Review #744: Shovel Knight Treasure Trove

 It really is a treasure trove.

 Shovel Knight Treasure Trove is Shovel Knight's fully kickstarted form. Every promised campaign and extra is here, no download required. It's a NES-inspired 2-D platforming indie darling that managed to dig its way into everyone's hearts. And there's a good reason for that! The entire game follows to a tee the better examples of timeless game design from yesteryear. There are four different playable characters, with their own stories and, sometimes, levels and bosses, as well as an interesting fighting game extra.

Now, onto the different pieces that make up Treasure Trove:

Shovel of Hope

 The centerpiece of this pack, and also the first game released, Shovel of Hope follows Shovel Knight as he Shovels his way through the Knights of No Quarter in order to rescue his comrade-in-arms-dash-love-interest the Shield Knight. The game is a fantastic 2D platform game that borrows from Megaman, Castlevania and a bit from Ducktales, although the developers would claim the pogo-jumping came from The Legend of Zelda II.

 Jump and attack, that's all you get, that's all you need. Kinda. While slashing is Shovel Knight's basic attack, his true calling is pogo jumping, by tapping down on the d-pad while on air, the Knight will aim his Shovel downward and bounce off anything that can be hit, be it an enemy or a treasure-holding object. If you are thorough, you'll be amassing a small fortune on your travels, as well as finding Relics that you can equip. Relics behave like sub weapons from Castlevania, hold Up+Attack to use them, and they consume a limited resource, mana. Unlike sub-weapons, once you find a relic you can keep it forever. Relics work in a variety of different ways, such as a sword that allows for an aerial dash, a straight-forward fireball or a gauntlet that punches through rocks, but truth be told, I spent most of the time using the Locket that granted invincibility for a few seconds.

 Treasure is incredibly important in Shovel Knight, since money is how you can purchase these relics once you find them. You can also use money to buy health and magic upgrades, new armors and even shovel upgrades. Thankfully, potions are completely free, but you have to purchase both vials first! Since money is so precious, and lives are unlimited, if you die you'll lose a bit of money, and in pure Souls fashion, you can get it back if you get back to where you lost it.... provided you can reach all the floating bags of money. Too add to the fun, you can actually destroy checkpoints in order to get some extra money.

 The game is not hard, not hard at all, as the game provides ample tools for less skilled players to get through, such as a two-potion set that can either grant you 10 seconds of invincibility or completely heal you and your magic, as well as the aforementioned locket of invincibility that consumes a modicum of mana to use. Worst case scenario, you could always use cheats for invulnerability. It's four hours long, has a decent co-op mode and, if you're bored, it also comes with a Body Swap mode, letting you change the gender and/or pronouns of every main character in the game, yes, alternate sprites for almost everyone!

 Shovel Knight - Shovel of Hope is an absolute treasure of a game, it's very fun and very simple, it's not too hard, but not too easy either. No game mechanic wears out its welcome, and even when obnoxiously dying multiple times to the same obstacle.... I couldn't stop having fun, heck, I finished the game in one sitting. It's that good.
 9.0 out of 10

Plague of Shadows

 In Plague of Shadows you get to play as the Plague Knight, and he is completely different from Shovel Knight. He has his own story mode, although he plays through the same levels and most bosses from Shovel Knight's campaign. It's difficult to pinpoint just how his story makes sense in relation to Shovel of Hope, but it doesn't matter, the Plague Knight is quirky like that.

 Forget the shovel, it's all about bombs here. Plague Knight can customize his bombs by changing the casing, power and/or the fuse, so you can create all sorts of silly things, like bombs that explore or contact, homing bombs, bombs that grow stronger if you shoot them at the same area, etc. While I stuck to homing bombs with the initial gunpowder for most of the game, a few situations lend themselves to trying out different things. Instead of Relics, Plague Knight gets Arcana, which are spells that run on mana gauge that refills by itself pretty quickly. Arcana are a bit more interesting than relics, since they complement Plague Knight really well. There's an Arcana that works as an extra jump, one that places a platform below you for a few seconds, one that grants Plague Knight's bombs life-sapping properties(A life-saver for boss fights!) and the such. It's very different from Shovel Knight, and it doesn't stop here...

 Plague Knight is a very different beast from Shovel Knight in how he moves too. He has no pogo jumping, instead he has a pathetic double jump and bursting, which can also be customized just like his bombs. By holding down the attack button and letting go, Plague Knight will burst himself upwards and forwards, which is his main means of traversal. It's also your best way to approach enemies, since raining down bombs from above is the fundamental basis of his combat. On the ground you are vulnerable, but master aerial combat and a whole new world of options will open up. As for me, I was fond of the slow-decent burst, that made Plague Knight gently hover downwards, giving me extra attack time, at the cost of not being able to prime another burst. Nothing the platform relic couldn't cover!

 Plague Knight has often times been called the hardest campaign, and it is... for the first few levels, before you find a bomb/burst set-up that works for you and get used to playing as the Plague Knight. As soon as I got to the second Quadrant of the map, I was having a blast cruising through stages in manners the stiff Shovel Knight could've never done, and murdering bosses in a few seconds flat with my brutal homing bombs+hovering Plague Knight combo. Give it a few stages until you get the hang of him, and his campaign turns even easier than Shovel Knight's.

 New additions to the game are Plague Coins, green coins hidden in every level, which are necessary to expand Mona's shop, the shop in which you can purchase bomb parts, as well as necessary to gain access to Plague Knight's armors. There are also Tonics that grant you bonus health points... until you die, which can make some of the early bosses are bit more manageable.

 I really liked Plague Knight's campaign, he felt sort of like a Richter Mode, featuring a more nimble, but more gimmicky character that could easily get through harder obstacles, but also had a bit of a learning curve if you didn't want to die against bosses. I think... I think once I fully grasped the Plague Knight, I started liking his campaign a bit more than Shovel Knight's, it felt like I was using more relics to find the ones that worked for different situations instead of always relying on the same invincibility locket, and the platforming challenges built around his wackier, more uncontrollable movement were pretty fun.
 9.0 out of 10

Specter of Torment

 I hated Specter of Torment at first, I really wasn't feeling Specter Knight's style... until it clicked. Specter's game is the most plot-driven campaign in the game, following Specter Knight's torment under the enchantress as he builds the Order of No Quarter for her, and we even get to delve into his past through a few stages that take place when Specter was still a living human.

 Shovel Knight is the most nimble and lethal Knight yet, he can wall run and jump from walls, but his true call to fame is his aerial slashing, depending on your position relative to the enemy or object(Below or above it), Specter Knight will slash through that thing. And that is how his platforming challenges are built on, proper use of his aerial slash to cross chasms and what not. It's quite fun, once you understand it. Some big enemies and a few objects actually make the Specter Knight bounce from them, so you also have to keep that in mind, as sometimes bouncing is part of the platforming and bouncing can help you keep your attacks coming from the air. Specter can also grind on some rails, but it goes mostly underused....although there's an armor that lets you grind at will.

 Relics take the form of Curios in this campaign, and they run on Specter Knight's darkness gauge, which can be refilled by landing multiple hits on enemies. There are 100 red Skull coins to collect in the game, and these can be traded for said curios. In what's a fun little idea, every time you buy a Curio you have to go through a very short challenge stage in order to learn how to use it, which is a brilliant way to get you to try out everyone of them! You can then spend money in order to upgrade them, which was also a neat idea. In order to upgrade your Health and Darkness gauges you must find Wisp chests, one for every level, which is a nice incentive to explore.

 The world map is gone, Specter gets his HUB town and from there you need to talk to the Mirror Guardian in order to travel directly to any stage. Stage layouts have been completely redesigned around Specter Knight, which also makes sense since this is a prequel and this'd be the stages before the Order of No Quarter was created. Boss patterns have also changed to varying degrees between characters, the Black Knight now fights alongside his trusty Turtle companion, for example. As a whole, it took me about three hours to finish the game, making it the shortest campaign by an hour, but it's every bit as fun as everything that came before it.

 I think Specter of Torment is supposed to be easier to get the handle of than Plague of Shadows, but in my case, it was the other way around. That said, once you get the hang of Specter, this campaign becomes yet another winner addition to Shovel Knight.

 9.0 out of 10

King of Cards

 The final campaign follows King Knight in King of Cards. It features a completely new card minigame, Joustus, not unlike The Witcher's Gwent as well as new layouts for the previous levels, as well as completely new gameplay mechanics for the King Knight, which goes to show that they really wanted to end with a bang. And it worked!

 As a huge Wario fanboy, King Knight's greedy adventures are just up my alley, and he takes after the dastardly villain by also having a should bash as his main mode of attack. It's more than just a bash though, this daintily Knight will spin into the air like a top upon hitting a wall or an enemy, and then landing on top of an object or an enemy will let him bounce off of them, as well as letting him do the Shoulder Bash again. And they built a ton of different challenges around this very simple mechanic. Sometimes you'll have to roll(Tap B again after should bashing) onto enemies, since producing a spin jump will force you into an state that will break the ground below you into a pit or spikes. Sometimes you'll have to work to earn your Shoulder Bash again in order to keep the King from falling into a pit, sometimes you'll have to rely on the bash to get to a platform without jumping, since the ceiling is lethal, etc. It's brilliant game design, like every campaign before it. And unlike the Specter Knight, whom I hated at first, I loved King Knight from the very first time I shoulder bashed an enemy.

 King Knight's relics come in the form of Heirlooms, and once again you must spend a special type of collectible in order to get them, Medals. There are three Medals per stage, as well as a few Joustus-exclusive medals. Just like Specter before it, you get to try out most Heirlooms when you get them through a small challenge stage that shows you various ways in which you can use them. Heirlooms consume Vigor, which works just like Shovel Knight's, only being able to replenish it by finding mana potions from fallen enemies. There are also Royal Decrees, which are cheat-like advantages that you can use one time per stage, as well as Cheats you can purchase to use in Joustus duels.

 The World map returns, but it's much larger than in Plague of Storms or Shovel of Hope, because the stages have been divided into many smaller stages. It's a different take on the previous formula, and this also means that there's no longer a boss at the end of every level, but rather, a boss at the end of every world. That said, there are roaming bosses on the world map that you can avoid or fight. While every stage got completely redesigned, the bosses use their new Specter of Torment patterns. Taking a page from Super Mario World, many stages now have hidden exits that open up routes to different stages. Your mileage may vary on this, while stages are quite shorter, I've never been a fan of having to replay stuff just because the game deems it mandatory.

 This is the part of the review in which I write about how much I hate card minigames, like the ones in Final Fantasy VIII and The Witcher.... but after I opened up the fourth and final world, I realized that there were still heirlooms to collect and Vigor upgrades to purchase, so I did what I had to do. Went back to previous world's Joustus houses and cleared them all. I'm still not a fan of card games, but I kinda sorta had fun with this one. There are a ton of different opponents to fight, the ones from the Joustus houses(1 per world), the ones that reside in your ship/Hub town and the Wandering bosses, that once defeated will board your ship and you can challenge them to the game. So if you enjoyed the card game, there are plenty of opponents to fight, with different gimmicks and the like. Overall, it took me about 8 hours to finish this campaign, making it the longest by a landslide. That said, as per usual, I was very thorough, returning to open up every alternate route and fight Joustus battles, so a more laid back playthrough should be shorter.

 Fantastic, King of Cards is just fantastic, and I think it might've been my favorite campaign. It's a bit hard to pinpoint just when it takes place, probably a prequel to the prequel(Specter), but it doesn't really matter since the story in this campaign is just means to an end. I adored King Knight's gameplay, and loved how many different, creative challenges they built around the King's movement style. 

 9.0 out of 10

Amiibo

 Sony fans get to fight Kratos and don an armor that gives Shovel Knight a three-hit combo. Microsoft fans get to fight the Battletoads and go through a Battletoads-inspired stage, and then they get an armor that lets Shovel Knight do a shoulder bash. Nintendo fans get to spend more money on Amiibos.

 Unfairness aside, amiibos grant each of the four playable characters new costumes, which can also be used in Showdown, Fairy Companions(Absolutely useless) and, in the case of Shovel of Hope, a Custom Knight mode, which gives the game RPG mechanics: Instead of buying and finding upgrades and relics, you get them as you level up. But it's more than that! You get exclusive relics(More like alternate takes on existing relics, like shooting the Fist Gauntlet like a projectile), alternate color palettes you can swap between at any time, special effects(Like the shiny stars!), health and vigor upgrades and even different actions for holding down the down button. It's a fun twist on Shovel of Hope's campaign.

Shovel Knight Showdown

 And, to tie a bow around this masterful collection of games and wrap it up, we get Shovel Knight Showdown, a 4-man fighting game using the world and characters from Shovel Knight, it features a grand total of 20 characters, including Shovel Knight and the Knights of No-Quarter, the Wandering Warriors and a few surprises.

 The game offers a decent amount of modes, including a Story mode, with a unique opening and ending for each character, Battle Mode(Death Match or collecting gems as well as a random Chester's Choice), Hit the Targets and, lastly, Practice. There are a TON of things to unlock: Extra color palettes, extra characters, extra stages and even a few costumes! There's no shortage of stuff here to get.... although you could always cheat and get everything with a button input. No judging!

 Most movesets are built around four buttons: Attack, Special(Usually, but not always, a projectile), Jump and Parry. It's not a Smash like movesets, your attacks never change with inputs, however, characters have very different playstyles. Tinker Knight's special has him mount his gear, play special again and he'll drop it and fly for a few seconds. Shield Knight can shoot her shield, and then attack with fisticuffs before it returns, Shovel Knight keeps his pogo jumping, etc. Characters are very simple, but every character feels very different. Health is based on a four-hit lifebar, and you get mercy invincibility upon getting hit.

 The game is very fast paced, but probably due to the limited color palette they went with, at times it became hard to make sense of what was going on. As a whole, the game is a decent extra, a decent time waster, but it's easily the weakest link in the Shovel Knight saga. Honestly, I like this game being here, I think it's a great addition, it's just that I don't think it would work just quite as well by itself.
 6.5 out of 10

 Shovel Knight is amazing. While I'm kinda sad I got to play it so late in its life, I'm also quite glad I get to keep the entire game in a single cart and experience the entirety that Shovel Knight has to offer in one go. Every single campaign in this cart has ton of brilliant showcases of great game design, and it's nothing short of amazing just how well everything turned out.
 9.5 out of 10