conTAgi0n
Smash Journeyman
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2015
- Messages
- 416
- Switch FC
- SW 1668 7817 3192
Yeah the results from this poll are kinda dumb. Waluigi far and away in first place among first parties is a surprise. Crash Bandicoot winning among third parties (if you combine the categories Crash Bandicoot + Crash) is an obvious result of his N. Sane Trilogy coming to Switch. Shovel Knight that close behind him makes sense I guess, but Rayman and Goku of all characters neck in neck for third is pretty ridiculous.
It's hard to know exactly what to make of this poll. All these online polls have to be taken with a grain of salt, since the methodology can never be that great. I believe this was posted only on Reddit, primarily on r/smashbros, a community which definitely has its own biases.
I do suspect that Waluigi has low key been one of the most popular picks all along. Reddit seems to have a particular fondness for him due to his meme status, but also on the occasions when I asked more casual gamers or semi-gamers in real life about the ballot, Waluigi's name came up often. His surprise dominance here may not be a fluke. Of course Goku is popular, but him showing up so strong in this poll surprises me as well. I would put it down to either Dragon Ball FighterZ, or loads of people memeing, or both. Rayman I think owes a permanent debt of gratitude to the Smashified guy for putting him on everyone's radar for Smash with that fake leak. He'd still be doing okay otherwise, but I think it helped him quite a lot.
Our girl Shantae comes in at a respectable but modest 7th among third party characters, after you combine "Crash" and "Crash Bandicoot". Definitely not as well as I was hoping. If anyone hasn't gone and cast a vote for her, I encourage you to do so.
Whether this poll is an accurate reflection of public opinion or not, I do think Shantae's star has somewhat faded. Why? Because honestly, Half Genie Hero just wasn't that great of a game. I've been meaning to write about this for a while now. Bear with me, because this is gonna be long and I'm about to get pretty negative, but it comes from a place of love for the series. I think seeing where HGH went wrong is important for understanding the series as a whole.
WHY HALF GENIE HERO IS THE WORST SHANTAE GAME
HGH wasn't a bad game. It was competently made. The artwork and music were great. I did have fun with it. But it was also lackluster and forgettable.
Half Genie Hero on its own merits
Considered on its own terms, it's a platformer with 5 or 6 large, multi-part levels. It's a relatively short game, stretched out by a lot of required backtracking through previously played levels. The gameplay and level design are fine, but nothing special. The overarching story is quite forgettable, with most of the levels driven by unrelated sub-quests. The world of Shantae is decently charming, if not a little superficial. The dialogue is fine. I only just started the DLC, but it seems very disappointing, in that it's just playing the same levels with new characters. Overall it's a respectable game, but it doesn't hold a candle to the likes of Shovel Knight or Celeste.
To see what a step backwards Half Genie Hero represents though, you have to compare it to the previous games, particularly its direct predecessor, Pirate's Curse.
Half Genie Hero vs Pirate's Curse
Pirate's Curse outclasses Half Genie Hero in basically every possible way.
First consider gameplay. Pirate's Curse was bold enough to ditch the genie powers altogether and show that Shantae and her series could work just fine without them. It was a really fresh direction for the series. Plus the gameplay is really fun - just watching the trailers makes you want to try out all her different abilities, and they are just as satisfying to use as they look.
Half Genie Hero, by contrast, feels mostly like a rehash of the gameplay from Risky's Revenge. The main differences are that it adds one magic spell (the most boring one, the shield), and a few very boring transformations. They didn't even do much to balance out the spells they ripped from Risky's Revenge, which varied widely in usefulness. The complete list of new transformations is: bat, crab, mouse, gem jug, dryad, and blob fish. The only one that isn't completely boring is the crab, and honestly I found the crab really annoying to play as. Overall, the gameplay is still fun, but controlling Shantae in this game isn't nearly as enjoyable as in Pirate's Curse. With the larger character models, and no abilities like the scimitar charge or scimitar dive, or the pirate's hat (such a great item), Shantae feels much more sluggish.
Not only is the gameplay in Pirate's Curse better, but there's a lot more of it. It's a bigger world, and Scuttle Town transforms the further you get into the game, making the whole world feel dynamic. The world of Half Genie Hero is much smaller, only partially because of the linear level design, and nothing ever changes. No matter how many times you kick ass in main street, it's always overrun with pirates.
Half Genie Hero compares even more unfavorably in terms of story telling. Pirate's Curse told a much more compelling and focused story, plus the game had a much grander feel to it. Not only that, but Pirate's Curse found a lot of time to develop the side cast. Bolo, Rottytops, Sky, and Risky Boots all had their characters fleshed out, and were made more complex and relatable. Those same characters in Half Genie Hero, by contrast, all come off as very shallow and one-note. Plus the dialogue is better in Pirate's Curse, and the jokes are funnier. I'm also disappointed that for the third time in a row, it's the same old townspeople, who have less interesting things to say than ever before.
Half Genie Hero vs Risky's Revenge
Most people think Pirate's Curse is the best Shantae game, so perhaps it's not surprising that HGH fares poorly in that comparison. But it also doesn't live up to either of the first two games.
As mentioned before, the gameplay in HGH is similar to that of Risky's Revenge, so in terms of controlling Shantae, they are pretty comparable. I don't care for any of the new transformations or the new magic spell in HGH, so I personally might favor Risky's Revenge for not having any extra crap. However, I'll call it a toss up when it comes to controlling Shantae. In terms of level design and world design though, Risky's Revenge is clearly better. There is a world to explore, plus dungeons, and the mechanics of controlling Shantae are much better suited to world exploration than linear platforming levels. Risky's Revenge also has a better story, and funnier jokes.
Half Genie Hero vs the original Shantae
The original Shantae game has a bit of a barrier to entry for most people. It doesn't guide you appropriately in where to go next or the importance of items, and is unforgiving at some points. For this reason, it's the one Shantae game most people would probably rank below HGH.
I think if you look past those difficulties though, it's clear that the original Shantae game is very special, I think also much better than HGH. I'll admit now that it's my favorite in the series, so feel welcome to accuse me of bias.
First of all, consider gameplay. Shantae feels very good to control in this game, and with the fighter's gear has a wide variety of moves. I personally think the dancing mechanic is amazing. It's one of my favorite gameplay mechanics of all time, and there's nothing out there quite like it. Inputting the dances is just so satisfying for some reason, and it makes the transformations feel more special somehow. Speaking of which, the different transformations and items are surprisingly well balanced, so that nothing is extra or unnecessary. One of the reasons most people struggle to get through the early portions of the game is that they don't realize how important the liberal use of items is. The puzzles, dungeons, and overworld are all very well designed. I also love that this has a big, completely unified 2D world to explore, with a number of neat little mini-games scattered throughout too. I have frequently picked this game back up just to mess around with moving Shantae and playing with all her different items, transformations, and abilities. Half Genie Hero never inspires me to do that.
The aesthetics really are top notch, pretty much the pinnacle of what the Game Boy Color could do, and they give the game a really unique, almost Wario Land-esque vibe to it that none of the other games emulate. The sprite work holds up beautifully, and the music is so good. There are still tracks in the original that I'm hoping they bring back. The strong point of Half Genie Hero is music and aesthetics though, so I can't say there's an objective winner here.
Unsurprisingly for a GBC game, the original doesn't boast a super in depth story, but it is simple and solid and surprisingly effective. There are also several towns filled with interesting NPCs.
The Big Picture
Now consider broader direction of the series. The original Shantae game was a masterpiece by GBC standards, and brings to life a colorful new world and cast of characters, and is full of great and original gameplay ideas. Ages later, Risky's Revenge finally came along, and while it wasn't as inspired as the original, it did a fine job bringing Shantae out of gaming history and into the modern era. Pirate's Curse hit a new high for the series by most people's reckoning, refining everything good about Risky's Revenge, while also doing something different and fresh with the series. It is the most traditional metroidvania, but it is executed so well, and actually adds depth to the world and to the characters. When the Half Genie Hero kickstarter succeeded, the future was looking really bright for Shantae. She was getting better with each game, and was already great in the last one. There was every reason to think the next one would be out of this world.
That was when the Smash Ballot happened. It was way easier to get people hyped about Shantae back then, because she had an awesome history and was clearly on the rise. It felt like her moment.
Then Half Genie Hero came out, and it just did not continue that upward trajectory at all. Shantae's latest game was very pretty to look at, but underneath the graphics was a game that was good but nothing to write home about. It wasn't a game that could sustain the Shantae hype, because it's not worthy of her legacy.
If Half Genie Hero had topped Pirate's Curse, people would be way more hyped for Shantae right now. Even in that dumb poll, whatever its flaws, she'd probably be competing with or beating Shovel Knight, rather than losing to ****ing Goku.
Keep in mind that even Mario doesn't have a perfect track record. You don't write off a franchise or a character because of one underwhelming game. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think Shantae may have hit her peak at just the right time to maximize her chances at a Smash appearance. But for an indie series with just a few games, the most recent one has the greatest impact on perception.
I also worry about what is next for Shantae. The next Shantae game is probably a long way off, so until then I'll just content myself with how fantastic the original game and Pirate's Curse are. But I really hope that Half Genie Hero goes down in history as a mistake that the Shantae series learns from, rather than the first step into mediocrity. There is so much more potential for greatness from the Shantae series, I would hate to see it squandered.
Last edited:
