Game Review | September 27, 2009 9:09 pm

By ImpureKing44

Graphics
Considering this is a straight port of the Genesis title, it is definitely a great looking title by the standards of its time. The different levels all have unique touches in terms of graphics, whether it be the lush jungles of the opening level or the grainy sands of sandtropolis. Also, the characters are very distinct, from the detail shown in knuckles classic “knuckles” to the ghoulish ghosts frighteningly gazing eyes.

9/10

Story
There is virtually no story here and that isn’t a fault of time vice effort. This is a standard oh no, Dr. Robotnik (or a robot version of him for knuckles) romp that ignores basically any conveyance of what most would call a plot. To be fair, back in that era most platformers were ok to skip on story segments, other titles of that time were able to tell decent tales without a lot of heartache.

3/10

Gameplay
This is easily the pinnacle of the Sonic franchise. The two characters (sonic and knuckles, duh) play very differently which easily warrants a second run through of this excellent game. Sonic has his speed in tow and his jumping ability helps you explore dispatch foes and avoid traps with ease. Knuckles can glide and climb up walls, which makes your ability to venture around the world in search of rings/emerald rings virtually limitless. The different levels provide different environmental challenges (in addition to the usual robotic enemies) such as flamethrowers, ghosts, spinning spikes and more. The music is spot on, the boss fights vary and require you to find the right weakness to attack. All in all, the only bad point is it’s length which is horrendously short by today’s standards. Still, its gameplay stands the test of time without relaying on nalstagia.

9/10

Achievements
An easy game to rack up points as most consist of merely playing/progressing through the game.

8/10

Overall
At 400 points, there is NO reason you shouldn’t own this title. It is simply awesome fun that shows the young gamers that there was a time when playing a Sonic game wasn’t a bad thing but instead a great time.

8/10

Reviewed: Sonic & Knuckles

Keywords: None