I bought the WiiU version yesterday but played it today...and there was an update already.
So, Shovel Knight is platformer with 8-bit graphics and sounds, takes the world map from Mario 3, the attack/bounce from Duck Tales, the level layouts are slighty reminescent of Mega Man (especially 9), some enemies require to alternate attacks like Zelda II, you can upgrade health, magic and buy new items in towns like Faxanadu (and a gazillion other titles), when hit you jump back like in Castlevania (or Ninja Gaiden, or Zelda II again)...probably listing the games from which Shovel Knight takes inspiration will take some posts, so let's speak about the game.
Shovel Knight and Shield Knight are the top adventurers of the land, but Shield Knight dies when the two are tackling a particularly dangerous dungeon. The Enchantress and her cronies (all following the <something> Knight template) take possession of the land and only Shovel Knight can end their tiranny! Is it me or the splash page and the intro have spoiled how the obligatory plot twist with just a couple of screens? Oh well, whatever.
The first thing I did was to check the options: no developers, if you want to capture a nostalgic feeling, A jumps and B attacks, not vice versa. Luckily you can reconfigure the two buttons as you see fit.
Shovel Knight controls very well, tricky platforms are mostly reserved for secret areas and the game looks and sounds like a NES title, only in widescreen, without sprite flickering or scanlines.
The first level is linear, though there are a few secret areas here and there, accessed by digging through walls (which can be easily spotted thanks to the different sprites) or using the bounce jump to reach ladders or platforms. Enemies drops, which are converted into money; when dying, you drop a small amount of money that can be recollected Demon's Souls style; if you die before recollecting them, they are lost forever.
Each level has a genereous amount of checkpoints, that can be destroyed (and made useless) for extra money.
Secrets in levels include money, music sheets (to deliver to the local bard for an in-game sound test) and secondary weapons that drain your (limited) magic meter. As your shovel as a rather short range, most of these weapons are offensive ranged weapons.
Secondary weapons can also be bought in towns, which also host NPCs that will increase your health and magic meter in exchange of Meal Tickets and Relics, respectively. These two items are awareded at the end of certain stages or can be purchased from other NPCs.
There are no quests, but by speaking to NPCs, you can learn that some of them would like a specific boss defeated, and they'll reward you for doing so. So far all bosses have been mandatory, so these requests are a further reward for progressing in the game.
Shovel Knight plays exactly how you would expect from a 8-bit platformer. Controls are tight, music is catchy, there's a lot of attention to detail, and every stage is unique, with only few enemies shared between them; levels are a linear affair, with only few featuring secondary paths that lead to some sort of treasure. These secrets aren't particularly hard to find, what it takes to find them is a couple of seconds to scan a screen and decide on which enemy you should bounce or which wall you have to dig.
All levels have one or more defining feature, like platforms that move only if there's enough weight on them, or tapestry hiding treasures or destroyable walls.
Stages aren't particularly hard, neither are bosses; both require some effort to be beaten, but there are no lives, checkpoints and restorative items are aplenty, and the penalties for dying are limited.
On the WiiU, the pad works as inventory for quick access to the various items.
So far, Shovel Knight's biggest problem has been its reliance on mechanics taken (or blatantly ripped off, depending on your point of view) from a large number of games, and rather than saying "I'm playing Shovel Kngiht", I'd say "I'm playing Mega Man + Zelda II + Duck Tales + something else". This mix is very well done, but I hope that by the end of the game, there will be something that will define Shovel Knight as its own self, rather than an amalgam of other games.
So, Shovel Knight is platformer with 8-bit graphics and sounds, takes the world map from Mario 3, the attack/bounce from Duck Tales, the level layouts are slighty reminescent of Mega Man (especially 9), some enemies require to alternate attacks like Zelda II, you can upgrade health, magic and buy new items in towns like Faxanadu (and a gazillion other titles), when hit you jump back like in Castlevania (or Ninja Gaiden, or Zelda II again)...probably listing the games from which Shovel Knight takes inspiration will take some posts, so let's speak about the game.
Shovel Knight and Shield Knight are the top adventurers of the land, but Shield Knight dies when the two are tackling a particularly dangerous dungeon. The Enchantress and her cronies (all following the <something> Knight template) take possession of the land and only Shovel Knight can end their tiranny! Is it me or the splash page and the intro have spoiled how the obligatory plot twist with just a couple of screens? Oh well, whatever.
The first thing I did was to check the options: no developers, if you want to capture a nostalgic feeling, A jumps and B attacks, not vice versa. Luckily you can reconfigure the two buttons as you see fit.
Shovel Knight controls very well, tricky platforms are mostly reserved for secret areas and the game looks and sounds like a NES title, only in widescreen, without sprite flickering or scanlines.
The first level is linear, though there are a few secret areas here and there, accessed by digging through walls (which can be easily spotted thanks to the different sprites) or using the bounce jump to reach ladders or platforms. Enemies drops, which are converted into money; when dying, you drop a small amount of money that can be recollected Demon's Souls style; if you die before recollecting them, they are lost forever.
Each level has a genereous amount of checkpoints, that can be destroyed (and made useless) for extra money.
Secrets in levels include money, music sheets (to deliver to the local bard for an in-game sound test) and secondary weapons that drain your (limited) magic meter. As your shovel as a rather short range, most of these weapons are offensive ranged weapons.
Secondary weapons can also be bought in towns, which also host NPCs that will increase your health and magic meter in exchange of Meal Tickets and Relics, respectively. These two items are awareded at the end of certain stages or can be purchased from other NPCs.
There are no quests, but by speaking to NPCs, you can learn that some of them would like a specific boss defeated, and they'll reward you for doing so. So far all bosses have been mandatory, so these requests are a further reward for progressing in the game.
Shovel Knight plays exactly how you would expect from a 8-bit platformer. Controls are tight, music is catchy, there's a lot of attention to detail, and every stage is unique, with only few enemies shared between them; levels are a linear affair, with only few featuring secondary paths that lead to some sort of treasure. These secrets aren't particularly hard to find, what it takes to find them is a couple of seconds to scan a screen and decide on which enemy you should bounce or which wall you have to dig.
All levels have one or more defining feature, like platforms that move only if there's enough weight on them, or tapestry hiding treasures or destroyable walls.
Stages aren't particularly hard, neither are bosses; both require some effort to be beaten, but there are no lives, checkpoints and restorative items are aplenty, and the penalties for dying are limited.
On the WiiU, the pad works as inventory for quick access to the various items.
So far, Shovel Knight's biggest problem has been its reliance on mechanics taken (or blatantly ripped off, depending on your point of view) from a large number of games, and rather than saying "I'm playing Shovel Kngiht", I'd say "I'm playing Mega Man + Zelda II + Duck Tales + something else". This mix is very well done, but I hope that by the end of the game, there will be something that will define Shovel Knight as its own self, rather than an amalgam of other games.
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