Knuckles Chaotix

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Knuckles Chaotix

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega Corporation System(s): Sega 32X Released in NA: March, 1995 Released in EU: May, 1995 Released in JP: April 21, 1995 Genre: Platform

Knuckles Chaotix is the only Sonic-related title released on the ill fated 32X addon for the SEGA Genesis. Sonic does not appear in this game, though most believe that the character of Mighty is based on Sonic, due to the similar character design.

[edit] Story

From the official Knuckles Chaotix European manual:

Tomorrow's the big opening day for Carnival Island, a huge 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 devices, 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 imporsed 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 resuce one friend at a time by using Ring Power...only the power that sparks between the Rings hold 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!

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay in Chaotix differs a lot from other Sonic games. Though the main objective of collecting rings and defeating badniks remains, the game utilizes an odd system where two characters are connected by a ring force bond.

Both of the selected characters are connected via this bond, while neither player acts as the dominant force to move the game forward. This element of team work gave a new edge to the Sonic gameplay- for example, for one to achieve top speed, one character must "hold!" his position, where the second character runs forward. On releasing the hold, the momentum caused from the bond causes the characters to shoot off forwards at high speed.