Shantae and the Seven Sirens Review: A Flawed but Fun Adventure
The Shantae platformer series has always been an oddity in the independent game space. Whereas most indies exist as standalones, Shantae is now five games strong. The series dates back to 2002, when the original Shantae launched on Game Boy Color.
Despite an eight-year hiatus, the series resurfaced in 2010 with Shantae: Risky’s Revenge for Nintendo DSi. Since then, developer-publisher WayForward has put out successful entries like clockwork. It’s proof that big franchises don’t always come from massive studios.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens, the newest entry in the series, first released in 2019 for iOS and Mac as part of Apple Arcade. Half a year later, Seven Sirens has finally made its way to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Make no mistake: Despite launching on Apple devices, Seven Sirens is a full-fledged Shantae sequel. There’s platforming, Metroidvania power-ups, dungeons, boss battles, and more. And it’s all tied together with a gorgeous presentation befitting of its $30 price tag.
The end result is a largely enjoyable adventure, even for those new to the series. Unfortunately, there are some issues—namely, tedious backtracking and a general lack of difficulty—that hold back Seven Sirens from true greatness.
Vacay Turned Nay-Cay
Shantae and the Seven Sirens offers a simple entry point for the series. The titular Shantae descends from a line of magical genies. While genies are extinct, Half-Genies—the byproduct of a human father and genie mother—live on.
Seven Sirens opens with Shantae arriving on Paradise Island with her uncle Mimic and friends Sky and Bolo. Shantae has been invited to the island to participate in a festival alongside the world’s other remaining Half-Genies.
Shantae soon befriends the other Half-Genies: Harmony, Zapple, Vera, Plink, and Fillin. Yet, the night of their big performance, the girls vanish, save for Shantae. Armed with her powers of transformation and dance, Shantae sets out to rescue her companions.
Along the way, Shantae will explore the mysterious sunken city. Located under the island’s surface, the city’s interwoven tunnels and chambers hide various secrets. The city’s also home to the Seven Sirens—mythical beings who will either help or impede Shantae in her quest.
It’s a simple setup, one reflective of Seven Sirens’ greater narrative. While there’s plenty of dialogue, cut-scenes, and plot twists, the story ultimately serves as a reason to explore. Expect to fall into a rhythm before long: Navigate the sunken city, conquer a Siren’s dungeon, and free a captive Half-Genie.
Granted, this is par for the course for most platformers. But games like Celeste, Ori, and Hollow Knight have raised the bar when it comes to storytelling and worldbuilding. By comparison, Seven Sirens’ narrative—while entertaining and well-written—feels uninspired.
The Legend of Shantae
Where Shantae and the Seven Sirens picks up the slack is with its gameplay. In an ode to Zelda, Seven Sirens tasks players with navigating a labyrinthine overworld. The world is separated into various biomes, each with its own dungeon to beat and Siren boss to best.
There are plenty of interesting things to see and do here. Shantae’s quest brings her to various towns, each with its own shops and NPCs. Out in the overworld, you can also discover optional puzzle rooms, which usually reward you with either currency or Heart Squids (i.e., heart pieces).
Seven Sirens also shares its DNA with Metroidvanias. Within each dungeon, Shantae gains access to a new traversal power, such as a mid-air dash or triple jump. By learning new abilities, Shantae can travel to new areas of the map and discover previously inaccessible collectables.
As you might have guessed, Seven Sirens wears its inspiration on its sleeve. Yet what the game lacks in uniqueness, it makes up for in execution.
I Whip My Hair Back and Forth
Navigation in Shantae is a breeze. This is thanks in large part to tight platforming, fluid traversal options, and responsive controls.
Combat is also simple, but fun. With the tap of a button, Shantae whips out her hair to attack unsuspecting enemies. Think the (actual) whip from Castlevania, mixed with the flair of Bayonetta. It’s a cool move, and one with a satisfying weight to each strike. (The Switch version in particular uses its HD Rumble to great effect.)
Shantae also has access to various spells while fighting. By spending MP, you can cast powerful magic, from fireballs to floating scimitars. You’ll also acquire various dance moves throughout the narrative, allowing for even more devastating attacks.
Dungeons are great fun, too. The game takes familiar cues from Link’s escapades, tasking players with finding a dungeon map, door keys, and a power-up to aid progression. What’s more, each boss has its own flavor, and provides a satisfying sense of scale and spectacle.
Easy Peasy Magic Genie
But all of this comes with a few unfortunate caveats. As interesting as the world and its combat can be, the experience is held back by its difficulty—or complete lack thereof.
From the get-go, I had little trouble navigating Seven Sirens’ overworld and beating up enemies. With limited starting health, I wouldn’t have found this much of a problem. But, like how Zelda games decline in difficulty as you nab more hearts, Shantae got easier the more upgrades I discovered. There are even consumable potions and foods that’ll restore your health.
To add insult to (nonexistent) injury, the game layers on even more difficulty-busting tools. One purchasable upgrade allows Shantae to attack quicker. After buying the V2 and V3 iterations of the item—each better than the next—Shantae was a one-girl wrecking crew. Enemies, Sirens, even Risky Boots… no one stood in her way.
Of course, those looking for a challenge can simply avoid these upgrades. But for anyone looking to buy every item and discover every secret Seven Sirens has to offer, you’ll have to make a rather unfortunate compromise.
It’s worth noting there’s a harder difficulty that unlocks upon completing the game. But this mode isn’t available upfront, which means you’ll have to play through Seven Sirens more than once to get any semblance of a challenge.
A Backtracking Nightmare
The other major problem found in Seven Sirens? Backtracking.
Almost all Metroidvanias have backtracking. It’s practically a foregone conclusion, given the importance of revisiting areas with shiny new items. While backtracking is never particularly pleasant, it’s something players often look past to appreciate the genre’s strengths.
Shantae attempts to mitigate the issue with a fast travel system. Each biome of the world has its own warp room, which allows you teleport to any previously visited node. Again, that’s pretty standard practice with a lot of genre titles.
Problem is, this year’s Ori and the Will of the Wisps has spoiled me. In that game, you’re able to fast travel from anywhere, so long as you’ve unlocked the fast travel node you want to visit. You simply pull up the map, select your destination, and off you go.
Seven Sirens requires the player to physically travel to a warp room anytime they want to fast travel. It may sound like a subtle difference, but it’s like night and day. I found myself backtracking plenty, simply because the map is large and warp rooms are hard to come by.
It’s not a dealbreaker, by any means. But I’d love it if WayForward took a cue from Ori for future entries.
Gotta Collect ‘Em All
While most elements in Seven Sirens are well-worn territory, the game features a clever meta-game that sets it apart. Upon defeating monsters you encounter in your quest, some will drop a personal trading card you can collect.
Within a submenu, you can view all the different monster cards you’ve amassed. But you can also take things a step further by equipping up to three of these cards at any time. Doing so will provide Shantae with additional abilities. For example, one card may quicken her dash speed, while another may increase the damage dealt with her hair.
Unfortunately, these abilities are pretty inconsequential. They don’t alter gameplay in meaningful ways. Unlike a game like Bastion, which lets you up the challenge for greater rewards, Seven Sirens’ cards do little to mitigate the game’s feeble difficulty. Still, the meta-game is a nice touch for completionists—or speedrunners looking to shave time off a run.
Dancing in Style
If there’s one aspect of Seven Sirens I have absolutely no qualms about, it’s presentation. The game looks great, with crisp art, colorful environments, and expressive enemy designs. There are also some stellar anime cutscenes, produced by Studio Trigger.
What’s more, each character in the game benefits from a vibrant idle animation. Whether it’s Shantae dancing or NPCs bopping to the beat, Seven Sirens has incredible style, and it’s unafraid to show it off.
Speaking of the beat, Shantae and the Seven Sirens has some of the catchiest music I’ve heard in a platformer to date. Produced by a group of composers led by Japanese Composer Kentaro Sakamoto, Seven Sirens’ soundtrack is a rollercoaster of chiptune bops.
There’s “Laboratory,” with its groovy hook and bouncy note sequences. There’s “Armor Town,” with its mesmerizing runs and silky bridge. And then there’s “Boss Battle,” a pulse-pounding track supported by powerful horns and a thumping bass.
My point is this: If you’re looking for a chill platformer that’s light on story and challenge, but heavy on the groove, Seven Sirens is for you.
Final Thoughts
Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a pleasant bright spot in what has otherwise been a depressing 2020.
Sure, the game is a pushover. Its backtracking can be a chore, and it doesn’t do anything particularly new. But it’s got banging music, fun platforming, exciting dungeons, and a charming protagonist in Shantae.
Clocking in at about eight to 12 hours, Seven Sirens is a sizable game that’s better than the sum of its parts. The $30 price tag may turn off some, but those willing to take the leap of faith should find something to enjoy.
