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Revision as of 05:10, 21 September 2019

"The little mugs have some fight in 'em, I'll say that much! They're makin' mincemeat outta them debtors!"
King Dice to the Devil

King Dice is the right-hand man of the Devil and the secondary antagonist of Cuphead. He also serves as a gatekeeper between overworlds, only allowing Cuphead and Mugman to pass when they visit his Die House and turn in every contract to him.

King Dice is fought in the stage All Bets Are Off! Instead of fighting him right away, a minimum of three mini-bosses must be defeated to battle King Dice himself.

Description

Appearance

King Dice is a six foot tall humanoid being with a dice for a head, with each side of his head showing the number of pips that would be on a die, with the "One" side acting as his face (the dot being his nose). He wears white gloves, purple shoes and tailcoat, a lavender waistcoat, and dark purple pants and bow tie. He also has a mustache, purple eyelids, and seafoam green eyes that are only shown whenever he acts seriously in a wicked manner.

Personality

King Dice is an extremely sleazy, deceitful, untrustworthy, and manipulative individual. While normally relaxed and cheerful in a sadistic way, he can be as cruel as his master if he wants to be. He also tends to speak using stereotypical New York Gangster slang, saying phrases such as "Scram", or "Big cheese".

Very arrogant and overconfident in himself, King Dice believes that no one is allowed to mess with him and that he can easily triumph over anyone who tries to, which ultimately leads to his defeat. However, it seems like King Dice does have a heart, as shown when he congratulates Cuphead and Mugman every time they are let through to the next isle, and during the cutscene in the beginning of the game, where it is shown that he is proud of them for not being able to lose.

King Dice also takes his own bets very seriously, going as far as to attempt to kill the brothers when they succeed in getting all of the soul contracts after he made a bet that they would fail their mission, though given who his boss is, the stakes were likely to be extremely high for him.

Story

Casino time

King Dice watching gleefully as Cuphead makes his move.

For an unknown amount of time, King Dice has served as the immoral manager of the Devil's casino. He first appears when Cuphead and Mugman are on a gambling streak at Craps, commenting that they seemingly can't lose. He then bows and smirks as the Devil enters the scene and offers a bet on their souls. After the brothers are put into debt, King Dice is sent to make sure they complete the deal by blocking the passage to the other areas of Inkwell Isle.

Once Cuphead and Mugman collect all of the soul contracts in Inkwell Isle 2 and pass the second Die House, King Dice and the Devil have a conversation regarding their success. While admitting that the brothers are doing a good job, King Dice states that he believes that they are up to something, although the Devil assures him that, if they try anything, he'll be ready for them.

After Cuphead and Mugman collect the final contracts, King Dice confronts them at the Devil's Casino. Initially complimenting them for successfully completing their task, he then angrily states that their success has caused him to lose a bet, and that they are going to play a "game" before seeing the Devil. King Dice is nowhere to be seen after his defeat.

Passage dialogue

King Dice has certain dialogue in each section of Inkwell Isle if the player speaks to him, depending on whether the contracts of every boss have been collected or not.

Bosses not defeated (First time)

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. You think you're just gonna ankle on over to the next isle? Well that ain't how it works, genius. You ain't goin' nowhere 'til you finish up here! That means givin' them debtors their medicine. All of 'em! Now scram!"

Bosses not defeated (Second time)

"What're you doin' back here, wheat? I told ya, take care of them debtors. If you've got what it takes, that is, ha! Awright, enough bumpin' gums. Take a powder."

All bosses defeated

"Well, ain't that a pip! Looks like you really put the kibosh on them debtors. You can head on over to the next isle. Plenty more marks for you to lean on there!"

Bosses not defeated

"Hold it right there, wheat! You ain't leaving 'til you put the screw to them debtors...all of 'em! Ya get me? Good. Now scram!"

All bosses defeated

"Looks like I mighta underestimated you bums. You gave it to them debtors but good! Go on over to the next island. Lotsa fun times waitin' for ya there! Ha ha ha!"

Bosses not defeated

"Hold it right there, you! You mighta busted up some of them deadbeats, but you don't have all their soul contracts! You ain't seein' the big cheese 'til you got those contracts in your grubby little mitts...all of them!!"

All bosses defeated

"Well, lookee here! You actually pulled it off...but you made me lose a bet!! And for that, you ain't seein' the big cheese just yet. We're gonna play a little game first!"

Battle

Intro

Before the battle, King Dice pops up from behind the board game whilst laughing sinisterly, and his head briefly flies off the screen before falling back into place. Everytime the players come back after finishing a mini-boss battle, King Dice does his intro again, but without the laughter.

Board Game

KingDiceBoardGame

King Dice's Board Game

In order to fight King Dice, the player must play and finish the board game provided by King Dice himself by parrying the dice summoned by his clap with 1, 2 and 3 numbered on it. There are 15 spaces in total, counting the START, START OVER, SAFE and FIN spaces:

  • SAFE: There are 3 spaces of this kind and they spare the players from fighting the bosses. Landing on this space will cause King Dice to snicker evilly, before checking the players' position on the board and summoning the dice again.
  • MINI-BOSSES: The spaces numbered 1 through 9 are the spaces in which each of the mini-bosses are fought should the player land on them. When landing on a mini-boss space, King Dice will wink before swallowing the camera, starting a loading screen and taking the player to fight the mini-boss belonging to the space. Some spaces have randomly generated hearts which will increase the player's health by one, making this the only time in the game in which the player can potentially regain health. Landing on spaces that have no heart will cause King Dice to laugh. If the player is defeated at any of the mini-boss fights, they will be forced to start over from the beginning. Also, unlike the fight with Baroness Von Bon Bon, where her subjects were fought at random, each of King Dice's henchmen are affixed to each numbered space as follows:
    1.  Tipsy Troop
    2.  Chips Bettigan
    3.  Mr. Wheezy
    4.  Pip and Dot
    5.  Hopus Pocus
    6.  Phear Lap
    7.  Pirouletta
    8.  Mangosteen
    9.  Mr. Chimes
  • START OVER: If the players land on this space, King Dice will burst into laughter as they are helplessly sent back to the start, and they will have to play the board game again. Any mini-boss that was previously fought will not appear again if the player lands on their space, as it is turned into a CLEAR space. The game will go on as if it were a SAFE space.
  • FIN: The last space on the board. If the players hit this space, they then proceed to the main fight with King Dice.

Main fight

Dice card attack

King Dice unleashing his cards to attack Cuphead.

"So clever, so dapper, ya betta' believe this dice is loaded. Hi-de-ho!"
King Dice, Death screen.

When reaching the finish line, the main battle commences with King Dice closing in on the player. He only has one known attack. By using his hand, which moves like a person, he sends out a row of cards (12 to be exact, with 4 cards (specifically the hearts) that can be parried) which march towards the player while he laughs evilly.

This attack is only doable with parrying; the players will need to bounce atop the pink heart cards until the stampede ends. Parrying these hearts does not count towards the parry total, but does fill the super meter, even though it will be less than normal parryable objects. In Expert mode, he produces a much longer string of cards. This makes it harder to parry consistently, but also builds the super meter faster. You can also hide in the tiny space behind the hand King Dice uses, But this only works with knowledge on which hand he'll attack next, which is not easy because he sometimes uses the same hand twice.

Once he has taken enough damage, King Dice is defeated. In his knockout animation, he suddenly appears terribly beaten with his tuxedo damaged, his head cracked and chipped, and both of his gloves begging in defeat.

Sounds

Description Audio
King Dice exits the Die House in style.
King Dice's introduction.
King Dice winking and eating the screen.
King Dice snickering if the player lands on a SAFE space.
King Dice cackling if the player lands on the START OVER space.
King Dice laughing if the player lands on a mini-boss space that has no heart.
King Dice chuckling as he attacks with his cards.
King Dice moaning in pain after being defeated.

Die House

Die House is a song sung by King Dice himself, whose voice is provided by Alana Bridgewater. It can be heard inside The Die House.

Audio

Lyrics

I'm Mr. King Dice, I'm the gamest in the land.
I never play nice, I'm the Devil's right hand man!
I can't let you pass, 'cause you ain't done everything.
Bring me those contracts, c'mon, bring 'em to the King!
If you haven't finished your task, haven't worked assiduously,
No, I cannot let you pass, don't you mess with me!
Don't mess with King Dice.
(Don't mess with King Dice!)
Don't mess with me.
(Don't mess with him!)
Don't mess with King Dice.
(Don't mess with King Dice!)
Don't mess with me!
I'm Mr. King Dice, heed just what I say.
The Devil has his price, and I'll make sure you pay!
I don't have time to mess 'round, and I hope you will agree.
Bring me those contracts, pronto! Don't you mess with me!
Don't mess with King Dice!
(Don't mess with King Dice!)
Don't mess with me!
(Don't mess with him!)
Don't mess with King Dice!
(Don't mess with King Dice!)
Don't mess with me!

Walkthrough

Normal Mode Expert Mode
Cuphead-_Dice_Regular_Mode

Cuphead- Dice Regular Mode

Cuphead_-_"King_Dice"_Boss_-_Expert_S_Rank_(No_damage)

Cuphead - "King Dice" Boss - Expert S Rank (No damage)

Gallery

Trivia

  • The mini-boss fights in the board game are references to casino aspects as well as overall gambling. For example, Chips Bettigan is a casino stack.
    • Also doubles as a reference to Gunstar Heroes, where Red and Blue are forced to traverse a board full of mini-bosses before they can fight the owner of the Dice Palace: Black.
  • King Dice's design is heavily based on Cab Calloway, a famous American jazz singer who notably appeared in three Betty Boop cartoons with his songs: Minnie the Moocher, Snow-White, and The Old Man of the Mountain. His role as an antagonist might reference how Calloway voiced the villains in two of these films (the Ghost Walrus in Minnie the Moocher and the titular Old Man in The Old Man of the Mountain).
    • As an added reference, if the player is defeated by King Dice in his boss battle, he says "Hi-de-ho", a phrase commonly associated with Cab Calloway and the songs "Minnie the Moocher", and "Hi-de-Ho Man".
      • "Hi De Ho!" is also visible on Studio MDHR's Twitter page.
    • ”When his gloves walk in his boss fight, they move like characters that were rotoscoped versions of Cab Calloway, like Koko the Clown and the Ghost Walrus.
    • His boss theme is very similar to that of Minnie the Moocher.
    • King Dice's singing voice is also alike to that of Louis Armstrong, another famous American jazz player, who was also coincidentally an occasional collaborator with Cab Calloway. A famous example of which is "St. James Infirmary Blues". Louis Armstrong also voiced as a villain (albeit a jungle cannibal) while singing his hit song I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You in the 1932 Betty Boop cartoon of the same name.
    • At the beginning and in-between the mini-boss fights, King Dice would appear saying "Ha-Cha" before making the pink die appear. This might be a nod to the legendary Jimmy Durante with his catchphrase "Ha Cha Cha Cha".
  • King Dice's gloves sport three darts each, but when fighting him, they have two pairs of buttons instead. This was probably done to give his gloves a more human appearance.
  • King Dice seems to be a foil character for both Cuphead and Mugman, as while all three of them are cartoonish humanoids that are into gambling, Cuphead and Mugman act more innocent and wear simple clothes while King Dice acts more arrogant and wears a tailcoat and a bow tie.
  • In his song, King Dice refers to himself as Mr. King Dice, which is interesting because the only two characters to be referred to as "Mr." in-game are Mr. Wheezy and Mr. Chimes, two of his underlings who can be fought in his casino.
    • The name King may not be his title, but actually his first name.
      • "King" might reference his role in the game, however.
      • It's also possible that the game's developers originally called him "Dice King" before thinking that "King Dice" sounded more like the name of a sleazy casino manager/mob boss, which he is.
  • Should the game detect that it has been pirated, a different version of the title screen will play where the audio is reversed and distorted, while King Dice's laughter can be heard.[1]
  • King Dice and The Coachman

    A comparison between the creepy faces of King Dice and the Coachman from Pinocchio.

    In the last phase of King Dice's boss fight, his eye color is shown to be green as he laughs wickedly. This is likely a shot for shot reference to the Coachman's smile and evil laugh in Pinocchio. Their eye colors are almost the same, and both have an identical white glimmer cutting to the center pupil.
  • King Dice (along with the Devil) cannot be fought in Simple difficulty; only on Regular and Expert.
    • However, selecting Simple on bosses beside the ones in Inkwell Hell, his stage can be played on simple. None of the enemies will attack and will just stand still. But, it is impossible to beat it like this as Hopus Pocus, Phear Lap, Mr. Chimes and King Dice himself can't be hurt normally. He doesn't have a hitbox at all so there is not way to defeat him. Then he will start attacking but no cards come out and will keep being in that position forever.
      • This glitch is fixed in version 1.1.3, in which even with mods or using the same glitch to select Simple Mode on both King Dice or the Devil, the Regular version of the fight would play out instead.
  • There is a bug in the game where King Dice's attack animation will play, but the cards will not appear. Since the animation never ends, this renders him completely vulnerable and makes the fight effortless.
  • Depending on the player's actions, King Dice has the most phases in the game and the third to have individual characters in each phase. King Dice and his minions total 10 phases in all which is twice the amount than Djimmi the Great who has 5 phases.
    • With the sum of all these phases, King Dice is, by far, the boss with the highest healthpool, with a total of 5845/8370 hitpoints
  • It seems that the game board in his boss fight was going to have an extra section. Evidence for this includes 3 unused bosses found in the game files.
  • King Dice's death quote is a pun on loaded dice, a type of dice that's weighted to roll high numbers and is used to cheat in gambling, along with the fact that "loaded" is a slang term for "very wealthy".
  • Based on the positions of the pips on King Dice's head, it can be surmised that his die faces are arranged in a clockwise placement. This suggests that the back of his head, never directly shown in the game, would display six horizontally-arranged pips, while the unseen die face connecting his head to his body would show two - something confirmed by the one brief glimpse of King Dice's back given when he disappears in the Die House (though the pips are technically aligned the wrong way).[2]
    • Interestingly, a clockwise arrangement is more typical of Asian-style dice, which feature more compact, differently-sized and different-colored pips. King Dice's head uses Western-style pips (monochrome and evenly spaced), which would usually have a counterclockwise pip arrangement.
    • In keeping with his position, King Dice's head also shows some features typical of casino dice specifically; the sides have sharp edges, a precaution taken in casinos to ensure random rolls, and the placement of his facial features on the ace side are typical of where a logo might be stamped to prevent die substitution.
  • The walking cards that King Dice summons along with his living gloved hands resemble the anthropomorphic cards and gloves featured in the Mickey Mouse cartoon Thru the Mirror.
  • King Dice is one of two characters in the game (besides Quadratus) that breaks the fourth wall; every time Cuphead and Mugman land on a MINI-BOSS space, he stares directly at the player, winks at them, and eats them as a transition to each battle.
  • The animator of King Dice, Joseph Coleman, stated King Dice is 110 years old jokingly.[3]
  • Prior to update 1.2, in his dialogue when passing the second Die House, King Dice would say "cupface" instead of "bums". This change was probably done due to the similarity between the word and Cuphead's name.
    • Also, as of this update, he no longer attacks with diamond and spade cards. The reason for this is unknown.

References

Bosses
Inkwell Isle One
The Root Pack (Sal SpudderOllie BulbHorace RadicheChauncey Chantenay) • Goopy Le GrandeHilda BergCagney CarnationRibby and Croaks
Inkwell Isle Two
Baroness Von Bon Bon (Lord Gob PackerKernel Von PopMuffsky ChernikovSargent Gumbo GumbullSir Waffington III) • Beppi The ClownDjimmi The Great (Cuppet) • Grim MatchstickWally Warbles (Willy Warbles)
Inkwell Isle Three
Rumor Honeybottoms (Security Bee) • Captain Brineybeard (The Ship) • Sally Stageplay (Sally's Husband) • Werner Werman (Katzenwagen) • Dr. Kahl's RobotCala MariaPhantom Express (Blind SpecterConductorLollipop GhoulsHead of the Train)
Inkwell Hell
King Dice (Tipsy TroopChips BettiganMr. WheezyPip and DotHopus PocusPhear LapPiroulettaMangosteenMr. Chimes) The Devil
Inkwell Isle Four
Glumstone The GiantMoonshine Mob (Charlie Left LegsLight BugAnteaterAnnouncer Snail) • The Howling Aces (Pilot BulldogYankee YippersSergeant O'Fera) • Mortimer FreezeEsther WinchesterChef SaltbakerAngel and Demon
The King's Leap
The PawnsThe KnightThe BishopThe RookThe Queen
Recurring Characters
CupheadMugmanElder KettleKing DiceThe DevilPorkrindAnnouncerThe Legendary Chalice (Ms. Chalice) • Chef SaltbakerKing of Games