Shantae

Shantae is a late-era Game Boy Color platformer with a half-genie and a whole lot of dancing.

Sub-Pages#

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Debug Mode#

To do:
Additional coverage of Debug mode.

Enter the code Left (×2), Right (×8), Left (×6), Right (×2), Left (×7), Right (×6), Left (×8) on the title screen while it displays "Press Start". You'll be taken to a screen where you can select a Normal Game or a Debug Game - the latter will pop open a new menu after you choose a file. The number next to "Shantae" in the debug menu refers to which save file is being used.

By the way, the code comes from the latter part of WayForward's phone number, (661) 286-2769.

When starting a new Debug Game, the player is given 500 gems, 10 of each weapon/potion, 99 Warp Squids, all dance moves including the Tinkerbat dance, and all four attack upgrades, talismans, and magical items. The debug menu can be accessed on almost all maps by pressing Select on the inventory screen. By pressing Select + A, Shantae will freeze in her falling animation and then free movement is accessible. Pressing Select will drop Shantae into the map again, but if you do this while going out of bounds, the game will crash.

Map Notes#

I3: The cutscene that plays after completing the intro level. Is known to crash the game on certain hardware/emulators.
D4: This map cannot be selected.
M2: This is the Dance Parlor map. There are no button actions for this mini-game if it's loaded from the debug menu. Furthermore, the mini-game never ends and the pause menu cannot be accessed, forcing the player to restart the game.
M!: Select with B for a music menu. Select with A for a sound effect menu. In the latter you can hear the unused sound effects listed here.
M@: Pre-credits.
Mr: Credits.

Selecting options with A or B may lead to different entrances for an area.

Unused Text#

unable to allocate

Present at 0x4DC6. Most likely a leftover debugging message.

stack overflow

Stored at 0x2A4D7. Probably an error message leftover from early in development.

DON'T PANIC!  BUT...

Stored at 0x2A5C9. Use unknown.

contact jimmy huey
have a nice day!

Stored at 0x2A5EA. Jimmy Huey is listed as the game's programmer in the credits.

Welcome to the Scarecrow Field.  West: desert, East: Spiderwood Forest
Welcome to Spiderwood Forest.  West: Scuttle Town, East: Dribble Falls
Welcome to Dribble Falls.  West: Spiderwood Forest, East: Water Town
Welcome to Flushstone.  West: Dribble Falls, East: Slime Flats
Welcome to Slime Flats.  West: Flushstone, East: Quaggore Swamp
Welcome to Quaggore Swamp.  West: Slime Flats, East: Splinter- Grave Grove
Welcome to Splinter-Grave Grove.  West: Quaggore Swamp, East: Stumprot Forest
Welcome to Stumprot Forest.  West: Quaggore Swamp, East: Mount Brazier
Welcome to Mount Brazier.  West: Stumprot Forest, East: Pinestone Bluff
Welcome to Pinestone Bluff.  West: Mount Brazier, East: Mud Bog
Welcome to Mud Bog.  West:  Bandit Town, East: Sandy Dunes
Welcome to Sandy Dunes.  West: Oasis Town, East: Scuttle Town
Welcome to Skitterclaw Desert.  West: Golem Mine, East: Wasteland
Welcome to Wasteland.  West: Skitterclaw Desert, East: Scarecrow Field

A location list of some sort, stored at 0xA5FF5. It was probably intended to be used when you enter an area. What's interesting is there are some early location names in here. For example, Water Town used to be called Flushstone, and Mount Pointy used to be called Mount Brazier. Also, some of the locations seem to have been changed around.

Trim those loose ends for twice the Attack!

Stored at 0xA4646. At one point in development, it was possible to upgrade your standard hair whip attack. This, along with the next string, is a remnant of that idea. This feature was implemented in later games in the series.

Extra body and better volume for twice the Attack!

Stored at 0xA4725. Same as above.

New clothes with Double the Defense!

Stored at 0xA475B. At one point in development, you could purchase alternate outfits in addition to the Fighter's Gear. This is a remnant of that idea. For some reason, a duplicate is present at 0xA4783.

Unused Sounds#

These sounds can be heard in the sound test.

duck		Presumably this was supposed to be used when ducking, but "wetgal drop" is used instead.
big cbfall		This was probably supposed to be used when a big cannonball falls, but it isn't.
risky laugh		While Risky Boots does laugh in this game, it doesn't get a sound effect.
tbat torch		A duplicate of "tbat jump".
head pwall		Potentially meant for colliding with the bottom edge of tiles while jumping.
big en hit		Potentially meant for when dungeon mini-bosses or other large enemies are hit ("en being short for "enemy").
warpsquid h		Might have been a cry used by baby Warp Squids to signal when one was nearby. This sound doesn't work properly on hardware.
eel croak		While it is possible it may have been used with the Barracuda Joe enemies, it is unknown what this sound's true purpose is.
ambcrystal		Potentially meant to be a sound for the elemental stones when they are on-screen.
town yell2		At the beginning of the intro stage, you can see the townspeople fleeing in panic. This may indicate that they were supposed to make a sound.
town yell3		Same as above.
refill power		Potentially meant for when the Healing Dance is used.
random number		Likely an artifact of a development tool.

Unused Music#

Each of the dance jingles is longer than what is heard in-game. The full jingles can be heard in the music test.

Unused Graphics#

These can be found amongst the graphics for the Dance Menu. These graphics can be seen in an early screenshot:

(Source: Nai255 (The Spriters Resource))

An alternate font, similar to the one used in WayForward's other Game Boy Color games. This was used in early screenshots (such as the one above) and the dumped prototype.

Shantae squinting at something. Note that while the command to display this sprite is used, it's never actually seen.

Same as above, only this time she's talking to someone. This sprite can be seen in an early screenshot where she's talking to Bolo:

Shantae and Rottytops tripping on something. These are similar to the sprites used for colliding with an obstacle in the final game, but have them falling forward instead.

Revisional Differences#

Virtual Console#

The version released for the 3DS Virtual Console removes the "Distributed by Capcom" screen that was originally displayed before the title screen.
Since the Virtual Console emulates playing the game on a Game Boy Color, it is not possible to learn the Tinkerbat dance in Bandit Town, as it was only taught when playing the game on a Game Boy Advance. However, the Tinkerbat dance is unlocked when starting a Debug Game and is performed by pressing Down, Up, Up.

Nintendo Switch#

This version brings back the GBA Enhanced mode as an option on the main menu, allowing the player to learn the Tinkerbat dance in Bandit Town once again.
The main menu also allows for viewing a gallery of concept art and graphics as well as credits for the release.
The version released on the Switch eShop replaces the "Distributed by Capcom" screen with a "Limited Run Games" screen, following the WayForward screen, much like the Capcom screen did in the original release.

Game Boy Color	Nintendo Switch

The Start button indicator has been replaced with + to reflect the Switch's button layout.
- This version also removed "Licensed by Nintendo" on the title screen.

Game Boy Color	Nintendo Switch

The A and B buttons have been swapped to be consistent with the rest of the Shantae games on the Switch. Furthermore, the Dance toggle is remapped to X, and the Y button simply mirrors A.

References#

Press Releases. " Shantae was created for Capcom by WayForward Technologies."↩︎
Shantae™ | Game Boy Color | Games | Nintendo UK ↩︎
Switch Limited Run #83: Shantae – Limited Run Games ↩︎
シャンティ - オーイズミ・アミュージオ ↩︎
Shantae for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site ↩︎
シャンティ - オーイズミ・アミュージオ ↩︎

v · t · e The Shantae series
Game Boy Color	Shantae (Prototype)
DSiWare	Shantae: Risky's Revenge
Nintendo 3DS	Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
Windows	Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
iOS, Mac OS X	Shantae and the Seven Sirens
Game Boy Advance	Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (Prototypes)