Shantae and the Seven Sirens is the latest game from WayForward, and they were kind enough to send me a copy for the Nintendo Switch. This is my first game in the Shantae franchise, and I’m impressed. This is a fantastic game. Shantae is a half-genie, and the gameplay is akin to other Metroidvania titles.
The story for Shantae and the Seven Sirens revolves around Shantae meeting other half-genies who are abruptly kidnapped and she must go and rescue them. It’s a pretty simple premise, but it’s a lot of fun. I really like the art of the game and the cutscenes are beautiful. They really make me wish that there was a Shantae animated series. WayForward’s art team really deserves some praise for their work.
The gameplay is that of a Metroidvania game where it’s part platformer part action adventure. Shantae’s main weapon is her hair, but you can also purchase spells like fireball and homing rockets to help give you some extra range. One of my favorite things is that each level is basically split in half. The first half is you rescuing one of the other half-genies. As a reward, they’ll gift you with a fusion coin that lets you transform into a creature and gain different abilities. For example, the first one you get is for the Newt, which lets you climb on walls. This opens up the second half of the level where you then go and fight one of the Seven Sirens after using your newfound fusion powers. As you go along, you also gain powers from the other half-genies that help open up new areas to explore and ways to get more goodies. Honestly, this makes me almost feel like it’s got some Mega Man DNA even though the powers don’t come from the enemies.
Another thing I enjoy is the sense of humor. I’ve included a couple of screenshots to give you a hint. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the lead up as I didn’t know these were going to be so funny, but they both poke fun at the game on a more meta level.
One thing that I wish WayForward had done differently is pretty simple. I wish there had been more voice work. As it stands, there is some voice acting, but most of it is just the first phrase of the dialogue. I kind of wish they had recorded all of the dialogue.
Honestly, if you enjoy Metroidvania games, I would highly recommend picking up Shantae and the Seven Sirens. It’s ridiculously fun to play. I have yet to find any flaws in this game.
