Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

This animated action platformer has finally been updated with HD graphics but keeps its classic platforming elements to draw in and entertain gamers. Shantae has never looked as good as she does in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. The hand-drawn animation is bright, colorful, and fluid. Regardless of how much is happening on-screen or how big the visuals get (and there are some pretty big boss fights), the performance never skips a beat. The result is that it looks almost like you're playing a Saturday-morning cartoon. The only thing that ruins the illusion is the baffling decision to not include any voice-overs, pulling the player out of the experience to read through line after line of scripted dialogue.

Gameplay is easy to pick up and play and should be instantly familiar to platformer fans. Basic run, jump, and attack gameplay is bolstered by a surprising amount of exploration. As the story unfolds, Shantae gains the ability to morph into a variety of animals, each with their own unique abilities to reach previously unexplored areas. This backtracking to previous areas can occasionally feel a little repetitive, but the game does such a great job of keeping the story moving along and changing things up that it never feels frustrating or stale. Overall, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is a great, classic style of platform game filled with unique characters, as well as a look and story that's sure to keep players entertained from start to finish.