Title: Knuckles Chaotix Released: 1995 Genre: Platformer Developer: Sega  Publisher: Sega  Regions: USA, UK, Japan Availability: Uncommon

Also known as Chaotix in Japan.

A 32x exclusive. Perhaps the 32x would have done better had it spawned a true Sonic game. Sonic 4 was announced, but it never materialized. Instead, we got some sort of odd experiment in the form of Knuckles Chaotix. It's very possible that Knuckles Chaotix started out as an unreleased Genesis/Megadrive game called Sonic Crackers. The screenshots (shown below) suggest the two games share the same basic gameplay elements. Instead of controlling one character, you control a team of TWO characters who are tethered to each other by a rubber band. Stretch out the rubber band and you will slingshot your partner across the screen, dragging yourself along with him. This "new bungee challenge" is fundamentally different from the traditional super-fast Sonic gameplay that we know and love. The new control system just doesn't feel right, though it is playable with a lot of practice (this is also the first Sonic game with an in-game tutorial, and you're going to need it.) Sega may have found that Sonic Cracker's game design was too much of a departure from the traditional Sonic gameplay that consumers expected and canceled the title for the Genesis/Megadrive, opting instead to introduce the game fronted by the less known (and less loved) Knuckles character. It looks and sounds very much like a Sonic game, with catchy pop music and bright and colorful graphics that feature some neat scaling and rotation effects. The color palate has been increased dramatically over the Genesis games, and some of the of the new boss characters fill up the entire screen. Sonic himself isn't here, but you do get four other characters, including Knuckles the Enchidna (who originally appeared in the exceptionally cool Genesis game Sonic & Knuckles.) The 25 levels are huge and varied, with lots of stuff to see and many power-ups to collect. Most of the graphical enhancements are welcome additions, but the new scaling feature tends to make some the of characters very pixilated. Too bad the entire play mechanics have been changed, and not for the better.

Some gamers are fond of this game, and it does have its good points. We applaud Sega for trying something new and different with the stale Sonic formula, but this is a bit too much. Yes, the Sonic formula is stale after 5 games- Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic CD, and Sonic & Knuckles. This doesn't even include any of the Game Gear, Master System, Neo Geo Pocket Color, and Game.Com incarnations. Don’t forget the Sega Saturn compilation CD, Sonic Jam, nor the two 3-D Dreamcast sequels, or the various offerings for the Game Boy Advance, Game Cube, and various other next-generation platforms.  Still, you might be one of those weird people who just love Knuckles Chaotix, so give it a spin.