As you are already aware of, Wayforward has recently started sending out beta/demo codes to everyone who backed their Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Kickstarter project with a $45 dollar or more donation. Well I recently got my hands on mine today and put the demo through the paces and well I came away with a nice old’e grin on my face.
Ah, why isn’t this game out yet!!!!!
While I haven’t been the biggest fan of Shantae, that’s not to say that I don’t know of the series or dislike it, but rather that Shantae has basically been a series that has been exclusive to Nintendo’s handheld platforms. And well I typically don’t ever play with the portable gaming despite the fact that I’ve owned multiple systems. Hell I don’t touch my 3DS much or my Vita (no thanks to Sony). However this time around everyone will get to enjoy Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has it’s hitting multiple platforms; Wii U, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.
But let’s get back to the demo, shall we?
Consisting of just three short levels, the demo is really polished. It definitely shows how far the game has progressed and I can see why Wayforward has been tight lipped about it. Of the three levels you have access to a level that includes platforming and under water elements, a desert stage complete with blowing wind and stage that has Shantae shooting down a conveyor belt, while dodging rolling barrels and other sorts of enemies that are attacking her. Each level had a charm to it and I was instantly reminded of games of the past such as the Super Mario Series, especially Super Mario Bros. 3. On top of that, just about everything in the level had a high amount of animation, from Shantae herself, to the stage elements, right down to each enemy that I encountered. Even the jars that were littered across the level were well done.
Hell, I’d be amidst if I didn’t say that the way Shantae shakes those hips has got me mesmerized… er, yeah. The animation is really top notch here, especially the dance animation. Hey, don’t judge me, ok?
You want super fantastic sound track to go with your game? Well no worries here as Jake Kaufman, aka “Virt”, is at the helm here. if I really need to explain who this guy is and how many hits he’s worked on, then I don’t know what to say. It’s Jake Kaufman, you shouldn’t even have to worry about the soundtrack, but I’ll tell you form what I heard that it’s, well it’s exactly the type of music to expect from him. In fact if you want a taste, check out the videos at the end of this article, pretty sure you’ll like what you hear.
The controls were super responsive as well, I never encountered an issue where I died or fell or something other than due to me not paying attention. And while there was only access to just three short levels, it was still apparent on how well the game controlled.
But what really surprised me is the amount of detail in the system options. Sure there was nothing to adjust anti-antliasing or anything like that, not that the game needs it, but you had several options such as resolution which included a 3440 x 1440 setting, full screen and windowed, the control configuration. Nothing super exciting yet it was nice to see that the attention is there.
If the demo is this good, I can’t wait to see the final product from Wayforward and hopefully seeing that they just released the demo it means that the full version can’t be too much far behind. Maybe they’ll even announce something during E3 2015.
Regardless, it’s pretty safe to state that Wayforward Games has another hit on their hands. Damn I want more!
Oh, and we got some footage below that was streamed via Twitch and exported to Youtube. Sadly this is still processing, so it will look better when it’s done.
https://youtu.be/9v7IvPE8uyc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2RCNslammg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFcHfMTQfGI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQP4-7bE62A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAJPLGvYH7Y
