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Today's the day! Knuckles the Echidna will get his very own TV show starting today on streaming service Paramount+, and we're all very excited about it here at the Sonic Stadium (as you can probably tell with our themed Knuckles Week). We figured that, to coincide with the launch of the show, we'd run through the entire journey of Movie Knuckles' six-episode adventure, from announcement to release - why don't you come along and reminisce with us? The Announcement While it doesn't feel like that long ago, the Knuckles TV show was in fact announced well over two years ago! In an apparent nod to the whole "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" lock-on cartridge, Paramount had revealed in February 2022 that not only was a third Sonic the Hedgehog movie was being made, but a spinoff TV series focusing on cinematic universe newcomer, Knuckles! As you can see from the comments/topic linked above, the 'Sonic 3 and Knuckles' one-two punch did not go unnoticed, and following the launch of Sonic 2 hype levels were through the roof. The comments continued for months as it was used as a hub for fun speculation and discussion of new tidbits of information - it's worth browsing through for a full sweep of updates on the Knuckles show! Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and its Explosive Success Of course, there wouldn't have been a Knuckles spinoff in the works if Paramount hadn't (correctly) guessed that there would be a lot of love and hype for the rad red echidna. And what was there to dislike? The feisty rival was adapted incredibly well for his debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which launched in theatres April 2022 (some months after the Sonic 3 & Knuckles reveal, which was bold...), and his characterisation was performed by none other than TV and movie superstar Idris Elba! / $401m! surpassing original film and becoming biggest game movie in US The momentum of the incredibly-successful first Sonic movie, coupled with the introduction of Knuckles, his explosive battles with Sonic, the many game references and the engrossing storyline surrounding the Master Emerald (and GUN's sneaky entrance to the movie universe), led to a super-charged performance for Sonic 2. The sequel blasted past almost every significant milestone to become the 4th highest-grossing video game movie at final count, with over $400 million at the box office globally. It also won several awards and accolades, including at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (and as they say, there are no better critics out there than kids!). The phenomenal success of the Sonic movies is important in the context of the Knuckles series, because not only did the non-chuckling echidna play a significant role in Sonic 2's performance, he became the first(?) subject of a spinoff series on the back of it. And it seems that Paramount was always planning to complement the Sonic movies with spinoffs of some kind, given the below news story that outlines the studio's concept for a hedgehog-themed "Cinematic Universe". Plans like these are always made years in advance, so we can see the genesis of the Knuckles TV show somewhere within the quotes of this story. And without Knuckles' (and Elba's) star power, we wouldn't have had a TV series announced for the echidna in the first place. Knuckles Shines in Other Sonic Media While the world waited for more Knuckles, SEGA and its media partners elsewhere were willing to pick up the slack. Perhaps most interestingly of these was a promotional animation produced to coincide with the launch of Sonic Frontiers in late 2022, which focused entirely on Knuckles' solo adventure leading up to the game's plot. It's interesting because a prologue of this quality wasn't entirely necessary, particularly for a game where you only play as Sonic (at least, at launch), but once you realise it was produced by Tyson Hesse (who now has a direct hand in the development of the Sonic movie character design) and his partner studios, and the thirst for more Knuckles content post-Sonic 2, it all starts to make sense. Knuckles was also arguably one of the standout characters in multi-dimensional animated romp, Sonic Prime, where he assumed the role of freedom fighter in one universe and lazy-but-good-natured pirate in another. Still think 'Knuckles the Dread' feels a little too close to my own username, though. I'm gonna have to ask SEGA and Wildbrain for a commission. Knuckles TV Show Production Begins News of the Knuckles spinoff show wouldn't surface until April 2023, a full year (plus change) after the TV series' original announcement. That Spring, filming had officially begun, with Sonic movie director Jeff Fowler personally involved in the show's production. Everybody saw the hat against the clapboard for the first time. And everybody screamed. Filming lasted a couple of months, with the end of shooting confirmed by Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi (who managed to bag a role on the show - good for him!) in June 2023. Around that time, new information about the project began popping up - not least the confirmation from Mescudi himself that the show would come to the Paramount+ streaming service that fall (which inevitably didn't happen, as we're now talking about the show's launch in 2024 obviously). Alongside a new logo from Paramount's press site, media outlets started reporting on the names of various co-stars that were attached to the series. Alongside the already-known cast at this point of Idris Elba (as Knuckles), Adam Pally (Wade Whipple), Mescudi, Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt and Ellie Taylor (with guest appearances of Tika Sumpter and Rory McCann), a number of other cast members were confirmed in June including legendary sci-fi actor Christopher Lloyd. Storyboards and Storylines The rest of 2023 would be a bit quiet for TV show news besides the odd tidbit here and there, and the 'Fall 2023' release slate came and went without much of a fanfare. Indeed, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and writers strike had gripped Hollywood for most of the Summer, and so multiple projects (not just Knuckles) ended up getting delayed. As a result, it wasn't until December that some technical and story-related information on 'Knuckles' would come to light, largely thanks to some good old-fashioned Hollywood industry leaks! First, it was revealed that the show would be a six-episode adventure, then details from a number of episode storyboards had leaked (be careful reading this one for potential spoilers - not just for Knuckles but for the Sonic 3 movie too!), and episode titles were shared online that offered some clues as to what might happen throughout the show. All in January 2024, too! Super Knuckles Sunday Paramount went big on the Superbowl in February 2024, and used the American sporting event to promote 'Knuckles' in a number of different ways. Firstly, there was this teaser video promoting the Paramount+ streaming service in general, which featured a CG Knuckles getting involved with other Paramount-owned characters in solving the problem of getting over a mountain. Patrick Stewart ends up man-handling Arnold, from Hey Arnold. It doesn't go well (for them - for us, it was hilarious). Then, news came that actual footage from the show would be revealed for the first time during the Superbowl. But then in an exciting twist, Paramount released the ads for Knuckles that they were going to run during the event a few days early online - so thankfully we didn't have to stay up all night to watch some guys kick an egg-ball around a field for god knows how long. A week or so later, a fresh trailer dropped with a couple more seconds of footage, just for the die-hards out there (like us). march/april Promotional activity ramped up last month, as the Knuckles TV series' new launch date of 26 April drew ever nearer. Idris Elba even got involved, rating the performances of his co-stars as they try their 'best' to pull off a Movie Knuckles voice impression. Some of it is hilariously painful, and worth a watch. New press images and posters have constantly been pumping out over the last couple weeks, but if you asked any terminally-online Sonic fan what one of the most impactful marketing stints has been for the show, they would tell you that it was Knuckles' cameo in the WWE pay-per-view event NXT Stand and Deliver! Not only does the mad echidna face off against a WWE Superstar or two, start invading the Ring and getting into the crowds, but his appearance also gave us this most beautiful image that shall forever be enshrined into our hearts: the launch This past week, Knuckles has been on something of an international tour, attending premieres in both London and the US ahead of the series' Paramount+ launch on April 26. You can check out the photos of Idris Elba, Adam Pally and more on the UK red carpet in our roundup article below, and you can see clips of the show that have since been released to hype the show right here. As well as new poster and screens here. And Now We're Here! And that's the timeline of events that have led us to this point - the launch of the Knuckles TV series on Paramount+! It's been a long two-year road, but Knuckles fans will finally get their chance to see their favourite echidna in action in a whole new adventure. Who's excited? Are you planning any watch parties? Or just curling up on the sofa/in the bed with a bunch of snacks, ready to binge the entire show? Let us know in the comments section below! View full story

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Yeah, they do, you just got to go out of your way to find them. Look for these: Those are special springs, hidden throughout the levels. If you find one and jump on it, it'll transport you to a special stage. Note: in order to reach the true final boss, and therefore get 100% completion (if you're trying to that is), you'll need to beat the game with each character, with only one of those playthroughs needing you to collect all emeralds. Hope this helps!

Dude looks like he came straight out of streets of rage.

I LOVE all of them! They're super cool and fun! That one was great. Sonic seemed like he wanted some car insurance after all that racing!

This entry is really taking shape! So many thanks to all who have contributed so far! I've tidied it up a bit from a formatting perspective; I will change this when we next update the coding for the wiki/site, but at the moment it's better to use Heading 2 for section titles in the Wiki (I've changed it for now). Maple, do you want to contribute to this page, or remove yourself? I'm confused.

Changed Bounty Hunters to Cuz, Ryannumber1gamer

This time, I finished Sonic Advance! As Knuckles! I couldn't find ANY Emeralds. Do they even exist in this thing?!

This just makes me worried about the new Shadow campaign in generations. Since 2010 this series to me, seems to have had a reboot and it made the characters completely different.

It's kinda funny how they went opposite directions though. Amy had only 1 mode: lovesick about Sonic. She was chased by angry robot and loose focus, because "Cute couples go free". Or Riders games were everyone is thinking about Arks and genies and stuff and she just wants Sonic's attention. Whenever you miss that Amy or not, it's hard to argue she was... immature, to say it lightly. Now she's much more flexible. Meanwhile Shadow was basically first Sonic character with layers. First person to ask stuff like "who am I? What is my purpose? Should I forgive those who hurt me?". You know, "brooding" technically means "showing DEEP thought". A 101 of deep thoughts, but still. But as stories simplified and Shadow stopped hogging all the screen time, he needed to simplified. A lot. So from "grim figure with so much conflict, baggage and emotional turmoil going behind the mask, because he's ultimate life form dang it, he must appear stoic and perfect" he just went to "grim". Much easier to process. And even that isn't fair. Early Amy was immature, but that was her arc. All her best moments are realizing other need her help and putting her selfish desires to a side.

Gotta love how the Bop Bag doesn't use Knuckles' usual Adventure artwork, but instead specifically art of Toy Island's Knuckles FIGURE. Now THAT'S some cross promotion. Also, slight correction: the Sonic McDonald's promotion from 2003 was pushing Sonic Adventure DX and Super Monkey Ball, not Heroes. Heroes actually got its own promotion the following year, featuring more LCD games, including a new one starring Knux. (Knuckles Treasure Hunt)

It's good to see the rad red back in action. I really like Shadow as a rival, but I think that they should also invest in Knuckles as rival too. Sonic X did it, we have Sonic fighting a lot with Shadow AND with Knuckles, and it's cool because of the difference between the opponents. (Also, when are we going to have Shadow versus Knuckles in the canon? It's like Vegeta versus Piccolo, it never happened but it should) Shadow is about be cold while fighting, using energy powers and trying to be better than Sonic in his own game (speed). Knuckles is about being the opposite of Sonic when it comes to fight. Power VS Speed, more punching VS more kicking, earth VS Wind. But when it comes to the feel of the battle they are the same. My favorite Knuckles moment, isn't a moment from the games but from Sonic X. I love his fights with Sonic in the anime, it reminds a lot my relation with my brother. We are also friendly rivals and we start our fight out of nowhere just for fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_hkCUuXePM

Well, I finished a game I was curious about, though I dunno if I'll get the platinum trophy for it. But I figure I'll c But first, the list. 50. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants (only finished, not completed, due to not beating the game on hard mode at the time of writing, among other things) Now, this is one that slipped under my radar back in 2017...though I wasn't going to arcades on the regular like I am now, so it wouldn't have been on my radar anyways. Nobody talked about it, either; in fact, it was around when the home port was announced when I saw the most discussion I ever saw surrounding the game. When I learned of it, I did make it a mission to look for this and one other arcade game in 2022. I found neither this game nor the other one, but I was more surprised I didn't find this one; I went to places you'd think would be a surefire hit. Ah well, I had fun with the machines I did bump into. When this port was announced, I admit, I was a little excited, if largely to satisfy my curiosity at last, and to make up for the lost time. I tried looking for the Switch version, but didn't find it, and got it on PS5 instead...though that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though not for the reasons you'd think. But I'll get to that in a bit. As for the game itself? It's based on the 2012 TMNT cartoon, and was originally released near the end of its run, and it shows with all the references. I will also say right out the gate that the content they added to the home port feels very natural; if you told me this content was here all along, I might've believed you. It plays a lot like Turtles in Time, and even has some similarities to the Re-Shelled remake of that one. It wears its influence on its sleeve, meaning if you played a TMNT beat-em-up before, you shouldn't feel too out of place here, though something about it does feel a bit off compared to those games. Still, it feels fine. I also think the graphics are okay; not great, and I wouldn't even call it hardware pushing, but if you were a fan of the 2012 cartoon's art style, you'll appreciate the graphics here. However, I will say the hits don't feel like they have as much impact as they did in the older games or Shredder's Revenge. The arcade original predates Shredder's Revenge, so I'll cut it some slack for not modernizing the gameplay the same way that one did. However, I will state that the length is very short; some extra levels were added, which is nice, but you'll still spend no more than an hour on a casual playthrough. Also, one of the "new" levels is more of a rework of a level in the arcade, though I heard the original version was more of a boss rush, whereas the new version adds a new boss fight and reworks the rest of the level. Still, claiming the game had three added levels is a bit misleading when it's more accurate to say it has two new levels and one reworked level. I also should state why you should go for the PC, PS4, PS5 or Xbox versions instead of the Switch version, and shockingly, it's nothing to do with performance; I can't speak for how the Switch version performs on a purely technical level, though I didn't hear of anything especially egregious. No, the real reason you should go for one of those other versions is the trophies and achievements. Normally, I'm not a trophy or achievement hunter, and I will not make it a secret...but in this case, without it, there is literally no incentive to replay the game on a harder difficulty, and this, no incentive to play more than once. You beat the game once, you've pretty much seen everything it has to offer. This is fine in an arcade setting, but in a home console setting? I would've at least liked unlockable outfits or something. With this in mind, I'd only recommend the Switch version to people who wanna play on the go (and lack a Steam Deck) or have literally nothing else to play the game on. So, is it a bad game? No, I think it's a decent enough time, but it's not as good as its Konami-made predecessors, and Shredder's Revenge easily hands this game its butt. Yes, the arcade version predates Shredder's Revenge, but I think the game might've had a better chance if its home port came out prior to Shredder's Revenge. But since it came out afterwards, comparisons were inevitable. Oh yeah, and I guess the story is that the Foot kidnapped April and the turtles must rescue her. This is literally only shown in the end cutscene; you don't even get an intro explaining this, though to be fair, you're not exactly playing this game for the story. Still, it's not a bad game, and if you're like me and were curious about it, but never found the cab, well, the home port solved that problem. I might still one day play the arcade version if I ever find it, but for now? I feel oddly satisfied that I have played at least some form of the turtles' whole arcade game lineage. It's nice living in an age where you can do that all in one system, too. But I do think $30 is too much to ask for a game this short, so I'd say wait for a price drop if you're not an obsessed fan. $15-$20 seems reasonable for a shorter game, though even then, less would be preferrable.

Here are some more Sonic commercials I like. But wait, we can't forget about this! How in the world did I forget that Progressive commercial!? That was one good commerical, I must say, so I am surprised I forgot it!

Ooooo, Let's see I'm not exactly versed in this area as I grew up on Netflix and Hulu, but I do really like the Lego Sonic ones lolz (This one specifically, it gives me a taste of what a lego Sonic movie would be like lmaoIt would be hilarious ngl) This one too because YES XD

I can't say whether or not these are necessarily my favorites, but they're definitely ones that always come to mind/can't forget about. Firstly, there's this Progressive Sonic ad, that I'm sure many are familiar with. I remember back when this was airing on T.V.! Next, there's this 90s ad from Australia that's advertising a Toppa Sonic Ice Cream thing. I forgot how I found out about this, but I can't forget it for the fact that Sonic and Tails, using the popsicle, put Satam Robotnik through an electric chair like torture situation. Speaking of which, the Satam like art style makes it distinct and unique. Then we have this classic Sonic Adventure 1 ad that airdrops a Sonic plush into a jungle. And well... his fate isn't exactly the most pleasant. But it is quite funny. Finally, there's this bizarre Adult Swim ad. The fact that it aired there, and seemingly made for it is kind of strange, but when fitted with the other odd things you see on late night Adult Swim watching, this perfectly fits with the rest. That's it for now! I may come back and post more if I can remember any.

Custom-Made Grids? Well, I need to look at my library, cause I already put a lot of Grids in already

Haha well, I've never made a grid that I've shared, but I'm a graphic designer! Nothing fancy, just as a hobby. Happy to provide the assets or make something else if you'd like, shoot me a dm anytime.

Actually while its not outright stated, its highly implied via the music ("I gotta protect this place, I do it for my race, uh, uh.") and map that stages like Wild Canyon, Pumpkin Hill or Eggman's Pyramid Base take place on Angel Island. Hence why there is such a strong presence of ghosts. Heroes also has direct mentions to the ME and Angel Island in dialogue and the ending cutscene. As for my favorite overall Knuckles moment, it would be his ending in the original Sonic Adventure.

My favorite Sonic the Hedgehog commercials are: the progressive commercial featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, the ones for the video games and the ones for the animated cartoons as well as the live action movies!!!

Yo, thanks! do you do more of this stuff?

Anybody want some Steam grid materials? Tossed these together in a few minutes from the site's media. Go nuts!

It goes without saying what this topic is about. There have been many Sonic the Hedgehog commercials over the years. Which ones are your favorites? They could be anything from games to merchandise to other things, and they could be from any country. Mine are these. And then there is this one. The 90s, and the early 2000s. What a time to be alive. So what about you all? What are your favorite Sonic the Hedgehog commercials?

I can’t help but wonder how much could simply come down to voice direction. We could see the shift in Sonic when Roger was given different direction for Frontiers, coupled with the writing. It feels like Kirk’s direction is mainly “say it in an antagonistically dramatic and superior voice” (or in the way like the pure Hero path -> Dark end Shadow where he flips to help Doom just to beat Sonic). Especially since we know Kirk can do a softer, for lack of a better word, Shadow based on some of the Twitter Takeovers. While not fully like Adventure Era Shadow, his appearances in the comics land closer, at least, and some of his lines work a bit better simply without the current voice direction, just whatever voice and tone the reader imagines. Still, I found this Tails Tube amusing at least, seeing the two hedgehogs interact and Tails forcing them to say nice things about each other got a chuckle from me.