Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

Squid Baron is cool and poggers

Really hard game full of really cute girls. Exactly what I expected, and exactly what I wanted.

But in all honesty, the game is very well done. The controls feel great, and overall the game play is very fun. Movement is very satisfying, especially later in the game. Combat increases in difficulty throughout the game, which is great, and so does the platforming. You need a good deal of coordination to get down the movement combinations, which are met with lots of secrets and rewards when mastered.

The soundtrack is also very well done. I will have 100% achievements, someday, and I highly recommend this to people who enjoy platforming games. Shantae is best girl!

A great little metroidvania-platformer. I really enjoyed Risky's Revenge and this game is just as wonderful as that one. The environment in these games are warm and amazing, the soundtracks are banger, and the controls are tight and responsive. Gameplay is always incredibly fun as well, and I love Shantae as a character and protagonist. Risky Boots is a fantastic antagonist as well - and it was fun to actually have her as a sort of sidekick/deuteragonist in this game - and all the supporting characters like Sky, Rottytops, and Bolo are so lovable and well-made. If you like metroidvanias you're sure to love this game, as it has all the hallmarks of the genre and just very well-made platforming sections and abilities. It reminds me of the Wonderboy/Monster World games which are some of my favorite games ever made, so that's a huge plus. The only grievance I can think of is that the difficulty spike in the final dungeon goes crazy high, but after you figure it out and look back on the rest of the game, it was a journey well worth it.

Shantae!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has some classic vibe to it similar to the Bugs Bunny Time Twister (my childhood game) in terms of music. I really like the designs of Shantae and the Pirate girl of this game. And I have to be honest, I mainly bought this due to the cute girl in this game hehe. Overall, It's a really good and fun game.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a game that has exponentially grown on me the more I play it. From casual playthroughs, 100% runs, or blitzing through as fast as possible, Pirate's Curse delivers on all fronts with great level design and a stellar soundtrack. It is by far the best game in the series and the perfect starting point for anyone interested in trying out a Shantae game.

My adoration for Pirate's Curse is more personal than most other games I've played. Pirate's Curse alongside Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Guacamelee were games I played specifically to prepare myself for tackling the Metroid series for the first time between 2014-2015. However, all three games failed at doing so since I was both unfamiliar and impatient with the Metroidvania structure. I didn't like the idea of backtracking to old areas across a vast map and thought the process was tedious. I enjoyed Guacamelee for the combat and multiplayer, SotN impressed me with its high quality graphics and sound, but Pirate's Curse didn't leave any impact on me after I beat it for the first time. Then I swallowed my pride and tried Metroid: Zero Mission, and in short, it changed everything. The design philosophy of Metroidvanias made so much more sense given how player progression was tied to both navigation and power, alongside shortcuts and sequence breaks if the player was skilled at performing them. By the time I finished Chozodia after unlocking the fully powered suit, I felt a wave of satisfaction, power, and understanding.

Since my transcendent experience with Zero Mission, I went back to replay all the games in the genre that led me here, and while I enjoyed SotN and Guacamelee even more than before now that I understood the fundamentals of Metroidvanias, Pirate's Curse by far benefited the most from the replay. Aside from the mummy sketch segment and the Death Mask assuming you forgot to pick it up before Mud Bog Island, I don't have a problem with Pirate's Curse's pacing. Every Island offers something unique to the table in both environments and gimmicks, further elevated by the pirate equipment you find throughout the game. With the exception of the pistol, the pirate equipment extends Shantae's movement options allowing for easier and more frantic means to traverse the world. I will never tire of using the boots in tandem with the hat and cannon for clearing screens as fast as possible, doubly so if I'm playing on Pirate mode via new game+.

There's not really much more I can say about Pirate's Curse that hasn't been said already. It is a game that while I didn't love at first, has rapidly grown on me as the years pass and may be one of my favorite games of all time at this rate. For me personally, Pirate's Curse is a prime example of how understanding a genre can greatly impact your viewpoint on certain types of media, with Metroidvanias being one of my favorite genres in video games thanks to trying out Metroid: Zero Mission all those years ago. Though it's very weird how the Shantae game I love the most is the one where she doesn't have her genie powers.

9/10 it's amazing

play this its WORTH everything
this game delivers, very very much delivers

SHANTAE IS SO BAD!! (in a good way)

A charming indie game with memorable characters, pretty (although quite naked) portraits and a good sense of humor, but the gameplay is too rough to warrant a recommendation.

It’s not really a fully-fledged metroidvania, despite people calling it one, since there’s no interconnected map; instead, there’s a linear sequence of areas that you revisit to solve the later story puzzles, and those revisits feel very forced. There’s no gradual skill progression either; you traverse in pretty much the same way for 80% of the game, then the last two upgrades suddenly make you a complete badass.

There’s also this weird combat design approach that the developers seem to practice in many of their games where contact damage is by far the most dangerous one. I.e. you are much more likely to accidentally touch or jump into an enemy, or have an enemy walk into you while you’re trying to position yourself, which somehow feels fundamentally more annoying than getting hit by an actual attack. This is most apparent when the levels start to spam enemies at every couple of steps (though only one area, Mud Bog Island, do it to such an extent here, but one is already enough).

The dungeons have a labyrinthine element to them, but it’s too plain to create a rewarding sense of exploration. The same could be said about the boss fights (except for the true final boss, maybe, but mechanically even he is pretty simplistic). I’d also say that the pixel art and visual design are meh; feels like the bright colors and basic textures are just piled up without any specific sense of direction.

This is the only Shantae title I’ve played, so perhaps I can reevaluate the game once I see the other entries, but since many players cite it as the best one, for now I don’t feel particularly motivated to try out the rest.

My first Shantae game and my favorite

straightforward 2d platformer good for newish players and difficulty curve is relatively light, has some speed and hitless achievements for more dedicated players. fun story

Save your money. This game is not for sale. This game is "for lease" only. Hence, you don't own it and never will.

i'm too lazy to write a review but all i'll say is that i wish the game was bigger and longer. 7.5/10 decent little diet metroidvania

it had promise but was not for me.

very fun, satisfying to conquer

Basically if Sea of Thieves was any good. In all seriousness, amazing game, highly recommend. It might be in my top 10 now for favorite video games of all time. The dialogue is amazing, the designs are cute and if you're into Metroidvania style games, give this one a try. Also, I got all the achievements, so that's another level of sentimentality I have with this one.

Shantae has lost her magical powers... nothing a GUN can't fix.
Shantae also goes to HELL and finds Rottytops there.

If you played Risky's Revenge, this one is more or less the same but with a slightly different format in the Metroidvania playstyle. It's not too long but it manages to not overstay its welcome.

is good

Wow. Spectacular game, super fun! Especially after playing the first two games, this is a definite step up.

A vast improvement over Risky's Revenge in many ways: more environment variety and levels, more dungeons, better story and art etc... Although the transformations are done with in favor of the new pirate gear power ups, which somewhat diminishes some of the "uniqueness" this series has. I think that ultimately works in its favor since it makes the game more fast paced without the need to stop each time you wish to use a power up.
Oh and those character portraits are gonna make me act up one of these days.

Still my favourite ever Metroidvania series yet this is only my second ever Shantae game, Half-Genie Hero being my first.

I enjoy just how bright and colorful the Shantae series is as a whole and never fails to make me feel a little warm on a cold rainy day, it's just adorable and pretty lighthearted that it's such a great game to vent stress. It's something that I feel any audience of any age would enjoy and can get together with. Each character with their personalities, dialogue and how they interact with one another is very amusing to me that it tickles the child version of me inside; to me, playing Shantae feels the same way how I'd felt when I used to watch cartoons when the clock turns 12 AM, there's something odd and weird about it that makes it calming; a part of it gives me the feeling of "I shouldn't but I enjoy this"- take that in however way you please.

This series is also the game that made me truly enjoy speed-running as a whole. I did it first with Half-Genie Hero and I spent a whole entire day and a half dedicated to just forming up the right route for my speed-runs, I had a total of four where my second to last was bugged and I had to redo, which made me want to pull my eyes out, regardless, at the end of it, I still felt accomplished and I always enjoy a sunny, bright vibe of a game that you can look back to after playing that for some weird reason, leaves you feeling pretty hopeful.

The pixelated art style really grew on me after playing it for a while and I even pondered if I like it more than the current art style with the whole cartoonish 2D thing.

It's a fun game that isn't too difficult yet still challenging in a way, with trophies and achievements that truly test you to your limits, characters that are very quirky and fun that it makes you want more, and a story-line that's pretty interesting and easy-to-follow. I can't recommend a better game when it comes to the Metroidvania series and I heavily recommend this game for any person of any age or taste.

I came out as Non-Binary after playing this game years ago

As my first 100% completion of a Shantae game, this was fantastic. Nowhere in the game did it feel boring, and the backtracking wasn't any bad. I love how much personality the sprite work has, and just makes the game feel so lively and charming. Getting new abilities was very satisfying, and I loved looking for all the secrets. Overall, if you're a fan of the Metroidvania genre, then this is definitely for you.