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For some people, the concept of \u201cports\u201d really seems to rile them up. Sometimes, it\u2019s justified: After all, Nintendo has shown they could easily bring some of their old titles to their new consoles with minimal effort, but they actively choose not to and dispense the games in very limited, slow fashions, sometimes as very unintuitive extra pieces of software and sometimes as very <\/span>expensive<\/b> modern versions of the same game. Not that they\u2019re alone in this: Bethesda and Rockstar both appear hell bent on milking the exact same games upwards of fifty times before finally moving on to a new sequel. For WayForward, however, there\u2019s a sort of benevolent disbelief that comes with their games. They love the Shantae series, but apparently not as much as their fans. Despite there being a whopping three different, modern and fantastically animated Shantae games currently on the Switch (including the newest Seven Sirens), fans have called not only for the older Shantae games to come to the Switch, but to come without being retouched in any way whatsoever. Well, if there\u2019s a request, WayForward will make it happen, so players are now able to take a look at the fantastic series instalment from 2010, Shantae: Risky\u2019s Revenge – Director\u2019s Cut.<\/span><\/p>\n Risky\u2019s Revenge is a particularly great piece of video game history due to helping showcase the sheer tenacity of the series and of WayForward. After the original Shantae was released in 2002 on the Gameboy Color (which I\u2019ll have to unpack THAT piece of information later), there was an eight year gap in which WayForward was finding their footing and parting ways with Capcom, who was busy trying to figure out how to make Street Fighter II sellable again. Determined and bolstered by the cult status of their first game, WayForward created Risky\u2019s Revenge on the highly awesome, but massively underappreciated DSi Store as a digital download only. This game somehow got so much attention on such a tiny marketplace that it got ported to iOS a year later after the original DSi version won \u201cBest DS Game\u201d from IGN for 2010. That was a year that Ghost Trick, 999, Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes and freaking Golden Sun: Dark Dawn came out, and this DSiWare release beats them all. Think about that. Now Risky\u2019s Revenge has been ported to Windows, PS4, WiiU and, finally, the Nintendo Switch, so you gotta think: this might be fantastic.<\/span><\/p>\n The game\u2019s story is actually much simpler than most Shantae games nowadays. Picking up shortly after the end of the original Shantae (which you don\u2019t need to play to appreciate Risky\u2019s Revenge), Shantae adversary is ACTUALLY Risky Boots, instead of Shantae thinking it is but then we find out it\u2019s something\/someone else. Risky has stolen a magical lamp (that we don\u2019t yet know is magical) from Shantae\u2019s uncle Mimic (who was busy talking about his bowels at the time) and gotten Shantae fired from being a Guardian Genie (but Shantae certainly isn\u2019t just going to quit).\u00a0 If Risky gets all three lamps, she\u2019ll unleash a Dark Power™ and it\u2019ll be very bad for everyone, so Shantae\u2019s gotta get going so she can jump, hair whip, dance and do all sorts of magic in order to defeat the bad guys and stay on top. Shantae, get going!<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re one of those people who need the best and shiniest game at all times, Shantae: Risky\u2019s Revenge might be a bit of a letdown for you. After all, this game was a huge step up from the Gameboy Colour, but this was still originally released on the freaking DSi. Not even the 3DS (which was still a year away when Risky\u2019s Revenge was released). The graphics are delightfully chunky but well placed pixels, giving a sufficiently \u201cgaming\u201d feel to the characters, enemies and landscape throughout. Everything has a strong detail, while still having a rough hew to it, really nodding to the bit era of gaming and what that entails for fans of consoles with the word \u201cFamicom\u201d in the title. To help keep it as authentic as possible, the fine folks of WayForward are giving you plenty of choices as to how to view Shantae, from the original screen size (that will really smooth out those rough edges and make it quite beautiful) to a widescreen that will stretch the hell out of the game but at least give you edge to edge gaming. My advice is to use the recommended 4:3 with borders to get the best of both worlds. The screen is bigger, the pixels are a little displaced, and it all works fantastically well in both docked mode and handheld. However, you might want to do original once in a while just for fun. It really gives a better idea of how great this game looked on the DSi.<\/span><\/p>\n Shantae\u2019s abilities are also a bit tamer compared to later games where things like swapping powers with other genies or upgrading your transformations. Sure, Shantae is still able to buy magic spells and upgrades to them from the store: that never changes, and the incentive to grind and abuse the system to max out your fireballs before even really setting out is high. And you add some powers for dance transformation as the game goes forward, though they\u2019re definitely more utilitarian than the later games. You got a monkey for small, tight spaces and climbing walls, a mermaid for properly swimming underwater, and an elephant for breaking down would-be walls. Most of the upgrades to Shantae, however, come from the store, so be sure to invest in hair cream and Pike Ball upgrades so that you can really stomp as you move forward.<\/span><\/p>\n What I think really sets Risky\u2019s Revenge apart from the other Shantae games is that it\u2019s one of the most satisfying versions of the Shantae saga. This is pre-voice acting, pre-smoother animations, and pre-side quests. Instead, you\u2019re tasked with a very straightforward, minor nonsense metrovania that puts you on task to get three lamps and stop Risky Boots. You\u2019ve got exposition to read on occasion, and Shantae is still a fantastic and often hilarious protagonist (kiss!), but most of the game is focused on driving you forward towards the Magic Seals and getting past some gnarly enemies and areas. Places like the timed escape from the Battle Tower (and the incredible Barracuda Joe) hold up as they\u2019re genuinely a great test of skill and reflexes within the game. You can shape how your outcome for these types of games are by tried and true exploration and understanding of the game and not just what the game is, if that makes sense. Like, people can pick up and run through several stages of Super Mario World despite there being exponentially newer and better Mario games because the SNES version is a damn treasure. That\u2019s the same deal with Shantae: Risky\u2019s Revenge. Even though the game only comes out to like three hours or something to play from start to finish, it\u2019s freaking enjoyable. Places like the Lilac Fields look great, sure, but it\u2019s also just a great challenge to navigate around and find the newest and best ways to quickly dispatch Risky\u2019s henchpeople.<\/span><\/p>\n It seems silly to touch on the Director\u2019s Cut aspect, as this is the only version of Risky\u2019s Revenge most people will have played, but might as well highlight. The original Risky\u2019s Revenge didn\u2019t have a dope costume you could change into that would reduce your magic use but half your defence in the process. This one does. It\u2019s a minor thing, but for players who really like to keep re-running Shantae, it\u2019s an important distinction because it was previously called Magic Mode in other releases. I recommend not changing into Shantae\u2019s awesome gold costume until you\u2019ve played through the game at least once, simply because it will ramp up the difficulty of it all and might seem unfair to new players. Also, her normal costume is revealing enough, you don\u2019t need the gold aesthetic from the drop.<\/span><\/p>\n Anyone who\u2019s previously enjoyed Shantae: Risky\u2019s Revenge needs little to no suggestion to pick up this re-release for the Nintendo Switch. There\u2019s a physical version you can get from Limited Run Games, the digital price is a mere ten dollars, and having a portable version that plays a hell of a lot better than the very outdated iOS version is worth the price of admission. If you\u2019ve never given it a shot before but enjoy other Shantae games, I think this is a decent investment, especially in terms of affirming to WayForward that more Shantae games should be released. Hell, it\u2019s tight as a drum, not too long, it takes one minute to install, and is a fantastic pick up and play metrovania with great action and upgrades. If you\u2019ve never played a Shantae game before, I personally think that Risky\u2019s Revenge is the best place to start. It isn\u2019t as pretty as future games, but it does give you the best idea of what you\u2019re in store for, and it helps to build a strong future with the series. Basically, if you like this one, you\u2019ll LOVE the next ones (though I still feel like Half-Genie Hero is a small departure from the series). Plus, it\u2019s always fun to dance and then turn into a monkey. Try it, you\u2019ll like it.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Shantae-Riskys-Revenge-\u2013-Directors-Cut-Review-Screenshot-2.jpg\")
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