The Shovel Knight Shared Universe - Timeline

Okay, so "The Shovel Knight Shared Universe" or SKSU is made of 2 series:

• Battletoads (BT)
• God of War (GoW)
• Shovel Knight (SK)

having established the series we have the next problem, when all of this is set? So for starters i decided to follow GoW more as it is the more serious one, considering the other 2 series have a knight with a shovel and 4 toads...

while the Greek Saga and Norse Saga are set in the same universe, the kratos of both is the same etc... The time of the norse saga doesn't influence that much the Greek Saga, so discussing it now so we can move away from this. Cory Balrog stated that the game happens before the Viking Age which happens in the 8th century; In real life there is a recorded event wich was called fimbulwinter which happened in 536-539 CE. Since Mimir in the game stated that the winter arrived 1 century earlier then GoW4 happens in 436 CE.

Now for the Greek Saga, we can follow 3 sets on dates based on 3 games:

• GoWCoO: has an undefined Persian King attacking Attica, matching with the Persian War of 480 BCE.
• GoWII: Has the Colossus of Rhodes, which was destroyed in 226 BCE.
• GoWIII: Hercules stated that the 1st game happened during one of his 5th Labor which is dated in 1255 BCE.

Since the persian king was intentionally kept unknown, and the colossus of Rhodes doesn't have a big inpact on the storyline (it could have been any other statue that could have fought Kratos) I'm taking Hercules statement as our date, andnow the game is simple, but we have one last problem: How much time is between GoW and GoWII?

During GoWIII, there are the Labyrinth Projects that can be interacted it that reference the fact that it was commioned by Zeus the same day that Kratos was made the God of War and was completed after 4603 Days (or 12.6 years), Which is crucial since also in GoWIII is stated that it was completed recently, so GowII and GoWIII are set in 1242 BCE, however Kratos mentions the Troyan War as of being there (while he only heard of the battle of thermopylae), adding this with Hercules dying and becoming a god in 1234 BCE, then GoWII and III have to happen between 1171 BCE to 480 BCE.

Legend:
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Timeline

Simplified Order
Nintendo Power Magazine (1988) #25
Battletoads (1991)**
Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team**
Battletoads (LCD)** [I have to find out if it's canon]
Battletoads (1992)**
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs**
Battletoads (1994)**
God of War (2005)**
God of War** (Adaptation)
God of War (2010) #1-6**
God of War: Rise of the Warrior (2012) #1**
God of War: Ascension**
God of War: Ascension - Multiplayer**
God of War: The Lost World** [I Have to find Dates for this]
God of War: Chain of Olympus**
God of War: Ghost of Sparta**
God of War: Betrayal**
God of War II**
God of War II** (Adaptation)
PlayStation: All-Stars Battle Royal**
God of War III Remastered**
God of War: Fallen God (2021) #1-4** [Have to Find Dates for this]
Shovel Knight - All games** [I have to look at this better]
Battletoads: The Lost Adventure (2020) #1-3** [I Have to look when it take place]
Battletoads (2020)**
God of War: The Lost Pages of Norse Myth 1x01-09** [Have to find dates for this]
God of War (2018) #0-4**
God of War: A Call From the Winds**
God of War: Mimir's Vision** [need to sort out the preceding norse medias in order]
God of War (2018)**
God of War - The Official Novelization** (Adaptation)
God of War: B is for Boy - An Illustrated Storybook** (Adaptation)
God of War: Lore and Legends**
God of War: Ragnarok**
God of War: Raganrok - Valhalla**

Why is Double Dragon not canon?

What about Yooka-Laylee?

Know that I think of I am pretty sure Shovel Knight has made plenty of appearances in other games as a kind of indie game icon

Jozaca said:

Why is Double Dragon not canon?

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The crossover game wasn't made by the developer a of Double Dragon.

Rojinn said:

What about Yooka-Laylee?

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What Is that?

Jozaca said:

Know that I think of I am pretty sure Shovel Knight has made plenty of appearances in other games as a kind of indie game icon

Shovel Knight

For detailed information about this series, see: Shovel Knight Wiki Shovel Knight is an indie platformer game by Yacht Club Games. Shovel Knight (June 26th, 2014) for PC, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, MacOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Sometimes known retroactively as Shovel of Hope...

fictionalcrossover.fandom.com

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Talking only the series that the SK Developers consider as Canon.

Megatron said:

Talking only the series that the SK Developers consider as Canon.

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You mean the series referenced in Shovel Knight but not the series outside of it that reference Shovel Knight?

Playstation All Stars were referenced in Norse God of War 2.


So, that game can be considered canon.

Kratos' appearances in the Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur games involved dimensional travel, so they are arguably the main Kratos as well, but there is no canon proof for this.

BB10 said:

Playstation All Stars were referenced in Norse God of War 2.


So, that game can be considered canon.

Kratos' appearances in the Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur games involved dimensional travel, so they are arguably the main Kratos as well, but there is no canon proof for this.

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All Stars Is set between GoWII and GoWIII.

Jozaca said:

You mean the series referenced in Shovel Knight but not the series outside of it that reference Shovel Knight?

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Nono. I mean the people Who made SK stated that GoW and BT are both Canon on a tweet.

Megatron said:

Nono. I mean the people Who made SK stated that GoW and BT are both Canon on a tweet.

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If this Reddit thread is anything to go by, the crossover seems to have been retconned from the Battletoads continuity unless we assume that GOW and Showel Knight are both simulations.

BB10 said:

If this Reddit thread is anything to go by, the crossover seems to have been retconned from the Battletoads continuity unless we assume that GOW and Showel Knight are both simulations.

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Tbh I'm pretty open to that, cos Santa Monica stated in a tweet that SK Is considered Canon in the GoW universe, While BT's devs never said anything about SK being canon in the BT universe.

So i would Say, have It as a vote?

React to this with "Heart eyes" if u want BT to be Non-Canon.

React to this with a thumbs up if u want BT to be Canon.

Megatron said:

Tbh I'm pretty open to that, cos Santa Monica stated in a tweet that SK Is considered Canon in the GoW universe, While BT's devs never said anything about SK being canon in the BT universe.

So i would Say, have It as a vote?

React to this with "Heart eyes" if u want BT to be Non-Canon.

React to this with a thumbs up if u want BT to be Canon.

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I reacted with heart eyes but tbh I don't know anything about Battletoads or Shovel Knight. I only know about God of War. I'm just going off of that Reddit post.

Megatron said:

Tbh I'm pretty open to that, cos Santa Monica stated in a tweet that SK Is considered Canon in the GoW universe, While BT's devs never said anything about SK being canon in the BT universe.

So i would Say, have It as a vote?

React to this with "Heart eyes" if u want BT to be Non-Canon.

React to this with a thumbs up if u want BT to be Canon.

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I updated the Simplified Order and I think i have every media, tell me if i forgot smt (also yes i decided to leave out Battletoads)

Megatron said:

Tbh I'm pretty open to that, cos Santa Monica stated in a tweet that SK Is considered Canon in the GoW universe, While BT's devs never said anything about SK being canon in the BT universe.

So i would Say, have It as a vote?

React to this with "Heart eyes" if u want BT to be Non-Canon.

React to this with a thumbs up if u want BT to be Canon.

Click to expand...

Didn't see this before, but yes.

I don't have a problem with those implications, but I'd need to know more about Battletoads to comment. We've learned from the Slasherverse and other franchises, being fiction in an alternate universe doesn't mean that the fictional universe within the fiction isn't real as an alternate reality. Just because it's a "simulation" within the real world of Battletoads doesn't mean it isn't a legitimate universe outside of that setting.

I mean, heck, in X-Men (1992), Jubilee tells some kids a fairytale version of the X-Men from her own imagination... and the visual depiction of that story is, in fact, a real, legitimate universe with its own reality number. I think Battletoads can be canon without us worrying about the implications of that. Just note Battletoads (2020)'s scenes outside of the simulation as [Real World], and job done.

Pro Bot said:

Didn't see this before, but yes.

I don't have a problem with those implications, but I'd need to know more about Battletoads to comment. We've learned from the Slasherverse and other franchises, being fiction in an alternate universe doesn't mean that the fictional universe within the fiction isn't real as an alternate reality. Just because it's a "simulation" within the real world of Battletoads doesn't mean it isn't a legitimate universe outside of that setting.

I mean, heck, in X-Men (1992), Jubilee tells some kids a fairytale version of the X-Men from her own imagination... and the visual depiction of that story is, in fact, a real, legitimate universe with its own reality number. I think Battletoads can be canon without us worrying about the implications of that. Just note Battletoads (2020)'s scenes outside of the simulation as [Real World], and job done.

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If I got it right, it was stated in BT 2020 and its prequel comics that the previous adventures (the other games) weren't real and just simulations.

I should look at it better but for what I found in the past, simulations is BT doesn't work like with Marvel.

Pro Bot said:

Didn't see this before, but yes.

I don't have a problem with those implications, but I'd need to know more about Battletoads to comment. We've learned from the Slasherverse and other franchises, being fiction in an alternate universe doesn't mean that the fictional universe within the fiction isn't real as an alternate reality. Just because it's a "simulation" within the real world of Battletoads doesn't mean it isn't a legitimate universe outside of that setting.

I mean, heck, in X-Men (1992), Jubilee tells some kids a fairytale version of the X-Men from her own imagination... and the visual depiction of that story is, in fact, a real, legitimate universe with its own reality number. I think Battletoads can be canon without us worrying about the implications of that. Just note Battletoads (2020)'s scenes outside of the simulation as [Real World], and job done.

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"Trapped in a fantasy simulator bunker for 26 years, the Battletoads awaken to discover they are no longer intergalactic heroes and have fallen into modern-day obscurity. In a bid to reclaim their glory, they set out to once again defeat their old longtime nemesis, the Dark Queen. But when they confront the queen, they end up teaming up with her to take down an evil alien race called the Topians, who have not only stolen the queen's powers but also were the ones who trapped the toads in the bunker".


ok this is problematic and it's very meta.

The Prequel comic has the Original Style design and it's called "The Lost Adventure", so It's not a reboot but a continuation of the series.

also we can't ignore the fact that Santa Monica confirmed that Shovel Knight is canon in God of War, while Battletoads Developers never did.

Megatron said:

"Trapped in a fantasy simulator bunker for 26 years, the Battletoads awaken to discover they are no longer intergalactic heroes and have fallen into modern-day obscurity. In a bid to reclaim their glory, they set out to once again defeat their old longtime nemesis, the Dark Queen. But when they confront the queen, they end up teaming up with her to take down an evil alien race called the Topians, who have not only stolen the queen's powers but also were the ones who trapped the toads in the bunker".

Battletoads (2020 video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

ok this is problematic and it's very meta.

The Prequel comic has the Original Style design and it's called "The Lost Adventure", so It's not a reboot but a continuation of the series.

also we can't ignore the fact that Santa Monica confirmed that Shovel Knight is canon in God of War, while Battletoads Developers never did.

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Once again, I don't think the meta element matters. The fantasy simulator is fictional to the Battletoads going through it, but the simulation itself could reflect a legitimate universe. In any case, Battletoads was confirmed canon to Shovel Knight, so all games up to the crossover should be canon based on that, and personally I do think the 2020 game can be seen as a sequel where they experienced the exact same events as their previous game's counterparts but as a simulation rather than a legitimate reality. In other words, playing those games becomes Schrödinger's Canon, where you're playing both a real fictional universe and the simulation. I mean, when you watch a film, are you really watching a fictional reality or people in the real world acting out a scene? The answer is both.

Just my take.

Pro Bot said:

Once again, I don't think the meta element matters. The fantasy simulator is fictional to the Battletoads going through it, but the simulation itself could reflect a legitimate universe. In any case, Battletoads was confirmed canon to Shovel Knight, so all games up to the crossover should be canon based on that, and personally I do think the 2020 game can be seen as a sequel where they experienced the exact same events as their previous game's counterparts but as a simulation rather than the legitimate reality depicted in the previous games, Shovel Knight and God of War. Just my take.

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The best I could do is treat Battletoads like Winnie the Pooh from Kingdom Hearts, basically the simulation is another world that they just call "simulation", so like there isn't a real world or a simulation world, they're both real and what in the Battletoad universe is called simulation is actually a portal to another world, cos i can get along treating shovel knight as a simulation cos the developers said it's canon. But I can't with God of War, it's too much diverse. Tho if we take it as canon, as shovel knight should take place around God of War III, the Battletoad games and the prequel comics to the 1st game, should take place between Ghost of Sparta Post-Credit Scene and God of War II, while the 2020 game and the prequel comics should be set 26 years after God of War III.

Tho IDK how much time passes between the games. But since they followed release dates difference, maybe we should go with that?