This is a game that may be divisive to people unwilling to put up with some trademark Gameboy Color era traits, such as a kinda crunched screen or a lives counter, but despite some showings of age on Shantae 1's part, it's an extremely impressive game that you need to play if you have even any remote interest in the Gameboy as a platform.
Its map design is impressive, looping around itself, something I've never seen another 2D Metroid game do. And whilst there is no map in Shantae, this is manageable given the game's easily identifiable landscapes and looping map. There are numerous towns, contributing to a greater scope, and this is something that wasn't even brought back until Seven Sirens. Alongside other features exclusive to Shantae 1 such as rhythm based dancing for transformations as well as fighter's gear, the game has uniqueness to offer that's worth coming back to if you're interested in the Shantae series. Overall just a very charming game.
