The Half Genie Protector of Scuttle Town, Shantae for SSB4 (WayForward wants her in Smash)

[TheRickyWill]

you never got past the first part, if you did you would understood what made the banjo series so great.

the first level was the weakest imo of the game, it gets better as you go along.

give it a shot if you have 360 or an xbox one.

but remember it won't be the same experience as it was the n64.

I did at least get through some of Treasure Trove cove, and then my interest in the game dropped like a rock.

Rare's "collectathon" platformers actually kindof bore me. A game where you're required to pretty much step on every single ant to properly beat it isn't exactly my idea of fun.

I'd happily play most of Rare's other classic games, like the original Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, and Battletoads.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

I did at least get through some of Treasure Trove cove, and then my interest in the game dropped like a rock.

Rare's "collectathon" platformers actually kindof bore me. A game where you're required to pretty much step on every single ant to properly beat it isn't exactly my idea of fun.

I'd happily play most of Rare's other classic games, like the original Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, and Battletoads.

that's understandable not everybody likes every type of game XD

 

[Black-magic13]

I don't know if it means much but

http://www.vcpost.com/articles/8978...h-bros-4-dlc-news-shantae-half-genie-hero.htm

According to this site she is seen as really wanted .

 

[TheRickyWill]

that's understandable not everybody likes every type of game XD

But it does say something really odd about me that I'd rather go through the infamous Turbo Tunnel than play Banjo-Kazooie.

It's not that hard tbh

 

[XbusterKosmos]

I don't know if it means much but

http://www.vcpost.com/articles/8978...h-bros-4-dlc-news-shantae-half-genie-hero.htm

According to this site she is seen as really wanted .

that's site i got my info from, thank you for linking it

But it does say something really odd about me that I'd rather go through the infamous Turbo Tunnel than play Banjo-Kazooie.
View attachment 73192
It's not that hard tbh

no worries i am not judgemental XD

 

[Children0fTheStars]

I did at least get through some of Treasure Trove cove, and then my interest in the game dropped like a rock.

Rare's "collectathon" platformers actually kindof bore me. A game where you're required to pretty much step on every single ant to properly beat it isn't exactly my idea of fun.

I'd happily play most of Rare's other classic games, like the original Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, and Battletoads.

How do you feel about the 3D platformers on the Playstation 1 and 2 in comparison?

Bought Freedom Planet by the way. Was trying to decide between it, the Bayonetta series, Half-Life 1, and Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation for new games to try out. I figure TLR will go on sale when Rise of the Tomb Raider launches in November, but if not, oh well.

(Tried the Bayonetta demo and the gameplay's fun, but I don't know how I feel about spending on Beat-em-Ups at the moment plus a few other things I'd rather not go into)

 

[XbusterKosmos]

bayonetta is fun, but its gets stale at some points.

i still haven't given its full effort yet though so can't say much.

 

[TheRickyWill]

How do you feel about the 3D platformers on the Playstation 1 and 2 in comparison?

Bought Freedom Planet by the way. Was trying to decide between it, the Bayonetta series, Half-Life 1, and Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation for new games to try out. I figure TLR will go on sale when Rise of the Tomb Raider launches in November, but if not, oh well.

(Tried the Bayonetta demo and the gameplay's fun, but I don't know how I feel about spending on Beat-em-Ups at the moment plus a few other things I'd rather not go into)

If you remove a lot of the licensed games, 3D platformers on the PS1 were a lot more varied. For example, Ape Escape, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, and Mega Man Legends are all completely different from eachother.

There were a large number of 2D platformers that really add a lot more variety on the PS1, such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (and Exodus), and Mega Man X4.

Speaking of 2D platformers, in order to hold myself over until Half-Genie Hero comes out, I decided to play Super Metroid for the first time, and I love it.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

never played super metroid XD, anyways a new shantae game is coming out?

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

never played super metroid XD, anyways a new shantae game is coming out?

Yes, Half Genie Hero is the next game in the lineup.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

nice, is out on the wiiu or ps4?

 

[TheRickyWill]

nice, is out on the wiiu or ps4?

It's going to be on every current system except the 3DS and toaster oven.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

It's going to be on every current system except the 3DS and toaster oven.

good my wiiu doesn't have too much space left XD

 

[TheRickyWill]

Even though the 3DS isn't going to get it, I think iOS might, as Ducktales Remastered saw a release on it, meaning that the engine has no real problem running on the platform, and it's the same engine that Half-Genie Hero is using.

Hey, the wider audience for Shantae, the better. I'm probably one of the ten people in the gaming community that doesn't see mobile gaming as a creation of Satan, anyway.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

my iphone can handle it but i prefer console.

 

[TheRickyWill]

It was such a simpler time...

(Bonus Level does fantastic work by the way)

 

[XbusterKosmos]

simpler times are usually the best XD

 

[TheRickyWill]

So James and Adam from Wayforward are at Long Beach Comic-Con, showing off Dot Arcade and Veecaloid Pop.

They also have candy

 

[XbusterKosmos]

you know they should just announce Shantae and shovel knight already, we all know they had those characters ready before the ballot.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Spoiler

WHAT

 

[DoctorSanity]

Alright that bit of writing is enough for Shantae to deserve a spot in Smash I stg

 

[XbusterKosmos]

she is going to dance her way into the roster.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Alright that bit of writing is enough for Shantae to deserve a spot in Smash I stg

It's a great bit of Wayforward's humor, as any other game would either have the NPC tell you to go back or not respond at all.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Now this is the type of Shantae art I like to see!

DON'T JUDGE ME

 

[B.H. and DD]

Now this is the type of Shantae art I like to see!

DON'T JUDGE ME

Badass. Just like Shantae herself.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Badass. Just like Shantae herself.

Whenever I think of Shantae, I tend to think of Wonder Woman.

More specifically, Wonder Woman being awesome.

Or Spider-Gwen.

Both are good.

 

[GoldLiger]

This is awesome news. You can see my comment in the article recently posted on here lol.

#Shantae4Smash!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's continue supporting our Half-Genie Hero.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

That picture will make a great avatar.

 

[TheRickyWill]

This is awesome news. You can see my comment in the article recently posted on here lol.

#Shantae4Smash!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's continue supporting our Half-Genie Hero.

The next time someone asks you why they should support #ShantaeforSmash, show them those two pictures.



they'll understand

That picture will make a great avatar.

I already made the top one the wallpaper on my smartphone.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

Yeah i got acnologia on my phone lol

 

[SuperSegaSonicSS]

http://ender-creep.deviantart.com/art/Custom-Super-Mario-Maker-Costumes-559656824

Zoomed in for clarity.

 

[TheRickyWill]

http://ender-creep.deviantart.com/art/Custom-Super-Mario-Maker-Costumes-559656824

Zoomed in for clarity.

SEGA HARD GIRLS AMIIBO NEED TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW

 

[XbusterKosmos]

Sega girls interesting.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Sega girls interesting.

It's a fun little anime(?), and is absolute fanservice if you're a longtime SEGA fan.

 

[XbusterKosmos]

Cool, well i might check it out then.

 

[TheRickyWill]

Quick, someone pitch this to Wayforward and Yacht Club to have the Shovel Knight Amiibo work for Half-Genie Hero.

Because we know it's going to do nothing outside of it's own game.

And maybe the Shantae Amiibo can work the other way around. Who knows? so I can have an excuse to play the game that isn't a demo

 

[B.H. and DD]

I have a weird question. If Shantae doesn't make it through the ballot, could WayForward pay for her to get in. Or a more respectable way would be a kickstarter to let Sakurai know we want her in. I mean, I know it's weird but with WayForward wanting her in, there could be multiple ways we could make it work. Yatch Club convinced Nintendo to make a Shovel Knight amiibo so maybe WayForward can convince them to get her in Smash.

 

[Midnight Twinkle]

I have a weird question. If Shantae doesn't make it through the ballot, could WayForward pay for her to get in. Or a more respectable way would be a kickstarter to let Sakurai know we want her in. I mean, I know it's weird but with WayForward wanting her in, there could be multiple ways we could make it work. Yatch Club convinced Nintendo to make a Shovel Knight amiibo so maybe WayForward can convince them to get her in Smash.

I'm pretty sure that after the ballot characters are finished, Sakurai is gonna disband the current Smash Team. He'll still have his original staff, but the staff from Namco will move on to other things. And from what I hear they've played a big part. So if Shantae doesn't get in via ballot, then I suspect we'll just have to wait for Smash 5.

 

[TheRickyWill]

I have a weird question. If Shantae doesn't make it through the ballot, could WayForward pay for her to get in. Or a more respectable way would be a kickstarter to let Sakurai know we want her in. I mean, I know it's weird but with WayForward wanting her in, there could be multiple ways we could make it work. Yatch Club convinced Nintendo to make a Shovel Knight amiibo so maybe WayForward can convince them to get her in Smash.

Considering how Snake's inclusion was literally based on

"Hey Sakurai, ol' chum! Can you put my character in Smash?"

"Sure thing, Kojima!"

Probably.

So I'll just dump this again in order to have some backup for Shantae.

That you all should probably use every once in a while.

Shantae's history and the issues her and Wayforward faced since she a was female protagonist, and what she'll represent as a 3rd party.

Spoiler

Hate to be PC, but... Here's a few quotes from a blog post I found that really opened my eyes:

"If you look at all the video game franchises with three or more games, only 12 have women as the main characters. WayForward’s Shantae the half-genie represents a particularly important - if often overlooked - milestone in representation for female characters."

"Created in 1994 by Erin Bell, with some input from her future husband Matt Bozon, Shantae is the first female character to have her own successful game franchise that was always intended to be female and the star, and who wasn’t spun off a male character’s game." (Believe it or not, it's true! Popular female protagonists like Samus and Lara Croft were first conceptualized as male characters.)

Something interesting I also found was this quote from Matt Bozon about a comment he made during an interview about the difficulty of pitching Shantae to publishers, long before the Game Boy Color game:
"The female character thing… at the beginning, my goodness, you would not believe how hard that was. We had opportunities to get the Shantae project rolling for a while and there were plenty of conversations. With a young game industry - with people who had some money and would have to make a colossal risk to get the game manufactured and into stores, and they would ask some tough questions like “We gotta ask you… have you considered making it a male character instead? ‘Cause this is a male audience. Gotta put a guy. We don’t know, it’s never been proven that a male-dominated audience will accept a female character. Especially one that looks like this. She’s not tough, she’s just this unsuspecting [belly dancer]!” I think we were taking on too many things at the time that were risky. … It was a female character. It was a dancing game. And when we were pitching this, there was no DDR yet. We were saying we want this to be where you have to have some rhythm and there’s like a beat to it in order to transform. And they were like "Oh, it’s too hard to understand what that’d be like. What if somebody can’t get that concept?” “Well we think we can teach it to them.” “Mm… I don’t know. And it’s a girl?” And a couple of times they were like “If you put a male character and even have it be selectable, you can play as the male character or the female character. Or maybe you unlock the female character!” And we were like “NO. This is what the game is; we want it to be about this. This is her, this is her game."
Keep in mind that these pitches that Matt is talking about were made long before games like Tomb Raider, which was an enourmous success.

PERSONALLY, THIS FEELS IMPORTANT.

In a time where female leads, and diversity in general, is becoming encouraged in gaming (heck, Nintendo's been doing it by putting the spotlight more on the Inkling Girl in Splatoon, and the inclusion of same-sex relationships in Fire Emblem: Fates).

Shantae personally seems like a character that seems capable of representing something more than the eShop, Indies,and Handheld-born franchises. She is one of the very first female protagonists (Not to mention of a different race/color) of a long-running franchise. Like the quote above says, there's only 12 franchises mainly starring with 3 or more games. Shantae has been critically successful, and some of her games have sold well, too. She's is currently fast approacing her fourth and largest installment.

That sounds like a pretty solid reason to put Shantae in Smash Bros, to me.

Every 3rd party in Super Smash Bros has their proper place, from gaming's past to it's future.

>Pac-Man was the game that brought gaming to a larger audience.

>Mega Man was one of the most succesful 3rd party franchises birthed on Nintendo, and constantly changed and evolved on it as the systems did.

>Solid Snake added more story elements to games, and introduced a new mechanic to gaming: Stealth.

>Sonic was the one who stepped up against Mr. Video Game himself, with a battle that changed the gaming industry.

So, what will Shantae bring to the table? What impact has she made, or what will impact will she make?
Well, Shantae will represent the growing encouragement of diversity within gaming, and promote the independent developers who struggle just to bring their vision to life.

C'mon, do you want Samus to continue to be the only female protagonist on the roster?

Nintendo Power coverage...

Spoiler

Also pointing out that Pirate's Curse had a cover story and Risky's Revenge had multi-issue coverage helps.

Reviews!

Spoiler

GBC original
"Shantae uses the WayForward GBC engine at its absolute peak, showing off elements that push the Game Boy Color hardware almost into Game Boy Advance territory. You'll find multi-scrolling backgrounds, water transparencies, night and day effects...By far, the prettiest Game Boy Color game ever created. This is one well-rounded package, and definitely one that no handheld gamers should be without." -IGN Pocket (score 9/10)

"Great graphics, solid play control and the developers' obvious commitment to create a game with real depth. Shantae may seem like an unlikely title to garner such praise, but this purple-ponytailed newcomer is for real." -Nintendo.com (score 4.5/5)

"Shantae hits all the right notes—from the solid audio and video to simple, tight controls. Shantae is one virtual babe who’s worth the hefty time investment to get to know better." -Gamepro.com (score 4.5/5)

"This title has everything--it looks great, sounds wonderful, and the gameplay is outstanding and varied. ...The whole game is truly a visual feast; Shantae will stand out as one of the few titles to demonstrate what the GBC was capable of, and more importantly, what the GBA should be doing." -EAGB (score 5/5)

"Shantae really is one of the best games on the Game Boy Color, and in many ways can easily stand shoulder to shoulder with games released on the Game Boy Advance. The folks at Wayforward Technologies really must be commended, as this effort must have squeezed every last ounce of potential out of the system. We can only hope they continue their work on the Game Boy Advance." -Gamer Web (score 9/10)

"Shantae is at the top of her class for the handheld genre. The developers stopped at nothing to create a full and detailed gaming experience. Engaging and demanding gameplay, careful attention to detail, unique puzzles, and well designed audio/visual elements make Shantae a cut above the rest. So don't let those preconceptions fool you - get your hands on Shantae and don't miss out on one of the best handheld games on the market today!" -Game Zone (score 9/10)

Risky's Revenge
GameRankings(DS) 86.30%
Metacritic(DS) 85/100
1UP.comA-
Eurogamer6/10
GamesRadar

IGN9/10
Nintendo World Report9/10

Pirate's Curse
GameRankings(3DS) 84%
(Wii U) 84%
Metacritic(3DS) 82/100
(Wii U) 85/100

Destructoid7.5/10
Game Informer7/10
IGN8.5/10
Hardcore Gamer4.5/5
Pocket Gamer9/10

Matt Bozon on why Wayforward continues to be a big supporter of Nintendo platforms!

Spoiler

We’ve been there supporting Nintendo with every system launch starting with the Game Boy Color. We want to be first in line to make games for these legendary platforms. Whether they reach a massive audience or not, Nintendo fans occupy an extremely loyal corner of the game industry. They like intelligent design and visually iconic characters, and they typically understand that games of high quality take time. Sure, we want our games to appear everywhere and be played by everyone, but I feel we have a real connection with Nintendo and its fans.

We’re working to expand our fan base, but Nintendo fans got us here which is why we go the extra mile to serve them when we can.

(Made before the Smash ballot, so there's no sudden bias that people can point out.)

And that video of Matt Bozon making Shantae NAB! for Warioware DIY...

Repost any of these wherever you like.

 

[B.H. and DD]

I'm pretty sure that after the ballot characters are finished, Sakurai is gonna disband the current Smash Team. He'll still have his original staff, but the staff from Namco will move on to other things. And from what I hear they've played a big part. So if Shantae doesn't get in via ballot, then I suspect we'll just have to wait for Smash 5.

Ok. I have no doubt in my mind that she will be way more considerable once Smash 5 is announced. I just really want her playable so hopefully Sakurai gives WayForward a chance. Whether it be DLC or 5. I'm willing to wait.