Surprise! Shovel Knight's Original Adventure Is Getting The Deluxe Treatment

Shovel Knight was brilliant, and I think the original game is still the best (better than all the DLC campaigns, I mean), but really struggling to see the point of this. I suppose if you've never played it before this will be the best way to play, but I can't see many old fans re-buying it.

They're bringing back features unique to the 3DS version, and they seem to want to preserve everything from Shovel of Hope all under one roof... So I really hope that this will include the boss fights with and armor from Kratos and the Battletoads, as well as Madame Meeber and the fairy companions

I loved the original game, thought it was amazing, but I don't think anyone outside real die-hard fans cares for this. The game has been milked more than Capcom does with Street Fighter releases. The best way to play Shovel Kinight is with the original character on the original game, so yeah I am not gonna go out and buy it again.

@KayFiOS I don't want to buy any amiibos for fairies again...

@Antray1984 «The game has been milked more than Capcom does with Street Fighter releases.»
Lol, no. Even Skyrim has more rereleases than Shovel Knight.

I'm glad to see I'm not alone in the confusion on this.
This is basically just the first campaign with some QOL and 20 characters you can play as, it doesn't even include the other 3 campaigns.
I really don't want to say this as I love YCG but this just screams cash-grab.

@NCChris Why I haven't seen comments like this regarding Skyrim's and STREET FIGHTER II's rereleases?

Hmmmm nope, I recommend for someone who hasn't played it. I don't see anything better than the edition I already own. I think when I bought it originally it was such a great deal that I would get something new instead of an upgraded package.

@Vyacheslav333
1. I've never played Skyrim so I can't comment on that
2. Street Fighter hasn't done the paid updated title thing for over 10 years.

@NCChris
1. Well, me too.
2. Ultra STREET FIGHTER II: The Final Challengers was released in 2017.

How long are they going to keep milking this? At this point I'm not even interested in a sequel anymore.

@Vyacheslav333
I mean, you're not wrong, but the version of SF2 before that 1 was Turbo HD Remix which was released in 2008 so that makes a 9 year difference. And Street Fighter 2 is super iconic especially to Nintendo so it makes sense they make a Ultra edition for the new-at-the-time system.
Shovel Knight has only been around for 10 years but we still don't have a Shovel Knight 2. At least with Street Fighter we are still getting new games and expansions to existing games. Another thing to point out is all title updates to Street Fighter games is they keep the content from the previous version. This particular "Deluxe" version actually takes away content.

I love Shovel Knight and appreciate it very much but...come on, This version really doesn't need to exist, they could have just added the new characters (Most of which are reused from Showdown with some adjustments) and added the QOL updates to Treasure Trove.
I literally cannot think of a good reason to make this DX version other than money, hence my first comment.

Not bothered about this but as long as they’re making new stuff I don’t really care

@NCChris Well, okay. It's a well-constructed argument. 👍
By the way, Skyrim was released 7 times since 2011.

I prefer if they enhanced the game to 16-bit, I'll pass this since I already have the treasure trove edition.

Also one of the reason I like shovel knight (the main game and specter of torment) is because the difficulty is perfect, rewind feature will destroy the game difficulty since players can rewind anytime. It's a good features for retro games (like nintendo subs) but I don't like it in modern retro games.

@NCChris I mean, getting money should be the objective of any commercial game. Developers need that to continue doing games and get something for their work.

As for why an enhanced version? There's a few reasons that I can think of. For example, it's easier, faster and cheaper to add to something than make something completely new and there's nothing wrong with that. It's also a 10 year old game, so there's probably a lot of new gamers that haven't played the game in that time and it's also a nice way to celebrate a cult classic.

As for the people saying that this game has been released over and over (not you): Unless you are counting the ports to different systems and how you can buy all the campaigns togegher and separately that really isn't the case and those examples shouldn't even count. The others are spin-offs and are their own games. It just seems that some individuals are angry that the game is available on multiple platforms for some reason.

As much as I love SK treasure trove, I doubt I'll be buying this. Treasure trove as-is is good all by itself.

@Vyacheslav333 Considering this definitive version of Shovel of Hope is multi-platform, and Nintendo does not hold the rights to Madame Meeber's character, she could still appear in game and just let you take one of her fairies without having to scan an amiibo. Custom Knight and bonus missions were also locked behind amiibo before, but now they're just features in the game.

@wiiware Hopefully the Hurry Up! Feat will be based on how much time passes as you play, including the time spent rewinding. It'll still make the Feat easier to acquire, I think, but not absolutely busted to the point where you can put a tool assisted time up on the leaderboards...

@KayFiOS Well, okay...

The co op has me intrigued. If it’s like 10$ I think I’ll get it.

@heisnbrg the dlcs were basically entire high quality sequels in their own right, including the fighting game, and were added free for those who had bought the original before the dlc came out. It still blows my mind, and it similarly blows my mind that people don't appreciate that more.

@NCChris the dlc campaigns were basically three (four if you include showdown) entire sequels. And then they released Dig and Pocket Dungeon.

@AG_Awesome the original has coop

It was pretty deluxe and definitive already. I’m more excited for Mina the hollower. Or a shovel knight command-based rpg.

@demacho nice, I didn’t know that. Wonder why they advertised the remix as a unique feature then. Weird. Lol

Milked more than one of Jordan Peterson’s fetishes.

This should be an update to Treasure Trove, so I’ll pass

I still have the treasure trove or whatever I've barely played .can i pay for an update or do i have to buy the whole game again? I like the idea of shovelknight more than actually playing it ..it reminded me how brutal and repetitive nes games were

It's always fun to dig up great classics again.

There's a lot more negativity in here than I expected. Sure, I'd rather buy this as an add-on to Treasure Trove, but otherwise I just see it as a good excuse to replay a great game. Maybe it's just because I've mostly avoided his various spin-offs and guest appearances, but I really don't understand where all this Shovel Knight fatigue is coming from.

@wiiware Agreed. We need more 16 bit or even 16 bit+ games.

Shovel Knight was undeniably a good game, but it never truly enamoured me.

I really don't know what secret ingredient I felt was "missing" from Shovel Knight that was present in other indie darlings that I truly love and adore such as Hollow Knight, Celeste, and Cuphead.

When Shovel Knight's extra campaigns were released, I tried them a little bit but never really completed them or got very far. I don't think I even bothered booting the game up at all when King Knight came out. ...Whereas I was all over Chapter 9 Farewell and Delicious Last Course the moment they dropped, and loved every moment of them.

Maybe it's not fair to compare these games like this. I dunno. But Shovel Knight always felt a little lacking in comparison. And I really don't know what it actually is that gives me this feeling of non-enthusiasm about it. I feel like I'm being unfair to the game, but yeah. I'm not really that bothered about Shovel Knight any more.

@roy130390 Yeah see, that is the problem though, we already have Treasure Trove which is already the definitive edition of Shovel Knight.
Shovel Knight Treasure Trove has 4 campaigns, the showdown mode, amiibo support if you're on Nintendo, and so on.
Shovel Knight DX is just the first campaign with added characters and some QOL changes. These additions could easily have been added to Treasure Trove but for some reason they choose to sell it as a new game.
It would be like releasing Mario Kart 8 on the next system with some extra characters and some QOL updates but removing everything the deluxe version and the DLC had.

@demacho Shovel Knight's DLC was not "free". When the game was first announced it was a kickstarter and how far the game went depended on how much money the kickstarter raised. Because it absolutely smashed expectations it ended up getting 4 total campaigns, showdown, and more extras on top.
People even back then kept saying YCG didn't need to keep supporting it but actually yes, they did, because if they stopped they likely would have faced some sort of lawsuit.
And yes, there have been other Shovel Knight games like Dig and Pocket Dungeon, but those are spin-offs made by other studios.

I really enjoyed Treasure Trove, it being the first and only time I've experienced Shovel Knight — I feel like I've got everything I need from it. If they release this as like a bit of extra DLC then great, but I see no reason to buy the game all over again

@Alex79uk I am one of those people who have never played Shoven Knight game, and whenever I would hear news of a new update, installment or what not, I would feel a little confused about where to start.

@NCChris It was the definitive edition of Shovel of Hope until now since this one has all that and more, aside from the other campaigns. As far as I know, they haven't said anything about not selling it as DLC/update but even so, it's simply a more enhanced version of that campaign since not everyone buys Treasure Trove an some opt for buying each one separately if not only Shovel of Hope.

Their main target simply isn't those who already own the game. I do hope that there's an option to upgrade to that version for us that own it though. However, with the amount of content that the game has, specially for those that supported the game early since we received the other campaigns for free, I wouldn't hold anything against them if they choose not to give that option.

It's a nice way to get more sales without actually losing mandatory content for those that pass.

I do own treasure trove on 3DS, switch and WiiU, so I'm a fan for sure. The two questions I have lingering are if they have the ps4 and xbox bosses and if it's like $10. Id happily pick it up on a sale for like half of that in a year. Or straight out of the gate at $5, but I doubt it, I'm in no hurry. But I want to know what all is in there. Love yacht club, but want to spend my money on new games as well.

I thought this was a new game at first, but its another version of Shovel Knight. Should I wait to buy this then, or should I just buy Treasure Trove?

I thought Treasure Trove was the definitive version, unless this is now?

@ShonenJump121 it looks like this is just the shovel knight campaign. Treasure trove has 4 (or 5) campaigns, which I actually like more than shovel knights. Id just get treasure trove. It's awesome, and will keep you busy. You also can get it physical, which I also prefer.

@Vyacheslav333 Because it's 2024, and it's all been said?

@obijuankanoobie I see well I did miss it on the 3ds so I will play it on Switch

I would only be interested if there is a physical version.

Was excited at first - "Updated graphics version?"

Saw the regular-lookin' gameplay - "Oh. That's it..."

Saw the re-added features and playable characters - started screaming LOL. I shouted aloud at the return of the StreetPass functionality and Custom Knight. This is gonna be awesome.

I am curious how the 3D is going to work.

Eh. I already triple dipped for the game back then, the third time only because the Switch had the Spectre of Torment first. I'm done giving them money for this game especially for what sounds like a bunch of leftover stretch goals. And half the fun of the game was playing it like an old school challenge, getting save states and rewind is like unlimited quarters in an arcade game. Might as well watch someone else play.

@MH4 playing as custom knight was my favorite thing in the 3DS.

Did the home console versions not have that option?

@Eel Only Nintendo consoles since Custom Knight was an amiibo exclusive feature — so 3DS, Wii U, and Switch all currently have Custom Knight available via amiibo.

I grew up playing Shovel Knight on 3DS in junior high and on Switch in high school, so seeing these features — especially the 3DS-centric ones — return is so fun and nostalgic for me.

Awesome!! I've never played this one and with the paper thin patience I have these days, save states and rewind feature are an absolute must. Can't wait to finally play this!

If they tack on the other three games I’ll jump straight in.

@LikelySatan ?

@Ulysses I'd still say you're probably better off getting Shovel Knight Treasure Trove and starting with Shovel Of Hope. It's better value, regardless of how much this new one costs! Treasure Trove can often be found for £15 or less and there's loads of content in it.

@NCChris It was free. Kickstarter goals are irrelevant, to players, the DLC did not cost them anything.

@Vyacheslav333 Talking about how many iterations of SF2 or Skyrim. Mainly SF2. I don't count the 2017 release of Ultra SF2. That was a straight up remake. I get what you are saying, but that argument is pretty played out by now.

@LikelySatan Ah, understood.
«That was a straight up remake.»
I don't think so. We had Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix before, in 2008.

Nope, been there, done that. Enhancements are nice, but I've got too much else to play in my limited time. Happy for those that er... never dug in.

@Vyacheslav333 oh right. Shut me up. Carry on, you right.

They said why they’re enhancing it in the article. It isn’t like you have to burn your original edition or Treasure Trove, it’s just a super-remixed updated version.

I’ll be getting it, mixing up cheat codes for a custom experience sounds like fun.

Also, making games isn’t easy. A lot of comments here read like football fans who can’t play football. You don’t actually know anything lol.

@LikelySatan Okay. 🙂

If this is the last iteration of the game, then I think it’s finally time that I dip my toes into Shovel of Hope for the very first time. Held off the main series for a pretty long time now😅

I loved the entirety of Shovel Knight. There were things I liked more than other things. The card game wasn't my favorite, but the original game and the DLC were all great. I feel like I got way more for my money than anticipated, and I appreciate Yacht Club delivering the way they did. As a result, I'd consider buying a DX version, but I'd want all the quests in DX form in that case, especially since I enjoyed Plague Knight's game the most.

While I beat all the games without rewind or save states, I do love those features for the sake of saving some time. They're not necessary, but I do appreciate them. I've beaten some old classic games without them too, but because I wanted to. I generally prefer having them. Again, I'd love it if the whole thing got the DX treatment. I'd also love scanline options as well because I think that completes the retro pixel look. But the first Shovel Knight is a great game and this is a wonderful way for people to get into it if they have not yet done so.

Yea, This should be a free update or at most a minor paid update to those that already own the original DX version...

As I have seen a few other people say online in regards to this announcement, I’d much rather see completely new campaigns with the other members of the Order of No Quarter.

I guess it’s worth buying if you care about the extra playable characters and ability to use multiple cheats simultaneously, but I don’t see the appeal for this other than that.

Also, are the save states and rewind features REALLY that necessary? I thought the difficulty of the original game was just right, and adding save states would completely kill the purpose of how this game’s checkpoints work. I’ll wait for the price point until I make a decision. I think $15 or even $20 is reasonable, but anything above that is a hard pass for me.

The only time I bought Shovel knight was the original game on Wii U during an eShop sale on January 2015.

I'm planning to also get it on Switch, but I want that to be the physical collection of all the campaigns. Like others have said, I'd prefer if this were an update to the original game, even if it has to be a paid one (kind of like those Digital Deluxe Upgrades DLCs).

As someone that wants to delve into Shovel Knight this confuses me. Where do I start? Treasure Trove or this?

@NCChris They kind of were free though. I believe the Kickstarter promised playable characters rather than fully fledged new campaigns? Either way I didn't back it and got the additional campaigns for free on WiiU. I then bought Treasure Trove on 3DS because I really liked it and felt it was worth the money but that is just me. I rarely do that.

I mean yeah they could add all this to Treasure Trove as an update, but they're perfectly entitled to sell the work in a new edition of Shovel of Hope. And you're perfectly entitled to not buy it if you don't think it's worth the money.

You seem outraged that they are asking money for the work they did, in which case just don't buy it. That's fine. If enough people agree with you and also don't buy it they will know this is not the way forward (no pun intended). But as a purely optional new version of a now decade old game, it's nothing to get upset about.

@Vyacheslav333 at least capcom or bethesda have other games, i would be angry if they only release street fighter II and Skyrim lol

@Elira tbf there is a massive size difference between Bethesda or Capcom and Yacht Club. Like Bethesda is a few hundred, Capcom is a few thousand and Yacht Club is a few tens.

@Oswinner it's not really as complicated as people here are making out. Essentially you have 4 campaigns:

Shovel of Hope - this is the OG Shovel Knight game. Originally it was just called 'Shovel Knight' but as they created the other campaigns the retroactively gave this one a sub-title.

Plague of Shadows - this was the second campaign and the first one to star a character that was previously a boss. You play as Plague Knight who has a completely different moveset but also a rework of the story from Plague Knight's perspective (with other bits added in) and remixed levels.

Spectre of Torment - the third campaign where you now play as Spectre Knight, again a previous boss. Again. It's a new story from this character's perspective with remixed levels and new moves.

King of Cards - the final campaign wherein another boss, King Knight, becomes the playable lead. This one felt more different to than the previous three as it also added a deck building game.

You can play them in any order and they are all in Treasure Trove, that's just a name for the collection of games. I'd recommend starting with Shovel of Hope because I think it makes seeing the boss character perspectives more interesting later.

Dig and Pocket Dungeon are spin-offs, you don't need to worry about them really.

I believe there are currently 3 ways to buy these games now (once DX releases):

Shovel of Hope - the original game on its own. Just the one campaign.

Treasure Trove - all 4 campaigns listed above and a multiplayer thing in one bundle.

Shovel of Hope DX - a rerelease of Shovel of Hope with some bells and whistles added. This feels more for those coming back after a long time and my understanding it is only the first campaign but with different playable characters. You do not get the 3 expansion campaigns here.

TLDR: Get Treasure Trove, start with Shovel, and play the others any order you like.you'vr played all of Shovel Knight! If you enjoyed it and want to go back to Shovel of Hope, get DX later.

@Alex79uk I think hardcore fans will double dip. The new cheats seem interesting and being able to play the campaign with a host of characters will add a nice remix to the campaign. Looks like there are a lot of options to tweak the game to being easier for younger or inexperienced players. Taking a cue from Celeste, perhaps. Speaking personally, I'm intrigued at the offering.

In the presentation they did mention that this was a way of "preserving" the game. That seemed like an odd statement to me. It's available on every major digital platform, and they've done physical releases as well.

Does anyone know if the Treasure Trove cart received any patches? I wouldn't mind getting that without the potential worry of issues with the game I may not get patches for when Switch Shop sunsets.

I had this on the Wii (or was it the Wii U?) and it's been a long, long time since I've played anything Shovel Knight. The game got to be too frustrating for my aging, feeble mind, so the rewind feature is very exciting. I also was surprised to see mention of 20 characters. I thought it was more like eight, as they made each of the bosses a character with their own twist on the levels.

@Ogbert thanks for that detailed reply. Will start with the Treasure Trove collection then. Looking forward to it.

@Ogbert If your defense to YCG is that you personally did not pay for it then you've missed the point.
The point is whenever someone has criticized YCG (Like I am by saying this screams cash-grab) 1 of the most common defenses people bring up is they gave away 3 campaigns for free.
This is factually wrong, YCG did not release them for free, they got a massive amount of donations for the game's development. If the kickstarter didn't happen you definitely would have been paying for when a new campaign released.
Sure, you and myself may have gotten the DLC for free as I didn't donate either but using that as a defense against criticism is disingenuous.

@NCChris it's nuanced I guess.

The Kickstarter had stretch goals to add new playable characters. What they ended up doing was making essentially new campaigns for the playable characters. A lot more than they promised as the stretch goal.

Also I don't know if those Kickstarter goals were initially just for backers. It's not uncommon for stretch goals to be included only for backers and anyone else has to pay for the additional content. As a sort of thanks for backing I guess.

But they gave it out to non-backers as well. At least for a time. The backers made it possible to develop, but they didn't strictly pay for it per-se. If we want to get really pedantic. They each paid for the original game to be made, some may have paid extra but the majority just backed it to get a copy. Once they got their target through backers, any new pledges unlocked stretch goals right? But that doesn't mean anyone who backed after the goal was met was paying to make the stretch goals, they were still just paying for a copy of the game. Sure some might have added some extra to their pledge to help the stretch goals along the way and some might have been encouraged to back seeing the stretch goals but they were all paying for the base game. If YC didn't add any stretch goals to the KS, but then made these expansions after, you wouldn't be arguing that they used the pledge money exceeding the goal to make them. So it's all kinda moot. They did really well on KS, over delivered on their promises and gave it out to people who didn't back it as well for a period. Doesn't exactly sound like bad guy behaviour to me.

Honestly they released the standalone game 10ish years ago, then released a collection with all the expansions, now they're doing a special edition with some bells and whistles. I don't personally think it's a cash grab because I know the work that actually goes into making games is never as simple as people think. I also don't care because I am not entitled to anything from them and if they want to try and sell a new version that's on them and the people who want to buy it.

Is this really the hill you want to die on? Small indie dev is terrible for having the audacity to re-sell their game with extras 10 years later? On a Nintendo website? Nintendo are the kings of milking franchises and reselling old games with minor to no changes or new content! Let's have some perspective and just let people enjoy this if they want too.

@Ogbert This argument reeks of misinformation.
Let's not sit here and pretend the other 3 campaigns were entirely "new". Plague Knight's Campaign reused a lot of stages from the original campaign. Spector Knight's campaign was arguably the most original but again, it still reused maps from Shovel of Hope just with new layouts for the already existing assets. The only major things that were changed was the moveset (Which was already promised), alterations to the story so it fit, and the main base of operations.
I cannot comment on is King Knight's Campaign as I have to admit I have not played it yet but I do plan to.
You also have to take into account how well the original game sold. It managed over 2 million sales! For an indie game that is insane! It was even so insane that SK got to jump the queue for Smash Bros and appeared as an assist trophy before the likes of Shantae and Super Meat Boy. I'd even argue YCG got paid a pretty penny for Shovel Knight to appear in Smash.

The reason I call this a cash-grab is because of the full context. Yes, they did more-than-deliver on the original stretch goals, I ain't denying that, but what feasible reason is there to get Shovel Knight Shovel of Hope DX over Shovel Knight Treasure Trove?

As for that comparison to Nintendo, I think that is flawed. Whenever Nintendo has re-released games it's usually been so newer players can play classics with potentially a new coat of paint. Personally; I actually picked up Super Mario 3D All-Stars because I never played SM64 and SMS. If I already owned all 3 games I wouldn't have bothered with it.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not a Nintendo Bootlicker, I've been highly critical of them for many things such as going after mods for stupid reasons, shutting down competitive smash tournaments unless you follow their unrealistic requirements, and the entire joyconboyz situation.

Finally, telling me to have some perspective and that I should just let people enjoy this is flawed as these are all my thoughts. If people wanna go buy Shovel Knight DX I won't stop them, it's up to them and my opinions shouldn't affect them. But I ain't gonna keep my mouth shut just because some person on the Internet takes it so much to heart that it ruins their enjoyment, at that point it's on them.

OK, that's cool for those who want to replay an even better version of the original quest, but even for those who haven't played it before, if you only want or can only get one version, "Treasure Trove" is still the much superior package.