Shantae: Risky's Revenge 2010

Is it still worth playing?

WayForward Technologies' 2010 platformer for the Nintendo DSi, the second Shantae. Shantae sets out to stop the ambitions of the pirate Risky Boots. It is a Metroidvania: you explore a gated 2D map using various items and upgrades. Shantae mainly attacks by whipping enemies with her hair, and she can acquire magic spells that allow ranged attacks. To progress she finds transformation spells, activated by a belly dance, that turn her into animals: a monkey that clings to surfaces, an elephant that smashes rocks and a mermaid that swims underwater. A New Game Plus mode lets you replay with higher magic but lower defense. An iOS port added a Magic Mode. Every gated door is still a question of which animal to be, with transformations that open new areas.