Amiibo

Amiibo (officially stylized as amiibo) is a brand of toys-to-life figurines, cards, and other products developed by Nintendo. Due to its runaway success, the Nintendo versions of the games of the Shovel Knight series have, among other things, the luxury to possess specific Shovel Knight-themed amiibo.

Like for all other amiibo, in order to be used with the original Nintendo 3DS model, the 3DS XL, or 2DS consoles, the Shovel Knight series amiibo requires a NFC Reader/Writer accessory. Said accessory is not required for the Wii U, New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 2DS XL, or the Nintendo Switch family of consoles, as they all have their built-in scanners.

Albeit not the first non-Nintendo character as an amiibo figure, the Shovel Knight amiibo was the first amiibo-branded product released by a third-party company under license from Nintendo, not to mention the first amiibo themed after an indie game character. It was later followed by a Plague Knight amiibo, a Specter Knight amiibo, a King Knight amiibo, and a special Gold Edition of the Shovel Knight amiibo.

Releases

Shovel Knight amiibo

The Shovel Knight amiibo was first announced August 27, 2015. It unlocks features in the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch versions of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, a boss fight in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, as well as a few miscellaneous features in other Nintendo amiibo compatible games, such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate unlocking its corresponding spirit in game.

Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight amiibo

Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight amiibo were released together in a 3-pack of all three amiibo on December 10, 2019. In Treasure Trove, each amiibo unlocks another Fairy Companion, unique costume sets for each character, additional challenge stages, and other bonuses, one of which is a Showdown costume.

Gold Shovel Knight amiibo

Gold Shovel Knight was released on December 10, 2019. This is a Shovel Knight amiibo with the Ornate Plate Armor. Despite the different aesthetics, the functions of the amiibo are the same as the normal Shovel Knight amiibo in most of the games of the series, only beginning to being considered as a different amiibo starting from Pocket Dungeon. Of note, is that the Gold Shovel Knight amiibo is not compatible with Super Smash Bros Ultimate, unlike its regular counterpart.

Features available in the Shovel Knight series

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and the standalone versions of the titles

For all the titles of the Treasure Trove compilation of games, the standard Shovel Knight amiibo and the Golden Edition, while differently named by the games themselves, are treated as the same amiibo in terms of functionality and unlockables.

Specific to the Shovel Knight amiibo/Gold Edition and exclusive to Shovel of Hope

• Custom Knight: The main feature of the Shovel Knight amiibo is Custom Knight. Custom Knight is a customizable version of Shovel Knight, that levels up by collecting Gold. Each level reached randomly unlocks more relics, charge attacks, abilities, or cosmetics like costumes such as the Baron Set, with some milestone levels increasing health and magic, until everything becomes available at level 50, the maximum level achievable. Custom Knight's data is saved inside the amiibo itself, unlike most other similar examples. Custom Knight can be accessed any time just by scanning the amiibo, and can just as easily exited. Similarly to the Cheat Codes, originally using Custom Knight rendered a save file unable to earn Feats, but instead of a teal pumpkin symbol, Custom Knight has his specific symbol, a red ribbon-like one, to signal its use (due to their past connection, this same icon also appears when activating Co-op Mode in a save file). As of version 4.00, it is now possible to earn Feats while using Custom Knight.
• Co-op Mode: Previously, Co-op was a feature exclusive to the Wii U version of Shovel Knight, and could only be accessed via the use of the Shovel Knight amiibo; however, on January 11th 2017, Yacht Club Games announced their intention to not only release Co-op Mode on all platforms, but also to remove the need for a Shovel Knight amiibo to activate it on the Wii U, eventually doing so on April 5th 2017. As this feature is now available on all platforms, the amiibo is no longer needed to access it.
  • Nevertheless, Co-op mode is compatible with Custom Knight, although, in order for both players to use a Custom Knight of their own, it requires the use of two different amiibo.

The series amiibo in general

• Extra Challenges: Scanning just once one of series amiibo at the Challenges screen permanently unlocks new challenges for Challenge Mode. The Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight amiibo each unlock 5 new regular challenges for their respective knights, while the 5 challenges of the Shovel Knight/Gold Edition amiibo are instead centered around Custom Knight's abilities. Furthermore, scanning the Shovel Knight/Gold Edition amiibo specifically in the Wii U or Nintendo Switch versions also unlocks 5 additional Co-op centered challenges, which were never added to other non-Nintendo versions despite Co-op releasing on said platforms.
• Madam Meeber's fairies and costumes: On March 1st 2017, Yacht Club games introduced Madam Meeber, a fairy godmother-themed character, who appears in the Nintendo versions of each campaign to offer to scan one of Shovel Knight series amiibo in order to summon a Fairy companion. Just scanning each amiibo once is enough to forever enable the summoning of the respective fairy in a given playthrough. The fairies summoned through each amiibo are available in all campaigns, though some of the environmental interactions of each fairy may be exclusive to a specific campaign. The fairies are purely cosmetic and don't affect the gameplay whatsoever. Additionally, each time the corresponding fairy is summoned in Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, or King of Cards, Madam Meeber will offer to the protagonist knight the option to don a special cosmetic costume, the Boomtech Set for Plague Knight, the Lich Lord Set for Specter Knight, and the Ultimate Supreme Set for King Knight. She will not present this offer in Shovel of Hope, making cosmetic costumes only available for Shovel Knight through Custom Knight. Anyway, no matter the platform, Madam Meeber would later make a cameo appearance in King of Cards campaign, in the elusive Fairy Glade.
• Shovel Knight Showdown costume: Scanning one of the Shovel Knight series amiibo in Showdown will permanently unlock a costume for the respective character to wear, specifically the Baron Set costume for Shovel Knight, the Boomtech Set for Plague Knight, the Lich Lord Set for Specter Knight, and the Ultimate Supreme Set for King Knight. The amiibo scanning feature is accessed in the Showdown title screen with the "-" button, but once all compatible amiibo have been scanned at least once, the option will disappear forever.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon

• In the Nintendo Switch Version of Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, scanning one of the Shovel Knight series amiibo allows to summon a cosmetic familiar fairy friend just like in Treasure Trove, with each amiibo summoning the fairy they represent. This time the functionality is not executed through Madam Meeber however, instead it can be accessed from the options menu at the title screen, resulting in the selected amiibo needing to be scanned each time a Fairy companion is to be summoned. While the fairy companions summoned are the same from Treasure Trove, they go unnamed in this title. Furthermore, unlike with the compatible games of the Treasure Trove compilation, for the first time within the series the Gold Edition amiibo functionality is not identical to the normal Shovel Knight amiibo, as it will summon a different, golden fairy version of Shovel Knight instead of the standard blue one.

Shovel Knight Dig

• Added in the Nintendo Switch Version on June 26, 2023 alongside the Fate and Fortune expansion, Madam Meeber once again appear offering her services. She can Scan one of the compatible amiibo, then Summon their corresponding Fairy companion, the same from both Treasure Trove and Pocket Dungeon, whenever wanted, or Dismiss said companion when unwanted. Once again, the Gold Edition amiibo functionality is not identical to the normal Shovel Knight amiibo, as it will summon a golden fairy instead of the standard blue one, now named for the first time the Gilded Fairy of Shovelry. When summoning, a complete list of the possible Fairy Companions will appear, with a series of "?" hiding the name of any fairy whose compatible amiibo has yet to be scanned, as well as a description indicating which amiibo is required to scan to unlock said fairies; however, to see this list, first at least one Fairy Companion must be made available, otherwise Madam Meeber will protest. Unlike Treasure Trove and Pocket Dungeon, in Dig leaving the save file does not de-summon the chosen Fairy companion, which will remain until dismissed or exchanged for another one.

Special features available in compatible titles

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2

Scanning the Shovel Knight amiibo or its Gold Edition in the Nintendo 3DS version of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 immediately activates a boss battle against Shovel Knight himself. This was added due to Yacht Club Games publishing Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack (a physical bundle of both Gunvolt games) in North America.

Upon victory with a specific character, a special piece of equipment will become available for purchase in their shops during their story modes. For Gunvolt is the Shovel Ring, while Copen can equip the Code of Shovelry, each with different abilities and perks.

Cyber Shadow

Scanning any of the Shovel Knight series amiibo in the Nintendo Switch version of Cyber Shadow will summon a cosmetic small robotic companion version of each corresponding amiibo's knight (the Gold Edition amiibo counts as a regular Shovel Knight amiibo). Additionally, the color palette of the protagonist, the ninja Shadow, will change to reflect the respective robotic fairy if he stands still for a few moments, donning the colors of Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight, or King Knight.

While these features can be directly used by just scanning the amiibo, they can also be accessed by speaking to the hidden "Mecha fairy", a mechanical counterpart of Madam Meeber.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Scanning any of the Shovel Knight series amiibo (with the exception of the Gold Edition) in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate unlocks its corresponding Spirit.

Gallery

Shovel Knight amiibo figurine.

Plague Knight amiibo figurine.

Specter Knight amiibo figurine.

King Knight amiibo figurine.

Custom Knight's main editing screen.

Relic select screen.

Artwork of Shovel Knight's Baron Set.

Artwork of Plague Knight's Boomtech Set.

Artwork of Specter Knight's Lich Lord Set.

Artwork of King Knight's Ultimate Supreme Set.

Trivia

• The original Shovel Knight amiibo can be scanned in its packaging, unlike most Nintendo amiibo. This is because the protective foil sticker covering the bottom of the figurine was removed during production in response to requests by fans. Nintendo's packaging requirements were however changed by the time the 3-pack and Gold Edition amiibo were released, and Yacht Club Games had to keep the blockers on these figurines.
• So far, Dig was the only game of the series which Nintendo version lacked the amiibo functionality at launch. It was however planned for, with incomplete data being present in Dig's code, and was eventually completed alongside the game's first expansion,