Shovel Knight II: Deeper Above Ground

Shovel Knight II: Deeper Above Ground would be a sequel to the highly acclaimed indie game Shovel Knight for PC and Nintendo systems. When I played through the first one on Wii U, I absolutely fell in love with its theming, its unique characters, and its excellent design. It truly is an instant classic, and I quickly decided that I wanted to create my own idea for a sequel, with new boss knights, new levels, and new relics in the mix.

Something you should all know about this idea is also that the ideas for rival knights in this game were drawn entirely from fan suggestions that I got off of the first game's fans on Miiverse! Although they'll likely never see this, I want to thank everybody who contributed ideas; they're very creative, and I really enjoyed seeing the enthusiasm they had for participating.

Plot
Shovel Knight II would follow the story arcs of three different characters: you have the brave main protagonist of the first game, Shovel Knight, his partner Shield Knight, and a special up-and-coming third character named Spade Knight, who is looking to become the apprentice of the former two. Spade Knight approaches the other two at their mountain fortress hideout to make his case for why they should take him under their wing. They remain reluctant, but suddenly, a flash of light erupts from the spacious floor that sends the three through time and space to completely different places.

Unknown to them, this is the work of a galactic warlock named Galex, who is looking to destroy the world by replacing it with a star from the inside out with his castle-like spaceship. Meanwhile, each of our heroes has been sent careening through different parts of the universe, with each of them having to fight three mysterious rival knights before finally bringing themselves back into the proper dimension.

When they finally return to their own world, Shovel Knight, Shield Knight, and Spade Knight find their own world in disarray as the world is beginning to be consumed by Galex's blazing star magic. They all try to make their way to the hideout and rally, after fighting through Galex's armies overland.

Eventually they reach their meeting room, now torn up from the force that sent them away at the beginning of the game. Galex is simply waiting there, surrounded by bizarre technology, seemingly monitoring the progress of the planet's consumption, and waiting until the climactic moment when the surface is destroyed. After a fierce fight, Galex's combat machinery is dismantled, and the trio force him to provide answers.

It turns out that Galex was the brother of the woman whose spirit became the Enchantress, the evil presence that was the antagonist of the previous game. In life, she was as he was; they were powerful beings, with knowledge and scope beyond that of average humans. However, his sister became fascinated with the human race, and simply couldn't give up the thought that they should intervene in human affairs. Galex disagreed, the two fell out, and she ended up getting corrupted through meddling with humanity. She became preoccupied with witchcraft and sorcery, and decided she wanted to exist forever as a ghost.

After learning of his sister's true undoing, Galex became distraught, and resolved to eliminate the world that took her away from him. Moreover, he wanted to relish in the destruction of those who destroyed her spirit permanently, and still there remained nothing they could do to stop it, even if it meant he would die along with them. Shovel Knight and Shield Knight quickly begin to lose hope of convincing Galex not to go through with his plan, but then Spade Knight steps in.

Spade Knight explains the entire reason why he came so far to try to become a trained knight is because the same thing happened to him. Before his adventure, he was simply a young man living life with his big sister, with his head in the clouds, living simply in the country. One day, the parts near their home are attacked by an invading army. Neither of them are killed, but their home is destroyed. In the aftermath, Spade Knight's sister puts all his needs before her own, merely to keep him alive where she couldn't do the same for herself. While he ultimately did survive the hard times, he suffered a fate almost worse than death, having to see his sister fade away until eventually dying.

Spade Knight found his path in life after having to bury his sister with the spade from their tool shed, representing the moment when the harshness of real life had finally found him. He resolved to honor his sister's memory by protecting those who weren't finished dreaming in life with his mighty spade, so that they would have time to learn who they really were. Spade Knight tells Galex that if he really loved his sister, he shouldn't waste his life and the lives of everyone in the world, but should instead take the time to find out who he truly is.

Galex, moved by Spade Knight's words, reverses the star generator at the very last second before the world is consumed, and a failsafe triggered that reverses the time stream within the planet and restores it to its original state. Almost without words, Galex sends Shovel, Spade, and Shield Knight back down to their hideout, and when they recover themselves, Shovel and Shield Knight agree to teach Spade Knight whatever they can, and decide to take up his cause as their own.

Rival Knights
Plant Knight

Chef Knight

Draco Knight

Poker Knight

Sweet Knight

Music Knight

Hunter Knight

Pharaoh Knight

Lunar Knight