Shovel Knight

[Tables]

Okay, first of all this game must be REALLY good because I never ever ever play through New Game Pluses, especially right after I beat the game (usually I play the first level or two again and then give up forever), and yet here I am at the base of the Tower of Fate again. Hot stuff.

Also, something funny I thought I'd point out that I haven't seen anyone else talk about.

So the awesome soundtrack is by Jake Kaufman, right? He who also did the soundtrack for Adventure Time: Hey Ice King Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?

Now, compare

(0:13) to the song

(the very beginning) from the end of the Adventure Time game.

Sort of a similar melody in the beginning, no? They deviate from each other pretty quickly, but I thought it was pretty neat, might even be semi-intentional (both songs are in flight contexts, after all). But who knows.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Tables

[Argle]

Ah, it's on GOG, I might look into buying it. WAY too many games already, though.

[Eino Keskitalo]

It's worth it.. I buy way too many games too (esp. considering my budget), but this one I actually gave a go and have stuck with it, too. Good summer for games actually, I already finished Kero Blaster which is another great retro action platformer. (Plus I've also played a bunch of Henry Hatsworth on the DS, I guess platforming is my favourite kind of gaming.) Anyway, go for it!

[Mr. Bottle Rocket]

Haven't played the game for myself, got no dosh for it.

Buuuuuuut, I really like watching people play it and that soundtrack is just <3

They really knocked it out of the park with this one.

[Eino Keskitalo]

You know what we need? We need a tournament compo for this game.

The old Windows laptop I have access to is running the game slowly, which funnily enough can make jumps lower, which makes Lost City impossible to play. Maybe the coming update will help, or the Linux version (though my own laptop is almost as old).

It's kind of funny that a game that follows NES hardware limitations relatively closely requires that much horsepower! Maybe this'll be the killer app for getting a new machine. Or a 3DS!

edit: One more thing: our daughter (3 years) appeared on the doorway as Shovel Knight (stick in hand and a scarf over the shoulders). Then we dug up some diamonds and jumped around.

[The Dennis]

I loved this game, start to finish. I also played the heck out of it, and did a

of a no-damage New Game+ run! It might come in handy if you're looking for a strategy of some of the tougher encounters

[OceansAndrew]

I got it and played through it this weekend, it was very fun, I hope there are more games of this quality around for the wii U.

[MindWanderer]

Resurrect Thread!  The Zelda thread reminded me to point this out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V6wPLSqNj88zuz0-Ms6RAtiBXXVoIlNnK-IjYcIeHGU/viewform?c=0&w=1

Yacht Club Games has opened a poll about what sort of 8-bit game you'd like to see them make next.  And they know their game theory: it's a "how excited would you be about each of the following options" rather than "pick your favorite."  I must be a huge game theory nerd, because the simple fact that they set up the poll this way gives me even more confidence in their skills.  (I finally bought Shovel Knight on GOG last week, and it's at the top of my to-play list.)

The idea I was most excited about was a Zelda-inspired game, but I hope they stick to the Shovel Knight model and don't ape one specific series too closely.  Shovel Knight took cues from several different NES games, so I'd love a top-down adventure game that steals from games other than Zelda.

A kart racer would be hilarious, though.  Mario Kart has ruled the roost for too long; there are lots of other kart games worth stealing from.  Chocobo Racing is a personal favorite.

[BardicKnowledge]

I'm curious to know how many people played through the Plague Knight campaign.  I personally thought it was absolutely fantastic -- far better than any other similar effort in say, the Castlevania titles -- and now I can't wait for the rest of the expansions.

Triple jumping is the best, by the way.  I need to track down the new speedruns and see just how much the times improve.

[Arrow]

I played all the way through it during the week break I took to visit some friends in Atlanta back in April and I loved every moment of it. I was wary of how fun free DLC would be, especially DLC that sends you through the same stages the first time through the game, but I should've had more faith in Yacht Club Games. The new mechanics made everything different enough that it legitimately felt like playing a new game, and it was incredible!

Also want to give a quick shout out to the two-player mode on the Wii U version of the game. I hadn't really known about it until a month ago, when I was visiting @DarkeSword and trying it out at his house. Impeccably designed, with the difficulty adjusted in a fair way to make it not immediately easy for two people to blow through a stage in seconds, etc. Great stuff.

[DarkeSword]

The amiibo functionality for WiiU's Shovel Knight is pretty wild, TBH. I mean it enables two-player mode, which in-and-of-itself is pretty great, but the Custom Knight that gets attached to your amiibo is awesome. Essentially, Custom Knight is like an arcade version of Shovel Knight. Rather than trying to hunt down upgrades and gear in the game, you unlock everything by playing, earning EXP, and leveling up; when you level up, you heard equipment or an upgrade. Some of the equipment isn't even stuff you can unlock in the normal Shovel Knight campaign; it's brought over from the Plague Knight campaign. Very cool.

[jnWake]

What exactly does the Custom Knight do? The Shovel Knight amiibo is damn cool but they charge way too much for it here in Chile (like US$40 haha).

[Mirby]

It's as Darke said: it enables a new way to play. You scan it and you can level it up (max level is 50) and can customize it with color scheme, after effect, even basic armor appearance and you get a bunch of abilities by leveling up (the money you collect as Custom Knight is your experience). You can also enable a 2-player co-op mode on Wii U with it.

Also here's some cool art I thought I'd share.