The 2002 Game Boy Color title Shantae, the debut installment in the franchise of the same name, finally saw a re-release last week when the game was ported to Nintendo Switch. Popular YouTube user and homebrew developer Dimitris Giannakis, more commonly known as Modern Vintage Gamer, is responsible for the new port and offers a behind-the-scenes exploration of its development.
MVG explains that he was contacted by publisher Limited Run Games in 2019, which expressed interest in working with him to emulate some retro games on the Switch. As talks progressed, the pair agreed to work on a port of Shantae for the system. MVG explains that, in order to run the game, he first had to build his own Game Boy emulator for the Switch. With the software in place, it was then a case of testing Shantae and ironing out any graphical glitches that slipped through the transition.
The video also touches on how the game’s extras, which includes browsable concept art, were implemented, and how the “Licensed by Nintendo” text and Capcom logo were removed from Shantae’s Start screen.
Matt Bozon, co-creator of Shantae, recently shared his approval of the new Nintendo Switch port on Twitter.
The lengths that @LimitedRunGames and @ModernVintageG went to in order to accurately preserve this game is totally nuts. I can’t say enough good things! https://t.co/smIPr3tZBN
— Matt Bozon (@MrBozon) April 10, 2021
Shantae is Modern Vintage Gamer’s first commercial game release and is available now on Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop.
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Written by Reece Heather
A veteran Zelda Universe editor and First-class journalism graduate, Reece emerged with a Nintendo 64 and a lifelong obsession after a narrow escape from Santa’s Naughty List in 1998. Outside of games, he’s reading Punisher comics, being bossed around by his cocker spaniel, and cornering innocent bystanders to rant about the importance of game preservation.
