3, Castlevania (specifically the first and third entries on the NES), and Mega Man (particularly games 3through 6). Perhaps the 3 most direct and obvious influences are Super Mario Bros. Obviously influenced by the third generation of gaming in general, Shovel Knight also takes very specific cues from popular NES franchises. Shovel Knight immediately stands out as a game made both for and by fans of the classic gaming era, with just enough modern treatment to keep the pesky problems and limitations of the 8 and 16-bit eras at bay while retaining the aesthetic and reasonably simple mechanics. I still haven’t even flipped through it, but it’s nice to know it’s there. It turns out there’s an actual instruction manual inside! And a thick little manual at that. It took a few more days to get around to it, though I quickly noticed how unusually heavy the case was.

Shovel Knight may have been released way back in the summer of 2014, but I could swear that I only started seeing physical copies on shelves a few weeks ago… For some reason, as I walked through the Wii U games, the title caught my attention – maybe it was because of the upcoming Amiibo, or maybe it was stuck in my subconscious for another reason – and the fact that it was only $24.99 really caught my attention! I had the vague notion (or memory?) that it was meant to act as a game from the 8-/16-bit era but really didn’t know anything else, so I picked it up.

Wii u shovel knight retail version