Practicing Glitchcraft has returned, and we’re here to point our sabers at a fun little game called Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. Shantae, a half-genie heroine brought to life by Way Forward, debuted on the Game Boy Color in 2002, after the release of the Game Boy Advance. These days, good luck finding a physical cartridge for less than $200. In 2010, a sequel, Risky’s Revenge, danced onto the DSi, followed by Pirate’s Curse in 2014. These last two games are also available on Playstation 4, PC, and other systems depending on the game. Each iteration has its share of broken weirdness, so let’s have a look at the glitches in Pirate’s Curse.
Barring the lack of audio, Korxtendo’s showcase features five performable glitches, most of which are triggered using items. The first causes Shantae to float up as high as the screen will allow after eating a food item. Another causes her sprite rotation to lock after a potion is used after being propelled from a launcher, while using a potion during a dash and going into the hat parachute causes her to fall under the ground. The last two are shown during the scene with Rottytops where crawling into it will soft-lock the game and dashing will freeze Shantae.
There are other glitches to be found throughout the game, like making the enemies harmless in Frostbite Land. Way Forward is currently developing the next game in the series, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, for digital distribution on multiple platforms.
