While Shantae has always been amazing as a 2D side-scrolling platformer, I think the series should try something a little different. After all, many other games that originated as 2D side-scrollers weren't afraid to experiment or try something new at least once. Mario being a prime example! In fact, I have an idea for a Shantae game, one that could be a spin-off title that's not directly connected to the main series' canon. Anyway, this idea I have is so ridiculous, so absurd, so insane that all of you are probably gonna think I'm crazy just for even the mere mention of it! (Even I'm starting to think I'm crazy just for thinking it)... You know what? I'm just gonna say it. Here it goes...









A Shantae First Person Shooter!





Already I can hear people scratching their heads, looking at me in cringe and confusion, and even some people starting to type really fast on their keyboards saying this is the stupidest idea they've ever heard and WTF is wrong with me and stuff like that! Well before anyone does that, please, just hear me out...





Now I know everyone is already thinking, how the hell would a Shantae FPS work? Well, Shantae has always been a retro styled series. Even with the newer games moving from a 16-bit to a fully animated art style, the games are still reminiscent of retro 2D side-scrollers and platformers. Now what if Shantae were to have a game that's reminiscent of another oldschool genre of gaming from way back in the day? When I say FPS, I don't mean those generic modern FPS you see everywhere (like Call Of Duty and Battlefield and whatnot), I'm talking about real oldschool FPS from back in the mid 90's! I think the best way a Shantae FPS could work, is if it was made using the Build Engine!



For those of you who don't know what the Build Engine is (most of which are probably youngster gamers), it's an old game creation engine that was mostly used in the 90's, but it's still being used to create games today! It works very similarly to the Doom Engine, but more advanced and versatile in its capabilities. It takes 2-Dimensional shapes called Sectors and flat 2D sprites, and arranges them in a certain way to give off the illusion of a 3-Dimensional field. Sort of a 2.5D game if you will. Believe it or not Shantae has actually done something kinda similar to this in Half Genie Hero, specifically in Scuttle Town where the way the town scrolls has sort of a semi-3D effect. I think Shantae could utilize this method quite well with the Build Engine.







Anyway what kind of games were made with the Build Engine you may ask? Well for those of you who remember the classic 90's badass Duke Nukem hardly need an introduction. While there are many games that used the Build Engine, 4 of the most definitive ones that I know of are Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Blood, and Ion Fury! These games are not like any other FPS of the modern era, and they have their own unique style. I'll even show you a few trailers to show you exactly what these kinds of FPS games look like.



















So now you know exactly what a Build Engine FPS game looks like. Now believe it or not, that last one Ion Fury was actually released just last year in 2019! Despite using a 24 year old game engine, it still shines as retro perfection!





What if there was a Shantae game that used these same mechanics, but while still maintaining Shantae's definitive style?



This isn't the first time a game has done something like this. For example, there was an old 2D side-scroller called Hocus Pocus, and somebody decided to remake that game using the Doom Engine! It takes all of the elements of the original game, and remolds it into an FPS style, and believe it or not, it actually worked! I'll even show you a review of the game to prove it!







So if an old obscure 2D side-scroller like Hocus Pocus can be fully adapted into an FPS while still maintaining its same definitive style and feel as the original game, then I think Shantae is fully capable of doing the same, and using the Build Engine has even more creative possibilities, and I have so many ideas for how it could work!





Now for a while there has been talk about the possibility of a 3D Shantae game, where Shantae could openly explore a 3-Dimensional world freely without any feelings of restriction. As much as I love Scuttle Town, I'll admit having to walk down very a long linear path just to get from one place to another does get pretty tedious after a while. Anyway, the Build Engine's 2.5-Dimensional plane could actually utilize the possibility of an open 3D Scuttle Town quite well!





As for the gameplay style and mechanics, I've already thought of Shantae's attack moveset and arsenal. The basics melee attack would obviously be her hair whip, and another melee weapon could be the sword from Pirate's Curse. While a sword in an FPS may seem unfitting, it's not really. In Shadow Warrior you wield a Katana sword to slash enemies in half. Anyway, Shantae's ranged weapons could be her Pirate Pistol, her Cannon (which could work sort of like a rocket launcher), and her Fireball/Flamethrower shot from her hands! Now it may not seem like a big arsenal, but it could be mixed with the original weapon upgrade mechanics from past Shantae games, where you collect gems to buy upgrades for her hair and weapons, as well as power-ups such as the Bubble Shield, Pike-Ball, Healing Potion etc.

Now we can't forget about Shantae's transformations. When Shantae dances, the game's perspective could shift to a 3rd person view of her, and after she transforms into the animal selected, it switches back to 1st person, but with physical features resembling the animal she is. For example, if she transforms into an elephant, you'll see her tusks in a first person view, so you'll have something to visually indicate which animal she is.







Now despite how violent other Build Engine FPS games are (where enemies get blown to bits with blood splattering everywhere and whatnot), obviously this game won't be as violent as the other ones I showed you, as the Shantae games have always been rated no higher than T for Teen. In the past Shantae games enemies usually just vanish in a puff of smoke when they're defeated, and it could be the same here. Though some enemies have different death animations, such as how the Nagas explode into bone shards when they die. Obviously there wouldn't be any blood. The most graphic death in the game could be an enemy catching fire after you hit em with a fireball attack, and they run around on fire for a few seconds until they turn to ash. Shantae could even comment on that by saying "Whoa, did that guy just burn to ash? That's kinda dark don't you think?... What was this game rated again?"





Now that actually brings me to another idea for this game. Unlike past games that were mostly text dialogue with occasional voice clips, this game could be fully voice-acted! (Which is also common in Build Engine FPS games, everybody talks) It would definitely give Cristina Vee a much greater chance to shine as the voice of Shantae and Risky, and same with the rest of the voice cast! There could even be some guest stars voicing characters just like in WayForward's other retro-styled beat-em-up game River City Girls! Remember when they got Jacksepticeye to voice Godai? Well what if they got him to voice a character in this game? Maybe he could voice the Squid Baron? That would be hilarious!





In fact there's another common trope I've noticed in Build Engine FPS games. For example the 4 games I mentioned earlier, while Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Blood and Ion Fury all have different tones and characters, one thing they all have in common, is that the main protagonist you play as is usually very cocky, often has fun while fighting, and is constantly spitting one-liners in the game. What if Shantae could do the same? Her character has always been portrayed as fun-loving, confident, enthusiastic, occasionally sassy and stubborn, etc. So I think giving her a role similar to other one-liner spitting protagonists in Build Engine FPS games could be very fitting for her! I've even thought of some voice lines and one-liners Shantae could say either in mid-combat or while interacting with certain things in the game!





Shantae's one-liners:

-Ret-2-Go!

-Bring it on!



-Looks like I've gotta hair-em till it hurts!

-Whip it good!

-Time to split some hairs!



-Hey watch the hair!

-Say hello to my little friend!

-I've granted you defeat!

-These hips don't lie! (When dancing)



-Fireball!



-You just got roasted! (After using Fireball on an enemy)



-I'm gonna turn you into a fish-cabob! (When using her sword against a Mermaid or other aquatic enemies)

-Cannonball!

-I'll buy it! (When buying items from the shop)



-That's quite a cannon for a game that ain't canon. (When using her canon)

-You know, for a first person shooter, there aren't a lot of guns in this game.

-Are you a completionist or something? (When you find a very well-hidden item)



-Half human, half genie, all awesome!



-Hail to the genie baby!... Weird, that sounded a lot cooler in my head. (Obviously that's a take on Duke Nukem's "Hail to the king baby.")

-It's all, hair game!... Yeah I'm running out of one-liners.





As you can tell there are some inside jokes and 4th wall breaks here and there, which could be a contributing factor to game's creatively comedic nature. It wouldn't be the first time Shantae has done something like this. Once again this could be a spin-off game rather than a main title, which experiments with different game mechanics to see how well it could work. Plus it could have some parody-like aspects to it as well, such as jokes and references related to other games.







Now because it's an FPS you'll be seeing the game from Shantae's perspective (in fact if you look in a mirror you'll see her staring at you/herself), but there could also be an option to switch the camera to a 3rd person view, which will definitely help with platform jumping. In fact Shantae could even briefly poke fun at FPS jumping by saying "I don't get first person platforming. When I look down I can't see my feet! Makes it pretty hard to land a jump, don't ya think?"

Not to mention I've even made up a little chart of 3rd person sprites for Shantae. I know it's not great, but it's more of a rough concept anyway, just to give an idea of what it could be like.







So rather than just a generic first person shooter, this would be more like a traditional Shantae game but seen from a 1st person perspective, in a world with a more 3-Dimensional feel to it, while still maintaining a fun classic retro style!





Now one thing I haven't discussed yet, is what the story of the game is, or even the title of the game itself. While it's still a work in progress, 1 good title I thought of for the game is "Shantae: Barons Strike Back!"

As you can tell from the title, the game's story mostly involves the Barons, including the Ammo Baron, Techno Baron, Hypno Baron, and Squid Baron. Maybe all the Barons could team up with Risky Boots to unleash an all out invasion on Scuttle Town or even all of Sequin Land, and it's up to Shantae to stop them, one by one! I know it's not much of a story, but that's another thing about old Build Engine FPS games, they focus more on gameplay than story, so a simple objective story like this could fit the theme of the game.



