Game:

Knuckles' Chaotix (1995)

Duration: 3:01:22

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#sonicthehedgehog #knucklestheechidna #teamchaotix

Description: My first ever playthough of Knuckles' Chaotix, one of the rarest played and yet one of the most talked about, debated and divisive Sonic spinoff games in the Genesis Era. The game was only ever released on the Sega 32x (a hardware add on for the Sega Mega Drive) and was never ported on anything else since. It was the closest thing we ever got to a 2D Sonic game on 32 bit, with it initially supposed to be on Sega Saturn, but the developers didn't meet the deadline Sega gave them and instead ended up porting it for the 32x add on. Have been looking forward for so long to play this to see why it's considered the 'black sheep' of the classic games. And I have plenty of things to say about it, that I loved and also I can criticise.

The Sonic franchise is no stranger to embracing new game mechanics with reckless abandon, but it’s rare for those mechanics to actually play off what makes a Sonic game so good. Knuckles Chaotix goes above and beyond to be different which it is, but yet, it wasn't executed as well as it could have. I'm referring of course to the tether ring mechanic. You control two characters connected by a tether. One character is controlled directly while the other acts as a counter-weight, affecting your momentum as you platform through the stages. It can be a blast when done correctly but frustrating when not so.

For a franchise that was designed to be played so simply with a d-pad and a single button, Chaotix is incredibly complex. It requires some understanding of how Sonic physics work and even experienced Sonic players will need take some time to master it(I certainly did!).

Because of this, there is a tutorial mode which I highly recommend players do. Between the bungee mechanics, Sonic physics and springs, it can prove to be a truly chaotic experience. This 'chaotic' level design and can be a bit confusing for people trying to play it like a regular Sonic game. It forces you embrace the game’s unique tether ring mechanics, where you and your partner character are physically tethered to each other, for better or worse. The game’s level design is very vertically oriented, designed with constant bungeeing in mind. Though, the levels I think grow very repetitive as time goes on.

But I love the cast of characters to play as: Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Mighty and Charmy; all with their move variations and mechanics. The soundtrack is amazing too and I recognise a lot of the tracks that have been used for other Sonic games. I think everyone should it and see why the game is still talked about for being weird and wonderful but yet flawed! Here is my full playthough, playing with all characters, all chaos rings, no deaths and the good ending!

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