Yesterday, Limited Run Games held their annual presentation where they showcase which new titles will be getting special physical releases. They normally reserve these launches for classic games, especially ones that are released as digital-only way past its lifetime. One announcement in particular has set the gaming community on fire. Limited Run Games and developer Wayforward together revealed that the platforming classic Shantae and its sequel Shantae: Risky’s Revenge will both be getting a limited run release for the Nintendo Switch. However, the biggest shocker was that the original Shantae will be re-released on the very system it came out on in 2002, the Game Boy Color.

You asked for it, you got it! The original GBC Shantae will be returning as a reproduction cart from @LimitedRunGames, available to preorder this September! Additionally, the game will be coming to Switch both physically and digitally! pic.twitter.com/AlMc3nga9R

— WayForward (@WayForward) July 8, 2020

In addition to the physical releases, both Shantae and Shantae: Risky’s Revenge will be available on the Nintendo eShop for those who aren’t interested in hard copies. However, in the case of Shantae and the Game Boy Color, we expect the interest to be extremely high for that one. Besides the fact that you’d own a brand new, licensed, factory-produced Game Boy Color cartridge, you’ll also be avoiding the dreaded price hike in the third-party market that the game has obtained due to being one of the rarest titles in existence.

Wayforward has stated that this will be a reproduction cart, as Nintendo no longer produces cartridges for any of their old handheld systems. Make no mistake though, this will in fact work on a functioning Game Boy Color. As for the follow-up, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, Limited Run Games will be making this physical release for the Switch only as its original release was as a downloadable DSiWare title for the Nintendo DSi.

For those who don’t know, Shantae came out in the middle of 2002 for the Game Boy Color. This was well after the Game Boy Color was past its prime, and not too long after its successor, the Game Boy Advance, launched to critical acclaim. This left the game in unfortunate obscurity, and as a result, it did not sell well. This did not daunt WayForward as they continued to release more entries in the franchise, and at some point, gamers went back to the original and found it to be an excellent platformer.

Hopefully this time around, the title will get its due and fare much better in today’s market. As we said earlier, this is an excellent chance to obtain a legitimate copy of one of the best games on the Game Boy Color. The Limited Run Games physical release of Shantae will be available to pre-order this September for both the Nintendo Switch and the Game Boy Color. You can check the Limited Run Games site for when it goes live.