Shantae: Half-Genie Hero bellydances to Kickstarter success

WayForward’s Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Kickstarter has passed its $400,000 goal, with a full seven days left. Which, with a bit of luck, means it might hit some stretch goals.

The side-on platformer sees Shantae (a half-genie, who the title implies is also a hero) searching for an evil power that’s haunting her dreams, and trying to find a way to banish it – primarily by hitting monsters with her hair, and bellydancing to transform. Each chapter offers new friends and foes, new subplots, new puzzles, a new boss, and a new transformation for Shantae to use. The most recent Shantae games have been pretty bloody good, so we’ve got high hopes for this one.

At the time of writing, the Kickstarter is at $455,314 (with another  $3,376 donated via PayPal), but there are stretch goals going right the way up to $1.2 million. $500k will add in Risky Mode, giving the ability to play as the villainous Risky Boots in her own campaign that spans the entire game. $600k adds an extra chapter featuring magic carpet races. $700k offers costume swaps that rebalance Shantae’s stats and have their own special moves. The list goes on.

If you’re at all interested in side-scrolling platformers, then, you should probably have a gander at the Kickstarter page now. $15 will net you a downloadable copy of the game for the system of your choice, although there are plenty of backer rewards if you decide to add a little extra on top.