Game needs a "normal" difficulty mode.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Because so far the only difficulty choosable is insultingly easy. I'm midway in the game, still with 3 hearts, with countless of consumeables that drop randomly and could heal you fully. At the same time I obtained the best damage and speed updgrades in the game just after the 2nd dungeon.
Bosses go down in approximately 2 cycles, while there attacks are highly predicatable and do very less damage.

I know the game is charming and it has a cute style and is is very retro, but if you expect at least some kind of difficulty you will be disappointed. Would I demand too much just at least to expect a difficulty on par with Pirate's Curse? Half Genie Hero was also pretty lenient and you could get OP very quickly, but even in this game enemies at least do damage and consumeables need to be bought, it also isn't so easy to get the max amount of currency within the first 2 hours in the game.

It's looks to me liked they dumbed the game down as much as possible, just to please the smartphone audience which the game was originally intended for, who probably had never played at plattformer in their life. That's ok, but at least give us the opportunity to play the game with a reasonable amount of challenge. I really don't expect much, but for such an gameplay heavy game and an metroidvania it's an insult. I restrict myself as much as I can, but it reaches a level where it downright becomes complicated and I have to turn off almost every reward the game grants me. This is not a good sign for a metroidvania where rewards are meant to be an motivation boost. It shouldn't be the job of the player to adjust their game to the lowest possible standard. I habe already 999 rupys again and I don't even know where to spend them. Squids, what are they, why should I squish them to death when i'm perfectly fine with my 3 hearts and my gazillion consumeables I never eat? Even with all these healing items, bosses have mob phases where hearts, sorry but not sorry this game is in terms of gameplay a joke.

I can understand if you have fun nontheless since the game is charming and I don't want to talk it down for you, but such heavy difficulty design flaws shouldn't be ignored either.

[HighLanderPony]

Smth smth Kirby.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Originally posted by HighLanderPony:

Smth smth Kirby.

Even Kirby has its consistency in difficulty. (except Star Allies, this game was crap)

[HighLanderPony]

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Originally posted by HighLanderPony:

Smth smth Kirby.

Even Kirby has its consistency in difficulty. (except Star Allies, this game was crap)

Point was, Kirby games are usually easy af, yet still are considered good and widely enjoyed.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Originally posted by HighLanderPony:

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Even Kirby has its consistency in difficulty. (except Star Allies, this game was crap)

Point was, Kirby games are usually easy af, yet still are considered good and widely enjoyed.

I know and I like to play Kirby too, since they offer a variety of content even for more experienced players. If you play recent Kirby games (except Star Allies) you will notice that.
Kirby hasn't any unnecessary RPG-Element which allow you to cirumvent its difficulty. Kirby's difficult is easy yeah, but it's fixed. The post-game ususally inhabits much harder challenges and there is some sort of difficulty curve which makes the game gradually more challenging. It's still more on the easy side but it doesn't get easier over the course of the game like Shantae.

It's odd to me that such highly naturally things which almost any videogame had back then seems to be lost in favor for "character progression".

I have to admit Shantae games are getting weaker and weaker. Half Genie Hero was already a flawed mess, but Shantae and the Seven Siren takes the cake.

[HighLanderPony]

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Originally posted by HighLanderPony:

Point was, Kirby games are usually easy af, yet still are considered good and widely enjoyed.

I have to admit Shantae games are getting weaker and weaker. Half Genie Hero was already a flawed mess...

I can agree there.

[iriyap]

Just beat the third dungeon and yeah, it's very very easy. Got all the speed/damage upgrades after only the first dungeon, now I have most of the spells maxed out too. If there's an infinite magic upgrade later in the game (like there was in Half-Genie Hero) then it will be god mode with the shield spell all over again. And even without that, you get so many healing consumables, it's basically impossible to die already, just pause the game and use one of your 100 healing items.

I feel like Pirate's Curse was criticized too much for the insane difficulty spike in its final dungeon[www.nerfnow.com], and WayForward decided to err on the safe side from then on.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Originally posted by iriyap:

I feel like Pirate's Curse was criticized too much for the insane difficulty spike in its final dungeon[www.nerfnow.com], and WayForward decided to err on the safe side from then on.

Really was that a thing? I can't even remember. The tower, felt to me like an last dungeon should be... I suppose?
Pirate's Curse was fine to me in this regard, sucks a bit that WayForward overcompensates now. But as a "retro friendly" studio I have expected better from them, they even made Contra 4. I don't blame the players for it, it's WayForwards decision through and through. Next time I won't a buy an Shantae game anymore, if they continue this course.

[HighLanderPony]

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Originally posted by iriyap:

I feel like Pirate's Curse was criticized too much for the insane difficulty spike in its final dungeon[www.nerfnow.com], and WayForward decided to err on the safe side from then on.

Really was that a thing? I can't even remember. The tower, felt to me like an last dungeon should be... I suppose?
Pirate's Curse was fine to me in this regard, sucks a bit that WayForward overcompensates now. But as a "retro friendly" studio I have expected better from them, they even made Contra 4. I don't blame the players for it, it's WayForwards decision through and through. Next time I won't a buy an Shantae game anymore, if they continue this course.

Pirate's Curse was the peak imo.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Wow now I got a spell that heals you on command and only takes up a 20th of your magic bar, phew I'm glad that in the exact same village you get a card pretty early on that refreshes you magic bar automatically. I wouldn't know how to handle this this stressful ressource management.

Honestly, this game is an utter joke! WayBackward lost my appreciation.

[HighLanderPony]

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Wow now I got a spell that heals you on command and only takes up a 20th of your magic bar, phew I'm glad that in the exact same village you get a card pretty early on that refreshes you magic bar automatically. Iw wouldn't know how to handle this this stresful ressource management.

Honestly, this game is an utter joke! WayForward lost my appreciation.

oof

[Tempany]

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Honestly, this game is an utter joke! WayBackward lost my appreciation.

At this stage in time, the only salvation is in wasting as little time as possible doing something you don't like. Nobody can protect you from the misuse of that precious commodity; you must do it for yourself as soon as possible.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Originally posted by Tempany:

Originally posted by Chocos Ramabotti:

Honestly, this game is an utter joke! WayBackward lost my appreciation.

At this stage in time, the only salvation is in wasting as little time as possible doing something you don't like. Nobody can protect you from the misuse of that precious commodity; you must do it for yourself as soon as possible.

Give me the 25€ back I spent and I gladly would do this.

[Finchy]

You can just decide not to use the consumables. Game is still relatively easy that way but not insultingly so.

[Dion]

With the Auto Potions and all the food this game throws you, its really easy. You pretty much have to do your own challenges. Hopefully the game gets a hard mode option like in Half-Genie Hero.

[HighLanderPony]

I watched a stream of this. Yup, agree with most of what OP said. This is a 6/10, deep sale at most for me.