• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Shovel Knight Announced for Rivals of Aether

my boy! my beautiful boy!.jpg
Over a year after their first guest character reveal, Shovel Knight has been announced as Rivals of Aether's second guest character and final DLC character. He was first revealed today during the Rivals of Aether panel at Super Smash Con, hosted by lead developer Dan Fornace and community manager George Rogers, with a full trailer featuring animation from Studio Yotta.


During the panel we got an in-depth look at Shovel Knight's moveset. Overall, he's meant to be a fairly accessible all-around character, with the intent that players can do well with him without having to learn the ins and outs of his unique mechanics. Most of his moves are based on his in-game abilities, borrowing from both his normal relics and a few Custom Knight abilities, such as the Flare Razer and Rising Dagger.

Shovel Knight, like several other Rivals characters, has a passive ability in the form of Treasure Hunter. All of his attacks will make gems fly out of enemies on hit, which Shovel Knight can then pick up. He can then taunt to summon Chester and spend his collected loot on either a new neutral special or a different suit of armor. There are three types of armor: the Dynamo Mail, Mail of Momentum and Ornate Plate. The first two have passive bonuses - the Dynamo Mail lets him use a strong attack in the air after hitting with a down air, while the Mail of Momentum increases his weight at the cost of lowering his traction. The Ornate Plate, on the other hand, is purely cosmetic, designed for messing with opponents.

As for his neutral special, he has four - at the start of the match, he has Coin Capture, which pulls in any stray pieces of treasure on the stage. Once he's collected enough treasure, he can then open the shop to replace it one of three Relics: the War Horn, the Ghost Glove or the Mobile Gear. The war horn is a slow but powerful attack that launches opponents away from the center of its hitbox. The Ghost Glove gives Shovel Knight a short-range rapid fire projectile. This attack will also auto-cancel on landing. Finally, the Mobile Gear acts as a moving platform that Shovel Knight - or anyone else - can stand on.

He also has the Propeller Dagger as his side special and the Tow Anchor as his up special. The Tow Anchor is a fairly basic up-special, with Shovel Knight clinging to a flying anchor as it briefly soars through the air then falls to the ground. It has a deceptively large hitbox and a sweetspot hit behind him at the start of the attack, but otherwise it's a fairly basic and punishable recovery option. The Propeller Dagger is also fairly simple - Shovel Knight charges up then attacks with a flying lunge. If charged completely, it becomes the Infinidagger, flying forward until it hits something. Notably, if he hits the blast zone with the Infinidagger, Shovel Knight will bounce off harmlessly. The move can also be jump canceled when used on the ground.

Finally, his down special is the Fishing Rod. Shovel Knight sits down and casts out a fishing line, reeling it in once it hits the ground or the bottom blast zone. The hook has a spike hitbox on the way down and pops enemies up when it's reeled in, meaning it can be used to edgeguard or to extend combos. If it hits the blast zone, Shovel Knight can reel in either a golden fish or a treasure mound. The former is a high value piece of treasure, while the latter can be destroyed for treasure. When used in the air, Shovel Knight will sit on a Glide Cloud while he attacks with it.

Shovel Knight will be released in September alongside the Troupple Pond stage. Two more stages corresponding to Sylvanos and Elliana will also be released with the same update. As this is Rivals' final DLC character, all further development will be focused on porting the game over to Game Maker Studio 2 and implementing the new netcode in preparation for Definitive Edition, which will come out sometime in early 2019.

Author's note: What are your thoughts on Shovel Knight being in Rivals? Did you predict his inclusion, or think someone else would be picked? Let us know in the comments.
 
Scribe

Comments

Man, I love Shovel Knight, but it is getting tiring seeing him everywhere. Can't wait for King of Cards, though.
 
.....uhh... err.... I-I'll be damned...

I suppose if I were to place him on some kind of element, he would probably lean the most toward Kragg... but even that's a stretch...

that being said, this exclusive currency and shop system for him just strikes me as peculiar in this enviornment... doesn't look like something that you can use quickly.
 
Man, I love Shovel Knight, but it is getting tiring seeing him everywhere.
Wow thats exactly opposite of me I hate shovel knight but Its energizing and refreshing to see him everywhere. I can wait for queen of dominoes though.
No jk im sorry, I love shovel knight if anything I am glad to see him getting loved by so many IP's right now
So uhhhhh,is this why he not in smash?
Assist Trophy brah already confirmed,

Im hype. I might actually fire up aether now lol.
 
looks super out of place with all the animals.

Rather he was in Smash, but assist trophy is probably fitting for being relatively new and not Nintendo exclusive.
 
Ah yes, finally Shovel knight is in a different game that I play

For anyone thinking that this is why Shovel knight is only an assist trophy in ultimate, just be reminded that these sorts of guest appearances take a lot of planning way before any announcements take place. If anything, Shovel knight being an assist trophy might be the reason he's gonna be playable is rivals or else we would've gotten another indie rep in rivals. All speculation but I'm hyped regardless
 
This fits Shovel Knight way more than Smash honestly. The design is just perfect, and it's ironic how Shovel Knight is now the link between Smash and Rivals of Aether :laugh:
 
This fits Shovel Knight way more than Smash honestly. The design is just perfect, and it's ironic how Shovel Knight is now the link between Smash and Rivals of Aether :laugh:
Ironic as Shovel Knight is expected to be playable indie for NIntendo's biggest game when the scope target of playable content is video game series MAJOR to Nintendo's history, yet is more suited as an appreciation guest assist trophy character. Meanwhile Rivals of Aether makes more logical sense for Shovel Knight to be a playable character because both of these games are in equal status as indie games.

Ah yes, finally Shovel knight is in a different game that I play

For anyone thinking that this is why Shovel knight is only an assist trophy in ultimate, just be reminded that these sorts of guest appearances take a lot of planning way before any announcements take place. If anything, Shovel knight being an assist trophy might be the reason he's gonna be playable is rivals or else we would've gotten another indie rep in rivals. All speculation but I'm hyped regardless
It is purely coincidental at best for how Shovel Knight was implemented in both games. You can only ask Yacht Club Games on how those decisions were made with planning. However, based on the placement in those games, I would believe it is more appropriate on where Shovel Knight stands in those two games.


Also, since Game Maker Studio 2 now has open beta for exporting games to Nintendo Switch, it may be possible to have a definitive edition for Nintendo Switch as a complementary experience with Smash Bros Ultimate.
 
Last edited:
Well if he can't be playable in Ultimate, then he will be playable somewhere else :p.
But pretty cool. I have to yet play this Game. Im kinda waiting until the Switch Version is ready.
 
D
This combined with his Assist Trophy debut give me the same level of satisfaction as if he was just playable in Smash. That trailer's up there with K. Rool and the Belmonts for me. Can't wait to pick him and Ranno up whenever I get to this game!
 
This fits Shovel Knight way more than Smash honestly. The design is just perfect, and it's ironic how Shovel Knight is now the link between Smash and Rivals of Aether :laugh:
you know what means, RIval of Aether and Smash are now canonically in the same multiverse.
 
What I love about Rivals is that every character has some sort of gimmick to make them interesting, or interact with the stage somehow.

Shovel Knight adds a bloody MONEY system in the middle of a fighting game, and I think that's incredible.
 
Over a year after their first guest character reveal, Shovel Knight has been announced as Rivals of Aether's second guest character and final DLC character. He was first revealed today during the Rivals of Aether panel at Super Smash Con, hosted by lead developer Dan Fornace and community manager George Rogers, with a full trailer featuring animation from Studio Yotta.


During the panel we got an in-depth look at Shovel Knight's moveset. Overall, he's meant to be a fairly accessible all-around character, with the intent that players can do well with him without having to learn the ins and outs of his unique mechanics. Most of his moves are based on his in-game abilities, borrowing from both his normal relics and a few Custom Knight abilities, such as the Flare Razer and Rising Dagger.

Shovel Knight, like several other Rivals characters, has a passive ability in the form of Treasure Hunter. All of his attacks will make gems fly out of enemies on hit, which Shovel Knight can then pick up. He can then taunt to summon Chester and spend his collected loot on either a new neutral special or a different suit of armor. There are three types of armor: the Dynamo Mail, Mail of Momentum and Ornate Plate. The first two have passive bonuses - the Dynamo Mail lets him use a strong attack in the air after hitting with a down air, while the Mail of Momentum increases his weight at the cost of lowering his traction. The Ornate Plate, on the other hand, is purely cosmetic, designed for messing with opponents.

As for his neutral special, he has four - at the start of the match, he has Coin Capture, which pulls in any stray pieces of treasure on the stage. Once he's collected enough treasure, he can then open the shop to replace it one of three Relics: the War Horn, the Ghost Glove or the Mobile Gear. The war horn is a slow but powerful attack that launches opponents away from the center of its hitbox. The Ghost Glove gives Shovel Knight a short-range rapid fire projectile. This attack will also auto-cancel on landing. Finally, the Mobile Gear acts as a moving platform that Shovel Knight - or anyone else - can stand on.

He also has the Propeller Dagger as his side special and the Tow Anchor as his up special. The Tow Anchor is a fairly basic up-special, with Shovel Knight clinging to a flying anchor as it briefly soars through the air then falls to the ground. It has a deceptively large hitbox and a sweetspot hit behind him at the start of the attack, but otherwise it's a fairly basic and punishable recovery option. The Propeller Dagger is also fairly simple - Shovel Knight charges up then attacks with a flying lunge. If charged completely, it becomes the Infinidagger, flying forward until it hits something. Notably, if he hits the blast zone with the Infinidagger, Shovel Knight will bounce off harmlessly. The move can also be jump canceled when used on the ground.

Finally, his down special is the Fishing Rod. Shovel Knight sits down and casts out a fishing line, reeling it in once it hits the ground or the bottom blast zone. The hook has a spike hitbox on the way down and pops enemies up when it's reeled in, meaning it can be used to edgeguard or to extend combos. If it hits the blast zone, Shovel Knight can reel in either a golden fish or a treasure mound. The former is a high value piece of treasure, while the latter can be destroyed for treasure. When used in the air, Shovel Knight will sit on a Glide Cloud while he attacks with it.

Shovel Knight will be released in September alongside the Troupple Pond stage. Two more stages corresponding to Sylvanos and Elliana will also be released with the same update. As this is Rivals' final DLC character, all further development will be focused on porting the game over to Game Maker Studio 2 and implementing the new netcode in preparation for Definitive Edition, which will come out sometime in early 2019.

Author's note: What are your thoughts on Shovel Knight being in Rivals? Did you predict his inclusion, or think someone else would be picked? Let us know in the comments.
My only problem is I don't know if Shovel Knight belongs in Rivals. It will be weird to see a new player and such a diffrent and new one. Anyone else agree?
 
Top Bottom