WMG / Shovel Knight

Mr. Hat will have a major role in King Knight's campaign.

Or at least something more substantial than being an optional boss battle or a cameo in the end. Baz got his spotlight (sort of) in Plague of Shadows, Reize and Phantom Striker both have bigger roles in Specter of Torment, so it'd make sense for Mr. Hat to be at least a NPC with an important role in King Knight's campaign.

• Sort of confirmed, while not a major role he is one of the many npc King Knight recruits, and plays a more major role as a shopkeep then most of the other recruits

Shield Knight will be a boss fight in Specter of Torment via flashback.

The trailer for Specter of Torment shows Specter Knight encountering Shield Knight back when he was still alive, where she warned him to stay where he was. Since Specter of Torment is a confirmed prequel in which Specter Knight recruits the members of the Order of No Quarter, that would mean Shovel Knight is still locked in his depression and not back in action yet. With the interface during the time of the flashback showing the still-living Specter Knight having a small health bar, it's possible that the end of Specter Knight's stage could be replaced by the flashback sequence which ends in a boss battle with Shield Knight.

• Confirmed, but not in Specter Knight's stage. That stage ends with a fight against the Phantom Striker.

The Phase Locket will be pivotal in the plot of Specter Knight's game

Based on his reaction at the ending of Plague of Shadows, this item seems to hold some importance to him, and is likely to pop up. And, hey, lockets are important, aren't they?

• Expanding on that, the Locket will probably belong to some lost lover of Spectre Knight, his quest possibly being to bring them back. Both characters' stories so far have revolved around a love interest (Shovel Knight saving Shield Knight, even if he didn't know the Enchantress was her, and Plague Knight trying to win Mona over), and the Phase Locket seems to have a blue heart design on it. The way Spectre Knight acts makes it seem like the locket has a lot of emotional value, as would befit a memento of a dead lover.
• Might I add a possible reason for the importance? The Phase Locket may be important because it's what keeps Specter Knight in a state of undeath. If something were to cause it to break or something along those lines, the magic would wear off, and he goes back to being a corpse. He'll be fine as long as the locket is intact, which is why Shovel Knight and Plague Knight stealing it doesn't impede him at all, but since he doesn't have it anymore, he's no longer in control of his state.
• Then if that will be the case, his game would take place after the storyline of either Shovel Knight or Plague Knight.
• The trailer does show him sitting on a ledge while staring at the locket and at one moment there was a female figure following him in a level, but Word of God says the story is a prequel to the main game.
• Confirmed, but the Locket is all about a family keepsake.

Both Shovel Knight and Plague of Shadows take place simultaneously, "Rashomon"-Style, rather than being alternate universes of one another.

• Plague Knight goes through his adventure first, a step ahead of Shovel Knight. He trades all the items with Chester, from whom Shovel Knight can later buy them, as well as entering his own level just before SK follows him there and fights him. SK fights the Enchantress very soon after PK, too, and him and Shield Knight are busy fighting her true form even as PK deals with his potion battle. In the end, Plague Knight is of course the true cause of the Tower of Fate's explosion, whilst Black Knight disappears to help Shovel and Shield Knight escape. The ending scenes of all knights are, for the most part, entirely compatible — they can all happen for everyone, taking place on different days or such. Anything that does not fit, such as Plague Knight fighting off most of the Order in the Boss Rush instead of Shovel Knight, is chalked off to differences in perspective.
  • What's more, this is likely the reason why Shovel Knight "defeats" Plague Knight when his back is turned, and why Shovel Knight abandons the entire order after the Boss Rush. In other words, it's Plague Knight's take on those particular events, and being a villain, naturally he would paint Shovel Knight as doing things Plague Knight himself likely would have done...
  • More or less confirmed by the official Twitter. Plague Knight is an Unreliable Narrator and... "embellished" his encounters that involved Shovel Knight (beating him but being stabbed in the back, Plague Knight beating the Order in the Boss Rush instead of Shovel Knight, the Order being left to dangle instead of helped back up).

Tying the Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows stories together...

Let's see if we can make a coherent story, with the assumption that Shovel Knight's tale is the entire truth.

• SK and PK travel the Plains separately and encounter Black Knight on separate occasions.
• PK makes it to the Village first before being forced to take the alternate route to his underground base. SK arrives shortly after.
• Each Knight goes against the Order of No Quarter on separate moments, with PK coming first to nab the Relic to trade to Chester, who in turn sells it to SK on his visit.
• PK and SK encounter one another at the Explodatorium. SK wins the fight canonically, but later in the night, PK follows him to his camp and takes his Essence while he's asleep.
• Both SK and PK go to the Armor Outpost, but SK never sees PK.
• SK resolves the ghost problem at the Hall of Champions. Some time after that, the local knights set a trap for the Order's Knights and PK walks into it. And busts out of it.
• PK takes over the Armor Outpost only after SK has concluded all of his business there (Mr. Hat, the Shovel upgrades, and the armor sets).
• In the Boss Rush against the Order of No Quarter, SK's events are canon. He also rescues the Order after they're left dangling. Once SK departs to face the Enchantress however, PK leaves shortly after, and presumably so do the rest of the Order as they await the outcome of SK's battle with the Enchantress.
• PK takes an alternate path that leads him to the Enchantress before SK does and fights her for her Essence. After she offers it to him and he leaves to create his Ultimate Potion, she faces SK, and the Essence loss was enough for her to lose the fight against him and lose control over Shield Knight's body.
• Both endings are canon to certain extents.

The Tower of Fate was one of several Soul Jars for the Enchantress.

She, or rather, It prefers to work from a host as well as the amulet. If neither are available, she falls back on the Tower itself. It would take a miracle to destroy the Tower of Fate, which an exploding Serum Supernus counts as.

Yacht Club Games will make Plague Knight, King Knight, and Specter Knight amiibo.

• Since the Shovel Knight amiibo will unlock co-op mode, it seems it would only make sense to give the other three campaigns the same bonus, via amiibo of said bosses. Further, this will allow players to mix and match their teams — first player will play as the main character of that campaign, while the second player plays as whichever knight they've entered via amiibo.
  • Nope. All platforms except 3DS and Vita now have co-op mode. It'd be hard to choose a character using amiibo on a platform that doesn't support it.
  • Oh hey, confirmed. Though obviously with different bonuses than co-op.

Black Knight and Shield Knight are brother and sister.

• This is why he cares so deeply about her, and why he was so resentful towards Shovel Knight for losing her.
  • It seems to me that the implication was that Black Knight is in love with Shield Knight, who loves Shovel Knight, given his line (to paraphrase) that she "always preferred him".

Polar Knight is Shovel Knight's mentor, and Shield Knight's father

• He wields a shovel much like Shovel Knight and Black Knight, and seems to know both of them really well (as his dialogue with Shovel and his ending in Plague of Shadows show). Coupled with being clearly older than them, it would make sense for him to be an Obi-Wan figure to the younger shovelers.

• The second part is a bit more WMG, but Polar Knight seems to be quite a sad fellow who abandoned his honour, perhaps even a Death Seeker. Having lost a daughter could be a reason for that, and Shield Knight fits his norse theme, bringing the image of a Shield Maiden to mind.
  • Both have a mole on their faces, which is a hereditary trait. Likelihood of development, potential number, and what parts of the body they develop on are all genetic traits, so two characters having one on the face (even if in different spots) is a good indicator of shared ancestry. That Shovel Knight and Black Knight speak on rather familiar terms with him both in the main game and in Showdown seems to imply a close connection, most likely that they used to adventure together but maybe with Polar Knight as the mentor.
    

Combining the two paints a bit of a picture: Polar Knight trained Shovel, Shield, and Black Knight and eventually retired after they became legends in their own right. Black Knight drifted away as Shield Knight's feelings for Shovel Knight became more obvious, until the events of the game's backstory picked up.

Either Specter Knight or King Knight will save Shield Knight.

• The Plague of Shadows expansion revealed why the Tower of Fate was destroyed after the Enchantress was defeated, with Plague Knight detonating the Ultimate Potion. Yet, we still do not know how Shield Knight survived the Enchantress' last-ditch attack. Therefore, in a future expansion, it's likely that either Specter Knight or King Knight will end up saving her in some way or another.
• Jossed for both.

King Knight was once a servant at Pridemoor Keep

• In the ending of Shovel Knight's story, it is shown that King Knight has been forced to scrub the keep floors by the rightful king. Now, this may simply be a case of karmic justice, but it isn't consistent with the other knights' endings. Treasure Knight's stolen loot is reclaimed, but otherwise the knights are free to go about their business. So why is King Knight punished with servitude? Easy, he was a servant at Pridemoor to begin with, and he's just back in his proper place! It would certainly explain why he jumped at the chance to usurp the throne....
  • I don't care if it's only a WMG, you just made my new headcanon.
  • It looks like in Specter of Torment that the true King is merely giving King Knight his just desserts, but it's still possible.
  • Jossed, only because in King of Cards, King Knight manages to obtain King Pridemoor's trust only to betray him and take nearly everything away from him. This is either a fitting punishment or one last attempt by the King to get King Knight to understand things.

King Knight is the son, or at least related to, the King Pridemoor.

• King Pridemoor and King Knight share several similarities:
  • A shoulder charge and slamming attack (when you fight King Pridemoor).
  • King Knight and King Pridemoor have similar crown designs and color schemes, albeit King Knight's is brighter (possibly to better show his arrogance and/or youth).
  • Before you fight King Pridemoor, he tells King Knight "You have much to learn before you can become a king! Let's test your tactics!" Seems like an odd thing to say to a haughty usurper who just waltzes into your throne room.
    • Additionally, King Knight says "I wish to rule a castle as grand as this one someday... well, actually much grander than this!" It almost sounds like something a child telling their parent what they want to be/do when they grow up.
  • King Pridemoor also says the cloak King Knights mother made for him is a "good one to practice with," implying he's considering grooming King Knight to be his replacement. Possibly because he's owning up to being King Knight's father.

The dancer will be a more prominent character in Specter Knight’s story.

It will be established why she hates Specter Knight in particular, and why she’d bestow her “greatest treasure” to whoever could defeat him.

• Considering Love was the focus more than once, the Dancer could even turn out to be a former lover of Specter Knight, and he did something to make the relationship go wrong, probably related to his death, and by the end of his scenario, that could be fixed.
• Word of God says Specter Knight's story is a prequel, although the dancer may still play a part in it.
• Jossed. The dancer is only a minor NPC. Though we do find out why she hates Specter Knight, so that particular aspect is confirmed.

King Knight's dlc campaign will show that his original intentions were actually quite noble.

It's possible that the true king of Pridemoor Keep was actually more sinister or incompetent than he seemed. King Knight joined the Order of No Quarter and overthrew him. However, once he took the throne as his own, he was ultimately corrupted by the luxuries that came with it, becoming an even worse ruler in the end.

• Plausible: even if it doesn't happen exactly like that, King Knight's scenario surely will paint him in a new light if the trend continues; surely none, or very few, expected Plague Knight's Plague of Shadows to be about Love the same way it was for Shovel Knight.
• Jossed; King Pridemoor is a good king and kind enough to try teaching King Knight about what he knows; it's just that King Knight ultimately just didn't care about anything behind the title and power.

King Knight conquered Pridemoor Keep because of a misunderstanding.

The Enchantress could have sent him to deal with a king near the village that may try to aid Shovel Knight in his quest. King Knight immediately assumed she was referring to the king of Pridemoor Keep and took over. She was actually talking about the Troupple King. To add to it, Pridemoor Keep and the Troupple Pond are right next to each other on the world map.

• Jossed.

King Knight's campaign will take place after the main game.

Similarly to how Specter Knight's campaign is a prequel that will show how the Enchantress came to power, King Knight's story will be a sequel, and he will attempt to fill the power vacuum left after her defeat.

• Alternatively, King Knight's campaign will be about him slowly learning from his mistakes to become a true King to the lands.
• Jossed, it takes place before the others.
  • More specifically, it overlaps somewhat with Specter Knight's story and ends right before the beginning of the main game, with Shovel Knight bursting in just as the last patch of the castle is plated gold.

Once the other dlc campaigns are released, there will be one more unlockable story

I just think with so many planned campaigns on the way (playable Spectre Knight and King Knight on top of the already released Plague Knight), there could be potential for some kind of final story to bring everything together. Possibilities could include:

• The destruction of the Tower of Fate has released something far worse than the Enchantress, putting the previous playable characters in a sort of "do or die" situation.

• A new campaign starring Black Knight.

• Something involving the Troupple King.
  • Possible but unlikely, now that the individual games are being released as stand-alone titles. If a player bought each one individually, it would be difficult to check that all four are installed, and checking the progress might be difficult due to security measures on the consoles.

  • Jossed. No extra story is unlocked, and the next story in the series will be a sequel called Shovel Knight Dig.

At the end of the King Knight DLC campaign, King Knight will be a king for real.

Just not at Pridemoor Keep. If he does become king in the end of the campaign, he'll rule his own land and earn his happy ending.

• Jossed in large part because of his self-centered-ness and greed. Though out his story he manages to get the support of the three kings he defeats among others, giving him the opportunity to learn, make alliances, raise his support event more. But he fails to do so because he can't be bothered and with the last push from the Enchantress, he tosses it all away for a position as her puppet king.

The Specter Knight DLC campaign will be one colossal Tear Jerker, with a Bittersweet Ending at best.

See the Phase Locket WMG above. And Specter Knight was reanimated by the Enchantress — what happens once she's out of the picture?

• Uh... One problem with that: In both Shovel Knight and Plague Knight's endings, Specter Knight is still undead and kicking even after the end of the Enchantress. This campaign definitely has its work cut out for it when it comes to answering questions.
• It is a Tear Jerker, AND the ending is bittersweet. But it's a prequel.

Specter Knight's fight against the Enchantress would be about his free will.

It's quite easy thinking about the other playable knights battling the Enchantress, but it becomes a different story once we talk about Specter Knight. He's loyal to the Enchantress because she's the only one who can prolong his undeath. In the main campaign, he repeatedly affirms his faith in her invincibility. It's pretty obvious he wants to live for whatever reason he has, and him fighting the Enchantress is impossible... unless we think deeper. The exact words are "begrudgingly loyal", which means he's doing whatever the Enchantress wants him to do even if he doesn't agree with it. Sometime along the way, he'd want to do his own thing without the threat of going back to death. Specter Knight's cause would probably be to battle her for his free will. He may be cruel, but he was once human too.

• Possibly jossed. Word of God says Specter Knight's story is him recruiting the bosses to join the Enchantress.
• Actually, it is confirmed. He does battle her for his free will (basically) and for the Valley. And for the free will of Reize, too.

Polar Knight and Shovel Knight were once members of a group that used digging-based tools.

Both of them know each other, and both use digging implements. It's possible that they used to work together as partners before some sort of accident ended the group, most likely because of Polar Knight.

• This seems likely, though there might be a vague implication that Polar Knight simply retired.

Plague of Shadows takes place during Shovel Knight's New Game Plus.

In the Explodatorium, Shovel Knight has 10 HP bubbles and access to all the Relics. He also ignores the Order of No Quarter at the end of the boss rush. One possible explanation for this is that Shovel Knight is on a New Game Plus and has better things to do.

• Possible, but then Shovel Knight would have, in theory, taken double damage.
• While still possible, Word of God is that Plague Knight's story is told from his perspective as an Unreliable Narrator.

Mona and Plague Knight's friendship started after Plague Knight accidentally poisoned himself.

I know an author of a Shovel Knight fanfic beat me to it, but hear this out. The names of Plague Knight's themes are "Flowers of Antimony" and "The Vital Vitriol". Flowers (actually fragrant herbs) were stuffed in plague doctors' masks during the plague. Antimony was the element that medieval alchemists considered medicinal. The name "Vital Vitriol" may make no sense, but remember that Plague Knight drinks directly from one of his bombs while he's watching in the Battle Royale. It's vitriolic, it's vital since he drinks it like it's water. Now, to connect with Mona, she is very protective of Plague Knight (she is the one who gives him health upgrades, she occasionally comments if he's okay after finishing a stage, and is willing to pay Black Knight however he wants to get the Enchantress' essence). She's completely aware of his frail health and knows just what to do to permanently increase his health. Both are alchemists, so Mona would give him antimony. Then Plague Knight is described as someone who loves playing with death, and it seems like he was an inch close to death, rendering him weak. He met her while very ill, and came to love her in this state. This is why he wants to be 'strong' for Mona, even if he's completely capable of crushing his 'teammates' and the Enchantress.

Should Specter Knight have gold armor...

The description will, rather than saying it's useless or make him look good, will discourage wearing it because it'll make you look like a banana.

• It would probably have a description like: "A shiny armour that's pretty it useless, but there's no shame in being a shiny ghostly Banana".

• Sadly, jossed. He gets a white cloak and armor instead. It would have been cool to have him wear something in gold...
  • His regular armor is muted gold already and becomes his appearance from Shovel of Hope in the ending.

Specter Knight's campaign will reveal that he's actually just a huge dork.

His Kickstarter official bio described two of his cons as "[being] overly sentimental" and "[trying] too hard to act cool", meaning that when we finally get into his head, he won't seem as intimidating as initially thought.

• Confirmed, and it's shown in more ways than one.

Specter Knight's campaign will begin with the destruction of the old village that is now the Lich Yard.

NPC dialogue in the Village when playing as Shovel Knight strongly implies that the Lich Yard was the citizens' old village before it was overrun by Specter Knight's undead army prior to Shovel Knight's return. Given that the campaign will be from his point of view, it will show in detail how this happened. The village during its destruction will replace the Plains as the first stage, but will still feature Black Knight as the first boss, who will attack Specter Knight in order to buy time for the villagers to evacuate. Due to Black Knight's more clearly heroic intentions during this battle compared to his fights with Shovel Knight and Plague Knight, he will not utter an Evil Laugh before or during the battle.

• Kind of jossed and confirmed. It only happens in the ending of Specter of Torment.

Should Specter Knight fight and defeat the Enchantress's first phase...

She'll decide to resurrect a warrior even more fierce and powerful than Specter Knight.

• Confirmed. Well, sorta. The Enchantress transforms a Brainwashed and Crazy Reize into a monster (known as Nightmare Reize) to act as the final boss.

King Knight won't get a break, even in his own playable campaign.

...Although he will get some sort of positive recognition in response to his efforts.

• Mixed, He's shown actually gathering support from other kings and others to the point of being in position to nip the enchantress' plot in the bud, but it also shows why he's the least respected character in the other games: he threw it all away for a puppet king position under her.

King Knight will be fighting the other Order members to drum up positive word of mouth to make himself appear good as a King.

Only for him to enjoy being and eventually become a legitimate hero to the masses.

• Jossed; most fights seem very incidental on his quest for the Joustus crown save for Specter Knight, who is manipulating him to fit into the enchantress' scheme

King Knight's final armor.

As his default armor is already gold, his final "upgrade" will be a familiar shade of cerulean. The description? Something along the lines of "You'll never be as good as him, but at least you can look the part."

• I actually want this to be canon.
  • But it isn't.

King Knight's campaign title will follow the theme naming of those before it.

It will be called "King of Fools."

• Jossed. It's called "King of Cards".

Shovel Knight's overarching theme will be Love in its various forms.

Not an absolutely groundbreaking idea at this point, but it's beginning to show that it isn't just Shovel Knight who has a romantic bend on their campaign.

• Shovel Knight's story is about persistent love for someone thought lost. Even if he has nothing to go on, Shovel Knight still embarks on a quest to save his lost partner... He even seems to "feel" that she's still out there, somewhere. The conflict doesn't lie in the relationship itself, but in the fact that their love was strong enough to prevail, even after Shield Knight has been changed throughly. It's a story about how true love eventually breaks all barriers, curses, and obstacles, and as such is the most standard love story.
• Plague Knight's story is about the lengths you go to prove your love to someone who's dear to you, and fighting your own weakness to prepare yourself for love. Contrasting Shovel Knight's story, Plague Knight wants to be loved and feels like he has to prove that he's lovable, instead of proving an already existing love. In the end, of course, it is revealed that love isn't obtained; it exists on its own, and it is in fact yourself that keeps it from happening, exemplified in just how far Plague Knight is willing to go with the delusion that he needs to prove himself worthy of Mona, which he abandons when everything finally clears. It's a story about how love can be complicated by the people involved, in contrast to Shovel Knight's story, where Shovel Knight and Shield Knight's love is confirmed and uncomplicated from the very beginning. Even the name of the DLC could be a hint towards the theme — Plague Knight fumbles in the shadows, trying to grasp something he already has, but is too blind to see.
• Of what we know of Specter Knight's story, it might have something to do with messy love, break-ups, and love turned to harsh feelings. The Dancer in the Village seems to know who Spectre Knight is, and is very happy about his defeat, and in the epilogue of Plague of Shadows, Specter Knight is furious about losing the heart-shaped Phase Locket, which could be an indicator of Specter Knight having a falling-out with someone (perhaps the Dancer), and having bitter feelings about this. Regardless, he's still pissed about losing a memory about her, so obviously something's still going on. The name of the DLC, Spectre of Torment, could hint to the messy side of love, and how it can bring pain, anger, and other rough feelings when things doesn't go as planned. It presents a distinctly dramatic story to contrast with the two more optimistic stories before it.
  • Yes, it's about love, but it's kind of more familial/platonic than romance.
• At last, King Knight's story could break the mold by not being about love for another, but the love for oneself, and the admiration of one's peers. This could be a very comedic, yet heartwarming story about King Knight learning how to be at peace with himself and his lack of royalty, while becoming more accepted and even loved by the subjects he commands; even if he has to actually work to get there. This story would represent self-worth, issues with image, narcissism, and other, ego-centered versions of love.
  • Jossed, for the most part. It seems to mainly revolve around his love for himself, power, and the things they can give him. If anything, it's about how his greed and narcissism are his own downfall. In the end, he betrays everyone because he takes offense at King Pridemoor asking how King Knight's mother would feel about him joining the Order, and loses his cool because he's sick of the old man hitting on her.

Both future campaigns will feature at least one of the Wandering Travelers in a more prominent role.

Just as Baz was (albeit optionally) more prominent in Plague of Shadows, and Reize is shown in the Specter of Torment trailer.

• Confirmed: Phantom Striker and Reize Seatlan are both made major characters in Specter of Torment.

Specter Knight's story will not only be Darker and Edgier, we will see Specter Knight massacre the village that was the Lich Yard.

• Jossed, though the ending shows his army of undead charge the Lich Yard and begin to destroy the town while the villagers successfully evacuate thanks to Phantom Striker.

Phantom Striker will be a more major boss in Specter of Torment.

He is seen in the trailer as the boss of the Lich Yard, or at least, a place with a Lich Yard tileset.

• Confirmed. He is the village's protector, or at least, he decided to try fighting off the undead that overran the village. He is the boss of the Lich Yard. Sadly, he is also overwhelmed but manages to get most of the villagers out.

Specter Knight will go through the OoNQ stages in reverse.

It's a story about recruiting them; he'll start at the Tower of Fate and go backwards, culminating in the massacre of the town that would become the Lich yard.

• Jossed. You can go anywhere you like, Mega Man style.

King Knight will not have armors.

King Knight's fabulously regal style is much too iconic to change! Instead, King Knight will get different effects from different crowns, crafted by none other than the famous haberdasher, Mr. Hat! Baz got a bigger role in Plague of Shadows, and Rieze and Phantom Striker each seem to get their time in the spotlight of Specter of Torment, so there's only one Wandering Traveler left to make their mark on a member of the order. Alternatively...

• Jossed.

King Knight will have armors, and his version of the ornate plate will be the most redundant.

Both Shovel Knight and Plague Knight have had golden, sparkly armor, and Specter Knight likely will have one as well. Despite having gold from the beginning, King Knight will have the option to buy a golden armor as well. Its only effect will be to make his armor sparkle, which his original armor won't do because it'll be revealed to be made of fool's gold.

• Or he'll get an Awesome, but Impractical super-ultra-fancy armor that hinders him instead by decreasing his jump, speed, defense, and/or attack.

Specter of Torment will get an update that adds a Ruby Rose boss fight.

Specter Knight and Ruby are both scythe-wielding warriors that wear red hoods. Having the two of them fight and interact would just be amazing. The lead writer of RWBY is a big fan of Shovel Knight, and he's talked to Yacht Club Games before via Twitter, so it's possible they might get chummy enough to work together on something down the line. Plus, RWBY is really big in Japan, so a crossover like this could help Shovel Knight sell more copies there.

If this does happen and it goes well, they could have the other playable characters fight the rest of Team RWBY. King Knight would fight Weiss because they're both of a regal stature. Plague Knight would fight Blake because they are/were part of a group of mask-wearing criminal outcasts. Shovel Knight would fight Yang because they both lost something important to them, lived a life of solitude as a result, and eventually jumped back into action.

• Since King of Cards has been released and Specter of Torment has no further plans, most likely Jossed. It also wouldn't make a lot of sense to do a crossover for the Japanese audience for two properties that aren't Japanese; both Yacht Club Games and Rooster Teeth are American companies. While Japanese players account for less than 3% of sales and Yacht Club could definitely benefit from a boost in sales there, it would make much more sense to cross over with a popular Japanese series, such as Evangelion or Monster Hunter.

Donovan/Specter Knight was influenced by the amulet in the flashback.

The game shows Specter and his past self to be rational and a good friend to Luan, yet in that one flashback scene he lashes out at both Shield Knight and him, ultimately resulting in the death of all but Shield Knight. This colors his actions towards his friend's son, Reize, as an attempt to atone for killing his father, going so far as to look out for him over his own desires.

• This theory is made more apparent by the very fact Donovan unsheathes his sword at Luan and calls him a coward in the first place; they were there for Reize's sake, but Donovan talks as if it's treasure for them to take and acts like he's skimping out on a heist. He also apologizes to Luan when the tower collapses, seemingly having come to his senses.

In King Knight's campaign, the small piles of dirt that appear in the other campaigns will either be un-diggable or not there at all.

The other knights use bladed weapons or bombs, which could both reasonably be used for digging up dirt. However, King Knight uses a scepter, a weapon used for bludgeoning, which would be highly ineffective for digging purposes.

• Jossed; the spin after tackling something works to dig stuff up while not getting his clothes dirty.

We've also seen from Specter of Torment that King Knight is greatly opposed to the idea of digging. Why, the very idea makes his flawless face flush!

• This may be supported by the "Dig Your Vote" page's section on his powers; it says that the "Royal Decree" would allow him to spend treasure and cheat on the level. Wouldn't want the player to have easy access if this was the case.
• Jossed: The dirt mounds are present, and he digs them up with a spin jump á la Super Mario World. The spinning must keep his clothes clean.

Tinker Knight has become overly reliant on the Mobile Gear.

Look at this from a chronological perspective. When we first see him in Specter of Torment, he is riding a Mobile Gear with spikes and variable height attachment, and puts up a fairly strong first phase fight. Unfortunately, he loses, the Mobile Gear is damaged, and he has to resort to his tank for the second phase.

Then Plague Knight finds where the Mobile Gear is being stashed, possibly to be repaired later, and steals it. He trades it to Chester and Chester sells it to Shovel Knight, much like every other relic.

What are the results? Well, Tinker Knight is not used to running around without mechanical help, and this causes him to trip a lot. But more significantly, when he sees Shovel Knight use the Mobile Gear himself, he is too shocked to defend himself against it...

The series is actually about The Power of Love

Consider the strongest relationships in each of the three campaigns released as of yet:

• Shovel Knight and Shield Knight are lovers and Shield Knight's death was the reason for Shovel Knight's 10MinuteRetirement. This represents strong, binding love.
• Plague Knight's primary motivation is to woo Mona. This represents fledgling love.
• Spectre Knight is motivated by his strong bond with Luan, and his son Reize. This represents failed love, which leads to two interpretations: Donovan and Luan's relationship wasn't strictly platonic (whether one-sided or not, Donovan and Luan's relationship has some romantic undertones to it), or more likely, representing a strong platonic love between two friends.
• Based on this thinking, King Knight's campaign will likely be about overcoming his own pride, and developing a better sense of self-worth, or self-love.
  • Jossed, in that this doesn't happen. It does touch into the reverse and how even King Knight begins to realize the real cost of his grab for power: The friends he's made along the way, the approval of his mother. It's basically the downfall that pride and superficial self-love can bring.
• Ultimately, the base guess is confirmed. All four stories involve love of some form as their central theme.

The Kings in King of Cards will be themed after the suits.

After all, what's a card game without Playing Card Motifs?

• More specifically, King Knight — Hearts or Diamonds.
  • Hearts: Hearts Are Health, the King of Hearts card usually represents The Power of Love, which fits thematically into the game as a whole
  • Diamonds: King Knight is the Ace of Diamonds on the official fangamer cards, the card itself representing heavy ambition, and the King of Diamonds representing one born into power who needs to work to be a ruler, which correlates with King Knight's claim of being of royal blood but having to fight to be royalty in the first place.
• Does this mean that Shovel Knight has the Spade?
  • If he's a boss fight, anyway.
  • Jossed. There are only three Judges, only two of which are Kings. The third is the Enchantress. And you don't fight Shovel Knight; the game ends at the point where he barges into the throne room in King Knight's stage in Shovel of Hope. However, there are characters who can be said to represent the four suits: King Knight as Clubs, since he wields one himself; King Pridemoor as Hearts, since he starts hitting on King Knight's mother; Giga Cardia for Diamonds, since they're part of her design motif; and Black Knight for Spades, being the first House of Joustus champion you have to face (both for his Shovel Blade and Spades sometimes being given priority over the other suits, or "first among peers").

At the end of his campaign, King Knight will become the King!

...of Cards. After the end of Shovel Knight's story, it will be the one title he still holds.

If Shovel Knight ever gets a sequel

It'll be called Super Shovel Knight, the visuals will get upgraded from 8-bit to 16-bit, & Shield Knight will become a playable character.

• Jossed, it's called Shove Knight Dig. However, it DOES have a 16-bit aesthetic.

Shovel Knight 2 ideas

Discuss your ideas for a potential sequel here.

• The Remnant of Fate fight got me thinking: What if, instead of a one-time thing for the final boss, Shield Knight becomes an actual game mechanic? Like, a (computer controlled) companion that follows you around and helps you with platforming like in the boss fight (and/or Luan). And maybe she can help you in battle too (don't know how that should work yet). "Shovel Knight 2 & Shield Knight" sounds fun, right?

King Knight will be a prince by the end of his campaign

the king of pridemoor keep has no signs of a wife or heir, so king knights campaign will end with him proving his worth and being named heir, or more humorously, he will attempt to prove his worth only to not do anything worthy enough, but still become a prince because his mother ends up dating the king

• Partially confirmed, the king and his mother end up together but King Knight also proves himself unworthy of the throne, meaning he likely isn't considered the heir.

King Knight is the only one punished because his misdeeds are best known

Before the Order of No Quarter was a thing, most of the others did their own things, not really infringing upon lawful society, and their roles are less known) After Shovel Knight defeats the enchantress, they proceed to go back to their lives, if a bit more altruistically (Tinker Knight makes toys, Mole Knight takes other on digs). Plague Knight assuming his story is concurrent with Shovel Knight's, takes advantage of the good PR opportunity to get rewarded. King Knight in contrast was the public face of the Enchantress and is a known betrayer/usurper, so it's natural he gets some sort of punishment. As for Specter knight, How do you punish the dead?

The King is the reason for King Knights face-heel turn

Playing the game you can't miss that King Knight hates, how the King flirts with his mother. And what happens during the ending? Despite everyone is there for the final fight, none of them help. And King Knight didn't accept the Enchantress offer, but started to think about it. And then what happened? The he asked multiple times to leave his mother alone, asked him "What would your mother think?". His reaction was an immediate SILENCE! And the acceptance of the offer. In other words, had the King stopped flirting with Mom when King Knight was in the room, the Enchantress would have been defeated, and King Knight would have been a hero (and possibly a king, if King and Mom got together, and the King died of old age)

Specter Knight's Shovel of Hope Skillset relies on darkness to work

Notice how Specter fights vastly differently based on the length of his cloak. It could be that his abilities change when lengthening the cloak because he's mostly shrouded in the shadows of his clothing, thereby granting him unlimited levitation, precision scythe-tossing, the ability to darken the environment, etc. The comparison is especially pronounced in his rematch in King of Cards, where Specter's first phase uses a moveset based off of his playable appearance, while the second transitions into his original boss form.

Mole Knight will have some sort of role in Shovel Knight Dig

Dig, as far as we can tell, takes place entirely underground, with the villains being treasure-stealing excavators. Mole Knight would fit right in—while he likely wouldn't be a boss again, he may have some sort of cameo. (If you want to indulge in some wishful thinking, he might even be Promoted to Playable, allying with Shovel Knight to defeat the Hexcavators—maybe they stole from him as well, they captured and/or forcibly recruited him, or he just doesn't like them stealing his thunder.)

• Confirmed! It turns out Mole Knight not only serves as a boss battle with a new aquatic form, he was a member of the Hexcavators before the Order of No Quarter.

Mole Knight is a mole.

Self explanatory.