Fans of WayForward's flagship series would be excused to forget that Shantae comes from all the way back in 2002, along with a slightly troubled development due to the industry of that time. Since it's release the original game has become an incredibly rare Game Boy Color exclusive with an initially limited release, but players may soon be able to get their hands on the expensive cartridge.
This news comes from WayForward, as well as Limited Run Games, who have recently announced that Shantae will be getting a re-release in physical form for the Game Boy Color, with pre-orders available in September. Limited Run Games has partnered with WayForward and other developers before to release games, such as Shantae and the Seven Sirens and physical copies of otherwise discontinued titles.
Along with the announcement that Shantae will be receiving a re-release, WayForward has also announced that the original game will be coming to Switch, both physically and digital for players who may not still have a functioning Game Boy Color. This comes not long after the most recent title in the series Shantae and the Seven Sirens released worldwide on Switch, after a previously successful launch on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. So this re-release will give players the chance to track the game all the way back to its origins with current-gen consoles, a luxury not often afforded to collectors and series fans of older titles like Shantae.
The rarity of the game itself can often be attributed to the game's original publisher Capcom, who during the initial pitch from WayForward had famously asked who the male players will play as when looking at the title character. This naturally led to a more limited release, due to a lack of confidence in the game selling well with the market at the time being less gender and age-neutral than it is today. Of course, the low confidence was eventually revealed to be unfounded as the series became popular enough to include Shantae with Games With Gold in March to encourage players to get the Xbox Live subscription service.
Seeing these older games be re-released in both their original versions, as well as for current-gen consoles could be both a huge boon and deficit for collectors. While the availability goes up, then prices go down and so does the value of the collections of fans who already have the game on their shelves. However, for players as a whole, getting access to some of the rarest and most expensive games of all time again is better as a whole for the series and its fans.
Shantae will be available for Pre-Order in September, for Game Boy Color and Switch.