A saga nearly a decade in the making comes to a close this year. I beat the final chapter of Shovel Knight's years-long run a little bit ago, and after taking a breather, I present my thoughts here. BACKGROUND:
I bought the original Shovel Knight (before it was Treasure Trove) all the way back in 2015 for my 3DS, out of curiosity (I kept hearing people talk about it + I watched a few episodes of a Game Grumps Let's Play). It ended up being one of my favorite games this entire decade, and the staggering amount of post-launch content I got for my $15 purchase since then has blown my mind. Before I start this entry proper, I want to summarize my thoughts on the previous Shovel Knight campaigns below. Shovel of Hope - AKA the original campaign. An amazing love letter to the NES era of platformers it was inspired by, taking elements from Mega Man, Castlevania, Ducktales, and more, combining everything into its own distinct, unique package. A solid platforming experience all around. Plague of Shadows - a sort of remix of the original, focusing on Plague Knight as he goes on his own journey concurrent to that of Shovel Knights. Featured a lot of customization options for his main offense, which I loved, and had a whole bunch of tools that made platforming a more fluid, sometimes frustrating, and completely different beast compared to Shovel of Hope. Perhaps not as refined given the level design was only slightly changed and not redesigned from the ground up, but I still enjoyed it. The story was charming, too. Specter of Torment - features Specter Knight, as well as the most technical platforming the series has seen yet, with mechanics like wall jumps and the Dash Slash. I also found it a fantastic experience, especially with how challenging it was. It also built on the lore quite well, as it's a prequel, and the tragic tale of the protagonist was neat, too. PLOT: King of Cards is also a prequel, occurring somewhat in the middle of the events of Specter of Torment. It, of course, features King Knight, and his journey to be the kingliest king of them all. To achieve this, King Knight sets out to succeed in the Joustus Tournament. Joustus is a card game that has taken the nation by storm, so much so that three kings from three kingdoms have been brought together to participate. In order to win, one must best all three kings in a duel, and doing so will grant the champion unimaginable wealth and power. Whereas Shovel of Hope was your typical hero's journey, Plague of Shadows subverted expectations with its romance angle, and Specter of Torment channeled the pure edge of its protagonist with a dark tale, King of Cards is an asshole's journey to... not change at all. King Knight is as much of a pompous douche here as he was when you first fought him in Shovel of Hope, and he pretty much remains that way throughout the story. Though unlikeable by design, they do give him quirks that make you kinda want to root for him, but for the most part, he's a shithead. I love the contrast between his journey and the other characters, because he pretty much doesn't have an arc. The story retains much of the humor the previous campaigns had, with hilarious bits of dialogue and cheeky callbacks to previous plot threads. Lore-wise, King of Cards uses a lot of already established characters, builds upon previously unexplored corners, and sets up the events of Shovel of Hope perfectly. PRESENTATION: Everything in this section applies to the entirety of Shovel Knight, because, well, every campaign looks the same. Given that Shovel Knight is meant to hearken back to the classic platformer days, it's no surprise that it opts for the 8-bit aesthetic. Don't be fooled, however, as it's not a simple nostalgia grab. Despite the choice for the art style, the sprites feature an amazing amount of polish, with backgrounds and larger characters having an impressive amount of detail compared to the NES games it's paying an homage to. They don't let that fact hold them back in terms of visuals, goins as far to use colors that weren't even possible on the NES. To complement the visuals, the music has that classic chiptune feel, and hot damn is it phenomenal. Jake "Virt" Kaufman knocks it out of the park with his work, having composed a bevy of killer tracks over the years, each fitting the mood of its respective campaign. The King of Cards soundtrack in particular is no exception, with many tracks having that "regal" feel to it, if that makes any sense. GAMEPLAY: Like the previous Shovel Knight campaigns, King of Cards is a 2D platformer. For reference, Shovel of Hope is your jack of all trades (simple mechanics with a deceptive amount of depth, decent difficulty), Plague of Shadows is momentum-heavy (most tools help you keep moving and maintain your flow), and Specter of Torment is tricky and very execution-based. I would describe King of Cards as taking a page out of the previous three, and adding an extra flair to it. King Knight's main move is his shoulder bash, which functions as both a quick, horizontal motion that can get him across gaps or obstacles, as well as his primary attack. Seems pretty straightforward, but they add one simple thing that adds a lot of depth to this mechanic. Whenever you shoulder bash against enemies, or certain elements (like walls), you are launched slightly upwards, and King Knight executes a stylish twirling motion shortly after. During this "twirl", you can pogo on enemies and certain stage elements, not unlike how Shovel Knight can drop his shovel below him to do something similar. Successfully pogoing something restores your shoulder bash (allowing you to use it again in mid-air), allowing you to bash something else, twirl again, and repeat. It's a simple mechanic with a lot to it, and the level design pushes it to the limit by featuring obstacle courses that either make you chain together bash-twirl combos in quick succession, or challenging layout that require precise bashes/twirls at just the right spot. Speaking of levels, they're laid out on a world map much like Shovel of Hope, and each features a unique set of mechanics and gimmicks (either revisited from previous campaigns, or completely new) designed around King Knight's shoulder bash. The overworld is divided into three kingdoms, each with its own series of levels. Levels work quite differently from the previous campaigns. For one, they're much shorter (though there are many levels, so this isn't a big deal). For another, most of them (save for the boss stages, of course) only require you to get to the end, Mario-style. Last and most importantly, they incorporate something from a classic game: secret exits. In Super Mario World, certain levels have multiple exits; that is, there's more than one way to leave the level. Some levels in King of Cards work the same way: there's the "normal" exit if you beat the level as is, and there's an alternate "secret" exit you can take if you discover where it lies. Taking the secret exit unlocks special areas in the world map, and can even open up shortcuts that allow you to beat the game faster. This was my favorite aspect of Super Mario World, and I'm happy they integrated it into the game. And don't worry about not ever discovering these secret exits; most of them aren't hard to find, and all levels with secret exits are easily identifiable on the world map. You also have all the usual trappings of Shovel Knight campaigns, like gold to spend on things (and lose when you die), armors to buy (each with special abilities), upgrades to buff up King Knight, Heirlooms (the equivalent to Relics, which are your special items), and the main collectible, called Merit Medals, which can also be spent on things (mostly buying said Heirlooms). The Heirlooms in particular are neat, though unlike the other equivalents in previous campaigns, they use up a lot of resources, so you can't rely on them too heavily. That said, it's pretty easy to get hit/fall off due to the nature of the shoulder bash, and in the right place, Heirlooms make a lot of difference. Speaking of getting hit, yes, that happens a lot in this game (especially against bosses). Funnily enough, bosses are manageable here, as landing consecutive hits on enemies with a lot of health makes them drop health hearts, allowing you to heal off that damage you're likely to take by whiffing shoulder bashes. That said, bosses are still tough to damage since a) you have to actively hurl yourself at them to do so, and b) some of them can only be hit in certain spots that are intentionally designed to be a challenge to reach. As I said, most levels don't end in boss fights, but they're still pretty much intact thanks to the random encounters. Once you've progressed a certain point, these encounters will start becoming available to you. JOUSTUS: If you're wondering where the "Cards" part of "King of Cards" comes in, it comes in when you're introduced to Joustus. Yes, there is an actual card game in King of Cards, and you actually play it. The idea of Joustus is to collect all the gems on the board. To do so, you must "push" cards onto the tiles containing these gems (you can't place cards directly onto gem tiles). To do that, each card has an arrow pointing in one or multiple of four directions (up, down, left, right), and cards that are already in play can be pushed in the specified direction denoted on the card being played. I swear it makes sense when you actually look at it, and the game does a better job of teaching it than I ever will. What makes the game quite tricky is that not only can you push your own cards, you can push the cards of your opponent, and vice versa. That allows you to kick out an enemy card out of a gem tile, but the opponent can do the same. You have to really think about your next move, because your opponent can easily find a way to deny you. To add to the complexity, those arrows on the cards are still in effect even after you've put them down. This makes it so that you can't push cards with an arrow opposing the direction you want to push them in (i.e. I can't push something with an "up" arrow down). What this does is it can cause certain spots to be blocked, and figuring out how to secure your gems by forcing these situations before your opponent does is 90% of the challenge. There are also various arrow types, too. You have regular arrows, double arrows (which can push single arrows pointing in the opposite direction), bomb arrows (which destroys any adjacent card it's pointing to), and more. Thankfully, you're never thrown into duels where you have to learn all this shit all at once. If that's not enough, each duel can feature different board layouts, have random gem placement, and feature all sorts of wild gimmicks (like rocks, which render the tile it's on unusable). Again, there's a lot going on, but it's rarely overwhelming. There are a finite amount of Joustus duels in the game (though they can be replayed as much as you want), and they're found either in specific levels in the overworld, or are unlocked in the hub area by completing certain levels and beating certain bosses. There were actually more than I thought, and I'm glad that that's the case. Each duel is fairly unique, with the aforementioned different board layouts, and each opponent having a unique deck. Wins and losses matter very much here, as the victor gets to take a card from the loser. Some cards can only be obtained this way from specific opponents, and in that case, you have to hope they play that card you want beforehand, because you can only take what's on the board, not from their deck. Of course, there's more than one way to get cards. The easiest way is to spend gold on random card packs (much like in real life) and hope for the best. Some are actually rewards and secrets in the platforming levels, and those are often solid cards, too. Collecting the unique cards is actually much easier, because as we all know, RNG can be a cruel mistress. If you lose one of your cards in a duel, worry not. You can either rematch, take your revenge (and your card back), or take the simpler option and spend gold to get it back. It's not much of a setback (unless you're short on money), but it's definitely insulting every time you get smoked and the bastard takes your special card. Overall, I ended up enjoying Joustus, so much so that I wish there was a) a physical version I can play with friends, and b) an online competitive version where I can lose to people all around the world. The cool thing about King of Cards is that if you don't want to play Joustus or find it too hard... it's completely optional. WHAT ELSE IS NEW? If you own Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove on anything other than a 3DS or PS Vita, the update that added King of Cards also comes with Shovel Knight: Showdown, which is yet another game. Alas, I'm on the 3DS, so I can't talk about that. Maybe when I buy it on Switch. Other than that, you get a bunch of new Challenge Mode levels, which has been a thing since (I think Plague of Shadows). It's basically a set of unique platforming challenges + specially modified boss rematches for each playable character, and this update adds a whole new section for King Knight, plus a couple extra challenges for Specter Knight. They're all quite difficult, but I did manage to 100% the entirety of Challenge Mode, so it's not impossible. King Knight in particular even has some Joustus-specific challenges, which I thought was neat. Also, you get a neat bonus when you complete all four Shovel Knight campaigns, which I have done. It was a very touching message from the devs, and it meant a lot especially since I've been playing this game for four years now. Plus, the main menu screen changes to commemorate the occasion! VERDICT: King of Cards is a fantastic farewell to what has become the stuff of indie game legend. It's equal parts fluid platformer (as expected) as well as astoundingly fun card game, and those seemingly disparate halves somehow form a coherent whole. If you haven't picked up Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, I simply must recommend that you do. It's a package of four full games (plus Showdown) in one, and they all have something great to offer. The devs put pretty much 4/5 of the final product out for free for people who got the game before Plague of Shadows (which came out in 2015), and that's insane to think about given how much the game used to cost. If anyone deserves to be thrown money at, it's Yacht Club Games for their fantastic work. It's sad to see the Shovel Knight saga end, but I look forward to their future in games. Alternatively, you can pick up each Shovel Knight campaign and Showdown individually, but why spend $50 on that when you can spend $40 on Treasure Trove instead? In fact, here's the Steam link. Go on: https://store.steampowered.com/app/250760/Shovel_Knight_Treasure_Trove/ Enjoy the Shovel Knight OST on Spotify: The King of Cards OST isn't on there yet, but it is on Bandcamp: https://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-king-of-cards-ost - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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