[Click here to start from the first progress log]

You know what’s really annoying? The fact that the Xbox One doesn’t let you copy videos and screenshots onto a thumb drive like the Playstation 4 does. Instead you have to go through and upload everything one at a time so that you can download it onto your computer (and then upload the videos onto Youtube), and sometimes the upload speed freaks out. Like just now when I went to upload everything and it was taking around 10 minutes to upload a single 15 megabyte file. That’s ridiculous, and when I restarted the console and finally uploaded everything at the normal speed, only four videos actually uploaded for some reason. Because of that, I finished two levels and only have video from part of one. Xbox does a lot of good things with backwards compatibility, but getting media off the console is inexcusably bad.

At least this clip made it

I would have burned down Xbox’s office building if I had lost this particular clip:

You’re clearly not supposed to be able to get to this chest without the cannon jump unlocked at the end of the level, and yet it’s not impossible to reach using just the pirate hat. The reason for this is that the hat gives you a slight bump upwards when you use it, so you can use it to get that extra little boost needed to reach otherwise inaccessible platforms. Obviously that’s not necessary now that I’ve finished the level and unlocked the cannon, but it’s always fun to break games a bit.

Platforming is haaaaaaard

You’d think that someone my age who grew up in the golden age of platformers would be able to nail basic platforming without much of an issue, but I’ve used Shantae’s faster monkey form for platforming in two of the three games I’ve played (including Half-Genie Hero, obviously—I still haven’t gotten around to the GBC original, and Pirate’s Curse doesn’t have the transformations) and find Risky’s movement speed to be slightly slower than I’m comfortable with.

A few of those deaths came from when I tried to use the pirate hat too late and fell into the bottomless pit (which, as in the base game, doesn’t have the fun skull and bones icons from previous games), but other than that, it’s good old-fashioned ineptitude on my part. Hopefully platforming goes a bit smoother now that I have the cannon, though I haven’t actually used it yet and can’t speak to whether it’s similar to the double-jump in Pirate’s Curse or not. Hopefully so. That thing was the best.

Speaking of which, I went underwater

Since I lost all my videos, I’m going to post a screenshot instead. Click it for the full-sized version if you’re having trouble seeing what’s going on in the picture.

Basically, Risky can run and maneuver around in water now that she has the item I got at the end of the last progress log. She can’t swim in it, but her jump is much higher. It’s the Megaman approach to underwater gameplay, which isn’t surprising given how the base game already took a bunch of steps in that direction.

Oh hey, I actually upgraded

It took me a few stages before I realized that there was no money in the game. Instead, pots and such give different types of ammunition that can be switched between with the right and left bumper. That makes sense, though, since there’s not a shop in which to exchange money for upgrades. Instead, Risky collects Genie Crystals (things that progress the plot) and Dark Magic (things that let her upgrade).

Her health can be upgraded by spending Dark Magic on it. Her sword damage can be upgraded in the same way. Pistol damage and speed can be upgraded, as well, though I’ve yet to focus on anything but her health and sword damage. Thus far, all upgrades have cost a single Dark Magic, which is nice since they’re fairly rare. Also worth pointing out is that the improvements Risky is making on the dynamo show up under “components” in the menu and show up as the post-Risky boss from the base game. Little touches that tie everything together like that are always appreciated.

A little annoyed about the blocking, though

Something I neglected to mention in the last progress log was that there were these annoying blue enemies in Mermaid Falls who could block and then dash across platforms to hit you if you kept attacking. The only reason I didn’t bring them up was that I eventually figured out that I could get them to dash, jump over them when they did, and then move on without bothering to defeat them. Annoying, but manageable.

Then there are these spiders, which also block. They’re there in the base game, too, but Shantae’s different forms made dealing with them (or ignoring them) much easier. Risky can’t safely jump over them, and they block all but a few of her attacks, so all forward progress grinds to a halt whenever one shows up. I might start just running through them and taking whatever damage ensues, because enemies who block aren’t interesting so much as they are tedious. They’re not worth the time.

What’s really frustrating is that they can block attacks from behind, too. You can summon a Tinkerbat, jump over (taking some damage in the process) to attack from behind and still fail to do an appreciable amount of damage.

[Click here to go to Half-Genie Hero – Pirate Queen’s Quest (DLC) log #1]

The post Shantae – Half-Genie Hero – Pirate Queen’s Quest (DLC): Progress Log #2 appeared first on Killa Penguin.