Name:
Knuckles' Chaotix
- North America
Knuckles' Chaotix - Europe
Chaotix - Japan
Other Names (Nicknames): N/A
Release Dates:
March, 1995 - North America
April 21st, 1995 - Japan
May, 1995 - Europe
Quality: 32-Bit, sidescrolling
platformer
Game System(s): Sega 32x
Also released on: N/A
Developer(s): Sega of
Japan
Character Introductions: Espio
The Chameleon, Charmy Bee, Vector The Crocodile (on a system), and Mighty
The Armadillo (on a home gaming console).
Region Game Takes Place On: Newtrogic
High Zone.
Concept Introductions: Even
though Knuckles' Chaotix had the same general layout and elements
of a conventional Sonic game, the method in which you ventured through
each zone was entirely different. You ran through the zones with a partner;
each of you holding a ring, and the rings were linked by an elastic
band of sparkling energy. So you had to whip, zip and fling yourself
around the zones. Your partner simply followed your actions and can
submit to certain commands such as holding themselves in place or coming
back when you call them in case they get lost. Knuckles' Chaotix is
also the Sonic game with the farthest range of power ups. One of which
was a silver ring powerup, which when collected, combines all of your
rings into one large ring that you can gain back if you lose it, getting
back all of the rings you collected at once. Another included 'partner
switch,' which is self-explanatory. Also, there was a powerup where
your character changes to what character was featured on the powerup
at the time you hit it — its effect is temporary. There was also
an additional shrinking and enlarging powerup, changing the size of
the character and their weight. Of course, there were the traditional
10 ring, invincibility, and bubble shield powerups. Bonus stages are
also accessible in hidden ring portals throughout the stages. Knuckles'
Chaotix also introduced the 6 Chaos Rings (purple,
pink, blue,
cyan, green,
yellow in color),
which can only be collected via Special Stage.
Concept Deductions: There are no checkpoint
markers in Knuckles' Chaotix. Special Stage access is however, the same
(50 rings and the ring portal at the end of the zone). The 7 Chaos Emeralds
were replaced by the 6 Chaos Rings.
Storyline:
It's been a few
months after the events at Angel Island, and Sonic & Tails were
up to their normal thing. As for Eggman? He was already unfolding his
next fiendish plot to take over the world! And what luck, since a recent
earthquake that was triggered by the Master Emerald caused the unveiling
of a new island that rose from the waters. The island's relationship
with the Master Emerald was quite potent, since its once drenched, rocky
surface was suddenly turned into lush greenery and beauty. But of course,
why make things green and lush when you can make them metal and morbid?
Eggman took immediate advantage and went off to investigate this newly
arisen island. At the same time, Knuckles also notices the new island
and goes to investigate as well, under the impression he might find
out about his past and the ancient civilization that he believed thrived
there. Unfortunately, Eggman was waaaay ahead of him.
On his journey
of scrutiny, Eggman would thus come across an odd ring. Carved into
its surface was text that confirmed that this island was indeed part
of the aforementioned lost civilization. A bit later, he came across
yet another ring, which was one of the Chaos Rings: 6 special rings
that were united with the Master Emerald to create a dimensional space
within the ring that is filled with the power of the Master Emerald.
Upon studying the ring, Eggman concludes that he can use it to summon
the Master Emerald. And so his plan begun, quickly building his usual
base of operations in the form of a giant, carnival-themed
fortress along the surface of the whole island, named Newtrogic High
Zone.
Knuckles eventually
arrives, only to see that he is all too late. Eggman has utilized this
special ring energy to create such doo-dads known as the Dark Ring and
the Combi-Confiner, which he used to freeze any opposition in time.
This dreadful event had already come to pass upon the unlucky souls
of Vector the Crocodile, Mighty the Armadillo, and Charmy Bee. Knuckles
was just in time to save a chap by the name of Espio the Chameleon,
however. So with his new chameleon of a partner, the two go off to save
the rest of their friends, and thus this new island before Eggman finishes
off his plan!
Personal Criticism/Opinion:
Many say Chaotix was one of the most dreadful Sonic games. They say
that it seemed half-assed and somewhat rushed. I for one, don't see
this error at all, as I find Knuckles' Chaotix QUITE the fun game. And
from a storyline and gameplay perspective, it seemed quite complete.
Needless to say, controlling two characters at once was quite a fresh
idea for Sonic gameplay, along with the fact that the spotlight was
now being shone on Knuckles. It also wasn't your average "you run
with your primary character and some other dude follows," like
Sonic & Tails in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3. You had to use teamwork to
get through each zone, and your characters were linked between an elastic
band of energy between two rings. Several commands such as "hold"
(where you partner will stand in place and not move until you let go
of the hold button) were useful, since it enabled your partner to stand
still while you run as far away as you can, letting the elastic band
stretch, gaining potential energy until you let go, snapping you both
forward in a kinetic boost of speed. There was also the call command,
in case your partner is stuck somewhere you can't get to, and they come
right back (unfortunately it costs 10 rings). Each character also has
their own unique set of attributes.
Knuckles, of
course has his normal skills of spinball jump, spindash, glide and climb.
Espio's spinball jump and spindash look different but have the same
effect (he looks like a spinning top in a tornado-like fashion —
REAL cool, not to mention it spreads out his attack range more vertically),
and he can literally walk and run on walls, and most of all, CEILINGS
as well. Mighty is the fastest character in the game (duh, since his
sprite was an edited Sonic sprite). His spinball jump and spindash are
quite generic, yet his wall-scaling technique was wall-jumping with
his powerful legs. He could even jump up the same wall.
Vector also had
the spinball jump (except he looked like a huge tire in spinball form,
making his attack range larger since he is huge), spindash, and could
climb walls similarly to Knuckles. Except you had to hold the climbing
button while on the wall with Vector — you can't just let go and
climb like with Knuckles. This disadvantage was remunerated with Vector's
double jump, which, when the jump button is pressed twice, causes Vector
to perform a quick boost through mid air in 8 directions with his shoulder.
It can bust right through enemies. Charmy has the most innovative gameplay
style. He can't spinball jump, or spindash… in fact, he can't
jump: period. His only assault method is a midair boost that is exactly
like Vector's. But you can do it continuously to the point where you
can boost all throughout the entire level in midair, meaning Charmy
can fly without ever getting tired. He is a GREAT character for starters
and for when you're trying to reel in rings to get Special Stage access.
Knuckles' Chaotix
is renowned across Sonic Fandom as being the only Sonic game with a
totally different, and well known prototype. Knuckles' Chaotix was supposed
to be released on the Genesis/Mega Drive as a title called Sonic 4 (according
to the grapevine). The game was to have the same elastic band
teamwork gameplay as Chaotix, but with Sonic & Tails in the Chaotix
crew's stead. Luckily, a ROM dump of this prototype was leaked somewhere
and is now one of the most prestigious ROMs across the online Sonic
fanbase. Its prototype was called Sonic Crackers, while the game itself
was supposedly named Sonic Stadium. (The ROM has been given many different
names thanks to file type conversions, but it is known for being named
Sonic Studium, a typo of the actual name, or perhaps
an inside joke — common for when a game is in development.)
If you download
the ROM, you'll notice Sonic's sprite and animations are suspiciously
familiar to Mighty's from Chaotix — and I am talking down to every
last animation! Tails' seems to be the same sprites from Sonic 2 or
3, and Sonic's sprite (along with Mighty's) is inspired by Sonic 1/CD
style sprites. Even the music and level design from Crackers was used
in Chaotix. However, the idea was scrapped, and was later recycled into
Chaotix which was released on the piece-o-shit 32x.
Many think that
because of this "lookalike situation," Mighty is just a huge
Sonic clone (strange that they never say that about Shadow). This is
not true at all, since Mighty actually made an appearance in a Sonic
game prior to Chaotix. It was an arcade game released exclusively in
Japan known as SegaSonic the Hedgehog (or Sonic Arcade) circa 1993.
Vector was also created before Chaotix, and was meant to make a cameo
appearance in the sound test for Sonic 1 with Sonic's music band including
his other friends: Max the Monkey, Sharps the Chicken, and Mach the
Rabbit. Albeit, the four characters were eventually scrapped except
for Vector who was kept, redesigned, and introduced in Chaotix —
lucky him!
Knuckles' Chaotix,
though, is a wild card. It sucks at times yet it doesn't at other times.
More factors about it are better than worse, like its totally awesome
cast (two of my top 5 favs are from this game) and innovative gameplay.
The special stages are pretty easy and getting all 6 Chaos Rings ensures
the good ending after you beat the final boss (which is a wicked form
of Metal Sonic where he turns into a giant red monster, an idea later
used in Sonic Heroes).
Let's see some GAMER'S PERSPECTIVE:
Replay value? Knuckles' Chaotix is a very long game. You have
to travel through the 5 zones 5 times each, and each time you go through
them, they get progressively harder until the 5th time you finally battle
the boss for the stage. But most of all, the biggest turn off is that
once you beat the game, you can't travel through the zones again. If
you choose the completed game save file, you start at the point where
you battle the first of the two final bosses. So to be able to go through
the zones again, you need to start a new game save. The replay value
of this game overall is real bad. I'd suggest just to play it once out
of obligation, and put it down and rejoice.
Graphics? Since it was released on a 32 bit system, Chaotix's
graphics were a step above the classic Sonic games. The graphics were
actually very good. A bit too bright and contrasty, though. Chaotix
was also the very first Sonic game on a home gaming console to feature
an actual 3D mesh in gameplay (the arms on the Eggman stage boss in
Amazing Arena Zone, the elevator in Speed Slider Zone, and the Special
Stages).
Music & Sound Effects? Chaotix's music was done partly
by Jun Senoue once again, which is why its sounds and beats sound strikingly
similar to Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island
(Mega Drive version). Although, 5 tracks (Newtrogic High Zone's morning/afternoon/evening/midnight
tracks, and Techno Tower Zone's) were hand-me-downed from Sonic Stadium's
beta version (and then slightly edited), the rest were made by the music
team of Chaotix, which is quite similar to the rest of Senoue's old-school
Sonic tracks, except they're much faster paced and 'fun' to compliment
Chaotix's amusement park theme. The sound effects (mostly for the character's
skills) were hand-me-downed from Sonic CD, believe it or not.
Storyline? Very good, one of the better storylines of the old
school sidescrollers, definitely. It was a continuation of Sonic 3 and
Knuckles, which is a huge plus, and it exposed a link to an ancient
echidna civilization. That's depth right there, so this is definitely
an up.
OVERALL RATING? I rate Knuckles' Chaotix as a 8/10.
