| “ | The Great Baz Knight ! Like the sound of that !
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Baz (or The Baz as he calls himself) is one of the Wandering Travelers in the world of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and the Paradox Pack DLC of Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. Baz was created by Matt and Woolie of the Best Friends Zaibatsu as Directors for a Day.[1]
Official Bio[]
| “ | The storm is coming... With a fearsome rope whip and the toughest-looking armor around, one might think that the traveling warrior Baz would be a shoe-in to join up with the Order of No Quarter. Imagine his surprise when he was rejected! He now roams the land, taking out his anger on passersby. Could he ever prove himself strong enough to earn the title of "Baz Knight"? | ” |
Personality[]
Baz is a man with a mission: to prove himself strong and be recognized by his strength. His iron will is second to none; his dream is to join the The Order, even though he has no clear reason to do so other than status. He is quite loud and often obnoxious, being a bit clueless. Despite trying his hardest to look cool, Baz gets emotional over the slightest things. He breaks down and bawls like a baby after his defeat in Shovel of Hope, while in Specter of Torment he leaves the tower in a fit of rage after being rejected by his idols, the Order of No Quarter.
Relationships[]
Mr. Hat[]
| “ | Haw! You think the Baz is gonna work in some stinky ol' hat store? You're outta your mind! I don't wear aprons or sweep floors, 'specially for the man. I punch faces, not clocks. And, just sayin, I'm pretty sure after I'm done with you, you won't even remember my debt!
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After Mr. Hat's Fancy Shop falls in the Armor Outpost, Baz manages to steal his armor from the establishment and get away with it, until both are trapped in the Mirror of Fate and fight. In the end, Baz pays by cleaning the shop's floor so Baz's debt is settled.
Reize[]
| “ | Well, if you believe in me.. I guess I could use a hand after all. You know what.. You're tagged in, partner! | ” |
Reize first meets Baz during Shovel Knight Showdown, where he is Baz's student for training and learning battle techniques. At the end, Baz says that they need to fight each other to be able to escape and that he already taught him everything. After that, they meet again in Shovel of Hope at the Mysterious Area, where Reize once again asks to be his student. During the ending of said game, they are also together alongside other Wandering Travelers fighting Liquid Samurai.
Story[]
Shovel of Hope[]
When Shovel Knight encounters Baz in Shovel of Hope, inside the ruined remains of a building, he is still fuming from being rejected by the Order of No Quarter. He expresses the belief that if he defeats Shovel Knight he will obtain the title of Knight himself, and thus he can join the Order. After being defeated he breaks down crying that he will never be able to join the Order. Shovel Knight, can potentially decide to hit him again with the Shovel Blade, which will grant him 
40 extra, while also make Baz cry even harder.
In the PC and Xbox One version, Baz also appears in the Mysterious Area after the exclusive Battletoads fight. He expresses an admiration of the Battletoads and their look, and wish to be taught by them. Reize however believes Baz is already the greatest and asks him to be his teacher. Baz will also occasionally join the Battletoads and Shovel Knight to strike cool poses.
During the credits, Baz is seen with the other Wandering Travelers fighting off a group of Liquid Samurai.
Plague of Shadows[]
In Plague of Shadows, deciding to forget about the Order who snubbed him Baz, still in the same place where he was bested by Shovel Knight, decided to fight the passing Plague Knight, to instead prove his intellect,under the faulty notion that, if you defeat a scientist you yourself become one.
After his defeat, Baz can be hired by Plague Knight to work in his underground lair. If hired, he will dress as a Plague Minion, and from then on he can be seen inside the lair, where he will give off some humorous dialogue whenever spoken to, recounting his attempts to improve his rather lacking intellect, as well as warning his new boss about the strength of Shovel Knight. Baz proves his use if Plague Knight talks to him in the Potionarium; Baz will give him the maximum Tonics for free, claiming he snatched some from the Magicist while she wasn't looking. He will give Plague Knight free Health Tonics the first time he's spoken to at the Potionarium, and he restocks whenever Plague Knight defeats a new boss for the first time.
Just like in Shovel of Hope, during the credits, Baz is seen with the other Wandering Travelers fighting off a swarm of Liquid Samurai, this time however aided by Shovel Knight, and with Baz showing off his new Plague Minion attire.
Specter of Torment[]
When Specter Knight is about to leave the Tower of Fate on his eighth of nine recruitment missions in Specter of Torment, Baz will crash in through the left window of the mirror chamber. He asks if he's late to the knight meeting and expresses that he wants the power of lightning. However, both Specter Knight and Dark Reize, completely unimpressed by his hollow showing off, are quick to dismiss the unwelcome visitor. Shot down immediately, Baz was deeply hurt by the two's complete disinterest before leaping away. Specter Knight then makes a humorous remark about the Tower of Fate needing bars on its windows, nodding the fact that Reize himself had crashed through the right window previously.
King of Cards[]
Baz appears after King Knight leaves the Glidewing for the first time. When approached, he is at first annoyed by King Knight's interruption of his private training, but as soon as King Knight mentions Joustus Crown contest, he becomes interested. But he incorrectly assumes that defeating a person means taking their title and before King Knight can properly explain, he is attacked. In the ensuing fight, Baz private gym ends up in ruins (the same look seen in both Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows), with the struggle ending with King Knight beating him and leaving. Baz is later seen in the Glidewing, sitting at the table. After learning that King Knight plays Joustus, he is excited to play with him. Finally, he is seen during the ending, specifically in the Armor Outpost. After Mr. Hat's Fancy Shop is dragged/dropped into the outpost, he and few others go inside and look at the merchandise. Baz in particular is seen taking acute interest in an edgy-looking set of armor (what he would later be seen wearing as his signature outfit in all of his other appearances).
Showdown[]
In Shovel Knight Showdown, Baz is one of the numerous unfortunate souls who were kidnapped by the haywire Mirror of Fate.
Confused about what just happened, Baz nonetheless decided to venture forward, encountering on his way, Mr. Hat. At first, he was impressed by his helmet and politely asked the salesman if he knew of an exit from the illusory world, but then things turned sour quickly as Mr. Hat recognizes him from the armor he is wearing, as Baz took it from his shop without paying. Baz was hoping to pay it once he had been accepted in the Order of No Quarter (he wrongly assumed that there would have been a monetary signing bonus), plans that of course fell apart when he was rejected; this results into a scuffle between the burly man and Mr. Hat. Later they encounter each other again, with Mr. Hat offering mercy and a job for Baz if he repays his debt to him, but Baz refuses, since he feels that the job is beneath him, and besides he is unwilling to work for "the man", and attacks. After the Mirror is destroyed and everyone is freed from it, Baz is seen inside Mr. Hat's shop, having finally accepted Mr. Hat's offer and having been put on sweeping the floor duty, eventually repaying his debt with the merchant; now a free agent again, and his longing to be a part of something renewed, Baz departs, hoping to find someone who is need for him.
While he was still trapped inside the Mirror, Baz also encountered the uncorrupted side of Reize, which had been split from his corrupted self. Reize was totally impressed by Baz's cool appearance and persona, and despite Baz' attempts to shoo away the young man, on account of his damaged ego, Reize instead insisted for Baz to teach him his ways, eventually convincing him. They teamed up afterwards but get separated shortly after. When they encountered each other again Baz, having learned on how to escape the Mirror, sadly informed Reize that they had to fight one another. While both saddened by the fact, Baz encourages the kid that there wasn't much more he could teach him anyway, and that Reize was already prepared to face the big bad world; with this Reize reluctantly agreed and they battled.
Joustus Deck[]
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| Baz | Propeller Rat | Blitzsteed | Blitzsteed |
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| Blitzsteed | Blorb | Dozedrake | Invisishade |
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| Zamby | Fleeto | Divedrake | Boneclang |
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| Wizzem | Super Skeleton | Griffoth | Goldarmor |
Dialogue[]
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Trivia[]
- Baz's sprite model is named "Zubaz".
- Baz is based off of "Zubaz", a character originally created for Street Fighter II who was scrapped during development. His design was spotlighted in the internet show Fighterpedia, a webseries created by Matt Kowalewski and Woolie Madden of Two Best Friends Play, and would go on to become a sort of unofficial mascot for the group. Baz has also made appearances in several other indie games backed by the Best Friends, such as Divekick and Indivisible, where he uses many of the same fighting techniques as in Shovel Knight.
- In Plague of Shadows, if you recruit Baz, you can see him still wearing the Plague Minion's outfit in the credits, but it was later changed at some point for unknown reasons or a bug that he would always wear the suit even if you didn't recruit him.
- The developers had concept art for a Body Swap version for Baz, although only the main cast of Shovel of Hope had Body Swap added to the campaign.
- In Showdown, Baz is the only unlockable character who does not get unlocked by defeating him in the story mode.
Gallery[]
See: Baz/Gallery
References[]
- ↑ Update: Almost there! and Director for a Day reveals! on the Kickstarter pages of Shovel Knight