Twenty years ago Shantae appeared on the Gameboy Color and was very highly acclaimed – an enhanced version was released sometime later, and ultimately re-released as a classic package on the Switch in 2021. Now this classic Shantae has been let loose on the PlayStation by WayForward – does it still hold up?
The first thing that hits you are the large colourful sprites that allude to a certain charm, and the animations still hold up extremely well today. At its heart, it plays like a Metroidvania title as you travel back and forth, unlocking new abilities to transform from your half-genie form to various animals that allow you to reach new locations.
You will also learn early doors that there is going to be a lot of back-tracking – like it or loathe it, it was a surefire way to extend game length back in the day. There’s also a dynamic day/night cycle that changes the enemy’s difficulty and is a nice touch.
Due to the original format and large sprites, it does limit the screen to what you can see in the environment. Sometimes it isn’t obvious where to jump next, and leaps of faith – often to your death – are not uncommon.
I found the combat itself to be a little bit lacking. It’s obviously not a modern game, so accuracy isn’t as tight as I’ve become familiar with, and enemies had a very nasty habit of appearing right on top of me. Couple this with limited lives and checkpoints that are quite far between, it’s easy to become frustrated. Save states are available, but it’s certainly not the nicest of interfaces, and I found this menu to be a little unresponsive at times. A quick load/save bumper press would have been welcome here.
Overall the game is still a lot of fun today, but don’t expect an easy ride of it. There’s a bunch of collectables to find, the game looks and sounds great, and it’s a wonderful way to see the birth of the series.
Shantae is available now on PS4 and PS5 for £7.99.
