Knuckles' Chaotix
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Knuckles' Chaotix<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;"> | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sega
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Sega</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Designer(s)</th><td>Hiroshi Okamoto, Toshiaki Yajima (chief programming)</td></tr> |
| Release date(s) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg March 22, 1995 Image:Flag of Japan (bordered).svg April 21, 1995 Image:European flag.svg May, 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)</td></tr> |
| Platform(s) | Sega 32X
<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>24-megabit cartridge</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Input</th><td>Control pad</td></tr> |
Knuckles' Chaotix, in Japan called simply Chaotix, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed 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 during May 1995. Its stand out features are its 2D sprite-based graphics and simultaneous two-player gameplay.
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[edit] Storyline
The main story of the game as taken from the western 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!
[edit] Characters
Image:Chaoix.jpg 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.
Aside from Knuckles and his friends, the game also introduces Heavy & Bomb, two robots who claim to have escaped from Dr. Robotnik's evil clutches, and want to help team Chaotix. Heavy & 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. Just as his name says, Heavy is heavy and slow. Bomb on the other hand is tiny and quick, but he explodes when he's hit.
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, finally, is the smallest character in the game but his ability to fly gives him a definite edge over the other characters. Contrary to Tails in the earlier Genesis games, Charmy will never tire of flying (possibly because he is a bee, and in more recent Sonic games it is very rare for Charmy to not be seen flying). In addition to these, there are 'the mechanix' Heavy & Bomb, acting as 'hindrance characters'; Bomb will explode upon hitting any enemy, hitting you if you are too close, while Heavy does little at all, acting as a kind of ball and chain to your character.
[edit] Gameplay
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 gain lives or enter special stages.
The levels are divided into 5 worlds, each one consisting of 5 different acts in which every 2 stages/acts played, change 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).
[edit] Zones
[edit] Levels
- 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 jungle of hostile flora.
- Speed Slider: A rollercoaster reminiscent of Casino Night and Carnival Night Zone, Speed Slider is the fastest zone in Knuckles' Chaotix. The level moves all the way to top to a confrontation with Dr. Robotnik on his carousel.
- Amazing Arena: At the start of this stage, Team Chaotix is in the dark, but once the lightswitch is hit, Amazing Arena turns bright and colourful. If the player fails to locate it, the stage starts all over again.
- Marina Madness: A water themed level with, curiously, no water. Team Chaotix must jump from ship to ship to complete this level while dodging flying fish and sailing stingrays.
- Techno Tower: A futuristic-styled level with only one way to finish: up. In Level 5 team Chaotix can hop on a drill machine that burrows through solid walls.
- World Entrance: Between each stage the player visits the World Entrance. Here one can choose to end the game, select a new partner, and choose a new stage.
[edit] 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, the character free-falls 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 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 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.
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. After a player wins all six Chaos Rings, the special stages start over in a wireframe mode.
[edit] Sonic Crackers
A believed 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 removed 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 removed in an early phase of development. Or alternatively, served as generic placeholders for characters not yet designed. Additionally, an alpha version of what could be Speed Slider can be accessed.
- The Level Select option in Knuckles' Chaotix allows you to manually select what character you want to play as. In the lineup, Mighty the Armadillo is listed in the first slot, typically where you would find Sonic. Listed second, is a character named **********. When selected, this character is a mess of corrupted graphics and colors (a typically occurring phenomenon when a ROM tries to access data that has been changed or removed) vaguely resembling Knuckles, dubbed "Wechnia" by fans; this could be the only remnant of what was once Tails.
- Empty spots in the combi-catcher machine filled in by a double for Heavy & Bomb, which some fans believe this space could have been reserved for Sonic & Tails. Or possibly to increase player's chance of a getting a 'lesser' character.
- 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 where Sonic himself is largely absent.
- The presence of Amy Rose, hidden and uncovered via hacking, in the sound test.
- Sonic Crackers' stage select referring to levels as 'attractions' instead of 'zones'.
- Knuckles' Chaotix's music tracks, "Walkin'", "Hyper-Hyper", "Evening Star", and "Moonrise", as well as a version of "Electoria" based on the four previously mentioned tracks, can be heard in Sonic Crackers, as well as the Game Over theme from the first two Sonic games.
Another common explanation however is that Knuckles' Chaotix was originally designed to be the mythical Sonic the Hedgehog 4, a media and fan given term for a possible direct sequel to Sonic & Knuckles, but got shifted somewhere in the middle stage of development to an all new 32X title.
[edit] Hacks
Sonic in Knuckles' Chaotix Sonic the Hedgehog replaces Mighty.
[edit] Trivia
- Knuckles Chaotix was the only Sonic-related game to be released on the Sega 32X.
- Recently, some elements of the game have received new life with Espio, Vector, and Charmy returning to the series as of Sonic Heroes. Also, the concept of a player controlling two characters is reused for Sonic Advance 3
[edit] External links
