Hi, this is WayForward, developer and publisher of the Shantae series, including the newest entry, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, which launches digitally on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Steam on Tuesday, August 19! This game was originally in development 20 years ago on the Game Boy Advance before being placed on hiatus, but we finally had the chance to revive and finish the game, and, following the GBA release earlier this year, now it's almost Ret-2-Go on modern platforms! You can see the latest trailers here:
Gameplay: https://youtu.be/ahQnQhfrup8
Deluxe Edition: https://youtu.be/V0Drtyfhdf0
Physical Version: https://youtu.be/4SNmdMOCywc
Starting today at 3PM Pacific/6PM Eastern/10PM GMT, Shantae series director Matt Bozon (u/MattBozonWF) will be here to answer your questions about the game, Shantae in general, and anything else you wanna know!
EDIT: Thank you, everyone! Today's live AMA is officially closed, but if you have additional questions, we'll do our best to answer as availability permits! Thank you for your support, and we hope you can check out Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution when it launches next week!
Matt adds: "We're out of time, but thank you so much to everyone for your questions, and for your ongoing support!"
by WayForwardTech
36 Comments
For Shantae on GBC, there was supposedly an unreleased theme song that was cut from the soundtrack because it was too big to be included in the game. A dev commentary on a speed run mentioned this audition track might be made available. Would there be anywhere this song can be found online?
It’s been about 7 years since the last game’s release, and Advance already had a significant chunk of development done. I’m worried we won’t be seeing another game for even longer. Can you assuage those fears at all Mr. Bozon?
Is there a specific ultimate goal you’d like to reach with the series while you’re still able to work on it? Obviously everyone wants AAA games and films and whatnot, but what’s something that you really want to do with the series and feel you can realistically achieve it?
Just wanted to say I am a huge Shantae fan. Started with the gbc game on 3ds and was so amazed. I currently own pretty much all available titles on both 3ds and switch (even iOS) Will definitely be getting risky revolution! Thanks for making this series 🙂
Could we ever see footage or photos of any of the other Shantae demos / prototypes that never became games? I’d especially be interested in seeing what the GameCube prototype looked like, as someone who grew up with the system.
The Shantae art book went incredibly in-depth with artwork for the entire series up to that point. Since art books obviously can’t just be updated post launch, will we ever get an extensive look at art from Shantae Advance’s development like what is in the art book?
What’s it been like working with UDON on the Swimsuit specials? At SDCC this year, Udon mentioned that the first Shantae Swimsuit Special was their best selling webstore item ever. Do you think it’s likely there will be more Swimsuit Specials?
If there is more and they keep selling well, is it realistic to hope that they could lead to a dedicated Shantae comic series, or are the shorter comics in the specials more comfortable to do at the moment?
Is Bolo the final planned Shantae CharaGumin kit or are there more planned in the near future? I’ve been holding off on buying them so I could get them all at once, so it’d be great to know if I can pull the trigger on those.
What’s your favorite artstyle / presentation out of the Shantae games? I really like how characters look in Risky’s Revenge in particular.
Why isn’t there an option for an upgrade to the deluxe version’s content? Many other companies like Bethesda and Capcom offer upgrades for regular versions so it feels like wayforward is nickel and diming here.
Two questions:
1: Were Rotty & her brothers still written as villains or antagonists during the first dev cycle of Shantae Advance?
2: What locations were cut from Sequin Land in Shantae Advance?
Some questions.
1) Did 2.5D games like Klonoa, Tomba and Kirby 64 inspire part of Shantae Advance’s multi-layered levels? And did Power Stone inspire Shantae Advance’s Battle Mode?
2) What would have been the purpose of the Quiver Crystals? Were they going to be proto Shock Eggs or were they even items needed to unlock a true final boss or true ending?
3) What were the 6 Shantae Advance minigames going to be? And what planned minigames are in other Shantae/WayForward games? The dance minigame is in Shantae GBC, and if said minigames were scrapped before the GBA game was cancelled? And was the “zombie wagon” going to be part of a minigame?
4) Lastly, what happened to the red purple caped caped enemy that WAS featured in 2003 Shantae Advance promo material? I don’t see him anywhere in the final Shantae Advance game. Did he have animations finished? Or was he an early version of the red jumping enemy seen in Orc Orchard? Or was he going to be a tougher, evolved version that would have appeared in a later hub/island? I think he was holding a bone.
Is there any reason as to why the Deluxe Edition can’t be bought as DLC? Why are there 2 seperate versions just for outfits? Also, do the outfits anything more than to just power the magic attacks?
a shantae show or series might be a good ideacan you try speaking with a24?
What’s the future for the series? Have you thought about bringing Shantae to the third dimension? What about something like a Paper Mario RPG with her friends?
Were there more costumes designed for the deluxe version than just the 3? If they weren’t used are they being saved for later?
Hello. So, story wise, (almost) every antagonist has a backstory, right? What’s Risky’s backstory?
Hi Matt! Really looking forward to the game’s launch on Tuesday!
What aspect of Shantae Advance was the most fulfilling to finally see fully realized?
I really liked the dancing rhythm mini game from the first shantae game. How come that was only ever in the first game, could it come back in the future?
I have multiple questions, I hope that’s okay. I’m a huge fan and love the history of the series so my questions will be focused on that. I understand that this is alot at once, so I’ll be happy if you just pick and choose which to answer.
Also, as a warning to anyone reading who hasn’t played Shantae GBA, some of these have spoilers!
1. I remembered reading in places before the GBA revival project was announced that the game was planned to have six labrynths. The final game only has three labrynths and three crypts. Were the crypts planned from the begining and counted as labrynths or were there circumstances during the revival project thst prompted their creation?
2. In the debug level select screen of the first game, there is a level labeled “X4” which is inaccessible. Do you have any recollection of what that stage was supposed to be like?
3. There this old concept art that’s been featured numerous places has shows seemling an early version of the Pirate Master and a strange bettle-like character in place of Sky. This raises some questions about how the story of the game (as well as the character of Sky) evolved to its final point.
4. Building off the last question: I know there’s a pitch document that used to be on WF’s website back in the nineties that featured a story more similar to Pirate’s Curse. There are actually a few smaller questions I have about this. Risky’s existence is implied but never outright stated. Was she the ultimate villain at this stage? What where the Djinn characters like, did they inspire the new demon-like antagonists in Risky Revolution and/or the Barons? What was the order the lands, towns, and dungeons were arranged in? The document is vague about this at best. I could honestly ask a million questions about this document, but I’ll cap it here. I’ve already put down too many.
5. What’s up with the firefly statues in the Mud Bog?
6. This is somewhat of a two-for-one. I remeber an old IGN video of you reacting to a live speedrun of the original Shantae. In that video you mentioned a “Shantae theme song” that was apparently a demo track by Virt. Did you ever recall what this theme was? Did you ever find it? Also, that video and a far more recent interview really made me yearn for a director’s comentary. Have you ever considered doing anything like that?
7.I rember you had a Deviantart profile back in the day that you seemingly abandoned the same year you started it. Was there any particular reason you abandoned it? Was it personal or business related?
My apologies for the huge comment and large amount of questions. I am very enthusiastic about this series!
How tall is Shantae?
I want to 3d print a lifesize version of her. I like to do this for all my favorite series.
If it were possible, would there any dream video game crossovers/collaborations you’d want to do with Shantae?
Would you ever consider making a Shantae Manga now that you have some experience after making the shantae swimsuit comics?
Many people have shown the inside of thier Shantae GBA boards being dirty and of low quality parts, any comment on that quality standard LRG has made for themselves?
What’s your favorite Metroid game, and do you think Aliens: Infestation will get a remaster?
Give us a full anime! The opening of Seven Sirens was such a tease, I need more of that!
Hi everyone, this is Matt. Thanks for joining today! I’ll try to answer as many questions as possible 🙂
What is your favorite Shantae character? Mine is Shantae (Obviously), but I am curious about your favorite.
What’s your personal favorite entry in the series?
Will we ever see a 3D shantae game? Maybe like a collectathon or metroidvania?
Is there scaling options and LCD filter we can use?
will there ever be reprints of the physical copies of any past games, specifically Pirate’s Curse? unfortunately for me, I didnt discover the series until after that game had come and gone, and I really don’t want to pay aftermarket prices which are absurd
I’ve always wondered, do you think its possible to have the soundtracks of the past Shantae games on streaming platforms? The soundtracks have always been amazing to the games. I’d love to listen to them way more!
(Also, do you have a favorite track from the series?)
If you guys were ever able to do a Shantae comic series, who do you think would be your ideal publisher?
Shantae anime series by Studio Trigger. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
What is Shantae’s favorite food?