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Shantae is a cultural artefact that deserves to be looked at in the context that it was created. To be clear: under any circumstances, I would have wanted the original version of the game to be preserved. It's still the better way to play, but it doesn't address the smattering of issues that inhibit the developer vision with Shantae. However, that feature didn't stretch the aspect ratio to suit the GBA's widescreen, since that would have been an entirely different development project. This GBA Mode was an actual feature that "enhanced" three Game Boy Color games (yes, just the three) when they were slotted into the GBA. What it doesn't do is change the screen ratio display. It cleans up the sprites and improves the depth of colour across the game. This release on Nintendo Switch does include the "GBA Mode" of the original Shantae cartridge, which is a nice touch. It wasn't what the creative lead, Matt Bozon, and his team really wanted to deliver with Shantae. To spin this around: Shantae on the Game Boy Color was an excellent game, but it wasn't the complete vision.
![shantae gba enhancements emulator shantae gba enhancements emulator](https://cdn.toucharcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/shantae-1.jpg)
The restricted number of sprites that the GBC could display simultaneously also meant development limitations that later Shantae titles were the better for being rid of. Because they wanted this to be a character-driven platformer, they needed to make the sprite appear big on the small, low-resolution screen, which meant that it was hard to see far around you as you played, and this both restricted the level design that the developers could throw at the players and, at times, made progress more difficult than it needed to be. Back on the Game Boy Color, the development team at WayForward needed to make compromises.
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Related reading: Our review of the most recent new Shantae title: Shantae and the Seven Sirens