It never occurred to me that people would make such a big deal out of a half naked genie, but I also didn’t know that people would end up watching Japanese horse racing more than most sports. People tend to gravitate towards characters and ideas if they give them something to look at that sparks a particularly funny feeling in their brain. For the half-genie character Shantae, her powers and unique storyline are often overlooked because she’s curvy, wears little clothing and…that’s basically it. Like it or not, WayForward has managed to take some decently passable games and tie them to anime eye candy for years. So it’s actually pretty cool that they took one of the missing parts of the storyline and brought it to life, twenty years later. Fans can now finally experience Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution.

Risky Revolution takes place between the original GameBoy Shantae title and the revival of the series, Risky’s Revenge. Most of the plot is established from the get-go: Shantae is a half-genie guardian, Risky Boots is a pirate who is doing bad things, and Shantae has some absurd friends to help her out. The rub, this time, is that Risky is moving towns and areas around the globe through some crazy technology called the Tremor Engine in order to disrupt everything and then rob people blind. Shantae must now embark on a multi-part adventure to find three Relic Hunters, who will hopefully help think up a way to stop Risky’s ruinous robbing once and for all!

If you’ve never played a Shantae title before, Risky Revolution is an interesting one to come in on. Beyond the more “gameplay” aspects, you’ve got three titles in one to choose from. You’ve got the modern version of the main game (which we can detail in a moment), the original GBA version that’s now been completed, and a multiplayer battle mode that is…a thing. Honestly, it’s fine, it’s cute, and I would have never bought it if it were a standalone game. Two to four players move in a tiny, shifting arena to try and knock the other players onto spikes and win. Each player spot is locked to a character (player one is Shantae, player two is Risky, etc) and there’s no real excitement other than killing a few moments. It’s a nice extra, but it’s not even close to the reason to pick up this game.

Risky Revolution, like most Shantae games, is a metroidvania that incorporates three ideas: lots of traversing, hilarious scripting, and copious amounts of fan service. There’s even a joke at the beginning where Shantae’s uncle is trying to repair a giant fan, one character announces “I’m here for the fan service” and then Rottytops, a buxom zombie, pops out to let everyone know she is here and so are boobs. Playing Risky Revolution means Shantae running around in a tiny genie outfit for the whole game or, if you have the deluxe edition, having her run around in one of four outfits that are equally revealing. If there’s a female character in this game, she will have a portrait moment for ogling. There’s shameless sexuality throughout the game, but, thankfully, it’s not too lewd.

Like most metroidvania games, Risky Revolution asks you to go to one area, go as far as you can, and then double back to another area with some new skill/item/whatever to progress a bit further. Shot through the lens of the Shantae world, this routine becomes fun and interesting thanks to the trigger moments that allow progression. One of your first moments is getting a toolbox to help your Uncle get his beard out of a toaster. Later events involve unfreezing maidens caught in a cold snap, delivering various video games to wolves who collect them, and literally stealing from a baby, which the game calls you out on. What should be old hat and basic is fun and engaging because it’s written so well and done in a genuinely delightful fashion.

Moreover, the approach itself is rather ingenious in player driven execution. Shantae starts the game with all she needs to get from start to finish, meaning her hair and her dancing. The ponytail whip is your primary and often only attack, allowing you to strike down enemies, deflect some projectiles and trigger switches in the right locations. Your dancing is a shoulder-button move that, initially, attracts pickups that are slightly out of reach, but the dance becomes pivotal to further exploration. You eventually get transformations tied to the dancing (another staple of the series) that lets you turn into animals with different utilities in terms of accessibility and secret discovery. While becoming a crab that can drop explosives is mandatory for progression (and should be in every game), a monkey who can see through walls is more for the completionist than anything else.

If you follow the basic components of Risky Revolution, you’ll find a satisfying, if challenging, experience from start to finish. The baddies of the world gradually become more and more powerful, using a greater variety of approaches in terms of attacks and techniques, like you’d imagine. At this point, the customizable aspects of the game – namely, store purchases – really come into focus. You’ve got single use items for on the go adjustment that can heal or harm the enemy, but it goes deeper than that. Shantae’s magic meter might remain untouched for the duration of the adventure if you didn’t pick up things like Pants Ants (run faster) or Double Mint (literally two Shantae’s for twice the damage). If you really want to nuke the game, invest in upgrades to your hair and magic meter and become the best damn half-genie possible!

These upgrades are only further broken (in a fun way) by the fact that gem drops are plentiful and often. Sure, you could buy the Greedy Jar and use magic to amp your drops, but enemies give out cash like candy and spawn a ton. I got two shampoo upgrades before I even finished chapter one, and my hair attack was a furious and unrelenting tress tactic that tore enemies to shreds. Combined with upgraded attract distance, I was slaying and looting like it was Diablo IV, but far less disappointing. You can make normal progression like a fair player, or you can spend ten minutes, grind the hell out of certain enemies that keep respawning indefinitely and head back to town to go on a Rottytops spending spree (she’s the storekeeper, this comment is totally valid).

Given that the base is the original GBA, Risky Revolution isn’t going to visually pop as much as Half-Genie Hero or Seven Sirens, but the charm in the pixels is what draws me to the game. I didn’t dislike the newer entries of the series, but they were lacking some of the warmth that made this series such a big impact for me initially. Having the game exist in a blockier format keeps it feeling more like a game and less like a visual showcase, though players who are adamant on keeping to this concept should play the GBA version instead. Not only is the updated version full of full color portraits and minor animations, it also has some vocal drops here and there that caught me off guard. I didn’t mind occasional voicing from Shantae during combat moments, but it was unexpected given the rest of the environment.

Additionally, anyone looking for a long investment is going to be a bit disappointed. Risky Revolution plays like you’d expect a GBA title to: indepth, but still limited compared to modern game length. You’ll get maybe ten hours, and that’s if you’re determined to find all the Secret Squids, and there isn’t any difference in the different costumes you choose to don for your play. The controls are tight and the action is fun, but it’s very one directional, which is ironic for a metroidvania. Once you get to the ending, you’ve seen all there is to see (theoretically) and your option for more is to play whichever version of the game you haven’t done yet, but the changes are, at best, aesthetic.

Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution is a marvel and a dream wrapped up in a promise kept to fans the world over. Keeping the original game alive and delivering it, even decades later, shows a dedication to their fans that WayForward continues to delight. It’s a fantastic entry in the series, and a boon for players who prefer the classic look to the modern. The humor is positively bang on, the pacing is great and you always feel like you’re moving forward at just the right speed. A gorgeous and upbeat soundtrack combined with puzzling landscapes and plenty of action makes this a banger of a title from start to finish. If you can get over the winks and nods to the drooling fans, then you’ll find that this absurd and unrepentant adventure is a fun and magical romp that is sure to please any metroidvania player.

Graphics: 9.0 Pixel perfect beauty from different landscapes, mobs and items, the animations and design of Risky Revolution would have made this GOTY-worthy back in 2003. The new art styling is wonderful, but I am weirdly disappointed Shantae’s outfit doesn’t change with the portraits for travel and some exposition scenes.	Gameplay: 8.0 Exploration and traversal are a must, and the game handles it with aplomb and competence. Most of the puzzles and routes are obvious, but a lack of map can make the shifting landscape confusing at times. Thankfully, nothing is so large that you remain lost for long.
Sound: 8.0 Maddie Lim continues to be the soundtrack to all things half-genie, and I’m here for it. The errant vocal drops are a signature of WayForward at this point, but it doesn’t make me happy that it still feels jarring at times.	Fun Factor: 8.5 Just unrepentant fun from start to finish, the jokes and absurd moments keep this game at the forefront of my well written catalog. This is a real return to form for the series, and it’s such a shame it had to come as a resurrection of something that predates many players.
Final Verdict: 8.5

Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution is available now on Nintendo Switch, Steam, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox Series One X/S.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution was provided by the publisher.