"So I, will dance through the danger!"

(by-the-by, the Example Dialogue section isn't mine, I borrowed it from @HouseOrdelia since it was open, just to see how it would benefit the bot - if they see this and want the Example Dialogue removed, I will do so)

Art link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Shantae/comments/ll2mhb/obviously_based_off_official_art_tried_to_make_it/

I literally JUST finished 1/2 Genie Hero as we SPEAK and honestly I quite enjoyed it (BUT OOOOH I HAVE COMPLAINTS ABOUT SOME PARTS OF THE GAME)

First things first, my relationship with the Shantae series as a whole: when I first saw Shantae, I was like, "oh hey i know her from rule34" ZZZZZZZZZZZ what a GOOOOOONER brain take (i said hypocritically)

I invested a bit of time in Shantae as a series in order to understand the baseline facts about the game as a series, though I didn't dabble into the games themselves until a few years later when I emulated the original Shantae game

And, oh boy...

I was not prepared for the difficulty.

Well, it wasn't "difficulty" so much as it was "PLEASE TELL ME WHERE IM SUPPOSED TO GO!!!!!" that was bothering me. Because I was wasting a lot of time getting lost. I actually got decently far into the game, but I was spending so much time just running around aimlessly that I got tired of the game

However, I must also preface that I tapped into Shantae's games because I wanted to make a bot of her on CAI (and you know me, I hate feeling like a larper!!!), and I wanted to actually understand the kind of character she was so I would be ready for going in and writing her

Of course, I dropped the OG game and made a Shantae bot anyways, but y'all know why I'm on JAI now...

So, after migrating, I decided, "alright, I'll give Shantae one last try", and boom, I bought 1/2 Genie Hero on Steam and decided to play it, and I got the good ending on it

I took about a month break from boredom (again), but otherwise, it was a fun experience! ...ALMOST.

For one, the game is surprisingly not that long. Most of your time is dedicated to exploring and getting collectibles - which is to be expected out of a METROIDVANIA/platformer - so I guess that this is mostly down to my own tastes on the genre (I never finished Super Metroid either, lol)

I also had a VERY HATEFUL RELATIONSHIP with how SOME forms of damage worked. Like those lasers on that skyship level? Sending you back to the very beginning? And they have short intervals for which they fired with no warning of when they were about to end or began? GOD. , THOSE THINGS.

And don't get me STAAAARTED on the harpy section in Risky's Hideout GOD THOSE MOVING SPIKES AND THE DROP ZONE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LEVEL IS A LIE THE VOID ACTIVATES LIKE 1/6THS ABOVE THE ACTUAL BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN LIKE FUUUUUUUUUUCK

I have many more minor nitpicks about the game, but...

...I think that's all though.

Now what I like about Shantae as a series!

It's charming (of course), and it never feels really too "high stakes", if you get what I mean? By that, I mean, the general tone of the game is pretty lighthearted, at least from what I've seen in 1/2 Genie Hero. I think the designs are really what drives the feeling home, though. Since Pirate's Curse, Shantae sort of artistically lost whatever "edge" it had as a series as the characters became more visually bouncy and rounder

And that's not a bad thing! But, I won't lie, I really dig OG and Risky's Revenge Shantae's designs a LOT. Everything just feels nice and sharp about her - they strike a near-balance of "cute" but also "putting major BTA" in the design, and I love it!

Aside from the designs, the writing is also fairly humorous too. I didn't laugh at most of the jokes, but I have to admit that "Foxy Grandma" blobfish kind of got me for some reason.

Also the best character is EASILY Squid Baron and you can FIGHT me on that, 10/10 lines, everything he says is gold

As for Shantae and other characters themselves, they're written very simply; but this isn't something I dislike, either. Shantae's ever-constant struggle about her half-human side is interesting to see play out, and I do enjoy the different forms of continuity between games. There's not enough to make you feel lost and feel like you need to start from the first game, but there's just enough to allow the player to start at virtually any game they'd like

...Oh yeah and the female characters are hot ok??? there we go i said it

I fw the mermaid boss from 1/2 Genie Hero HEAVY

all in all, Shantae is that "kind of series" where it's easy to view it and its characters as something warm and comforting (not to say other series cant be comfort series, it's just that with the way Shantae and its world is built, it's particularly easy to find comfort in it)

Anyhow, it's a bit late into the night, so this bot and its lorebook will likely be worked on tomorrow more extensively (though, I don't know how extensively, since I'll be a little busy tomorrow getting ready for the first day back to school...senior year....sighhhhhhh).

Oh well! I don't plan on making this bot too complicated, anyways.

...also Shantae x Rottytops forever

Intro 1: You're new to Scuttle Town, and Shantae happens to run into you (lazy intro i knowwww but im kinda eepy..)

Intro 2: CYOS