Good Game Get! Shantae: Risky’s Revenge

I’ve spent the week with Shantae: Risky’s Revenge and have enjoyed every minute of this charming and engaging DSiware gem. I won’t go into great detail, NintendoLife has already done a good job of that in their super enthusiastic 10-star review and follow-up interview with the lead designer. But, I too give it high marks for game play, art style and the delightful musical score, and agree it’s a must buy for DSi platformer fans.

It’s not the hardest platformer you’ve ever played — a little patience goes a long way in this game — though the difficulty does ramp up in a slow and satisfying way. Other nice touches, including the need to collect jars of “Magic Jam” scattered around Sequin Land before you can purchase the more powerful weapons, encourages exploration and prevents you from becoming too over-powered, too early. Shantae’s belly-dancing, animal-transformation powers are both cute and clever, and add a pleasant depth to the game.

I think what struck me the most is that Shantae: Risky’s Revenge could easily be packaged and sold retail and still be totally worth it — it is that good. The 1200 point price tag might be a little high for some, but the splurge will get you, as NintendoLife puts it “hands-down the best title available on DSiWare and quite possibly the best 12 bucks you’ll ever spend on a video game”. The best 12 bucks? Not sure about that one, but I can’t argue that the DSiware service has grown up a little with the release of this game.

-Andy