This week, we see King Knight defeat his ending adversary. We still have some random nonsense to address next week, but this will be the last time we exterminate an ultimate opponent. So, on this special occasion, let’s take a look at all the final bosses across Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove.
Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope
Remnant of Fate
What are we looking at? Shovel Knight has successfully separated Shield Knight from the cursed amulet that transformed her into the Enchantress. But oh no! With the amulet shattered, the true form of the Enchantress has escaped as a colossal witch-monster. Will Shovel Knight and Shield Knight be able to combine their powers to stop it!?
What is the fight like? Shield Knight is an active participant, and Shovel Knight must launch himself off of her shield to gain the necessary height to attack Remnant of Fate. Did Shovel Knight learn his pogo-jump just to work with Shield Knight? Or is this just the obvious outcome of two inseparable knights working together?
Is it hard? Give or take Remnant of Fate randomly knocking out the floor beneath our heroes, this fight is mostly a victory lap. Since your relics are useless, it is marginally scripted, and (under normal playing parameters), you are forced into an almost robotic cooperation with Shield Knight. You don’t have a lot of options, but you are also unlikely to fail.
Anything else to say? Shovel Knight is very reliant on Shield Knight not propping her shield up in the wrong spot. Nothing worse than waiting around for her to finally lock in. Hey, is this whole fight the reason Shovel Knight never gets a “vertical” move in his normal campaign?
How does it all end? Shovel Knight and Shield Knight appear to be injured during the battle, but Black Knight sees the pair reunited by a campfire. The rest of the kingdom celebrates their liberation. Even the Knights of No Quarter are mostly cooperating with the locals now!
Plague Knight: Plague of Shadows
Corrupted Essence
What are we looking at? After a brief fight against Plague Knight’s evil shadow (the only “extra” fight any campaign gets with a final boss), the power of the Ultimate Potion coalesces into a bird-like creature perched on a mobile cauldron. Is this Plague Knight’s ideal self? A hallucination representing Plague Knight’s misplaced desires? Or a twisted anomaly summoned by the essence of the Enchantress?
What is the fight like? This is one of those deals where you must keep the pressure on a regenerating section of the boss so you can eventually hit the actual weak point. You know, like every third RPG battle after Baigan appeared in Final Fantasy 4. Dodge all the explosions across the battlefield, and you should be able to handle it.
Is it hard? Not particularly. Like any combat in Plague of Shadows, the battle can be extremely variable according to your loadout. However, the cauldron is at the exact right height to do some damage with Plague’s default abilities, so it should be straightforward. Additionally, this is the one final boss that does not seem to summon bottomless pits in any capacity, and that helps a lot.
Anything else to say? Oh. Was that Dark Link of Plague Knight supposed to be the titular Plague of Shadows? That’s neat.
How does it all end? This ending is much more focused on the heroes of the campaign. The whole kingdom is celebrating similarly to Shovel of Hope’s finale, but Mona and Plague Knight join in the revelry in multiple locales. Plague Knight is knighted! Wait… Wasn’t he already…
Specter Knight: Specter of Torment
Nightmare Reize
What are we looking at? Reize is Specter Knight’s nephew (long story, just play the game). When Reize attempted to climb The Tower of Fate earlier in the story, the Enchantress enchanted him to become Dark Reize, a surly young man completely under her thrall. Now, Specter Knight has determined he will slay the Enchantress, but she rebukes him by pumping far too much dark magic into Dark Reize. The colossal Nightmare Reize is on the loose!
What is the fight like? In a complete change from normal Specter Knight rules, Nightmare Reize is fought entirely while grinding along rails. This is a skill that has been seen multiple times across the campaign, but never for an extended boss fight. Also: it’s pretty rad! Regardless, it is like if Mega Man X transformed into Donkey Kong Country to take down Sigma.
Is it hard? You have to adjust to what is basically an entirely new playstyle, but once you get the hang of it, it is not that difficult. The hardest bits come toward the end when rails grow shorter, and Specter Knight must use his dash attack to make his way across the sky. But by the time you have reached that phase in the fight, you likely have this one in the bag.
Anything else to say? This boss fight is practically all bottomless pits, but nobody cared to figure out how this autoscrolling would work with Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove’s usual “death run” mechanics. So you do not lose any gold for dying. Assuming you are not particularly worried about Nightmare Reize’s soul burning to ash in a giant suit of armor, these are the lowest stakes you will ever find in a boss fight.
How does it all end? Specter Knight sacrifices his chance at being human/alive to save Reize, and then the rest of the Order of No Quarter get into their respective places to kick off the Shovel of Hope/Plague of Shadows campaigns. One would suppose this is the boring nature of prequels, but it is nice to see some moments like Mole Knight enjoying an underground spring.
King Knight: King of Cards
The Grand Triumvirate
What are we looking at? In an effort to separate King Knight from his allies, the Enchantress pulls the essences of King Pridemoor, Troupple King, and King Birder to combine them into the fearsome Grand Triumvirate. This is some manner of mechanical monarch monster, and it winds up being one of those “two hands and a head” creatures that are always lurking around Nintendo games.
What is the fight like? After three final bosses that all go down pretty quick once you address the initial “trick”, Gand Triumvirate has a pile of moves that all but guarantee you will see his later attack patterns. He moves his hands too quick! And King Knight has terrible range! Also get ready for a grand finale where safe footing is at a premium.
Is it hard? This is definitely the most difficult Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove final boss. Aside from the issues mentioned earlier, King Knight is simply not prepared for so many attacks from different vectors. Heirlooms can be useful for recovery, but the inability for any of them to actually damage Grand Triumvirate really extends this battle.
Anything else to say? The Grand Triumvirate will laugh at King Knight’s death during its first phase. Poor form, old chap.
How does it all end? King Knight’s campaign starts in a time of peace… so that means this story ends with the start of the war. All of Joustus is destroyed at King Knight’s decree, but the locals that helped out all through this campaign are tossed to the four winds. You really have to feel bad about Bard losing those music sheets…
Let’s Play Shovel Knight Treasure Trove
Night 6
February 10, 2026
Random Notes:
- Welcome back to Even Worse Streams, where apparently farting noises are censored. Who knew!? Well, maybe BEAT, Chromes, Caithness, fanboymaster, Cassandralyn, Morning Song, Caliscrub, or Trynant knew. There is really no way to tell.
- Traitorus is someone we would trust with our lives.
- Always have to note when the Spice Girls are mentioned.
- BEAT, who does not believe in democracy, voted that we make a beeline for the climax, so we are taking an expedient route to King Knight’s finale. Don’t worry. I am writing this from the future, and I know you will get to see the remaining stages here next week.
After a discussion of girl scout cookies, we move on to assessing the fruit of knowledge. How about them apples?- Please remember, February 12 is horse dying day.
- After lingering in the text-chat, SkreaminRedSkull joins the voice chat for… Olympics discussion? That doesn’t sound like us…
- BEAT is PaRappa the Rapper agnostic.
- Pineapple is citrus if you believe.
- As King Knight battles Troupple King for his crown, we must once again acknowledge Digimon Otis.
- “We’re going to suck the daylight off.” “Huh?”
- Ample Vigour joins as we reach Birder Bluffs. He is lacking vigor this week.
- December 33rd is a real date in France. We swear.
- Somehow our analysis of Castlevania: Awakening in the Moonlight leads to the death rituals of Mickey Mouse.
- “I just thought harder about Darkwing Duck than I ever wanted to.”
- Chromes confirms there are children that have watched DuckTales (2017). The system works!
- “Meggie posted ‘the only good scene in Full Metal Alchemist’.” “Is it the one with the dog?” “No!”
- A Victorian Child could tolerate rap better than most of Tumblr.
- As King Knight approaches the Enchantress, we acknowledge that long-forgotten week when Twitter Circles were a thing.
- As the last credits roll, we talk about Janine Melnitz of Ghostbusters fame. There are visual aids!
So we have a little time after beating King of Cards, and this is meant to be an extensive look at Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, so we play through one story mode of Shovel Knight Showdown. I am not going to talk about this in the main articles because… Well… I don’t like it. I understand what happened here! Shovel Knight Showdown is an opportunity to play as all of the Shovel Knight characters that did not receive their own campaigns, so you can get a “feel” for what a game would look like starring Propeller Knight or Mr. Hat. Additionally, it is a Smash-alike, so you have a chance to play Shovel Knight in a much more “four people on the couch” manner. Unfortunately, it is not very good. It’s not bad! It just is not very good, and Shovel Knight’s occasionally Castlevania-like 2-D platforming does not translate well to a faux-fighting game. Sometimes you are just standing near a pit, and if you get hit, that’s all she wrote. It’s demoralizing. Anywho, there is a lot to do in Shovel Knight Showdown, and it could support an entire night’s stream… but we are not going to do that. Enjoy this sampling.- For the purpose of our Shovel Knight Showdown demonstration, democracy turns to Treasure Knight.
- “Rogue-like BlazBlue?” “You heard me.” “That is fucked up, man.”
- I guess Even Worse Streams is popular enough to attract unique bots now? And maybe Chromes has been playing the long game of being a bot this whole time? Much to consider.
- Which fighting game most obviously comes from Hell?
- Remember that time we played Multiversus? It is a stain upon our souls.
- And we fade out as we talk about my then-upcoming Los Angeles trip.
Next trowel on Shovel Knight: This and that and nobody saves the world.
Have fun storming the castle!