Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut Reviews

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is ranked in the 60th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10
Mar 30, 2016

All told, Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is a solid update to the DSiWare classic. While there may not necessarily be enough here to justify a double dip for those of you that picked it up the first time around, there's never been a better way to experience this game. For those of you that have never played it, we'd give this game a strong recommendation; it's creative, clever, and colourful. This is a retro action game you won't want to miss out on.

Read full review

Digitally Downloaded
Matt S.
Top Critic
Jul 1, 2015

These are minor complaints, though. The platforming is rock solid, and as I noted, I love the theme with a passion. I would like to see WayForward do something more narrative-heavy with Shantae, as I think she would be a spectacular lead in a RPG or similar, but as it stands this is my favourite 2D platformer series of all, and I'm glad to see that it's now on PlayStation too.

Read full review

9 / 10.0
Oct 25, 2020

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge still holds up well, and despite the fact that we have seen it ported before, its inclusion on the Switch was executed with love and finesse.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2020

Shantae Risky's Revenge is a fun, challenging adventure. Filled with difficult boss battles, tons of tricky puzzles, and all kinds of magic spells to learn. While it may be a little outdated, Risky's Revenge will always be fun to play.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Apr 7, 2016

I had a lot of fun playing through Risky's Revenge. And while it was ultimately a shorter experience than I'd have liked, it most definitely didn't wear out its welcome. A clever, charming Metroidvania with some intense platforming bits, Shantae: Risky's Revenge – Director's Cut is a must play for fans of the genre.

Read full review

Ken McKown
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jul 8, 2015

Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a classic that deserves more attention, and only makes me that much more excited to finally see the new title come to PS4. It is great for players who enjoy a solid character-action game, and of course the Metroid-style so many games have adopted over the year.-Combine that with likable characters and a colorful, gorgeously pixelated visual style, and this game is a must own.

Read full review

Jul 6, 2015

While there's definitely not enough here to justify a second purchase for existing fans, Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut contains more than enough positive factors to interest new ones.

Read full review

4 / 5.0
Jul 7, 2015

Shantae: Risky's Revenge: Director's Cut could have used some help with its map system, but literally everything else is spot-on. Much like Shovel Knight and Mighty No.

Read full review

Jul 4, 2015

While this title may not take full advantage of the PlayStation 4 hardware, 'Shantae: Risky's Revenge Director's Cut' is an enjoyable platformer adventure that's worth the time for most anyone that enjoys the genre. It is not a perfect title, and it's also not a particularly long game, but anyone who considers themselves a fan of Metriodvanias, platformers, or wishes there was a sequel to 'Monster World IV,Shantae: Risky's Revenge Director's Cut PS4 review' should not hesitate to pick this up.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Oct 23, 2020

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is not just “another one” in the Switch library: it's a game with its own style, charisma and identity that arrives at the hybrid ten years after its original release and relives the magic of one of the best adventures of the half-genie without giving up the charm of the 16-bit era.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Oct 15, 2020

If our review convinced you, I wholeheartedly recommend giving Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Director’s Cut a try. And if you like it, I even more wholeheartedly recommend Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse (also available on Nintendo Switch). It does everything Risky’s Revenge does but even better — with a few gameplay changes, too.

Read full review

Feb 16, 2021

Overall, I quite enjoyed my time with Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Director’s Cut. It was a fun little Metroidvania-style adventure that took me the majority of 10 hours to complete. I collected all of the Magic Jams and got all of the abilities and perks from the shop. I had a lot of fun with the game, and it still holds up pretty well by today’s standards for the most part. The biggest flaw is probably just that it could use a better map system. You can download a copy from the Nintendo Switch eShop for $9.99. Can you put a stop to Risky Boots’ evil plot in order to save Sequin Land, Scuttle Town, and your uncle?

Read full review

7.8 / 10.0
Jun 29, 2015

Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a modern classic and this Director's Cut version is a great way to play it on a contemporary console.

Read full review

7.8 / 10.0
Nov 7, 2020

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut brings back an old school and very challenging platformer, improving it with a new hi-res presentation layer. Other than this it doesn't change or improve the original game, but it remains a suggested buy for all lovers of the saga and action-platformers in general.

Review in Italian | Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Oct 24, 2021

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge clearly isn’t as featured-filled, polished, or exciting as its more modern counterparts, but it’s still well worth your time if you’re curious about the wonderful history of the Shantae franchise, or if you’re just a fan of 2D platformers in general. Why did this specific version need to have a brand new PlayStation 5 build is beyond me, as there is very little in here that justifies it being a “next-gen” game, but that doesn’t affect its overall quality.

Read full review

7.1 / 10.0
Oct 15, 2020

Having been introduced to the Shantae series on the Switch and enjoyed the hell out of each entry thus far a throwback title sounded interesting...

Read full review

7 / 10
Jul 4, 2015

Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a solid game. Inoffensive gameplay and a light challenge paired with pleasing retro art and music blend to create a thoroughly pleasing experience. The game isn't particularly innovative or surprising, but at the end of the day, it's good fun. Given that this is a slow period for new releases, you could do much worse than shaking your booty to this.

Read full review

7 / 10
Apr 11, 2016

Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut does not stand out as much as its predecessor did, which is no shame as this is a game that features a good balance between exploration of locations and backtracking and Shantae's magic spells and transforming skills are delightful. It could go further on the boss fights and in terms of content but that doesn't stand on its way of being a very enjoyable game for those who like exploring and backtracking in a metroidvania style.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Apr 16, 2016

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is a good action game, but it looks and feels a bit primitive next to Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. It's still worth playing if you're a fan of action titles, and that especially applies if you're a fan of Shantae who missed out on the first release of Pirate's Curse.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Dec 23, 2015

Shantae: Risky's Revenge – Director's Cut is an overall solid game with charming gameplay and wonderful presentation values. It's hindered by its somewhat repetitive design, cumbersome map system and lack of innovation or surprises, but it still manages to offer a good time for anyone looking to delve into the newest Metroidvania release.

Read full review