Sonic and the Black Knight

Sonic the Hedgehog did not go quietly into the 3D night. It would be a gargantuan effort spanning four years, three continents, two console generations, and one calamitous casualty. When Sega Technical Institute finally pulled the plug on Sonic X-treme in 1996 after a two-year development debacle so exhausting the lead designer landed in the hospital, the first 3D Sonic died hard, and took the Sega Saturn down with it. Call it payback for Sonic Spinball.

Sega’s been poking and prodding poor little Sonic ever since, shoehorning him into a racing spin-off, fighting games, hover-board racing, a board game, an action/RPG—they even turned him into stretchy armed werehog...and now he’s a knight. Sonic’s got a sword; Sonic Guitar Jam can’t be far behind.

Seems like Sega will do just about anything to recapture the magic and popularity of the legendary 2D Sonic in a 3D world, except the only thing they ever had to, or should—make it 2D...all 2D. But they won’t. And honestly, at this point, I don’t know if I’d even care. This is too much fun. Sonic’s become like some grand experiment—Sonic Teams’ private Frankenstein—and we their little Igors. Any remaining Sonic fan will tell you horror stories about soft collision, hyper-sensitive control, and more bugs than Oogie Boogie’s crotch, but they’d probably rather talk about the good times. Show me a Sonic fan who looks beyond each game’s inherent quirks and I’ll show you a happy guinea pig.

The problem is all the core fans they’ve shed along the way. Sega of America insists that Sonic’s fans are still sticking their teeth under their pillows, and as a result they’re fishing in an empty lake. Unleashed was aimed directly at a broad “youth” demographic and it literally tanked. Kids don’t know Sonic and they don’t want to. It’s too hard and it’s just not “cool.” That’s because Sonic Team has been making these games for the fans all along. For as long as I’ve been loyal to Sega it’s been the same story: SoJ and the fans versus a SoA that changes so often they don’t know who they are. So they chase trends and demographics trying to shove specialized games into their respective target demos, shedding fans along the way. It’s hard to watch. But hey, Sonic Team still hasn’t received SoA’s memo about Sonic being a Webkin and they finally remembered where they put the other half of their Wii controller!

But hang on just a minute. People are barely finished flogging the Werehog (those levels did get tedious towards the end) and Sonic’s back…with a sword? When did this happen? Could this be the Wii game they were making in place of Unleashed before they decided to edit the Wii version into existence? It must be. Ironic that it’s the closest Sonic Team has come to emulating vintage Sonic in 3D yet. All the usual haters will trounce it hardily, and hardly play it, but if you’re a Sonic survivor, Black Knight’s soothing ointment is just the thing for the Wiihog that ales you.

Unlike the clumsy Sonic and the Secret Rings, Black Knight relies on a healthy dose of level objectives over gimmicky control, obstacle courses and ring collection. That’s right, no rings! There are no visible rings in Black Knight. Rings still equal health but they only exist within chests, vases and yellow vapor. In fact, Game director Tetsu Katano has scrapped most of Sonic’s Trademark (3D) gameplay. Aside from moving Sonic forward down a set path, nearly every other aspect of the gameplay has seen some level of revision. For one, Sonic doesn’t turn around. He can walk or leap backwards, but no u-turns. Not like in Secret Rings where he backed up like a semi truck while you sat their tilting your Wii Remote like a noob; back flips are an effective tactic now against charging knights or to forage for rings. By tethering Sonic to three lanes and eliminating ring collection Katano has done away with Sonic’s buggiest bits, at the expense of freedom and speed—two things I don’t think Sonic ever needed. The original game was start and stop. It didn’t shoot Sonic through the levels at breakneck speeds. Remember the Marble Zone? There were speed sections.

Black Knight moves like old Sonic, minus the loops. There are no talky towns either. They call Black Knight the second installment in the storybook series but it looks and feels nothing like Secret Rings and it certainly has nothing in common with any 3D Sonic. Nothing’s broken. It’s just straight ahead rails Sonic with a combat system, RPG elements, mission objectives, a story that’s actually not fruity, online Battle Modes out the whazoo, and an enormous stash of bonus content to amass. C’mon kids!

On foot Sonic gathers momentum slowly and rarely runs at full speed, utilizing a fixed 3-lane strafe to avoid or smash the obstacles and enemies in his path. Sword play is rampant in Black Knight, and although haphazardly tethered too obligatory Wii-Remote waggling (no specific angling required) flailing Sonic’s arrogant talking sword Caliburn is surprisingly enjoyable. It seems a little imprecise almost by design at first, most likely to convey a sense of weight relative with the lumbering nature of the metallic adversaries and low-speed assaults, but also because Sonic begins the game as what Caliburn refers to as a Knave—i.e., scamp, rascal, rogue, scoundrel… But not for long. Sonic levels-up action RPG style, using ID points to identify items in the Item Codex which you can equip or use in Battle mode; and changing “Knight Style” as he gains followers, which directly correlates to level design, mission ops, and your performance.

The trick early on is preempting the medieval onslaught of clanking armored drones as you time your blocks, land your blows and thrash any airborne enemies. The coolest move comes by way of collecting the spirit energy that belches out of Arthur’s hollow legions to unleash Sonic’s Soul Surge—lightning fast sword strikes that can be chained until the gauge runs dry, or produce devastating one-hit kills. Soul Surging is also a great way to reach higher branches of the vertically forked paths later in the game. There’s a direct correlation between the moves in Secret Rings and Black Knight, everything just seems to work better with Nunchuk. The gameplay from level to level is wonderfully varied. Aside from the tangible gearworks—and there are clever apparatus galore—each fantasy land is filled with challenges such as rampages, rescues, and plot devices.

The only call for precise Wii-Remotions (my word, by the way, for Wii remote motions) comes fighting the Knights of the Round Table, but only if you choose to master their patterns. Simply applying pressure and shaking vigorously produces the same results. King Arthur requires some minor timing (the second time you engage him) but on the whole Sonic Team uses the games thespians to drive the story more so than the action. And therein lies the rub.

It all begins via typically gorgeous CGI when Sonic is summoned to the storybook world (armed with dual chili dogs) by Merlina the Wizard who beseeches him to defend the kingdom against King Arthur whose absolute power has gotten the best of him and corrupted him (absolutely). He’s an invincible force as long as he brandishes the Scabbard of Excalibur, so their only hope resides within Caliburn (the sword in the stone), which Sonic hastily yanks free before setting out to find the Lady of the Lake to ascertain Arthur’s weakness, played by Amy. Sonic must also best Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table—Sir Lancelot, Gawain, and Sir Percival, played by Shadow, Knuckles, and Blaze respectively. Sonic’s real-world posse embodies characters of lore including Tails as a helpful Blacksmith and your friendly one-stop item and status shop.

Best for last: you’ll cry "too short!" as the credits roll, but far from it. Playing as armored versions of Knuckles, Shadow, Blaze, and perhaps Silver (not sure yet), as new areas open up conducive to their unique styles and you apply earned items and create weapons using all that you have uncovered, Sonic and the Black Knight pays homage to the Sonic faithful in droves. I just pray there are enough of us left to appreciate yet another Sonic Team original.

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