| “ | Formless and infinite are we, her legion of guards. Liquid Samurai. | ” |
— Liquid Samurai, Shovel Knight: King of Cards | ||
The Liquid Samurai are members of an entire species of minor enemies in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, encountered only in the Tower of Fate. With several variants among their ranks, they form a formidable force that is unconditionally loyal to the evil Enchantress, having possibly been directly created by the witch's terrible magic.
Official Bio[]
| “ | From the shadows of the Enchantress’ lair, the Liquid Samurai takes form. Beginning as inert blobs of liquid, these fierce combatants leap around the room, transforming and slashing in a whirlwind of confusion. Combining agility with maneuverability, the liquid samurai is skilled in both ranged and melee weapons. Take heed! | ” |
Biology and Culture[]
Liquid Samurai owe their name to both their unique amorphous nature, making them capable to retreat to a blob form and stick to a nearby ceiling, as well as their rigid military training similar to Bushido. They use both of these abilities very effectively, shaping back as samurais when their foe gets too close and engage in combat after having taken the adversary by surprise with their liquid form.
Liquid Samurai are expert and highly coordinated warriors, making them extremely dangerous when they fight as a group. According to the Liquid Samurai that was trapped by the Mirror of Fate in Shovel Knight Showdown, the Liquid Samurais in general do not only have the ability to quickly replenish their numbers, possibly thanks to some form of mitosis, but they also share a hive mind among themselves, being able to relay information with one another without the need to physically meet each other. That being said, should one of them be separated from the rest of the horde thanks to magical means, like being trapped in the Mirror of Fate, then the isolated samurai would be also cut off from the hive mind, needing to first return to an acceptable range before being able to once again communicate with the others.
Their seemingly sole purpose in life, is to serve The Enchantress, not dissimilar to how drone ants serve an ant queen, so much so that individual members give little value to their own life, feeling that each one can easily be replaced. While guarding and serving their queen still remains their utmost prerogative, some Liquid Samurai have been shown to enjoy the occasional game of Joustus.
Due to the fact that the Liquid Samurais still thrive even after The Enchantress's defeat, as seen in both the Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows endings, it is currently unknown how their society is coping with the drastic loss of their queen.
Variants[]
There are 3 known types of Liquid Samurais:
- Red Liquid Samurai Swordsmen, who wield liquid yet keenly sharp katanas.
- Green Liquid Samurai Archers, who use longbows to shoot dangerous bolts in uncanny quick shots.
- Blue Liquid Samurai Reavers, who wield a pair of sharp claw gauntlets and erratic movements.
In Shovel Knight Showdown, a singular Liquid Samurai, uniquely blessed with all of the three variants' abilities, appears as one of the playable characters. After having discovered the traitorous intentions of Plague Knight, this Samurai was eventually captured by the alchemist and his close partner, Mona, who then used the Liquid Samurai as a test subject. By studying a Liquid Samurai's inherent liquid nature and dark magic aura, the two alchemists learned incredible discoveries about the Essences, which they would later attempt to put into practice by staging a coup. Nevertheless, even just by simply being able to exit the Mirror of Fate, the Liquid Samurai was successful in alerting the rest of its brethren, thusly relaying the news of the untrustworthiness of Plague Knight to their queen.
Dialogue[]
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Trivia[]
- The Liquid Samurai were designed by Max VanDuyne as a Director for a Day.
- All three variants share the same sprite sheet, although each has a designated color palette.
- The original artwork for the Blue Liquid Samurai depicts it holding a three-sectioned staff, but only the sword and bow switch sprites can be found on the Liquid Samurai's sprite sheet. This weapon-switching animation was then reused for the playable Liquid Samurai in Shovel Knight Showdown.
- The Blue Liquid Samurai was removed during the development of the original campaign as they slowed the player's pace through the Tower of Fate stages. Unlike Goldarmors, the developers wanted the Samurais to be fought more quickly and appear more frequently.[3]