Sonic and the Black Knight

Sonic and the Black Knight is a game within the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively on Wii as the second entry in the Storybook series, following on from Sonic and the Secret Rings.

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 to a fighting style similar to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Plot
A sorceress named Merlina, granddaughter of the sorcerer Merlin, summons Sonic to help free the mystical realm of King Arthur, who has been possessed by an unknown evil that comes from Excalibur's scabbard, and is now ruling the realm as the tyrannical Black Knight. Sonic's speed alone will not end the Black Knight's reign, so he must take up the talking sword, Caliburn, in order to break Arthur's curse and save the kingdom.

Part 1
While on the run from the Black Knight and his demonic minions, Merlina is cornered and, before she is taken, performs a summoning ritual that brings Sonic to her world. Sonic defeats the Black Knight's minions before Merlina teleports them both away in a whirlwind. The Black Knight sends out the three Knights of the Round Table, who are still loyal to the Black Knight despite his evil, to find and kill Sonic and Merlina on sight. Merlina explains that the Black Knight, once King Arthur, is immortal, as he possesses the scabbard of Excalibur. After training Sonic in the art of swordsmanship, Merlina explains that King Arthur was once a wise and just ruler, but became corrupted by the power of immortality granted by having possession of Excalibur's scabbard. Sonic acquires Caliburn, a talking sword who is highly skeptical of Sonic's abilities, and they head off on their quest while Merlina goes into hiding (Merlina explains that she would be recognized in town). They first find the blacksmith (Tails' counterpart in the game) in the Castle Town, in order to sharpen Caliburn's blade. The blacksmith recognizes Caliburn, but cannot remember where he has heard of its name before.

Sonic heads off to see Nimue, the Lady of the Lake (Amy's counterpart in the game) and previous owner of the scabbard of Excalibur, to find out how to stop the Black Knight; on his way, he encounters and defeats Lancelot (Shadow's counterpart in the game), one of the Knights of The Round Table, and claims his sword. The Lady reveals that she will only assist Sonic when he becomes a true knight and presents him with three tests to be completed in three days. After completing them, Sonic soon encounters a crying child whose village was abducted by a dragon and decides to help her. Sonic soon encounters and defeats Gawain (Knuckles' counterpart in the game), and takes his sword before he can kill himself out of shame with it, asking him if there is more to being a knight than serving a king. With the townsfolk saved, Nimue reveals that she was the crying child and was testing Sonic, and that he can blunt the scabbard's power by retrieving the sacred swords wielded by the Knights of the Round Table. Afterwards, Sonic meets Percival (Blaze's counterpart in the game) and defeats her before saving her from falling from a cliff, an act that finally earns him Caliburn's respect and the title of "Knight of the Wind". Merlina has seen those events from her reflecting pool, and arrives to inform Sonic that the Black Knight is on Faraway Avalon. Sonic and Caliburn pursue and defeat the Black Knight with the power of the three sacred swords.

Part 2
Having fought and defeated him by using the four Sacred Swords (including Caliburn), Merlina reveals to Sonic and The Knights of the Round Table that King Arthur was an illusion conjured by her grandfather, Merlin. She then takes Excalibur's scabbard to become all-powerful, so she can be the new queen.

Sonic and the Knights of the Round Table are forced to flee and, with Nimue's help, set off to use the sacred swords to defeat Merlina by putting up a barrier around the kingdom,which is then revealed that is too weak. After the four swords form a barrier around the castle, Sonic confronts Merlina, who explains that she knows the kingdom will soon come to an end, and wants to make it last forever. Sonic battles her, but is outmatched; in the process, Caliburn is broken in half, and Sonic takes a very severe beating. Nimue and the Knights watch Sonic's efforts, and shout at him to run. Sonic refuses, resolving to stop Merlina no matter what. Sonic's determination, combined with the power of the sacred swords, repairs Caliburn, and the duo transform into Excalibur-Sonic and the true Excalibur, respectively, while Merlina transforms into a monstrous creature known as "The Dark Queen". After a long battle, Sonic and Caliburn manage to defeat Merlina. Though Merlina continues to lament the fate of the kingdom, Sonic gives her a flower and tells her that, while all worlds have to end, they merely need to live life to the fullest in the time that they have; reminiscing about her grandfather, Merlina takes his advice to her heart.

Afterwards, Lancelot says that the Knights of the Round Table will have to disband now that King Arthur is gone, but Caliburn reminds them that he is the one who chooses the one to be king; thus, Sonic is the true King Arthur. After the credits roll, Sonic, who has been taken back to his world, explains his journey to Amy Rose. She then complains that he is lying and forgot about their date, then proceeds to attack him with her Piko Piko hammer. The game then shows a book titled King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table change its title to Sonic and the Black Knight, the same process in the previous game, Sonic and the Secret Rings.

Characters
Sonic is the main playable character. Gawain, Percival and Lancelot are the other playable characters in story mode, but they are optional. Several other characters can also be unlocked to be played in multi-player only, such as Galahad and Lamorak, as well as the Sonic series counterparts of the Knight of the Round Table (see below). Also available in multi-player are Amy Rose (but not her Arthurian counterpart, Nimue, Lady of the Lake) and the Blacksmith (but not his Sonic series counterpart, Tails).

Other non-playable characters include Merlina (granddaughter of Merlin), Caliburn the Sword, local Townspeople, and the titluar Black Knight.

Like Ali Baba and Sinbad in Secret Rings, most of the game's Arthurian characters are modeled on Sonic's friends from his own universe. A table of characters with their Sonic series and Arthurian counterparts is included below:

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 no longer control Sonic's movement on rails as the team say they have learned from the biggest criticisms about it. The gameplay is mainly be 3D, but occasionally the camera will shift to a side-scrolling perspective for traditional 2D gameplay.

Swordplay is 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 is not only used for combat; players may thrust it through a wall while falling to slide from it.

The stages feature townspeople that the player can choose to help or injure; these actions and the player's deeds will be judged at the end of each stage, updating the player's "Knight's Honor" bonus. Helping the townspeople will boost this bonus, while hurting them will make it drop. 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 are about two hundred items in the game, some of which can be gained by opening treasure chests in the stages. An online mode allows treasures to be traded.

The game changes the traditional level items, such as springs and speed pads, into "fairies". These fairies come in varying colors; yellow fairies are used to gain rings, blue fairies are used as springs and as speed boosts, and red fairies are used to fill up the "Soul Gauge". This gauge, much like the previous entry's "Soul Gauge", is also filled by defeating enemies, and is used to unleash a powerful attack called "Soul Surge". Besides the rails from previous games, players can fire a ballista and then grind across its rope. There are also unlockable abilities that you can acquire through the different missions.

The mission-based system from Sonic and the Secret Rings also returns, but the missions are easier to complete. Each stage consists of multiple missions which feature different stipulations. The skill system from the aforementioned game also returns, but were reviewed to adjust any problems that were present in that game; the skill system is also designed so as not to interfere with the game's tempo. There are also Legacy Missions in the game where you simply must head to the Goal Ring and the items of earlier 3D Sonic games appear. They are: springs, dash panels, Goal Rings, rings and Eggman's flying robots. Some items of Sonic and the Secret Rings also appear, like the Platinum Ring and the seven World Rings as collectible items.

Multiplayer
There are 12 playable characters in the game. There are various multiplayer battle modes in the game; playable characters include:
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Sir Lancelot/Shadow
 * Sir Gawain/Knuckles
 * Sir Percival/Blaze
 * Blacksmith/Tails
 * Amy Rose/Lady of the Lake
 * Sir Galahad/Silver
 * Sir Lamorak/Jet
 * King Arthur/Black Knight

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".

The song, "With Me" is the final boss song composed by All Ends. This song can be known as Excalibur-Sonic's theme

The ending theme for Sonic and the Black Knight is "Live Life", which can be known as Merlina's theme and Crush 40 is the performer. This song gives what a romantic edge to it rather than the rock style seen in other Sonic Songs.

The character themes from Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure are featured in the game, as well.

Allusions

 * King Arthur: The whole game is based on the legend of King Arthur.
 * Dragon's Lair: The event where Sonic has to enter a dragon's lair and fight a dragon may be based off the 1983 interactive movie, Dragon's Lair.
 * Dave the Barbarian: In Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic goes around with a talking sword. Dave the Barbarian also had a talking sword.
 * Saint Seiya: When Sonic becomes Excalibur-Sonic, the armor adheres to his body.

Reviews
Sonic and the Black Knight has received generally mixed reactions from game critics, with a Metacritic average of 55 out of 100, based on 45 reviews, and a GameRankings average of 55.91%, based on 34 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". IGN gave the game a 3.9/10, praising the game's visuals and the overall presentation, but went on to state that the gameplay was "broken" and cited the controls as "unresponsive". Famitsu gave the game a 26/40, comprised of two sevens and two sixes. GameDaily gave the game a 7/10, citing that "repetitive combat, easy missions and limited controls keep it from greatness," but acknowledged its "attractive presentation, decent combat and bonus content." The British Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game 78%, praising the games visuals and soundtrack, but criticizing the sword play mechanics and multiplayer element. GameSpot also notes that while the sword is useful slashing through enemies, there is a noticeable delay from the time the player swings the Wii Remote and the time Sonic swings.

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 the US, Europe, and Japan were placed in Sonic and the Black Knight for display, 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.
 * There was a fuss over a plagiarized photo by an Italian contestant, whose copy was that of another artist, who happened to post it on Deviant Art. The original artist was later located and compensated for the mistake.

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.

Two soundtracks were produced. The first, Face to Faith contains 10 vocal/instrumental songs from the game, while Tales of Knighthood featured over 70 songs. Both are slated for a release of April 8, 2009.

Australian EBGames offered toy swords along with pre-orders of the game.

Trivia

 * Even though he uses a sword in this game, in Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic says that he would never use a weapon in his life, though he meant guns.


 * Even though it is King Arthur's era, Shadow as Sir Lancelot is still seen using his jet shoes, although they can be assumed to be of a magical veriety.
 * During some scenes, certain character songs from Sonic Adventure (Sonic, Knuckles/Gawain, Amy, and the Blacksmith/Tails) and Shadow the Hedgehog (Shadow/Lancelot), play in the background. Lancelot, Gawain, and Percival have medals which are used as equipment that change the background to their respecting themes from the selected video games below.
 * Knuckles/Gawain: 'Unknown from M.E.' from Sonic Adventure.
 * Shadow/Lancelot: 'All Hail Shadow' from Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * Blaze/Percival: 'Vela Nova' from Sonic Rush.
 * Sonic the Hedgehog: 'What I'm Made of' from Sonic Heroes, 'It Doesn't Matter' from Sonic Adventure (cutscene only).


 * This is the first 3D Sonic game that Doctor Eggman does not appear in (even a storybook version of Eggman doesn't appear in this game) even though his robots will appear in the Legacy missions. However in this game, the Joker Card (one of the game's many collectible items) has the Eggman Empire's symbol printed on it. Eggman is also seen on some of the winning Fan Art of this game.
 * There also appears to be the dash ring of Sonic and the Secret Rings with a little change; instead of being mechanical, it is a ring of purple fairies.
 * The apples in the tutorial are nods to the soul gauge pearls from Sonic and the Secret Rings
 * When Sonic and Caliburn are about to encounter the Dragon in the Dragon's Lair, Sonic says "Yeah, this brings back memories; except last time it was with Shadow." This is a reference to the battle with Biolizard in Sonic Adventure 2  or it may be a reference to the boss fight in Lethal Highway against the Black Bull in Shadow the Hedgehog (game).
 * This is the first Sonic game where Sonic is actually seen eating Chili dogs.
 * Jet the Hawk appears for the first time as a playable character outside of the Sonic Riders series, the first time playable off his board, and the first time he appears without the other Babylon Rogues.
 * In the original Arthurian legends, the Knights of the Round Table that appear in this game all had some blood relation to another one:
 * Gawain was King Arthur's nephew
 * Lancelot was Galahad's father
 * Percival and Lamorak were siblings
 * The ending sequence and the prologue in the game manual implies that Sonic agreed to take Amy Rose on a date, before being side-tracked by his Arthurian adventure. This marks the first Sonic Game where Sonic ends up being unlucky in the end.
 * It is the 4th Sonic game to be rated E10+, the first 3 being Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, & Sonic Unleashed.
 * This game is one of the two games that don't play the main theme during the final boss fight, the other being Sonic Heroes.
 * This is the only game besides Sonic R that the Tails Doll was in Sonic artwork for both America and Canada.
 * This is the only Sonic game where Sonic uses a weapon throughout the game.
 * The background music at the Blacksmith shop is a violin instrumental of Believe In Myself, Tails' theme song in the Sonic Adventure series