Sonic and the Black Knight

Sonic and the Black Knight is an upcoming video game within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, to be released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings. also it is the 4th Sonic game with an rating of E+10 (5th if counting SEGA Super Stars Tennis) Set in the world of King Arthur, the game combines Sonic's trademark speed with a new swordfighting system, making use of the Wii Remote's motion-sensing functionality in a style similar to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Soul Calibur Legends.

Plot
A 15-Year old sorceress, named Merlina summons Sonic to help free the mystical realm of King Arthur, where King Arthur has been possesed by a evil gaia and is now ruling the universe as the tyrannical Black Knight. Sonic's speed alone will not end Arthur's reign, so he must take up Caliburn the Sword in order to save the kingdom.

Archies' Sonic the Hedgehog comic book released a preview of the beginning of the game.

In it, the evil Black Knight has cornered Merlina, who summons Sonic to help her. The Black Knight watches Sonic escape with Merlina and orders his three followers (Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot, and Dame Percival) to track Sonic and Merlina down. Knuckles begins to question the king's strange behavior, but Shadow reassures him that they are loyal to the king, no matter what his commands. Still, Knuckles and Blaze obey their orders, but questioning the king's behavior.

Characters
Sonic is the main playable character. While Knuckles, Blaze and Shadow are playable characters, they will be optional. It is unknown right now if other characters will be playable. Other non-playable characters include King Arthur (the Black Knight) Merlina, and Caliburn the Sword. Like Ali Baba and Sinbad in Secret Rings, Sonic's friends will assume Arthurian personas in the game. In the latest issue of Nintendo Power, it has been revealed that Knuckles, Shadow, and Blaze are Knights of the Round Table. Amy appears as Lady of The Lake while Tails appears as a local blacksmith. Images of Silver as a knight have been seen on the official website.

Gameplay


Gameplay for Sonic and the Black Knight differs from traditional games in the Sonic series by mixing in the new element of swordplay, along with the traditional Sonic platforming and speed. Swordplay is implemented through the Wii Remote and hence, similar to Sonic and the Secret Rings, however players will no longer control Sonic's movement on rails as the team say they have learned from the biggest criticisms about it. The gameplay will mainly be 3D, but occasionally the camera will shift to a side-scrolling perspective for traditional 2D gameplay.

Swordplay will be implemented so that players can slice through enemies without slowing down, but when faced with more formidable enemies, players will engage in advanced swordsplay, able to thrust, parry, and even perform a buzz-saw maneuver mid-jump. The sword will not be only used for combat; players may thrust it through a wall while falling to slow their descent.

The stages will feature civilians that the player can choose to help or smite; these actions and the player's deeds will be judged at the end of each stage, updating the player's "knight ranking" accordingly. By helping out grateful citizens, players will be able to purchase new items from them, acquiring items such as gauntlets, magical tomes, and new swords. There will be about two hundred items in the game, some of which can be gained by opening treasure chests in the stages. An online mode will allow treasures to be traded.

The game changes the traditional level items, such as springs and speed pads, into "elements". These elements look similar to Chao symbols, and come in varying colors; red elements will be used as springs, yellow elements will be used as speed boosts, and purple elements will be used to fill up the "special gauge". This gauge, replacing the previous entry's "soul gauge", is filled by defeating enemies, and is used to unleash a powerful combination attack. Additionally, instead of the rails from previous games, players will fire a ballista and then grind across its rope.

The mission-based system from Sonic and the Secret Rings will also return, but the missions will be easier to complete. Each stage will consist of multiple missions which feature different stipulations. The skill system from the aforementioned game also returns, but will be reviewed to adjust any problems that were present in that game; the skill system is also being designed so as not to interfere with the game's tempo.

Multiplayer
It has been confirmed that there is a mulitplayer battle mode in the game. The battle takes place on a static screen, on which all the players are visible. It has been confirmed that there are 12 selectable characters.

Music


Veteran composer Jun Senoue returns to compose music for this installment, mixing familiar Sonic themes with a Celtic style. In addition, his band, Crush 40, will be returning to perform the main theme of the game, "Knight of the Wind".

British J-pop recording artist Bentley Jones (aka Lee Brotherton), who previously worked on Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Rivals and other series contributions, is confirmed to be producing and performing a track for the game's soundtrack.

Tommy Tallarico has the game listed on his website as one of the games he is working on. Richard Jacques is confirmed to be making the music for the cutscenes according to Official Nintendo Magazine. Howard Drossin has also listed the game as one is is working on on his ReverbNation profile.

The character themes from Sonic Adventure 2 will be featured in the game, as well.

According to CDJapan, two soundtracks are in production. The first, Face to Faith will contain 10 songs from the game, while Tales of Knighthood will feature over 70 songs. Both are slated for a release of April 8th, 2009.

Reviews
Nintendo Power gave the game a 8/10, stating the gameplay is "pulled off in a fine fashion", but also said the main story is "fairly short".

Artwork Contest
Sega of America held a competition for fan artwork of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Blaze, and other favorites. The top 20 of each the US, Europe, and Japan will be placed in Sonic and the Black Knight, and their artists will win a free copy of the game. Artists had to be a registered user on Sega's website to submit art. The contest is closed.

Merchandise
Several toy websites appear to have pre-orders ready to go for Sonic and the Black Knight action figures, with a June-July 2009 release date. http://www.cmdstore.com/sonic-jazwares-5-inch-series-1-black-night.html

According to CDJapan, two soundtracks are in production. The first, Face to Faith will contain 10 songs from the game, while Tales of Knighthood will feature over 70 songs. Both are slated for a release of April 8th, 2009.

Australlian EBGames are currently offering toy swords along with pre-orders of the game.

Trivia

 * In Westopolis in Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic says that he would never use a weapon in his life, although he probably means firearms.


 * This marks Sonic's, Knuckles', Blaze's, and Silver's first time ever using weapons or being seen with weapons. (While Sonic can use weapons in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the events of that game are non-canonical to the regular Sonic continuity.)


 * Because Blaze is female, she is known as Dame Percival instead of Sir Percival (seeing how she isn't male) and Lady Percival. In this case, Dame means Lady.


 * The Slime in Sonic and the Black Knight bears a very similar look and power to the Chu Jelly in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.