Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution - Switch Review

After 22 years and 5 games in the series, WayForward has finally released the second Shantae game! I haven’t had the chance to say something like that since Kingdom Hearts. Shantae at this point is a pillar of classic platforming, with the namesake character growing more and more popular as a cult idol. WayForward has been delivering solid game after solid game for years now—but this one’s a relic from their more humble beginnings. Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution was meant to be released for the Game Boy Advance over 20 years ago, but after being cancelled, it had to wait until now to finally see the light of day.

How does it stand compared to the rest of the series, and especially the modern versions? Pretty well, as it turns out!

The Good: We are finally all ret-2-go!

First things first: made a long time ago or not, this is still a Shantae game, with everything great that comes with it. Risky Revolution looks fantastic both in its modern incarnation and in the built-in 2004 version; Shantae as a series is made up of gorgeous games, in both character design and locations, and Risky Revolution is right at home with every other Shantae game with its high-quality art direction. Even though it’s their first pixel-art game since 2014’s Pirate’s Curse, WayForward has definitely not lost its touch!

That also extends to gameplay. The game controls very well, feeling fluid and responsive in all but a handful of areas, such as some underwater movement feeling floaty. While Shantae’s basic attack hits only directly in front of her, there are plenty of items and a generous magic system to cover up any blind spots. For a title meant for the GBA, the controls do not feel old or clunky in the slightest.

While the game itself isn’t particularly hard, it does require attention and rewards good spatial awareness with its enemy placement, and the dungeons spread throughout the game are very well designed and a joy to traverse using Shantae’s abilities. Risky Revolution plays like a bright, easygoing mix of all the best parts of Metroidvanias and Zelda games.

And although the plot is nothing to write home about—it’s simple and serviceable, with the characters themselves and their hijinks being the main attractions—the humour is top-notch. Sure, Wayforward does have a somewhat hit-or-miss “sexy people funny” style of humour, but the game has much more to it than that and becomes a veritable riot at times. The ending of the Lava Town arc left me flabbergasted and thoroughly amused long after leaving the place.

TL;DR

• Beautiful and vibrant visuals
• Entirely playable as its old GBA form
• Polished, responsive gameplay experience
• Some of the best qualities of Metroidvanias and Zelda games
• It’s just funny, man.

The Bad: … I said I’m ready; can we go?

One of two aspects where Risky Revolution really does feel old is in how it handles saving. Without quicksaves and needing to find a dedicated “Save Guy” to save your game most of the time and go through the entire animation, it does feel clunky—especially when players are immediately thrust into a “Would you like to save?” screen whenever they exit an area. It would be fine if it happened only at certain thresholds, but it will happen every time. Single. Time. Hunting for collectibles, returning to town to buy some items or popping into a map for something quick breaks the game flow entirely. And then you’ll have to do it again when going back!

And speaking of breaking the flow—some of the items are very overtuned, dealing insane damage quite early on with very little to stop the player from simply buying their way up as early as chapter 1. Fire MAX can become available very early and believe me, Shantae can then burn her way through Sequin Land completely unimpeded until very late if she purchases it.

Finally, an impression coloured by the times is that although Risky Revolution is a very fun and enjoyable game, it feels old in one final aspect: it really isn’t very ambitious. It’s got rock-solid fundamentals of game design, but after 20 years and multiple other Shantae games with more dynamic gameplay options, better stories and generally more, it feels very basic. This isn’t all bad, as good fundamentals are what make a game a true classic, but it feels just a little bland compared to some of the other entries.

TL;DR

• Saving is a chore that breaks the game flow
• Items are very over-tuned
• Generally less exciting gameplay options

Final Score: 7/10

I have never had a bad time playing a Shantae game, and I am happy to report I did not start with this one. In a world of ever more complex games that leaves behind some of my favourite classics like Mega Man, Shantae always delivers the great platforming fun that I love.

To me, Shantae games have become synonymous with fun, rock-solid platforming goodness. WayForward has never disappointed me, as even the worst Shantae game is still solid, with a respectable baseline of expectations, and I will always be looking forward to another adventure of my favourite half-genie.

Thank you for checking out our Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution Switch review, thank you to WayForward for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

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