Sonic & Knuckles (Genesis) Playthrough
285A playthrough of Sega's 1994 mascot-platformer for the Sega Genesis, Sonic & Knuckles.
Released eight months after Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (https://youtu.be/uPxe0IaFyjo ), Sonic & Knuckles was more of an expansion pack than it was a fully-fledged sequel. It could be played as a stand-alone title, but Sega's vaunted "Lock On" technology (a trumped-up label for the connector found on the top of the S&K cartridge) allowed it to attach to Sonic 3 to combine the games into one that would provide the "ultimate" experience.
Played on its own, Sonic & Knuckles features six zones as well as a couple new bonus games and the ability to play as Knuckles for the first time. Those things aside, it feels like the continuation of Sonic 3 that it is, loaded with new levels, new graphics, new music, and more of the same excellent gameplay.
It could also be attached to Sonic 1 and 2 to incorporate features from the later games that added some much appreciated replay value.
The level designs are what really sells Sonic & Knuckles. They aren't creative supernovas (supernovae? Take your pick), but they avoid feeling like soulless retreads of Sonic 3's ideas. You know how the more recent Sonic games have beaten Green Hills to death? There's none of the joyless corporate cynicism here that now plagues the series. It's not as fresh here as it was in the first two Sonic games, but it's still a damned fine platformer from a studio that was on top of their game.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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