What kind of villains would you like to see?

OTHER THAN RISKY OF COURSE!!!

Since the amount of Shantae-related discussions have come rather dry, I decided to kickstart it with this topic.


Yes, Risky Boots is the main villain of Shantae. You don't need to tell me.
But every once in a while, Risky should be given a break and a new villain should take the bad spotlight for a game.
This would definitely help to keep things fresh and interesting.

WayForward is already going into a fresh direction, by introducing a new villain in their newest game.
But I think, in another 3 or 4 games there should be a game with no Risky at all.
Shantae would definitely benefit from that.



So what kind of villains would I like to see?
Here is a short list:
- The Oppressive
With this, I am thinking of a wicked ruler or something, who oppresses entire populations.
Either through great power or other means.

- The Corrupted Half-Genie
So basicly an evil Half-Genie with much greater power than a regular Half-Genie.
It could be either through a "pact with the devil", a great power that she received or being corrupted or possessed by an even more powerful being.


- The Evil Genie
Of course, the concept that I talked about the most. But it is a rather obvious concept.
Since there are so many genie's in the Shantae-universe, it'd wouldn't come as much of a surprise if there would be an evil one among them.
But still, the concept is worth trying.
Genie's are known for their immeasureable, cosmic powers.
Now if there would be an evil one, she would definitely abuse them and turn the world into a really chaotic place, possibly up to the point where nothing makes sense anymore.
Since she'd be some kind of nemesis, that would even render the genie's powerless, Shantae would definitely need more than her "puny" Half-Genie Powers.
Either through getting sacred objects OR awakening her dormant powers...
To be short: In terms of vulnerability, the Evil Genie would be the Ganondorf of Shantae.
Only vulnerable to sacred powers, but absolutely immortal otherwise.
Sounds like the kind of villain, that gives Shantae the most credit, if she'd beat her.

- The Sealed One and the Fool
Also a concept that has been done many times before, but still doesn't get old. (At least to me...)

It's basicly like this: There is one mighty entity being sealed away and one power-hungry fool seeks to awaken that entity to gain power, but is overtaken in the end, by whatever means...

The fool however shouldn't be treated like a complete pushover and should be a threat by himself.
The Sealed One either could make short appearances throughout the game or only appear at the end, where he/she/it finally awakens and wastes the fool, either be possessing him, blowing him away or even killing him (tho this should be in a rather comical, light-hearted way).

There are so many types of villains that this would work with...
I am looking forward to see something like this in the games.


- The High-Techer
And last but not least, the kind of villain with high-tech equipment and war machines, that'd put Risky's inventions to shame.
Maybe like an evil alien or something. (Hey, we have zombie's already. So why not?)
And that is all I can say about this.



What do you think?

No matter which of those ideas get used, the villains would need a comedic hook. So far, every major antagonist seen has one (Risky's double-entendres, the Ammo Baron's obsession with explosions, etc.), and I imagine the Pirate Master will have one as well. Dramatic, absolute-emotionless-evil-type villains would not work at all, not in Shantae's case, at least.

Spoiler:

I am not sure about that.

I can see what you're saying, but I think serious villains with low humor (or maybe even none at all) still have a right to exist in Shantae.

But of course, nothing should be blown way out of proportion.
And I know that villains of a caliber like "Freezer" from "Dragonball" would never work for a rather light-hearted series like Shantae.
I know that. So you don't need to tell me.


Despite that, I think more serious climates should also been given a chance.
Even Mario has gone more serious ways with games like the "Paper Mario" or "Mario & Luigi" series.
(Granted, only the first M&L game was good, but still...)


I think it's only natural to experiment every once in a while.
In fact, I think it's mandatory to do it. Since it is needed for a series to evolve.
Like I said, nothing should be put out of context and the basic theme and direction of the series should be kept at all times.
But that doesn't mean it that, in Shantae's case, it has to remain 100% humorous and light-hearted at all times.
It is alright to bend things a little sometimes, as long as it remains within the context.



But if humor is really that much of a priority for WayForward, I think all of those villain-types I listed can easily be made humorous.

In the Goemon-series, villains even died and yet it was done in a humorous, light-hearted way.
So yeah, it's possible.
But I think it may not work for every villain.
(But what do I know? )

They're all very good ideas.
Me, I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of lighthearted, friendly rival who perhaps is jealous of Shantae's position as Guardian, or simply enjoys a good scuffle for the what of it. Who knows, perhaps this person could even come into their own and wind up being a big help to Shantae at the end of the day, obnoxious and relentless as they may be in the meanwhile.
I'm not sure how well it'd fit into things, but that's just the idea I have

Defu, I could have sworn I posted in this topic. @_@ Ah well, maybe I was just dreaming and all of you were using pony avatars, while I was the Banana King. =P

But like I was posting that dream of mine, I really don't see how a 100% dark-themed villain would fit into Sequin Land. Normal enemies were already like that in the first Shantae, but I'm not so sure about a serious villain. Like Maetch said, they still need to have some sense of humor, or are the target of humor in at least an instance or two, even if they themselves are too serious to be comedic directly. (Like dieing hilariously or getting pied in the face. The latter is a bit slapstick-y, but you get the idea.)

Aliens, on the other hand, would be interesting if done right, I think. Maybe a civilization of aliens could be outside the border that started as the result of a massive warship crashing onto the surface, so they rebuilt on Earth, but that's just me randomly thinking. =P If a mech theme was needed in a Shantae game, this would be the way to do it without the series entering a new age involving steam-powered technology, or something else entirely.

And of course, in WayForward style, said aliens would likely be pretty darn hawt. > : D *bricked*

I don't quite share your opinion on darker-themed enemies.
I think totally serious villains with little to no humor can work for Shantae.
It is just a matter on how its done.

Like I said, I know that Shantae shouldn't be turned utterly dark, dramatic and stuff.
That's not what I want.

It'd also make a nice experiment, to see how much WF can bend things, without screwing things up.
Which is what I think is necessary sometimes.


I do agree with the Alien-stuff tho.
Nice concept.