Shovel Knight (Nintendo Cinematic Universe)

Shovel Knights is a Japanese anime series.

Shovel of Hope
This first season sends Shovel Knight on a quest across the Valley to save his beloved Shield Knight and vanquish the Enchantress and her Order of No Quarter.

Plague of Shadows
The second season sends the mad alchemist Plague Knight on a quest to craft the Ultimate Potion from the Essences of his fellow knights of the Order of No Quarter.

Specter of Torment
The third season sends Specter Knight on a quest to recruit the knights that would form the Order of No Quarter.

King of Cards
The fourth season sends King Knight on a quest to ascend to the throne and join the Order of No Quarter.

Shovel of Hope

 * While exploring the Tower of Fate, a cursed amulet takes over Shield Knight and leaves Shovel Knight stranded outside of the sealed tower.
 * A powerful being known as the Enchantress rises to power, spreading evil across the land.
 * Upon hearing that the Enchantress has unsealed the Tower of Fate, Shovel Knight begins his journey back to it, hoping to find and rescue Shield Knight.
 * The Enchantress sends the Order of No Quarter to stop Shovel Knight.
 * Black Knight also attempts to stop Shovel Knight, but does NOT answer to the Enchantress.
 * It is revealed that the Enchantress is actually a dark spirit inhabiting the amulet that cursed Shield Knight, possessing her body. Black Knight, who held romantic feelings for Shield Knight but lost her hand to Shovel Knight, had been protecting her in an effort to keep Shovel Knight from harming her.
 * Reaching the top, Shovel Knight faces the Enchantress and exorcises the evil spirit, turning her back into Shield Knight.
 * After being separated from Shield Knight, the Enchantress transforms into a powerful specter known as the Remnant of Fate, which Shovel Knight and Shield Knight defeat together.
 * In a desperate final maneuver, the Remnant of Fate attempts to kill the two knights, but Shield Knight holds the attack at bay as Black Knight comes in and carries the wounded Shovel Knight to safety before the tower collapses.
 * In the aftermath, Black Knight leaves the unconscious Shovel Knight by his campfire and departs, fulfilling his promise to Shield Knight to save him and telling him that they would meet parts again in the future.
 * Shield Knight, who managed to escape the tower's destruction, limps towards the campfire before lying down next to Shovel Knight as he sleeps.

Plague of Shadows

 * Running parallel to Shovel of Hope, Plague Knight begins plotting his own scheme to steal essence from Shovel Knight and the other Order members to use as ingredients in the ultimate potion, capable of granting any one desire of its user.
 * Plague knight is aided by a witch named Mona who pursues alchemy in secret due to the rest of the world fearing and rejecting it.
 * One by one, Plague Knight steals each of the others' essences before moving on to the Tower of Fate.
 * After obtaining two essences, Plague Knight witnesses Mona dancing by herself. This inspires him to learn how to dance.
 * One of the next three knights Plague Knight must fight is Shovel Knight, parallel to the boss fight in Shovel of Hope, with Shovel Knight winning, only for Plague Knight to go to Shovel Knight's campsite and steal his essence while he is asleep.
 * After obtaining five essences, Mona and Plague Knight have a sudden romantic moment while trying to fix a lever, only for one of the minions, Percy, to enter and ruin the moment.
 * After obtaining six essences, Plague Knight witnesses Mona and Black Knight talking, only for Mona to leave Plague Knight, due to a misunderstanding thinking she is only a tool for him. Percy takes Mona's place while she is gone.
 * Once he gathers all of the knights' essences, Plague Knight journeys to the Tower of Fate for the Enchantress's essence.
 * Plague Knight unwittingly falls into the midst of the members of the Order of No Quarter as they eat dinner, only for Shovel Knight to fall in moments latter unconscious.
 * This is another parallel moment, only for Plague Knight to battle the Order instead, and for Shovel Knight to jump in at the end and defeat Plague Knight.
 * As Plague Knight obtains the Enchantress's essence and begins to finish the potion, Black Knight and Mona arrive and try to stop him. Plague Knight reveals that his intention was always to use the potion to win Mona's heart, but she confesses she already loves him. Plague Knight attempts to stop the reaction, but it goes out of control, creating a dark version of Plague Knight.
 * The real Plague Knight defeats the shadow and stabilizes the potion, but realizing he already has everything he could ever want with Mona; the two decide to use the potion to destroy the Tower of Fate. As a result, the villagers hail Plague Knight and his alchemists as heroes, finally accepting them.
 * Later, Plague Knight and Mona dance together in the laboratory.

Spector of Torment

 * Before the events of Shovel of Hope, Specter Knight is sent to recruit eight knights to join the Enchantress's Order of No Quarter.
 * Flashback: Before dying, he was an adventurer named Donovan, who adventured alongside his partner, Luan. The two scaled the Tower of Fate in search of an amulet for Luan's son, as it was rumored that the amulet had the power to protect people. Once at the top, they found the amulet, but they ran into Shield Knight, who tried to stop them, warning them that the amulet was cursed. Due to Donovan's dislike towards knights, he battles Shield Knight against Luan's wishes. In the skirmish, the floor beneath them collapsed, and Luan and Donavan both fell, killing Luan and leaving Donovan mortally wounded. Shield Knight, now corrupted into the Enchantress, offered to save Donovan in exchange for gathering eight knights for her. He begrudgingly agreed, and the Enchantress killed and resurrected him into the undead Specter Knight. She presented him with a locket that she took from him, telling him that with each knight that joins the Order, it would be imbued with power, with a fully powered locket capable of bringing him back to life.
 * Specter Knight doesn't leave the tower, thus he uses a magic mirror operated by the Dark Acolyte to travel to the locations of various knights to request their allegiance to the Order.
 * Partway through his quest, a boy named Reize Seatlan breaks into the Tower of Fate, hoping to defeat the evil within.
 * Seeing his potential, the Enchantress fills Specter Knight with dark energy, corrupting him like herself despite Specter Knight's protests.
 * After a battle, Dark Reize becomes the new operator of the mirror, while the Dark Acolyte is thrown to the dungeon.
 * Once seven knights have been recruited, Black Knight breaks in and reveals that the Enchantress is Shield Knight. Enraged that he has been working for Shield Knight (albeit possessed), seeking vengeance for Luan, and hoping to save Reize, Specter Knight goes after the Enchantress through the hole that Black Knight dug further into the tower, with guidance from the Dark Acolyte.
 * Upon Specter Knight's arrival, the Enchantress summons Reize and fills him with more dark energy, turning him into a giant phantom.
 * Specter Knight defeats Dark Reize, but the Enchantress decides to make Reize her eighth knight. Specter Knight demands he is made the last knight in Reize's place and uses the locket to restore Reize to life instead.
 * With the full Order assembled, the Enchantress's forces begin their siege and take over the land, while Specter Knight returns Reize to his village, where he will be safe.
 * Now bound to the Enchantress, Specter Knight laments to Black Knight that he fears she will never be stopped.
 * Later, Specter Knight reminisces over the locket, revealed to have been a keepsake given to him by Luan, who asked Donovan to protect Reize, who is revealed to be his son.

King of Cards

 * Prior to the events of Shovel of Hope and Specter of Torment, a card game called Joustus is sweeping the nation, with a tournament offering the title of "King of Cards" to whoever can defeat the three Joustus Judges: King Pridemoor, the Troupple King, and King Birder.
 * King Knight, wanting the title of king, receives a deck of cards from Specter Knight and begins to work his way through the tournament.
 * King Knight's victories have attracted the attention of a bard and Cooper, an adventurer and captain, who seek a Joustus champion.
 * With Cooper's airship, King Knight travels to Pridemoor Keep to battle King Pridemoor, gaining supporters along the way.
 * However, due to the rules simply saying that the Joustus judges had to be defeated (never specifying that it was Joustus they had to be defeated at), King Knight battles King Pridemoor physically instead.
 * Once defeated, King Pridemoor aids King Knight on his quest to the next Joustus judge as an armor smith.
 * As King Knight travels through the Troupple Kingdom, he encounters various future members of the Order of No Quarter.
 * Additionally, King Knight's mom starts showing some interest in King Pridemoor, the thought of which disgusts King Knight.
 * When King Knight finally reaches the Troupple King, he accidentally offends the Troupple King by not recognizing who he was, thus starting another battle.
 * When a Troupple Acolyte arrives to state King Knight's intentions, however, the Troupple King sends the Troupple Acolyte to aid King Knight on his quest against the final Joustus judge: King Birder.
 * During the journey through the Birder Kingdom, King Knight encounters more future members of the Order.
 * Later, King Knight also witnesses a conversation between Specter Knight and two hooded figures.
 * After beating Specter Knight, King Knight finally makes it to King Birder, revealed to be one of the hooded figures.
 * King Pridemoor and the Troople Acolyte arrives to witness the final match, only for King Birder to trap them all and engage in battle with King Knight.
 * Upon defeating King Birder, however, it is revealed that he was a normal Birder being controlled by the Enchantress, the other hooded figure, who created Joustus to bring the kings together in one place.
 * However, the Enchantress leaves them alone, as the Joustus tournament gave enough of a distraction for Specter Knight to find the Knights for the Order of No Quarter.
 * From the voices of the kings and supporters, King Knight is essentially forced to chase the Enchantress at the Tower of Fate.
 * Once King Knight confronts the Enchantress, she admits that she underestimated King Knight.
 * With the support of the three judges and all of the supporters he gained along his journey, King Knight battles the Enchantress.
 * Before she is defeated, however, the Enchantress combines the three judges into a powerful monster. Once King Knight defeats the monster, the judges and all of King Knight's supporters are hanging on a chain.
 * As they ask for help, King Knight is swayed by the Enchantress's offer to be Pridemoor's "true" king, at the cost of abandoning all of his companions.
 * As King Pridemoor pleads King Knight to save them, he mentions King Knight's mother, and asks what she would think of his actions. After he says this, King Knight finally turns on all of his allies and joins the Order of No Quarter.
 * After ordering that all Joustus cards in the kingdom be burned and destroying Cooper's airship with the aid of Propeller Knight, King Knight usurps Pridemoor's throne and assumes his role as a "true" king, with King Pridemoor and his mother regretfully leaving him alone after begging him to reconsider his decision.
 * Later, King Knight finishes renovations and remarks to himself that he is finally able to enjoy the kingdom he long sought for, only for Shovel Knight to enter moments later and presumably do battle with King Knight, parallel to the battle they had in Shovel of Hope.

Shovel of Hope

 * Based on Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope.

Plague of Shadows

 * Based on Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows.

Specter of Torment

 * Based on Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment.

King of Cards

 * Based on Shovel Knight: King of Cards.