Sonic & Knuckles

"Why?"

Ouch...Sonic is getting worse and worse. The first two games were great, the third was good, and this is mediocre. It's truly is sad to see how the quality of the Sonic games has dipped over the years. Sigh...

My main complaint with this game is that hardly anything has changed from Sonic 3. Knuckles has been added as a playable character...and that's it. Oh wait, there's also that nifty Lock-On function, but I'll get to that later.

Storyline: 6.5/10
This is just a continuation of the last game, damnit! Robotnik survived the Death Egg explosion at the finale of Sonic 3, and is right back at work turning animals into robots. Sonic, of course, goes out to stop him once again. Strangely, Tails does NOT come with him.

Knuckles has been noticing a strange man terrorizing the residents of the Floating Island. As the island's guardian, he goes out on a quest to find answers.

Graphics: 10/10
Like I said, hardly anything has changed from Sonic 3. This includes the graphics. If Sega is going to reuse the graphics from Sonic 3 with no changes, why don't I reuse the graphics evaluation from my Sonic 3 review with no changes?

''It just keeps getting better and better with this series, doesn't it? The graphics finally gained that level of sharpness and bright color that makes it so pleasant to watch. Just like in the previous games, it's awesome to see Sonic collect a speed shoes power up and rush through an entire level, watching the vibrant colors zoom by.

And the detail is nothing to scoff at, either. The vines of the jungle level, the ice blocks in the ice level, every stage has those special features that add realism. It's just like looking into a highly detailed drawing. Not a portrait, of course...more like a realistic cartoon. Kinda like anime!

There are no graphical glitches at all. No flicker or anything! That's always a plus.''

Sound FX: 8/10
No changes here either.

''A boing here, a crash there. Nothing is incredibly stupid, but nothing is totally special, either. The SFX are clear and do fit the adventurous feel of the game, however. For example, Sonic makes a 'bwoop!' sound every time he jumps and a ''err err'' when he skids to a stop. Nothing out of the ordinary from any other 2D side scroller.

I wish that they would put some Sonic speech in one of these games. Sadly, the SFX are never improved upon in any of the sequels. But they are just fine as is, so I'm not complaining. ;)''

Music: 7/10
The music in this game is...um...to tell you the truth, I can't remember! But that's just the thing: none of the music tracks are very catchy, so they just go in one ear and out the other. The music in the previous Sonic games was so good, so it's a shame that it's not up to par in this game.

Game Play: 6.5/10
I have a big problem with this game. You see, most of the levels are very long and boring. Take Sandopolis Zone, for example. All of the ghosts and quick-sand pits make the level very slow to move through. I thought Sonic was supposed to be about speed! On the plus side, S&K has more levels than Sonic 3, but what's the point if they aren't worth playing through?

Speaking of Sonic 3, there's another problem. When you go to the Sonic 3 level select menu, you see many levels that you cannot enter. When you investigate further, you find that the forbidden zones are the levels of S&K, meaning that Sonic 3 and S&K was originally meant to be one game! Why did Sega split them? To make more money, of course! Sega used to be so caring, too. Also, the save feature from Sonic 3 was taken out! WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! This game is much more difficult than Sonic 3, so S&K deserves a save feature more.

The control is the same as it has been through the whole series. The control pad and one button is all you need. Simple is good in this case, I guess...

The replay value is not as high as it has been in the previous Sonic games, merely because the levels are monotonous and boring. Why would you want to play them over again if they aren't fun?

On the plus side, the Lock-On technology is awesome. What is lock-on technology? This little feature lets you plus any Genesis game into S&K and you will get a certain game to play.

When Sonic 2 is locked on to S&K, you get to play as Knuckles running through the Sonic 2 levels. This makes the game harder, because Knuckles cannot jump as high as Sonic. Just try to beat the Metropolis boss as Knuckles without being hit!

When Sonic 3 is locked on to S&K, you get to play a huge game where the levels of Sonic 3 and S&K are attached. I believe that this is how Sonic 3 was originally going to be made, and S&K was never going to be released. You get the save feature back, and you get to play as Tails, too! This game has you searching for the Super Emeralds, which can turn you into more powerful versions of your character. (Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Super Tails, respectively)

When locked on to any other Genesis game, you get a single Sonic 3/S&K special stage. Not all Genesis games work with S&K, but most do. When you lock on Sonic 1 to S&K, you get a whole string of special stages.

Pros
Awesome graphics
Simple control
Lock-On technology
Knuckles is playable!

Cons
Long, hard, boring levels
Few changes from Sonic 3

Bottom Line
Another disappointment. Too bad it's the last main Genesis game in the series.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/01, Updated 10/06/02