| Knuckles' Chaotix |
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| Developer(s) |
Sonic Team |
| Publisher(s) |
Sega |
| Release date(s) |
March 21, 1995 |
| Genre |
Platformer |
| Mode(s) |
Single player |
| Rating(s) |
ESRB, ELSPA, BBFC: not rated |
| Platform(s) |
Sega 32X |
| Media |
4-megabit cartridge |
| Input |
Control pad |
Knuckles' Chaotix title screen.
Knuckles' Chaotix (a.k.a. Chaotix), is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released for the Sega 32X.
The game was released in North America in March 1995. Its Japanese release was on April 21, 1995. Its European release was during May 1995.
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Contents
- 1 Characters
- 2 Plot
- 3 Gameplay
- 4 Stages
- 5 Special Stages
- 6 Sonic Crackers
- 7 Trivia
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Characters
Knuckles' Chaotix marks the debut of the Chaotix. The group has five members, including Knuckles the Echidna. The other four characters were headed up with Mighty the Armadillo (who also featured in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog two years earlier in 1993) and also featured Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. This latter trio did not return (with the exception of Espio, who appears as one of the playable characters in Sonic the Fighters a year later) until Sonic Heroes in 2004 - albeit with changed personas.
Plot
The main story of the game as taken from the manual:
- Tomorrow's the big opening day for Carnival Island, a huge amusement resort with the latest in high-tech rides and games. As guardian of the island, it's Knuckles' job to make sure nothing goes wrong before the grand event.
- Unfortunately, the evil Dr. Robotnik has other plans. He needs fuel for his latest diabolical device, and the Power Emerald that supplies electricity to the entire island fits the bill perfectly. His awful new invention, the Combi Confiner, should help him get rid of that annoying echidna and his friends.
- When Knuckles returns from patrolling the far end of the island, he discovers that Dr. Robotnik has imprisoned all of his friends-Espio the Chameleon, Mighty the Armadillo, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee. After he chases the Doctor off, Knuckles discovers that he can rescue one friend at a time by using Ring Power... only the power that sparks between the rings holds the two partners together like a magical rubber band. Never held back for long, Knuckles finds that with a little teamwork, he can use the stretching and snapping action of the Ring Power to double-even triple-the partners' speed.
- And they need all the speed they can get. As Dr. Robotnik drains the power from Carnival Island, everything on the island begins to break down! Robotnik must be stopped, or by tomorrow morning-the morning of Carnival Island's big opening day-the grand amusement park will lie in ruins!
Gameplay
Elastic ring power in
Knuckles' Chaotix.
The primary objective of the game remains unchanged from previous Sonic titles. The player must finish each level in under ten-minutes and defeat Dr. Robotnik's badniks along the way. Rings still constitute the players life energy and can be collected to gain lives or enter special stages.
The levels are divided into 5 worlds, each one consisting of 5 different acts which correspond to a specific time of the day (morning, midday, afternoon, evening and night). At the end of act 5 the player confronts Dr. Robotnik in one of his contraptions.
The most fundamental change in Knuckles' Chaotix (and what eventually became one of the most criticized features of the game) involves the special ring force bond between characters. In earlier Sonic games, two-player mode would consist either of a traditional split screen race or a joint single player effort with Tails as a secondary character. In the latter case, this meant that Tails could move off screen and get lost for a few seconds until he returned to Sonic.
In Knuckles' Chaotix however, both players are at all times connected on one single screen while neither player acts as the dominant force to move the game forward. Besides the staple of traditional Sonic moves and individual abilities this means some new tricks can be executed with the elastic force of the ring bond. For example, player 1 can hold his position while player 2 runs forward and stretches the bond to gain maximum speed. In mid-air the bond can be used to generate an upward momentum. Additionally, players can toss each other toward platforms or use the call-button to reunite (at a cost of ten rings, which meant that for the first and only time the ring count could dip below zero in a Sonic game).
Stages
- Isolated Island/Practice Stage: A special isolated area played before the main game to get players acquainted with the special unique maneuvers introduced into the game.
- Botanic Base: The island's most natural attraction is this giant greenhouse, filled with oddly geometric trees, and a host of hostile flora. Stick close to your partner and use the elastic ring as a bungee to defeat Dr. Robotnik in this level.
- Speed Slider: A rollercoaster reminiscent of Casino Night and Carnival Night Zone. Speed your way to the top of this attraction and meet Dr. Robotnik on his carousel.
- Amazing Arena: When you start the stage you're in the dark, but once you hit the lightswitch, Amazing Arena turns bright and colourful. If you fail to locate it, the stage starts all over again. Additional bonuses may be found in the Soundroom but time is imperative. When you reach the end of Act 5, Robotnik attacks you directly from the silver screen.
- Marina Madness: A water themed level with curiously, no water. Jump from ship to ship to complete this level and watch out for flying fish and sailing stingrays.
- Techno Tower: A futuristic-styled level with only one way to finish: up. In Level 5, hop in the drill machine to burrow through solid walls. Robotnik attacks with a giant armed robot and shoots lasers that ricochet off shifting mirrors
- World Entrance: Between each stage you visit the World Entrance. Here you can choose to end your game, select a new partner, and choose a new stage. Just follow the signs.
Special Stages
There are two types of special stages in Knuckles' Chaotix. The first designed as a power-up or bonus stage, the second to complete the quest for the Chaos Rings.
The bonus stage can be accessed by collecting 20 or more rings and jumping through one of the large rings found hidden throughout a level. In the stage, you free-fall down a long spiral of rings, power-ups, blocks and exits while your rings gradually count down to 0. The stage ends when your ring count reaches 0 or when you hit an exit. Possible bonuses include a slow-down at the world select screen or a free-pick from the Combi Catcher.
In the Chaos Ring stage, the player moves his character through a hexagonal, fully rendered 3D course to collect a specified set of blue spheres. Rings are collected as seconds. When the count reaches zero or the player falls from the course, the stage ends. When succesfully completed, the player is awarded one of six Chaos Rings. Contrary to earlier games in the series, collecting all Chaos Rings does not award the player with special powers.
Chaos Ring stages can only be accessed through a single large ring at the ending of each level, but the player must have collected at least 50 rings for it to appear.
Sonic Crackers
- Main article: Sonic Crackers
An alpha version of Knuckles' Chaotix known as Sonic Crackers is widely distributed on the Internet, but some controversy exists among fans whether or not Sonic and Tails were originally included in the game. Some have theorized, in accordance with the existence of Sonic Crackers, that they were axed in the early stages of development, while others suspect they might have been included up until late into the game's development, either as immediately playable or as secret characters. Proof in support of these theories has been summarized as follows:
- The presence of Sonic and Tails in the Sonic Crackers alpha version in what appears to be Techno Tower. Although this could indicate they were simply axed in an early phase of development. Or alternatively, served as generic placeholders for characters not yet designed.
- Mighty's strong resemblance to Sonic in appearance, which suggests a quick make-over in the final stage of development.
- Empty spots in the combi-catcher machine filled in by a double for Heavy & Bomber, which some fans believe is space reserved for Sonic & Tails when unlocked.
- An ending screen showing artwork of Sonic & Tails in front of the Chaotix team when the game is completed with all Chaos Rings.
- The presence of Metal Sonic in the game when Sonic himself is absent.
The most common explanation however (and one most likely to be true) is that Knuckles' Chaotix was originally designed to be Sonic the Hedgehog 4 for Genesis, but got shifted somewhere in the middle stage of development to an all new 32X title. Unfortunately, as with many of 32X games, development was rushed and Knuckles' Chaotix was left with several rough edges dating from the Sonic 4 development. Subsequently, Sonic Crackers should in fact be viewed as an early version of the unconceived Sonic 4 game.
Trivia
- The working title for the game was Knuckles' Ring Star.
- Knuckles Chaotix was the first and only Sonic-related game to be release on the Sega 32X.
- Sonic Advance 3 also involved teaming up with two characters as partner teammates.
