The Tower of Fate is the final destination at the far east of the Valley in Shovel of Hope, Plague of Shadows, and King of Cards. This is where the Enchantress prepares her plan to conquer the Valley, guarded by the Order of No Quarter (only in Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows), as well as where Shovel Knight lost Shield Knight and hopes to save her.
The Tower is composed of several stages in the aforementioned campaigns but also serves as hub for Specter Knight in Specter of Torment.
Due to The Enchantress' presence inside the puzzle box, an illusory copy of the Tower of Fate can be found inside the Pocket Dungeon.
Story[]
The backstory of the Tower is largely unknown but according to Horace, the tower was the home of several questionably dark creatures long before the Enchantress took control of it.
Dig[]
Part of its past history is revealed in Shovel Knight Dig.
According to the images in the room containing the Omega Driver, long, long ago, an amulet falling from the sky landed in the Valley, containing within an evil spirit who, with nothing to bind it, was quick to wreak havoc. Soon enough, a hero rose and, with the Omega Driver itself, as well as the six Stones of Fate, bested the fiend and sealed it away in a room on the top floor of Tower of Fate. Furthermore, the room and its above treasure vault, were detached from the tower, and embedded into the planet's Crystal Core as another precaution,[1] even adding a hidden locking mechanism to block the way to the amulet. The only traces left were the Liquid Samurai, left alone to guard the dark fortress itself, as nothing more than an extension of her immense malevolent power and will, as well as a map detailing how to reach said lost chambers.
Unfortunately, while holed up in the abandoned Tower of Fate, the criminal duo of Drill Knight and Scrap Knight, thanks to Scrap Knight finding the map, discovered the existence of a supposedly "great weapon", buried deep underneath the earth. Wishing to receive notoriety and riches by obtaining it, Drill Knight and Scrap Knight recruited four other individuals, Spore Knight, Tinker Knight, Mole Knight, and Hive Knight, forming a specialized team of burrowers, planning to begin the process to reconnect the lost rooms of the tower to the original structure, as the treasure's room could only be reached after doing so, unknowingly beginning to lift the Enchantress' imprisonment. The top floor of the Tower was slightly modified to become a launching platform for Drill Knight personal mode of transportation, the Rocket Drill.
The Hexcavators obtained five of the six Stones of Fate and, while heading for the treasure room where their final prize is said to be in, they dug through Shovel Knight's campsite in order to retrieve the last Stone from his loot bag. On their way, they made a massive tunnel network that connected many underground areas, which destabilized the structural integrity of the valley, causing violent tremors. The massive hole also unintentionally attracted fortune-seekers from all over the land, who gathered around a campsite in the surface.
More importantly, as the Hexcavators got closer and closer to the Amulet, its dark magic caused the Tower of Fate to sink underground, so that it could reconnect with its missing chambers.
The main purpose of the Stones of Fate was to open the secret passage in the treasure vault to the Tower of Fate's now descended amulet chamber. However, the Hexcavators, unaware of that, as per Tinker Knight's suggestion, harnessed their power to hold up the Well's structure, while being influenced to dig deeper, and deeper by the dark magic tainting the gems. In the end, thanks to Drill Knight's massive drilling castle, they reached out the vault; Shovel Knight tried to stop them from making a terrible mistake, but during his fight with Drill Knight, he used the Omega Driver, disabling the Omega Saw and accidentally revealing the secret opening Drill Knight was not aware of, which opened up due to Shovel Knight possessing all six Stones of Fate. After making their way through the Crystal Core, Shovel Knight and the Hexcavators found the amulet's chamber, with the artifact cocooned in dark magic tentacles. Drill Knight violently broke this last seal and the artifact, due to the tower's descent, did little to keep the Enchantress trapped inside, releasing her into the world once more. As Drill Knight realized that she was, in fact, the weapon they were searching for, she commanded the group to kneel and serve as her minions, to which they refused. As they got ready to fight her, she easily trapped them in the stones and transformed their leader into a giant monster, which Shovel Knight was forced to defeat with the help of Shield Knight and Altius.
With the monstrous Drill Knight defeated, the Enchantress was once again trapped in the amulet. Without the gemstones, which were keeping the well stable, the hole started to collapse and the Tower of Fate, which in the meantime had reached the Crystal Core, began to re-emerge to the surface, the two chambers now reattached to the original building's top floor once again.[1] Shield Knight suggested securing the amulet before it fell in the wrong hands, and Altius attempted to do so, but only got hurt in the process. She hurried to grab him, and the three escaped in Drill Knight's own Rocket Drill, leaving Drill Knight himself behind to escape on his own. After managing to get away and reach the surface, Shield Knight stated that she and Shovel Knight needed to hurry to the Tower of Fate and destroy the amulet before it's taken by anybody else, to which he obliged.
Due to the reattachment the its missing chambers, the original top floor of the Tower was restored, the launching platform of the Rocket Drill no longer visible.[1]
Tragedy strikes[]
Unfortunately, as seen in Specter Knight's memories in Specter of Torment, Shovel Knight and Shield Knight's plan did not work out.
With the way towards the Amulet now open for anyone, two adventurers, Donovan and Luan, as seen in the Memory of Adventure, having somehow found the same map that Scrap Knight previously had, entered the Tower of Fate searching for the artifact, as Luan believed it would have protected his son, Reize, from all harm. In the Memory of Conflict, the two found it, at the top of the Tower, at the same time as Shield Knight, who had ran ahead of her partner. With her objective to destroy the Amulet in clash with the duo's own desire, She and Donovan fought, but the conflict causes the room to destabilize, plummeting both Donovan and Luan to their deaths and allowing Shield Knight to be possessed by the amulet's dark influence, turning her into a living vessel for the Enchantress.
The Tower of Fate sealed itself behind Shovel Knight, violently expelling him; confused, and with no way to enter the building again, Shovel Knight became convinced that Shield Knight had perished. Meanwhile the Enchantress, with her new freedom, found the dying Donovan and granted him immortality as the undead Specter Knight, to serve her loyally. After this incident, the Enchantress started recruiting more knights for the Order of No Quarter, vowing to take over the land with her powers and the armies at her command.
King of Cards[]
In this campaign, the Tower of Fate serves as the fourth and final world of the game, becoming accessible after King Knight defeats King Birder. It consists of four stages played in a linear order:
The first stage, Shrouded Spires, also contains a secret exit that, when taken, unlocks access to the Tower of Joustus, a house of Joustus situated within the Tower of Fate. After confronting the Enchantress and her latest monstrosity The Grand Triumvirate, King Knight fell for the temptation of being made king of Pridemoor Keep, and as such betrayed his allies and joined forces with the dark witch.
Specter of Torment[]
In this campaign, the Tower of Fate serves as the hub world, where Specter Knight can buy and upgrade Curios, buy new Cloaks, talk to several NPCs, and access the Magic Mirror through which he can travel to each Stages. This time, there are four stages taking place inside the tower (although two of them are flashbacks):
After recruiting a specific number of Knights, Specter Knight has a flashback of his mortal self Donovan and his first arrival at the Tower of Fate with his partner Luan. A second flashback shows his confrontation with Shield Knight for the Amulet of Power. One last flashback shows the aftermath of their fight, with the Enchantress locating Donovan and granting him artificial life after enticing him into accepting her offer of servitude.
Each location conquered by Specter Knight lights up, as seen from Specter Knight's patio in the Tower of Fate.
Characters[]
- Red, a red skeleton who trades Curios for Red Skulls.
- After collecting 79 skulls, the 80th will be the one of Red's long lost love, Scarlet, who will then show her gratitude to Specter Knight by performing a special dance with Red, which later can be seen again whenever Specter Knight talks to her.
- Manny, who sells Cloaks. In order to unlock this character, Specter Knight needs to offer 800 gold to its container for three times.
- Missy, who sells any Will and Darkness Wisps that Specter Knight missed during their visit to the main stages.
- Legion, who upgrades Curios. In order to unlock this character, Specter Knight needs to offer 1,000 gold to its container for three times.
- Horace, who offers the Tower Climbing mini-game.
- 'Edge Farmer, who gives gold to Specter Knight after being impressed by either performing the Cold Shoulder or by skating with the Rail Armor in front of him.
- Madam Meeber, a character exclusive to the Nintendo game versions (Wii U, 3DS, and Nintendo Switch), who can scan one of the Shovel Knight amiibo and summon a Fairy companion who will follow them throughout the game.
- Creech, a bartender that comments on how populated the tower is.
- Dancer, who will unlock the Cold Shoulder action if interacted with. She only appears after Specter Knight clears The Lich Yard and will leave after she's talked to, because Specter Knight broke her heart.
- Gall, who demonstrates "the Kiss of Death" when spoken to. He only appears after half of The Order has been recruited.
- Goldarmor, who will be in the mirror room. Above him there will be a colored lamp which will break and fall if Specter Knight Dash Slashes through it three times. If the lamp falls over Goldarmor, the flames will tint him with the respective color. After cycling through all the colors, he will be revealed to be a dragon in disguise, known as Dragon Goldarmor in Shovel Knight Showdown.
- Memmec, next to the Goldarmor in the mirror room. Specter Knight can pet the dog-like creature or knock one of the purple orbs near the entrance at the Memmec, which will proceed to play with the orb and release treasures (this can only happen once).
- Grandma Swamp, who appears to Specter Knight through the Scrying Glass in the room next to the dining hall. Specter Knight must strike the mirror consecutively, causing it to spin and show her image.
- Dark Acolyte, who is responsible for guarding and operating the Magic Mirror that teleports Specter Knight to the stages. Later he is replaced by Reize until all the Order of No Quarter recruit stages are completed.
In addition, each time Specter Knight defeats a member of The Order, they will appear, one at time, at the dining hall, by the feast table, where they will comment on the new base of operations. Minions from the respective Order members will also start to roam the Tower, and some will give gold to Specter Knight when spoken to (only one time).
Eventually, Specter Knight tried to rebel against the Enchantress after she put her hands on Reize and was revealed to being inside Shield Knight; however, after defeating Nightmare Reize, Specter Knight was forced to give up his one chance to return to life in order to save him from the dark witch's corruption, dooming Specter Knight serve the Enchantress even if he despised her.
Showdown[]
In Showdown, it is revealed that Specter Knight allies, before his final battle against his dark mistress, tried to aid him by attempting to imprison the Enchantress within the Magic Mirror. Unfortunately, the hasty modification caused it go haywire, turning it into the monstrosity known as the Mirror of Fate, which kidnapped them, Specter Knight, the Enchantress, and many other poor souls within its illusory world. The Mirror Chamber is modeled after the original chamber in the real Tower of Fate.
Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows[]
The Tower of Fate is accessible to Shovel Knight and Plague Knight only when reaching the fourth quadrant of the map, after defeating the last three members of the Order of No Quarter. It is divided in three stages to be played in order:
In Shovel of Hope, the Tower of Fate began to collapse after a climactic struggle against the Remnant of Fate. In Plague of Shadows, it is further explained that the Tower was ultimately leveled to the ground when Plague Knight detonated the Ultimate Potion to show his valor as an alchemist, with the people inside it only barely escaping its destruction.
Pocket Dungeon[]
At some point during the events of Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows, the Enchantress found the legendary Pocket Dungeon, and decided to use the puzzle box in her latest scheme for total domination of the Valley.
To enact her plan, she, under her Cloaked Figure persona, tricked Prism Knight into entering the box, then project her light clones outside and place the puzzle box in good spots to trap whoever found it inside, under the premise that by doing so in the end, Prism Knight would get to see her father again. In truth, the Enchantress ultimate plan was to get rid of any individual that could pose a threat to her conquest, including her own Order of No Quarter, forever trapping them inside the Pocket Dungeon while she ruled the Valley unopposed. As her magic allowed her to easily exit the box's imprisonment whenever she wanted to, the Enchantress observed her plan unfold from within the Pocket Dungeon; her presence inside the puzzle box shaped its landscapes, and added the Tower of Fate to the dungeon's layout.
To get to the Tower of Fate, where the Enchantress resides in the Pocket Dungeon, the four Key Fragments must be assembled before fighting Puzzle Knight. The level itself is shorter than most other levels in the game, but cannot be accessed via Percy's shortcut cannon. It features Lavalorbs, Ratsploders, purple Grapps, and a red Griffoth mini-boss. The Legendary Path greatly diversifies the spawn pool with the three forms of Liquid Samurai, which all chain to each other. Because of the presence of Ratsploders, this level is one of a few to feature Bomb Blocks.
The level always ends in a boss fight with The Enchantress. After she is defeated, she spitefully transforms Puzzle Knight into the monstrous Master Mind, before leaving. After defeating the monster, all of the knights are able to escape the Pocket Dungeon safely, achieving the true ending. Completing this ending rewards Feats for the main mode and gold stars on Quandaries.
If the player has the effects of the Super Skeleton Skull hat active, the Enchantress will appear as a boss duo, but the Master Mind will not.
Trivia[]
- It is actually possible to fall from the balcony where Specter Knight remembers his past. Should it occur, similarly to the Troupple Pond, a death sequence will play. It will incur no penalty other than distress the Dark Acolyte, or in his absence, cause Dark Reize to mock Specter Knight for his attempt to "take an easy way out".
- The constant rainstorm around the Tower of Fate seen in Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows turned green and started pouring during the end events of Specter of Torment.[2]
- However, the green rainstorm is also seen during the ending cutscene of King of Cards. This implies that the green rain stopped sometime before the events of Specter of Torment and then picked up again at the end of the latter campaign, this time lasting permanently.
- The silhouette of the Tower of Fate, seen from a distance, has remained pretty consistent in all the games it appeared. The building's general appearance is the most different in Pocket Dungeon, due to its simplified artstyle, but it is still possible to recognize some of the structure's original key details. Its most striking actual difference can only be seen in the opening Dig, where the top is different due to Drill Knight's Rocket Drill being attached; by endgame however, the original rooftop is restored, returning the tower to the look first seen Treasure Trove.
- However, the silhouette of the Tower seen during the reveal trailer for Dig was instead noticeably different from its usual look, leading to some confusion at the time if it was actually the same building or not.[3]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Discord answer by Woz
- ↑ Twitter post by Yacht Club Games
- ↑ Reveal Trailer of Dig by Yacht Club Games
