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| Its going to be one hell of a Knight. |
An indy company by the name of Yacht Club Games made a Kickstarter to get this project funded. The KS was successful and a legend was born. You can tell a lot of care was put into this game to make all of us feel like kids again.
This game is pretty new, but feels old in all of the right ways. The graphics are blocky and nostalgic. The music sounds like it was straight from an NES cartridge. The soundtrack is for sale in case you like it was much as I do.
The story is about Shovel Knight, who takes on evil in the land with his partner, the lady, Shield Knight. Shield Knight disappears when they find a relic, so Shovel Knight, being heart broken, leads a simple life of farming. That is until an evil woman known as The Enchantress starts using other knights to sew chaos across the land. The once brave knight has to steel his shovel once again.
The map reminds me of Super Mario Bros. 3, even down to the enemies wandering around the map. Instead of something as unimportant as a Hammer Bro, the enemies have stories and motivations for wandering as well as seeking battle.
The towns are fun with people to talk to and upgrades to buy. There are several secrets even in the towns, so keep a weather eye out. The Troupple King (who is half trout, half apple) can fill your chalice with magical Icor once you find him and the chalices. The Icor can fill your health or make you invincible (as well as other effects). The Troupple King is hilarious, especially when you first meet him... you'll see.
The levels and enemies are difficult, but not as bad as Mega Man or Castlevania. The game doesn't hold your hand, but let's you figure out how to proceed with experimentation. When you die, you lose money, but you can retrieve it if you don't die before you reach the original money drop off. My favorite level might be final stages. They are fun and difficult and I found myself dying several times to reach the final confrontation. The Propeller Knight and Specter Knight are great stages too. There isn't really a bad stage in the game and you may find yourself going back to stages to max your stats out before the final boss. The checkpoints in the game are smashable to give you more gold at the risk of being sent back further when you die.
There are levels that have platforms that move when you hit them, but leave a very temporary trail for you to walk on. There are blocks that don't let you bounce and send you falling to your possible death. The lights cut out so you can only see the silhouette of your character, enemies and platforms. There are a ton of variety in not only the themes of the stages, but how they're constructed. Yacht Club should be commended on the level design alone.
Your relics are basically like your secondary items in Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden. You can use your Wii U pad to select them on the go or bring up a separate menu if you are playing with another controller set up. From fire balls to limited invincibility to a horn shockwave, there are abilities for all play styles. You can upgrade your shovel/armor for extra attacks as well.
There are also a ton of secrets. From walls that are dug away to fishing holes to areas and bosses that you don't expect. Be sure to explore everywhere to find everything. There are music sheets scattered around the game that you can sell for gold. These also unlock all of the music in the game to be played during the main town section.
After beating the game there is a more challenging New Game Plus mode. This let's you keep all of your items and upgrades, but it far more difficult with tougher enemies and fewer checkpoints.
There is also a diary in the Wii U version that let's you leave messages in rooms for others to see. I didn't notice this until I was two thirds through the game. The Wii U pad is great for item selection without the need to pause. There is also off television play.
Shovel Knight is amazing. I could go on at length about every aspect of the game. From the music to the gameplay to the character design. This game is perfect for all of us 80's and 90's kids.
5 out of 5 Shovels
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