King of Games
"Hail, ye cups! I bid thee welcome to my floating palace."
—King of Games, Meeting for the First Time
The King of Games is a recurring character in Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course. He hosts a series of stages in the King's Leap above Inkwell Isle Four.
Appearance
The King is a short and plump man in the appearance of a King piece from chess. He has a large, thick white mustache and a small light pink nose. He has a large crown with pink and blue crystals and a rounded cap with two shades of blue. He wears a king's dress with a king's robe and white gloves. He possesses a golden scepter with a crown-like design, which he uses to rotate his castle by using it as a lever, allowing him to grant Cuphead and company access to the Champions that appear as bosses in his stage. He also has short legs with light blue shoes.
Unused Content
There is an unused battle for the King. He would have 40 hit points and each parry progresses to a new phase. He would have three attacks:
- Full screen attack
- Beam attack
- Rat swarm
It seems that the player has to parry a lever (most likely his wand as seen in how it is used to turn the castle) and the King and hit him, his fight comprised of multiple stages. This may have been scrapped as the King in chess is usually being protected and not active, similar to his behavior in the game.
Gallery
The King of Games playing Checkers with Chef Saltbaker
The King in a Giveaway ad
Trivia
- The King of Games has many parallels to King Dice, such as:
- Both are referred to as kings, but while King Dice is a mere lackey to a higher power (The Devil), the King of Games is a real king judging from his appearance.
- The King of Game's domain is located high up in the sky while King Dice's is located deep down underground.
- Both lead a group of minibosses based on their theme. King Dice and his minions are casino-themed, while the King of Games and his champions take their designs from Chess. (More specifically, chess pieces. He himself is based on the King piece, for example.)
- While King Dice swindles people of their money and their souls from his sleazy casino, the King of Games rewards winners with untold riches worth two coins (three if you clobber his wife) for beating his champions.
- When you reach the end of King Dice's game, you get to combat him, while reaching the end of The King of Games' game warrants him congratulating you without putting up a fight.
- King Dice and his casino are feared and loathed across the land whilst the King of Games appears to be a respected member of the community judging by the epilogue which shows one of his checkers matches.
- They both have theme songs with vocals playing in their domiciles (The Die House and The King's Leap), but while King Dice sings his theme song himself, the King of Games' theme song is sung by a choir.
Inspirations and similarities
- "King of Games" may be a reference to the title awarded to the winners of tournaments in Yu-Gi-Oh!, most notably Yugi Muto.