For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to G.E.R.'s Knuckles The Echidna In Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) maps.
Would you like some Knuckles in your Sonic The Hedgehog 2?
Sonic & Knuckles is a Genesis cartridge with a unique feature: "Lock-On Technology", allowing another cartridge to be inserted in the top. When Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was released without all its originally-intended content, due to time constraints and cartridge costs, this workaround allowed the game to be complete and, when combined, is known as "Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles". This was before the Internet was widely available, so patches or DLC wasn't yet a thing for consoles; hence, this "Lock-On" was the fix.
Connecting with other cartridges has other effects. Most other games generate a "Blue Sphere" minigame stage, with the specific layout determined by the cartridge inserted. (Don't insert a game that allows for saved games, as it will erase them!) Inserting the original Sonic The Hedgehog game allows all variations of "Blue Sphere" to be played.
When Sonic & Knuckles is "Locked-On" to the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 cartridge, the game, "Knuckles The Echidna In Sonic The Hedgehog 2", emerges. As the title implies, the titular echidna is now playable here, instead of Sonic or Tails. With his gliding and climbing abilities, Knuckles can access areas that couldn't originally be reached, and so, some of the Zones now include 1-Up Monitors where there weren't before. Revisit the rocking Chemical Plant Zone, the glitzy Casino Night Zone, the massive Metropolis Zone, and the dramatic Sky Chase Zone, as you stop Dr. Robotnik from threatening to dominate the world again with the power of the Chaos Emeralds. G.E.R., one of the most prolific mappers here on VGMaps.com in recent years, is no stranger to Sonic games, who has mapped a few, including most of Sonic The Hedgehog 2, and it's good to see him continue his streak with this version of it (even though it stars Knuckles).
So to recognize the effort put into "locking on" to this unique game, G.E.R.'s Knuckles The Echidna In Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for April 2022.
