disappointed..

[MeSako]

Was I alone in feeling disappointed?
Don't get me wrong, the game was awesome in almost every way, The graphics was amazing. The animations are great but best of all is the gameplay, with new and old animal and speciel transformations.. but as a fan of the franchise since day one, I feel that the game falls short compared to the other three games..
So.. whay am I dissapointed? Well, first of.. where are the open world? The original game had a enormus world open to explore with no bounderies, where everything was interconected and you were free to go where ever and how every you liked with dungeons and secrets to find.. The same was in the second game, although the world was a bit smaller. But it was stil an open world.. The third game changed it a bit, with several open islands that could be explored how ever you wanted, with a dungeon and a bunch of secrets to find on each island.. But in this game, each stage is linear, move from left to right (a few times up..). Though each area is explorable, once you move to a new area of a stage, you can't go back without restarting the stage, and that really bumbed me out. There is no searching for dungeons, because there are no dungeons. Every important transformation are now a thing you get in a shiny wierd room after each boss, instead of learning them from characters or finding them tucked away in the game world.

If this had been my first Shantae game, I would probably have given it a 9/10..
But as a long time fan of the franchise, this only gets a 5/10 due to it dropping alot of what makes the franchise great.

[Jason Witch Fan]

I give a 8/10 It is my favorite of the whole franchise, good levels, good game, its characters are still well characterized and maintain that charisma, very good soundtrack. Due to his difficulty he is the best one to begin in the franchise, although Pirate`s Curse (8.5 / 10) did some things better like: better history to tell us the past of Risky and Rottytops, to see Shantae and Risky collaborate together and the Dungeons Well-designed, so I consider Pirate`s Curse the best of the franchise, and Half-genie Hero the second best.

[President of his 420 Club]

"This game is fantastic. Except it's not fantastic"

Make up your mind. This review is so nonsensical and insconsistent.

[MeSako]

Originally posted by Nine Presidents Dancing:

"This game is fantastic. Except it's not fantastic"

Make up your mind. This review is so nonsensical and insconsistent.

No it is not.. it is you who can't read properly..

As I have stated several times already: If this had been my first shantae game, with no other games to compare it to this would be a 9/10.. But as a long time fan of the franchise, knowing the previous three games and what they had to offer, this game is only a 5/10.

[Torcularis]

Had I not received this as a gift, I would've felt overcharged, honestly. $20 for 8 hours of gameplay? That's a touch steep. And I got 100% completion within that time, didn't use guides for the items I had trouble with, etc. And the game was disappointingly easy to boot (barring the frustrating sliding segments).

My opinion would've softened regarding the other character's campaigns, but now I hear they're a separate charge. Sorry, but that's not money I really want to drop, and this isn't a revolutionary experience for my by any means. I love you, Shantae, but this wasn't a home run.

[MeSako]

Originally posted by MIMU:

(barring the frustrating sliding segments)

Jump and use the Flamethrower or the Super Mega Puff, and you float in the air all the way down.. .. since when you use them in the air, you stay air born as long as you fire the spell..

Originally posted by MIMU:

My opinion would've softened regarding the other character's campaigns, but now I hear they're a separate charge. Sorry, but that's not money I really want to drop, and this isn't a revolutionary experience for my by any means. I love you, Shantae, but this wasn't a home run.

Pretty much..

[Stingy McDuck]

Originally posted by MIMU:

Had I not received this as a gift, I would've felt overcharged, honestly. $20 for 8 hours of gameplay? That's a touch steep. And I got 100% completion within that time, didn't use guides for the items I had trouble with, etc. And the game was disappointingly easy to boot (barring the frustrating sliding segments).

My opinion would've softened regarding the other character's campaigns, but now I hear they're a separate charge. Sorry, but that's not money I really want to drop, and this isn't a revolutionary experience for my by any means. I love you, Shantae, but this wasn't a home run.

If you extrapolate, that's similar to $60 for 24 hours of game. Which is way more than many AAA games offer.

[Mephala]

Originally posted by Maiti Dukku:

Originally posted by MIMU:

Had I not received this as a gift, I would've felt overcharged, honestly. $20 for 8 hours of gameplay? That's a touch steep. And I got 100% completion within that time, didn't use guides for the items I had trouble with, etc. And the game was disappointingly easy to boot (barring the frustrating sliding segments).

My opinion would've softened regarding the other character's campaigns, but now I hear they're a separate charge. Sorry, but that's not money I really want to drop, and this isn't a revolutionary experience for my by any means. I love you, Shantae, but this wasn't a home run.

If you extrapolate, that's similar to $60 for 24 hours of game. Which is way more than many AAA games offer.

To be fair to those AAA games, usually those either include a multiplayer mode, or you're far from 100% completion at that point, so there is that to keep in mind.

[Inksaw114]

Except that now adays AAA games come incomplete too, often demanding players drop another $60+ for season passes and extra dlc, most of which is just cosmetic stuff.

In regards to the backtracking, I actually feel like Risky's Revenge is the worst of the three because keep in mind that game had waay less fast-travel options so of course you'd have to spend more time on it. It's also very easy to get lost in the game.
It also might feel better simply because it was still a challenge to traverse the maps. Even with the upgrades you'll get wrecked if you don't time and calculate your jumps right.

Pirate's Curse I can forgive for the backtracking because once you get the scimitar + boots it just FEELS REALLY GOOD TO BLAST THROUGH EVERYTHING.

I really enjoyed HGH and still appreciate the level design despite its shortness. Also, going through a "no heart upgrades" or "no items and/or no armor" run of the game is stupid hard for me holy crap. However, even going through a handicap run, it doesn't feel right this is the easiest of all the other games.

One final thing I should mention is that I think another thing that makes HGH feels alot shorter is the episodic one-villain-to-the-next kind of story. Since there wasn't an ominous kind of buildup to the final boss it felt like everything just abruptly ended. I'm absolutely certain that would leave a bad taste in people's mouths.

[Cheese]

Originally posted by Chainsaw114:

One final thing I should mention is that I think another thing that makes HGH feels alot shorter is the episodic one-villain-to-the-next kind of story. Since there wasn't an ominous kind of buildup to the final boss it felt like everything just abruptly ended. I'm absolutely certain that would leave a bad taste in people's mouths.

That's probably a consequence of entire chapters of the game being Kickstarter stretch goals. I imagine they went with the episodic structure so that dealing with the uncertain game length would be much easier.
It definitely really hurts the game though.

[brickey.8]

Speaking as someone that played Pirate's Curse, then Risky's Revenge, then this one... it's pretty good, and definitely better than RR.

I felt like the level design was way stronger in this game than the others. The dungeons in the previous games ran the gamut from "very fun" to "forgettable" to "annoying" (cough hypno baron cough). But every one of this game's levels was tons of fun the first time through, mostly for the great setpieces. Pirates popping out of drop pods and the background layer in the first level, the hooks in the factory, the worm chase sequence, jumping between airships and between the surface and interior of airships, and even the straight horizontal platforming sections (since they were used sparingly) were all pretty memorable.

By contrast, the bosses in this game were pretty forgettable. Pirates Curse rode the Zelda "use this dungeon's item" formula to memorable boss fights, and Risky's Revenge had pretty good bosses, but all of this game's felt like either DPS-fests or "dodge attacks until the attack pattern that lets you damage it once" fests. There's nothing wrong with either, but they aren't as memorable as a fight tailored to your abilities.

Backtracking... is a thing in all the games. Pirate's Curse was probably the least bad (or so my nostalgia goggles say). This one has a lot of it, but at least you can usually warp straight to the right section of the level and then use your new forms to navigate it quickly, which is more than the other games can say.

Difficulty level is a joke in all of these games, due to how generous they are with healing items, and you're lying if you say otherwise. Still, Pirate's Curse was probably harder than this, and the platforming here is pretty easy too.

Not having to go on a quest to find the new forms did feel like a huge step backwards. And the story felt like an unconnected mess. I'm not surprised to hear that parts of it were kickstarter goals, because what it reminded me of was Megaman Battle Network 4 with all its modular sideplots. Which isn't a good thing.

And last but not least, let's not overlook the huge jump forward in graphics here. Because, well, it's a huge jump forward. And the 3D-ness was integrated well into the level and boss design.

[Shadow Esper]

Originally posted by brickey.8:

And last but not least, let's not overlook the huge jump forward in graphics here. Because, well, it's a huge jump forward.

It's a WayForward.

[Cheese]

Originally posted by brickey.8:

And last but not least, let's not overlook the huge jump forward in graphics here. Because, well, it's a huge jump forward. And the 3D-ness was integrated well into the level and boss design.

It's a huge jump forward in size of assets. Quality of animation and attention to detail on the other hand have taken very noticeable leaps backwards, and whether the change in art style to a more 'chibi' look is a good thing or not is entirely subjective.

Also, I don't remember 3D ever adding anything to the level design.

[HighLanderPony]

This was a great game!

Yes, it wasn't on the level of Metroid or Rayman or what have you, but considering the difference in team sizes and probable gap in experince I'd say that's reasonable. I don't mind the length as I could just beat it in 2-3 sittings, 100% it, feel good along the way, have a satisfying ending and move on. Having it overstay its welcome would've sucked more.

I could be slightly disappointed as well because of the things that were rough around the edges a lil' bit, but they were understandably so, so I'll let those slide. Add to that that there was some clever stuff in there and at its best it was really fun without being nail-bitingly frustrating and this is a nice package.

Reminded me a bit of Klonoa, too, so bonus points for nostalgia.

Originally posted by Cheese:

Originally posted by brickey.8:

And last but not least, let's not overlook the huge jump forward in graphics here. Because, well, it's a huge jump forward. And the 3D-ness was integrated well into the level and boss design.

It's a huge jump forward in size of assets. Quality of animation and attention to detail on the other hand have taken very noticeable leaps backwards, and whether the change in art style to a more 'chibi' look is a good thing or not is entirely subjective.

Also, I don't remember 3D ever adding anything to the level design.

It's probably harder to animate to the same quality in 3D than it is in 2D, so that could be a reason for that.

The last fight used 3D to an extent, plus making use of 3D could mess with the controls or slow the game down (lane transitions w/e).

[brickey.8]

The final boss's 2nd and 3rd forms and the boss of Tassel Town are the most obvious use of 3D. The assembly line in the factory level blended seamlessly between foreground and background, to great effect. I'm pretty sure the first level involved tinkerbats entering the screen from the background layer and possibly even the foreground layer via boats, and I know the final battle with Risky does. And while the Giga-Mermaid battle would have worked in 2D, it made good use of the 3D anyways for summoning the platforms.

It wasn't constantly on display, but there was enough. If it doesn't jump out and scream at you in some of those places, that just means it was integrated well.

[Cheese]

Originally posted by brickey.8:

I'm pretty sure the first level involved tinkerbats entering the screen from the background layer and possibly even the foreground layer via boats

The original game on GBC has that sort of stuff in its burning town sequence at the beginning of the game as well, so can you really call that "3D"?
And then there's Risky's Revenge with some of its areas allowing you to jump to layers in the background, that's way more use of "3D" than Half-Genie Hero ever has.
The past games have just as much if not far more "3D" level design, so it seems like a non-point to me.

And I didn't ask about bosses, obviously some of those have 3D.