When development for third installment of the third Sonic title hit some problems Sega cut a significant amount of content so as to meet their deadline. Most companies would simply let it be and allow these additional levels and concepts to remain lost, but not Sega. This is why we have Sonic & Knuckles which Sega reworked into its own game. I still remember the commercials, and for the longest time I was confused about the concept behind this title. The most advertised point was that you could plug in previous Sonic titles in to the port on top of the cartridge and access additional content, but I only learned that this also functions as its own standalone title in recent years. I had to add the oddly shaped cartridge to my collection, and thankfully it’s cheap in modern times. Does Sonic & Knuckles stack up against the other franchise outings? Is the lock-on mechanic a cheap gimmick? You will have to read on to find out.
Sonic and Knuckles picks up right where part 3 left off. Dr. Robotnik’s ship the Death Egg has crashed into a volcano on Angel Island following its destruction. You play as either Sonic or Knuckles as you trek through each zone and eventually face off against Robotnik or Metal Sonic depending on whom you are playing as. Gameplay is largely unchanged from the previous outing, and most of the mechanics will be very familiar to those who played the last title. There’s a large focus on speed here as your characters cross loop-de-loops and run up angled walls. The immediate difference here is that you can play as Knuckles right from the get-go. Tails isn’t an option unless you have the cartridge for Sonic 3 locked on. While Sonic’s abilities are unchanged from the last outing Knuckles has unique abilities all his own. He cannot run as fast as the blue blur, but he can float mid-air and move either left or right while slowly descending. This can be used as an attack against airborne enemies, and this allows him to cling to and even climb walls. I did have a few issues with Knuckle’s mechanics, namely, that while floating he can only attack enemies head-on and being touched anywhere else will cause damage to him. This makes some of the boss encounters a little tricky, but it’s never a big deal. The shield power-ups return here, but only Sonic can take full advantage of them thanks to the limited button layout of the controller with Knuckle’s default skills crowding out the expanded abilities. It’s not a huge deal and gives Sonic a leg up on him.
The level design is a notch below the other Sonic titles, but I really liked the fact that the two characters progress through the stages differently as per their abilities. The developers did a really good job of implementing multiple paths, and playing as the two makes for a very different experience. Many of the hazards are new as well such as the mushrooms that you can spring off of, mist that limits your jumping ability, lava that flows within the volcano, and more. These are very cool and make this one distinct, but I still feel that Sonic 3 got the better end of the deal with better layouts and more creative obstacles. The repeating stage puzzle aspect that pulled the last title down is largely missing this time around, but it does rear its ugly head in the second stage. It’s pretty easy to solve here and doesn’t drag the experience down. There’s less diversity here with some zones that play too similarly to one another. Mushroom Hill is my favorite of the bunch and is one of the truly iconic levels in the series, but after that it’s downhill. Sandopolis Zone introduces a fun mechanic with ghosts that follow you around that can be scared away by turning on lights, but for the most part it’s frustrating with clunky platforming. The rest just feel like generic Sonic stages and none are particularly memorable and feature forgettable boss encounters. Many will celebrate the fact that there’s no water based stages which makes this the only title in the original series without one.
Locking the previous Sonic titles on to this cartridge results in a variety of effects. The original game is limited in that you can only play the 3D bonus game endlessly. This happens with any other cartridge which I guess is a nice feature, but I’m not particularly fond of it. Plugging Sonic 2 into the port allows you to play through that game entirely as Knuckles. This adds new dynamics to each of the stages and is extremely cool. With that said it does make Sonic 2 a lot easier with Knuckles new abilities allowing him to bypass many of the old hazards, but at the time of release this made the lock-on feature seem far ahead of its time. With Sonic 3 you’re allowed to play through the game as Knuckles which is cool, but it’s clear that the stages were originally designed with this character in mind and so it’s less interesting. What is cool however is the fact that upon completing the story you’re immediately thrust into the Sonic and Knuckles stages which allows players to get the whole experience as it was originally intended. This is also the only way to play as Tails in the main game, but in my opinion this should have been a feature from the start.
Sonic and Knuckles runs on the same engine as part 3 with no significant upgrades. There’s very little parity between the titles, but that’s to be expected considering the fact that they were originally intended to be one game. The character models are exceptional by 16-bit standards with detailed animations and a wide use of color. Stages are just as detailed as in the counterpart, but unfortunately the art style (aside from Mushroom Hill) is a little generic for the backgrounds. Sonic & Knuckles would have benefited a great deal in featuring more outdoor areas because the indoor corridors and sky areas are a little boring to be honest. What’s cool is the fact that, rather than downgrading the model to better fit the art style, Knuckles retains the same character model when playing as him in Sonic 2. I expected him not to fit in, but he blends in rather well. The soundtrack is pretty weak when compared to that of part 3. It’s competently done, but aside from Mushroom Hill the themes feel phoned in. It’s decent, but a little disappointing to be honest.
Lock-on technology has the word ‘gimmick’ written all over it. Thankfully Sega was able to rise above this, and implement it in some pretty ingenious ways. I still can’t get over how cool it is to play as Knuckles in part 2 and I’m disappointed the same care wasn’t taken to make him playable in the original. Unfortunately this package got most of the lower quality stages between the two releases, but it’s still fairly enjoyable. This is a true relic of history, and no Sega fan’s collection would be complete without it.
