I´m not sure why I didn´t think of her before.
What´s that? You´re not aware of who Shantae might be? She´s the protagonist of the eponymous game for the Gameboy Color, developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Capcom. It´s one of the best games for its system and actually excels at doing things that Gameboy Advance games took for granted; the definitive adventure experience, if you will. Unfortunately Shantae saw publication during the dying days of the GBC, and thus didn´t obtain the reputation that it most certainly deserved.
Shantae is a half-genie and protector of Scuttle Town, which is attacked by a pirate fleet lead by the lady-pirate Risky Boots. She seeks to obtain four magical gems and use them in combination with a new invention--the steam engine--to power a supremely destructive machine. Shantae chases her and her minions across her world, but in the end Risky manages to obtain all four gems. Shantae has a final showdown with her and emerges victorious, destroying the steam engine in the process. As a reward she is offered to become a full genie and enter the Genie Realm, but declines as it would mean saying goodbye to her earthly friends and family.
So why should Shantae be in? She´s just a great character idea. WayForward Technologies only has two games; this one and Sigma Star. It really wouldn´t hurt them to get a bit of spotlight, and if Sakurai decided to use their character they would most certainly agree under pretty much any terms, I can assure you. It´s not that farfetched of an idea, although I recognize that her appearance isn´t exactly a safe bet. She would be a great way of reviving a franchise that most definitely requires a second look at, however. She´s also a female character, has powers unique from pretty much every other Brawler and protagonizes an amazing adventure.
What are her abilities? Aside from having a plethora of items at her disposal, Shantae generally attacked enemies with her hair, using it like a whip. The centerpiece of her technique repetoire, however, was her ability to perform magical dances that would heal her or transport her to previously-visited worlds, or, most importantly, transform her into a number of magical creatures. More specifically she could become a block-smashing elephant, wall-climbing monkey, acid-spitting spider or sky-soaring harpy. If played in a Gameboy Advance, she could access a special fifth transformation in which she became a Tinkerbat, the main evil minion in the game.
Without further preamble, Shantae.
NEWCOMER: SHANTAE
from "Shantae", for the Gameboy Color
Stats (Out of Five)
Strength - ***
Weight - **
Speed - ****
Jump - ***
Other
Height - About the same as Peach
Falling Speed - Average
Notes
- Shantae´s dodging animation consists of a cartwheel. She travels farther when she dodges because of this.
- Shantae´s shield animation is exclusive. She actually becomes covered by a fireball that does no damage to her--it´s like any shield, but...a fireball.
A-Attacks (Ground)
A - Kick - A simple kick forward.
A, A - Kick, Horizontal Kick - A kick performed horizontally from right to left.
A, A, A - Kick, Horizontal Kick, Hair Stab - Jabs at the enemy with her ponytail.
Continued A - Capillary Assault - Repeatedly stabs the foe with her hair.
A-Up - Clap - Reaches up, arms spread, and claps them together.
A-Side - Sucker Punch - Rears her arm back and punches the foe squarely in the face.
A-Down - Split - Does a split, thrusting her palms against the ground for damage.
Dash - Elbow Dash - Crashes into the foe, elbow first.
A-Attacks (Air)
A - Hair Twirl - Ponytail moves by itself, twirling to slap the enemy.
A-Up - Moon Kick - Spins vertically full-circle, kicking the foe in the process.
A-Forward - Stinger - Presses her feet together, bends her legs back and thrusts them forward.
A-Backward - Pike Ball - A small, spiked ball flies out of Shantae´s pocket, hitting anyone behind her before returning to its place.
A-Down - Drill Kick - Claps her hands together and drills downward.
A-Attacks (Smash)
Smash-Forward - Assistance - Shantae takes out a magic lamp, out of which pops an etheral fist to punch the opponent away.
Smash-Up - Scissor Kick - Does a handstand, legs spread, and shuts her legs together in a scissor motion.
Smash-Down - Storm Puff - Forcefully throws a Storm Puff into the ground, provoking a small but powerful electrical discharge.
B-Attacks
B - Transformation Dance - Shantae assumes her dancing stance, with her hands clasped above her head and eyes closed. A shining blue aura forms around her. If the Transformation Dance is initiated in midair Shantae will be suspended in the air until the transformation is complete. This move cannot be canceled once initiated, but if you don´t press any buttons after it Shentae will return to normal after about 1.5 seconds of waiting for input. Weak attacks (4% or less) will not snap her out of her state, but stronger blows will. Once the Transformation Dance is initiated the outcome depends on the button combination you input. None of the transformations that she accesses can actually be controlled; they are automatic animations and Shantae returns to normal after they´re done.
- Monkey (A-A) - Shantae transforms into a monkey smaller than herself, which lunges toward the nearest opponent and swipes with the Monkey Claw. The attack is very fast and can reach even faraway foes, but has little knockback and leaves Shantae open for attack as she transforms back.
- Elephant (B-B) - Shantae transforms into an elephant somewhat taller than Bowser, which charges forward all the way to the edge of the platform that it stands on (unless it runs into a stage obstacle) before changing back. The attack is quite powerful and has high knockback, but the elephant runs slowly. It should also be noted that characters can stand on the elephant´s back. If performed in midair, the elephant will drop to the ground and then start charging.
- Spider (A-B) - Shantae transforms into a black spider about the size of Kirby, which spits a string of green acid forward in an upward angle. Any opponent hit by the venom will be poisoned, receiving small amounts of damage per second over a fairly long amount of time. Consuming healing items will also recover the foe from this effect.
- Harpy (B-A) - Shantae transforms into a harpy (a woman with the lower body, talons and wings of a bird, for those not too mythologically savvy). She then spins in place, wings spread out, emitting wind waves every which direction which knock opponents away with minimal damage. If performed in midair, wind waves are also sent down.
B-Up - Exit Candy - Shantae retreives a wrapped-up white-and-green candy and opens the wrapper, a mint-colored piece of candy popping out. Instantly a "door" opens directly behind Shantae (she is suspended if the move is performed in midair). By "door" I mean that a hole literally opens in the stage, as if the stage were a solid wall with everything painted on it rather than a 3D environment. A shadowy hand reaches out of this door and pulls Shantae in, as the door shuts. You have a small amount of time to determine the general direction in which the door to deliver Shantae back into the battlefield will open (with the Control Stick). When it opens, the swinging door can hurt enemies.
B-Side - Greedy Jar - This attack has some lag, as Shantae retreives a very large jar and heaves it, placing it on an opponent´s head if they are close enough and facing her. It does no damage, but leaves the character disoriented. This makes Control Stick directions opposite; up is down, left is right and so forth. The jar eventually disappears and Shantae must wait for it to disappear before being able to use this technique again. If Shantae fails to place the jar on someone´s head, she will stumble with the momentum of heaving it, leaving her wide open for attack.
As an aside, this being the Greedy Jar, the attack makes the foe cough up a particularly high number of coins in Coin Mode (assuming it´s also implemented into SSBB).
B-Down - Pike Balls - The same spiny ball that appears in Shantae´s aerial A-backward is used in this attack, but along with a pair. Both appear and spin around Shantae, hitting approaching enemies for minor damage. They do not reflect projectiles.
Grab Techniques
Grab - Tangle - Shantae´s ponytail reaches forward, grabbing the enemy.
A - Punish - Shantae holds the foe up with her hair and punches him/her.
Throw-Up - Heave-Ho - The ponytail spins the enemy around a couple times and then launches them upwards.
Throw-Side - Pulse Kick - Shantae holds the enemy up with her hair, rears her leg back and kicks them away with strength.
Throw-Down - Incinerate - Shantae drops the foe on the ground and lights herself up like in her shield animation. This does damage her opponent, inflicting the burn condition.
Taunt - Shantae faces the screen and does the "Yes!" arm motion (similar to what she´s doing in the image).
Super Smash - Advanced Dance - Shantae assumes her dance position with a bigger, more intense blue aura. You don´t have to input any commands for this one; she will automatically become the Tinkerbat, armored and with a sword. The Tinkerbat´s direction of movement and jump can be controlled by the player, but attacks cannot. It uses devastating sword combos and a more powerful version of the elephant´s charge to easily knock enemies out, and attacks pretty much whenever it gets close enough to a foe. Aside from being heavier and stronger than Shantae, it can run faster and jump higher. The transformation lasts for about ten seconds, after which Shantae returns to normal. To cancel it early, press B.
And that´s Shantae. I´m not very good at movesets; chances are it´s overpowered. Maybe if I made the results of the Transformation Dance random instead it´d be fairer, idunno...
In anycase, please express your opinion about this character. Small as her chances are, I´d love to see her in SSBB, as it´s perhaps the only thing nowadays that could spark interest in continuing a wonderful game.
Some screenshots.
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* The middle screenshot is actually from a planned Shantae GBA game that was never released.
What´s that? You´re not aware of who Shantae might be? She´s the protagonist of the eponymous game for the Gameboy Color, developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Capcom. It´s one of the best games for its system and actually excels at doing things that Gameboy Advance games took for granted; the definitive adventure experience, if you will. Unfortunately Shantae saw publication during the dying days of the GBC, and thus didn´t obtain the reputation that it most certainly deserved.
Shantae is a half-genie and protector of Scuttle Town, which is attacked by a pirate fleet lead by the lady-pirate Risky Boots. She seeks to obtain four magical gems and use them in combination with a new invention--the steam engine--to power a supremely destructive machine. Shantae chases her and her minions across her world, but in the end Risky manages to obtain all four gems. Shantae has a final showdown with her and emerges victorious, destroying the steam engine in the process. As a reward she is offered to become a full genie and enter the Genie Realm, but declines as it would mean saying goodbye to her earthly friends and family.
So why should Shantae be in? She´s just a great character idea. WayForward Technologies only has two games; this one and Sigma Star. It really wouldn´t hurt them to get a bit of spotlight, and if Sakurai decided to use their character they would most certainly agree under pretty much any terms, I can assure you. It´s not that farfetched of an idea, although I recognize that her appearance isn´t exactly a safe bet. She would be a great way of reviving a franchise that most definitely requires a second look at, however. She´s also a female character, has powers unique from pretty much every other Brawler and protagonizes an amazing adventure.
What are her abilities? Aside from having a plethora of items at her disposal, Shantae generally attacked enemies with her hair, using it like a whip. The centerpiece of her technique repetoire, however, was her ability to perform magical dances that would heal her or transport her to previously-visited worlds, or, most importantly, transform her into a number of magical creatures. More specifically she could become a block-smashing elephant, wall-climbing monkey, acid-spitting spider or sky-soaring harpy. If played in a Gameboy Advance, she could access a special fifth transformation in which she became a Tinkerbat, the main evil minion in the game.
Without further preamble, Shantae.
NEWCOMER: SHANTAE
from "Shantae", for the Gameboy Color
Stats (Out of Five)
Strength - ***
Weight - **
Speed - ****
Jump - ***
Other
Height - About the same as Peach
Falling Speed - Average
Notes
- Shantae´s dodging animation consists of a cartwheel. She travels farther when she dodges because of this.
- Shantae´s shield animation is exclusive. She actually becomes covered by a fireball that does no damage to her--it´s like any shield, but...a fireball.
A-Attacks (Ground)
A - Kick - A simple kick forward.
A, A - Kick, Horizontal Kick - A kick performed horizontally from right to left.
A, A, A - Kick, Horizontal Kick, Hair Stab - Jabs at the enemy with her ponytail.
Continued A - Capillary Assault - Repeatedly stabs the foe with her hair.
A-Up - Clap - Reaches up, arms spread, and claps them together.
A-Side - Sucker Punch - Rears her arm back and punches the foe squarely in the face.
A-Down - Split - Does a split, thrusting her palms against the ground for damage.
Dash - Elbow Dash - Crashes into the foe, elbow first.
A-Attacks (Air)
A - Hair Twirl - Ponytail moves by itself, twirling to slap the enemy.
A-Up - Moon Kick - Spins vertically full-circle, kicking the foe in the process.
A-Forward - Stinger - Presses her feet together, bends her legs back and thrusts them forward.
A-Backward - Pike Ball - A small, spiked ball flies out of Shantae´s pocket, hitting anyone behind her before returning to its place.
A-Down - Drill Kick - Claps her hands together and drills downward.
A-Attacks (Smash)
Smash-Forward - Assistance - Shantae takes out a magic lamp, out of which pops an etheral fist to punch the opponent away.
Smash-Up - Scissor Kick - Does a handstand, legs spread, and shuts her legs together in a scissor motion.
Smash-Down - Storm Puff - Forcefully throws a Storm Puff into the ground, provoking a small but powerful electrical discharge.
B-Attacks
B - Transformation Dance - Shantae assumes her dancing stance, with her hands clasped above her head and eyes closed. A shining blue aura forms around her. If the Transformation Dance is initiated in midair Shantae will be suspended in the air until the transformation is complete. This move cannot be canceled once initiated, but if you don´t press any buttons after it Shentae will return to normal after about 1.5 seconds of waiting for input. Weak attacks (4% or less) will not snap her out of her state, but stronger blows will. Once the Transformation Dance is initiated the outcome depends on the button combination you input. None of the transformations that she accesses can actually be controlled; they are automatic animations and Shantae returns to normal after they´re done.
- Monkey (A-A) - Shantae transforms into a monkey smaller than herself, which lunges toward the nearest opponent and swipes with the Monkey Claw. The attack is very fast and can reach even faraway foes, but has little knockback and leaves Shantae open for attack as she transforms back.
- Elephant (B-B) - Shantae transforms into an elephant somewhat taller than Bowser, which charges forward all the way to the edge of the platform that it stands on (unless it runs into a stage obstacle) before changing back. The attack is quite powerful and has high knockback, but the elephant runs slowly. It should also be noted that characters can stand on the elephant´s back. If performed in midair, the elephant will drop to the ground and then start charging.
- Spider (A-B) - Shantae transforms into a black spider about the size of Kirby, which spits a string of green acid forward in an upward angle. Any opponent hit by the venom will be poisoned, receiving small amounts of damage per second over a fairly long amount of time. Consuming healing items will also recover the foe from this effect.
- Harpy (B-A) - Shantae transforms into a harpy (a woman with the lower body, talons and wings of a bird, for those not too mythologically savvy). She then spins in place, wings spread out, emitting wind waves every which direction which knock opponents away with minimal damage. If performed in midair, wind waves are also sent down.
B-Up - Exit Candy - Shantae retreives a wrapped-up white-and-green candy and opens the wrapper, a mint-colored piece of candy popping out. Instantly a "door" opens directly behind Shantae (she is suspended if the move is performed in midair). By "door" I mean that a hole literally opens in the stage, as if the stage were a solid wall with everything painted on it rather than a 3D environment. A shadowy hand reaches out of this door and pulls Shantae in, as the door shuts. You have a small amount of time to determine the general direction in which the door to deliver Shantae back into the battlefield will open (with the Control Stick). When it opens, the swinging door can hurt enemies.
B-Side - Greedy Jar - This attack has some lag, as Shantae retreives a very large jar and heaves it, placing it on an opponent´s head if they are close enough and facing her. It does no damage, but leaves the character disoriented. This makes Control Stick directions opposite; up is down, left is right and so forth. The jar eventually disappears and Shantae must wait for it to disappear before being able to use this technique again. If Shantae fails to place the jar on someone´s head, she will stumble with the momentum of heaving it, leaving her wide open for attack.
As an aside, this being the Greedy Jar, the attack makes the foe cough up a particularly high number of coins in Coin Mode (assuming it´s also implemented into SSBB).
B-Down - Pike Balls - The same spiny ball that appears in Shantae´s aerial A-backward is used in this attack, but along with a pair. Both appear and spin around Shantae, hitting approaching enemies for minor damage. They do not reflect projectiles.
Grab Techniques
Grab - Tangle - Shantae´s ponytail reaches forward, grabbing the enemy.
A - Punish - Shantae holds the foe up with her hair and punches him/her.
Throw-Up - Heave-Ho - The ponytail spins the enemy around a couple times and then launches them upwards.
Throw-Side - Pulse Kick - Shantae holds the enemy up with her hair, rears her leg back and kicks them away with strength.
Throw-Down - Incinerate - Shantae drops the foe on the ground and lights herself up like in her shield animation. This does damage her opponent, inflicting the burn condition.
Taunt - Shantae faces the screen and does the "Yes!" arm motion (similar to what she´s doing in the image).
Super Smash - Advanced Dance - Shantae assumes her dance position with a bigger, more intense blue aura. You don´t have to input any commands for this one; she will automatically become the Tinkerbat, armored and with a sword. The Tinkerbat´s direction of movement and jump can be controlled by the player, but attacks cannot. It uses devastating sword combos and a more powerful version of the elephant´s charge to easily knock enemies out, and attacks pretty much whenever it gets close enough to a foe. Aside from being heavier and stronger than Shantae, it can run faster and jump higher. The transformation lasts for about ten seconds, after which Shantae returns to normal. To cancel it early, press B.
***
And that´s Shantae. I´m not very good at movesets; chances are it´s overpowered. Maybe if I made the results of the Transformation Dance random instead it´d be fairer, idunno...
In anycase, please express your opinion about this character. Small as her chances are, I´d love to see her in SSBB, as it´s perhaps the only thing nowadays that could spark interest in continuing a wonderful game.
Some screenshots.
* The middle screenshot is actually from a planned Shantae GBA game that was never released.
