Ret-2 Go!

After the seemingly out of nowhere announcement back in March of 2019, Shantae and the Seven Sirens is finally out and available on all major platforms. It's a game I was definitely excited to see more of, and the real lack of gameplay footage they had for a while was a bit odd at first, and the screenshots seemed to indicate something more 2D than the 2.5D foray with Half Genie Hero. Then the revelation that the game was already available on Apple Arcade in 2 parts... I started to get worried this wouldn't be the game I was hoping for.

I was wrong.

Seven Sirens is a return to form of sorts, ditching the MegaManX style exploration and level-by-level approach from Half Genie Hero, and going for the classic Metroidvania/Zelda approach that has been a part of every other Shantae game. On top of that, a few new mechanics have been added and others tweaked to make this a new style that takes the best of both styles.

The Fusion Dances you get turns Shantae's usually dancing into a sort of tool rather than straight up transformations. You still do, but it's brief, and it's more towards exploration and uncovering secrets (sometimes, quite literally), but some do have utility with combat. The Fusion Transformations effectively serve as Shantae's new mobility, and function more contextually than having to transform via button press then using the new form to navigate. Instead, you transform based on what is needed, revert as soon as the action is done. This, in effect, converts the movement mechanics from Pirate's Curse into transformations, and I think it's a perfect complement to the overworld functionality of the dances.

New to this game, are the Cards you can acquire from Monsters. This now allows some special buffs or changes to further customize Shantae to suite one's playstyle. Ranging from reduces magic consumption, more damage, more speed, conversions, etc... getting the cards active allows for some particularly interesting that give a wide range of varying playstyles.

The humour of the series remains intact, and perhaps a bit more on-the-nose than usual, but for the most part, you wind up with the usual antics from the usual suspects, but it's all in good fun.

If you enjoyed previous entries, you'll more than likely find yourself enjoying this one.