6. Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse (3DS)
Current Release Date: December 2013
Everyone has been head over heels for WayFoward’s beautiful new Wii U game, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, but don’t let that overshadow Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse! If previous games in the series are any indication, then this 3DS game will definitely be something to look forward to. I’ve always appreciated the Shantae series for creating an interesting world to explore with gameplay that highly resembles Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, yet also standing out on its own through unique mechanics like transforming into animals.
However, Shantae has lost all of her powers as a genie in Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse and can no longer transform, so she learns a whole new set of moves when she joins forces with the series’ main antagonist, Risky Boots. Shantae can now use a pistol to hit enemies at a distance, glide with a giant pirate, and charge at enemies with a sword when wearing Risky’s boots. This seems like the perfect way to shake up the formula, and should make for another successful game in the series.
Two Brothers: the way I’m seeing it, kinda carries a Nintendo Game-Boy look while adding some color, clearly taking a page out of Frank Miller’s playbook