Heya, the name's Craig. Shantae & the Pirate's Curse is a pretty rad game but at the time of initially writing this guide, there wasn't really a dedicated guide on here about these wallpapers you can unlock for the main menu. So uh..yeah! Here it is. Before I get started, I'd like to discuss a few things about these wallpapers:


First: they cannot be downloaded onto your computer via in-game means. It is however possible to either search for images of these wallpapers through a search engine like Google/Yahoo/etc or downloading them directly from this guide by right-clicking the images.

The next thing to mention is that I do not own Shantae and the Pirate's Curse on any other platform except for PC. Because of this, I am unable to 100% confirm the 3DS or Wii U versions having additional wallpapers or not. As far as I'm aware though, there aren't any version differences between PC and the Nintendo console releases in regards to these wallpapers.

Lastly: to unlock the ability to change wallpapers, you'll first have to beat the game at least once to receive a new wallpaper. If you go back to the main menu you'll see a shiny gold star icon toward the right of the bottom save slot. Select that gold star and tada! You've swapped your wallpaper! The game will remember which wallpaper is active even if you close it, so no worries there.

This wallpaper is the one you start with when booting up the game for the first time, and can't be changed at all until you beat the game and unlock another wallpaper.

This wallpaper is rewarded upon beating the game if you hadn't met the conditions for unlocking any of the other wallpapers, which will naturally occur if you're playing the game casually.

This one's a bit confusing:
The wallpaper is unlocked for achieving 100% item completion and beating the game. While it sounds straight-forward in that you need to collect every Heart Squid and Dark Magic, this also asks for you to buy every skill and upgrade from the shop in Scuttle Town.
Make sure to grind a lot of gems for this one..!

On the bright side, you can load up an already-completed save file and obtain this wallpaper just fine, then collect (and buy) everything you've missed before challenging the final boss again.

Something something beach party.
For this one you'll have to complete the game under two hours without collecting everything.
As a result, this wallpaper is tied to the achievement "Speed Runner".


Speed Runner
Saved Scuttle Town as fast as possible!

The achievement can be done in Pirate Mode, and it is highly recommended you do so.
..plus it's a pretty fun mode, why wouldn't you wanna have all your fun pirate gear at the start?


As for some tips to give you an easier time with this task:

• Dash dash dash dash dash! Dash nonstop, as it's way faster than walking around like normal. Combining the dash's speed with the Pirate Hat can also help traverse large gaps easily!
  
  
• Use pirate flares to save on time! More specifically, consider using them when you're wanting to leave an island and if it'll take a while to get back to Risky's ship.
  
  
• Skips and glitches: This game has plenty of those (the former especially in Pirate Mode), and learning how to do these can give you an edge in cutting down your overall run time. In the case of the Final Palace, you can skip the entire dungeon and go straight to the final boss!
  
  
• You don't have to complete the game in one full session; you can take breaks if you need to. In fact it might actually be helpful to reload the game if Shantae is low on health, as you'll get a free heal. You could also redo sections you were slow on, too! But don't save too frequently, as I believe the game's timer is still ticking while at save points.
  
  
• While remaining in the pause/map screen doesn't count toward the timer, talking to NPCs (such as the shopkeeper in Scuttle Town) and selecting an island do.

In order to obtain this wallpaper, you must 100% complete the game under three hours. As a result it shares the combined objectives of the 100% Items and Speedrun wallpapers, with an extended time limit to compensate. Like above, this wallpaper is tied to another achievement:


Purple Haired Warrior Maiden
Defeat the Pirate Master's true form and save Scuttle Town in record time!


I haven't really got anything to suggest regarding tips, beyond what I said for the previous wallpaper. You're given an extra hour to work with so there's definitely some more wiggle room, provided you're thorough in grabbing every collectable and many gems along the way.