With the absence of impact for two beloved franchises for a few years now, Castlevania and Mega Man are luckily not forgotten, as new heroes take over their capes and add their own twists and tweaks upon their formula's.
For instance, Shovel Knight is a great hybrid of DuckTales and Mega Man melee based gameplay, alongside Super Mario Bros. 3, Castlevania and Zelda II elements, yet it still has a pleasant identity of it's own, and the references are subtle.
As the latest retro based nostalgic throwback to the middle to late 80's video games, Shovel Knight can easily charm older gamers away because of it's graphics, animations, music and controls. All which are mentioned are solid, enjoyable and reminiscent of the NES library as a pseudo title.
Our hero has the option to pogo around the various themed levels on platforms, enemies and other objects. Alongside shoveling and digging your way around, you are bound to discover hidden area's inside suspicious walls, such as finding a turkey plate behind a wall, another homage to Castlevania.
Alongside the primary melee combat, Shovel Knight can upgrade his weapon of choice, as well as his armor, health and magic meters. On the world map, aside from seeing the 8 main stages in general, you can encounter extra boss battles or little bonus stages among a few other optional stuff.
The Order of No Quarter are a fine alignment of knight bosses to fight for our hero. Coincidentally, all their first names haven't been claimed by Robot Masters yet, and two tracks have been composed by the original Mega Man composer, Manami Matsumae. Both tracks are among the best to be found.
Shovel Knight is well designed and has a fair amount of difficulty. It's a breeze compared to what I was playing and beating around this month last year with a little game called Mega Man Unlimited, but that's okay, it's certainly no walkover either.
It's yet another fine rendition of older times gone past. There will aways be time to appreciate older generations, either by simply going back to the past, or by shaping up your own creations with cameo's, inspirations or references.
Rating: 8.5
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