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During the Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Kickstarter, five people that pledged $1,000 became “enemy designers” who would create a new opponent for Shantae to face. WayForward would then make it happen. Bonelegs was one such enemy, revealed back in August, and now WayForward has revealed another named Ikki. She looks familiar.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero’s Ikki was designed by a backer named Roger C. She’s a ghost that lives in treasure chests. If Shantae opens one, Ikki may pop out and attack. Think of it as a take on the traditional mimic treasure chests that often appear in Metroidvanias and RPGs. Ikki fires goo projectiles and has the ability to temporarily turn invisible to sneak up on Shantae.
Ikki is a nod to Nikki, the former mascot character for the Nintendo 3DS Swapnote program. With Swapnote removed, Nikki has gone on toe appear in the Nintendo 3DS Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! and Nikki’s Travel Quiz games, though the latter is only available in Japan. She’s also one of the Costume Mario designs for the Nintendo Wii U’s Super Mario Maker and acts as a mascot for Nintendo.
Nikki’s doppleganger, Ikki, will appear in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero when the game comes to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
