The Shantae franchise has had a modern resurgence, with four games being released in the 2010s, and many Shantae fans may not even realize the series' origins go all the way back to 2002. Developer and publisher WayForward is hoping to correct that by bringing back the original Shantae game for new players to experience. To that effect, WayForward has now announced its planned release date for the original Shantae's port on Nintendo Switch. It will be available on the hybrid console starting April 22.
The Shantae Nintendo Switch port release date announcement was made via a short trailer released on social media Saturday. The 90-second trailer shows just what the game looks like on Nintendo Switch, which is exactly what it looked like in 2002 on the Game Boy Color. The game is a pixel art-based platformer intended to be played on a screen 160x144 pixels big with a squarish 10:9 ratio. It shows its age, but doesn't seem too bad on the Switch's 720p handheld screen.
The Nintendo Switch port does feature some light enhancements. These appear to be limited to a new main menu screen made just for the Nintendo Switch port, as well as the option to choose between the Game Boy Color version of the game and an enhanced version for the Game Boy Advance.
The re-release of the original Shantae should keep fans sated until a new Shantae comes around. With Shantae and the Seven Sirens launching in 2019, and another title being released every three-to-four years or so, it may be some time before WayForward wraps anything up.
Shantae releases April 22 on Nintendo Switch.
