Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse Collector’s Edition adds Pogs
Much like Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi (yes, that’s the plural) and Furbies, Pogs are a decidedly 90s phenomenon that’s never really been able to replicate the same level of success in today’s digital world. What are Pogs, ask the roving bands of ten-year-olds that read our articles? Well, first of all, get back to your homework, you procrastinating whippersnappers, and secondly: they’re essentially commercialised milk bottle caps. Yeah, not super exciting, but by God, nineties children were enamoured with these things. Something hypnotic or addictive must have been injected into the marketing, because youngsters couldn’t get enough.
Playgrounds became breeding grounds for all kinds of illicit dealings, as kids competed to have the most colourful, or most exotically themed, Pogs of the whole school. And what did you actually do with them? Well… you flipped them. On top of each other. And… you scored points. By flipping them on top of each other. And that was about the extent of it. Hey, I can hear all you Gen Z-ers sniggering! This is all we had!
I’m being a little facetious, of course. There’s something cool about retro toys, and about the ability to look back with hindsight and wonder how these kinds of things ever caught on. I imagine much the same will occur in a couple decades or so with such timeless fads as fidget spinners and – sorry, what? Oh, never mind; those are already being looked on scornfully. Too right.
So, screeching tangent: the Shantae series of platformers. Yeah, I’ll give you all a moment for the whiplash to wear off. Since the GameBoy Colour, gamers of all ages have been charmed by the adventures of the half-genie (and half-dressed) hero, as she spins, bops and transforms her way through a variety of surreal cartoony landscapes. The good folks at WayForward, responsible for such other projects as DuckTales Remastered and the DS’s Duck Amuck – aka the only good Looney Tunes game ever made – are the girl’s custodians, and their irascible charm pervades.
Though the developers have changed on occasion, and Shantae herself has, for lack of a better term, bulked up a little since her 8-bit days (hey, you know what, good for her, she looked like a stick in the original) the core of the series has remained the same. Fast, fluid, satisfying gameplay married with an eccentric cast of characters and enough fanservice to shake a deleted internet history at. I mean, a stick. To shake a stick at. What, what’d I say?
Now, to bring things full circle: Shantae’s 2014 game, Pirate’s Curse, is getting a Collector’s Edition for the PS5, gaming’s newest and most-impossible-to-actually-buy console. Fans of getting a bunch of plastic McGuffins with their expensive games are sure to be pleased, as Limited Run Games broke the news on their Twitter that they’re handling the release; before showing off the multitudinous array of stuff you’ll be laden down with. Chief among them? Pogs. Actual, physical Pogs. Have a look below.
The Pogs seem to come in a variety of designs, including Shantae herself (in a bikini, natch) as well as the villainous Risky Boots and a few sprite-based ones. They look pretty sweet, and the poster itself couldn’t look more appropriate, appearing ripped straight from an early 2000s magazine. I mean, obviously we’d never be caught dead doing that, aping retro gaming publications or anything, but, you know. More the merrier.
At least Twitch now has a suitable substitute emote now that Gootecks is off the table: ShantaeChamp.
Are you a fan of Shantae? Will you be picking up this set? Do you remember Pogs? Let us know below!
Via, Twitter.
