Sonic and Knuckles hit shelves worldwide on October 18th, 1994, just under ten months after Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In that review, I made mention how due to hardware limitations at the time, the much larger plans for Sonic 3 were impossible to do on one cartridge, so instead Sonic Team went for a far more interesting route. Release the first part of Sonic 3 itself and follow with the rest later on as its own standalone game. And if that was all they had done with the game, that would still be quite the creative choice, but Sega went a step ahead.
Sonic and Knuckles proved another hit for Sega, selling 1.24 Million copies in North America. It earned solid critical praise and has been considered by many as the last great Sonic game. And whether you are one of those people who think Sonic is still decent, or that his peak was truly at Adventure 2, even most people will admit in terms of 2D sonic, this is the ultimate peak. Let's review just why.
Continuing where Sonic 3 left off, Sonic and Tails once again take down the Death Egg, which crashes in a volcanic crater. Knuckles continues to fight the duo, believing them to be the real enemies, until Robotnik finally shows his true side, by betraying Knuckles and stealing the master emerald. It's up to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to put a stop to the death egg once and for all to reclaim the master emerald and return Angel Island to its floating state. Knuckles' Story deviates a bit, seeing him battle one of Robotnik's EggRobo's up until the Sky Sanctuary zone and culminating with a battle with Super Mecha Sonic.
Sonic and Knuckles is a one player game. You choose either Sonic or Knuckles as they go through different paths through the same story to defeat either Dr. Robotnik or Mecha Sonic. Controls are the same with A, B and C being the controls for jump and spin dash. Sonic retains his shield abilities from Sonic 3, but Knuckles has the ability to glide when a jump button is pressed again in midair and held. Knuckles can also climb up walls, giving him access to areas that Sonic usually couldn't get to.
The game starts at Mushroom Hill, a lush forest area that changes its season as you progress through, starting from lush and green to desolate and cold. After defeating Robotnik/EggRobo you hitch a ride on the flying battery, Robotnik's mechanized blimp. After defeating Robotnik (interestingly there is no EggRobo variation), you land in the Egyptian themed Sandopolis zone. You travel through the pyramid and make it into the Lava Reef, which starts fiery and fierce, but in act 2 becomes cold and haunting.
From here is where your path differs. If you play as Sonic, you fight Knuckles in the Hidden Palace. After besting the echidna, Robotnik finally strikes as he steals the master emerald. He zaps Knuckles and escapes. With Knuckles' last bit of strength, he helps you get to the sky sanctuary, which leads you into the rebuilt Death Egg. If you have collected all the chaos emeralds, you reach the Doomsday Zone where you as Super Sonic must put a stop to Robotnik before he escapes with the master emerald. If you succeed, Angel Island is restored to its floating beauty. As Knuckles, you head to the teleporter in Hidden Palace and then just go to the fight against Mecha Sonic in Sky Sanctuary, making his run far quicker than Sonic's.
Other than that, everything from Sonic 3 is pretty much retained (save for the lack of a battery backup). There are new bonus levels when you collect over 50 rings at a sign post. One is a mixture of the slot machines from Sonic 2 and the special stage design of Sonic 1, while the other are these electric orbs you rotate around. You have to bounce higher, collecting the items in orbs, before the beam that's chasing you catches you. There are flippers to bounce you higher as you must get out at the very top. Honestly, I prefer the slot stages.
Special Stages are the same this time around. If you get 7 emeralds for Knuckles he'll turn into Super Knuckles a la Sonic. Graphics are also the same as Sonic 3 as expected seeing as this is technically part two of the same story. The music is one again excellent with perhaps some of my favorite tracks ever. This soundtrack is definitely far less Michael Jackson inspired and feels a bit closer to the sound of Sonic 2 than 3. That being said, there are still great tracks like Lava Reef, Hidden Palace and the final fight with Robotnik.
Overall, Sonic and Knuckles is an excellent game... or to be fair an excellent three games. You get Sonic and Knuckles itself as the standalone cart, and with Sonic 3 you get the whole story for Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. Plus Sonic 2 with Knuckles which plays the same but with Knuckles. There's so much value in this one cart that it's a must-have for any collector. And as for the game itself, it's one of the best games in the series, concluding the Sonic 3 story in a far more engaging way, excellently using its narrative through the cutscenes within. For many this is the peak of Sonic and it was all downhill from here. Is that the case? We'll see next time with the conclusion of the Genesis Sonic Saga, Sonic 3D Blast.
RATING: A+
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