Blah blah blah. TIME TO RANT.

First of, do not buy this version of the game. Just get the "The Ultimate Edition." Why? Very simple, if you ever want to play the DLC, which locks a decent amount of content behind it. You'll have to pay a total of $46 USD, oppose to $30 from The Ultimate Edition, which comes with all the DLC. Sadly the DLC is not bundled up, and the price amounts to $26, basically what The Ultimate Edition costs. However, it might be slightly better to get this version if it's on sale along the DLC. One more thing regarding DLC. Sorry for having to be that one person, but I absolutely hate how like 1/3 of the achievements are locked behind the DLC. It really sucks.

Do I recommend this game? Yes, no, maybe, perhaps. I can't say with certainty. If I were to recommend a Shantae game to someone, it would definitely be Pirate's Curse.

What do I personally find bad about the game. It comes mostly comes down to the boss battles vs environmental hazards. I kid you not, the final boss is easier than all the environmental hazards through-out the stage. This wasn't just a final stage issue. It was also during the Tassel Town Tower climb, and the parkour with all those harpies and munchers. The boss of that stage, pretty easy. Done hitless. Then you have the Carper Race. Lost more HP to falling off a carpet than getting hit by the boss of the stage. As well as falling into a pit during the air ships/getting obliterated by lasers. It feels like the entirety of the game is focused behind you not trying to ♥♥♥♥ up a jump and be sent back to the beginning of that section. Enemies don't really do anything to you, and the bosses are very underwhelming.

Something that some people might not be into. There is a LOT of backtracking. Naturally, this being a Metroidvania type of game. If you are not up for a lot of back tracking, this game is definitely not for you, since that's what you'll be doing the most. There are a total of 6 stages. And you'll only be going through 4 repeatedly.

The Story. If you are here for the story, throw that out the window. The game can be summed up pretty quick. Risky has evil plan, you play into her, and now you must save your fellow Genies.

How many hours can you squeeze out of this game? To be honest. I'm not really sure. You have to complete the game multiple times. Considering you already know what to do and where every item is, I suppose it would take you some 12~14 hours to 100% it. You can definitely 100% the base game in 7 hours.

Did I absolutely disliked the game? No, not really. Otherwise I wouldn't have put 10 hours into it. It definitely has its own charm. The art style is pretty good. And the transformations allow for different ways of traversing the stages, which is pretty neat.

(One small last thing. The Fan Art Gallery is extremely wack. Some of the Fan Art is not even Shantae related, lol)

Blah blah blah. TIME TO RANT. First of, do not buy this version of the game. Just get the "The Ultimate Edition." Why? Very simple, if you ever want to play the DLC, which locks a decent amount of content behind it. You'll have to pay a total of $46 USD, oppose to $30 from The Ultimate Edition, which comes with all the DLC. Sadly the DLC is not bundled up, and the price amounts to $26, basically what The Ultimate Edition costs. However, it might be slightly better to get this version if it's on sale along the DLC. One more thing regarding DLC. Sorry for having to be that one person, but I absolutely hate how like 1/3 of the achievements are locked behind the DLC. It really sucks. Do I recommend this game? Yes, no, maybe, perhaps. I can't say with certainty. If I were to recommend a Shantae game to someone, it would definitely be Pirate's Curse. What do I personally find bad about the game. It comes mostly comes down to the boss battles vs environmental hazards. I kid you not, the final boss is easier than all the environmental hazards through-out the stage. This wasn't just a final stage issue. It was also during the Tassel Town Tower climb, and the parkour with all those harpies and munchers. The boss of that stage, pretty easy. Done hitless. Then you have the Carper Race. Lost more HP to falling off a carpet than getting hit by the boss of the stage. As well as falling into a pit during the air ships/getting obliterated by lasers. It feels like the entirety of the game is focused behind you not trying to fuck up a jump and be sent back to the beginning of that section. Enemies don't really do anything to you, and the bosses are very underwhelming. Something that some people might not be into. There is a LOT of backtracking. Naturally, this being a Metroidvania type of game. If you are not up for a lot of back tracking, this game is definitely not for you, since that's what you'll be doing the most. There are a total of 6 stages. And you'll only be going through 4 repeatedly. The Story. If you are here for the story, throw that out the window. The game can be summed up pretty quick. Risky has evil plan, you play into her, and now you must save your fellow Genies. How many hours can you squeeze out of this game? To be honest. I'm not really sure. You have to complete the game multiple times. Considering you already know what to do and where every item is, I suppose it would take you some 12~14 hours to 100% it. You can definitely 100% the base game in 7 hours. Did I absolutely disliked the game? No, not really. Otherwise I wouldn't have put 10 hours into it. It definitely has its own charm. The art style is pretty good. And the transformations allow for different ways of traversing the stages, which is pretty neat. (One small last thing. The Fan Art Gallery is extremely wack. Some of the Fan Art is not even Shantae related, lol)