Feature: "The Odds Seemed Just Astronomical" - Reviving Lost Media With Shantae Advance

It's not often that a developer gets to revisit a chapter of their past and pick up where they left off on a project two decades prior, but the revival of Shantae Advance in the form of Risky Revolution has given WayForward creative director Matt Bozon just that opportunity.

Having co-created the character with his partner, Erin Bozon, the second game in the series following Shantae's Game Boy Color 2002 debut was started but shelved after WayForward struggled to find a publisher. However, with the help of Limited Run Games, the developers are now revisiting this 'lost' chapter in the series, with the now-completed game getting a limited-time release on Game Boy Advance and a wider modern console release courtesy of Limited Run's Carbon Engine later this year.

We recently got the chance for an email chat with Matt to discuss what it's like returning to work you started 20 years ago, how the final game compares to the original vision, and which version of the lovely GBA hardware he personally prefers...

Nintendo Life: First up, it feels like congratulations are in order! How confident were you over the last 20 years that you would – at some point – be able to return to Shantae Advance? Was it a vague desire or something you really thought could happen?

Matt Bozon: Thank you! I’d always hoped that we’d be able to go back and finish it, but the odds seemed just astronomical. We all really wanted it to, but knew it was very unlikely. At the time of writing this, fans can finally — finally — preorder the lost Shantae game! It’s unbelievable!

How far along was the game before it was shelved, and how big was the original team compared to now?

The game was 50% complete, in terms of the overall workload. The player’s “golden path” through the adventure was about 25% and the mobility and most systems seemed closer to 75% at the time.

The original 2002 era team was around six people. The new 2023 team was me and Mike again as the “core 24/7 duo,” with Erin, Maddie Lim, and additional art talent in support roles as needed. The Link Cable minigame was programmed by the original Shantae programmer, Jimmy Huey, 20 years ago, and is still wonderfully preserved. So, generally, this is a much smaller team on any given day, but it’s also a more focused effort.

The art and the multi-layered levels look fantastic. How much of the game today would you say is ‘new’ versus executing on original plans and restoring things from two decades ago?

It’s about a 50/50 blend. The old work had to be iterated on, since it was never truly completed back in 2002-2004… but it’s mostly the same. The new work was completely bound by design decisions, animation, color palettes, tilesets, tools, and code of the original effort. We’re using the same old tools, some of which dated back to 1985, which we have to run in DOS. So, we’re not benefiting from any modern tools at all, unless you count Windows. This isn’t exactly by choice. This is not a homage retro game, but an actual GBA game running code from 2002. With the game completed, it’s essentially the game it would have been almost 25 years ago, had we finished the work way back then.

What has it been like returning to a project you worked on so long ago? Have you found yourself questioning decisions your younger self made or revising/reworking old material based on your knowledge and experience now?

Pacing, speed, and responsiveness are much better than they would have been if it had been released back in the day

Yes, decisions made by younger me created a ton of headaches for modern me. It’s hard to explain, but I find myself trying to preserve the work started by what feels like some other less experienced person who doesn't know the Shantae series as well as I do now!

Partly this is because the game design for Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution began at the end of 2000, before the Game Boy Color Shantae had even shipped. There were no fans or feedback to learn from. So some of the old ideas didn’t perfectly align with where the series ultimately went. The audience that this game was originally intended for in 2002 had grown up, too! And there were new fans who were introduced to the series by the later games. So, all of this had to be considered, and there were many course corrections needed. Thankfully, Mike is a very patient programmer. He finds a way to make these things work, somehow!

Working with the GBA versus modern systems, were there any quirks or technical aspects of the old console you genuinely missed, beyond the nostalgia of it?

Yes, I really like working on a small game. I like getting to place every tile and enemy, and tweaking number value and animation timing. It’s fun to entertain the player so directly. As for quirks? Well, this is homemade tech that Mike wrote himself, and that only a few people have ever used it. It was fun to go back and try to remember how it all worked. Working in a custom tool made for a game’s specific needs is amazing, and seems like a lost art. I wonder what would happen if more people wrote their own game engines again!

Have you integrated any aspects of the subsequent games back into Risky Revolution’s gameplay?

Definitely. There are things that the original game didn’t consider, like making it fun for multiple replays, or speed runs. Pacing, speed, and responsiveness are much better than they would have been if it had been released back in the day. And the characters are better realized, too. The save system is much smarter. This game will feel like GBA, but with many of the modern nice-to-haves.

Audio-wise, was there anything in place before the game was shelved or are the music and effects all-new for 2024?

The old game had audio borrowed from our own Godzilla: Domination, just for demoing purposes. So it wasn’t until 2023 that Shantae Advance got its own music. Maddie Lim composed for this game, and it’s both a joy to listen to and a technical marvel!

When it comes to packaging, manuals, cart colours, etc, for the Limited Run GBA release, how involved are you and WayForward on that side of things?

As the Shantae licensor, Erin is very hands-on with the approvals for these. We work directly with LRG on all of that! I got to write the instruction booklet, just like in the old days! The cart colors and that really cool acrylic frame were all ideas from LRG, and they look fantastic.

With regards to the upcoming Switch version, what are the differences? The trailer shows HD character portrait and UI enhancements, and a four-player mode is mentioned.

The best comparison is Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse on 3DS, when we ported it from the lower-res 3DS to the higher-res modern consoles. Like you mentioned, the window dressing is all high-res illustration work, and you won’t need Link Cables to enjoy four-player Battle Mode! The game can also be played in its original GBA format, without the fancy high-res element, for a more authentic GBA experience. The release of the Carbon Engine ports (aka the console ports) are still a ways out, so we want players to be aware of this.

Are there any other ‘lost’ projects knocking around in filing cabinets at WayForward Towers – other things you’d like to revisit given the chance?

Shantae Advance is the only canceled Shantae game. That said, WayForward has made a lot of internal tech demos over the years, and for a long time it was pretty common to grab Shantae assets, or use her as a test character by whoever was making the tech demo. I say “tech demo” because most of these were not game demos — they were intended to pitch tech internally, or show some sort of game framework to a potential client. So we don’t think of those as canceled games. I’ve also got a pretty big backlog of Shantae game designs floating around. Maybe someday we’ll revisit those, too!

Finally, what style of GBA is your personal pick – OG horizontal or SP? (Or the Micro, of course. Personally, just looking at the thing gives me hand cramps, though!)

My favorite GBA is my NES-themed SP, with the brighter screen guts swapped in. It was a Father’s Day gift from Erin and the kids back when it originally launched, and has seen a lot of use. Both kids are grown now, and are character animators. Our daughter worked on Seven Sirens, and our son worked on Risky Revolution. So yeah, this little device means a lot to me, and it’s my preferred way to play GBA!

Thanks to Chris at WayForward and Matt for taking the time to answer our questions.

Pre-orders for the GBA version of Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution are open now until 7th April. The standard version is $59.99 and there's a natty Collector's Edition for $99.99 that comes with a gold cart, the soundtrack, and a swathe of other goodies. They're expected to ship in October '24 and January '25 respectively — check out Limited Run's site for more details. The Switch version is pencilled in for launch later this year.