As the upcoming releases of Risky's Revenge on Steam and Pirate's Curse on 3DS draw nearer, several members of the Shantae fan community have packaged together a couple exciting November events. Read onward, if thou art intrigued.

Text copied below. Original link: http://shantae.net/contests-events.html

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The first contest run by Shantae fans and a new fanmade Mermaid Shooter starring Shantae!

Hello everyone! We have TWO exciting announcements for you today, the first of which happens to be a Shantae fan community contest. Entrants can win a copy of Half Genie Hero plus some neat stuff the fans have generously donated. There are 3 categories to enter: Artwork, Cosplay, and Video. On top of that, each category has a unique prize:

Artwork - Your winning submission will be put into Half Genie Hero's art gallery for all to see!
Cosplay - You will win a custom, hand-made Risky's Saber by Paul Esquer!
Video - You will win an Amazon.com gift certificate!

Additionally, all winners will receive their choice of platform of Half Genie Hero with Tinkerbat levels rewards! This includes the wallpaper, the game, digital OST, digital artbook, Tinkerbat transformation, both alternate costumes and Risky's Drifter Blade. (The art contest winner will have their name under "Featured Artist" in the credits.)

**Rules and Submissions**

Interested? Here's how to enter. Submit your entry to http://www.reddit.com/r/WayForward under the Contest entry post via a comment with a ready link to your video, cosplay, or artwork. Once you do that, you're Ret-2-Go!

There will be one first prize winner per category and 2 runner-up prize winners per category, adding up to 9 total winners.

Your submission should be Shantae-related and safe for work (under PG-13 is most advisable). Your video can be a flash animation, a skit - whatever you like! **Please do not exceed 15 minutes in time on video submissions!**

In the unlikely event that a category receives fewer than 3 submissions, that category may be canceled.

Winners will be contacted for information via their original source. For example, if you win on YouTube, you will be contacted via YouTube.

**Each contest will have the following deadline:**

December 1st 11:59pm EST for Artwork
December 15th 11:59pm EST for Cosplay
December 31st 11:59pm EST for Video

Feel free to mention that the PayPal option for the Half-Genie Hero kickstarter project still remains open for donations where your submission is originally posted. Shantae would love all the help she can get!

But wait, there's more! The Shantae fans are working together to make a new Mermaid Shooter in the style of the Sunken Cavern stage in Risky's Revenge. The game will be non-profit and free to play. It will have an initial version to show what the gameplay is like with a couple stages and bosses. As time goes on, however, it'll expand to include more stages, upgrades, and bosses. There is also a chance for high quality stills in place of traditional cutscenes and voice acting!

So what is the game all about? Shantae will be in her mermaid transformation the whole game in an underwater adventure across Sequin Land. The five Golden Warp Squid Brothers have been kidnapped by a new adversary. Each stage will have a shooter section and a boss section. Each stage past the first will also have a unique element about it to test your skills. This makes for 10 levels total - and we might just throw in a mega boss at the very end.

As for Shantae, she can upgrade her abilities with gems. In keeping with the framework set up in Risky's Revenge, there will also be Magic Jams to find and collect from bosses for better speed, attack, range and powerups. Once fully upgraded, she will be a force to be reckoned with!

Furthermore, we will have updates as the game comes along including artwork, music, team reveal, and screencaps.

Get excited; stay excited.

Please direct inquiries, comments, suggestions, and feedback to our Twitter coordinator, FinalCataclsym: https://twitter.com/FinalCataclsym

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After 30 days of funding and fun, the Shantae: Half-Genie Hero kickstarter has concluded its run, bringing in over double its initial goal at a total of just over $800,000 with Kickstarter and PayPal combined. Thanks to reaching four of its stretch goals so far, in addition to the planned base content, Half-Genie Hero will receive two extra main chapters, an alternate playable Risky Boots campaign, and the unlocking of three outfit swaps (beach, ninja, and Patricia Wagon from Mighty Switch Force) with rebalanced stats and move arsenals for Shantae in subsequent playthroughs.

PayPal pledges will remain open for a few months and will contribute toward reaching additional stretch goals, beginning with three extra playable characters at $900K: Sky, Bolo, and Rottytops. All reward tiers from $200 down remain open and selectable, and WayForward has promised to assist those who wish to combine their Kickstarter and PayPal pledges into one larger pledge at a higher reward tier. Anyone wishing to donate from now until the closing of the PayPal funding period may so do here:

http://www.wayforward.com/shantae-half-genie-hero

Be sure to keep up with the kickstarter page for post-KS updates and any other WayForward news regarding Half-Genie Hero!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1236620800/shantae-half-genie-hero

And stay tuned here for updates concerning the release of Shantae: Risky's Revenge on Steam.

$400K achieved!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1236620800/shantae-half-genie-hero

Congratulations, WayForward! We made it, all. ^.^ Now, onward toward stretch goals~!

LET'S ROLL.