Shield Knight is the perfect subversion of the damsel in distress  

We barely see them together and yet I cannot think anything but "relationship goals" when thinking about them. That's great visual storytelling right there.

I dont know why but i see shovel knight asking shield knight to reach things from the top shelves

You could technically say that Shield Knight *IS* in fact the most supportive and cooperative princess in the gaming world.

She’s the “he ask for no pickles” girlfriend for him

it was never "I need to save the princess!" and always "I miss my wife tails."

This is in part why I fell in love with this game story. This is not a story about a noble knight saving a helpless princess. This is the story of 2 partners who got separated and now one of them feels helpless and lost without the other, trying his best to find the other one

Another really good visual signifier of differences is the helm accents. Shovel Knight has horns, which are inflexible and sturdy while also invoking (historically incorrect) Viking imagery. Meanwhile Shield Knight has feathers, which are long and flexible while also invoking Valkyrie imagery. Both very strong and complimentary while also being very different.

Best thing is, both shields and shovels have proven themselves mighty fine as weapons.

along with her design i especially like how in the story shovel knights motivation isn't "i will rescue her because of love" it's "my buddy is in trouble and adventuring is lonely without her"

I always got the vibe that shovel knight wasnt rushing off to rescue a helpless maiden and more determined to help his trusty companion. It harkens more to going to the aid of a true friend trope in story telling rather than defending/reacuing the pure and innocent princess- though SK and shield knight do very clearly care for each other. Who else is going to tell them he asked for no pickles.

I love it whenever I see this setup of two character not just being different, but being COMPLETE opposites. Just taking the contrast and turning it to eleven. Something about being able to look at one detail of one character and finding out that the other has something contrasting makes it feel a little more deep. It's hard describe, but this is a perfect example of it. Also, the version of the "two complete opposite characters" where they're besties who cover each other's weaknesses is immaculate

The story of an introvert going on a perilous and deadly quest to get back their singular extrovert friend This is why you befriend the quiet kid

"He's blue! And tall! And you're so red, and short! Nice little yin-yang thing we had going" -Captain Ginyu, DBZA ep 22 (basically what you comparing Shovel Knight and Shield Knight's designs made me think of because of the way you said it)

Friking love Shovel Knight and their designs, and your Shield Knight analysis feels on point!

more characters needing rescuing should be like this. courageous adventurers that end up in disastrous conditions is so much more interesting than dainty mcguffin-folk that simply get swiped by some big bad

One of the best fictional relationships ever I love them so much

I loved seeing Shield Knight in other Knights' games like specter knight, shows how strong she really was since you never really see her as an enemy before that game

You forgot to mention in the original ending, she would have died, and he'd dug her grave with his Shovel

She’s like Paper Peach if she was possessed by the Shadow Queen right away. She doesn’t get caught because she’s weak but because she was strong, so strong that an evil force wanted someone like her to control, fight and conquer with.

Shovel Knight honestly has some of my favorite character designs in gaming, everyone's so simply and cartoonishly designed but it works so well.

I love that almost all of the major characters in Shovel Knight are merely *Noun* followed by “Knight”

She also canonically has a magestic flowing mane of hair under the helmet, kinda like Finn from Adventure time. I don't know why but I really like that trope.

Side note on the ‘Beloved Princess’ sprite, but there actually is a slightly more finished version of it with shading, highlights, and an added pair of streamers coming from her Hennin, with the sprite hidden away in the SK Art Asset Zip file the devs released last year during a Dev Blog for Mina the Hollower (which, another side note, the art assets they released were published under the Creative Commons 4.0 license, which is really cool of them to do). It was a surprising find since most of the fanbase thought that the sprite seen in the video here was about as far as the ‘Princess’ concept got, but seems like she may have had just a little bit more work put into her before being reworked into the much better and fleshed out Shield Knight

The thing i love about their designs is that, even with their obvious changes to give each one some character, the shape of the armor and the gold trim solidify their similarity and roles at partners!

Can’t help but ponder one of two possibilities with Shield Knight: Either her getting her own standalone title, or a future Shovel Knight title which could work as a co-op. Much like the other “sidekick” characters we’ve talked about, Shield Knight does a wonderful job in complimenting Shovel Knight. In this case, it is more that she “protects him” with her giant shield while providing him a means to reach higher locations by bouncing off her shield. In a way, the final boss of the original title was a lovely example of how in spite of being away for so long, the two know how to work with each other. Another one of many reasons why Shovel Knight was such a standout of an indie title.

Samus in a different time line.

Despite using only a shield, she's crazy strong. In her boss fight, she can shake the screen by tackling the walls at high speeds.

She was not in distress. She only got caught lackin.

I think they’re happily married rather than dating

One thing I love is in the cutscenes you legit feel the connection between Shovel and Shield. Shovel Knight feels lost without her, dreams of finding her and reuniting. The loss of Shield Knight is an important and ever-present tragedy for Shovel Knight, and it shows you can make a tragic event happen with a character without Fridging them.

One has horns like a little devil and the other has wings like a Valkyrie

Her actually having a good armored design instead of a leotard with metal is the best part ab this

I never played shovel knight so I never knew about shield knight until my wife got these stickers from Arbies once, and I saw shield knight and fell in love with her design. To me the design is my holy trinity of flavor: Female Protagonist, Knights and Shields. Art style is pretty great too. The sticker has been slapped on my computer and has been there for a good few years now!

One thing I really like is in her art she’s actually pretty slim and athletic, but her armor gives her a more feminine appearance while still looking like actual armor.

Man these design analysis shorts are phenomenonal

I like how Shovel Knight handles gender in its character designs. It's not completely hidden behind the knights' heavy armor, but it's subtle, almost incidental. We need more fantasy characters like that and fewer with chainmail bikinis.

BIG LADY

I always loved how she wore red armor while having a more supportive style of fighting. As you noted it keys more to her outgoing personailty and nature, which is an interesting choice to make in character design. Having the two main characters armor colors be matched to who they are socially, rather than directly to their style of fighting, is a nice little divergence in tropes.

Holy shit! A woman with an actual functional armor, instead of a metal swimsuit!

Honestly I’m surprised Nintendo hasn’t copied the formula. With how many times they’ve shown that Peach is physically capable of combat, you’d think there’d have been at least one final boss where you free Peach and she helps you fight them

The fact that she has a large shield on her left arm _and_ a buckler on her right arm is a really cool design choice.

The music in the first level alone was so good that the kickstarter money spent was worth it from the start.

While a princess would have been functional having her be a real character elevates this to something so much more

I’d like a game where you play as the two of them together for the entire adventure.

Big lady

I really enjoy the balance healthy relationship they have and how when they're apart Shovel Knight dreams of her every night and maybe she does too wherever she is. He constantly boils himself in his dreams training his mind to save her and correct a mistake that in reality he could've never gotten the better of. It's very romantic in a subtle way and deepens the personal nature of their relationship.

I'm probably going to get disliked for this but I just imagined shovel Knight looking at shield knight going up "Uppies?"

THIS is a great short Thank you to bringing attention to the efforts made to create her Girls deserve more characters like this

Amazing point about her armor! I love that it subtely shows that she's feminine without just being "bikini armor"

Something I also noticed about her design is that her breastplate is heart shaped! ♡

I still wish we got a Shield Knight campaign. Idk how they could’ve done it, maybe as an alternate timeline, or a prequel/sequel story, but it would’ve been so cool.

A short king needs his tall queen, and I'm all for it.

All of these design notes make me realize that if shovel knight came out ten years later (last month) the worst people on the internet would throw an absolute hissy fit about it

The intro shows it the best as well in how much Shovel Knight needs Shield Knight in his lifewhen she got possesed and disappeared he lost the energy to adventure anymore and settled down to farming and when the Tower returned he immediately set out to save her without hesitation

I also like how it still makes sense WHY Shovel Knight has to save her, and why she's unable to escape the Enchantress herself

ah yes the normally great malewife and girl boss duo

Many years before the events of Shovel Knight, the titular character rescued Shield Knight as she was a damsel in distress and he trained her in the art of battle. He trained her so well and she worked so hard that she became his equal and now they make a great team.

She always gave me the vibe of "shes the one in need of saving because she was protecting Shovel Knight," rather than the usual "defenseless," trope a lot of games fall back on. Her strength and conviction got her into trouble, not weakness or something wildly out of her control.

I really want a side story where she’s playable that’d be fun

Wow, totally haven't seen this type of dynamic before.

My obssession with Shovel knight's world and characters just doesn't stop I need to replay the whole game inmediately

This also gives the vibe of Shovel Knight quietly pining after her, and she thinks they've been going steady for 6 years.

Finally, my pfp has a time to shine! I love their relationship so much.

Honestly, as compelling as the damsel in distress narrative is to an average man, it's only compelling before they experience the true enlightenment of the gigachad partnership - where you complete each other. That's the true narrative of heroes, and can give a hero a more powerful drive than just saving a random damsel.

"Shovelknight is shy by nature" Didn't stop him from showing up in every fucking indie game, even ones where his inclusion makes no fucking sense.

I’m so thrilled you’re doing Shovel Knight characters. Their stories and designs are just so interesting.

I do love that fact that shovel knight is apparently very down to have fun around her but when he interacts with any of the other silly characters he's all buisness

If we ever got a true sequel to Shovel Knight, it would be such a missed opportunity for it to not feature Shield Knight as an alternate playable character, perhaps even as a multiplayer partner.

I hope we'll get a short for every knight of the order (or at least the playable ones)!

Need someone like that to romantically fight in glorious melee with.

The sheer fact that the Armor is Actually Practical sold me on the Game

Hey look at that, a woman in full armor! Wonders never cease!

im kinda sick of everyone acting like this is the most original and daring and inspiring idea like my guy literally every 80s cartoon had one of these and now literally all media has at least three or four of these. The "female is actually not useless" might be the most overused depiction in all of media and at this point i'd challenge you to find the invert in today's media

Except Shield Knight doesn't always know where to be during the final fight

I just realized she carries 2 shields. Her giant shield maiden one, to block big attacks, and a smaller buckler, to parry small ones.

I like this analysis. I never thought too hard about it but you right

A story as old as time he was blue.... she was red... a match made in heaven 😢

I wish Shield Knight had her own campaign or at least was playable outside Showdown

She IS the distress!

all of the female main roles in Shovel Knight are so well done. Mona is another great one along with King Knight’s mom. King Knight’s mom didn’t get enough credit for how great of a parent she was. shame she had such a terrible son.

The final fight is genius, nothing makes you feel more vindicated for going through Shovel Knight's trials and tribulations than getting to fight with Shield Knight, who is an incredible partner.

More knight couples that beat up the final boss in a cool way please

She definitely is the one to tell the waiter they forgot shovel knight’s pickles

In the end it's also her that somehow defeated the enchantresses true form before the tower of fate collapsed due to Plague Knight and Mona using the ultimate potion to blow it up.

It is so amazing that Skyen has the ability to make you fall for a design in just a minute. What a guy

Havinf Shield Knight help for the final boss is such a great touch.

Apparently, Yacht Club themselves stated that Shield Knight isn't real, but the Enchantress is.

And to me, it makes the conflict so much more engaging. You are saving your comrade, your companion. Someone who is competent and strong, which only makes the stakes higher!

Shield Maidens were some of the most respected warriors in history

Shield Knight is actually peak character design.

Imagine a sequel to Shovel Knight that has you play as Shield Knight instead

God, your breakdown of character design always reveals so much about their personality… I’m an opera singer, and I’ve been attempting to think this way lately in regard to costuming.

We need a Shield Knight game like what Spectre Knight, King Knight and Plague Knight got

I actually think this is a good example of standing on a rock because propping him higher adds to the effect, and the scene afterwards of him unfolding his arms and stepping down walking into battle is a neat picture. I’m most likely looking into this too deep, but that’s how I imagine it.

A example of a good strong female character

I’d like to mention something you said in your shovel knight video. Shovel knight looks like he’s one with the armor because he doesn’t show his face. But shield knights armor looks much more protective because she shows her face making it look like a separate defensive piece.

I love that how much powerful a person is they still need help

Are you also going to do all of the Order of No Quarter? Don't feel obligated, but would love to see it personally

I think one of the bigger things is that we know that Shovel will dig through the earth for his partner- they need each other to work best as a whole. And yet, he's still a capable knight who goes against so many other Knights with struggle but gallant shovelry

Imagine that We complete each other instead of compete. If only more people realised that's the more fun way.