| “ | You knew I was still there, even though it seemed hopeless. You never gave up on me! | ” |
Shield Knight is one of the main characters of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and one of many Knights that inhabit its world. She is Shovel Knight's partner and love interest.
Official Bio
| “ | Often, the best offense is a good defense, and Shield Knight knows it. Wielding a pair of Asymmetrical Shields, she deflects both melee and projectile attacks easily before getting into range and crushing her foes! For years, Shield Knight and Shovel Knight were inseparable partners in adventuring; with their expert use of unconventional weapons, they worked as one. Now, Shield Knight’s fate is unknown, but Shovel Knight’s goal is clear: he must journey to find Shield Knight, his lost beloved. | ” |
- Pros: Confident, Powerful, and Tenacious
- Cons: Occasional Recklessness
History
Shield Knight was a noble and daring wandering knight, travelling across the Valley together with her partner and lover Shovel Knight. They were also close friends with the brash but well intended Black Knight, who began to hold strong feelings towards Shield Knight.
Eventually Shield Knight and Shovel Knight heard the tales of the dark powers of the cursed amulet held in the Tower of Fate, and decided to destroy it for good. But concurrently another group, composed of the rogues Luan and Donovan, sought to claim the artifact for themselves, in hopes to protect Luan’s son from his own recklessness.
The two groups reached the amulet resting chamber at the same time, with Luan and Donovan meeting face to face with Shield Knight, who had apparently run ahead of her companion. Shield Knight tried to dissuade the two men from their purposes, but Donovan, full of mistrust and contempt towards knights (and perhaps partially brainwashed by the amulet's dark influence), refused to heed her warnings, engaging in a vicious clash with her. The skirmish compromised the stability of the room, resulting in the floor caving in and plummeting both Luan and Donovan to their deaths into the dark abyss below. Due to this, Donovan began harboring a deep grudge against her, blaming her for his misfortunes.
Left alone in the room with the cursed amulet, Shield Knight, possibly weakened by her fight with Donovan, was overwhelmed by its powers. Her personality became twisted and warped by the evil magic, transforming her into a dark witch known as The Enchantress. This metamorphosis apparently also caused Shovel Knight to pass out and, while unconscious, be somehow expelled from the Tower, whether by the amulet, an unknown third party, or The Enchantress herself.
Shield Knight, conscious inside the witch but powerless to stop her, was held hostage within her own body while the dark witch began her plans of conquest. Withdrawn in the innermost parts of the Tower, she was biding her time in wait of the completion of her armies.
Meanwhile, Shovel Knight, once he recovered his senses, tried to re-enter the Tower, but found the way sealed and completely impenetrable. Assuming the worst for his beloved companion, Shovel Knight was stricken with overwhelming grief and decided to retire to a life of solitude. This exacerbated his rivalry with Black Knight, who saw him as a coward who was unable to protect Shield Knight.
Specter of Torment
Eventually, Black Knight began searching for Shield Knight, which led him inside the Tower of Fate. There, he met the Enchantress, instantly recognizing Shield Knight behind her new appearance. Unfortunately, the reveal of her true identity pushed Donovan, now transformed by The Enchantress into the grim Specter Knight, into an unstoppable rage. As such, he swore vengeance in retaliation to the abuse he suffered under her hand.
Black Knight tried to reason with him out of concern for both his old friend and Shield Knight, but Specter Knight defeated him, continuing his voyage across the innermost parts of the Tower. He directly confronted the Enchantress, but it only lead to ruinous consequences for the undead warrior.
Black Knight, intimidated by her overwhelming powers, resolved to protect The Enchantress from afar, while hoping that Shield Knight would being able to remove the darkness binding her soul.
Shovel of Hope
Following her conquest of the Valley, The Enchantress started whispers among the people that the Tower of Fate had unsealed itself. This sparked hope in Shovel Knight to discover what happened to Shield Knight. He met obstruction from both the Enchantress’s Order of No Quarter and Black Knight, who blamed the burrower for failing to save Shield Knight. He was also fighting against his own feelings of guilt, every night dreaming of trying of save Shield Knight but being unable to properly reach her.
Shovel Knight eventually guessed the truth behind the identity of the Enchantress, but even after the witch tried to exploit her shared existence with Shield Knight, Shovel Knight remained stalwart in his goals and fought the Enchantress, weakening her just enough for Shield Knight to break free from her snare.
Shovel Knight and Shield Knight shared a tender reunion. But unfortunately it was cut short, because despite the end of the Enchantress as an individual, her raw strength and magic recombined, condensing themselves in the monstrous Remnant of Fate, an abomination moved only by a desire of total destruction.
Thanks to the efforts of Shovel Knight, Shield Knight, and the crumbling of the Tower initiated by Plague Knight sacrificing the Ultimate Potion, the Remnant of Fate was stopped, but with its remaining strength it injured Shovel Knight, forcing Shield Knight to stay behind to block this last powerful attack while Black Knight took him to safety.
Glad to have the opportunity to see her two friends one last time, Shield Knight was prepared to perish under the rubble of the Tower or be torn apart by the Remnant‘s magic. But against all odds, she survived. Injured but alive, a limping Shield Knight rejoined with an unconscious Shovel Knight, and not wanting to interrupt his sleep, leaned beside him, falling peacefully asleep.
Strategy
In battle, Shield Knight will run back and forth across the arena, using her large shield to block any frontal attacks as she rushes forward. She's capable of throwing her shield, which will return back to her shortly after it's thrown, but it leaves her wide open while the shield is away from her. Also, Shield Knight will perform a shield bash in which she charges forward shield first, and if she rams into either of the walls, it will cause a row of blocks from the ceiling to fall, possibly dealing damage if Donovan fails to avoid it. During the shield bash she also become immune to the Caltrops. Eventually, as her health reaches a low point, Shield Knight will also throw her smaller shield, which will bounce around the arena in a random pattern.
Dialogue
Shovel of Hope
After defeating the Enchantress:
Should Shovel Knight fail to catch Shield Knight in his arms after The Enchantress defeat, her first line of dialogue will change from "... you caught me" to "... you came for me".
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After defeating the Remnant of Fate:
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Shovel Knight is wounded:
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Specter of Torment
Before her fight:
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After the fight:
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Sprites
Gallery
Trivia
- In her original concept, Shield Knight was a princess-like character simply named "Beloved". Like in the final game, Shovel Knight was supposed to defeat the Enchantress to save her. However, he didn't know that his beloved was turned into her foe, and ended killing her in the process and later burying her with his own shovel. The character was changed because the developers wanted her to be an equal partner to Shovel Knight as opposed to a traditional damsel in distress. The ending was changed around December 2013 as the developers judged it too grim for the game's tone.[1]
- The Beloved's only two sprites can still be found in the game among the Village's NPC files, where she is simply named "Princess".
- In some of her early sketches, Shield Knight carried a lance and sported a different armor to give her, in addition of her winged helmet and large shield, a Valkyrie-like appearance. Her armor was changed to be slightly similar to Shovel Knight's and reinforce the concept of them being partners.[2]
- There is an official key art of her without her helmet, only seen in the official artbook, depicting her with long tan hair.
- Prior to Spore Knight's debut in Shovel Knight Dig, Shield Knight was the only female knight with a name.
- She and Polar Knight are the only knights whose helmets don't cover most of their faces.
- Shield Knight is the only boss who's fought in a special minor stage, that being the Memory of Conflict in Specter of Torment.
References
- ↑ Shovel Knight: Official Design Works, p.173
- ↑ Shovel Knight: Official Design Works, p.29