The biggest argument for ever purchasing a Sega 32x is Knuckles’ Chaotix. In this week’s Dusting Off, read about the best Sonic the Hedgehog game you never played.


by Benjamin Buday, Editor-in-Chief

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 should have been the best of the series. But when programmers couldn’t rush the game out before a deadline — and couldn’t fit everything into one Genesis cartridge — they split the game in two and released the other half, “Sonic & Knuckles,” later in ‘94. The marketing angle for this was that Sonic & Knuckles had a cartridge slot on top so gamers could “lock-on” Sonic 3 to make the intended full adventure, from Angel Island Zone to the Death Egg Zone (or Doomsday Zone, if you ruled as hard as I did). In addition, you could “locking-on” to Sonic 2 to play as Knuckles. Neat idea, but after spending over $120 on both Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, I look back on that maneuver by Sega as one of its greatest heists of the mid- to late-90s (remember, back then, MSRP really was just a suggestion).

The other heists? The Sega CD, the Sega Saturn, and the worst offender of ‘em all, the Sega 32x. This unholy contraption, which squatted on top of your Genesis and required extra plugs and metal clasps, was a stopgap measure for Sega to make a quick buck in 1995 before the Sega Saturn landed in stores later that year. The damn thing only had 20 or so games before Sega abandoned it to focus on the Saturn, but some of those games were pretty solid. The crown jewel of the system was a Sonic game of sorts, only…without Sonic. Knuckles’ Chaotix, the Sonic game for 32X, is the only reason I don’t regret buying that godforsaken POS, because it’s one my favorite Sonic experiences, rivaling even Sonic 3 & Knuckles (note that both of my favorite Sonic games cost over $100 — Knuckles’ Chaotix and the 32X needed to play it cost over $200!).

In Knuckles’ Chaotix, two characters explored zones at the same time while bound by an elastic band sort of connection. Tethered together, these characters could throw and slingshot each other, which added an extra element of difficulty and complication to the game. Despite those additions, Knuckles’ Chaotix is the fastest of the Sonic games — those characters rip through levels. Check out this run through. It’s 35 minutes, so skip around and find something you like. I’d say look for the zone “Speed Slider.” That level ruled. Oh, and my apologies for the intro — if I still had my 32X, I would have uploaded my own.

Knuckles, of course, is the main character, joined by Mighty the Armadillo (who looks uncannily like Sonic), Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy the Bee. Each character has special abilities, and you can pair them differently between levels because of the setup of the game’s progression. The levels take place at an amusement park, and each zone is selected randomly from the park’s hub. Between zones, players can use a claw machine to pick their partners.

Two reasons the game totally rules the other Sonic games:

1) Level designers and graphic artists went nuts with the colors and zone layouts. If you don’t get a head rush from trying to keep your eye on your characters blazing through levels, the vibrant, lush colors will overload your senses. Most of the levels are dizzying rollercoasters, and the bonus levels, reminiscent of Sonic 2, are a trip too.

2) Two-player mode lets you and a buddy tear through levels with both of you actually on the screen together. Because you’re bound together, you can’t be separated. In the event that one person gets stuck, there’s a recall button to bring him back to the other player at a 10 ring cost. Nothing beats having one character hold steady while the other takes off — when the first one lets go, both of you go rocketing ahead. Remember playing Sonic 2 and 3 and trying to decide who had to be Tails? No more being left behind. This Sonic game is actually for two players.

Sega also took a page out of Mario’s book and put his mega mushrooms the power-up monitors with the up arrows. Nothing more gratifying than giant, pixely Vector chargin’ around in a spindash.

Ultimately, Knuckles’ Chaotix brings a faster pace to the series, especially because there are so many ways to traverse levels. Players can keep speed up to vault over hills and obstacles, use the slingshot maneuver to launch, use each character’s special abilities, or just jump from platform to platform without really slowing down. At all. The beauty of the game is that there are very few moments when you have to slow down and figure out things.

At this point, if you own a Genesis, it’s worth your while to track down a 32X to play Knuckles’ Chaotix. For you Sonic diehard fans out there who haven’t played it, well, think of it this way: it started as Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

Benjamin can be reached at Benjamin@megazinemedia.com.