- #SHANTAE SPRITES PIRATES CURSE SKIN#
- #SHANTAE SPRITES PIRATES CURSE UPGRADE#
- #SHANTAE SPRITES PIRATES CURSE FULL#
Pirate’s Curse is, simply, a joy to watch.The game seems to have its graphics made without keeping other elements in mind. The colorful backgrounds and vibrant characters are especially impressive in 3D, and I kept it turned up for the entire thing.
#SHANTAE SPRITES PIRATES CURSE FULL#
Like the characters, the majority of the environments are bright and full of life, reflecting Shantae’s own carefree attitude. Shantae and her enemies look sharp and move fluidly, with no slow down whatsoever. These off-the-wall scenarios are brought to life with detailed, expressive sprites. In those moments when a particular puzzle or boss left me feeling fatigued, some inane, hilarious scenario like this would pull me right back in.
#SHANTAE SPRITES PIRATES CURSE SKIN#
The drool collects in a pool, which attracts a couple of spring breakers, whose pale skin reflects the sunlight onto a nearby temple wall, revealing a hidden petrification spell Shantae has been searching for. In one early example, Shantae wakes a dragon with the scent of a ham, causing it to drool down the mountain it’s perched upon. The offbeat humor is built into the puzzle-solving, too. The dialogue is consistently funny, and readily breaks the fourth wall throughout. Still, those brief moments of frustration are usually washed away by the strong writing and vibrant look of Pirate’s Curse. With no fast travel, or an ability to skip to specific spots on an island, things can sometimes turn into a grind.
#SHANTAE SPRITES PIRATES CURSE UPGRADE#
Though you can upgrade Shantae’s attack, it isn’t until very late in Pirate’s Curse that you become powerful enough to cut through the onslaught with ease. This isn’t such an issue the first time you visit an island, but it begins to wear thin as you travel back and forth across each island multiple times. Levels become filled with enemies that reappear in seconds. Though cutting through enemies with Shantae’s hair is mostly fun, the second half of the story is bogged down by a few areas with constantly respawning enemies. The smaller, more focused approach kept me engaged.
But by spreading the action across six separate locations and clearly displaying how many secrets are still undiscovered at each, the task never seemed all that overbearing. Harnessing the power of Shantae’s increased abilities to steadily fill in each island’s classic grid-based map scratches that completionist itch, and with an assortment of hidden items to discover, including optional battles that directly determine whether you get the good or bad ending, there is certainly a push to explore as much as you can. With unique enemies and environmental hazards, I found that each island had a distinct feel that kept me from growing bored as I explored every inch of them. Instead of one giant environment, Shantae must explore six disparate islands. The gameplay isn’t entirely original, but Pirate’s Curse does a superb job of capturing the spirit of the Metroidvania platformer. The pacing feels just right, and though there are gigantic bosses to slay and multi-step puzzles to solve, neither overstay their welcome. It offers an even blend of combat and puzzle solving you’ll smoothly go from whipping your enemies with Shantae’s magic hair to utilizing a bevy of pirate tools to further explore the islands and their dens of evil. During the 10 hours or so it took me to completely traverse its six islands, I appreciated the many nods Pirate’s Curse expertly makes to the classic gameplay of Metroid and Castlevania.
0 kommentar(er)
