Featuring a soundtrack composed primarily by renowned chiptune composer Jake "virt" Kaufman, Shovel Knight has already gathered its fair share of awesome tunes long before its own release. As a throwback to the 8-bit era of video games, Shovel Knight succeeds in having a memorable soundtrack of its own, as the list below can testify:
Shovel of Hope
- Of the three trailer themes, the second
is probably the most epic and intense, starting with baritone choirs who play Pridemoor Keep theme, and following with an orchestra who successively plays the Flying Machine theme and Shovel Knight's. - "Watch Me Dance!" is the best chiptune tarantella you'll ever hear, and it WILL get stuck in your head.
- Plains of Passage, the opening stage of the game, gives us "Strike the Earth". An epic tune that perfectly matches Shovel Knight's renewed determination to save his beloved.
- The first time you receive an ichor from the troupple king, you're treated to the "Waltz of the Troupple King", an infectiously jaunty little tune.
- "In the Halls of the Usurper", theme of Pridemoor Keep, is just as bombastic as King Knight himself. His catchy boss theme, "The Decadent Dandy", fits him pretty well too.
- "La Danse Macabre". The theme of the Lich Yard, possibly one of the most fitting tunes to any stage in the game.
- Fighting With All Of Our Might, the theme to the battles against the wandering adventurers, is unfathomably epic. The "Steel Thy Shovel" Arranged Album brings us "Hyper Camelot", which turns the above song into an action-packed 90s cartoon intro.
- "Flowers of Antimony", with the bonus of being written by the same composer as the original Mega Man soundtrack. Jake Kaufman takes this song up to eleven in the Strike the Earth album, giving us its instrumental version, "The Science Wizard".
- "The Vital Vitriol", Plague Knight's theme. Absolutely frenzied, ominous and chaotic and entirely appropriate for the "crazed and sinister" alchemist.
- Manami Matsumae also composed the Iron Whale's theme, "A Thousand Leagues Below", which appropriately is a tense yet oddly relaxing water theme.
- Mole Knight's stage theme, "An Underlying Problem" fits the tense action underground mood perfectly.
- "A Cool Reception", Polar Knight's stage theme, oozes all sorts of coolness. It's also Jake Kaufman's favorite track from the game.
- Considering his That One Boss stature, "The Stalwart" has a tense, Oh, Crap! vibe to it, almost like even the game itself is scared of him and his power and those death-spikes he can create at will.
- Clockwork Tower's theme, "Of Devious Machinations", is as well-crafted as the location it plays in, and wouldn't sound out of place in a real Mega Man game.
- "High Above the Land", Propeller Knight's stage theme, is arguably one of the best songs from the game, and that's saying a lot. The remixes, "Luxury Liner" and "Flying Machine", manage to enhance it.
- "The Defender" perfectly fits the final, epic duel between Shovel Knight and Black Knight. Made even better by its remixed version, "Rough and Tumble".
- "The Forlorn Sanctum". It's a short loop used in the very final level of the game, however as you make progress inside the final lines of defense of The Enchantress the music becomes more elaborate. "Calm before the storm" wouldn't be a strange name for this theme.
- "The Betrayer" plays as the final boss theme for the Remnant of Fate, when you and Shield Knight team up to destroy this evil forever. It's a perfect finale to an excellent game.
Plague of Shadows
- Plague of Shadows has the "Tango of the Troupple King" as its counterpart to the original Waltz, which is catchy in its own right.
- "The Alchemist's Haven", the theme of the Potionarium, Mona and Plague Knight's secret laboratory. It just sounds so deliciously evil you can't help but smile.
- Even Shovel Knight of all people has a boss theme! "Battling the Burrower" has a crazy, panicky feel to it that plays up the "WTF" factor of the fact you are fighting the very character you once had to master.
- "Art through Adversity" has the perfect intensity to match Plague Knight bursting and busting the Hall of Champions. Unfortunately, most players will never hear it in-game, since it only plays from your second visit forward.
- "The Final Note" is an utterly beautiful song that, notably, is also the only song to play after the credits sequence of any of the campaigns. It's a wonderfully romantic song that is a perfect fit for Plague Knight and Mona dancing together in their underground lab.
Specter of Torment
- The theme for Specter of Torment, "Shadows and Scythes" is a dark, but fast-paced piece that wouldn't sound out of place in Castlevania. There's even a brief moment where it turns into a Dark Reprise of the game's main theme.
- "Hidden by Night", the remix of "La Dance Macabre" in Specter of Torment, is a much faster-paced, triumphant-sounding song than its predecessor. Specter Knight is here, and he's ready to blight the earth.
- "Both Eyes Open", for when gathering Curios with the lovesick Red.
- "Incompleto Sin Ti" serves as a Triumphant Reprise of "Both Eyes Open" after Red and Scarlet are reunited. It's the same tune, but in a cheerful key and arranged in the style of the Jarabe Tapatío (aka the Mexican Hat Song), complete with a cute little Mexican Folk dance performed by the happy couple.
- After Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows, it might be a bit hard to imagine the slow, calm theme of the Explodatorium to go alongside the chaotic, mischievous Plague Knight. Specter of Torment fixes that with its rendition of his stage theme, "Aqua Vitae". Now the Explodatorium has a theme that's just as wild as its owner!
- "Go No Further!" when facing Shield Knight in a flashback. Fitting for the uncertain and desperate mood.
- Take the original Iron Whale theme, slow down the tempo and make it more dynamic: you have "The Price of Doing Business", which manages to be more relaxing and endearing than its original iteration.
- Returning to the Pridemoor Keep, "In the Halls of the King" for a different mood and key entirely. Very genuine.
- "Tools of War", the new version of the Clockwork Tower, takes the original track, slows it down and adds an extremely Castlevania vibe to it. The result is absolutely incredible. Considering that Castlevania's Death is usually associated with the clocktower stages that are a series staple, it's also extremely fitting to accompany Specter in this area.
- "Hitting Close to Home" serves as the Tower of Fate level theme as Specter Knight takes off to defeat the Enchantress once and for all upon discovering her identity as Shield Knight. It gives that perfect fast paced vibe that accentuates Specter Knight's determination to save Reize from sharing his own fate as well as exacting vengeance against the person he blames for taking everything away from him.
King of Cards
- Opening up the campaign is "A Proclamation Most High", a bombastic theme which perfectly sets the tone for the hilarity and tomfoolery the campaign and King Knight brings with him.
- The map for the first world, "Pride Before Order", really makes you feel you're on your way on a journey worthy of a king. A grand orchestral version is used for the trailer for the campaign as well.
- "Cruise Control", the theme of the Glidewing, manages to be very reminiscent of High Above The Land, and gives the feeling of being in the air just like it, while still having plenty of sendups to King Knight's own leitmotif. It gets an updated version later, the fuller instrumentation reflecting the vast support network King Knight has gathered for himself.
- "The Buzz in the Grotto" takes the new direction from "Tango of the Troupple King" and runs with it, remixing snippets from "Waltz" and "Tango" into a downright sultry groove that's sure to have you dancing like the Troupple King.
- "The Crosswise Crosswinds" manages to capture a similar high-altitude feeling to "High Above the Land", but with a more intense tempo, chords, and percussion to really capture both the exhilaration and effort of climbing your way to the sky and leaping across gorges, rather than the more jubilant feel of being aboard the first generation of flying machines.
- Percy now has a boss theme: "The Swift Kicker". It really sells the utter havoc of Targets mode and/or Percy darting around the lab looking for anything he can throw at King Knight.
- "The Twilight of Tomorrow", the boss theme for Giga Cardia is a havoc-filled theme with touches of melancholy, while giving a feeling of fighting something beyond King Knight's world.
- Of all Joustus houses, the baroque sounding "Etude de l'Ordre" and "Sonatina della Torre", Tower of Fate's area and battle themes respectively, easily take the cake. While the first manages to mix the chill ambiance of Joustus Houses with the oppressive feeling of the tower, the second, while preserving the dynamism of Joustus battles, gives them a dramatic turn.
Showdown
- The title theme, called "Fields of Fire", takes the trailer's Smash-inspired remix of the main theme and brings it into the game's normal chiptune aesthetic.
- The theme for the Colosseum stage, "The War in the Mirror", is very regal but also moves very quickly, sounding like the opening horns before a battle.
