SHANTAE AND THE SEVEN SIRENS

Morphing back into a classic form

After four games, our belly-dancing half-genie protector Shantae deserves a vacation – what a great excuse for taking part in the Half-Genie Festival on Paradise Island for her fifth. Late for dress rehearsal after chatting with her fellow mystical kind, she narrowly avoids being kidnapped along with her new pals. It’s up to her to investigate the island’s sunken ruins and rescue her four half-genie friends, fusing with their powers along the way.

Whereas the last game in the series, Half-Genie Hero, had a more level-based structure, Seven Sirens returns to the freer style of the prior three. Paradise Island is pretty open-ended, and the way you explore and progress is straight out of Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, from how the map is presented right through to the way rooms are laid out, and whipping enemies (with your hair). It’s not overlarge, and most of the challenge comes when you enter the more focused dungeons. Discovering transforming powers is key to progressing and finding hidden secrets. 1 If you’re familiar with the genre, Seven Sirens doesn’t offer much unexpected besides its colourful charm.

As well as transforming abilities, you unlock room-affecting powers as you progress, and these are a lot more iffy – indications of where to use some are irritatingly lacking. The lack of map markings for currently impassable objects or collected heart pieces also feels a bit annoying. 2 Still, it’s a lot of fun throughout its short duration, and the cartoony surface is backed up by plenty of heart.

It’s not the best game of its type, but it’s an example worth playing. Oscar Taylor-Kent

FOOTNOTES1 Including a newt that sticks to walls, a frog that can swim, and a turtle that can smash through stones. 2 Plenty of other Symphony-likes have come up with better quality-of-life tweaks.