LogFAQs > #953474586

Seven Sirens. This is THE definitive Shantae game. You get immediately dropped off into a seamless open world with a huge map just like Super Metroid or SotN. Essentially taking the world concepts they had going on in Shantae and Riskys Revenge but expanding it massively. This game is the only game since the GBC original to feature more than one town with different item shops that also sell different items. Riskys Revenge, Pirates Curse, and 1/2 Genie Hero each feature just one town. With 8 warp points and 3 of them in towns and 6 of them in the wilderness below the island youre on theres a vast area to explore. Theres lots of people to talk to that actually have things worth talking to them for. The new method of transformation is vastly superior to that of the old dancing. Of course dancing is still in the game but features screen-wide magical effects now and youll want to dance a lot as its frequently the fastest way to kill the on-screen enemies once you pick up the lightning dance. The transformations are also usable in combat which was always a bit clunky in the previous games. For example the Dash Newt which is this games replacement for the monkey can essentially Monkey Bullet from anywhere even in mid air. The dash can be upgraded to have better velocity, distance, and damage so you can dash through enemies while killing them as you cross the map. The way you upgrade these things are the cards which function similar to paper mario badges in that you can equip a limited number of them at any given time to enhance your various skills and kill enemies youd otherwise not be able to. Several other transformations such as the Gastro Drill (Look at me. Im the Dig Dug now.) are mobility only but the Newt and Tortoise both have pretty good combat applications. While theres some things I felt like could have been done better (the underwater exploration is inferior to that of Genie Hero)

Seven Sirens ultimately has it all.

• Seamless open world
• Multiple Towns with item shops that have different stocks
• Warp to both towns and wilderness
• Powerups found mid dungeon
• Shapeshifting traversal powers that are inherently activated without disrupting the game to dance
• Fun and interesting labyrinth layouts
• Customizable upgraded abilities
• More collectables than any previous game

If someone asked me to put together a list of the best metroidvanias, I would not hesitate to put Shantae and the Seven Sirens on it.

Overall ranking:

1. Shantae and the Seven Sirens
2. Shantae and the Pirates Curse
3. Shantae: Genie Hero
4. Shantae: Riskys Revenge
5. Shantae (The soft lock issue is bad enough that I put it on the bottom for that alone. Fortunately I saved before entering the dungeon and did not overwrite my save so I only had to redo that whole dungeon and not the entire game)

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It says right here in Matthew 16:4 "Jesus doth not need a giant Mecha."
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