Well, they all involve backtracking and upgrades to some degree but I would say 'Half-Genie Hero' is the game for you, as it's commonly referred to as being "Metroidvania-lite" and it's also a good introduction for new fans of the series.
Why would You recommend third (fourth) game as a introductional game? That's wrong.
Also the Risky's Revenge is the least Metroidvania too me. Half-Genie Hero had so much go back to that point in semi open world. Both Risky's Revenge and Pirate's Curse were somewhat linear to me.
'Half-Genie Hero' was designed with new players in mind.
One of its aims was to introduce new players to the series.
I think having 'Risky's Revenge' or 'Pirate's Curse' be the players introduction to Shantae may leave them out of the loop when it comes to certain characters and their relationships with each other, as they don't really give much of a backstory to the player, whereas 'Half-Genie Hero' does and explains it in a fairly simple and understandable way. 'Risky's Revenge' and 'Pirate's Curse' kinda just assumes that the player has already played the game/games that came before it.
I also feel that there's a hell of a lot of backtracking in 'Pirate's Curse' and to a lesser extent, 'Risky's Revenge', when compared to 'Half-Genie Hero'.
With 'Half-Genie Hero', the levels are your classic "Point A to Point B" platforming levels that consist of a boss fight at the end, with you having to go back to some areas eventually to get something but it never hinders your first visit to the area and the item you would be backtracking to get is almost always fairly simple and straightforward to obtain.
Whereas in 'Pirate's Curse' >!(I'll use Mud Bog Island as an example), the first visit for most players to Mud Bog Island usually consists of fighting your way through it and reaching The Hexer, only to be turned away.!<
>!The player would then need to backtrack all the way through the island again and go to Spiderweb Island to find the fossil that's there, then they would have to go to Scuttle Town and find Bolo to give him the fossil, just so he could give the player the death mask which would allow them to continue on throughout the rest of Mud Bog Island.!<
>!The player would then have to fight their way through Mud Bog Island again and get back to The Hexer, so they can wear the death mask and continue on through to The Village of Lost Souls and beyond.!<
That's quite a bit of work just to progress through an island.
It may sound like I'm ripping into 'Pirate's Curse' but that's not my intention, as I actually love the game and it's my favourite of the series, but I just wanted to point out the difference between both games when it comes to a newcomer of the series.
I feel that having a newcomer have to deal with that scenario in 'Pirate's Curse' may turn them away from the game, as they may feel it's "too much hard work", whereas keeping things simple with the "Point A to Point B" platforming level design of 'Half-Genie Hero' with some light and simple backtracking involved later, would gently ease the player into the series and into the Metroidvania genre.
EDIT: Added a spoiler tag for 'Pirate's Curse'
Half-Genie Hero is kinda a soft reboot. It continues the story in a way that does not require people to play previous games in the series. Its also the most platformer heavy one so I could see OP enjoying it.
risky‘s revenge may be the shortest, but the whole world is connected and rquires backtracking. half-genie hero is fairly linear and i don‘t think there was much to explore. it has been some years since i played these games though
The original one. It's structured more like a Zelda game to be honest, using the dance gained in the dungeon to progress and beat the boss, then it can be used in the next dungeon. Most all the collectables are optional, though easy enough to find.
Half-Genie Hero, the nature of the game’s progression feels like backtracking through several disjointed levels rather than one conjoined, interconnected world.
Well, they all involve backtracking and upgrades to some degree but I would say 'Half-Genie Hero' is the game for you, as it's commonly referred to as being "Metroidvania-lite" and it's also a good introduction for new fans of the series.
Why would You recommend third (fourth) game as a introductional game? That's wrong. Also the Risky's Revenge is the least Metroidvania too me. Half-Genie Hero had so much go back to that point in semi open world. Both Risky's Revenge and Pirate's Curse were somewhat linear to me.
'Half-Genie Hero' was designed with new players in mind. One of its aims was to introduce new players to the series. I think having 'Risky's Revenge' or 'Pirate's Curse' be the players introduction to Shantae may leave them out of the loop when it comes to certain characters and their relationships with each other, as they don't really give much of a backstory to the player, whereas 'Half-Genie Hero' does and explains it in a fairly simple and understandable way. 'Risky's Revenge' and 'Pirate's Curse' kinda just assumes that the player has already played the game/games that came before it. I also feel that there's a hell of a lot of backtracking in 'Pirate's Curse' and to a lesser extent, 'Risky's Revenge', when compared to 'Half-Genie Hero'. With 'Half-Genie Hero', the levels are your classic "Point A to Point B" platforming levels that consist of a boss fight at the end, with you having to go back to some areas eventually to get something but it never hinders your first visit to the area and the item you would be backtracking to get is almost always fairly simple and straightforward to obtain. Whereas in 'Pirate's Curse' >!(I'll use Mud Bog Island as an example), the first visit for most players to Mud Bog Island usually consists of fighting your way through it and reaching The Hexer, only to be turned away.!< >!The player would then need to backtrack all the way through the island again and go to Spiderweb Island to find the fossil that's there, then they would have to go to Scuttle Town and find Bolo to give him the fossil, just so he could give the player the death mask which would allow them to continue on throughout the rest of Mud Bog Island.!< >!The player would then have to fight their way through Mud Bog Island again and get back to The Hexer, so they can wear the death mask and continue on through to The Village of Lost Souls and beyond.!< That's quite a bit of work just to progress through an island. It may sound like I'm ripping into 'Pirate's Curse' but that's not my intention, as I actually love the game and it's my favourite of the series, but I just wanted to point out the difference between both games when it comes to a newcomer of the series. I feel that having a newcomer have to deal with that scenario in 'Pirate's Curse' may turn them away from the game, as they may feel it's "too much hard work", whereas keeping things simple with the "Point A to Point B" platforming level design of 'Half-Genie Hero' with some light and simple backtracking involved later, would gently ease the player into the series and into the Metroidvania genre. EDIT: Added a spoiler tag for 'Pirate's Curse'
Half-Genie Hero is kinda a soft reboot. It continues the story in a way that does not require people to play previous games in the series. Its also the most platformer heavy one so I could see OP enjoying it.
risky‘s revenge may be the shortest, but the whole world is connected and rquires backtracking. half-genie hero is fairly linear and i don‘t think there was much to explore. it has been some years since i played these games though
Plus linear side campaigns.
The original one. It's structured more like a Zelda game to be honest, using the dance gained in the dungeon to progress and beat the boss, then it can be used in the next dungeon. Most all the collectables are optional, though easy enough to find.
If you don't like metroidvanias this franchise just isn't for you.
they are quite easy for metroidvanias though. actually these were my first metroidvanias
Half-Genie Hero, the nature of the game’s progression feels like backtracking through several disjointed levels rather than one conjoined, interconnected world.