Main Mothership Titles Story Retcon?

I've been playing Shantae and the Pirates Curse for a solid eight hours or so, having a ball with the fun exploration completionistic nature the game invites. The game looks, feels and sound gorgeous, but there are small details that have been bothering me as I've began to progress further into it. Talking it over with my brother, I've began to throw some theories out and about that might make some of the retcons from the first game make more sense.

THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS. PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO HAVE IT SPOILED FOR YOU...

It is also good to note that I... haven't beaten any of the three titles. I've gotten through decent chunks of each, but haven't overall beaten them.

So, the main article of interest; Island formations and Genies!

In the lore of Pirates Curse, we are informed that the Pirate Master was wiped out or sealed away after all the genies from Sequin Land came together and used all of their magic to put an end to him. It's Shantae's magic that is used to bring him back later, having Risky specifically say that hers was the only Genie magic that was left. The strange inconsistency with this statement is that you see, talk and learn from living guardian genies in the first game.

On top of this, all the places that are islands in Pirates Curse all have clear resemblances to locations that were a part of one main continent in the first game as well. Same thing in Risky's Revenge if I remember correctly. Sky, Bolo and Rottytops were all respective guardians of different villages, as opposed to being residents of Scuttle Town. Sophisticated Zombies disappear aside from what's left of the Zombie Caravan, the village of the desert is nowhere to be seen and Water Town is no more. These are all very tiny details to note, and frankly it might not even be that important.

So what else is there? How about the flat lined attitude of Risky Boots in the first game compared to the other two. THIS idea is the most nit-picky of all, but when you think about it everyone else is practically the same. It's starting to sound more and more silly as I go, but hear me out.

What if The Pirate Master was still alive and kicking in the first Shantae game? Suppose that Risky was still acting under the orders of a superior until the end of that experience. What if it was the Pirate Master who knew about the locations of the artifacts from the first game, and Risky was merely the one collecting the pieces for him. Think about it, typically you wouldn't go and do your own dirty work if you were the lord of an organized crew. Who better to do it than your active first mate? The relationship between Risky and Shantae in the first game is more a kin to having someone interrupt something already scheduled rather than a true rivalry. Risky ends up being able to bare dealing with her after these events, no less.

Why does this matter? Because after the events of the first game, Risky has more of a personality, the world is split or changed, and all genies are gone. Isn't it weird that Shantae's family isn't mentioned what so ever until Risky's Revenge? That you don't see either of them until Pirates Curse.

Perhaps Sky and Bolo are in Scuttle Town because they have nowhere to go to. Maybe they've both lost their true homes due to a grand battle of genies against the Pirate Master. I believe his grave in Pirates Curse may have been the spot where the battle concluded, being a center point of where the portions of land all came together before the fight. It'd be interesting to say the least. There are a couple holes with this theory; one of them being the fact that the characters involved might have mentioned this somewhere along the lines, or perhaps that it might have been a more recent event than how Uncle Mimic or Mayor Scuttlebutt talk about it. Then again, they never do set a time frame for this.

This is merely my theory based off of incomplete evidence, but I'm curious to hear what you think. I watch a lot of game theory and love discussing these ideas with friends, so this sort of complicated stuff is always fun to ponder. Found any other holes in continuity? Let's get to talking, tinkerbackers!

I think this can easily explained as "artist having a change of heart".
As in, WayForward's plans on handling the plot have changed from back then.

Hence why "Risky's Revenge" turned out to be so different from when it was still "Risky Revolution" back in the GBA-days.


Back then we had a humorous game, that still however ended up telling a rather sinister plot.
Risky used to be a cruel and nihilistic woman, who thinks the sea belongs to her and her alone.
And sick of seeing everyone do as they please in the sea, she decided to build the Tinkertank, to soldify her rule of the seas.
And it was implied, that when she is angered enough, she wouldn't hesitate to commit murder.
Based on what she says in the pre-battle monologue, before the final battle with her (after the destruction of the Tinkertank).

So long story short: It used to be a light-hearted, humorous game, but still adding dark and sinister elements into the mix.
And to be honest, this mix of humor and seriousness, is what made the plot of the original game so great.
All was in perfect balance. Hence why it is still my favourite.


But then the developers had a change of heart and decided to make Shantae almost completely goofy and wacky.
Which is why they had to change story-elements, to go along with this change.
The balance has greatly shifted towards humor.
And while the plot of today's games still has its dark parts, they overall lack the impact of the original.
Since more often than not, they are overshadowed by the humor or sometimes even ridiculed.

The original had those moments as well, no doubt. But not to that extent.
Which is why I could take this game more seriously, and in the end, enjoy it more than the rest.


Don't get me wrong. They are all still great games.
Buy them all. BAI DEM AWL!!!

But yeah, the reason for all those inconsistencies is merely the artist going for a different direction in storytelling and thus they had to adjust things.
Simple as that.

In the lore of Pirates Curse, we are informed that the Pirate Master was wiped out or sealed away after all the genies from Sequin Land came together and used all of their magic to put an end to him. It's Shantae's magic that is used to bring him back later, having Risky specifically say that hers was the only Genie magic that was left. The strange inconsistency with this statement is that you see, talk and learn from living guardian genies in the first game.

The other genies apparently were only assigned to guard the temples and nothing more, so I guess their magic was unaffected or unnoticed. Afterwards, they went back to the Genie Realm and offered for Shantae to come with them as a full genie, but she declined. So, no more full genies.

On top of this, all the places that are islands in Pirates Curse all have clear resemblances to locations that were a part of one main continent in the first game as well. Same thing in Risky's Revenge if I remember correctly. Sky, Bolo and Rottytops were all respective guardians of different villages, as opposed to being residents of Scuttle Town. Sophisticated Zombies disappear aside from what's left of the Zombie Caravan, the village of the desert is nowhere to be seen and Water Town is no more. These are all very tiny details to note, and frankly it might not even be that important.

Or maybe Sequin Land is more three-dimensional than the games make you think, which is why the paths change but landmarks like the Scarecrow Fields are still in their usual spots. Plus there's the fact that the later games drastically reduce how much of the mainland you get to explore, so there's no need to go to Water Town since it's not needed for the plot.

The islands of PC are just that: islands surrounding the mainland.

Why does this matter? Because after the events of the first game, Risky has more of a personality, the world is split or changed, and all genies are gone. Isn't it weird that Shantae's family isn't mentioned what so ever until Risky's Revenge? That you don't see either of them until Pirates Curse.

Not really. The first game was all about setting up the cast and world, so there was no need to mention any family of Shantae's.

Then again, they never do set a time frame for this.

RR doesn't seem to take place very long after the first game, as Shantae is still the talk of Sequin Land for beating Risky and is getting picked on by monsters who want to test her strength. PC is literally within a month of RR: Scuttlebutt had 30 days to refund the Ammo Baron for ownership of Scuttle Town, but since he had already eaten the lousy chocolates that he got in the deal, Scuttlebutt can't do anything as Ammo Baron moves in.

But then the developers had a change of heart and decided to make Shantae almost completely goofy and wacky.

In other words, a WayForward game.

All valid points guys Off to go have more fun with the games then