Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - Ultimate Edition

 Switch
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 95 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 95
  3. Negative: 8 out of 95
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  1. Winko
    May 26, 2018
    6
    Good:
    - Fantastic soundtrack that excels with a variety of genres
    - Great art style and smooth animations - Uses foreground, background, and 3D space very effectively - Runs perfectly on the Switch Mixed: - Switching between forms is tedious, but it does add a lot of gameplay variety to an otherwise straightforward platformer - Boss fights are pretty imaginative, but being able to    Good:
    - Fantastic soundtrack that excels with a variety of genres
    - Great art style and smooth animations
    - Uses foreground, background, and 3D space very effectively
    - Runs perfectly on the Switch

    Mixed:
    - Switching between forms is tedious, but it does add a lot of gameplay variety to an otherwise straightforward platformer
    - Boss fights are pretty imaginative, but being able to heal yourself in the middle of battle mitigates any real challenge
    - The DLC that comes with the Ultimate Edition adds some nice gameplay variation, but it really just boils down to running through the same stages, fighting through the same enemies, and beating the same bosses that are found throughout the campaign

    Bad:
    - Replaying the same levels over and over again to find secrets and progression items gets real old, real fast
    - The currency system is very easily exploitable
    - The story is all over the place; plays out as a series of seperate segments rather than a linear journey
    - The hint system is close to useless
    - Very weak final boss
    XXX    … Expand
  2. VixenFreya
    May 16, 2018
    6
    Never played and Shantae games but it failed to grab me. Returned the game within a day...
  3. chavaflyfree
    Jun 22, 2018
    7
    I've been a long running fan of the series and I was blown away with the original GBC and had great fun with the DS and 3DS installments. For this game, Wayforward has achieved great visuals, animations, controls and sound but the gameplay feels a bit behind the other games.
    The stages are short and pretty lineal and you can identify the location of most the collectibles pretty easily so    I've been a long running fan of the series and I was blown away with the original GBC and had great fun with the DS and 3DS installments. For this game, Wayforward has achieved great visuals, animations, controls and sound but the gameplay feels a bit behind the other games.
    The stages are short and pretty lineal and you can identify the location of most the collectibles pretty easily so you can get back once you have the required upgrades but the lack of a map and the amount of times you have to revisit each stage can become tedious.
    The added DLC content helps expanding the duration so you can get over 5 hours (maybe up til 10 if you go for 100%), but the stages are the same only with different mechanics.
    The worst thing has to be the spanish translation. It just doesn't makes sense, it's porrly translated and puts you off the (simple) story.
    It's a good game, though.    … Expand
  4. Marmeg
    Aug 20, 2018
    5
    This game has gorgeous visuals and soundtrack but sadly that's about it. The gameplay is slow due to so many transformations that are pretty useless except for the monkey and elephant (seriously who thought about the fish transformation?) Don't even get me started at the difficulty level, it's a joke
  5. Emmett601
    Oct 23, 2018
    6
    Everything is just too simple in this game, it just can't compare to the other platforming giants on the system like Shovel Knight, Dead Cells, Sonic Mania, and Hollow Knight. It sure does look and sound nice though.
  6. TheFacelessLich
    Aug 6, 2019
    5
    Why more isn't always good!

    I recently discovered the series and fell in love with the characters and world. I ended up playing through Risky's Revenge, The Pirate's Curse and this game within the span of a week and honestly, now that I am done with all three... Half-Genie Hero feels like a step DOWN for the series to me. Yes there is MORE stuff in it, but it just makes it feel flabby.    Why more isn't always good!

    I recently discovered the series and fell in love with the characters and world. I ended up playing through Risky's Revenge, The Pirate's Curse and this game within the span of a week and honestly, now that I am done with all three... Half-Genie Hero feels like a step DOWN for the series to me. Yes there is MORE stuff in it, but it just makes it feel flabby. In previous games every transformation and power was given time to develop and be useful consistently. This time, there are so many transformations they feel less special and more gimmicky than anything else.

    The gameplay also felt more clunky than previous titles. Maybe that's because of the 10 odd forms you could take necessitating constant switching, or just the game itself is slower in its animations and reactions. Also late game the only thing that will give you a challenge is platforming unless you turn off specific items.

    A few platforming sequences also reminded me unpleasantly of that final dungeon section in Pirate's Curse and the time it took to get them right kind of undermined the whole 'climactic tension'. There were a few point at which I was tempted to just watch the ending on YouTube, but persevered.

    I also didn't enjoy the way it's so... Mario-esque, with the whole stage clear animations and perspective switches. It made the world feel smaller somehow.

    On to the good points!

    I still like the story; the weird inhabitants of the world make it fun and you never know who or what you might need next that requires a specific item that you found by accident, is always amusing and can surprise you.

    The new style is also nice visually; very crisp and the animation was fluid and amusing at times, especially people's idle animations. You can tell these are characters that are enjoying themselves.

    The soundtrack is also brilliant! Arguably my favourite part of the game.

    Those are my thoughts though. It's possible my relative inexperience with platforming games is what kept me from truly enjoying the game, but it can't be the only reason, since I did enjoy the previous entries in the series.    … Expand
  7. HildaSimp5
    Apr 18, 2022
    7
    So this is my first Shantae game and i gotta say, not bad, not bad at all. First and foremost, its a fun game. Thats the most important factor for me.
    The visiuals are gorgeous, the music is fun and catchy, art is wonderful and the animations are very smooth and expressive.
    The story is so-so however, but still fun. Levels are great too and the dancing to transform is so much fun.    So this is my first Shantae game and i gotta say, not bad, not bad at all. First and foremost, its a fun game. Thats the most important factor for me.
    The visiuals are gorgeous, the music is fun and catchy, art is wonderful and the animations are very smooth and expressive.
    The story is so-so however, but still fun. Levels are great too and the dancing to transform is so much fun. Shantae herself is super adorable and the Platforming is exactly as fun as i want from a platformer. Giga Mermaid is WOW    … Expand
  8. Dyl_lionaire
    Feb 10, 2023
    7
    The colourful and vibrant characters/levels were very cool to experience, I found the gameplay lacking however with weird controls and at points annoying level designs. other than that I had fun with it.

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Best Switch Game of 2018
71
#71 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Sep 5, 2018
    80
    A treasure trove of tantalizing trials for players of every possible persuasion. [Issue #34 – July/August 2018, p.72]
  2. Nintenderos
    Sep 4, 2018
    86
    Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition offers an extensive menu of DLC. In some cases, these new contents change the plot. Other contents are focused on the gameplay. However, the player will find the same worlds that the original story offers, but all of them are free in this Ultimate version. It is a version that will not disappoint anyone.
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  3. Worth Playing
    Aug 15, 2018
    80
    As a whole, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition is literally the complete package for fans of the series and genre enthusiasts. It's not the best platformer around, but it is a fun journey, especially with the additional DLC characters. I wish the developer would've embraced the Metroidvania aspects more, gotten more creative with some platforming segments, and included a few more environments for the DLC, but there is not much else I can hold against this truly fun platformer.
    Read full review
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