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[Ultimadrago]

You guys...

Speed running may not be for me.

Yeah, I certainly learned this the hard way.

Which levels do people think are the hardest? I just beat the 5th level and, while some of them had particularly irritating sections, I wouldn't say any of the levels was a huge pain in the ass overall. Do things pick up for the final 3?

The game overall isn't very difficult. If you're looking for true "balls to the wall" stuff, you won't find it here. At best you can implement some self-inflicted limitations (ex. Break all checkpoints, don't increase health/magic, etc).

I would say Propeller Knight's stage is the most difficult by far. If you got through that fine, the final 3 won't phase you much.

Not that I minded. I don't crave grave difficulty. The game made for a nice challenge. Just finished my 1h30m/no death run last night!

 

[Alo81]

No.
I am pretty sure the game renders at higher resolutions. Look at the moving fonts

It will scroll appropriately at higher resolutions, but the actual sprites are designed and rendered to be displayed at what seems like 400x240, and that's why resolutions that aren't a multiple of that OR something close to it (it looks like 408x225 doesn't cause stretching either, but multiples of it do) don't have blur.

There's absolutely a noticeable blur on the sample from the 1080 image. Since the game isn't rendered polygons it has to stretch the pixels to fill your screen and doesn't do so evenly.

So while technically, yes, it is rendering at the higher resolution, it is not displaying the actual sprites appropriately at that resolution, and I think I may even have figured out how they're rendering it out.

Here's a better example.

The images which were stretched to 162px wide were done so because that's how wide the Shovel Knight sprite rendered at 1920x1080 was.

So it looks like what it actually does is render it up in nearest neighbor to the closest step available, then it does the rest of the resizing with bilinear filtering and it does that to the sprites, and then will appropriately shift them as it needs to, for parralax scrolling and shadking text and stuff like that.

 

[Kid Ska]

Tinker Knight is a chump.

Spoiler

So is Tinker Tank.

 

[Eric C]

Shovel Knight is currently #1 seller on the US 3DS eshop recent release chart

and it's #3 on the US Wii U eshop chart, with only 2 free promo games (from the MK8 promotion) ahead of it, and 2 more of those free promo games behind it.

 

[Ultimadrago]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but who's everyone's favorite Knight from the Order?

Mine is Spectre Knight

His design and boss theme win me over. Wish they did more with his undead powers than simple skeleton soldier summoning though. Polar Knight for runner-up since I enjoy the idea of a companion Knight gone AWOL (not the most original concept, but don't give a damn).

 

[Toxi]

My favorite's Treasure Knight or Propeller Knight. Treasure Knight just looks awesome and has an entertaining personality, while Propeller Knight is hilarious. Some of the best sprite animations in the game for him. They also both have awesome levels.

I think Treasure Knight wins out for that fake treasure chest.

Tinker Knight is a chump.

Spoiler

So is Tinker Tank.

I can't tell whether he's more of a

Spoiler

Metal Man

reference or a

Spoiler

Kraid

reference.

 

[Kinsei]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but who's everyone's favorite Knight from the Order?

Mine is Spectre Knight



Plus, his boss theme is swell. Wish they did more with his undead powers than simple skeleton soldier summoning though.

In terms of design: Plague Knight
The fight I had the most fun with: Treasure Knight

I haven't fought Tinker Knight, Propeller Knight, and any of the knights after them.

 

[Regiruler]

Just had that happen to me. Used an ichor after killing a couple of the trickier ones. Trying to refill with a turkey, Propellor Knight knocked me away from it twice, killing me. asdl;kfjasdl;kfhdflgjkh

Gotta learn the lunge timing. Melee parry is vital in the rematch version since they edit the fight to accommodate the lack of the twin cannonballs.

 

[Bleep]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but who's everyone's favorite Knight from the Order?

Mine is Spectre Knight



Plus, his boss theme is swell. Wish they did more with his undead powers than simple skeleton soldier summoning though.

Specter Knight is my favourite too, but I think I'm biased because of how much I like Castlevania!

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

I like Polar Knight because of his beard.

 

[Regiruler]

Shovel Knight is currently #1 seller on the US 3DS eshop recent release chart

and it's #3 on the US Wii U eshop chart, with only 2 free promo games (from the MK8 promotion) ahead of it, and 2 more of those free promo games behind it.

Last I checked it was behind all of the promo games on the Wii U eShop. Doing very well then.

 

[Bleep]

Gotta learn the lunge timing. Melee parry is vital in the rematch version since they edit the fight to accommodate the lack of the twin cannonballs.

If you are running low on health and aren't getting the timing right, pogoing is a pretty safe option. He tries to punish it by launching you in the air and stabbing you but it's easy to avoid.

 

[Cymbal Head]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but who's everyone's favorite Knight from the Order?

In terms of design, my favorite is Spectre Knight. For personality, it's King Knight. For fight design: Propeller Knight.

I would honestly watch a Saturday morning cartoon series based on this game. I can already hear the exact voices in my head.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Wow! This game is so fun! I love it.

I usually hate 8bit games but this is done in a way it feels very modern.

Here's hoping for Shovel Knight 2 maybe even done with SNES sprites!

 

[Shizuka]

Got my Wii U today, bought the game a few hours ago. Got through the first stage, not that hard but I'm expecting it to get harder as the game progresses.

 

[Regiruler]

Whew. *deep breath* Finally beat that part, after what must have been a couple dozen attempts. Kind of lucked out

Spoiler

with the order: Polar (not hugely difficult using Chaos Orbs), Specter (freebie), Treasure (ditto on Chaos Orbs), Propellor (argh), King (freebie), Tinker (freebie), Mole (medium), Plague (argh). Luckily, since I got King and Tinker right in a row I had enough life that I could leave the Chicken platter untouched until Mole was nearly dead, and then I used my Ichor midway through the Plague fight. That was seriously intense.

Spoiler

I wouldn't call specter knight a freebie in the rematch version, the room has less vertical space so some of his attacks no longer have safe zones simply by standing on the platform.

In terms of design, my favorite is Spectre Knight. For personality, it's King Knight. For fight design: Propeller Knight.

I would honestly watch a Saturday morning cartoon series based on this game. I can already hear the exact voices in my head.

I feel like they should hire a few abridged series creators as writers but that might not be such a great idea.
It has to be a c-tier animation though. No compromising.

 

[ronito]

So guys what do the different flames in checkpoints mean?

 

[Regiruler]

So guys what do the different flames in checkpoints mean?

The value of the checkpoint if broken, usually assessed by how difficult it is to get to and how difficult the next section is.

 

[Shizuka]

The value of the checkpoint if broken, usually assessed by how difficult it is to get to and how difficult the next section is.

Should I be breaking all the checkpoints I find, at least earlier in the game?

 

[Regiruler]

Should I be breaking all the checkpoints I find, at least earlier in the game?

Personally I think the game is balanced fine without breaking any checkpoints. Maybe a few if you feel daring.

But apparently I suck at these sort of games in comparison so what do I know. It's more of a frustration than anything, not really actual difficulty.

 

[Ultimadrago]

In terms of design, my favorite is Spectre Knight. For personality, it's King Knight. For fight design: Propeller Knight.

I would honestly watch a Saturday morning cartoon series based on this game. I can already hear the exact voices in my head.

Yeah, I certainly agree with Propeller Knight for battle design.

I credit King Knight's Trumpet special and

Spoiler

credit sequence

to him having a favorable persona. Puts a smile on me every time.

 

[Kinsei]

Personally I think the game is balanced fine without breaking any checkpoints. Maybe a few if you feel daring.

But apparently I suck at these sort of games in comparison so what do I know. It's more of a frustration than anything, not really actual difficulty.

I prefer destroying the checkpoints, it forces me to actually get good at each section, rather than just lucking out my first time through. I've broken every checkpoint and I have no regrets, even when I died fighting Polar Knight.

 

[Regiruler]

Side effect of Butt Mode: Shovel Knight is not coming off the Wara Wara plaza anytime soon.
It feels like the miiverse posting rate has doubled.

 

[Extra Sauce]

Beat the eighth member of the order of no quarter.

I'm terrified at the idea of advancing any further. Partly because Enchantress... largely because I never want the game to end.

 

[ronito]

Just got to the tinker night level. I'm not ready. It's kicking my butt butt.

 

[Toxi]

Just got to the tinker night level. I'm not ready. It's kicking my butt butt.

What part specifically? I found the Clockwork Tower pretty easy.

 

[Kid Ska]

FUCK The Flying Machine. Fuck wind mechanics in a platformer in general.

 

[Doorman]

I didn't mind the wind so much, mostly because you only deal with it in two rooms and it's an issue of timing as much as anything. I'd say it's akin to the famed "vacuum blocks" of Mega Man fame, except you don't even need to worry about a bunch of pattern recognition, just timing out when to move forward and when to stay put.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

For those that have played both - how does Rogue Legacy compare?

 

[Trevelyan9999]

I didn't mind the wind so much, mostly because you only deal with it in two rooms and it's an issue of timing as much as anything. I'd say it's akin to the famed "vacuum blocks" of Mega Man fame, except you don't even need to worry about a bunch of pattern recognition, just timing out when to move forward and when to stay put.

The Wind stuff gave a little trouble but nothing too crazy, the boss fights are like a relief in this as well. After DKC:TF, I could use some shorter boss fights and this game delivers.

 

[chaobreaker]

For those that have played both - how does Rogue Legacy compare?

Well they are barely comparable beyond their combat systems. Rogue Legacy is more of a metroidvania/rouge-lite game than an platformer.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

It's kind of hard! Definitely old school!

I forgot how much I hate bosses with crazy patterns!

 

[Weetrick]

Is it just me or is the Wii U version easier? I've had a chance to play both and I died way more on the 3DS version. I think it's because I find the 3DS version to be uncomfortable - my hand cramps up playing it.

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

I wanna get one version. Wii U or 3DS XL? I'm leaning towards Wii U for offscreen play but 3DS would be nice for portability.

 

[Weetrick]

I wanna get one version. Wii U or 3DS XL? I'm leaning towards Wii U for offscreen play but 3DS would be nice for portability.

I prefer the Wii U version for it's controls. To me, the Gamepad is infinitely more comfortable than the 3DS. Both versions are basically identical though.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

I wanna get one version. Wii U or 3DS XL? I'm leaning towards Wii U for offscreen play but 3DS would be nice for portability.

Wii U has a huge upside but I went with the 3DS because of its portability and because I'm going on a trip.

That's a good reason. And I'm having a blast on it. No problems so far.

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

I'm going with Wii U because of HD

 

[Extra Sauce]

I'm going with Wii U because of HD

Wii U has a higher resolution but since the graphics are pixel art, I doubt the game appears crisper than on the 3DS.

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

Wish they would have a cross platform purchase like that squid game

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Wish they would have a cross platform purchase like that squid game

Yup. Oh well.

Will enjoy the 3DS vers but only getting the Wii U or Steam vers on a sale.

Wonder if cross-platform would've generated more sales.

 

[Thoraxes]

I used Mobile Gear on

Spoiler

the first phase of Tinker Knight

and it was a one-hit kill lol.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I killed all bosses with the shovel. I forgot this game took inspiration from Mega Man and didn't even get to try using the power ups in boss battles.

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

I killed all bosses with the shovel. I forgot this game took inspiration from Mega Man and didn't even get to try using the power ups in boss battles.

Dude you're a pro. So that's like beating all the mega man bosses using the mega buster only? Is it really that underpowered?

 

[Kinsei]

Dude you're a pro. So that's like beating all the mega man bosses using the mega buster only?

I think it would be harder actually, but that may just be because I've played the classic Mega Man games so much that mega buster only runs have become just as easy as normal playthroughs.

 

[Toxi]

You can beat the game without buying anything, not just relics.

I didn't mind the wind so much, mostly because you only deal with it in two rooms and it's an issue of timing as much as anything. I'd say it's akin to the famed "vacuum blocks" of Mega Man fame, except you don't even need to worry about a bunch of pattern recognition, just timing out when to move forward and when to stay put.

Vacuum blocks?

All I remember are the bullshit Heat Man stage blocks.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Dude you're a pro. So that's like beating all the mega man bosses using the mega buster only? Is it really that underpowered?

It is not really that hard, I beat most of them jumping in their heads with the shovel. Only Spectre and Polar gave me a lot of trouble.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

So is that why my arse is getting kicked since I'm only using a shovel? It really is like Mega Man where certain weapons work better against certain bosses?

 

[Toxi]

So is that why my arse is getting kicked since I'm only using a shovel? It really is like Mega Man where certain weapons work better against certain bosses?

Other than

Spoiler

Mobile Gear against Tinker Knight

, they don't do more damage, but a lot of them trivialize the bosses in other ways like doing repeated damage fast. The one that most surprised me was how ridiculously easy the Propeller Dagger makes

Spoiler

Black Knight 3.

 

[dock]

I wonder whether this will make it to Europe on Wii U before 2015.

 

[Neiteio]

Finished the game! The last boss was TOUGH. Took me a while to realize that

Spoiler

you have to bounce off Shield Knight twice to get enough clearance to pogo Enchantress

, or at least to do so reliably, anyways. AWESOME ENDING!!

With the WiiU version down, I think I'll download the 3DS version next.