Knuckles' Chaotix
Encyclopedia
Knuckles' Chaotix, is a platform game
spin-off
to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed
by Sonic Team
, and published
by Sega
for the Sega 32X
. The game was released in North America
in March 1995, in Japan
on April 21, 1995 and finally in Europe
in May 1995. The game's only re-release since then has been through GameTap
's PC
service,for a brief period in 2007. It is the only Sonic-related game to be released for the Sega 32X.
then discovers that he can rescue one friend at a time using ring power, which holds the two partners together like a rubber band. All the characters then work together to save Carnival Island from Robotnik.
In the Japanese manual, a mysterious island rose from the sea shortly after the events of Sonic & Knuckles
. Dr. Robotnik discovered the island, and found a mysterious ring inscribed with descriptions of the "Chaos Rings", ancient Rings infused with Chaos Emerald energy. In order to find these rings, Robotnik built his base on the island. Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, and Charmy Bee also arrived at the island, and ended up being captured by Robotnik and Metal Sonic
, and frozen in Robotnik's machine. Knuckles, curious about the strange island, goes there as well, and manages to rescue Espio. The two then go on to stop Robotnik from getting the Chaos Rings.
, Mighty the Armadillo (who previously appeared in the 1993 arcade game
SegaSonic the Hedgehog
), Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon
and Charmy Bee. The game also featured two additional partners known as Heavy the Robot and Bomb the Bomb.
Vector and Charmy did not return to the Sonic video game universe until Sonic Heroes
in 2004. Espio made an appearance as one of the playable characters
in Sonic the Fighters a year later, and went on to join his friends in Sonic Heroes. Mighty, Heavy and Bomb have not appeared in another Sonic game since Chaotix.
Each character in Knuckles' Chaotix has his own special abilities. Knuckles still glides and climbs as he did in Sonic & Knuckles
. Espio has the ability to walk upright on walls and ceilings, and instead of curling up into a ball when performing the spin dash, he twists into a tornado, and can destroy unguarded enemies by running headlong into them at full speed. Mighty is the fastest runner in the game, and he has the ability to scale walls with his feet and push himself upward. Vector is the largest member of Chaotix. His moves include a mid-air dash and the ability to climb on walls. Charmy is the smallest character in the game but his ability to fly gives him a definite edge over the other characters.
Heavy and Bomb are two robots who claim to have escaped from Dr. Robotnik's evil clutches and want to help Chaotix. Heavy and Bomb cannot be selected from the character select screen, but instead are picked up through the combi catcher. Neither of the two robots can attack. As his name implies, Heavy is heavy and slow, yet he is indestructible and has the ability to destroy enemies and monitors by simply walking into them. Bomb is tiny and quick, but he explodes when he's hit, hurting friend and foe alike. Both of these characters can only be playable directly if the Stage Select is activated through the game's Color Test. They can also be played as normally in Special Stages if the player has one of them as their partner and throws them into the Special Stage ring.
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 player's life energy and can be collected to enter special stages. Extra lives are unobtainable in the game; once the player is damaged when he has no rings and his partner is absent (if you have no rings, getting hit will temporarily cause you to lose your partner, but he will return eventually; effectively making your partner an 'extra hit point' for the players sake) or if you use 'recall' to reduce your ring counter to negative 99 rings or lower, you will automatically be taken back to the world lobby (or back to the title screen, if you are in Isolated Island when this happens, which is also only possible through using recall, due to lack of hazardous obstacles or enemies in that level) and be given a chance to leave/save or to choose a different partner and/or try to choose another attraction to play.
The game comprises 5 worlds (called Attractions), each with 5 levels. Levels are set at different times of day (morning, day, evening and night), which are determined by the time spent in the previous level and affect enemy placement and boss difficulty. At the end of Level 5, the player confronts Dr. Robotnik in one of his contraptions.
The most fundamental change in Knuckles' Chaotix 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 is 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 only time the ring count could dip below zero in a Sonic game). Also, in two player mode if either player is hit without a shield/invincibility/big ring (an item that when obtained, causes you to lose all of your rings in the form of one, slightly larger than usual ring temporarily if you are hit) they lose all of their rings (which is not the case in single player mode, when if the partner is hit, he only loses one ring instead of all of them).
The game cartridge features battery-backup saving, which allows the player to save their progress either manually (by passing the Exit sign) or automatically (after clearing an Act or Special Stage).
All badniks and most bosses in the game are powered by, and on destruction release, gray rings (rather than animals as in prior games). However, these cannot be collected like regular rings and vanish almost immediately.
s down a long spiral of rings, power-ups, blocks and exits while the player's rings gradually count down to 0. The stage ends when the ring count reaches 0 or when the character hits an exit. Possible bonuses include a slow-down at the attraction roulette screen or a free pick from the Combi Catcher.
Special 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. The starting ring count that is used as time in the special stage is based on the amount of rings collected in the previous stage (if a player collects 180 rings, then the player will have 180 rings/seconds in the special stage; however, if a player has more than 200 rings at the end of the stage, then the player will start the special stage with 200 rings/seconds). After a player wins all six Chaos Rings, the special stages start over in a wireframe mode.
praised the new dimension of gameplay over the Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games, by having a second character, but criticized how this also slowed down gameplay. IGN
offered similar sentiments, admiring the attempt to both "breathe life into a series that was running out of steam" and fix the lopsided multiplayer aspect of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3
where Tails would always get lost off-screen, but disliked the actual clunky nature of the "rubber band" physics of the game's "buddy system", and the lack of variation between acts of each world. Gamesarefun called it a "love it or hate it" type game, that would be fun for hardcore Sonic fans, but would likely scare off casual ones.
.
The rest of the Chaotix members, with the exception of Mighty, would later appear in Sonic Heroes
, Shadow The Hedgehog
, and in Sonic Rivals
and its sequel
.
Espio alone is a playable character in the arcade game, Sonic the Fighters
. Vector alone was playable in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Sonic Team
Sonic Team
is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...
, and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
for the Sega 32X
Sega 32X
The Sega 32X, codenamed Project Mars, is an add-on for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console by Sega. Its aim was to increase the lifespan of the aging Mega Drive/Genesis system, which was facing stiff competition from the SNES...
. The game was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in March 1995, in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on April 21, 1995 and finally in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in May 1995. The game's only re-release since then has been through GameTap
GameTap
GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
's PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
service,for a brief period in 2007. It is the only Sonic-related game to be released for the Sega 32X.
Story
The story varies between the Japanese and English language versions of the game. In the English manual, Knuckles guards Carnival Island, a large hi-tech amusement park. Dr. Robotnik goes there to steal the power emerald that powers the whole island so he can use it to power his evil devices. Dr. Robotnik traps Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Mighty the Armadillo, who were visiting the island, in a machine he built that freezes them in time and is about to do the same to Espio the Chameleon until Knuckles chases him away. KnucklesKnuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into...
then discovers that he can rescue one friend at a time using ring power, which holds the two partners together like a rubber band. All the characters then work together to save Carnival Island from Robotnik.
In the Japanese manual, a mysterious island rose from the sea shortly after the events of Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994.As well as working as a standalone...
. Dr. Robotnik discovered the island, and found a mysterious ring inscribed with descriptions of the "Chaos Rings", ancient Rings infused with Chaos Emerald energy. In order to find these rings, Robotnik built his base on the island. Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, and Charmy Bee also arrived at the island, and ended up being captured by Robotnik and Metal Sonic
Metal Sonic
is a fictional character and a recurring antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. In the series, Metal Sonic is an evil identical robotic duplicate of Sonic the Hedgehog, created by the series antagonist Dr. Robotnik, and is able to match Sonic's every move and even surpass his...
, and frozen in Robotnik's machine. Knuckles, curious about the strange island, goes there as well, and manages to rescue Espio. The two then go on to stop Robotnik from getting the Chaos Rings.
Characters
Knuckles' Chaotix marks the debut of the Chaotix. The group has five members, including Knuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into...
, Mighty the Armadillo (who previously appeared in the 1993 arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
SegaSonic the Hedgehog
SegaSonic the Hedgehog
is an isometric platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released by Sega for Japanese arcades in June 1993. The game supported three players playing simultaneously, and possessed a unique track ball set up for moving on-screen characters. The only other control input was a single button,...
), Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon
Espio the Chameleon
is a fictional character in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog video game series and media franchise. He was created for the game Knuckles' Chaotix and his subtle color changing demonstrated the technical capabilities of the Sega 32X console. The character is a 16-year-old anthropomorphic purple chameleon...
and Charmy Bee. The game also featured two additional partners known as Heavy the Robot and Bomb the Bomb.
Vector and Charmy did not return to the Sonic video game universe until Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes
is a 2004 platforming single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in...
in 2004. Espio made an appearance as one of the playable characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in Sonic the Fighters a year later, and went on to join his friends in Sonic Heroes. Mighty, Heavy and Bomb have not appeared in another Sonic game since Chaotix.
Each character in Knuckles' Chaotix has his own special abilities. Knuckles still glides and climbs as he did in Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994.As well as working as a standalone...
. Espio has the ability to walk upright on walls and ceilings, and instead of curling up into a ball when performing the spin dash, he twists into a tornado, and can destroy unguarded enemies by running headlong into them at full speed. Mighty is the fastest runner in the game, and he has the ability to scale walls with his feet and push himself upward. Vector is the largest member of Chaotix. His moves include a mid-air dash and the ability to climb on walls. Charmy is the smallest character in the game but his ability to fly gives him a definite edge over the other characters.
Heavy and Bomb are two robots who claim to have escaped from Dr. Robotnik's evil clutches and want to help Chaotix. Heavy and Bomb cannot be selected from the character select screen, but instead are picked up through the combi catcher. Neither of the two robots can attack. As his name implies, Heavy is heavy and slow, yet he is indestructible and has the ability to destroy enemies and monitors by simply walking into them. Bomb is tiny and quick, but he explodes when he's hit, hurting friend and foe alike. Both of these characters can only be playable directly if the Stage Select is activated through the game's Color Test. They can also be played as normally in Special Stages if the player has one of them as their partner and throws them into the Special Stage ring.
Gameplay
The game comprises 5 worlds (called Attractions), each with 5 levels. Levels are set at different times of day (morning, day, evening and night), which are determined by the time spent in the previous level and affect enemy placement and boss difficulty. At the end of Level 5, the player confronts Dr. Robotnik in one of his contraptions.
The most fundamental change in Knuckles' Chaotix involves the special ring force bond between characters. In earlier Sonic games, two-player mode would consist either of a traditional split screen
Split screen (computer graphics)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into non-movable adjacent parts, typically two or four rectangular areas. This is done in order to allow the simultaneous presentation of related graphical and textual information on a computer...
race or a joint single player effort with Tails
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
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 is 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 only time the ring count could dip below zero in a Sonic game). Also, in two player mode if either player is hit without a shield/invincibility/big ring (an item that when obtained, causes you to lose all of your rings in the form of one, slightly larger than usual ring temporarily if you are hit) they lose all of their rings (which is not the case in single player mode, when if the partner is hit, he only loses one ring instead of all of them).
The game cartridge features battery-backup saving, which allows the player to save their progress either manually (by passing the Exit sign) or automatically (after clearing an Act or Special Stage).
All badniks and most bosses in the game are powered by, and on destruction release, gray rings (rather than animals as in prior games). However, these cannot be collected like regular rings and vanish almost immediately.
Bonus Stage
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, the character free-fallFree-fall
Free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it, at least initially. These conditions produce an inertial trajectory so long as gravity remains the only force. Since this definition does not specify velocity, it also applies to objects initially moving upward...
s down a long spiral of rings, power-ups, blocks and exits while the player's rings gradually count down to 0. The stage ends when the ring count reaches 0 or when the character hits an exit. Possible bonuses include a slow-down at the attraction roulette screen or a free pick from the Combi Catcher.
Special Stages
In the special stages, 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 and when the count reaches zero or the player falls from the course, the stage ends. When successfully 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 (but it does reward them with the best ending, in which Sonic and Tails make cameo appearances).Special 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. The starting ring count that is used as time in the special stage is based on the amount of rings collected in the previous stage (if a player collects 180 rings, then the player will have 180 rings/seconds in the special stage; however, if a player has more than 200 rings at the end of the stage, then the player will start the special stage with 200 rings/seconds). After a player wins all six Chaos Rings, the special stages start over in a wireframe mode.
Reception
Knuckles' Chaotix has received mixed reception. 1up1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
praised the new dimension of gameplay over the Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games, by having a second character, but criticized how this also slowed down gameplay. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
offered similar sentiments, admiring the attempt to both "breathe life into a series that was running out of steam" and fix the lopsided multiplayer aspect of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States by members of Sonic Team working at Sega Technical Institute, and was published by Sega, debuting worldwide in the first half of 1994...
where Tails would always get lost off-screen, but disliked the actual clunky nature of the "rubber band" physics of the game's "buddy system", and the lack of variation between acts of each world. Gamesarefun called it a "love it or hate it" type game, that would be fun for hardcore Sonic fans, but would likely scare off casual ones.
Legacy
Characters created in this game would later be use in several other Sonic-related games. Mighty only makes few other appearance as a playable character in 1993's arcade game SegaSonic The HedgehogSegaSonic the Hedgehog
is an isometric platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released by Sega for Japanese arcades in June 1993. The game supported three players playing simultaneously, and possessed a unique track ball set up for moving on-screen characters. The only other control input was a single button,...
.
The rest of the Chaotix members, with the exception of Mighty, would later appear in Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes
is a 2004 platforming single-player/multiplayer video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team USA. It is the first multiplatform title in the Sonic series, developed for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and released in Japan in December 2003, in North America in...
, Shadow The Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game inauguration of...
, and in Sonic Rivals
Sonic Rivals
Sonic Rivals is a game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series in late 2006. It is the first Sonic game developed by a Canadian company, Backbone Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation Portable...
and its sequel
Sonic Rivals 2
Sonic Rivals 2 is the sequel to Sonic Rivals. The game was developed by Backbone Entertainment and supervised by Sega Studio USA, exclusively for the PlayStation Portable handheld videogame console. Sonic Rivals 2 was released on November 13, 2007 in North America...
.
Espio alone is a playable character in the arcade game, Sonic the Fighters
Sonic the Fighters
Sonic the Fighters is a fighting game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game's original Japanese title, Sonic The Fighters, is used in North American and European releases of Sonic Gems Collection.-Plot:...
. Vector alone was playable in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.
See also
- Sonic CrackersSonic CrackersSonic Crackers, is an early Sonic the Hedgehog prototype game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The concepts, engine and various other materials in the prototype was subsequently implemented in the Sega 32X game Knuckles' Chaotix...
- A prototype version of Knuckles' Chaotix for the Sega Mega Drive/GenesisSega Mega DriveThe Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
.