Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is a platform game developed by WayForward Technologies for the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. It is the third game in the Shantae series, following Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, and the first to be developed for a home console. It was released in North America on the 3DS eShop on October 23, 2014 and on the Wii U eShop on December 25, 2014, and in PAL regions on both platforms on February 5, 2015. The game was later ported to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Amazon Fire TV, Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.

The game follows the adventures of the eponymous half-genie Shantae as she once again has to save Sequin Land from a new foe, the Pirate Master, with help from her nemesis Risky Boots. Shantae, who destroyed the embodiment of her genie powers in Risky’s Revenge, has been adjusting to life as a human. One morning, Shantae awakes to the sound of cannon fire. As Shantae rushes out to investigate, her friends Sky and Bolo tell her that their hometown of Scuttle Town is being taken over by the Ammo Baron, who, after a brief scuffle, reveals that he bought the town from Mayor Scuttlebutt and is legally now its new mayor.

Ammo Baron places Shantae under lockdown pending further punishment. Defeated and despondent, Shantae returns home, where she is confronted by her nemesis, the pirate Risky Boots. Risky accuses Shantae of robbing her, as her henchmen and items have suddenly gone missing. The two discover that Dark Magic has overtaken Risky’s Tinkerbats, turning them into evil Cacklebats. Risky deduces that the Pirate Master, a powerful evil tyrant and her former captain who was sealed away long ago by Sequin Land’s genies, is trying to use the Dark Magic to revive himself.

Like its predecessors, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse casts players in the role of Shantae the half-genie, who can attack enemies using her hair. Having lost her genie powers in the previous game, Shantae now makes use of various pirate items that the player obtains during the course of the game. These include a pistol that can be used to shoot enemies and switches from afar, a hat that can be used to glide through the air and ride on gusts of wind, a scimitar that can break blocks using a downwards thrust.

Boots that send Shantae into a charging dash that can break through certain walls, and a cannon that can be used to perform additional jumps in mid-air. Players can also make use of various items, such as damaging pike balls or health restoring potions. These items, as well as upgrades to Shantae’s hair attack and pirate items, can be purchased using gems obtained from enemies and breakable objects. In place of transformation dances, Shantae can use a genie lamp to suck up nearby gems, as well as carry dark magic and other gaseous objects like smells.