Knuckles' Chaotix

Knuckles' Chaotix
Sega 32X cover art
Developer(s)	Sonic Team
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Masahide Kobayashi Atsuhiko Nakamura Naohisa Nakazawa
Producer(s)	Hiroshi Aso Makoto Oshitani Mike Larsen
Artist(s)	Takumi Miyake
Composer(s)	Junko Shiratsu Mariko Nanba
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s)	Sega 32X Microsoft Windows (via GameTap)
Release date(s)	NA April 20, 1995 JP April 21, 1995 EU May 1995
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player-Multiplayer
Distribution	24-megabit (3 megabyte) cartridge

Knuckles' Chaotix, known simply as Chaotix (カオティクス, Kaotikusu) in Japan and other regions, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team for the Sega 32X. The game was released in North America on April 20, 1995; in Japan on April 21, 1995; and finally in Europe in May 1995. The game's only re-release since then has been through GameTap's PC service, for a brief period in 2007.^[1] It is the only Sonic-related game to be released for the Sega 32X.

Gameplay

Elastic ring power in Knuckles' Chaotix.

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 enter special stages. Extra lives are unobtainable in the game; once the player is damaged when he has no rings and his partner is absent (if the character has no rings, getting hit will temporarily cause the player to lose his partner, but he will return eventually; effectively making the partner an 'extra hit point' for the players sake) or if the character uses 'recall' to reduce his ring counter to negative 99 rings or lower, he will automatically be taken back to the world lobby (or back to the title screen, if he is in Isolated Island when this happens, which is also only possible through using recall, due to lack of hazardous obstacles or enemies in that level) and be given a chance to leave/save or to choose a different partner and/or try to choose another attraction to play.

The game comprises 5 worlds (called Attractions), each with 5 levels. Levels are set at different times of day (morning, day, evening and night), which are determined by the time spent in the previous level and affect enemy placement and boss difficulty. At the end of Level 5, the player confronts Dr. Robotnik in one of his contraptions.

The most fundamental change in Knuckles' Chaotix 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 is 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 only time the ring count could dip below zero in a Sonic game). Also, in two player mode if either player is hit without a shield/invincibility/big ring (an item that when obtained, causes the player to lose all of his rings in the form of one, slightly larger than usual ring temporarily if he are hit) they lose all of their rings (which is not the case in single player mode, when if the partner is hit, he only loses one ring instead of all of them).

The game cartridge features battery-backup saving, which allows the player to save their progress either manually (by passing the Exit sign) or automatically (after clearing an Act or Special Stage).

All badniks and most bosses in the game are powered by, and on destruction release, gray rings (rather than animals as in prior games). However, these cannot be collected like regular rings and vanish almost immediately.

Bonus stage

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 attraction roulette screen or a free pick from the Combi Catcher.

Special stages

In the special stages, 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 (but it does reward them with the best ending, in which Sonic and Tails make cameo appearances).

Special 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. The starting ring count that is used as time in the special stage is based on the amount of rings collected in the previous stage (if a player collects 180 rings, then the player will have 180 rings/seconds in the special stage; however, if a player has more than 200 rings at the end of the stage, then the player will start the special stage with 200 rings/seconds). After a player wins all six Chaos Rings, the special stages start over in a wireframe mode.

Plot

Story

The story varies between the Japanese and English releases of the game. In the Japanese manual, a mysterious island rose from the sea shortly after the events of Sonic & Knuckles. Dr. Eggman discovered the island, and found a mysterious ring inscribed with descriptions of the "Chaos Rings", ancient Rings infused with Chaos Emerald energy. Robotnik theorizes that he can not only discover the secret of the Rings, but also summon the Master Emerald. In order to find these rings, Robotnik built his base on the island. Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, and Charmy Bee also arrived at the island, and ended up being captured by the Doctor and Metal Sonic, and frozen in his machine. Knuckles, curious about the strange island, goes there as well, and manages to rescue Espio. The two then go on to stop Eggman from getting the Chaos Rings.

In the English manual, Knuckles guards Carnival Island, a large high-tech amusement park. Dr. Robotnik goes there to find the Power Emerald that supplies electricity to the whole island so he can use it to fuel his evil devices. Dr. Robotnik traps Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Mighty the Armadillo, who were visiting the island, in his Combi Confiner that freezes them in time and is about to do the same to Espio the Chameleon until Knuckles chases him away. Knuckles then discovers that he can rescue one friend at a time using Ring Power, which holds the two partners together like a rubber band. All the characters then work together to save Carnival Island from Robotnik before tomorrow's grand opening.

Characters

Knuckles' Chaotix marks the debut of the Chaotix. The group has five members, including Knuckles the Echidna, Mighty the Armadillo (who previously appeared in the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog), Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. The game also featured two additional partners known as Heavy and Bomb.

Vector and Charmy did not return to the Sonic video game universe until Sonic Heroes in 2004. Espio made an appearance as one of the playable characters in Sonic the Fighters a year later, and went on to join his friends in Sonic Heroes. Mighty shortly appeared in Sonic Generations on a wanted poster in both acts in City Escape. Heavy and Bomb have not appeared in another Sonic game since Chaotix.

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 is the smallest character in the game but his ability to fly gives him a definite edge over the other characters.

Heavy and Bomb are two robots who claim to have escaped from Dr. Robotnik's evil clutches and want to help Chaotix. Heavy and 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. As his name implies, Heavy is heavy and slow, yet he is indestructible and has the ability to destroy enemies and monitors by simply walking into them. Bomb is tiny and quick, but he explodes when he's hit, hurting friend and foe alike. Both of these characters can only be playable directly if the Stage Select is activated through the game's Color Test. They can also be played as normally in Special Stages if the player has one of them as their partner and throws them into the Special Stage ring.

Reception

Knuckles' Chaotix has received mixed reception. On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the 32X version of the game a 25 out of 40.^[2] 1up praised the new dimension of gameplay over the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games, by having a second character, but criticized how this also slowed down gameplay.^[3] IGN offered similar sentiments, admiring the attempt to both "breathe life into a series that was running out of steam" and fix the lopsided multiplayer aspect of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 where Tails would always get lost off-screen, but disliked the actual clunky nature of the "rubber band" physics of the game's "buddy system", and the lack of variation between acts of each world.^[4] Gamesarefun called it a "love it or hate it" type game, that would be fun for hardcore Sonic fans, but would likely scare off casual ones.^[5]

Legacy

Characters created in this game would later be use in several other Sonic-related games. Mighty only makes few other appearance as a playable character in 1993's arcade game SegaSonic The Hedgehog. The rest of the Chaotix members, with the exception of Mighty, would later appear in Sonic Heroes, Shadow The Hedgehog, Sonic Rivals 2, and Sonic Generations. Espio alone is a playable character in the arcade game, Sonic the Fighters. Vector alone was playable in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games and its sequels. The characters from Knuckles Chaotix were also included in a brief storyline in Fleetway's Sonic The Comic, in the UK.

The story for Knuckles' Chaotix was adapted into the Sonic the Hedgehog comic by Archie Comics. As a result, the Chaotix-namely Vector, Mighty, Charmy, and Espio-became Knuckles the Echidna's support team in various stories, serving as counterparts to Sonic the Hedgehog's Freedom Fighters. Heavy and Bomb, while part of the group at its inception, would end up serving alongside other heroic groups in the comic, though they would be destroyed and rebuilt twice after being reprogrammed by Dr. Eggman. The Chaotix group would see a number of additions in subsequent years, namely Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su, Mighty's friend Ray (featured alongside Mighty in SegaSonic the Hedgehog) and Charmy's girlfriend Saffron.

See also

• Sonic Crackers - A prototype version of Knuckles' Chaotix for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.^[6]

Notes and references