WayFoward has released a minor but nonetheless exciting detail regarding the upcoming Shantae 5, stating that the game will have an opening animation created by Japanese studio Trigger Inc. The announcement was made earlier today on the developer’s official Twitter, with promises of more details regarding the partnership coming soon. Trigger has been responsible for a number of different admirable animations including Kill La Kill and Little Witch Academia. They’ve also done the opening animations for TV shows like OK K.O! Let’s Be Heroes and Black Dynamite, and will be doing so for the upcoming Indivisible. Trigger is well known for their fluid and dynamic animation, and their involvement with Shantae 5 has fans very excited.
The Shantae series has been ongoing since the original title for the Game Boy Color released back in 2002, and it has had quite the uphill battle to make it to where it is today. The original Shantae was a commercial flop, despite being loved by critics, and it would be another 8 years before the sequel Shantae: Risky’s Revenge would see the light of day with its own struggling release on DSiWare. The third game in the series – Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse – would be the first game in the series to be a major financial success for WayForward, and it was once again a critical darling much like the previous installments.
The popularity of the series would once again be bolstered by the successful Kickstarter campaign and subsequent sales of the most recent installment Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, leaving us where we are now, with thousands of fans waiting with bated breath for the new installment. Shantae went from a series that originally sold only 10,000 copies, to a major series with a dedicated fanbase, able to work with one of the most revered modern animation studios working today.
Shantae 5 is currently planned for release on all major platforms in 2019.
