Really, Plok is on the list? As far as esoteric 3rd party characters go, I'd figure Kuros or S.O.P.H.I.A. would have made the list long before Plok...
I like Shantae. I think Pirate's Curse is a good game, Risky's Revenge an okay game, and the original the best of the three. I suppose I like it better due to it being the only one with all original content, as RR recycled too many things given how freaking short it is, and then they went on to recycle an entire plot scenario from RR to make the beginning of Pirate's Curse. I also prefer the transformations of the original over RR or the pirate items in PC.
Graphically Pirate's Curse is the best, and it has great boss fights. Its not as hard as the original, but its not as easy as RR.
I love the art design, I just wish there were more new characters/enemies in the sequels instead of recycling so many, and their accompanying locales again and again.
I mean, sure Mario games still have goombas, but there are a variety of them. In Shantae games you head east out of town and you will see Scarecrows, the exact 2 kinds in all three games. Further east, you get to the forest with the exact same flying green guys and tiny spiders in all three games. Imagine if the first 3 Zelda games had basically the same geography, and enemies, more or less unchanged. At least in Pirate's Curse you go to some new areas.
I have no problem with their being boobs in the games. They aren't bouncing around, people aren't motorboating them, or really making a point of flaunting them. I'd still be fine if they did, but they much like the ones irl are just kinda there. There is a difference between a character that has boobs wearing an outfit that doesn't hide that fact, and a character that stepped out of an oppai hentai with jiggle physics and suggestive behavior.
None of the female characters in Shantae games are sexualized to me. They are fun, determined, aggressive, protective, funny, intelligent, silly, and whatever else between them, and generally immodest of dress. The only character that even seems to view them in a sexual way is Geno (I think that is the guy's name) and he gets teased for it. The part in PC where they all wind up together in new clothes is funny, and embarrassing for everyone but Shantae.
She probably pays little or no attention to how people might view her for the way she dresses, and people just see her as the heroine.
By contrast, Bayonetta knows you are looking, wants you to look, and if you are very good you might get to touch....anything, ever again, after she gets done with you.
Also, Shovelknight is a waaaaaay better game than all the Shantae's combined. However, Shantae has way better characters.
Its odd to me that Yachtclub games, used to be a part of Wayforward when they have so much better level design, boss design, and power up design in their one game than any of the 5 Wayforward games I have. Shantae games have better writing/characters at least so far. The bosses might get more fleshed out in the upcoming DLCs.
