Knuckles' Chaotix Discussion

[Segakid]

Welcome to the Knuckles' Chaotix Thread!

In case you aren't familiar, Knuckles' Chaotix was a trippy game released on the 32X. Picture a 2D Sonic game where you pick your bro and set off like a rubber band through crazy worlds where you can't see shit. No, seriously you can't see anything. It's a dull world. If you haven't played the game, get it any way you can. EVERY Sonic fan needs to play this game. It is mandatory that after you explore the many Attractions of Newtrogic High Zone that you watch this video:

So get your Combi Ring on and get on Robotnik's ass before he makes a shitstorm! YEAH!

Also, if you feel like it you can talk about your experience with this game. Did you rush to the store and buy the original cartridge when it was released? How did you get your hands on this baby? Favorite Zone? Whatever you wanna talk about. Crocodile, OH YEAH!

Edited March 4, 2011 by Segakid

[Your Vest Friend]

You talk about it as if it's COMMON for people to have it...

I'm dying to play it on one of the compilations and/or digital download stores. I've heard it's on Gametap, but I really cannot work it on my dodgy slow computer. Sonic Gems, you tease me so!

[Phos]

About a year ago I got my 32X out and managed to coax it back to life. I found that it still had a save file from back when I got it. Everything about Chaotix is good apart from the design of the levels themselves which I found to be kinda bland. Maybe it's because the random level picker thing keeps sending me to the same two zones.

[-Mark-]

I emulated it a few years back, at which point I was really glad I didn't shell out for a 32X back in the day.

It's a messy, messy game with horrible stage design. It also cheaply reuses the same levels a few times, and makes you play them in random order in the hope that you won't recognise them.

[Blue Blood]

I <3 Chaotix. Clearly there's some fundamental flaws with it and I'm not gonna question anyone who says they dislike it, but it's one of the jewels of my collection.

[The Weeb with No Name]

Game's tedious but the gimmick's kinda cool, albeit a little unexplored.

[SEGAMew]

I bought it back in the old SEGA Saturn days. I got it at Toys R Us along with the 32x adapter, totaling almost $50 on the receipt =p I recently obtained another copy of Knuckles Chaotix with an excellent condition box and manuals.

I LOVE Chaotix, mindless fun especially when you have a younger sister to co-op with. I love the number of characters with different abilities you can play as. Espio is <333

Edited March 4, 2011 by SEGAMew

[Indigo Rush]

Back when I was a youngster, my parents found a copy of Knuckles Chaotix at a yard sale and got it for me for pretty cheap. The thing is that I didn't have a 32X add-on for my SEGA Genesis, so I never got to play it. I didn't comprehend at the time that Master System and 32X games were technically for different systems; they all looked like they could fit in a Genesis, so I was baffled as to why it wouldn't work for quite a while.

I figured since I did own the cartridge at one point, and SEGA doesn't seem to be selling it in any form anymore, there would be no shame in emulating it to at least try it out. Figuring out how to explore the world and enter levels was a little confusing at first, but I finally managed to understand it and started playing through a couple levels.

...I didn't really enjoy it all that much, personally. The concept was a good one, though, and it was cool to see some fresh faces in the series. The thing with this game though, is that the controls and physics seemed a tad off to me. Knuckles had a weird acceleration rate and it seriously affected his inertia. Additionally, the level design was a bit awkward. It definitely didn't feel like a classic game so much as a game that had a Sonic character in it. Kind of like Sonic 4: Episode 1, only Chaotix was slightly more accurate in the physics department.

I do realize however that people like this game regardless, so maybe I'm missing something here. I would certainly advocate its inclusion in a future collection game of sorts, although I probably would not play it as much.

[Barry the Nomad]

I picked up my 32X back in late '09 off ebay for $30, included all the cables and even that little plastic bit used on the model 2 so that the 32X wouldn't wobble. A month later I picked up Chaotix, complete with case and manual, for a cool $20.

I really do think that the only way to play the game is on a television with stereo audio (thanks to the model 1's headphone jack outputting to the TV). It took a lot of setting up (you should see all the consoles cables), but is totally worth it.

When I played the game on emulator, I encountered a number of glitches both in graphics and audio. Not fun.

But on the TV, man oh man, the colors and the music are fantastic! As is the scaling and all the trippy effects. It isn't an "A+" game, nor is it a great Sonic game, but it is a fun unique platformer.

Oh yes, and the cutscenes for boss fights were awesome.

And Metal Sonic.

Edited March 4, 2011 by Barry the Nomad

[MizukiMoon]

I downloaded the Chaotix rom a few years back. Brilliant game, it's a nice, unique take on the Sonic series IMO, and it's great to play a Sonic game solely focused on different characters for once : ) I found the graphic style and music to be fabulous. I defo need to get an original copy someday, when I have some spare cash!

[CanofEpicSauce]

Dear God that game was so colorful

SENSORY OVERLOAD!!!

[The Weeb with No Name]

Btw "Door into Summer" is sex to my ears.

And "Combination".

Edited March 4, 2011 by Jayhawker30

[Ebby]

Never played it. The idea of the game just doesn't appeal and I'm not a Knuckles fan.... so yeah, I just passed on this one.

[Dr. Crusher]

It's alright enough for me. Not one of my top favourites, but not bad in any way. I'm surprised I never got a seizure throughout the whole thing.

The game at least provides what I believe to be a more successful take on a giant monster Metal Sonic. The colour of red kind of ruined it, but at least he still vaguely looked like Sonic. He looked like an actual "more monstrous" Metal and not a goddamn dragon. And he didn't betray Robotnik, so that helps. (Hell, Robotnik was even directly responsible of turning him into Red Giga Metal, so that's another ten points for the plot).

Plus, unlike Shadow's game, you didn't see Sonic try to fight the final boss and fail miserably before the main character has his shot.

[Badnik Zero]

How to play Chaotix:

1. The spin dash sucks because you're tied to a partner. Try to use only on small curves and Badniks.

2. Snapping the rubber band for speed is okay, but if you run the opposite direction and cross over before you snap it you get more speed and height.

3. Picking up your partner is like being balled up, you can hurt enemies. You can overcome small curves by gaining momentum like in Sonic 1.

4. Throwing partners is important for bosses and one-way floors. You can climb quickly if you throw your partner to the next area up.

5. Don't rely on the climbing ability. If you get the rubber band working for speed sections you don't need it often.

6. Most of the levels are vertically stacked. When in doubt head up. If you use Charmy you're cheating, use Knuckles or Vector!

I get the feeling levels were axed because of the padded 5-act zones. Still some of the best special stages and music ever.

Edited March 4, 2011 by Dabnikz

[Sean]

Chaotix is an anomaly. Everything about it is beautiful except for the gameplay and level design, both which are no better than an amateur Sonic fangame from the last decade.

Anybody who hasn't played this game is better off watching videos on it and downloading the soundtrack over playing it altogether. It deserves to be experienced, but not firsthand.

[leemours]

I always thought a sequel with todays tech would be awesome, Id mix it with like FUR FIGHTERS with the fact ud play as all the characters in 1 level and that you'd need all the teams skill to pass the level, can you imagine an ESPIO segment using stealth like SOLID SNAKE creepin around corners in Robotniks factory, or Digging undeer the ground as KNUCKLES, Using brute strength as MIGHTY swimming underwater as VECTOR, flying around as CHARMY and maybe use RAY as a mechanical expert. In a massive 3D world as well, it might be awesome.

Have the games story like at the beginning you play as SONIC for 1 level and the boss fight then when he thinks EGGMAN is defeated all the heroes come in to celebrate and then EGGMAN captures them all but KNUCKLES and so KNUCKLES must call on his former friends to assist him to rescue SONIC and friends and stop EGGMAN's new Project. METAL KNUCKLES!.

I dunno but it could be cool, Throw in NACK as a sub boss and its gold.

[Your Vest Friend]

I love Chaotix, and I love love LOVE Fur Fighters (I need to rep that guy with the Tweek theme goimg on), but mixing them up...sounds a lot like Adventure, even though they are different in many ways. And given you'd need all their skills, perhaps not in a way that the typical Sonic fan would like.

And why the heck would Ray be a mechanics expert? Better yet, why would he be in it at all, he's only interacted with Mighty and Sonic in the games.

[crush40rocks]

I've been in the strangest mood for Knuckles' Chaotix recently. It just kind of hit me out of nowhere how much I miss that game. I recently went on YouTube and looked up some of the music tracks from the game, just for shits and giggles, and they were brilliant. Speed Slider's theme in particular stood out for me and ranks in my personal top 10 video game tracks of all time. The song was rich, vibrant, and the music itself even behaved like a roller coaster with its exciting ups and downs and carnivaly flavor.

I miss this game in general.

In light of the recent news that Sonic CD may very well be hitting XBLA in the future, I can't help but wish that Knuckles' Chaotix will be brought to online stores someday. I have some very fond childhood memories of that game, and the gameplay mechanics, while not absolutely perfect, were brilliant and fresh in my opinion. True they were irritating at times and slowed down the game's flow slightly compared to most Sonic titles of the day, but it was still fun to play with the physics.

The game itself also had it's own unique artistic flavor that set it apart from other games of the Sonic universe. The game was also chock-full of gimmicks, from the rubber band physics (which I loved) to trivial power-ups like the equivilent to New Super Mario Bros.' Mega Mushroom. Things like changing size didn't really seem necessary, but I still enjoyed the gimmicks for what they were. The Chaos Rings, rather than emeralds, also set the game apart just that much more. I slaved tirelessly to get those things, and even though all they did was give you a different splash screen for the ending credits that featured Sonic with the Chaotix, I still had fun collecting them for the feeling of completion.

Also, probably most of all, I miss Mighty. I know I'm definitely not the first one to say this, but I really do miss that guy. Mighty was my bro! There was just something about him that was aesthetically pleasing to me. Maybe it was his sleek, shiny red shell, idunno. I always imagined as a kid that if he hit you with his spin jump that it would really hurt because he had that hard armadillo shell! I was kind of disappointed that he really couldn't live up to his name in the game, but I hoped at the time that maybe he would return in the future to change that. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Eh, I suppose I kind of miss Heavy and Bomb a little too. Just the idea of breaking the norm and playing as one of Robotnik's ex-badniks was a neat idea, or at least I thought so. I'm assuming that a reason why Mighty hasn't returned in a game is because I think I remember reading somewhere that Sega does not recognize Knuckles' Chaotix as main cannon, but whatever.

As I said before though, I really hope deep down that there is at least an off-chance that this game will make it to online stores for purchase on consoles in the future. I kind of doubt this will happen though since I'm assuming that the game may be viewed as "too obscure" or "too unheard of by the general public because it was on an obscure console addition" to be a "sound business decision" to add it to the stores. This makes me sad. I've tried playing this game on emulators, but every 32X emulator I've come across requires the system bios to be downloaded and somehow applied to the emulator, which I still can't figure out how to do.

There really isn't a single focus I had in mind when I started this thread, I just wanted to rant about how I really miss this gem and that I hope there is a chance that someday it may become available to us again. Thank you all for taking the time to read my rant. I welcome any thoughts, opinions, or insightful info on this topic.

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh yes, Knuckles Chaotix is an absolute star of a game in my eyes. Did so much to make a format I felt got boring with Sonic 3 feel lively. I own a Japanese copy of the game, so meh.

I know that you can technically play it on GameTap, but I wouldn't mind an proper retail/console online market port. Evidence suggests that it was attemtped with Sonic Gems, but they ran into so much trouble that it got pulled.

Also, Knuckles Chaotix has been non-canon since Heroes, what with the word from Iizuka himself and all.

[midori]

I prefer Sonic Crackers to it. I seriously enjoyed it more.

[Pawn]

I also loved the game as a kid. The character grabber machines and lucky dip level select were awesome. I liked the way the latter tied into the final boss too. Unfortunately Sega might reason that, with the game being non-canon and all, it might be confusing to some players (given that Heroes pretty much rebooted the characters and the final boss. They even share the similarity that your companion or companions are 'stuck' to you). But I digress. I would love for Sega to give Chaotix to us on XBLA. Years ago I played it on an emulator but it's not the same as playing on a console. =P

Here's hoping Iizuka gets the sequel he wants (as long as it's good quality)!

Edited August 25, 2011 by Lungo

[crush40rocks]

Here's hoping Iizuka gets the sequel he wants (as long as it's good quality)!

Sequel?

[Your Vest Friend]

Not exactly. To quote;

“I actually considered making a game like Knuckles Chaotix at one point, but Sega has unfortunately not given me the green light to do so.”

That- sounds more like a spiritual successor sharing some gameplay aspects, not Knuckles Chaotix 2 (as T-Bird put in the article title...).

[No more]

Why do people hate this game? I love it!