Sonic & Knuckles Genesis Longplay
1Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 side-scrolling platform video game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. An installment in the main Sonic the Hedgehog series, it is a direct sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which was released earlier that year. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna in their respective quests to save Angel Island; Sonic tries to prevent Dr. Robotnik from relaunching his orbital weapon, the Death Egg, while Knuckles scuffles with Robotnik's minion, known as EggRobo.
Development of Sonic & Knuckles began after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and was developed simultaneously alongside Sonic 3. The two games were originally intended to be released as a single game; however, due to time constraints and the cost of a large-memory-capacity cartridge, Sega split the project in two. The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge features "lock-on technology" that allows the game to connect to the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cartridges, combining elements from either game.
Sonic & Knuckles was met with positive reviews. Critics were impressed with the lock-on technology, though some made note of its similarity to its predecessor. It has since been re-released in various compilations and on digital platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade, Virtual Console, and Steam.
The story begins immediately after the events of Sonic 3, where Dr. Robotnik's orbital weapon, the Death Egg, is damaged in a battle with Sonic and crash-lands back onto Angel Island. Sonic travels through each zone looking to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to defeat Robotnik, and once again comes into conflict with Knuckles, who believes Sonic is trying to steal the Emeralds for himself. In Hidden Palace Zone, Sonic fights and defeats Knuckles. The two hear a disturbance outside of the chamber, and go out to find Dr. Robotnik stealing the Master Emerald, the secret to the island's levitation powers. Knuckles attempts to attack Robotnik, but is electrically shocked in the process, and is trapped with Sonic in an underground passage. Knuckles, realizing Sonic is on his side, shows him a portal that leads them to Sky Sanctuary, where the Death Egg is relaunching. Sonic proceeds to infiltrate the Death Egg, and defeats Robotnik as Super Sonic.
Knuckles' story begins in Mushroom Hill, where he is relaxing with his animal friends but is interrupted by a bomb dropped by EggRobo. This prompts Knuckles to chase after him, leading him through most of the same zones Sonic went through. The chase ends at the damaged remains of Sky Sanctuary, where a robot called Mecha Sonic attacks Knuckles but accidentally destroys EggRobo instead. After a short fight, Mecha Sonic uses the power of the Master Emerald to achieve a Super form similar to Sonic's. Knuckles manages to defeat Super Mecha Sonic, who explodes. Sonic flies in piloting the biplane Tornado and Knuckles hitches a ride to return the Master Emerald to Angel Island. If all the Chaos Emeralds are collected, Angel Island rises upwards, into the sky. However, if the player has not collected all the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles cannot redeem the Master Emerald, and Angel Island plummets into the ocean.