Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is an action role-playing game developed by Sega and released in 1994. Joining the game, you will choose one of two characters, Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna, to join the challenging Angel Island rescue mission. The game offers two parallel storylines corresponding to the character you choose. Playing Sonic, you'll stop Doctor Robotnik as he plots to relaunch his orbital weapon, the Death Egg. Besides, if you choose Knuckles, you will fight against Robotnik's minion, EggRobo. The game offers familiar side-scrolling gameplay, like previous Sonic games. Players will take turns through the levels, collect valuable items, fight monsters, and destroy Doctor Robotnik in the final level.

Story

The feud between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik has continued since the events of Sonic 3. At the beginning of the game, Dr. Robotnik drops the Death Egg orbital weapon on Angel Island. Sonic is tasked with traveling to Angel Island to Robotnik by collecting Chaos Emeralds. With the help of Knuckles, who initially clashed with Sonic since he thought Sonic was trying to steal the Chaos Emeralds for himself, Sonic will fight against Robotnik by infiltrating the Death Egg. Utilizing the Super Sonic form, the protagonist will retrieve Master Emerald from Robotnik and return it to Angel Island.

The game also tells a second story about Knuckles after the main story ends. Players role-playing Knuckles will fight against EggRobo, one of Robotnik's cyborgs. Knuckles chases EggRobo to Sky Sanctuary and is blocked by a new opponent, Mecha Sonic. You must do whatever it takes to help Knuckles and Sonic foil the plot of Mecha Sonic, who can take advantage of Master Emerald's power to evolve just like Sonic. In the final sequence of the game, you will have to pilot the two-stage Tornado and collect all the Chaos Emeralds to help Knuckles and Master Emerald return to Angel Island.

Gameplay

Sonic 3 & Knuckles inherits the gameplay of previous Sonic games. Players will take turns through levels with the franchise's signature 2D side-scrolling platformer. Each of the game's six levels will be split into two actions, a mini-boss battle with one of Dr. Robotnik's robots and a regular boss battle with Robotnik. Players can take advantage of Sonic and Knuckles' different abilities to make their way through levels easier, such as Sonic being able to jump slightly higher and using his shield to block damage, while Knuckles can glide and climb most walls and traverse terrain with ease.

You can take advantage of the two bonus stages of the game to accumulate more coins. The first stage contains floating glowing spheres. You need to dodge these orbs with pressure from a light barrier below to pass the bonus round. The second stage requires players to jump around a casino room to gain more lives and power up characters. In addition, you also need to collect giant rings hidden in secret passages to unlock Special Stages, which help you collect Chaos Emeralds. Collecting all seven of them will help Sonic and Knuckles evolve into Super Sonic or Super Knuckles, giving the player a boost and ease through the game's challenges.