Do you remember Shantae, the dancing half-genie with a peppy attitude that just can’t be put down? If you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that developer WayForward Technologies has revealed new promotional art for the upcoming latest entry in the Shantae series, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter back in 2013.
This new art was the result of a collaboration between Half-Genie Hero artist Matt Bozon and KOU, the artist for the last Shantae Game, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. It will be used in all future promotional events for Half-Genie Hero.
There’s also a new backer poll on the horizon. Actually, it’s already here! Last year, Half-Genie Hero’s Kickstarter backers helped the game reach its stretch goals; the $800,000 stretch goal reward was a new chapter titled “Fire and Forget.” In this storyline, Shantae gets replaced by an unnamed genie with a stuck-up and generally nasty attitude. WayForward has asked backers of the game to vote for the genie’s appearance from the below three designs:
If you’re a backer and have an account on the WayForward discussion forums, you can view the poll here.
Finally, WayForward has announced that they have plans for physical retail releases of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. However, they are currently in search of a new publisher for the retail release.
We’ve received a ton of requests for physical versions of Shantae. Thing is, WayForward is a game developer and a digital publisher – but not an authorized retail publisher. In order to make physical copies of our games for stores, or distribute games in certain countries, console manufacturers require us to work with an authorized publishing partner. You’ve seen us do this before; Square Enix published LIT for WiiWare in Japan, Capcom distributed the original Shantae cartridge in the US, and more recently Intergrow released the boxed version of Pirate’s Curse in Japan for Nintendo 3DS.
Due to the success of Half-Genie Hero’s Kickstarter campaign – and the positive support from fans and press – we’ve been able to enter into discussions with top tier publishers to do the same for Half-Genie Hero.
Though any agreement for a physical release will not impact the game’s content in any way, WayForward has stated that they won’t be able to offer physical copies to backers.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is the latest installment in the long-running Shantae series, which is known for offering lighthearted, simple platforming and exploratory romps through various locales as the titular Shantae. Half-Genie Hero aims to take the series to a whole new level by offering updated graphics, new storylines, and new playable characters from Shantae’s eccentric, yet lovable, cast of friends.
No release date has yet been announced for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, which will release on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. WayForward has stated, though, that they have big announcements for the game at this year’s E3, which is right around the corner. Stay tuned for more updates!