Egg Fighter: Knight (Spring shield)

"Very few Egg Fighter units have the horsepower necessary to heft this spring-loaded shield and massive sword together."

- Description, Sonic Unleashed

The Egg Fighter: Knight is an enemy that appears in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed. It is a model of Dr. Eggman's robots and a variant of the Egg Fighter. It is a stronger type of Egg Fighter that wields both a sword and a spring-loaded shield in combat.

Overview
The Egg Fighter: Knights are an elite group of Egg Fighter unites, who possess enough horsepower to wield both a sword and their specially designed shields. Because very few Egg Fighters packs enough horsepower to wield these weapons, very few Egg Fighter: Knights exists. As such, the Egg Fighter: Knights are a very rare type of enemy in Sonic Unleashed and can only be found in very few of the daytime Action Stages/Stages.

In gameplay, due to possessing a sword, the Egg Fighter: Knights have a much greater attack range that the regular Egg Fighters. Also, the shields that the Egg Fighter: Knights wield allow them to repel the player. Whenever the player touches the Egg Fighter: Knights' shields, either by walking/running into them (even during a Sonic Boost) or when targeting the Egg Fighter: Knights with an Homing Attack, the player will be send flying back a great distance in the opposite direction while leaving the Egg Fighter: Knights unharmed. This can prove very dangerous to the player, especially if the shield can send the player into a bottomless pit.

To bypass the Egg Figher: Knights' shield, the player must either attack the Egg Figther: Knights from the rear or any other angle where they do not protect themselves with their shield, or attack them with Slide. Additionally, the Egg Fighter: Knights can also be attacked up front if the player strikes them before they can put up their shields.

Physical Appearances
The Egg Fighter: Knights are identical to the standard Egg Fighter model. They have a torso in the shape of a little more than a hemisphere, with four flashlights arranged in a rectangle on their front and a flat rounded head on top of it. They also have relatively shot legs, with flat feet and circular ankles, and arms that extend almost down to the ground with four-fingered hands. They are all colored steel blue and silver, and have purple eyes.

Powers and Abilities
As an elite Egg Fighter model, the Egg Fighter: Knights possess physical strength above that of the regular Egg Fighters, who are strong enough to move barrels at least three times their own size.

The Egg Fighter: Knights have significant proficiency in dual-wielding weapons, specifically a sword and shield. They have noticeable swordsman skills in close combat, being able to perform both fast swipes where they utilize their robotic physiology to their fullest. They also have enough skills in wielding shields to use them defensively.

Weapons
Each of the Egg Fighter: Knights wield a single sword in their left hand and a shield in their right hand, making them balanced in combat. Their swords are large and double-edged with a cutting chain on the edges, making them resemble chainsaws, and ensures lethal damage to their targets.

The shields they wield are mostly in the shape of a kite shield and are primarily colored yellow. They have a "T" shaped steel blue plating on the front surface, a steel blue-colored lower edge and silver-colored sides, and grey spikes on their two upper corners. Each of their shields also comes equipped with a powerful Spring on the front which allows the Egg Fighter: Knights to bounce back any frontal attacks.

Attack Patterns
In battle, the Egg Fighter: Knights are capable of both offensive and defensive combat. When attacked, the Egg Fighter: Knights will try to use their shields to defend themselves from the player's attacks. When going on the offensive, the Egg Fighter: Knights attack with their swords, either by jumping into the air and swinging their sword down on the player or launching a short, but quick dash up to the player while slashing with their sword.