The Battle Royale is the boss battle for Tower of Fate: Ascent found in both Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows. It is a showdown with all the knights of the Order of No Quarter fought in a randomized order - however, Polar Knight will always be fought in the first half. Between each fight the challenger is given a platter with a turkey in it and every other fight it also gives a large jar.
For the most part the boss battles are replicas of the earlier fights with the bosses: for example Specter Knight makes two platforms appear and Treasure Knight fills the stage with water. There are, however, a few subtle differences in some of the fights: Plague Knight doesn't have the special destructible blocks beneath him, which makes the arena more predictable, while Propeller Knight doesn't have the small pits to either side of the stage and his airship can now only call down the small bomb volley, nor the large cannonballs that destroy the stage.
This battle is made more difficult in New Game Plus by replacing every other turkey with a bomb. While the bomb can be used to damage the bosses, this halves the amount of healing available.
Once the battle is over, each knight will comically remain suspended, in order of defeat, at the edge of the stage, forming a human chain.
In Shovel of Hope, Shovel Knight plummets into the dining hall, accidentally interrupting the Order's meal. Still furious of their previous defeat, the knights decides to attack him. Once they are all defeated, Shovel Knight is given the choice to leave the stage immediately, or take his time to rescue them, providing additional dialogue by doing so.
In Plague of Shadows, the Battle Royale takes place under different circumstances, as this time is Plague Knight who interrupts the Order, only to be shortly after followed by Shovel Knight, who plummets into the room knocking himself seemingly unconscious. Taken aback by his appearance but undeterred by it, the other knights of the Order still decides to attack Plague Knight, in retaliation for his betrayal and previous assaults. As such, the first 7 boss fights still normally follows, only for Shovel Knight to fully wake up and challenge Plague Knight as the 8th fight. After Plague Knight's apparent victory, Shovel Knight knocks him out from behind, ending the battle in a familiar way. Shovel Knight will then leave the dining hall, remaining deaf to the pleads for help of the Order and leaving Plague Knight to escape on his own.
According to Yacht Club Games, the reason why the Battle Royale events differs between the two campaigns boils down to a matter of perspective, as both stories are told from Shovel Knight or Plague Knight's point of view, and neither of them are totally reliable narrators.
Dialogue
Shovel of Hope
Before the fight: Template:Quote/9
After the fight: Template:Quote/1
Each knight after being helped: Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1 (If the player is wearing the Ornate Plate) Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1 Template:Quote/1
Plague of Shadows
Before the fight: Template:Quote/3
After Shovel Knight falls in: Template:Quote/8
After the fight: Template:Quote/2
Tips
- If a platter is still on the screen when a new boss shows up after the defeat of the previous one, a new platter won't arrive, making it advisable to always consume the food before a boss's defeat, preferably after taking some damage first.
- That also means that platters with a Bomb on New Game Plus won't be replaced with a turkey platter if they remain covered.
- If Shovel Knight is wearing the Dynamo Mail, he can Shovel Drop onto the platter to build up charge attacks.
- Tinker Knight's first stage still retain his weakness to the Mobile Gear.
- It is advisable that Shovel Knight enters the stage with filled Troupple Chalices with either the Ichor of Renewal or the Ichor of Boldness, while Plague Knight should do so with a substantial quantity of Health Tonics in tow, and both of them should be cautious that these will not refill if they die.
Trivia
- Although this battle royale parallels the Megaman series, the developers' intention was to have the players rematch each of the Order of No Quarter boss with all the upgrades they had gather up to this point.[1]