Sonic & Knuckles

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Main other{{#invoke:infobox|infoboxTemplate | child = | subbox = | bodyclass = ib-video-game hproduct {{#ifeq:|yes|collapsible {{#if:|{{{state}}}|autocollapse}}}} | templatestyles = Infobox video game/styles.css | aboveclass = fn | italic title =

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| label2 = DeveloperTemplate:Pluralize from text | data2 = Sega Technical Institute

| label3 = PublisherTemplate:Pluralize from text | data3 = Sega

| label4 = DirectorTemplate:Pluralize from text | data4 = Hirokazu Yasuhara<ref name="USM1" /><ref name=JP1 />

| label5 = ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text | data5 = Yuji Naka<ref name="USM1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=JP1>Template:Cite book</ref>

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| label11 = Series | data11 = Sonic the Hedgehog

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}}Template:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|ignoreblank=1|preview=Page using Template:Infobox video game with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"| alt | arcade system | artist | caption | border | child | collapsible | commons | composer | designer | developer | director | embedded | engine | fetchwikidata | genre | image | image_size | image_upright | italic title | modes | noicon | onlysourced | platform | platforms | producer | programmer | publisher | qid | refs | release | released | series | state | subbox | suppressfields | title | writer }}Template:Main other{{#if:Sonic & Knuckles cover.jpg|}} Template:Nihongo foot is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Players control Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna in their quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to stop Doctor Robotnik from re-launching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, while Knuckles scuffles with Robotnik's minion, EggRobo. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies.

Sega Technical Institute developed Sonic & Knuckles simultaneously alongside its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994); they were planned as a single game until time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split it. The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge features an adapter that allows players to connect the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cartridge, creating a combined game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) can also be attached, allowing players to control Knuckles in Sonic 2 stages. Attaching the original Sonic the Hedgehog or any other Genesis game released prior to this will unlock the "Blue Sphere" minigame.

Sonic & Knuckles was released for the Sega Genesis on October 18, 1994. It received positive reviews; critics were impressed with the replay value and lock-on technology, despite its similarity to Sonic 3. The games sold a combined four million copies worldwide, placing them among the best-selling Sega Genesis games. They have since been rereleased in various Sega and Sonic compilations.

Gameplay

File:Sonic & Knuckles gameplay 002.png

Knuckles explores Mushroom Hill, the first zone of Sonic & Knuckles.

Since Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 were initially developed as one game, their gameplay is similar: both are 2D side-scrolling platformers with similar level design, graphics, and game mechanics. However, in Sonic & Knuckles, unlike in Sonic 3, the player chooses either Sonic or Knuckles at the title screen,<ref name="ign" /> Miles "Tails" Prower is not available to select, and the player cannot control two characters together. There is also no multiplayer mode or save feature.<ref name="m2224" />

The player character moves through six levels, each divided into two acts.<ref>Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) instruction manual, pp. 12–15.</ref> The first act of each level ends with a miniboss fight with one of Dr. Robotnik's robots,<ref>Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) instruction manual, p. 9.</ref> while the second ends with a regular boss fight with Robotnik (or EggRobo in Knuckles' campaign).<ref>Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) instruction manual, p. 15.</ref> Sonic and Knuckles traverse levels differently; Sonic can jump higher and has access to unique shield abilities, whereas Knuckles can glide and climb most walls. The levels also include cutscenes that differ based on the character selected, as Sonic and Knuckles are opponents for most of the game.<ref name="ign" />

The game contains two types of bonus stages accessed by passing a checkpoint with at least 20 rings. The first type has Sonic or Knuckles orbit floating, glowing spheres, jetting off each one when a button is pressed, while a fence of light approaches from the bottom and will remove the player from the stage if touched. Collecting 50 rings in this stage earns the player a continue. The second type involves bouncing around a room with a slot machine in its center with the intention of winning extra lives and power-ups.<ref name="m1618">Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) instruction manual, pp. 16–18.</ref>

Special Stages are entered by finding giant rings hidden in secret passageways: the player is placed in a 3D environment and must turn all of a number of blue spheres red by running through them, but must avoid all red spheres, including formerly blue ones. Yellow spheres bounce the player long distances, and white spheres with red stars on them make the player walk backward in the opposite direction. Completing a Special Stage earns the player a Chaos Emerald; collecting all seven Emeralds allows the player to turn into Super Sonic or Super Knuckles, more powerful versions of the characters.<ref name="m1618" />

Lock-on technology

Sonic & Knuckles features "lock-on technology" that allows players to open the hatch on the cartridge and insert a second cartridge. When Sonic 3 is inserted, the player can play through both games as one, Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This features several changes to the games,<ref name="ign" /> such as slightly altered level layouts,<ref>Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) instruction manual, p. 22.</ref> the ability to play through Sonic 3 levels as Knuckles<ref name="ign" /> or Sonic & Knuckles levels as Tails, and the ability to save progress in Sonic & Knuckles levels.<ref name="m2224">Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) instruction manual, pp. 22–24.</ref> Additionally, combining the cartridges is the only way to collect "Super Emeralds", earned by accessing Special Stages in the Sonic & Knuckles levels after collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds from Sonic 3. When all Super Emeralds have been collected, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails can transform into Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Super Tails,Template:Efn each with unique abilities.<ref name="cheats">Template:Cite web</ref>

Inserting Sonic 2 unlocks Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, wherein the player can play Sonic 2 using Knuckles' abilities.<ref name="ign" /> If the player attaches any other Genesis game released prior to Sonic & Knuckles, a screen with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik stating "No Way!" is displayed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From here, the player can also access a minigame based on Sonic 3Template:'s and Sonic & KnucklesTemplate:'s Chaos Emerald Special Stages.<ref name="allgame" /> The attached cartridge determines the Special Stage layout. If the player attaches the original Sonic the Hedgehog,<ref name="allgame" /> they are able to access all of the possible variations of the special stages, each with a unique level number and corresponding password. This game is named Blue Sphere in Sonic Mega Collection and Blue Spheres in Sonic Origins.<ref name="cheats" />

Plot

After the events of Sonic 3, Dr. Robotnik's orbital weapon, the Death Egg, crash-lands on Angel Island. Sonic travels to Angel Island to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to defeat Robotnik, and once again comes into conflict with Knuckles, who believes Sonic is trying to steal the Emeralds for himself. In Hidden Palace Zone, Sonic fights and defeats Knuckles, only to discover Robotnik stealing the Master Emerald, the secret to the island's levitation powers. Knuckles attacks Robotnik, but Robotnik shocks him with electricity. Knuckles shows Sonic a portal that leads them to Sky Sanctuary, where the Death Egg is relaunching. Sonic infiltrates the Death Egg and defeats Robotnik as Super Sonic, retrieving the Master Emerald and returning it to Angel Island as it rises back into the sky.

In Knuckles' story, taking place after Sonic's, Knuckles is attacked by EggRobo, one of Robotnik's robots. He chases him to the damaged remains of Sky Sanctuary, where Mecha Sonic attacks Knuckles, but accidentally destroys EggRobo instead. Mecha Sonic uses the power of the Master Emerald to achieve a Super form similar to Sonic's and fights Knuckles until the latter eventually defeats the mecha. Sonic flies in piloting the biplane Tornado, and takes Knuckles and the Master Emerald back to Angel Island. If all the Chaos Emeralds are collected, Angel Island rises upwards, into the sky. However, if the player has not collected all the Chaos Emeralds, Angel Island plummets into the ocean.

Development

The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge features a "lock-on" adapter that allows it to be physically attached to other Genesis cartridges.

Sonic & Knuckles was developed in California by the Japanese members of Sega Technical Institute (STI).<ref name="den">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="gamestm">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were originally planned as a single game;<ref name=dev1>Template:Cite web</ref> according to designer Takashi Iizuka, the team "really wanted to hit a home run", with larger stages that took longer to develop.<ref name="GI: Two"/> As ROM cartridges were too small to contain the game and Sega wanted it released in time for a promotional deal with McDonald's in the US,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic 3 was split in two,<ref name="GI: Two">Template:Cite magazine</ref> with Sonic & Knuckles as the second part.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As Mushroom Hill became the first stage of Sonic & Knuckles, the developers lowered its difficulty.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Despite the split, the developers wanted the games to feel like a single experience.<ref name="GI: Two"/> According to Roger Hector, vice president and general manager of STI, the lock-on technology was conceived between the releases of Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The team explained their situation to Sega's hardware division, which gave them the lock-on adapter. The team knew that players would likely use the adapter to insert games beside Sonic 3, so they implemented the Blue Sphere minigame for most games. They made Knuckles playable in Sonic 2 if that game was inserted because the team found his play style suited its levels. They considered including the same functionality for the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but the developers felt Knuckles' abilities did not work with its level design.<ref name="GI: Two" />

Release

Sonic & Knuckles was released on October 18, 1994.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was released around the same time as Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country for the Genesis's competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Industry figures called the coinciding releases a "battle" as both advertised "revolutionary" technological advances: lock-on technology for Sonic & Knuckles and 3D-rendered graphics for Donkey Kong.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sonic & Knuckles was backed by a $45 million marketing campaign; at the time, video games typically had a marketing budget of $5 million.<ref name=":0" /> Blockbuster Video and MTV co-sponsored a tournament in which children were allowed to play Sonic & Knuckles. The final tournament was held at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California, with a prize of $25,000 and the title "The World's Most Hardcore Gamer". Two finalists were also awarded a copy of every Sega product released for the next year.<ref name="EGMAlc">Template:Cite magazine</ref> MTV broadcast the tournament finale along with footage of the game as MTV's Rock the Rock.<ref name="EGMAlc" />

Rereleases

Template:See also Sonic & Knuckles has been released as part of numerous compilations of Sega games including Sonic Jam (1997) for the Sega Saturn;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997) and Sonic & Garfield Pack (1999) for the PC,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic Mega Collection (2002) for the GameCube;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Sonic Classic Collection (2010) for the Nintendo DS.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sonic Jam, in addition to featuring the original release, included some new "remix" options to modify the game:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "Normal" mode alters the layout of rings and hazards and "Easy" mode removes certain acts entirely from the game. The version in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection does not retain the lock-on feature included in other versions of the game, because of "tight development times".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=nolock>Template:Cite web</ref>

The game has been re-released through the Wii's Virtual Console and Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.<ref name=ignwii>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=ign360>Template:Cite web</ref> Both releases are programmed such that, if any of the "Lock-on" games are also downloaded on the same account, the "connected" versions of the game are also available. For example, if one downloads Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 2, they have the option to play the corresponding Knuckles in Sonic 2 game.<ref name=ignwii /> When the PC version was released via the Steam software, the games were released together as Sonic 3 & Knuckles as originally intended, with the player (even if playing as Tails) simply continuing at the beginning of Sonic & Knuckles after finishing Sonic 3.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sonic & Knuckles is included in the retro console Sega Genesis Flashback released in 2017 by AtGames, a compilation of 45 Genesis games that does not have Sonic 3.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sonic 3 & Knuckles was re-released for the first time since 2011 as part of the Sonic Origins compilation in 2022. All versions of the games included in Origins are remasters running on the Retro Engine, with Sonic 1, 2 and CD being new ports of existing remasters. This version of the title was developed by Simon Thomley of Headcannon, who previously worked on both Sonic Mania and the other titles included.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> The Origins version features the original "Blue Sphere" minigame as a bonus mode, as well as new iteration of the mode called "New Blue Spheres" which includes the additional sphere colors introduced in Sonic Mania.

Reception

The Genesis version sold at least 1.24 million copies in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles sold a combined Template:Nowrap cartridges worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Critics praised Sonic & Knuckles, despite its similarity to its predecessor. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly named it their "Game of the Month". They lauded the lock-on technology and remarked that despite that being "more of the same, it still is an exceptional game".<ref name="EGM65" /> GamePro commented that the ability to play as Knuckles makes it essentially two games on a single cartridge, the game is more challenging than Sonic 3, and the ability to hook the cartridge up to Sonic 2 and 3 makes those games "worth playing again". They gave it a perfect 5.0 out of 5 in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and funfactor).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Next Generation remarked, "Basically, this is the same Sonic game that Sega has sold for the last three years, just wrapped up better and with a prettier ribbon."<ref name="NG">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Critics praised the lock-on technology the game offered. Lucas Thomas of IGN said it was "a great game on its own", but the lock-on feature completely revamped the overall experience.<ref name="ign" /> Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer preferred Sonic & Knuckles to Sonic 3,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> stating that he could not fully appreciate its predecessor without its "companion piece".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sega PowerTemplate:'s review praised the game's harder difficulty in comparison to its predecessor and the new expansion of levels, admitting that the expansion would not have been possible had Sonic 3 been a single game.<ref name=power2>Template:Cite web</ref> Sega MagazineTemplate:'s review similarly praised the lock-on technology and the new innovation the unique cartridge offered, adding that Sonic & KnucklesTemplate:' hidden stages and bosses would strongly add to the replay value of the combined game.<ref name=segam1 />

Reviewing the Virtual Console release, Nintendo Life writer James Newton praised its support for the old lock-on feature of the original release, claiming that the game does not truly shine without having purchased Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3 to activate this feature.<ref name="nl" /> Thomas praised the game for "impressive visuals that pushed the Genesis to its limits" and for the value added in the content unlocked with the lock-on technology.<ref name="ign" />

Legacy

For the series' twentieth anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations, a game that remade aspects of various past games from the franchise.<ref name=generations>Template:Cite web</ref> A remake of the Sky Sanctuary stage was made for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions of the game,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the Mushroom Hill level was remade for the Nintendo 3DS version of the game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing features a track inspired by the Death Egg as downloadable content along with the Metal Sonic character.<ref name=generations /> The sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, featured the same race course, and an additional new one inspired by the Sky Sanctuary stage.<ref name=race>Template:Cite web</ref> Re-imagined versions of the Flying Battery and Lava Reef stages, along with the Blue Sphere bonus game, appear in the 2017 game Sonic Mania.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sonic the Hedgehog 2 draws inspiration from Sonic & Knuckles, though it is not a direct adaptation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2022, 30 years after the release of the game, Paramount announced the release of the film Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in December 2024, as well as the release of Knuckles on Paramount+ in April of that year; the creative team behind the live-action franchise confirmed this was meant to be an homage to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Sonic & Knuckles double-feature.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

Works cited

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Official Virtual Console website