It's also a game where even if you have 0 nostalgia attachment, it's still one of your most favorite games that you'll hold near and deer to yourself. Or that was just me
Maybe just you because it took me a long time to warm up to Shovel Knight. Still now it takes me a day or two to return and beat another level or two but I enjoyed this game immensely. I'm 31 but maybe I just don't hold as much nostalgia when it comes to games that copy games I grew up with, even though Shovel Knight is a classic now.
Cleath78 IWBTG Fangames I meant. There is a whole bunch of them and even a tier list that ranks them all by difficulty! Sadly though, most of them are very horribly and lazily made. The only good ones in my opinion are, I Wanna Be The Guy, I Wanna Be The Fangame, and I Wanna Be The Boshy! I personally recomend starting with fangame, and see if you like it after giving it go for a few hours, Guy, and Boshy (especially boshy) do have more dramatic asthetics but aren't as well designed from a physical level design perspective, (plus are harder!). I would recomend them more if your a teen, or are new to platformers in general, otherwise just play Freedom Planet, which is like a "sonicy" Shovel Kight if anything! oh plus they are free! so there is that!
Eh, the game is quite easy. The only hard parts are when the game decides to go full bullshit by constantly killing you in one hit pitfalls like that fucking stupid angler fish boss.
Super Bunnyhop, I've been perusing your channel for the evening, and without a doubt, I have to say that your material here is some of the most thought provoking material I've heard on games. I can't say I agree with every bit and bob I've heard tonight as I surf through your channel, but you meticulously choose your words and check your facts. Although I think you had me on the way you voiced the problems I have with Axiom Verge, it is here at your Shovel Knight video, where you so eloquently voiced what it is that makes Shovel Knight such a special game over all other Faux retro games that have hit as of recent that you have earned my subscription. I look forward to seeing your content in my subscription box.
You honestly do the best reviews. I've watched a review that started off the bat explaining the story of shovel knight. I don't need those arguable spoiler. I want to know about the game. Thanks!
You can tell that most developers don't understand what we were nostalgic about and hope that the aesthetic will have people jumping to conclusions. This game has a sincere optimism that seems to have been lost in favour of overblown drama where joy is an emotion you should not be allowed to feel from the triple A studios. From the indie side there's consistent cheapness and laziness to everything short of pseudo-experimental gameplay, or games that play like your kid's first game, with no subtlety or understanding of the dynamics that make simple games work and think they can get away with simplicity in and of itself. Neither feel sincere or optimistic. A lot of games reference and poke fun at (taking away from both the sincerity and optimism) the games you'd think they'd celebrate or just make a worse rendition of. There are games where you can feel they stopped feeling like the game was worth making. Then there's this game that seems like the developers never stopped believing. A lot seems to come down to keeping everything diegetic; in the world. Respect the fourth wall and have faith in what you've made, but still have fun with it. Well that ended up being longer than intended. Thanks for making it this far.
It's a testament to how good this game is when I LOVE it and I'm no where near old enough to be able to get nostalgic off NES games. It's just a really fun game.
I know everyone -- including the developers -- is saying how much Shovel Knight was inspired by Zelda II, but after playing it, I have to say SK owes a MASSIVE debt to Ducktales.
Joshua Campbell Shovel Knight takes a lot of influences but I too feel that it was partially inspired by Zelda 2's combat. Downward slash bounce is freaking amazing though.
I can't help but bash my head against a wall when i hear people calling pixel art "retro"- just because it's in a style that was invented in the past dosen't mean it's an homage to the past! It's just a way of making games!
I see this comment so often, and I really have to ask, why are you getting sick of them? What do the real limitations actually add to the final product in your opinion? To me, 8bit pixelart and chiptunes are stylistic choices, because some find them aesthetically pleasing, no different than the way Wind Waker used cell-shading or Hotline Miami used a specific type of music that sounded like a modern take on 80's music. I'm asking this sincerely, because I want to see what the thought process is. To me, the limitations in Shovel Knight and 1001 Spikes on using a retro-true color palette are cool and interesting and I respect how great the art in both games is under those limitations, but it doesn't make me respect games that don't have those boundaries any less.
Sunder I would say people are getting tired of it due to an over saturation of it on steam. For some people there is just to much, for what some people would say is a good thing. And to the limitations of the game adding something to the game, its shows more effort witch pleases the consumer. Its not like the other 8 bit games are doing less its juts that this one is doing more. Me personally i'm not tired of 8 bit, if it helps the developer make the game or just because they wanted 8 bit. Its the developers choice.
Sunder Usually, though not always, the "8-bit retro style!!" is used as an excuse for having simpler graphics. Shovel Knight is trying to be in the style of an actual retro 8-bit game, but usually it's just this kind of pandering towards nostalgia. I like to call it Minecraft syndrome. Minecraft doesn't need to look as ugly as it does, Notch just isn't much of an artist, and he's not great with Java. Minecraft could look really nice and stylized with a real artstyle, a real lighting engine, and it could be awesome, but it doesn't. And then when people criticize that, the response is usually "OH, YOU'RE JUST A GRAPHICS WHORE", and it's like, no, i just appreciate that this could look a lot better. Graphics are a big part of a primarily visual medium like a video game.
Sunder Also, 8-bit is the cour de jour for hipster "OMG I AM SUCH A NERD" types that know about Legend of Zelda, Mario and Call of Duty and nothing else, so I guess I just kind of have this disdain for it. Shovel Knights is 8-bit done right though. It looks and plays like a really good 1994 NES game, not a 2014 game trying to look retro.
Jackald If the game over relied on references as a selling point I would agree with you, but it doesn't do more than light homages at most. The billboard memes in Watchdog's are pandering, Shovel Knight is refinement. Part of the reason the new Wolfenstien is receiving such praise is that it takes the building blocks of Quake and Doom and refines them without getting bogged down but the trends and nuances of AAA shooters. There are always going to be the occasional disingenuous 8-bit 90s-kid targeted cash in but you can say that for just about any design choice with an audience. Don't get so caught up in imaginary and anecdotal people like that when there are earnest people making and playing innovative games inside an older theme.
The "downstab" is not from Zelda 2, it's from Ducktales. Edit: I assume this because of the bounce physics. There are other elements in the game that are clearly Zelda 2.
Is that so? Sorry then. I thought it was based off ducktales because of the bounce. But wait there are other elements in the game that are definitely based off Zelda 2. So maybe the "downward stab" isn't and the other things like sidescrolling towns and stuff are. Or maybe it's both or maybe I'm wrong and it really is Zelda 2 with a bounce effect added. Either way it doesn't matter.
Great review. I love how you researched the production of the game and illustrated the technicalities in the video. Most reviewers wouldn't bother to include arrows that show resolution difference or a back to back comparison of the NES's sound capabilities. Keep up your thoughtful and thorough work. It's awesome!
I didn't know there were silhouette levels in Super Meat Boy. I just thought that part of the lich yard was a reference to that one stage in Ninja Gaiden III.
I love it when the controls are so well done that you can concentrate on the challenges the game offers... not the challenges that the controling your character has. I mean sure the advanced moves and such should be difficult to pull off, but I mean just overall design. Like in MGR, the block system is great, but it meshes very poorly with the bad camera system at times. Sometimes when the camera works fine, but it's the main reason why I get hit in that game. Especialy when you have enemy locked on, the camera can flip sides all the sudden when you are about to block! Meaning the game reads the direction of your attack wrong. Now this is just one of the examples, others are when Raiden happens to get cornered the camera goes full parkinson on you and vibrates around so much that you can't see anything. I tanged there a bit, but I wanted to illustrate what I mean. When you got great camera, good control schemes, you don't have to worry about stuff like that. For example, Ninja Gaiden has awful camera, but the fact that enemies NEVER attack outside of your line of sight makes it more bearable, and ofcourse you have the dodge move and omnidirectional block to mend for it too. So, after some trial and error I got the game "flowing" and completed it quite easily. With Rising, I complete the game, but I get bunch of stupid hits because the camera is too close and not up to the task of having directional blocking. Great game, but really sufferes from this imo. I hope they fix it for the sequel, I think the MGR was the game of the year for me, it's just too bad they overlooked the camera system a bit. So I like the challenge, but I also want the game and it's enemies, levels to be the true challenge, not the bad design decissions at controls.
That how you remember it rather than how it was feel is something that I think is captured really fantastically by the music of Anamanaguchi. It's "16bit rock" that holds aesthetic similarity to the soundtracks of SNES Megaman games and the like but isn't held back by the SNES's audio limitations (for this reason it works really well as the soundtrack to the Scott Pilgrim vs The World game, which uses 16-bit-like visuals but with more competent aesthetics than a lot of the game at the time and a more unified look overall, as well as a more robust combat system than anything other than 1v1 fighters of the time)
Actually, Anamanaguchi is a NES + a rock band. If you listen closely you can hear the same two pulses, one triangle and a noise channel that is the NES limitation, and the guitars and drums added on top are real instruments played live.
As a NES addict myself, I really appreciate the developers' intention to make it more like a NES game despite some of the rather subtle changes. Might give this game a try, thanks for showcasing it.
Love these indie game reviews you do these are the kind of things that I would never look at myself and you always get me interested. Think you might do a Divinity Original Sin review some time? Been playing it recently and I felt it's pretty good so far but idk
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate people's fond memories of the past over the NES days and Shovel Knight is awesome but I hope the indie scene begins to go towards the aesthetics and design of the Super NES/Sega Genesis/NEO-GEO games of the 16 to 32 bit eras. Check out "Freedom Planet" if you ever wanted to play what felt like a true sequel to Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles!
As much as I love this look at the game, I'm curious how you manage to remember the melee attack from DuckTales but not the cane-bouncing action - because more than the down stab in Link's Adventure, I feel that's much more influential over Shovel Knight's... shovel bounce thingy. Except it doesn't work on the ground, I guess.
and that soundtrack... fantasticaly charming and fun game. I might even buy a Wii U copy for home after I beat it on 3DS. though Nintendo really should adopt cross buy
"Silhouette levels like Super Meat Boy" Or Ninja Gaiden II for NES. "Gravity gets reversed to go up and down like VVVVVV or Thomas Was Alone" Or Metal Storm.
Even as a guy that didn't grow up around the NES/SNES period, nor a guy that likes these kind of sidescrollers... you've somehow convinced me that I should certainly consider this game. It seems like it really knows what its doing, not only on the nostalgia end, but as a well designed and great platformer. Its forgiving without looking too easy, and seems to have some very clever and good designs in it that seem just plain fun.
Great review! I immensely enjoy shovel knight, it's also the first game that I started speedrunning because the mechanics just feel so nice.. it turned my channel into a pile of tricks for the game lmao
Whew!! Well I'll be damned! A review that is actually positive! Glad he liked this one, because I've been binge-watching his reviews and aside from one or two they are almost all mostly negative and depressing lol. But I have enjoyed them all and the criticisms are well said!!!
***** Yeah, looking back I think you are right. I was in kind of a shitty mood at the time I left that comment, too. I feel like, for the most part, he gives no free passes and will never call a game "perfect", mentioning any and all flaws but also letting us know his personal enjoyment. I really like his reviews and hate I made him sound like a bitter old jerk lol...
***** Yeah, no doubt. I always try not to react and leave comments too quickly, because there are plenty of people willing to that when they get pissed at something. But every now and then I find out I left one somewhere, so glad I was able to rectify it a bit anyway. How shitty would it be if someone, whose content you regularly watch, winds up reading the one negative comment you left and think that is yoir opinion of them? Just seems kind of shitty considering how much entertainment they have provided, but people do it all the time. Even though I try to be aware of the comments I leave, there is always one somewhere I wouldn't mind changing lol.
***** Thanks, man. I think this made me come off as being down on myself more than I actually was lol. I just try to own up to what I say online because so many people don't, ya know? Hell, you taking the time to leave that last comment is rare to see as most people will just say "grow a dick fagit" and move on haha. Funny, considering your username. :'D
Another great thing about it is that there's no set storyline as such. There is, but if there's say 4 knights in an area you can take them on in any order you like and the consequences of killing those knights may help you achieve your goal. so it's not like mario where you have to take the bosses on in a set order.
Shovel Knight's storyline is incredibly flexible about the order you go through the game. The over world encounters are mostly isolated incidents so they have little baggage on the main story, and the only requirements in the main story are that the player beats all eight bosses before taking on the final boss (which is mandatory anyways).
using the Fishing rod and the Propeller Dagger there are VERY VERY few places you couldn't ever retreive your stuff, also the Gear thing helps that out too
I'm a millennial, and I never played the original NES, and this game was amazing. It isn't just a rememberance of a bygone era, it is it's own game that innovates in amazing ways that NES titles never would or could. It is definitely a very modern title with some retro aesthetics.
It can definitely stand on its own, so much so that it became one of my favorite games before I seriously played the ones it's riffing on, so much so that it actually made those games harder to go back to with how much worse they felt by comparison.
Makes me think of the Scott Pilgrim game. Designed like an old-school beat-em-up, but played far better than just about any of them. also yes hello i am re-watching this years later don't judge me i'm working on a spreadsheet and nEED SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO
Yeaaaaaaah, I have. But I never beat it. I couldn't really get into it, Volgarr moves and attacks too slow for me to really comfortable controlling him.
+Super Bunnyhop the great thing about volgarr is it takes its gameplay almost exactly from Rastan... the first level is actually a direct copy of the first level from rastan its so damn nostalgic
I looks pretty fun. Just like retro city did but platform wise. I'd buy it but I'm not to big into platformers anymore. Save for the new rayman games. Its like mirrors edge but without limbs and polygons.
Denver Patterson design wise it is. RCR was deved as a homebrew for the NES but evolved outside of it. But music dev wise and the whole "keeping retro whilst modernising it up in places" thing that shovelknight did. That also creates issues cause gunplay and movement in RCR sucked...
Greatnocturn Oh, ok. I thought you meant gameplay wise. And for RCR the lock on targeting, movement, and gun aiming were all better on the DX version for the 3DS. That's why I only play the 3DS version.
with current technology and a custom chip like some kind of "super fx for nes" the nes could handle this, maybe not so much paralax scrolling, just 3 save slots because of the battery thing in the cartridge, but this game properly optimized this could be done for actual NES. just like megaman 9, I wish they did it, and if nes can't handle it, make it 16 bits for snes. I wish older consoles were like radio or something like that where they keep making content for it even after decades.
"Zelda 2's downstab with a bounce"? What the actual FUCK, George?! You mentioned Ducktales and didn't realize that's actually the pogo cane attack Scrooge does?! There isn't even a melee attack per se in Ducktales, you can only use it to push objects. Ducktales attack IS a bouncy downstab!! I don't know why this pisses me off so much, but you need to get your memory checked before talking, bro >:( Anyhow, great review nonetheless, as always.
CoLomBiaSauriO Nah they were talking about the properties. You know since it requires an enemy or object to bounce off of unlock unlike the ducktales bounce.
You know you can use the Fishing rod to retrieve hard to reach sacks of money? Also I'm sure it's intentional that you aren't always able to get back everything that you lost. It's supposed to make you fear dying.
You will often die in places where you can't fish (such as moving or temporary foot/shovelholds). And most of your deaths come from pits or enemies knocking you into them.
if you go to the official page (here: yachtclubgames.com/about/ ) you will see this line of text in the FAQ: Q: Plague of Shadows was cool! Have you considered doing more Boss Knight Campaigns? A: Yes! We have two more Boss Knight campaigns to go! The official list is: Specter Knight King Knight We also have a few new additions in the works too, like Battle Mode and Body Swap!
It's also a game where even if you have 0 nostalgia attachment, it's still one of your most favorite games that you'll hold near and deer to yourself. Or that was just me
+Cullen Alexander The PS1 was the first console I had. I really like this game.
I felt that 100%
Cullen Alexander True, The thing that Mighty no 9 and Yooka laylee will never learn
Maybe just you because it took me a long time to warm up to Shovel Knight. Still now it takes me a day or two to return and beat another level or two but I enjoyed this game immensely. I'm 31 but maybe I just don't hold as much nostalgia when it comes to games that copy games I grew up with, even though Shovel Knight is a classic now.
Despite not having grown up with NES classics, Shovel Knight is still a legitimately amazing and fun game.
my first console was a ps2 and shovel knight is on of my favourite games, it's not about nostalgia for me, it's just insanley good
Would love to have more time to play this game, looks like a great game for enjoying the best bits of days gone by :-)
Well, now you have something to play once you finish up FTL! ;-)
It really is an amazing game. I wasn't disappointed in the least
Wait!
You!
Here!
What!
pro trick : watch series on Flixzone. I've been using them for watching lots of of movies during the lockdown.
George, you must be DAMN GOOD at NES platformers if you thought shovel knight was easy.
Cleath78 Well I'm pretty good at I wanna be the guy games...so that's kinda a let down...hopefully i'll still enjoy it!
I wanna be the guy games???
Cleath78 IWBTG Fangames I meant. There is a whole bunch of them and even a tier list that ranks them all by difficulty! Sadly though, most of them are very horribly and lazily made. The only good ones in my opinion are, I Wanna Be The Guy, I Wanna Be The Fangame, and I Wanna Be The Boshy!
I personally recomend starting with fangame, and see if you like it after giving it go for a few hours, Guy, and Boshy (especially boshy) do have more dramatic asthetics but aren't as well designed from a physical level design perspective, (plus are harder!).
I would recomend them more if your a teen, or are new to platformers in general, otherwise just play Freedom Planet, which is like a "sonicy" Shovel Kight if anything!
oh plus they are free! so there is that!
+Cleath78 I'm still stuck on Specter Knight.
Eh, the game is quite easy. The only hard parts are when the game decides to go full bullshit by constantly killing you in one hit pitfalls like that fucking stupid angler fish boss.
Super Bunnyhop, I've been perusing your channel for the evening, and without a doubt, I have to say that your material here is some of the most thought provoking material I've heard on games. I can't say I agree with every bit and bob I've heard tonight as I surf through your channel, but you meticulously choose your words and check your facts.
Although I think you had me on the way you voiced the problems I have with Axiom Verge, it is here at your Shovel Knight video, where you so eloquently voiced what it is that makes Shovel Knight such a special game over all other Faux retro games that have hit as of recent that you have earned my subscription.
I look forward to seeing your content in my subscription box.
Ok buddy
You honestly do the best reviews. I've watched a review that started off the bat explaining the story of shovel knight. I don't need those arguable spoiler. I want to know about the game. Thanks!
You can tell that most developers don't understand what we were nostalgic about and hope that the aesthetic will have people jumping to conclusions. This game has a sincere optimism that seems to have been lost in favour of overblown drama where joy is an emotion you should not be allowed to feel from the triple A studios. From the indie side there's consistent cheapness and laziness to everything short of pseudo-experimental gameplay, or games that play like your kid's first game, with no subtlety or understanding of the dynamics that make simple games work and think they can get away with simplicity in and of itself. Neither feel sincere or optimistic.
A lot of games reference and poke fun at (taking away from both the sincerity and optimism) the games you'd think they'd celebrate or just make a worse rendition of. There are games where you can feel they stopped feeling like the game was worth making. Then there's this game that seems like the developers never stopped believing. A lot seems to come down to keeping everything diegetic; in the world. Respect the fourth wall and have faith in what you've made, but still have fun with it.
Well that ended up being longer than intended. Thanks for making it this far.
"silhouette levels like in super meat boy"
that sure is a weird way to spell ninja gaiden
Great video, as usual. I love how you manage to weave analysis effortlessly into the "normal" review stuff :)
It's a testament to how good this game is when I LOVE it and I'm no where near old enough to be able to get nostalgic off NES games. It's just a really fun game.
2:54 You can use the Fishing Rod to retrieve currency underneath you.
not even the fishing rod can get that
you can reach the silver bag, but the gold one is gone forever
I know everyone -- including the developers -- is saying how much Shovel Knight was inspired by Zelda II, but after playing it, I have to say SK owes a MASSIVE debt to Ducktales.
And Megaman.
And Castlevania. And Mario 3. And, just saying, my fave game, all-time.
Joshua Campbell Shovel Knight takes a lot of influences but I too feel that it was partially inspired by Zelda 2's combat.
Downward slash bounce is freaking amazing though.
I can't help but bash my head against a wall when i hear people calling pixel art "retro"- just because it's in a style that was invented in the past dosen't mean it's an homage to the past! It's just a way of making games!
In the particular case of Shovel Knight it IS an homage to the past.
CHeck Yatch-Club games, alias Ex-WayForwards employees CV.
Well that convinced me to buy it. Gotta say, i'm getting sick of "RETRO 8BIT INDIE GAMES" that don't actually have any 8bit limitations at all.
I see this comment so often, and I really have to ask, why are you getting sick of them? What do the real limitations actually add to the final product in your opinion? To me, 8bit pixelart and chiptunes are stylistic choices, because some find them aesthetically pleasing, no different than the way Wind Waker used cell-shading or Hotline Miami used a specific type of music that sounded like a modern take on 80's music.
I'm asking this sincerely, because I want to see what the thought process is. To me, the limitations in Shovel Knight and 1001 Spikes on using a retro-true color palette are cool and interesting and I respect how great the art in both games is under those limitations, but it doesn't make me respect games that don't have those boundaries any less.
Sunder I would say people are getting tired of it due to an over saturation of it on steam. For some people there is just to much, for what some people would say is a good thing. And to the limitations of the game adding something to the game, its shows more effort witch pleases the consumer. Its not like the other 8 bit games are doing less its juts that this one is doing more.
Me personally i'm not tired of 8 bit, if it helps the developer make the game or just because they wanted 8 bit. Its the developers choice.
Sunder Usually, though not always, the "8-bit retro style!!" is used as an excuse for having simpler graphics. Shovel Knight is trying to be in the style of an actual retro 8-bit game, but usually it's just this kind of pandering towards nostalgia. I like to call it Minecraft syndrome. Minecraft doesn't need to look as ugly as it does, Notch just isn't much of an artist, and he's not great with Java. Minecraft could look really nice and stylized with a real artstyle, a real lighting engine, and it could be awesome, but it doesn't.
And then when people criticize that, the response is usually "OH, YOU'RE JUST A GRAPHICS WHORE", and it's like, no, i just appreciate that this could look a lot better. Graphics are a big part of a primarily visual medium like a video game.
Sunder Also, 8-bit is the cour de jour for hipster "OMG I AM SUCH A NERD" types that know about Legend of Zelda, Mario and Call of Duty and nothing else, so I guess I just kind of have this disdain for it.
Shovel Knights is 8-bit done right though. It looks and plays like a really good 1994 NES game, not a 2014 game trying to look retro.
Jackald If the game over relied on references as a selling point I would agree with you, but it doesn't do more than light homages at most. The billboard memes in Watchdog's are pandering, Shovel Knight is refinement. Part of the reason the new Wolfenstien is receiving such praise is that it takes the building blocks of Quake and Doom and refines them without getting bogged down but the trends and nuances of AAA shooters. There are always going to be the occasional disingenuous 8-bit 90s-kid targeted cash in but you can say that for just about any design choice with an audience. Don't get so caught up in imaginary and anecdotal people like that when there are earnest people making and playing innovative games inside an older theme.
The "downstab" is not from Zelda 2, it's from Ducktales.
Edit: I assume this because of the bounce physics. There are other elements in the game that are clearly Zelda 2.
Zelda 2 came out first.
kinda a combination of the two :)
Zelda 2 was released before Ducktales NES, though the "bounciness" is more akin to Scrooge's pogo cane.
Jormos1206
with the bounce added, though, it's physics are more similar to that of ducktales.
Is that so? Sorry then. I thought it was based off ducktales because of the bounce.
But wait there are other elements in the game that are definitely based off Zelda 2. So maybe the "downward stab" isn't and the other things like sidescrolling towns and stuff are. Or maybe it's both or maybe I'm wrong and it really is Zelda 2 with a bounce effect added. Either way it doesn't matter.
You are a fantastic reviewer SuperB. So in depth and detailed but easy to listen to. Nice!
Great review. I love how you researched the production of the game and illustrated the technicalities in the video. Most reviewers wouldn't bother to include arrows that show resolution difference or a back to back comparison of the NES's sound capabilities. Keep up your thoughtful and thorough work. It's awesome!
I love that this review had a theme to it and came out more like an essay. Superb job!
I didn't know there were silhouette levels in Super Meat Boy. I just thought that part of the lich yard was a reference to that one stage in Ninja Gaiden III.
Finally found thoughtful discourse on videogames! Love this. Subscribed.
I love it when the controls are so well done that you can concentrate on the challenges the game offers... not the challenges that the controling your character has. I mean sure the advanced moves and such should be difficult to pull off, but I mean just overall design.
Like in MGR, the block system is great, but it meshes very poorly with the bad camera system at times. Sometimes when the camera works fine, but it's the main reason why I get hit in that game. Especialy when you have enemy locked on, the camera can flip sides all the sudden when you are about to block! Meaning the game reads the direction of your attack wrong. Now this is just one of the examples, others are when Raiden happens to get cornered the camera goes full parkinson on you and vibrates around so much that you can't see anything.
I tanged there a bit, but I wanted to illustrate what I mean. When you got great camera, good control schemes, you don't have to worry about stuff like that. For example, Ninja Gaiden has awful camera, but the fact that enemies NEVER attack outside of your line of sight makes it more bearable, and ofcourse you have the dodge move and omnidirectional block to mend for it too.
So, after some trial and error I got the game "flowing" and completed it quite easily. With Rising, I complete the game, but I get bunch of stupid hits because the camera is too close and not up to the task of having directional blocking. Great game, but really sufferes from this imo. I hope they fix it for the sequel, I think the MGR was the game of the year for me, it's just too bad they overlooked the camera system a bit.
So I like the challenge, but I also want the game and it's enemies, levels to be the true challenge, not the bad design decissions at controls.
That how you remember it rather than how it was feel is something that I think is captured really fantastically by the music of Anamanaguchi. It's "16bit rock" that holds aesthetic similarity to the soundtracks of SNES Megaman games and the like but isn't held back by the SNES's audio limitations (for this reason it works really well as the soundtrack to the Scott Pilgrim vs The World game, which uses 16-bit-like visuals but with more competent aesthetics than a lot of the game at the time and a more unified look overall, as well as a more robust combat system than anything other than 1v1 fighters of the time)
Actually, Anamanaguchi is a NES + a rock band. If you listen closely you can hear the same two pulses, one triangle and a noise channel that is the NES limitation, and the guitars and drums added on top are real instruments played live.
I found this game quite difficult. But I was able to make it through to completion.
Awesome review. Going to buy this. Subbed.
As a NES addict myself, I really appreciate the developers' intention to make it more like a NES game despite some of the rather subtle changes. Might give this game a try, thanks for showcasing it.
Love these indie game reviews you do these are the kind of things that I would never look at myself and you always get me interested. Think you might do a Divinity Original Sin review some time? Been playing it recently and I felt it's pretty good so far but idk
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate people's fond memories of the past over the NES days and Shovel Knight is awesome but I hope the indie scene begins to go towards the aesthetics and design of the Super NES/Sega Genesis/NEO-GEO games of the 16 to 32 bit eras. Check out "Freedom Planet" if you ever wanted to play what felt like a true sequel to Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles!
As much as I love this look at the game, I'm curious how you manage to remember the melee attack from DuckTales but not the cane-bouncing action - because more than the down stab in Link's Adventure, I feel that's much more influential over Shovel Knight's... shovel bounce thingy. Except it doesn't work on the ground, I guess.
Shit, I think this might've been one of my earliest superbunnyhop videos along with the Broken Age vid, all the memories are flowing back.
and that soundtrack...
fantasticaly charming and fun game. I might even buy a Wii U copy for home after I beat it on 3DS. though Nintendo really should adopt cross buy
"Silhouette levels like Super Meat Boy"
Or Ninja Gaiden II for NES.
"Gravity gets reversed to go up and down like VVVVVV or Thomas Was Alone"
Or Metal Storm.
Even as a guy that didn't grow up around the NES/SNES period, nor a guy that likes these kind of sidescrollers... you've somehow convinced me that I should certainly consider this game. It seems like it really knows what its doing, not only on the nostalgia end, but as a well designed and great platformer. Its forgiving without looking too easy, and seems to have some very clever and good designs in it that seem just plain fun.
Anyone else watching in 2020? Anyone else kinda get choked up about the nostalgia (since maybe that’s what the game devs were truly going for)?
Great review! I immensely enjoy shovel knight, it's also the first game that I started speedrunning because the mechanics just feel so nice.. it turned my channel into a pile of tricks for the game lmao
i like how the intro is inspired by the MGS series, like the first foxhound logo from the MG2 and the tv noise from peace walker
Thank you for changing my mind about this game
Whew!! Well I'll be damned! A review that is actually positive! Glad he liked this one, because I've been binge-watching his reviews and aside from one or two they are almost all mostly negative and depressing lol. But I have enjoyed them all and the criticisms are well said!!!
***** Yeah, looking back I think you are right. I was in kind of a shitty mood at the time I left that comment, too. I feel like, for the most part, he gives no free passes and will never call a game "perfect", mentioning any and all flaws but also letting us know his personal enjoyment. I really like his reviews and hate I made him sound like a bitter old jerk lol...
***** Yeah, no doubt. I always try not to react and leave comments too quickly, because there are plenty of people willing to that when they get pissed at something. But every now and then I find out I left one somewhere, so glad I was able to rectify it a bit anyway. How shitty would it be if someone, whose content you regularly watch, winds up reading the one negative comment you left and think that is yoir opinion of them? Just seems kind of shitty considering how much entertainment they have provided, but people do it all the time. Even though I try to be aware of the comments I leave, there is always one somewhere I wouldn't mind changing lol.
***** Thanks, man. I think this made me come off as being down on myself more than I actually was lol. I just try to own up to what I say online because so many people don't, ya know? Hell, you taking the time to leave that last comment is rare to see as most people will just say "grow a dick fagit" and move on haha. Funny, considering your username. :'D
Another great thing about it is that there's no set storyline as such. There is, but if there's say 4 knights in an area you can take them on in any order you like and the consequences of killing those knights may help you achieve your goal. so it's not like mario where you have to take the bosses on in a set order.
Shovel Knight's storyline is incredibly flexible about the order you go through the game. The over world encounters are mostly isolated incidents so they have little baggage on the main story, and the only requirements in the main story are that the player beats all eight bosses before taking on the final boss (which is mandatory anyways).
Thanks for the review.
I might check this one out. I haven't played anything like this since I was in high school.
Great video, as usual :)
great review. subbed!
Great review. Very well put.
I was thinking about getting this game, now im sure ill get it.
Also thanks for reminding me of how good are the Castlevania Soundtracks.
Wow solid review!
Great review. Subbed
You forgot to mention that the main theme is awesome!
using the Fishing rod and the Propeller Dagger there are VERY VERY few places you couldn't ever retreive your stuff, also the Gear thing helps that out too
Great review as always George, would love to hear your thoughts on Rogue Legacy and yes Dark Souls 2
You gotta respect the developers for going the extra mile to do the 8-bit aesthetic actually legit.
Superb review!
Downthrust is from Duck Tales
Great review. Thanks!
This along with transistor are my favorite games of 2014
I really liked your review. It's opinionated - as a critique should be - but you're incredibly thoughtful and intelligent about it.
Subscribed.
I'm a millennial, and I never played the original NES, and this game was amazing. It isn't just a rememberance of a bygone era, it is it's own game that innovates in amazing ways that NES titles never would or could. It is definitely a very modern title with some retro aesthetics.
It can definitely stand on its own, so much so that it became one of my favorite games before I seriously played the ones it's riffing on, so much so that it actually made those games harder to go back to with how much worse they felt by comparison.
Giving Zeldas' Downward Thrust a bounce is btw just the pogostick mechanic from ducktales, which you even mentioned. Great Video, nonetheless
Just bought it on steam can’t wait to get home
You're right! I mean he is using a shovel, like he's digging up the past or something. So it makes sense too!
I never found there to be too many checkpoints.
Having less checkpoints creates an experience that is no more challenging, just more unforgiving.
This game executed very well. I can't wait to see what yacht club makes after it.
Nostalgia...doesn't hold it back.
Love the ending to the vidoe
Can I mod the game to make the hero look like the shoveler in Mystery Men
Makes me think of the Scott Pilgrim game. Designed like an old-school beat-em-up, but played far better than just about any of them.
also yes hello i am re-watching this years later don't judge me i'm working on a spreadsheet and nEED SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO
"They gave the Zelda II down thrust a bounce"... That's because it's the Ducktales pogo jump...
I really love this game even though I've never fully played through Zelda 2 and Ducktales.
Plague Knight section is the where the real game begins.
Best game I played all year so far. Sad that a retro 8-bit game is the best thing that I played in this so far dissapointing year.
It's not **all** about nostalgia...I grew up with the Gamecube and I still enjoyed it.
Super Bunnyhop Have you ever tried Volgarr the Viking?
Yeaaaaaaah, I have. But I never beat it. I couldn't really get into it, Volgarr moves and attacks too slow for me to really comfortable controlling him.
robert cartwright Exactly.
It is hardcore so not everyone will like it.
+Super Bunnyhop the great thing about volgarr is it takes its gameplay almost exactly from Rastan... the first level is actually a direct copy of the first level from rastan
its so damn nostalgic
Great video, thanks.
Subbed!!
I looks pretty fun. Just like retro city did but platform wise. I'd buy it but I'm not to big into platformers anymore. Save for the new rayman games. Its like mirrors edge but without limbs and polygons.
The game itself is nothing at all like Retro City Rampage. Though RCR is a pretty good game.
Denver Patterson design wise it is. RCR was deved as a homebrew for the NES but evolved outside of it. But music dev wise and the whole "keeping retro whilst modernising it up in places" thing that shovelknight did. That also creates issues cause gunplay and movement in RCR sucked...
Greatnocturn Oh, ok. I thought you meant gameplay wise. And for RCR the lock on targeting, movement, and gun aiming were all better on the DX version for the 3DS. That's why I only play the 3DS version.
with current technology and a custom chip like some kind of "super fx for nes" the nes could handle this, maybe not so much paralax scrolling, just 3 save slots because of the battery thing in the cartridge, but this game properly optimized this could be done for actual NES. just like megaman 9, I wish they did it, and if nes can't handle it, make it 16 bits for snes. I wish older consoles were like radio or something like that where they keep making content for it even after decades.
Wondering if the shovel isn't a metaphor abot digging the best parts of the past and bringing them back to the surface...
- thank you, kind witch
- I AM NOT A WITCH!!11111
Vinesuace interviewed these, the creators (Yacht Club Games) dudes, they were great.
"Zelda 2's downstab with a bounce"? What the actual FUCK, George?! You mentioned Ducktales and didn't realize that's actually the pogo cane attack Scrooge does?! There isn't even a melee attack per se in Ducktales, you can only use it to push objects. Ducktales attack IS a bouncy downstab!! I don't know why this pisses me off so much, but you need to get your memory checked before talking, bro >:( Anyhow, great review nonetheless, as always.
+CoLomBiaSauriO Scrolled down to post this exact same comment. Luckily you got me covered
Mimerneos It really gets under your skin, doesn't it? O_O
Actually during a Kinda Funny Twitch stream one of the devs said it was based on the Legend of Zelda II downstab.
Savon Moreland What the fuck? Maybe he referred to the animation?
CoLomBiaSauriO Nah they were talking about the properties. You know since it requires an enemy or object to bounce off of unlock unlike the ducktales bounce.
Nice review. I appreciate that you didn't give a numbered score.
You know you can use the Fishing rod to retrieve hard to reach sacks of money? Also I'm sure it's intentional that you aren't always able to get back everything that you lost. It's supposed to make you fear dying.
You will often die in places where you can't fish (such as moving or temporary foot/shovelholds). And most of your deaths come from pits or enemies knocking you into them.
I love this game. Are there more games like this today?
Yeah, I think we got ourselves a new title for a game, a nostalgia game.
I was just watching your mgs2 review. Now I get this? :)
subscribed!
i loooooooved 1001 spikes.
you know how there was plague knight dlc? and how there will be more nights? i want to see hoop kid get his own game!
if you go to the official page (here: yachtclubgames.com/about/ )
you will see this line of text in the FAQ:
Q: Plague of Shadows was cool! Have you considered doing more Boss Knight Campaigns?
A:
Yes! We have two more Boss Knight campaigns to go! The official list is:
Specter Knight
King Knight
We also have a few new additions in the works too, like Battle Mode and Body Swap!
Ahklut Gamer i know, i was saying hypothetically it would we awesome!
Still waiting for the Biscuit Samurai and Fridge Viking reviews
They didn't "add" a bounce to the downward thrust. They ripped it straight out of Ducktales for the NES.
I saw this review, then instantly bought the game.
And here i thought i was the only one who thought ZELDA 2 with the downstab :3
This game is fantastic
Cavestory Plus was great too
You think you could review the dlc campaigns next?
Hi ! Thank you for your review :) Please : what is the game from 1'21 to 1'22 with "This is from 2014" ? Thanks :)
Thanks! It's called "1001 Spikes" :)
Super Bunnyhop Great ! Thanks :) Keep it up & God bless :)
Is the song at the end from the soundtrack?
Matt 24 yes
Any mega man fan is gonna love shovel knight
More Revengence vids!
My GOTY for 2014
The checkpoint system would have been better if breaking the checkpoint gave you additional attack damage, lending more to expert speedrunning.