Knuckles' Chaotix
| Knuckles' Chaotix | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Logo of the game | |
| Studio |
 Sega
|
| Publisher |
Sega |
| Senior Developer |
Mamoru Shigeta Hiroshi Aso Makoto Oshitani |
| composer |
Tatsuya Kouzaki Junko Shiratsu Mariko Nanba |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 March 4, 1995 April 21, 1995 May 19, 1995 |
| platform | Sega 32X |
| genre | Jump 'n' run |
| Game mode | Single player |
| language | English |
Knuckles' Chaotix in Japan as Chaotix known, a 2D platformers Run - Computer game that of Sega developed and for the first time in North America on March 4, 1995, the Sega 32X was published. In this spin-off, which is the only game in the Sonic game series for the Sega 32X, Knuckles the Echidna takes on the lead role. He is accompanied by Mighty the Armadillo, who first appeared in the arcade slot machine SegaSonic the Hedgehog in 1993 , as well as by the new characters Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee and Vector the Crocodile, who are referred to in later games as "Team Chaotix" and the unique robots Heavy and Bomb.
action
According to the Japanese game guide, Dr. Eggman discovered the mysterious Isle of Rose and the remains of an ancient, highly developed civilization after the events of Sonic & Knuckles . A magical ring was fed with the energy of the pillars of the Master Emerald and divided into six so-called Chaos Rings. Hoping to finally take down his rival Sonic with this power, Dr. Eggman sets up his new base called Newtrogic High Zone on Rose Island and searches for the Chaos Rings. He locks up the island's animals, including Mighty the Armadillo, Charmy Bee and Vector the Crocodile, who put up a lot of resistance, but could be captured with the help of Metal Sonic in "Combi Catcher". Knuckles notices that the Master Emerald's energy has been affected and finds the reason for it on the Isle of Rose. There he finds Dr. Eggman, who just wanted to capture Espio the Chameleon and only barely escapes Knuckles with Metal Sonic's help, who is now accompanied by Espio.
According to the American and European game instructions, the action takes place on Carnival Island, a vacation paradise with the most modern attractions. One day before the grand opening, it is Knuckles' job to see that everything is going on Carnival Island. Energy is supplied by the so-called "Power Emerald", whose electricity Dr. Robotnik wants to take advantage of. Carnival Island resident Mighty the Armadillo, Charmy Bee, and Vector the Crocodile have already tried to get Dr. To prevent Robotnik from doing his thing, they were captured with the help of Metal Sonic in "Combi Catcher". During a tour, Knuckles discovers Dr. Robotnik, how he was about to capture Espio the Chameleon and just barely escapes from Knuckles with Metal Sonic's help, who is now accompanied by Espio.
In the course of the adventure Knuckles and Espio can also free Mighty, Charmy, Vector and the renegade robots Heavy and Bomb from the "Combi Catchers" and thwart the evil doctor's plans with a victory over Metal Sonic in order to restore peace to the island bring. During the credits, Sonic and Tails appear on the plane Tornado .
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Gameplay
In Knuckles' Chaotix , the player takes control of the characters Knuckles, Mighty, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Heavy and Bomb in a side-scrolling 2D platformer. In jumping or rolling form, called Spin Attack , the characters can defeat opponents or open item boxes in the form of monitors on whose screen the respective item contained is displayed. When touched, the golden rings can be collected; If the pawn takes damage, it loses the rings. If the character takes damage without having rings or falls into a deadly abyss, he loses an extra life, of which you have three at the start of the game. The monitors can also contain an extra life, ten rings, a protective shield, temporary increased speed, temporary invulnerability, a combine ring, growth or shrinkage of the game figure, character swap or character change. Checkpoints in the form of lanterns mark the reset point in the event of a loss of life. Points are also collected in all actions, which in turn can give "continues" so that the game can continue despite the loss of all extra lives. Most opponents can be defeated with the Spin Attack, which scores points and frees the trapped animals.
The great peculiarity of the game is that two of the total of seven characters, each with their own skills , are connected to one another by a magic band like a rubber band on the rings they hold in their hands. You can also switch to the other character at the push of a button. The rubber band effect can be a hindrance, but clever use can also be used for your own benefit. If a character has reached a higher level, for example due to his ability to climb (Knuckles) or fly (Charmy), the other character can follow suit. The attractions and gimmicks of the game are designed for a constant use of the rubber band and correct use of the corresponding skills.
The game consists of seven zones ( Botanic Base Zone , Speed Slider Zone , Amazing Arena Zone , Marina Madness Zone , Techno Tower Zone , Isolated Island Zone and Newtrogic High Zone ) with five acts each, which can be defined as levels and through an overworld are connected. Each zone has its own theme, appearance and variety of opponents and the individual acts clearly show the times of day morning, noon, evening and night. In the fifth act there is also a fight against the opponent Dr. Robotnik and one of its deadly machines. If you find a "Giant Golden Ring" in the game, you can get to the Bonus Stage for bonuses with 20 or more rings , while with at least 50 rings you can get to the Special Stages to possibly earn one of the six Chaos Rings. Only with all six Chaos Rings can you reach the good end of the game, in which Sonic and Tails can be seen.
development
Most of the developers of Sonic the Hedgehog CD were involved in the development of this game, which began in 1994. For this reason, Metal Sonic came to his second appearance, and a cameo was originally planned by Amy Rose . In the earliest prototype for the Sega Mega Drive , the game was still called Sonic Crackers and featured Sonic and Tails as playable characters who were already using the magic rubber band as the main gameplay element.
With the change to Knuckles as the main character, the game initially carried the development name Knuckles' Ringstar . While Mighty the Armadillo was reused from the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog , all other playable characters made their debut, with Vector the Crocodile already planned in the first Sonic the Hedgehog as part of a Sonic band, but again before the game's release was removed. Charmy Bee first appeared as a supporting character in a 1992 Sonic manga . Naoto Ohshima, who played a major role in the first Sonic game, suggested the characters Vector and Charmy for Knuckles' Chaotix .
New releases and successors
Knuckles' Chaotix has no successor, nor was the game ever released for another system or included in a game collection (although this was initially planned for the Sonic Gems Collection , but has been discarded). A comparable partner system without a rubber band effect was integrated in the game Sonic Advance 3 , which was released in 2004 .
While Knuckles himself remained an integral part of the Sonic game series, the other characters from Knuckles' Chaotix were initially no longer seen after Espio's appearance in Sonic the Fighters (1996). Only in 2003 first published Sonic Heroes for Nintendo GameCube , PlayStation 2 and Xbox did Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee and Vector the Crocodile return as "Team Chaotix", where they had what was possibly their most memorable video game appearance and have since been featured regularly as supporting characters in Sonic games. Mighty the Armadillo, who only had one cameo on a "Wanted" profile in Sonic Generations published in 2011 , did not return until 2018 in Sonic Mania Plus and was one of the five playable characters alongside Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Ray the Flying Sqirrel (also from Mighty's original game SegaSonic the Hedgehog ).
reception
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Knuckles' Chaotix received mixed ratings. The trade press was partly impressed by the improved graphics, while others saw hardly any technical progress compared to the Sega Mega Drive games. The rubber band effect as the core of the game, the level design and the small size have been criticized.
The game was also a failure from a commercial point of view, mainly due to the failure of the 32X with only 665,000 units sold worldwide.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Knuckles Chaotix Review . January 1, 2000. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ↑ Knuckles' Chaotix review . In: DieHard Gamers Club (ed.): GameFan . 3, No. 5, May 1995.