's not always the case.
One thing I experienced was that trading for the two other transformations from the snake girl counts as 2% of the completion. I never grabbed them on my second runthrough. You can nab them and then swap back and still get the percentage points.
I wonder if like...jim sterling or someone like that will make a video comparing the shantae kickstarter and game to mighty no 9. (They both started at the same time, co-mingled during the fundraising, and then took completely different paths!) I kind of wonder if shantae woulda done better if they weren't competing with mn9 for people's donations. Between the two games it feels like....wayforward was just way more competent and able to ship what they promised and give us a high quality product that more or less lives up to what we thought of when we funded it in the first place!
I hope the game sells well because I want to see what they do next (having beaten the game twice, it feels like they have some ideas of what to do next with the series)
Pirate's Curse involves collecting "gadgets" that expanded Shantae's repertoire. Most of these new moves were activated via simple button presses and were done on the go. Every other Shantae game revolves around transformations into various animal forms w/ unique powers via dances you could find scattered all around or purchased. You have to stop and choose what form to transform into to meet various challenges and obstacles.
Pirate's Curse and every other game before it had an overworld comprised of several screens laid out in a very Metroid-vania fashion (some games more than others), warp points to go between areas and dungeons to access where you were likely to fight a boss for whatever mcguffin the plot needed you to find. Half-Genie Hero's stages in contrast are fairly straight-forward and very linear with only mild exploration within them to hunt for hidden items using your powers, though some areas were several screens tall as they were wide and at least one stage was built like a traditional maze with a lot of back-and-forth. There's more of an emphasis on platforming, though I seem to recall Pirate's Curse had its fair share too.
Pirate's Curse was an outlier because the conclusion of the previous game in the series demanded it to be so. It proved to a good step in the right direction but was doomed to be reverted to the old formula by its very nature.
I've only played the first three worlds of 1/2 Genie Hero but it feels like a smaller game in total area wise so far. Each location has around five or six sections/screens and it doesn't take as long to beat each area.
In this game you collect various animal transformations which grant access to new abilities to reach new areas or solve puzzles. While similar to Risky's gear, you have to actually toggle these on and off which which can be a bit more of a hassle and when transformed, you can't interact with people/items until you turn back human.
It's in no way a deal breaker (and aparently games prior to Pirates Cursed worked this way) but it's certainly less convenient than just a single button press to, say, glide with Risky's hat. Instead, you might have to toggle into a bat to fly across a gap and then switch back to attack.
Graphics, sound and music wise, this game is easily the best. I do wish there was a bit more variety in the large character art that appears during conversations but there's enough. Voice work on Shantae is also great. For example, when you transform she'll sometimes yell "TRANSFORM!" and there about six different versions of this, some of which are really funny.
me0wish
Member
I played all Shantae games but I couldn't finish anything other than PC, I got bored with the GBC/DS games, and thought Pirate Curse to be an instant classic and one of the best games this gen.
Going into HGH, I kept my expectations low and I'm REALLY loving it, played two levels, and I found them really well designed, with some of the best animations I've ever seen in my life, the game is such a pleasure to play, and I can't wait for Risky's DLC as I suspect it will play similar to PC.
Based on I played so far I highly recommend it.
P.S.
The music is mind blowingly amazing, Mermaid Falls and Mermaid Factory are so GOOOOOD!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhjh-rD8Bwc
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BQk_0MpGLv4
They feel like something from the 90s, so "Snesy"/"genesisy".
Hope this helps you make your decision.
The way I see it, Half-Genie Hero suffers more from its world and movement being less structured and smooth respectively. The use of dances/animal forms sounds like a welcome return to form, but the execution is far more tedious than the system of progression, how items and equipment Shantae earns, that existed in its predecessor. What made Pirate's Curse's progression for Shantae so great was how all the abilities built off one another. You could go from running across the screen with a scimitar to blasting across a chasm via cannonballs before gliding to the ground and continuing to slash your way to the next room of foes. Going from one buttery smooth move to the next made for a rather subtle bit of swashbuckling action between some superbly crafted areas. Changing from one form to the next doesn't share that same synergy, which results in exploration being less of its own adventure and leaving little room for experimenting how best to proceed since there's usually one way and only one way to progress through the game. There's a lot more, much as I dislike using this term, handholding as to where you're supposed to go, which takes out a lot of the joy out of exploring a new path in an old area when everyone is explaining which area to go to and which item and/or form to use as well as where. While Pirate's Curse was similarly structured with how one went from isle to isle, exploration was left more up to the player to find out where the booty was left rather than to have the X marked right on the spot.
Slight exaggeration aside, I do want to clarify one matter: None of these issues make Half-Genie Hero a bad game, moreso that it doesn't match Pirate' Curse in terms of overall quality. It's still a fun, fantastically presented title with a terrific soundtrack to boot. I'm currently working on a short video review of the game (as well as a couple other of Wayforward's releases) so for now, here's how i'd rank the series:
Pirate's Curse > Half-Genie Hero > Risky's Revenge > Shantae
Half-Genie Hero is a step down from Pirate's Curse but that was a tough act to follow, even with all the stretch goals being met. Maybe the other character modes or additional Kickstarter exclusive content will change my opinion on it but thus far, it's a solid title that just barely misses the greatness of its predecessor
Finally made some time so finish this. Got that sweet 100% as always at 6:50:54 mark.
Overall is a good game as always, but definitely a step down from Pirate's Curse and the general Shantae formula in general. Revisiting separated, linear stages is way too dull compared to having either one interconnected world or many smaller ones like in PC, and as much as I like transformations, they feel out of place in these stages because the more arcade structure feels like it should be faster and have less pauses.
Music was good as well but not all that impressive... Probably my least favorite in the series.
While I think PC is objectively the best game in the series, I still like Risky's Revenge more, so to me: Risky's Revenge > Pirate's Curse > Half Genie Hero > Shantae.
Still I don't regret backing this and hopefully it serves as a good foundation for future games. Here's hoping they reuse the engine to go back to the Metroidvania lite structure next time.
Overall is a good game as always, but definitely a step down from Pirate's Curse and the general Shantae formula in general. Revisiting separated, linear stages is way too dull compared to having either one interconnected world or many smaller ones like in PC, and as much as I like transformations, they feel out of place in these stages because the more arcade structure feels like it should be faster and have less pauses.
Music was good as well but not all that impressive... Probably my least favorite in the series.
While I think PC is objectively the best game in the series, I still like Risky's Revenge more, so to me: Risky's Revenge > Pirate's Curse > Half Genie Hero > Shantae.
Still I don't regret backing this and hopefully it serves as a good foundation for future games. Here's hoping they reuse the engine to go back to the Metroidvania lite structure next time.
I've not played all the versions but they're apparently very similar visually outside of some effects like shadows, mist, etc that are present in the PS4/XB1/PC versions. (Ironically, those effects seem to affect the framerate a little, making the Wii U version the most solid performer of the console versions.)
OrochiJR
Gold Member
From what I heard in this thread:
-Wii U: Rock solid performance (60FPS) and it looks great visually on the Wii U.
-PS4: rock solid frame rate (60FPS) but with slow down when fog becomes part of levels (when you revisit them I think). Not major but it is present.
-Vita: Very stable frame rate (50-60FPS) at native resolution. Honestly impressed when I heard this and will have more in-depth thoughts if I get a review copy (will review it for 3WIREL).
So all around, every version is a great playing and feeling adventure
Thank you guys!
So does that mean the effects like fog are missing from the Wii U version? That would make me buy it for PS4, I can live with a few frame drops here and there.some ps4 bugs:
1) I fell out of world in the mansion when the goo girl grabbed me the same frame that she died on.
2) After beating Wilbur i got a black screen and could still move around and pause but couldn't get back to gameplay.
3) The mayor is placed a little bit above his shadow in the gallery so it looks like he's floating.
Not a bug, but feels like an exploit, i can use spells after the final boss
at the end. I think if I had the tiara equipped i could have used the level 3 lightning to just float through the entire segment.
1) I fell out of world in the mansion when the goo girl grabbed me the same frame that she died on.
2) After beating Wilbur i got a black screen and could still move around and pause but couldn't get back to gameplay.
3) The mayor is placed a little bit above his shadow in the gallery so it looks like he's floating.
Not a bug, but feels like an exploit, i can use spells after the final boss
while sliding down the mill
Thank you guys!
I don't think they're missing, just simplified on Wii U/Vita.
What???? But I love them
Yup, no dungeons at all. This is a straight up classic platformer with a hub town.
Aaaah thats really disappointing. Still looking forward to it though.
Dragonslayer_023
Banned
Does the physical version of this actually come on out Tuesday? The date keeps getting pushed back and now Amazon says Tuesday,but it hasn't shipped yet.
Bar81
Member
It's been the 20th for quite some time now (Vita version at least).
Jaded Alyx
Member
Noticed a few sound bugs in the Wii U version. Certain sound effects constantly repeat long after they play.
What PC issues? (still trying to decide on a platform)
I wouldn't go that far, there's still a lot of backtracking/exploration even without the dungeons.
I kinda think there's too much relative to what you actually get for exploring (ie not a lot, most of the time). The fetch quests are a tad overdone.
Yeah i e-mailed WayForward, let's see if they can do anything.
I probably missed an update and did not say i needed a EU code instead of US.
the backtracking isn't so bad. For the most part you go back to an area to get a new transformation or funny item and the area has changed in some way (nagas moving in on mermaid turf, ect) and then theres the big fetch quest at the end to get the secret ending that's totally optional but i always end up getting all that shit anyways by the time i get to that part.
You can get through the first 5 chapters mostly without any NEEDLESS backtracking. Although backtracking is sort of trivial with how much navigation shit shantae gets in her pocket. You have the warp dance which fast travels you between acts of a stage, and the whistle which lets you get out of there when you need to, and by the time you have the harpy your navigational power is so strong that the stage is completely trivialized by it. I've done 100% twice and I think it's totally well balanced, although if you aren't talking to people in town you might end up unsure of where to go next to get what you neet.
Press Down when in Crab form for Shell defense. Lasers can't touch you, but you can't move either until you put it away. Then just proceed with care.
Vlaphor
Member
You can go under them through the hatches in the floor.
petethepanda
Member
Man, I wish I had gone PS4 instead of Vita, the framerate is pretty chuggy and inconsistent. It might have felt better locked at 30. (Though I realize in 2016 it's borderline unfair to complain about performance on the Vita.)
Enjoying the game so far, though. I've often disliked the "sprites on 3D background" thing but it just looks fantastic here.
Enjoying the game so far, though. I've often disliked the "sprites on 3D background" thing but it just looks fantastic here.
Press down and jump to go down through the hatches, for anyone who didn't figure that part out. I didn't realize it at first.
Oddly enough this makes me interested in the game. I don't mean to shit on Shantae more than I already have but I feel like there's a glimmer of a good game in the formula but WF just hasn't found it. IMO Shantae has really wanted to emulate Dragon's Trap and MWIV but WF just can't do metroidvanias just right, so I feel like this change of direction towards more linearity could appeal to me. Plus the art looks great. I might end up biting. It's one of those series I don't love but I keep buying anyway...
I definitely get what you mean. Personally I love the original formula, but the problem with this one is that it's not 100% arcade either because there's still a lot of backtracking to these stages, and I imagine that if you didn't like exploring in previous games, it's going to be even duller in this one because stages felt dull to go back to even for me.
Maybe I'm wrong tho and you can enjoy it. I definitely don't to turn people away from the game, I liked it myself, but I thought the formula was more flawed than ever, and I can recognize the flaws in the other games and still love the hell out of them.
I've played up to the magic carpet race and I think it's pretty good. Priate's Curse is better, but this is still really solid.
It is more of a traditional platformer but you still need to explore levels to find important items to progress so there's definitely still exploration.
And people saying "It's the easiest game I've ever played" are super blowing it out of porportion - its on the easier side but there's still some challenge/platforming. It only gets really easy if you buy all of the upgrades and that's your decision.
It is more of a traditional platformer but you still need to explore levels to find important items to progress so there's definitely still exploration.
And people saying "It's the easiest game I've ever played" are super blowing it out of porportion - its on the easier side but there's still some challenge/platforming. It only gets really easy if you buy all of the upgrades and that's your decision.
Steam page is up
http://store.steampowered.com/app/253840
Cards and achievements still not up though
http://store.steampowered.com/app/253840
Cards and achievements still not up though
You need the elephant dance to reach her. Shes behind a breakable block on the lower right hand side of the fake mermaid processing plant.
Ah right. Did find her but didn't know how to get there.
Looking at it I realize Spider Dance is the way to get there haha.
Press down and jump. It's the way you jump down from certain kinds of platforms to lower platforms, in a number of different platformer games.
For some reason I never expected that when I first saw those doors. I thought they were "doors" so it's like... do I push "up", or what?
Monkey Bullet works too.
Right didn't think of that one. Got it taken care of though.
Now not sure how to get
the Light Shard
Mouse
There's got to be a maze entrance somewhere...
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