Shantae and the Seven Sirens
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a platform game developed by WayForward. It is the fifth game in the Shantae series, following Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. The game was released for iOS in September 2019, macOS in October 2019, with Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions released on May 28, 2020.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens | |
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Developer(s) | WayForward |
Publisher(s) | WayForward |
Director(s) | Matt Bozon |
Producer(s) | Mo Sabawi Glenn Seidel |
Designer(s) | Matt Bozon |
Programmer(s) | Walter Hecht |
Artist(s) | Chris Drysdale |
Writer(s) | Matt Bozon |
Composer(s) | Kentaro Sakamoto Mark Sparling Madeline Lim Gavin Allen |
Series | Shantae |
Platform(s) | iOS macOS Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Xbox One |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Platform, Metroidvania |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
As a return to the style of the first three entries in the series, the game follows the half-genie Shantae as she explores an interconnected world. During her journey, Shantae encounters towns with non-player characters to interact with, as well as dungeon-style labyrinths containing new abilities to unlock and bosses to defeat. Shantae retains her ability to transform into other creatures, now utilized via an ability called "fusion magic" that allows her to instantly transform and use a creature's ability with a button press instead having to select it like in past games, functioning similarly to the Pirate Weapons in Pirate's Curse. Additional special abilities can be performed by dancing, such as revealing hidden objects or healing wilted plants. Defeated enemies will sometimes drop collectible Monster Cards bearing their image. By finding a certain number of a given card, Shantae can equip it to augment her abilities, providing bonuses such as increased movement speed or magic automatically refilling over time. Up to three cards can be equipped at once, with a total of 50 different cards to collect.[2] Like other games in the series, completing the story awards the player with bonus artwork based on their final time and completion percentage. A New Game Plus mode allows the player to replay the game with higher magic but lower defense.
Plot
The half-genie Shantae and her friends are invited to Paradise Island for the Half-Genie Festival, where she meets and befriends a group of fellow half-genies. However, during a performance at the festival, the other half-genies are kidnapped. Determined to uncover the reason for their disappearance, Shantae begins exploring the Sunken City beneath the island in search of the other half-genies. Along the way, she encounters her longtime arch-nemesis Risky Boots, who seeks a mysterious treasure said to reside beneath the island, and battles the half-genies' captors and rulers of the island, the Seven Sirens.[3]
Development
On March 25, 2019, WayForward revealed the game under the working title Shantae 5, and stated it would be released on multiple platforms, including the newly-announced Apple Arcade service, later that same year.[4][5] The official title and first gameplay details were confirmed the following August.[6] Seven Sirens features 2D hand-painted artwork designed for 4K resolution devices, along with animated cutscenes.[7] The game's opening sequence was animated by Trigger and features an original song, "Rise and Shine Shantae", with vocals by Shantae voice actress Cristina Vee.[8] The first part of the game[9] was released for iOS on September 19, 2019 as a launch title of the Apple Arcade subscription service;[10] the remainder of the game will be added with a forthcoming update.[11] iPadOS and tvOS versions of the game on Apple Arcade were released on September 30.[12] macOS versions of the game on Apple Arcade were released on October 7. The console and PC versions of the game were released on May 28, 2020.[13] The Part 2 update for the Apple Arcade versions was released on March 28, 2020.
References
- "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- Doolan, Liam (August 14, 2019). "WayForward Reveals Shantae And The Seven Sirens, The Half-Genie Hero's Next Adventure". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- Craddock, Ryan (March 27, 2020). "Shantae And The Seven Sirens Sets Course For Switch This May, New Details Revealed". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- Khan, Imran (March 25, 2019). "WayForward Announces Shantae 5". GameInformer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- Moyse, Chris (March 25, 2019). "Shantae returns in an all new adventure later this year". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- Moyse, Chris (March 25, 2019). "Shantae and the Seven Sirens reveals title, plot details and first screenshots". Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- Khan, Imran (August 14, 2019). "WayForward Reveals Shantae And The Seven Sirens". GameInformer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- Moyse, Chris (July 5, 2019). "Check out Shantae 5's wild opening anime right here". Destructoid. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- @WayForward (September 18, 2019). "Join Shantae on an all-new tropical adventure! Shantae and the Seven Sirens Part 1 launches tomorrow @AppleArcade!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019 – via Twitter.
- Wales, Matt (September 16, 2019). "Here's every game launching as part of Apple Arcade this Thursday". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Carter, Chris (September 22, 2019). "Review: Shantae and the Seven Sirens Part 1". Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- "Apple Arcade press release". Apple. September 10, 2019. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
- @WayForward (December 12, 2019). "Hey, everyone! Development on Shantae and the Seven Sirens for Console/PC (and Apple Arcade Part 2) is nearly finished! We've moved the release window to Spring 2020, but promise it will be worth the wait! Thank you for your support!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 12, 2019 – via Twitter.