WayForward resurrects canceled Shantae GBA title for physical release

WayForward and Limited Run Games have opened preorders for a physical Game Boy Advance release of Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, a title that remained unreleased for nearly two decades. According to a listing from VideoGamesPlus, the game is available as a functional GBA cartridge featuring exclusive variant packaging.

Buying a brand new game for a console that legally reached drinking age several years ago is a specific kind of fever dream, but here we are. While the Game Boy Advance ceased production in 2010, the aftermarket and homebrew scenes have kept the hardware surprisingly active. This release, however, is not a homebrew project or a fan hack. It is an official entry in the canon that simply got lost in the sofa cushions of history.

The Missing Link

For those who haven't memorized the WayForward wiki, Risky Revolution occupies a strange space in the franchise timeline. It was originally developed following the 2002 release of the original Shantae on Game Boy Color. Development was shelved when the handheld market shifted, leaving the game in a state of purgatory until WayForward announced its revival in 2023.

The developer didn't just dump a raw prototype ROM onto a cartridge. WayForward reunited the original design team to complete the game using the era-appropriate development tools. This makes the finished product a genuine GBA game that just happened to miss its shipping date by about 22 years.

The game features a "background shifting" mechanic that allows players to move between the foreground and background layers, a technical trick that was impressive on the GBA hardware. It serves as the narrative bridge between the original game and the 2010 sequel, Risky's Revenge.

Hardware Specifics

The physical release is being handled by Limited Run Games, a company that has effectively cornered the market on manufacturing nostalgia. The specific variant listed by VideoGamesPlus features unique box art distinct from the standard LRG release. As is standard for modern retro releases, the package includes a cardboard box, a manual, and a functional cartridge compatible with original hardware, the Nintendo DS, and the DS Lite.

Collectors might feel a phantom pain in their wallets looking at this. The original Shantae for Game Boy Color, published by Capcom in the waning days of that system, is notorious for being one of the most expensive handheld games in existence. Loose cartridges often trade for prices that could buy a decent used sedan. While this new release won't have the scarcity of the 2002 original, it does offer a way to play the "lost" sequel on native hardware without resorting to flash carts.

Preservation Through Production

This release highlights a growing trend where preservation involves commercialization. Rather than letting the incomplete code sit on a hard drive at WayForward HQ, the studio opted to finish the work. It is a rare instance where "game preservation" results in a tangible product you can hold, rather than just a digital archive entry.

The game is also available digitally on modern consoles, but playing it on a GBA screen—preferably an AGS-101 model if you value your eyesight—offers the intended experience. The non-backlit struggle of the original AGB-001 model is an authentic experience most of us are happy to leave in 2001.