Shantae is a half genie. She finds herself on a quest to travel all over Sequin Land to stop the evil pirate wench Risky Boots, who has stolen a magic lamp capable of terrible power. Predictability aside, what we have here is an old school platformer as you travel left or right from screen to screen, collecting items, defeating enemies, and engaging in boss encounters. Platformer fans should feel right at home.

The game uses an on screen joystick and buttons. Shantae can move left or right, and with the help of the action and jump buttons, jump or perform a variety of actions, from attacking enemies with her hair like Kabuki Quantum Fighter, to talking to NPCs to holding the button to perform a belly dance (which later on allows Shantae to change form). Magic can be purchased from the town stores and items and magic can be used by equipping it in the inventory screen and tapping the icon during the game.

While a lot of the characters in game look very odd indeed, Shantae is a very cute main character. Not only that but the animators have put a lot of effort into giving her a wide variety of movement via fluid animation. The whole game looks gorgeous with top notch sprite work and cartoon art. The music adds to the experience with catchy high quality tunes to aid you on your journey.

Shantae: Risky's Revenge does not take itself too seriously. The characters, dialogue, animation, and music all invoke fun and silliness. The gameplay is standard fare for a platformer, but the high quality of the presentation and the game's charm make this a must get for fans of the genre.