Sonic and the Black Knight

Gameplay

Gameplay differs from traditional games in the Sonic series by mixing in the new element of swordplay with the traditional Sonic platforming and speed. Swordplay is implemented through the Wii Remote. Gameplay is more similar to Sonic Unleashed than Sonic and the Secret Rings; Sonic's movement is controlled with the analog stick as he is on a set course, and gameplay is mainly 3D.

The stages feature townspeople that the player can harm and some that Sonic can interact with; these actions and the player's deeds will be judged at the end of each stage, updating his "knight ranking" accordingly. By interacting with these characters the player may do a quick-time button input. Doing so correctly will take away twenty of Sonic's rings and give them to the townsperson, and in return, he receives a gift at the end of the stage. In some stages, it is required to give a specific amount of rings to townspeople before reaching the goal. In stages where this is not required the townsperson will reward Sonic with an item. There are 242 items in the game, some of which can be gained by opening treasure chests in the stages. Any items collected during a stage must be identified at the end of the stage by using Sonic's "ID points". Rarer items cost more ID points than others. An online mode allows treasures to be traded between registered friends.

The game changes the traditional level items, such as springs and speed pads, into "fairies." These fairies come in varying colors; Yellow elements will be used as a group of one to twenty rings, Blue fairies will be used as speed boosts and springs, and Red will be used to fill the "Soul gauge." This gauge is filled by defeating enemies and collecting Red Fairies, and is used to unleash a powerful lock-on attack, Soul Surge. On only the first few stages, the "pearls" from the previous game, Sonic and the Secret Rings, appear as apples.

The skill system from Sonic and the Secret Rings also returns, but has been revised 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. Each playable character has three styles to choose from. At first, only the balanced "Knight" style is available, but later, "Cavalier" and "Paladin" styles are unlocked. They deal with the aspects of speed and power, respectively. As levels are completed, the player gains a number of "Followers" that is used as Experience and as the number of followers goes up, the number of skills the player has in a certain style are increased. The "styles" of characters beside Sonic are not increased; Rather, their swords' abilities and skills are enhanced.

Once the "Knight's Quest" part of the story is reached, Sir Gawain (Knuckles the Echidna), Sir Lancelot (Shadow the Hedgehog), and Sir Percival (Blaze the Cat) will be playable from that point on. Each has their own characteristics; for instance, Knuckles wields dual swords that double as boomerangs and has the ability to glide, Blaze can surround herself with fire and use more lunge attacks than Sonic, and Shadow can use Chaos Powers. In story mode, they can use different swords than their own swords, unlike Sonic, who can only wield Caliburn.

Up to four players can play in the game's multiplayer, choosing between one of 12 characters to partake in a number of different kinds of battles. Characters include Sonic, Lancelot (Shadow), Gawain (Knuckles), Percival (Blaze), Blacksmith (Tails), Lady of the Lake (Amy Rose), Galahad (Silver the Hedgehog), Lamorak (Jet the Hawk), regular Shadow, regular Knuckles, regular Blaze and King Arthur.

Plot

A wizard named Merlina, granddaughter of the original Merlin, summons Sonic the Hedgehog into the world of King Arthur. She explains that the King has been corrupted by the immortality granted by the scabbard of Excalibur, becoming a tyrannical ruler, and that Sonic must defeat him to restore peace to the kingdom. Sonic's speed alone is insufficient to defeat King Arthur, so he takes up the talking sword Caliburn to stand against the King.

At Caliburn's suggestion, Sonic meets the Lady of the Lake, Nimue (this world's version of Amy Rose), who tells him that he must collect the sacred swords wielded by the Knights of the Round Table (this world's versions of Shadow, Knuckles and Blaze) in order to dispel the immortality granted by Excalibur's scabbard. Defeating each of the Knights, Sonic claims all three swords and challenges the King once more. Sonic defeats King Arthur, but the King is revealed to be an illusion created by Merlin, with Merlina manipulating Sonic in order to claim Excalibur's scabbard as her own, seeking to use its power to make the kingdom changeless and eternal. She summons the underworld directly into the kingdom, creating the Dark Hollow.

Nimue explains that the sacred swords are able to form a barrier to prevent the Dark Hollow's spread, so Sonic and the Knights split up and journey to the kingdom's corners. However, the barrier proves to be too weak. Sonic enters the Dark Hollow himself to challenge Merlina, but the witch proves too powerful, defeating Sonic and destroying Caliburn. With encouragement from the Knights, Sonic's resolve restores Caliburn – now revealed to be the true Excalibur – and Sonic transforms into an armored super form called Excalibur Sonic. He defeats Merlina, destroying the Dark Hollow. After the battle, Sonic tells Merlina that, while everything has an end, people should live their lives to the fullest until that day comes. With King Arthur revealed as an illusion, the Knights of the Round Table prepare to disband, but Caliburn reminds them that he is the one who chooses the true king, now revealed to be Sonic.

In a post-credits cutscene, Sonic returns to his world and tells Amy about his adventures, but she believes it to be an excuse for missing their planned date. The game ends in a similar manner to Sonic and the Secret Rings, with the title of the book King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table changing to Sonic and the Black Knight.

Development and release

Sonic and the Black Knight was first revealed at Nintendo's pre-Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2008 press conference. Developer Sonic Team, a subsidiary of publisher Sega, decided to focus on combat and cinematic presentation for the game rather than the level design-oriented Sonic Unleashed.

Music

Face to Faith: Sonic and the Black Knight Vocal Trax is the game's official vocal songs soundtrack that was released on April 8, 2009 in Japan. It features five vocal tracks that were featured in the game, with "Seven Rings in Hand ~Fairytales in Trance~" by Bentley Jones and "With Me ~Massive Power Mix~" by Crush 40 as brand new bonus tracks created especially for the album.

Tales of Knighthood: Sonic and the Black Knight Original Soundtrax is the game's original soundtrack. It was released by Wave Music Entertainment in Japan on April 8, 2009.

Molten Mine's background music is a rearranged version of the "Action Theme" from Black Dawn, a completely unrelated PlayStation and Sega Saturn video game released in 1996. The music itself was originally made by Tommy Tallarico.

Reception

Sonic and the Black Knight was met with mixed reviews from critics. It received a score of 55.19% on GameRankings and 54/100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The game entered the Japanese sales chart at 30th place, and the North American Wii charts at tenth. It was de-listed in 2010, following on from Sega's decision to remove all Sonic titles with mixed Metacritic scores from retail stores in order to increase the value of the brand after positive reviews for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic Colors.

IGN's Matt Casamassina praised the game's visuals and the overall presentation, but went on to state that the gameplay was "broken" and cited the controls as "unresponsive". GameDaily criticized the "repetitive combat, easy missions and limited controls keep it from greatness," but acknowledged its "attractive presentation, decent combat and bonus content." Chris Scullion from the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine praised the game's visuals and soundtrack, but criticized the swordplay mechanics and multiplayer element. GameSpot's Carolyn Petit noted that, while the sword is useful slashing through enemies, there is a noticeable delay from the time swinging the Wii Remote and the time Sonic actually swings.