Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut review

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge is the sequel to 2002 Game Boy Color video game Shantae and was first released in 2010 for the Nintendo DSi followed by an iOS release a year later. It was overall well-received by critics averaging an 85% on Metacritic. The Director’s Cut was first released in 2014 for PC which featured a re-imagined Warp System and the “Magic Mode”; 2 features that were introduced in the iOS version. Fast-forward to October 2020 where the game made its debut on a Microsoft console with an Xbox One version.

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut tells the story of Shantae as her and her friends watch her uncle Mimic unveil an ordinary-looking lamp encased in stone. As they wonder what the purpose of it could be, Risky Boots and her devious pirates crash the event in order to steal the lamp for herself. During the skirmish, Shantae is knocked out, allowing Risky to escape. After being fired as Scuttle Town’s Guardian by Mayor Scuttlebutt, Shantae decides to take responsibility and sets out to stop Risky’s newest devious plan.

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut is a 2D Metroidvania style game where players need to explore every area in order to find every little secret. As being a game that falls under the Metroidvania genre, it will require players to do a lot of backtracking as sometimes you might come across a dead-end; a dead-end you can return once you’ve acquired the necessary skill to push forward.

Thankfully, the game also benefits from a fast-travel feature; given that Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut falls under the Metroidvania genre, you’ll constantly have to re-visit previously visited areas in order to discover new paths and areas as you progressively unlock new skills. With the benefit of fast travel, you can easily zip from one place to another and pick up where you left off.

Fans of the series who feel like the game isn’t challenging enough can tackle the newly added Magic Mode where Shantae possesses enhanced magical skills, however will take more damage. Think of it as a New Game+ mode available out of the box. It’s a nice way to extend the game’s replay value and experience the game in a different light with a different strategy.

The game’s biggest nuisance is that navigation can be confusing at times; especially in the main hub. To move change areas, you need to find designed areas that will allow you to go in the foreground or background thus allowing you to keep moving forward. It’s not always obvious and it’s quite annoying as you can easily waste time trying to figure out where to go when it was right under your nose.

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut looks great in all of its 8-bit pixelated glory. The visuals hold up pretty well and can feel like a pixelated 2D game developed for today’s platforms. Areas are surprisingly detailed and colorful ensuring a new transition from level to level. Characters are unique; aside from the genies that have similar traits. The soundtrack is a typical upbeat, cutesy soundtrack; nothing out of the ordinary.

I can understand that Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut is an upgrade of a nearly 20-year-old game, but if you play this after Shantae and the Seven Sirens, you’ll have a hard time enjoying this one. While the platforming is quite solid, the rest feels archaic; especially navigation which is can be confusing at times and frustrating as you waste time going around in circles. A must-play for those looking for a true-to-form old experience; otherwise, this is a pass.