| “ | As the embodiment of opulence, I demand tribute! | ” |
— King Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows | ||
King Knight is one of eight Knights of the Order of No Quarter who serves The Enchantress. He rules over Pridemoor Keep. Similarly to the other playable campaigns for Plague Knight and Specter Knight, as of December 10, 2019, King Knight has a "playable boss campaign"[1] added in King of Cards.
Official Bio[]
| “ | King Knight isn’t a king, he is a king-themed knight. But that doesn’t stop him from making decrees! As the lord defender of Pridemoor Keep, he commands a formidable army of minions. Experienced with repelling invaders who dare try topple his malevolent monarchy, King Knight is a master of single combat. And because he’s dressed to the nines at almost all times, he’s always ready for a brutal coronation! | ” |
- Pros: Commanding presence, charismatic, snappy dresser
- Cons: Not actually a king
Dig the Vote[]
Tone[]
| “ | King Knight is an overconfident coward that relies on trickery and minions to do his dirty work. As such, his campaign will be full of self aggrandizing and humor! | ” |
Play Style Ideas[]
- Build meter with a Kingly Strut, and spend meter for special moves
- Cutting dash attack can propel King Knight across large gaps.
- Cape Flip Reflect – Projectiles are not a problem!
- Royal Decree – Spend money to issue royal decrees and cheat on the level.
Poll Results[]
King Knight became one of the winners of the Dig the Vote selection, taking 3rd place with an average score of 6.02 (compared to Plague Knight's 6.49 score, who took 2nd place, and Specter Knight's 6.51 score, which earned him 1st place).[2] The proposed story tone was preserved when it came time to develop his campaign, while on the gameplay side, most of the proposed ideas were actually implemented in some form, after being reworked and rebalanced, with the Kingly Strut being replaced by the Shoulder Bash.
Appearance[]
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Personality[]
King Knight embodies numerous negative attributes, including, but not limited to, selfishness, greed, narcissism, dishonesty, arrogance, immaturity, and rudeness. He typically speaks his mind bluntly and directly. Reflecting his impatience and brashness, he charges through various situations with the brute force of his iconic Shoulder Bash. Other than his mom, he views all others as lowly in comparison to himself, often belittling them.
Despite his unfavorable qualities, others gather around him during King of Cards due his charismatic nature and strong capabilities as contender for the Joustus Crown. He values opulence and is obsessed with maintaining kinglihood, giving little to no regard to those he uses as tools to achieve his desires.
He has a soft spot for dogs, as stated during his conversation with Polar Knight in King of Cards, and as implied when speaking to the Spinwulves after defeating them at Joustus.
Relationships[]
Mom[]
| “ | Mother! Did you see me do it? I trounced them! Aren't you proud of me? Mother?!
|
” |
— King Knight, Shovel Knight Showdown | ||
King Knight's mom is very caring and spoiling to King Knight. She constantly treats her son like a child, calling him her "pumpkin-pauldron prince" and so on. Although he acts like he dislikes the attention, deep down he seeks her approval, which he loses at the end of King of Cards in exchange of the Pridemoor Keep's throne.
King Pridemoor[]
| “ | I'm King Knight! After I've won the Joustus Crown, you'll be visiting my castle instead.
|
” |
— King Knight, Shovel Knight: King of Cards | ||
When King Knight first meets the 1st Joustus Judge, King Pridemoor, the latter is cordial and welcoming to his less regal companion, sharing his royal wisdom and his knowledge on the second, as well as offering armor on the Glidewing. However, when King Knight discovers his mother is in love with Pridemoor, his attitude towards him quickly changes to a hatred rivaling his desire for the Joustus Crown.
Specter Knight[]
| “ | Ah, it's that deathly-pale card courier from the Plains. Fetch me a drink, or clear my path! | ” |
— King Knight, Shovel Knight: King of Cards | ||
Specter Knight has a hatred towards King Knight due to him being a "fool" and "a child, in the guise of a monarch". Every dialogue exchange between them has King Knight taunting on Specter Knight, calling him names such as "loyal lapdog" or "mangy beggar", showing their rivalry and antipathy for each other.
Story[]
King of Cards[]
- See: King of Cards#Plot
Specter of Torment[]
Specter Knight comes looking for King Knight, who is already part of the Order of No Quarter, to get him back on schedule. King Knight declares he is not a fan of work, but that doesn't mean he is afraid to get his hands dirty, before battling Specter Knight. After the monarch's defeat at the hands of Specter Knight, he gathers together with the newly-recruited members of the Order of No Quarter to bow before The Enchantress. He uses some of The Enchantress's forces to make improvements to the castle.
Showdown[]
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Shovel of Hope[]
Shovel Knight comes into King Knight's throne room and defeats him in combat. King Knight is defeated a second time at the Tower of Fate's banquet, along with the other knights of the Order. With the defeat of The Enchantress, King Pridemoor returns to reside on the throne while King Knight is forced to clean the floors.
Plague of Shadows[]
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Pocket Dungeon[]
At some point during the events of Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows, King Knight ended up, alongside his fellow Order of No Quarter members and many others, being trapped inside the Pocket Dungeon, a legendary magical puzzle box which nobody had ever solved before. His presence inside the puzzle box shaped its landscapes, adding a carbon copy of Pridemoor Keep to the dungeon.
Eventually, King Knight meets the other prisoners, and after a brief fight, joins them in their united efforts to escape the trap box. They eventually succeed in doing so after visiting all four of the Shrines and defeating the true mastermind behind the whole kidnapping scheme, which turns out to be The Enchantress herself, up to another of her plans for total domination of the Valley.
Upon escaping, a brief truce is established between all prisoners, and the group celebrates their freedom, with King Knight being seen ending up penniless due to Glitzem. He later enjoys a drink with Propeller Knight.
Strategy[]
Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows[]
As one of the first members of The Order the player can face, King Knight is a fairly simple boss. He moves slowly and in a flashy prideful manner befitting of his personality. His main method of attack is to hop around the stage before executing a paralyzing stomp (if the player is on the ground, they will be stunned for a short time). Should the player fall prey to his attack, King Knight will slowly walk over to them and then strike with his scepter.
King Knight also uses a slashing charge which makes him quickly move in a straight line through the screen. After depleting approximately half his health, he will move into a corner and two horns will launch confetti into the air. While this is a good time to deal damage to him, the confetti will inflict damage to the player as it falls slowly to the ground.
Specter of Torment[]
King Knight's stomp will change the floor levels so that the ground is no longer flat with some of the flooring being replaced with pits. He may also move in the air with help of Propeller Rats, leaving him briefly vulnerable, but also moving away from Specter Knight's reach.
His confetti is replaced with playing cards that can be Dash Slashed, each moving in a direction indicated by a corresponding arrow beside each card. He usually uses the Propeller Rats when the player knocks him into a pit he created, but he will also drop cards below him at both sides while hanging onto the rats.
Abilities[]
King of Cards[]
Similarly to Plague Knight in Plague of Shadows and Specter Knight in Specter of Torment, King Knight receives a new sprite set in King of Cards that makes him slightly smaller (almost the same size of Shovel Knight) and with unique animations for walking, jumping, climbing, among others.
King Knight can attack by dashing toward enemies with a move called the Shoulder Bash, which he can execute also while airborne. Hitting an enemy, a rough wall, or any object this way will send him into a twirl in which he can bounce off enemies and destroy Dirt Blocks like the Shovel Drop. Should he bounce off enemies or other objects, he can use his Shoulder Bash again, allowing the player to infinitely keep King Knight airborne as long he can continuing to bounce off obstacles; most of King of Cards platform sections revolve around this mechanic.
His life meter is in the form of red hearts. He can also pick up hearts when damaging enemies, which recover health. He uses his own form of Relics, called Heirlooms. King Knight's magic, called Vigor, is numerical as opposed to a meter. He can also find and later buy special items called Decrees, which temporarily summons special minions to aid King Knight.
Much like the other playable characters, King Knight can also buy different armors that improves his abilities, as well purchase upgrades for his Shoulder Bash.
Pocket Dungeon[]
King Knight's main ability is once again his Shoulder Bash, which he can use to deal extra damage, with extra recoil damage for himself, or as a makeshift dash. His Refract Ability, Joustus Judge allows him to instead collect Joustus cards from defeated chains, major enemies, and bosses. When used, these cards deal damage or have other effects, depending on what they depict.
Dialogue[]
Treasure Trove[]
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Spin-offs[]
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Stage Introduction Splashes[]
- Ready?
- Let's Get Royal
- A Battle Royale
- Reign of Decadence
- Gold and Glory
- For Royalty
- Make Way
- Shine Your Crown
- Do Your Best
- Hear Ye, Hear Ye
Trivia[]
- Like the other Dig the Vote winners, he has a Steam emoticon.
- In Shovel of Hope, after the player defeats The Order of No Quarter again in the Tower of Fate and rescues them, if the player has Ornate Plate equipped, King Knight will mention how Shovel Knight has "picked up" his style if spoken to.
- In Body Swap Mode, if King Knight's gender is changed to female, their name will be change to "Queen Knight". If changed to gender neutral, their name will change to "Monarch Knight".
- King Knight's crown is not made of real gold, as discovered by Plague Knight after defeating him in Plague of Shadows. This is likely a reference to the story of Archimedes, a scientist who was tasked with determining whether or not the King's crown was made entirely of gold, or if the King had been tricked. Archimedes determines at the end of the story that the crown was mostly not made from gold.
- King Knight's punishment after the defeat of The Enchantress in the first two campaigns is a reference to the ending cutscene of the infamous CD-i game Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. In that game, felon Duke Onkled betrayed his cousin, King Harkinian, for power and is forced to "scrub all the floors in Hyrule" as punishment.
- King Knight is the only playable character without a secret Armor or costume obtainable normally in-game. However, on a New Game Plus file, if King Knight collects the maximum amount of Gold (99,999), his equipped armor visually changes to a brightened, shiny gold skin while still maintaining the equipped armor's abilities. Losing any gold will take this effect away.
Nomenclature[]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | King Knight | - |
| French | King Knight | - |
| Italian | King Knight | - |
| German | King Knight | - |
| Spanish | King Knight | - |
| Japanese | キングナイト kingu naito |
King Knight |
| Russian | Король-рыцарь Korol'-rytsar' |
King knight |
| Brazilian-Portuguese | King Knight | - |
| Korean | 제왕 기사 jewang gisa |
King Knight |
| Simplified Chinese | 国王骑士 guówáng qíshì |
King Knight |
| Traditional Chinese | 國王騎士 guówáng qíshì |
King Knight |
Gallery[]
See: King Knight/Gallery