Shantae

Shantae is a series of platform video games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games for this character were created by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of five games: Shantae (2002), Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010), Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016) and Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019). A sixth title, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, is in development and scheduled for release in 2025.

Set in the fictional world of Sequin Land, the series follows Shantae, a half-genie who serves as the guardian of her hometown, Scuttle Town, and more generally Sequin Land as a whole, protecting it from various threats, which generally involve to some extent her nemesis, the pirate Risky Boots. The setting displays oriental-inspired aesthetics with fantasy, dark fantasy and steampunk elements. All games involve collecting new powers and items, which vary from game to game, to strengthen Shantae and unlock access to new areas.

Although released with strong reviews, the first game was a financial disappointment. Its poor sales are generally attributed to its late release on the Game Boy Color, which at the time had been succeeded by the Game Boy Advance. The series resurfaced in 2010 with Risky's Revenge, and has since enjoyed more commercial success and a growth in popularity. The series has been met with strong critical reception, and is considered the flagship series of WayForward. By 2020, the series had sold more than three million copies.

History and development
The character of Shantae was created by Erin Bell, the wife of Matt Bozon, the game's creator. In 1994, during their engagement, Erin got a flash of inspiration while coming back from her camp counsellor days, and created the character, naming her "Shantae" after one of the campers, as well as developing her dancing abilities. Matt later asked her what she would come up with if she was to create a video game character, and she introduced him to Shantae. Matt liked the idea and fleshed out the mythology and cast of the game. Erin imagined that the character could summon or charm animals by belly-dancing. This would later become the basis for the transformation dances. Matt has provided two contradictory stories about how the idea for the hair whip came to be: in one, he said he was inspired by the nine-foot-long hair of his wife, while in the other he claims that Erin's original sketches already featured Shantae using her hair as a weapon.

Matt Bozon has stated that his main influences for the video game series are Castlevania, Aladdin, Mega Man, The Legend of Zelda and anime, mostly from Ranma ½ which he claims as a heavy influence, and others like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Hayao Miyazaki's films, and Pokémon, as well as 80s American cartoons like DuckTales and The Transformers, while Erin Bozon's main influence was I Dream of Jeannie. The signature catchphrase from the franchise, "Ret-2-Go", was created by a friend of theirs who kept using it when they were working on animation clean up for the Warner Bros. animated film The Iron Giant, and the expression made its way into the script as an inside joke. Matt also elaborated a bit on the development of Sky's character, who was initially named "Twitch" and had a different appearance. She was altered later on in development, and the original Twitch character served as the basis for a similarly-named character and her friend in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse.

When asked about whether the Shantae series was conceived as pushing feminist values because of its strong female cast, Matt Bozon acknowledged that he liked to portray the Shantae world as having the girls "run the show" and not be defined solely by their appearances. While he admitted that most female characters had a deliberately sexy design to them, and the male characters often displayed a variety of weaknesses, he also said that he just liked depicting Shantae's world this way "for no precise reason", and that it was certainly possible that strong male characters could appear later in the franchise's future.

Shantae
Shantae is a half-genie, the daughter of a human father and genie mother. She is described as having few magical abilities, including the ability to whip her hair as a weapon, but is a skilled dancer and has a strong sense of right and wrong.

Mimic
Mimic is a member of the Relic Hunters, a society of treasure hunters who unearth and study ancient artifacts. Although not related to her by blood, he is Shantae's adoptive uncle, as he found and raised her after her parents' disappearance.

Sky
Sky is Shantae's friend, a war bird trainer and the daughter of a Relic Hunter. Never seen without her pet war bird Wrench, she is described as being in a hurry to grow up. Sky appears as a playable character in Half-Genie Hero's "Friends to the End" mode.

Bolo
Bolo is Shantae's friend and sparring partner. He is described as being rather slow and very easily attracted to girls, though he seeks to prove himself as capable of being a hero. Bolo appears as a playable character in Half-Genie Hero's "Friends to the End" mode.

Rottytops
Rottytops is a sentient zombie girl who is described as being mischievous and constantly getting others into trouble for fun. After her first encounter with Shantae, although her behavior toward her remains ambiguous, in-game dialogue in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse reveals that she holds Shantae in great esteem and wants to be her friend. She has two brothers named Abner Cadaver and Poe. Rottytops appears as a playable character in Half-Genie Hero's "Friends to the End" mode.

Risky Boots
Risky Boots the lady-pirate is Shantae's evil nemesis and the series' primary antagonist. She constantly seeks to conquer Sequin Land or take revenge on Shantae for ruining her schemes. Risky is aided by her pirate crew, made up of tiny humanoid creatures called Tinkerbats. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse reveals that she was once the first mate of a very dangerous being named the Pirate Master, and was corrupted by dark magic while serving him. Risky aids Shantae against the Pirate Master in Pirate's Curse and appears as a playable character in Half-Genie Hero's "Pirate Queen's Quest" mode.

Shantae (2002)
The first game in the series, Shantae, was released for the Game Boy Color in 2002, and was met with generally positive responses. However, according to director Matt Bozon, the game sold poorly, due in part to releasing after the Game Boy Advance. However, the game has since gained significant recognition, with some reviewers considering it one of the best games released for the Game Boy Color.

The game was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console on July 18, 2013, with a Nintendo Switch re-release releasing later on April 22, 2021, with a special Game Boy Advance-enhanced mode, featuring a bonus Tinkerbat transformation and save states, multiple display options, control improvements, and a mini art gallery.

Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010)
The second game in the series, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, was released for the Nintendo DSi via the system's DSiWare service in 2010, and was later ported to iOS in 2011. The game received positive reviews, being awarded the Best Visuals and Best DS Game awards for 2010 from IGN.

An enhanced port, titled Shantae: Risky's Revenge – Director's Cut, was released for Microsoft Windows on June 14, 2014, PlayStation 4 on June 23, 2015, Wii U on March 24, 2016, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on October 15, 2020, and Google Stadia on February 23, 2021.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014)
The third game in the series, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, was released for Nintendo 3DS on October 23, 2014, and for Wii U on December 25, 2014, both via the Nintendo eShop. The game received critical acclaim, and was featured in the best sellers list on the 3DS eShop soon after release. The game was later ported to Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016)
The fourth game in the series, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, was crowdfunded via a Kickstarter campaign in 2013. The game was released digitally and physically on December 20, 2016 for Wii U, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, and digitally on Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. It was also released on Nintendo Switch on June 8, 2017, and Google Stadia on February 23, 2021.

Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019)
The fifth game in the series, Shantae and the Seven Sirens was announced in March 2019 and released for Apple Arcade in September 2019. Ports for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were released on May 28, 2020.

Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (2025)
The sixth game in the series, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, originally began development for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 following the completion of the original Shantae, but was cancelled in 2004 after WayForward failed to find a publisher. On July 12, 2023, it was announced that development was resuming, and that Limited Run Games would physically publish the game for Game Boy Advance in 2024, later delayed to 2025. Ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows are also set for release the same year.

Canceled games
Plans for a sequel to Shantae started soon after its release. In the early 2000s, WayForward exprimented with protoyping a 3D Shantae game for the GameCube, but these plans were set aside in favor of focusing on a handheld sequel.

Another attempt at a Shantae sequel was Shantae: Risky Waters, a game planned for the Nintendo DS with experimental gameplay taking advantage of the double screen function of the console. Plans were scrapped after WayForward failed to find a publisher.

In other media
Some characters from the series have made crossover appearances in other games: Shantae and Bolo appear as playable characters in the Apple Watch game Watch Quest. A Shantae-themed microgame, "Shantae NAB!", was created by Matt Bozon in WarioWare D.I.Y. and distributed by Nintendo as one of its "Big Name Games" entries. Risky Boots was meant to be featured in Hyper Light Drifter by Heart Machine, as part of a mutual support action between the Kickstarter funding campaigns for that game and Half-Genie Hero, but this was absent from the final game. Shantae appeared as a guest character in Mutant Mudds Super Challenge and in Runbow and Blaster Master Zero as a downloadable guest character. Both Shantae and Risky Boots appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as spirits, with Shantae later becoming available as a Mii Brawler costume via downloadable content alongside the "Neo Burning Town" music track from Shantae: Half-Genie Hero on June 29, 2021. Shantae was planned to be featured as a playable supporting character in the crowdfunded game Indivisible, but was later canceled. A set of cosmetics based on Shantae and Risky Boots was released as free downloadable content for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night in 2024.

Merchandise of Shantae characters has also been produced. These include a line of Charagumin model kits from Volks, and a Nendoroid figure from Good Smile Company.