Sonic and Knuckles: A Retrospective of a Revolutionary Game

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was an excellent game, with improved graphics and sound, a great deal of amazing game play, and the debut of Knuckles the Echidna. It was also half the game it was supposed to be, as Sega could not complete the second half in time for the game's release. In order to complete the story, they ended up releasing Sonic and Knuckles for the Genesis later in 1994. The game was similar to Sonic 3 in many ways, but it included some brand new features, most notably the first time that Knuckles was playable in a single player game and a revolutionary lock-on feature that allowed players to lock certain Sonic games onto the Sonic and Knuckles cartridge and unlock new playable characters, new worlds, and even a collection of bonus games. All of this and more made the game into one of the most beloved Sonic games in existence, as I am about to explain.

After the events in Sonic 3, Robotnik's Death Egg has crash landed on the Floating Island once more, and the evil doctor tries to hunt down the Chaos Emeralds needed to repair it. This time, he also wishes to get his hands on the Super Emeralds and the Master Emerald, which are also said to be hidden somewhere on the island. Sonic must try and collect the emeralds before Robotnik does, or else the Death Egg will be at full power, and the Floating Island will be doomed. At the same time, he finds himself confronting Knuckles, who still thinks that Sonic is a villain after being tricked by Robotnik in the last game. The story is not very different from that of Sonic 3, which is not surprising given that this game is a direct continuation of that game. However, as one plays through the game, he or she will discover whether or not Knuckles will finally begin to trust Sonic and help him defeat Robotnik.

Since this game comes directly after Sonic 3, it shares a lot of the same features. As usual, Sonic must race through multiple zones of 1-2 acts each in order to foil Robotnik's schemes. There are robots to destroy and rings to collect. As in many other Sonic games, the rings will prevent Sonic from dying if he is hit with at least one ring in his possession, and collecting 100 rings will earn him an extra life. Additionally, our hero can collect shields that have such effects as attracting rings towards him and allowing him to breathe underwater. By jumping through large rings hidden in each stage, he can enter bonus stages in which he must grab all of the blue spheres while avoiding the red ones. If he manages to do this, he will gain one of the seven emeralds needed to unlock the best ending as well as the ability to transform into the nearly invulnerable Super Sonic. Every level also ends with a fight against Robotnik or one of his machines, and as in other classic Sonic games, they are all action-packed and exciting.

Two new bonus stages can be accessed by hitting a lamppost, which also acts as a checkpoint, with at least 20-50 rings and then jumping through the sparkly ring that appears. In one bonus stage, you must try and enter a slot machine, similar to those featured in Sonic 2, that is in the middle of a rotating maze not unlike that featured in the special stages of Sonic 1. The slot machine can reward you with varying amounts of rings, depending on what combination you end up getting. Rings can also be accumulated in the second bonus stage, in which you must jump from orb to orb while avoiding a force field that chases you. You can collect items on the way, as well, but if you touch the force field, you are sent back to the main stage.

One of the most important new features of this game is the ability to play as Knuckles, who has his own story. Here, he finds himself dealing with a mechanical version of Robotnik, who is attempting to swipe the Master Emerald. Many of Knuckles' trademark abilities made their debut here: he can glide, climb up walls, and, of course, use his knuckles to punch anything that gets in his way. These moves can be used to find secrets and explore paths that Sonic cannot reach, though Knuckles cannot jump as high as the hedgehog. Nevertheless, having two playable characters and discovering new things and paths in each story gives the game a lot of depth.

While the game can be enjoyed by itself, it also utilizes an innovative feature known as lock-on technology that enables player to lock on certain games to open up new features. One could say that this was an early form of downloadable content, because new characters and stages are added to some games. For example, if one were to combine Sonic 3 with Sonic and Knuckles, they would unlock a game called Sonic 3 and Knuckles, which is essentially Sonic 3 the way it was meant to be, with the ability to play as Knuckles and discover new secrets, all of the Sonic and Knuckles stages, and even the chance of unlocking a Super form for Tails, among other new features. With multiple ways of completing the game and three characters to use, players can play through it again and again to see what kind of ending that they can get.

By combining Sonic 2 with Sonic and Knuckles, players could play through the former game as Knuckles, using all of his moves to see what new things they could find. Other changes include easier special stages and the lack of a versus mode. While it is fun to use Knuckles in all of the Sonic 2 stages, his limited jumping ability makes it almost impossible to defeat the final boss, especially since you fight it with no chance of picking up a single ring. Still, I applaud Sega for making a game that was already a masterpiece even better with the option to play as Knuckles.

Lastly, there is a special collection of blue sphere special stages that can be unlocked if one were to combine Sonic and Knuckles with Sonic the Hedgehog. By pressing the A, B, and C buttons on the "No Way" screen, players could try out a large series of blue sphere stages...millions of them in all! The rules were the same as in Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles: Sonic must grab every last blue sphere, but touching a red sphere would bring the stage to an early end. It should be noted that the player can also combine many other Genesis games with Sonic and Knuckles, but doing so will only unlock a single special stage. In various compilations, only the complete collection of special stages is included.

So is Sonic and Knuckles better than Sonic 3? It certainly is, and not just because of the lock-on technology feature. In the main game, there is a lot more to discover, and having two playable characters, each with their own unique abilities and stories, gives the game more depth than ever before, and would be carried over to other Sonic games. The battles are more exciting, the levels are more fun, and seeing the conclusion to the story that began in Sonic 3 surely made the extra months of waiting worthwhile. Sadly, the main game does not have a save feature (you can save your progress in Sonic 3 and Knuckles, though), but otherwise it is enjoyable as a standalone game. It is even better when combined with other titles, unlocking great features in each one, and offering a lot of replay value as a result. Lock-on technology was a wonderful idea at the time, but it has been sadly underutilized, and with most systems using CDs instead of cartridges nowadays, and with the rise of downloadable content, it has pretty much become a thing of the past.

The graphics are about the same as those featured in Sonic 3, but they were great to begin with, and thus I have no complaints about them. Once again, the characters and stages look better than ever, as does the animation. The game also has a superb soundtrack, which consists of a few tracks carried over from Sonic 3 as well as a lot new songs that are quite memorable. Personally, I love the Mushroom Hill, Sandopolis, Sky Sanctuary, and the title screen themes, and the Doomsday Zone music is the perfect example of how a final boss tune should sound like. This game would be the last of its kind-a side scrolling platform game for the Genesis featuring Sonic-and the graphics and music along with the other aforementioned features made the end of this era a grand one.

Sonic and Knuckles was as revolutionary as it was marvelous, and after sixteen years, it remains as classic as it ever was. It was also the last great Sonic game to be released for the Genesis, as Sonic 3D Blast was nothing short of terrible. For those who want to discover just what made Sonic and Knuckles so grand, you can track down a copy of it, and all the games it locks on to, on e-bay or Amazon, or they can be found on various compilations as well as on the Xbox Live Arcade and Wii Shop Channel services, with the lock-on feature intact. However you play it, you owe it to yourself to do so right away, as it is a fantastic example of the type of Sonic game that Sega does not make anymore for the most part.