The Warrior from the Abyss, Hollow Knight Breaks the Seal!

[Bandiheart]

"Yours is resilience born in two voids."

Overview
Hollow Knight/The Knight is the player character in Team Cherry's Hollow Knight.
Born from the Abyss, the Knight's goal is to contain the infection spreading through the massive ruins under the town of Dirtmouth.

Moveset Ideas
Neutral-B: Shade Soul - The Knight will charge up for roughly a second, before firing a large projectile that passes through enemies. The Knight can be knocked out of this attack.
Side-B: Crystal Heart: The Knight becomes rooted in place. The longer the attack is charged, crystals will form on the ground near The Knight that deal minor damage if touched. When the B-button is released, The Knight will charge forward. When the attack connects, The Knight will quickly swing his nail and deal damage dependent on the charge. This move can only be used on the ground. The Knight can be knocked out of the attack while it's charging.
Side-B (Air): Mothwing Cloak - The Hollow Knight will quickly dash forward, dealing damage to anyone that he comes into contact with. However, hitting an enemy with this attack will cancel it.
Down-B (Ground): Focus Soul - The Hollow Knight is rooted in place, and will slowly heal itself. Being hit will, of course, cancel this move.
Down-B (Air): Descending Dark - The Knight will quickly plummet downwards. If he hits the ground, he will emit a shockwave that deals damage to foes. However, if The Knight connects with a player offstage, he will bounce off of them with a Meteor Smash effect.
Final Smash: Sealed Away - The Knight will join forces with Hornet and Quirrel, beginning a large team attack that ends with the trio sealing anyone caught in the Final Smash in the Temple of the Black Egg.
Up-B (Ground): Abyss Shriek - The Knight emits a burning group of souls upwards. The size and damage varies depending on the charge.
Up-B (Air) - Monarch Wings: The Knight sprouts wings to fling himself higher into the air. This will consume the double jump if it has not yet been used.

The Issues
1. The Knight is from an indie game. Seeing as the only Indie character we have is an Assist Trophy, things don't look too good for our little shadow.
2. Hollow Knight released in 2017, which would have missed the ballot age of things by a long shot.
3. Hollow Knight isn't nearly dear enough to most Nintendo fans to get into Smash. Now I know this doesn't have to matter, but it for sure plays a big role.​

 

[fogbadge]

i could get on board with this

 

[Luigifan18]

"Yours is resilience born in two voids."

Overview
Hollow Knight/The Knight is the player character in Team Cherry's Hollow Knight.
Born from the Abyss, the Knight's goal is to contain the infection spreading through the massive ruins under the town of Dirtmouth.

Moveset Ideas
Neutral-B: Shade Soul - The Knight will charge up for roughly a second, before firing a large projectile that passes through enemies. The Knight can be knocked out of this attack.
Side-B: Crystal Heart: The Knight becomes rooted in place. The longer the attack is charged, crystals will form on the ground near The Knight that deal minor damage if touched. When the B-button is released, The Knight will charge forward. When the attack connects, The Knight will quickly swing his nail and deal damage dependent on the charge. This move can only be used on the ground. The Knight can be knocked out of the attack while it's charging.
Side-B (Air): Mothwing Cloak - The Hollow Knight will quickly dash forward, dealing damage to anyone that he comes into contact with. However, hitting an enemy with this attack will cancel it.
Down-B (Ground): Focus Soul - The Hollow Knight is rooted in place, and will slowly heal itself. Being hit will, of course, cancel this move.
Down-B (Air): Descending Dark - The Knight will quickly plummet downwards. If he hits the ground, he will emit a shockwave that deals damage to foes. However, if The Knight connects with a player offstage, he will bounce off of them with a Meteor Smash effect.
Final Smash: Sealed Away - The Knight will join forces with Hornet and Quirrel, beginning a large team attack that ends with the trio sealing anyone caught in the Final Smash in the Temple of the Black Egg.

The Issues
1. The Knight is from an indie game. Seeing as the only Indie character we have is an Assist Trophy, things don't look too good for our little shadow.
2. Hollow Knight released in 2017, which would have missed the ballot age of things by a long shot.
3. Hollow Knight isn't nearly dear enough to most Nintendo fans to get into Smash. Now I know this doesn't have to matter, but it for sure plays a big role.​

So... what's the Up+B?

i could get on board with this

Oh, yeah, same here. I’d like to play Hollow Knight eventually, but I'm currently going through some other games.

 

[Bandiheart]

So... what's the Up+B?

Oh, yeah, same here. I’d like to play Hollow Knight eventually, but I'm currently going through some other games.

Oh. I completely forgot about the Up-B. I knew I was missing something!

 

[Bandiheart]

So... what's the Up+B?

Oh, yeah, same here. I’d like to play Hollow Knight eventually, but I'm currently going through some other games.

There you go. I added the Up-B

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

Never played it before. I support!

 

[SvartWolf]

way too new. and got a lot of catching to do to surprass shovelknight in "iconicness"...

But Hollow knight have been one of teh best games ive played in teh recent years, and i would be very happy to have him.

Regarding moveset ideas.. i think that soul managment gotta be one of Hollow's knight gameplay more defining features, so i totally would put it. (near the portrait you have a circle showing how much soul you have stored, you mostly get soul by hitting enemies)

UpB Crystal heart... works like fire fox, but with crystals. Recovery move, only B move that it doesnt use soul.
Down B (ground): Focus soul, stays in place charging and uses soul, recovers 5% hp. if interrupted the soul used is lost.
Down B (air): Descending dark, very powerful, but also uses soul.
Forward B: Shade soul, powerful and fast projectile, but uses soul, cant be used withouth enough soul...
Neutral B: Abyss Shriek... great move but requires soul to use.

Down Smash: Cycolne Slash Spins in palce hitting various times with it's nail (sword)
Forward smash: Dash Slash dashes forward a good ammount and unleash a powerful strike near teh end.
Up Smash: Great slash : same as in teh game, but sligfhtly more angled upwards...

Down taunt: Dream nail: starts charging the dreamnail and after a whole second, unleash a dream slash, if teh enemy is hit, it recieves no damage, and a set knockback, but their inner thoughts are revealed and the Knight gains a huge ammount of soul.
Up taunt: Bench: a bench appears and the knight sits on it. after 5 seconds he starts recovering 1% per second. the bench is wide enough that another player can also sit on the bench.
Side taunt: the knight takes out the map.. gives it a glance, and then puts it out.

 

[Bandiheart]

way too new. and got a lot of catching to do to surprass shovelknight in "iconicness"...

But Hollow knight have been one of teh best games ive played in teh recent years, and i would be very happy to have him.

Regarding moveset ideas.. i think that soul managment gotta be one of Hollow's knight gameplay more defining features, so i totally would put it. (near the portrait you have a circle showing how much soul you have stored, you mostly get soul by hitting enemies)

UpB Crystal heart... works like fire fox, but with crystals. Recovery move, only B move that it doesnt use soul.
Down B (ground): Focus soul, stays in place charging and uses soul, recovers 5% hp. if interrupted the soul used is lost.
Down B (air): Descending dark, very powerful, but also uses soul.
Forward B: Shade soul, powerful and fast projectile, but uses soul, cant be used withouth enough soul...
Neutral B: Abyss Shriek... great move but requires soul to use.

Down Smash: Cycolne Slash Spins in palce hitting various times with it's nail (sword)
Forward smash: Dash Slash dashes forward a good ammount and unleash a powerful strike near teh end.
Up Smash: Great slash : same as in teh game, but sligfhtly more angled upwards...

Down taunt: Dream nail: starts charging the dreamnail and after a whole second, unleash a dream slash, if teh enemy is hit, it recieves no damage, and a set knockback, but their inner thoughts are revealed and the Knight gains a huge ammount of soul.
Up taunt: Bench: a bench appears and the knight sits on it. after 5 seconds he starts recovering 1% per second. the bench is wide enough that another player can also sit on the bench.

I would love that Up Taunt. The screenshots you could take with that.

Isabelle sitting with The Knight
Snake sitting with The Knight
So on and so forth.
God I would love that

 

[SvartWolf]

I would love that Up Taunt. The screenshots you could take with that.

Isabelle sitting with The Knight
Snake sitting with The Knight
So on and so forth.
God I would love that

just though of a new side taunt, he would take teh map, give it a glance, and then put it out :3

 

[Bandiheart]

just though of a new side taunt, he would take teh map, give it a glance, and then put it out :3

I would love everything about this if it were to happen.
A shame it's pretty much guaranteed not to though.

 

[Deleted member]

So is Hollow Knight's weapon actually a Nail? I've had an interest in this game for some time but have only recently heard his weapon described as a Nail.

Anyway, the character itself. I think it sticks out like a sore thumb why he's not likely. I really doubt we're getting a playable Indie character in the base game. DLC? Possibly but I think it would be limited to just Shantae at that point and even then it's a stretch. Hollow Knight is not a character I can consider likely. Which is a shame because as one of the many stars of hit Indie games that I'd like to play, I'd be down for him being in Smash Bros.

Count me in as a supporter. And if nothing else, Hollow Knight is a great example of the potential of more Indie Assist Trophies besides just Shovel Knight.

 

[Bandiheart]

So is Hollow Knight's weapon actually a Nail? I've had an interest in this game for some time but have only recently heard his weapon described as a Nail.

Anyway, the character itself. I think it sticks out like a sore thumb why he's not likely. I really doubt we're getting a playable Indie character in the base game. DLC? Possibly but I think it would be limited to just Shantae at that point and even then it's a stretch. Hollow Knight is not a character I can consider likely. Which is a shame because as one of the many stars of hit Indie games that I'd like to play, I'd be down for him being in Smash Bros.

Count me in as a supporter. And if nothing else, Hollow Knight is a great example of the potential of more Indie Assist Trophies besides just Shovel Knight.

Technically it is a sword. It's just throughout Hollow Knight they're referred to as Nails. Even bosses that fight with swords refer to them as Nails.

 

[AirMac1]

I support!

 

[3DSNinja]

I support for sure. also I have a moveset here
Entrance: The Knight materializes from a cloud of Void particles.
Jab: The Knight does many stabs forward, each dealing 3%.
FTilt: The Knight stabs forward, dealing 4%
DTilt: The Knight does a low swipe, dealing 5%.
UTilt: The Knight does a swipe upwards, dealing 6%
Dash Attack: The Knight releases a Vengeful Spirit in front of him, dealing 5% flame damage.
Nair: The Knight releases a Vengeful Spirit in front of him, dealing 5% flame damage. Same as Dash Attack.
Fair: The Knight swipes forward, dealing 4%. Same as FTilt.
Bair:The Knight swipes backward, dealing 6%.
Dair: The Knight swipes under him, dealing 7%. Spikes and gives The Knight a bit of height. Kills at 80%. If it hits it renews his double jump.
Uair: The Knight does a swipe upwards, dealing 5%. Is great for juggling and reliably kills starting at 100%
Grab: The knight lunges forward and grabs.
Pummel: The Knight slashes forward, dealing 4% every hit.
FThrow: The Knight uses Great Slash. Does 20% and kills at 70%
BThrow:The Knight casts a vengeful spirit behind him, kning you backwards. Does 7% and reliably comboes.
DThrow:The Knight smashes you into the ground using Descending Dark. Deals 17% and reliably chaingrabs.
UThrow: The Knight uses Abyss Shriek to knock you upwards.Does 10%. Reliably combos into Uair.
FSmash: The Knight does a powerful strike forwards, dealing 15% and starts reliably killing at 70%
USmash: The Knight casts a spell covering the area above and around him, dealing 14%. Kills at 100%.
DSmash: Strikes the ground with a powerful explosion of SOUL, dealing 20%.
Neutral Special: Cyclone Slash: The Knight charges and spins around with his nail, dealing 5% every hit. Can be used to recover by mashing, like Luigi Cyclone. More hits are dealt the longer the charge.
Side Special:Dash Slash: Dashes forward and does a powerful slash, dealing 17% and kills at 80% or above. Gives a great distance of recovery.
Up Special: Super Dash: Dashes in one of eight directions, then slashes at the end of the dash.
Down Special: Focus: The Knight crouches and starts healing. Can heal up to 20%. Can be hit during his attack. Slows fall speed in the air.
Final Smash: Dream Nail: The Knight uses the Dream Nail to enter the enemies dreams (like the radiance) then attacks them with various spells, dealing 60%.
Taunts:
Normal: The Knight looks at a map.
Down: The Knight sits on a bench.

 

[SuperNova7]

I don't see why Nintendo wouldn't at least give Hollow Knight a fair shot at being in the game - at least a debate over adding him. Plus, apparently Nintendo 'higher-ups' are the ones asking Sakurai to include various DLC characters. In other words, they seem to be calling the shots. Since Hollow Knight is a top seller on the Nintendo eShop, why not include him? Not to mention, Shovel Knight is already an assist trophy. Heck, I think Hornet and Hollow Knight could be included. Team Chery is a small team that, you'd think, Nintendo could probably work with without the hassle of dealing with larger companies or IP's... One can only hope!!!

 

[3DSNinja]

Yeah, Hollow Knight seems like one of our chars.. Unless we get Quote or undertale.

 

[Tetrin]

Support! One of my all time favorite characters; getting him in would be like a fever dream.

Also, I actually thought for his up b, he could enter an elevator with spikes at the top like in the game. It'd feel a lot more true to the game than inventing directions for him to dash in imo. And if he comes with a stage, I hope it's either White Palace, The Abyss (most wanted), Temple of the Black Egg, or City of Tears (where the Hollow Knight memorial is).

 

[RealPokeFan11]

Today is Hollow Knight's day in RTC, so now is the perfect time to lend my support! After watching gameplay, this guy would be a great fit in Smash, and now I need to start playing this game ASAP.

 

[Tetrin]

Today is Hollow Knight's day in RTC, so now is the perfect time to lend my support! After watching gameplay, this guy would be a great fit in Smash, and now I need to start playing this game ASAP.

The game is an absolute masterpiece; the game is quaint at first and strangely alluring.

If we were to get a stage, I'd have to go with Birthplace actually. It'd just be very fitting to see. Also playable Hornet in Hollow Knight hype!

I would like his reveal to go something like this:

Spoiler: Actual game spoilers

We're getting a trailer for a really awesome looking game towards the end of a Direct. At the music's climax, the screen turns black and we hear the dream nail sound. After a few seconds, the words "No cost too great" appear on screen. The words soon fade away, and we hear whispering on the screen as the Knight comes into view. The Knight jumps from platform to platform, in the Birthplace, and we see the vessels dropping from the top somewhere. The dialogue unfurls as it does in the game, "No mind to think", "No will to break", "No voice to cry suffering", "Born of God and Void". The Knight reaches the top and sees the Pale King and the Hollow Knight standing in the Abyss entrance like in the game, but they remain oddly static. Instead of falling this time, The Knight manages to pull himself up, and as he nears the Pale King and infant Hollow Knight, they both collapse to the floor, as though they were mere replicas. The light leading out of the Abyss brightens, and the Knight approaches it cautiously to find a lore tablet. He walks up to the tablet, and it reads:

"Higher beings, these words are for you alone.

The 5th Pantheon conquered and the God among Gods kneels before thee, but there lie a final quest. Hold X and up to teleport to the Ultimate Pantheon" (get it, Ultimate).

The camera blacks out, and the Knight soon reappears in an unfamiliar place. The camera is focused solely on the Knight's face, and suddenly footsteps can be heard. The Knight looks ahead, and as the camera zooms out, Mario and Link can be seen charging at the Knight. From here, gameplay of the Knight is shown off for a little while. During the Knight's final smash, the screen turns black immediately, and the rest of the text from before appears on screen as it does in the game: "You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams." "You are the Vessel." "You are the Hollow Knight."

As the last bit of text disappears, the words "Challenger Pack 2" appear on screen. "The Knight" and after a second or two, "from Hollow Knight". The Smash Ultimate logo assembles on screen like in the Joker reveal, and the screen turns black one final time as the direct ends".

 

[Tetrin]

It's a double post I know but oH MY GOD SILKSONG LOOKS SO GOOD

 

[fogbadge]

man im looking forward to it

 

[Tetrin]

The areas in Silksong actually look more distinct that the Hallownest. If this game does well, I wonder if Hornet would be chosen over The Knight.

 

[[Maple]]

I'm on board guys!

 

[Tetrin]

I'm on board guys!

Welcome to the crew, you made the right choice

 

[[Maple]]

I hope Silksong will bring a lot of new players into the Hollow Knight community! The trailer on Nintendo's channel already has more than 400 000 views! More than a lot of games of the last Direct. Nintendo is probably aware of the popularity of Hollow Knight. And the same trailer on Team Cherry's channel will hit the millions views by the end of the week.

What a timeline!

 

[Tetrin]

Honestly. Hollow Knight was probably the singular most underrated game in 2017 because it was overshadowed by Cuphead, which I won't consider bad or overrated, but I will say Hollow Knight was definitely a more engaging and fun experience. That's why it makes me happy to see Silksong get all this love and attention; it could be an even bigger break for Team Cherry...

Maybe enough to get either The Knight or Hornet in Smash

 

[Wiinner159]

Count me in, easily my GOTY in 2017 and very hyped for Silksong.
One thing I'd change about that moveset list though is A, the lack of usage of charm abilities which are another major aspect of the gameplay and B, the way you decided how to implement soul. It makes sense to an extent but having a move who's sole purpose is to heal, while a nice reference to one of the biggest gimmicks, doesn't really feel as interesting or rewarding as some other characters' moves. Honestly I think a better way to represent the character would be to implement the soul system in a far more accurate manner.

What I mean is the Knight should have some moves that are soul-based, like the dive, the bolt, and the screech as very powerful tools just like in the game, but they use up soul with each use. That way you can make these attacks be very powerful without throwing the balance off too much. Obviously like the games you'd gain soul by melee attacking your foes which you can use to then finish them off with a powerful strike (that is if you can land it of course). What I'd propose to replace the healing down b with is something not quite from the game itself but it certainly embodies it's spirit quite well, Soul Charge. While not quite being an offensive tool in it of itself Soul Charge would have the Knight take his healing stance and charge up, consuming soul to power up the next soul attack he uses, and in animation this could be shown by turning the soul attacks into their abyss variants like for example having howling wraiths turn into abyssal shriek or desolate dive into descending dark.

Next I wanna touch on the side b proposed, and honestly I quite like the crystal heart idea, for the ground anyways. You charge it up, then dash forward stopping whenever you choose and hitting anything in your path for decent damage I suppose depending on the length of the charge. You wouldn't necessarily need to limit how far the Knight can go with it because it needs to be done on the ground and if we take it right from the game it would have a decent amount of endlag to prevent it from becoming the Knight's new dash animation. Now onto the aerial variant, mothwing cloak I think is a neat idea that has good recovery use but there's a special little ability and charm I think could go well with it, shade cloak and sharp shadow. You see as they are in the game it's actually quite well balanced already, shade cloak works as an invincible dash that goes through enemies dealing no damage but once again, has some endlag to it making it punishable, and also you have to wait a second for the shadow aspect to refresh so you can be invincible during it again, otherwise you're a sitting duck. The sharp shadow charm simply adds a hitbox to the shade cloak's dash so while not doing major damage, it could still rack it up if you're using it a bit more offensively on stage. Think Fox and Falco's side b but slightly longer and possibly more powerful, but the knockback being rather minimal.

As for the rest of the assorted things I would think it'd be better if howling wraiths served as the up smash, similar to Lucas' but faster and wider, to compensate for it's cost to use, and for the final smash to be what the Knight turns into at the end of the game.

Spoiler

I mean look at this bad boy, you know you'd wanna see this scene recreated in Smash

Final details I'd like to add, give him a crawl and make it the shape of Unn, give him wall jumping and clinging and allow the crystal heart to be charged when clinging to a wall, and finally make his shield the baldur shell for maximum fanservice

 

[Tetrin]

Very beta moveset, but here it goes:

Entrance: The Knight is shown kneeling and slowly getting up, like when recovering from a long drop in Hollow Knight.

Neutral attack: The Knight swings the nail like he does in the game.
Forward tilt: The Knight swings the nail, but extended range due to the Mark of Pride charm.
Up tilt: The Knight swings the nail upwards, like in the game.
Down tilt: The Knight swings the nail downward.
Dash attack: The Knight uses the dash slash.

Forward smash: The Knight uses the great slash.
Up smash: The Knight uses the Abyss Shriek, which as Wiinner159 mentioned, is similar to Lucas's up smash, but faster and wider.
Down smash: The Knight uses the cyclone slash.

Nair: The Knight swings the nail around in a circle.
Fair: The Knight swings the nail forward.
Bair: The Knight sings the nail backwards.
Uair: The Knight swings the nail upwards.
Dair: The Knight swings the nail downwards, and can bounce off certain projectiles.

I have nothing for grabs sorry.

Neutral B: Focus
Side B: Shade Soul
Up B: Dreamgate (just a teleport, not setting up the gate like in the game)
Down B: Descending Dark

Final Smash: Absolute Radiance end scene basically.

Up Taunt: The Knight makes the pose he makes when you hit "challenge" against the Mantis Lords/Radiance in Hollow Knight.
Side Taunt: The Knight turns into shade like when he dies in Hollow Knight.
Down Taunt: The Knight sits on a bench.

Easter Egg: At high damage, instead of the rage particles emanating from his character at the bottom (idk how to explain, but you know what I mean) is replaced by the Fury of the Fallen Charm in the bottom right corner.

It sucks this moveset didn't utilize charms as much as I'd hoped, since they're such an important aspect of the game, but I guess this just goes to show how much potential The Knight has.

 

[[Maple]]

Honestly. Hollow Knight was probably the singular most underrated game in 2017 because it was overshadowed by Cuphead, which I won't consider bad or overrated, but I will say Hollow Knight was definitely a more engaging and fun experience. That's why it makes me happy to see Silksong get all this love and attention; it could be an even bigger break for Team Cherry...

Maybe enough to get either The Knight or Hornet in Smash

Yeah Hollow Knight should have won "the best debut indie title" at The Games Awards. Cuphead is good, but for me it's not an indie since it got money from Microsoft.

But now I'm really confident that Silksong will win the best Indie title! And maybe even more.

 

[3DSNinja]

Lol hollow Knight was my goty 2017. Only other game that got close was Sonic Mania. I honestly think his chances rose from Silksong's announcement. A sequel makes your game higher profile. I realistically see him or Sans as an indie in the FP.

 

[Tetrin]

Yeah Hollow Knight should have won "the best debut indie title" at The Games Awards. Cuphead is good, but for me it's not an indie since it got money from Microsoft.

But now I'm really confident that Silksong will win the best Indie title! And maybe even more.

I hope it does. The only two things I am wary of in this game are the Coral section and the side quests. Some of the ledges in the coral section like a little weird to me, and the side quests may turn out to be monotonous and quite frankly extra. This game is much more ambitious than its predecessor, and many of these concepts are new to Team Cherry, so they might not get it right the first time around.

This being said, Team Cherry seems to playtest as though they're the customer and not with the mindset of "it's fine we just need to release the game", so I have a lot of confidence for the game.

 

[faf_]

I support!

I think it would make more sense to give the knight a double jump similar to Ness and Mewtwo with the Monarch wings and a separate up b to keep the character unique and interesting.

 

[Tetrin]

I support!

I think it would make more sense to give the knight a double jump similar to Ness and Mewtwo with the Monarch wings and a separate up b to keep the character unique and interesting.

To make it as true to his game as possible, I figured that his first jump should be pretty high but the second is only around .75x its height. The up b I still believe should be dreamgate, though.

Since the dream nail wasn't part of my moveset, I think it should be alluded to in two moves. The first of these moves is the dreamgate and the second is the final smash where he, you know, Absolute Radiance scene.

 

[3DSNinja]

I think the up-b should be cyclone slash or super dash.

 

[Tetrin]

The Knight doesn't actually do the cyclone slash like that in the game, so I figured a dreamgate would suit him more.

Super Dashing I can understand though; I just find it a bit ingenuine to have the super dash suddenly come to an end.

 

[3DSNinja]

Link's spin attack doesn't do it either, so it could work. A lot of things could be edited. I imagine super Dash to be like Extreme Speed.

 

[Tetrin]

I guess, but since Link and the Mii Swordfighter already have basically the same up b, I think we should give a teleporting up b to a sword user, making The Knight the first to have one.

 

[3DSNinja]

I still think a Lucario esque up-b or spacie style up-b would be really cool.

 

[Tetrin]

I didn't see this until now lol.

Crystal dashing doesn't require soul though. If that was his recovery, I'd just have a set dash distance.

 

[Kevandre]

I loved Hollow Knight. I think I'd prefer Hornet though, I bet she'd have a lot more to add, plus has an actual name lol