Since it launched back in late 2018,Super Smash Bros Ultimatehas been a celebration of all things Nintendo, bringing many iconic franchises and characters into the game including some surprising third party add-ons as well.Guest characters like Banjo-Kazooieand Terry Bogard joined the already expansive roster, while others were added in as support spirits or assist trophies. One character many fans felt was a surefire addition to the main roster was Yacht Club Games own blue hero Shovel Knight.
While it was later revealed that the knightly hero was instead regulated to an Assist Trophy, many fans were puzzled by the change considering that Shovel Knight has made appearances in plenty of other games and even debuted first on the Nintendo WiiU and 3DS. When asked about this surprising move, Yacht Club Games co-founder Sean Velasco admitted that Shovel Knight really wasn’t ever in consideration for a main roster spot inSuper Smash Bros Ultimate.
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Internally, the studio came up with what sort ofmoves Shovel Knight would have inside aSmash Brosstyle game. However, when Nintendo approached Yacht Club about Shovel Knight, the company was really only interested in the character being added as an assist trophy. Regardless, Velasco and the other developers of Yacht Club Games consider it an honor for their character to be featured in a game like that at all.
Velasco also gave a few reasons he believes Shovel Knight wasn’t considered for a main roster spot. The first is that he technically isn’t a true, second party character like Shulk. Alternatively, Shovel Knight does doesn’t have that decades-old industry icon status yet likeRyu, Simon Belmont, or Cloud Strife. Considering all of the games Shovel Knight has crossed over in and with how long Yacht Club has continued to support the actualShovel Knightgame, industry-icon status isn’t as far away as previously thought.
With six additional characters on the way forSuper Smash Bros Ultimate, it’s unlikely that any more Yacht Club knights will be featured. While fan speculation continues to rage on with who Nintendo has selected, there’s a possibility that players may not be seeing these reveals for quite some time. With the coronavirus pandemic still having major impacts around the globe, MasahiroSakurai admitted that development could be haltedif any of the developers contracted the illness. While development continues for now, there’s certainly plenty of uncertainty hanging in the air.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis available now for the Nintendo Switch.
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