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| “ | 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! | „ |
| ~ King Dice to Cuphead and Mugman after they try going to the second isle for the first time without defeating all the bosses. |
| “ | Well, lookee here! You actually pulled it off... but you made me lose a bet!! And for that, you ain't seein' the boss just yet. We're gonna play a little game first! | „ |
| ~ King Dice betraying Cuphead and Mugman after they brought all the contracts. |
King Dice is the secondary antagonist of the 2017 run-and-gun video game Cuphead. He is the right-hand man of The Devil.
King Dice is fought in the stage "All Bets Are Off". His battle is unique: instead of fighting right away, King Dice sics 11 animated Casino materials against the player.
He was voiced by Alana Bridgewater.
History
King Dice first appears when Cuphead and Mugman enter the Devil's Casino, and comments that they seemingly cannot lose. He then smirks as The Devil enters the casino and beats Cuphead at Craps after he bets his soul. The Devil then promises to free Cuphead and Mugman from their debt if they collect the Soul Contracts from his other debtors, and sends King Dice to make sure they complete the deal by blocking the passage to the other areas of Inkwell Isles. If Cuphead and Mugman face one of the debtors on simple difficulty, King Dice appears and reminds them that they can only get the Soul Contract by facing the debtor on regular.
After Cuphead and Mugman complete the second island, King Dice and The Devil then have a conversation regarding Cuphead and Mugman's 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 will be waiting.
Once Cuphead and Mugman collect the final contracts, King Dice confronts them at the Devil's Casino. Initially complimenting them for successfully completing the deal, 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.
Fight and Defeat
King Dice takes Cuphead and Mugman to a giant Roulette wheel and creates a pink dice for them to roll. Each space has an effect on the fight at hand, from extra health, to starting over the roulette table. If Cuphead and Mugman land on one of the nine number spaces, King Dice swallows them and takes them to an area where they must fight a boss that is determined by the number they landed on. If Cuphead and Mugman manage to land on ten/fin, they will fight King Dice himself, who attacks by unleashing waves of anthropomorphic playing cards from his hands, although Cuphead and Mugman can parry on the pink cards to avoid being hit. After a short battle, Cuphead and Mugman defeat King Dice and make their way to the Devil. After the Devil is defeated for good, it is unknown what happens to Dice.
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 and abusive 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.
Other Media
Super Smash Bros.
King Dice appears as a novice support spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, first introduced during the "Ready? Wallop!" event. His spirit battle is on WarioWare Inc. against a giant Mii Swordfighter in a butler suit and Chibi-Robo hat with super armor and six tiny Mr. Game & Watch. When used, the spirit raises the user's speed if the user hasn't taken any damage.
Quotes
| “ | 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. | „ |
| ~ King Dice after the brothers try to leave the first isle without defeating all bosses for the second time. |
| “ | Remember, only a regular battle will let you collect a debtor's soul contract... Now scram. | „ |
| ~ Dice after defeating a boss on the "simple" difficulty. |
| “ | 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! | „ |
| ~ Dice after the brothers defeated all bosses in the first isle. |
| “ | 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. |
| “ | Well, don't be so sure just yet, boss. I think there's something fishy about those two! | „ |
| ~ King Dice starts thinking about the brothers. |
| “ | Hold it right there, wheat! You ain't leaving 'til you put the screws to them debtors...all of 'em! Ya get me? Good. Now scram! | „ |
| ~ Dice after the brothers try to leave the second isle without defeating all bosses. |
| “ | 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! | „ |
| ~ Dice to the brothers after they defeated all bosses in the second isle. |
| “ | 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!! | „ |
| ~ Dice to the brothers after they try to go to the Devil without defeating all bosses. |
Die House Lyrics
Die House Lyrics at Villains Song Wiki
Trivia
- King Dice is often mistakenly thought to be the main antagonist. This is not true, since the Devil is his master and has bigger plans than him. Besides, the Devil himself considers King Dice a "good-for-nothing lackey", proving himself to be more superior.
- However, he is the central antagonist, due to having more screen time than the Devil and driving the plot more.
- In the last phase of King Dice's boss fight, his eye color is shown to be green as he laughs wickedly.
- This is similar to the Coachman's horrifying smile and evil laugh in the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio, as their eye colors are almost similar, and both have an identical white glimmer cutting to the center pupil.
- King Dice's theme song "Die House" is sung by Alana Bridgewater, who also sings during the games end credits.
- His design is heavily based on the late famous jazz singer Cab Calloway. In addition to this, if the player is defeated by King Dice in his boss battle, he says "Hi-de-ho" in his defeat quote, a phrase commonly associated with Calloway.
- 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 tuxedo.
- It is unknown what happened to King Dice afterwards, but it is implied that he was either free from The Devil or was still injured after being defeated. Some even say that he was killed.
