|
 In March of 2013, a little group calling themselves Yacht Club Games, including some former members of WayForward (yes, that WayForward!) set up a kickstarter for a game they wanted to make, a love letter to retro gaming, and described itself as a mash-up of Mega Man, Castlevania, and Dark Souls. The team's pedigree wasn't especially impressive (including a BloodRayne sequel and the Boy and His Blob remake), but the words 'retro' and 'kickstarter' together are a password to goons' wallets, so it made over $300,000. Now, a year and a half later, it's time to brace ourselves for a trainwreck and- ...wait, it's actually good?! That's right. Despite all appearances to the contrary, it seems that Yacht Club Games actually do know what they're doing, and shipped not just a decent game, but a goddamn great one. The controls are solid and intuitive, the level design is slick and clever and introduces new concepts gradually, the boss fights are dynamic, and while the game is filled to its goddamn ears with homages and borrowed ideas, it never feels like it's just shamelessly stealing from the games it's following in the footsteps of. Long story short, I love Shovel Knight. A lot. Here to slobber all over the game's knob with me is kalonZombie, and because we need a third person to keep this from devolving into two nerds geeking out over a game, The Heavenator, who has never played this game before, and doesn't go in much for retro poo poo. Other guest commentators may or may not rotate in and out as the situation demands, but you can consider us the main voices you'll be hearing. As there are no voiceovers, there is no cut-commentary version of these videos. However, because the music is loving great, particularly stand-out tracks will be linked here, below each video, to the composer's Bandcamp, where you can either listen for free, or purchase the soundtrack, using his name-your-price model (yes, free is a price). This VLP will first cover a 'normal' play-through of the game, hitting every level and feat that's possible without having to do a special run just for it. ...then I'll do the special runs just for those feats. I have some ideas for the formats of those, so hang on tight. If I'm still sane after getting every single feat, then I have one final video in store to cap everything off. (That is, admittedly, a big if, but it's good to have goals.) Spoiler Policy: I don't care if you discuss future levels, bosses, or exactly how much a pain in the dick getting the no-deaths feat is, but please, for the love of God, do not spoil the twist. If someone speculates it, do not pat them on the back and congratulate them. Do not coyly tease at what the truth might be. It's not much, but it's the one curveball Shovel Knight has, and I'd like to see it preserved so it can impact properly. I'd also ask you not to spoil any of the special modes. You know which ones I mean. Characters  Shovel Knight - Our hero. After his partner Shield Knight was brought down by a cursed amulet in the Tower of Fate, he's given up on adventuring. But now, the Tower is opening again, and with it, a chance, no matter how slim, of seeing Shield Knight again.  Black Knight - A former friend and rival of Shovel Knight, with the rise of the Enchantress, Black Knight has sworn to protect her and the Order of No Quarter. Though, curiously, he doesn't seem to be a part of it...  King Knight - A member of the Order of No Quarter. When the Enchantress deposed the true King, she gave his castle to King Knight. Takes Shovel Knight's insult of "decadent dandy" as a compliment.  Specter Knight - A member of the Order of No Quarter. Seems to have an affinity for the dead and undead. The Enchantress - She's made the Tower of Fate her personal sanctuary, and with the might of her Order of No Quarter, she's poised to rule everything within her grasp. Videos  Notable Songs: Main Theme, Strike the Earth!, The Rival Obtained Feats (2/45): You're Fired - Finish off the Black Knight with a reflected shot. Only You - Use caution and common sense around campfires.  Notable Songs: No Weapons Here (And the Obtained Feats (6/45): First Purchase - Buy your first item. Hooper - Bounce on the Hoop Kid’s hoop for 5 seconds. Pungent - Listen to all of the Croaker’s puns. Troupple Acolyte - Discover the secrets of the Troupple King.  Notable Songs: In The Halls of the Usurper, The Decadent Dandy Obtained Feats (9/45): Get the Point! - Destroy all checkpoints in a single stage. I'm Alive! - Finish any stage without dying. Untouched - Emerge unscathed from a battle with any knight of the Order of No Quarter.  Notable Songs: La Danse Macabre, The Apparition Obtained Feats (9/45): No new ones this time. (I think?) Featuring 100 HOGS AGREE and Jenner as guest commentators! girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Feb 5, 2015 |
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 07:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 12:24 |
|
|
Hey, what's the big twist?
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 08:14
|
|
|
Blind Sally posted:Hey, what's the big twist? OP quits LP, makes a ten minute video crying about why he can't finish it, the end
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 08:27
|
|
|
Holy poo poo this went up fast.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 15:03
|
|
|
I'm happy there's another LP of this, I was enjoying the last one.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 15:04
|
|
|
kalonZombie posted:Holy poo poo this went up fast.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 15:45
|
|
|
Music chat: the two tracks you mentioned (is it spoilers to say which ones?) are by Manami Matsumae, who was the composer not for Mega Man 9, but Mega Man 1 (and also contributed to Mega Man 10's soundtrack). The rest of the soundtrack is by Jake "Virt" Kaufman, who'd done a fair bit of music for WayForward before this, including the music for DuckTales Remastered. If I recall correctly, the music was made in FamiTracker and uses the VRC6 Expansion, which gives you an extra two square waves and another sawtooth wave to play with (on top of the default two squares, triangle, noise and DPCM). A few actual NES games used VRC6 (from what I've read Castlevania III is one of them?) but I think Virt's said that the soundtrack for this alone would fill up a NES cartridge and then some. Good to see someone LPing this (er... again), hopefully you can stay the course with it 
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 17:05
|
|
|
Paul.Power posted:Music chat: the two tracks you mentioned (is it spoilers to say which ones?) are by Manami Matsumae, who was the composer not for Mega Man 9, but Mega Man 1 (and also contributed to Mega Man 10's soundtrack). The rest of the soundtrack is by Jake "Virt" Kaufman, who'd done a fair bit of music for WayForward before this, including the music for DuckTales Remastered.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 18:19
|
|
|
Poison Mushroom posted:Well, I linked the soundtrack, so you can name the tracks, just don't go too much into where they happen.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 18:25
|
|
|
I'm definitely glad to see another LP of this after the last one went out so suddenly. The game (and the music) is just too good to be left alone. I'm still going to yell at you if you miss any big pieces of treasure though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2014 18:50
|
|
|
Blind Sally posted:Hey, what's the big twist? he has a shovel
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2014 03:44
|
|
|
I want to say that the Order of No Quarter is probably the best name ever for a band of evil Knights.
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2014 03:50
|
|
|
100 HOGS AGREE posted:I want to say that the Order of No Quarter is probably the best name ever for a band of evil Knights.
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2014 03:52
|
|
|
Poison Mushroom posted:I think the only way it could be better is if Shovel Knight was a coin-op arcade game. Oh, hey! I got it now! But then in Italy arcades gobbled 200£ and 500£ coins (and then 1000£, pre-euro inflation was a wonderful thing)
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2014 17:50
|
|
|
This time on Let's Play Shovel Knight, puns. Notable Songs: No Weapons Here (And the Obtained Feats (6/45): First Purchase - Buy your first item. Hooper - Bounce on the Hoop Kid’s hoop for 5 seconds. Pungent - Listen to all of the Croaker’s puns. Troupple Acolyte - Discover the secrets of the Troupple King. girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Nov 22, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2014 23:40
|
|
|
This is probably a statement to my terrible sense of humor, but that broken sword joke made me laugh really hard. Also, on the topic of uncanny resemblances, I look at that frog dude's throat-puffing animation and I just hear that heh.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 00:48
|
|
|
So I was in town when my Dad had a huge party with a bunch of grad students and profs, and some of them brought their kids who were aged 4-10 or so and they managed to stumble their way out of Nintendoland onto Shovel Knight. I set them up with a new file and they were just so very excited about this game, they were taking turns between deaths and giving each other advice, and I was helping them through sections they were having trouble with. They were just enjoying the hell out of this game and it was the most  thing ever.Sort of a pointless story I know, but I just really liked how kids were really digging this game the way me and my friends would really get into game boy megaman games or Super Mario World if their older brother had a Super Nintendo when I was a kid. Really showed that these sort of things are universal and that this game really succeeded in what it set out to do (as if me beating it like 5 times didn't prove that enough). e: Man, I love those Space Jam remixes, glad you liked my stupid little story. ManlyGrunting fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Nov 23, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 04:24
|
|
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzWE5AJXnUc This was shown to me, and I can't not share it with you all. ManlyGrunting posted:So I was in town when my Dad had a huge party with a bunch of grad students and profs
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 04:37
|
|
|
It makes me very happy you listened to all of the puns. Can we expect a repeat performance with the later event? I'm also glad you grabbed the music sheet in that room, I watched several other partial playthroughs recently and not a one grabbed that, it was annoying. Especially since it's a marked wall, and not a secret destructible wall.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 06:09
|
|
|
Oblivion4568238 posted:It makes me very happy you listened to all of the puns. Can we expect a repeat performance with the later event? Funny story, I didn't know about the music sheet in the Troupple glade until I recorded. I forgot you get it and was just doing it because it's a funny event.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 15:30
|
|
|
I bet troupple is delicious.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 17:22
|
|
|
ManlyGrunting posted:Sort of a pointless story I know, but I just really liked how kids were really digging this game Oh you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2014 22:51
|
|
|
I watched the first video and now I've bought and beat the game. Looking forward to seeing what I missed!
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2014 19:53
|
|
|
You're really acing the enemies with that spade.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2014 00:19
|
|
|
This was supposed to be posted around Thanksgiving, but  Notable Songs: In The Halls of the Usurper, The Decadent Dandy Obtained Feats (9/45): Get the Point! - Destroy all checkpoints in a single stage. I'm Alive! - Finish any stage without dying. Untouched - Emerge unscathed from a battle with any knight of the Order of No Quarter. girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Dec 5, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2014 20:00
|
|
|
The game audio overpowers your voices a bit.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2014 20:07
|
|
|
Yeah, you could stand to lower the game audio a little there. Still, I'm just glad this LP is still alive, for a while there I was worried Shovel Knight was getting a bit of a curse about it  .The little helicopter rats are fantastic .
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2014 20:54
|
|
|
Fixing the audio now. Edit Should be fixed now. girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Dec 5, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2014 21:05
|
|
|
I thought I was pretty good at Shovel Knight, but I had no idea about the Yacht Club logo... Or that there was even Healing Fish in the game. Pridemoor Keep is probably the best stage to get a certain annoying achievement.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2014 00:26
|
|
|
Zuzie posted:I thought I was pretty good at Shovel Knight, but I had no idea about the Yacht Club logo... Or that there was even Healing Fish in the game. Pridemoor Keep is probably the best stage to get a certain annoying achievement.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2014 00:49
|
|
|
Kind of funny hearing how Heavenator hates purposely retro games, since I'm very much on the same boat. I didn't much care for Super Meat Boy even, and I grew up with the N64 (my first console)- I even need an analogue stick to play this game and I sort of dislike Megaman (I like Super Mario World though). So this is my favourite "retro" game by a landslide and I don't even really care for the genre, as much as I like Rayman and the Retro Donkey Kong Country games.
ManlyGrunting fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Dec 8, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2014 02:04
|
|
|
This is a good LP, and much better than the previous one. You mentioned you're looking forward to no relics run in the second video. Probably the most fun I've had with the game was doing a no relics/money spent/upgrades used run. Makes the game pretty challenging and really forces you to learn boss patterns.ManlyGrunting posted:Kind of funny hearing how Heavenator hates purposely retro games, since I'm very much on the same boat. I didn't much care for Super Meat Boy even, and I grew up with the N64 (my first console)- I even need an analogue stick to play this game and I sort of dislike Megaman (I like Super Mario World though). So this is my favourite "retro" game by a landslide and I don't even really care for the genre, as much as I like Rayman and the Retro Donkey Kong Country games. My issue with such games is that they don't actually have good graphics; very rarely do such games that advertise as "being retro" try to look like an actual (good) NES/SNES/whatever game, and seem to just use that as an excuse for having mediocre-to-poor pixel graphics. This, Oniken, Lisa the RPG, and some unreleased Kickstarter games are the only ones I can think of in recent years that actually look like good-looking NES/SNES games.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2014 05:21
|
|
|
Genocyber posted:This is a good LP, and much better than the previous one. What happened to the previous one? The guy said he had to quit for some reason then came back like a month later with another LP.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2014 07:04
|
|
|
Hedrigall posted:What happened to the previous one? The guy said he had to quit for some reason then came back like a month later with another LP. But hey, I'm not exactly in any position to criticize someone else for abandoning an LP.  (On that note, I'm checking out some of my old, abandoned LPs, and oh my God, I think my old writing is the purest concentration of "please pay attention to me please find my writing funny and in turn think I'm witting and charming, look, look, isn't this funny?" on the internet.  )
girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 07:13 on Dec 8, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2014 07:07
|
|
|
10,000 gold in a single level? (Well, alright, and bonus level.) drat, but things must get expensive later on.
Glazius fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Dec 13, 2014 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 03:23
|
|
|
We recorded the next couple videos a few days ago, I'm just being lazy about getting everything together for them.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 03:35
|
|
|
Glazius posted:10,000 gold in a single level? (Well, alright, and bonus level.) drat, but things must get expensive later on. They don't. Game throws gold at you, probably so people who do poorly can still buy all the poo poo in the end.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2014 03:55
|
|
|
Enjoying this LP so far. Looks like a great game! Reminds me a lot of the SNES era games I loved as a kid.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2014 09:12
|
|
|
Poison Mushroom posted:We recorded the next couple videos a few days ago, I'm just being lazy about getting everything together for them. Just chiming in to say I really enjoyed the first three videos and your is appreciated. I gots to get my shovel fix
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2014 13:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 12:24 |
|
|
Tangentially related to Shovel Knight, but he's a playable character in a game called "Road Redemption" Seeing Shovel Knight with actual human proportions is a bit strange.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2014 19:50
|
|