Topic: 2024/04: Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) - G.E.R.

[JonLeung]

Knuckles' Chaotix

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to G.E.R.'s Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) maps.

Dr. Robotnik's latest scheme involves stealing the Power Emerald that provides energy for Carnival Island, an amusement resort that is just about to open.  Knuckles rescues his friends, the "Chaotix": Vector, Mighty, Charmy, and Espio.  Along with Robotnik's rogue "Mechanix", Heavy and Bomb, they will use "Ring Power", which acts like an elastic tether between two ringbearers.  Adding snapping and swinging to the usual sprinting action seen in Sonic adventures, Knuckles and the Chaotix can move like never before, and use this new physicality to try to save Carnival Island before its grand opening!

This 32X-exclusive Sonic The Hedgehog spinoff puts Knuckles and Team Chaotix in the spotlight, and Carnival Island is as colourful and vibrant as they are.  Though Knuckles' Chaotix was intended for the Sega Saturn, it was instead released as a 32X game - probably one of the very few must-haves in the tiny 32X library of only a few dozen games.  It hasn't seen a plethora of rereleases, like many mainline Sonic games have over the years and across multiple generations, so it's good that our resident Sonic fan, G.E.R., has mapped this out so that we will always remember the first time Knuckles did his own thing without Sonic around.

So to recognize the effort put into this 32X killer app, G.E.R.'s Knuckles' Chaotix (32X) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for April 2024.

[Cyartog959]

I would like to say how it is a fine honor for Knuckles' Chaotix to be chosen as this month's "Maps of the Month", but the story from the Western Manual is a bit contradictory to the actual story read from the Japanese Manual, if I'm not proven wrong, for there's no actual mention of Carnival Island or said Power Emerald as the focus of the game.

The actual exposition is this...(I'm giving this story my 2 cents based on the JP manual and my own perspective of its events, so I hope I'm right on many things)

Dr. Robotnik(or rather, Eggman) had discovered a mysterious island that rose from the ocean, the south sea, precisely, after his defeat and Mecha Sonic Mk.II's defeat in "Sonic the Hedgehog 3"(both halves, to be precise, including Part Two, still called "Sonic & Knuckles"), and travels there to find an intriguing legend centering on the Chaos Rings, ancient rings infused with the Chaos Emeralds' power from long ago.

Through his studies, Robotnik was able to discover the Chaos Rings' secrets to harness their power. Moreover, their prime use is to summon the Master Emerald, Angel Island's power that keeps it afloat, at will, anywhere, by the user's command. With that power, he could once more easily attempt to conquer the world, so he built his own resort/fortress called Newtrogic High Zone, and all its alleged "attractions" the game has as its Zones.

A little later, a small group of wanderers, Vector, Charmy and Espio, haven't yet formed the Chaotix team, had gathered upon hearing disquieting activity going on in the island and pitched their own 2 cents on the island's legends, with Mighty, having been without Ray since SegaSonic's events, joins in on the expedition, upon faintly hearing a familiar adversary at work there.

Once there, they all find Robotnik's already searching for the Chaos Rings, but despite them doing well for a bit, disputes had accidentally triggered its security systems, alerting the new batch of Badniks to their presence. Tried as they might, they all ended up captured by Metal Sonic, repaired since Sonic CD's events, and were confined to the Combi Catcher.

In the midst, though, two Badniks, Heavy and Bomb, having been made from an accident during production, quietly escaped the facility and sought to figure out how to leave the island.

Later, Knuckles, having returned to guarding the Master Emerald, felt a concerning tremor, and as if by coincidence, a glow of alarm shined on the emerald, showcasing what Knuckles saw on the island. The visions saw Robotnik trying to discover the Chaos Rings and feared he would actually use them to rule the planet.

Before leaving, though, the Master Emerald was able to show him an inscription showcasing a necessary ritual that can actually destroy the Chaos Rings before anyone can use it in the wrong hands.

With the knowledge in hand, Knuckles sets off on his own adventure to save the world and make new friends along the way, leading to the actual adventure.

That's what I would think of it, anyway. Hope I'm correct.

Also, greetings on the forums!