Knuckles' Chaotix

Knuckles' Chaotix (simply Chaotix (カオティクス) in Japan) is a 1996 release for the Sega 32X, the only Sonic related game released for that system. The game features a new combi system, which allows the player to use two characters at once, who are joined together with the elastic ring. The game introduces the Chaotix to the Sonic series, composed of Charmy, Espio, and Vector.

Story
The backstories of the game in the Japanese and Western releases, according to the respective instruction manuals, was substantially different.

North America/Europe
The main story of the game as taken from the Western manual:


 * Tomorrow's the big opening day for Carnival Island, a huge amusement resort with the latest in high-tech rides and games. As guardian of the island, it's Knuckles' job to make sure nothing goes wrong before the grand event.


 * Unfortunately, the evil Dr. Robotnik has other plans. He needs fuel for his latest diabolical device, and the Power Emerald that supplies electricity to the entire island fits the bill perfectly. His awful new invention, the Combi Confiner, should help him get rid of that annoying echidna and his friends.


 * When Knuckles returns from patrolling the far end of the island, he discovers that Dr. Robotnik has imprisoned all of his friends- Espio the Chameleon, Mighty the Armadillo, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee. After he chases the Doctor off, Knuckles discovers that he can rescue one friend at a time by using Ring Power... only the power that sparks between the rings holds the two partners together like a magical rubber band. Never held back for long, Knuckles finds that with a little teamwork, he can use the stretching and snapping action of the Ring Power to double- even triple- the partners' speed.


 * And they need all the speed they can get. As Dr. Robotnik drains the power from Carnival Island, everything on the island begins to break down! Robotnik must be stopped, or by tomorrow morning - the morning of Carnival Island's big opening day - the grand amusement park will lie in ruins!

Japan
The story was revised in the Japanese manual. In it, a mysterious island rose from the sea shortly after the events of Sonic & Knuckles. Doctor Eggman discovered the island, and found a mysterious ring inscribed with descriptions of the Chaos Rings, ancient Rings infused with Chaos Emerald energy. In order to find these Rings, Robotnik built his base, the Newtrogic High Zone, on the island. Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, and Charmy Bee also arrived at the island, and ended up being captured by Robotnik and Metal Sonic, and placed in Robotnik's "Combi Confiner" machine. Knuckles, curious about the strange island, goes there as well, and manages to rescue Espio. The two then go on to stop Robotnik from getting the Chaos Rings.

Characters
Knuckles Chaotix marks the debut of the Chaotix. The group has five members, including Knuckles the Echidna. The other four characters were headed up with Mighty the Armadillo (who also featured in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog two years earlier in 1993) and also featured Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. This latter trio did not return (with the exception of Espio, who appears as one of the playable characters in Sonic the Fighters a year later) until Sonic Heroes in 2004.

Each character in Knuckles Chaotix has his own special abilities. Knuckles still glides and climbs as he did in Sonic & Knuckles. Espio has the ability to walk upright on walls and ceilings, and instead of curling up into a ball when performing the spin dash, he twists into a tornado, and can destroy unguarded enemies by running headlong into them at full speed. Mighty is the fastest runner in the game, and he has the ability to scale walls with his feet and push himself upward. Vector is the largest member of Chaotix. His moves include a mid-air dash and the ability to climb on walls. Charmy, finally, is the smallest character in the game but his ability to fly gives him a definite edge over the other characters. Contrary to Tails in the earlier Genesis games, Charmy will never tire of flying (possibly because he is a bee, and in more recent Sonic games it is very rare for Charmy to not be seen flying).

Aside from Knuckles and his friends, the game also introduces Heavy & Bomb, two robots who claim to have escaped from Dr. Robotnik's evil clutches, and want to help team Chaotix. Heavy & Bomb cannot be selected from the character select screen, but instead are picked up through the combi catcher. Neither of the two robots can attack. Just as his name says, Heavy is heavy and slow, yet he is indestructible and has the ability to destroy enemies and monitors by simply walking against them. Bomb on the other hand is tiny and quick, but he explodes when he's hit. Both of these characters can only be playable directly if the Stage Select is activated through the game's Color Test. The can also be played as normally in Special Stages if the player has one of them as their partner and throws them into the Special Stage ring.

Heavy and Bomb were likely intended as booby prizes: when selecting a partner character, the player has to act quickly, as the characters shuffle around. Poor timing can result in selecting a different character than intended. Heavy and Bomb are generally considered to be nearly useless in action, making them the worst possible selections.

Playable Characters
You play as Knuckles as he attaches to the others using rings. Sonic the Hedgehog is also available through hacking.
 * Knuckles
 * Espio
 * Vector
 * Charmy
 * Mighty
 * Wechnia (When activating debug mode)
 * Heavy and Bomb

Gameplay Elements
The primary objective of the game remains unchanged from previous Sonic titles. The player must finish each level in under ten minutes and defeat Dr. Robotnik's badniks along the way. Rings still constitute the player's life energy and can be collected to gain lives or enter special stages.

The levels are divided into five worlds (called "attractions" in the game), each one consisting of five different levels in which every two stages/acts played, change to a specific time of the day (morning, day, sunset, and night). The time of day effects enemy placements and boss difficulty. At the end of Level 5, the player confronts Dr. Robotnik in one of his contraptions.

The most fundamental change in Knuckles' Chaotix (and what eventually became one of the most criticized features of the game) involves the special ring force bond between characters. In earlier Sonic games, two-player mode would consist either of a traditional split screen race or a joint single player effort with Tails as a secondary character. In the latter case, this meant that Tails could move off screen and get lost for a few seconds until he returned to Sonic.

In Knuckles' Chaotix however, both players are at all times connected on one single screen while neither player acts as the dominant force to move the game forward. Besides the staple of traditional Sonic moves and individual abilities this means some new tricks can be executed with the elastic force of the ring bond. For example, player 1 can hold his position while player 2 runs forward and stretches the bond to gain maximum speed. In mid-air the bond can be used to generate an upward momentum. Additionally, players can toss each other toward platforms or use the call-button to reunite (at a cost of ten rings, which meant that for the first and only time the ring count could dip below zero in a Sonic game).

Recently, some elements of the game have received new life with Espio, Vector, and Charmy returning to the series as of Sonic Heroes. Also, the concept of a player controlling two characters is reused for Sonic Advance 3.

Attractions

 * Isolated Island/Practice Stage: A special isolated area played before the main game to get players acquainted with the special unique maneuvers introduced into the game.
 * Botanic Base: The island's most natural attraction is this giant greenhouse, filled with oddly geometric trees, and a jungle of hostile flora.
 * Speed Slider: A rollercoaster reminiscent of Casino Night and Carnival Night Zone, Speed Slider is the fastest attraction in Knuckles' Chaotix. The level moves all the way to a confrontation with Dr. Robotnik on his carousel.
 * Amazing Arena: At the start of this stage, the player is in the dark, but once the lightswitch is hit, Amazing Arena turns bright and colourful. If the player fails to locate it, the stage starts all over again.
 * Techno Tower: A futuristic-styled tower that the player must climb. In Level 5, the player can hop on a drill machine that burrows through solid walls.
 * Marina Madness: A cruise-themed attraction with, curiously, no water. The player must jump from ship to ship to complete this level while dodging flying fish and sailing stingrays.
 * World Entrance: Between each stage the player visits the World Entrance. Here, one can choose to end the game, select a new partner, and choose a new stage.

Bonus Stage
The bonus stage can be accessed by collecting 20 or more rings and jumping through one of the large rings found hidden throughout a level. In the stage, the character free-falls down a long spiral of rings, power-ups, blocks and exits while the player's rings gradually count down to 0. The stage ends when the ring count reaches 0 or when the character hits an exit. Possible bonuses include a slow-down at the attraction roulette screen or a free pick from the Combi Catcher.

Special Stages
In the special stages, the player moves his character through a hexagonal, fully rendered 3D course to collect a specified set of blue spheres. Rings are collected as seconds and when the count reaches zero or the player falls from the course, the stage ends. When successfully completed, the player is awarded one of six Chaos Rings. Contrary to earlier games in the series, collecting all Chaos Rings does not award the player with special powers.

Special stages can only be accessed through a single large ring at the ending of each level, but the player must have collected at least 50 rings for it to appear. After a player wins all six Chaos Rings, the special stages start over in a wireframe mode.

Trivia

 * Sonic and Tails appear as ending cameos. Amy also appears in the sound test via a cheat code.
 * This is the only game that uses the partial ring system and the second to use centiseconds for the time display. The first was Sonic CD.
 * This is the first Sonic game that has each level play through a day/night timeframe (i.e.: Act 1 in the day, Act 2 in the night, etc., though not exactly like that). The second game to do so was Sonic Unleashed.
 * It is believed that sprites from Sonic's role in the unreleased Sonic Crackers were the basis of Mighty's in Knuckles' Chaotix, as their sprite sheets are mainly identical.
 * The main Chaotix all have a way of ascension; Knuckles and Vector can climb walls, Espio can stick to walls, Charmy can fly, and Mighty can wall kick. Heavy and Bomb have no way of ascending on their own.
 * It was originally going to be in Sonic Gems Collection but it was not included for unknown reasons (possibly emulation issues). However, an entire section of the museum of Sonic Gems Collection is dedicated to this game.
 * The stage on the box art for the American and European version is Speed Slider.