Thoughts on modern Knuckles?

[VGamer]

I'll grant you, he could've been integrated a bit better, and maybe they should've brought him into contact with the rest of the heroes earlier. But once the story does reach the point of him joining up, I think it works pretty well, even if he doesn't have a huge personal stake in things. The emerald being broken gives him reason to be out there crossing paths, his friendship and alliance with the heroes leads him to help out a bit (infiltrating Eggman's pyramid base), but he's still driven by his own personal mission instead of just hanging on to Sonic's (leading to them to separate once they reach the ARK), and once he's got his business taken care of he's willing to lend a hand again (and he and his emerald end up being instrumental in the Last Story). That's a good balance, I think; it just needs something to break up or tie in his early levels, since they're basically just "and then Knuckles went to *level* and found some shards" times 3.

 

It's fine to me as long as it's not just that. I don't want to keep seeing him going from level to level, I'd like to see something new done with that. Why not mix normal levels that have you progress normally through a level, and then others with treasure hunting? Why does it have to be just treasure hunting for the emerald? There's a lot of possibilities but in SA1-2, they weren't really explored much. The rest of the series... well, wasn't really stable enough to allow for letting Knuckles be relevant, and now that it is we still don't have him.

[Tara]

Does Knuckles Chaotix not count? =P

It doesn't, because it doesn't center around Knuckles as much as it does Knuckles and the Chaotix.  It doesn't expand upon Knuckles' own lore and personal escapades as it was introduced in the games released prior, as far as I'm aware.  ShTH, as terrible as it was, at least did that for Shadow so minus the cringe-inducing inclusion of the other characters, it was at least "his" own game to appropriate extents.

 

 

Besides, Sonic & Knuckles kinda co-starred him. 

Which essentially means it's not his own game by any stretch of the word. XP

[E-122-Psi]

Truthfully I prefer the Chaotix separate from Knuckles. They have more potential as individual characters than being limited as Knuckles' generic sidekick squad like in the comics. After all half the complaints about Knuckles involve him practically being a Tails 2.0. The characters are better as individuals with their own unique roles and ambitions.

[Milo]

I don't have any thoughts on modern Knuckles because he hardly exists in the current games. If he didn't make any appearances in Generations or Lost World, the overall premise or story would have hardly changed whatsoever. When he does appear, he's just...there.

[wolf4537]

I like Knuckles, but come on, he needs to go back to being more of an Anti-hero if you ask me. It was just meant to be that way.

[Sparky]

I like Knuckles, but come on, he needs to go back to being more of an Anti-hero if you ask me. It was just meant to be that way.

He wasn't meant to be an Anti-Hero. He was always a Hero. And it's been stated that the reason for his gullibility is that he sees the goodness of the others. So he can't be an Anti-Hero at all.

[wolf4537]

He wasn't meant to be an Anti-Hero. He was always a Hero. And it's been stated that the reason for his gullibility is that he sees the goodness of the others. So he can't be an Anti-Hero at all.

I guess you're right, I feel though like Knuckles is kinda washed up these days. Then again, he's a character we don't see much of in general.

[The Klever One]

I do need my own game..

You hear me SEGA?

[Uraraka]

I do need my own game..

You hear me SEGA?

    I agree I am your number one fan after all XD

[Bort]

currently, knux sort of just exists. he almost got into unleashed before the whole, uhh, unleashed part. other than that (well, and that whole black knight ordeal), he's there to be some sort of embodiment of the typical rival trope.

 

i'd like to play knuckles through actual exploring/progression stages someday, but i doubt it'll happen anytime soon.

[baba_944]

I thought the reason why Knuckles has left in "Sonic Heroes" was that he realized that without the world, there would be no Master emerald to protect. So he came along for the sole purpose of protecting the Master Emerald. 

[Indigo Rush]

This.

 

 

This is how I want Knuckles to be interpreted. Yes, he's a bit of a hothead. Yes, he's fairly gullible and cocky.

 

But in Zero Gravity, they actually remember that he's a treasure hunter. They remember that he has knowledge of ancient cultures and languages. See that? He's reading an ancient language and moving the plot.

 

This is a case of Modern Knuckles being useful and interesting. He has his dumb moments, absolutely, but he has this ancient worldly knowledge to balance it out. You don't need to always tie him to the Master Emerald to make him relevant. He's an interesting multi-dimensional character on his own. We see him with some actually impactful redeeming qualities to his personality besides just being strong. 

 

I can't stress this enough, Knuckles has a mammoth-sized repertoire of potential that Sonic Team doesn't even know exists yet. He could be the main catalyst for a multitude of "ancient civilization legend" story arcs in addition to being the guardian of the most powerful sources of energy on the planet. Knuckles is a GOOD CHARACTER, and he has so much going for him.

 

It's a shame he's been shoved to the sidelines like some kind of throw-away character, and that really bugs me.

[Kuzu]

I'm starting to wonder how would Knuckles know about other cultures when he barely knows his own, and be able to guard the Master Emerald on top of it all, in addition to being a treasure hunter. Doesn't that seem a bit weird that he's meant to guard this ultimate power constantly, but would still have time for looking into other cultures and hunt for treasure?

[Indigo Rush]

This is a case of Sonic Team moving him from being the guardian of the Master Emerald and developing and expanding on his character. First off, it isn't that unreasonable to expect that the Knuckle Clan, clearly far ahead of their time with ancient technology (the parallel between Angel Island and Hayao Miyazaki's "Laputa" was an intentional one) as well as knowledge of ancient cultures, therefore having some sort of library or hidden treasure trove of knowledge that maybe only Knuckles has access to? I mean, he's lived his entire life on Angel Island up until Sonic shows up, so I would think such a developed culture could at least have had some archives to read.

 

The rest is simply filling in the blanks. When did Knuckles' parents die? Did they teach him ancient languages? After Knuckles left Angel Island to explore the world for himself, did he run into any other treasure hunters? These things are not yet explained, but there is no evidence that could contradict that ever happening. 

 

So... at first glance it seems weird and contradictory, but once you consider the implications of Knuckles living on an ancient civilization that could very likely be filled with archives upon archives of lost or forbidden knowledge, as well as him being a bit of a loner in the time periods between each video game entry, it's not unreasonable to see Knuckles gain this sort of repertoire. 

 

Besides, he was always referred to as a bit of a treasure hunter, and Angel Island is pretty huge. He doesn't have to be standing next to the Master Emerald 24/7 to be protecting it. It's not like Eggman's Death Egg landed directly on top of the Hidden Palace, Knuckles had to leave to confront the imminent threat at some point. So who knows what kind of rare goodies and bits of world trivia he's dug up over the years on that island alone.

[Sparky]

Knuckles being the last living relic of an ancient civilization that was wiped out years ago while guarding an ancient relic of sacred power that controls the Chaos Emeralds that Sonic has found himself involved with since Sonic 1, as well as being a Treasure Hunter with knowledge of Ancient Civilizations and Languages is actually a perfect way to utilize Knuckles with a useful purpose as a part of the main Sonic Team that SEGA is focusing on [sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy]. And this way, in an epic grandscale adventure plot (if SEGA ever decides to go back to that), Knuckles will have a strong purpose to the plot alongside everyone else and be an essential piece to the story since he will have some knowledge on the legends and stuff from ancient times concerning whatever plot Eggman has released. 

[Kuzu]

This is a case of Sonic Team moving him from being the guardian of the Master Emerald and developing and expanding on his character. First off, it isn't that unreasonable to expect that the Knuckle Clan, clearly far ahead of their time with ancient technology (the parallel between Angel Island and Hayao Miyazaki's "Laputa" was an intentional one) as well as knowledge of ancient cultures, therefore having some sort of library or hidden treasure trove of knowledge that maybe only Knuckles has access to? I mean, he's lived his entire life on Angel Island up until Sonic shows up, so I would think such a developed culture could at least have had some archives to read.

 

The rest is simply filling in the blanks. When did Knuckles' parents die? Did they teach him ancient languages? After Knuckles left Angel Island to explore the world for himself, did he run into any other treasure hunters? These things are not yet explained, but there is no evidence that could contradict that ever happening. 

 

So... at first glance it seems weird and contradictory, but once you consider the implications of Knuckles living on an ancient civilization that could very likely be filled with archives upon archives of lost or forbidden knowledge, as well as him being a bit of a loner in the time periods between each video game entry, it's not unreasonable to see Knuckles gain this sort of repertoire. 

 

Besides, he was always referred to as a bit of a treasure hunter, and Angel Island is pretty huge. He doesn't have to be standing next to the Master Emerald 24/7 to be protecting it. It's not like Eggman's Death Egg landed directly on top of the Hidden Palace, Knuckles had to leave to confront the imminent threat at some point. So who knows what kind of rare goodies and bits of world trivia he's dug up over the years on that island alone.

 

.While I understand that it seems possible that Knuckles would have more knowledge than he lets on, it seems more likely that he would know more about his culture than someone else's, unless said culture was related to his own. But beyond that, yea its more or less just filling in blanks and needed details.

 

Also, I never really put much stock in the "treasure hunter" shtick, mostly because it seems very arbitrary with how it was introduced, and then never elaborated on. We're first thrown this line in SA2 by Sonic, and it seemed more in jest than anything else. Afterwards, the only evidence to show that he's a treasure hunter is......nothing. Not to say that he can't be a treasure hunter, but it seemed more like a throwaway line than actual occupation of his.

[TheKingofBumbleking]

He's become a retard.

Fly the Flag of Naugus!

[Gabz Girl]

I blame Sonic X for how Knuckles is currently depicted in the games. The anime depicted him as hot headed and the comic relief, always the butt of a joke. He did show some of his game personality (at the time) but since ShtH he's made to look really dumb and as a Knuckles fan that annoys me a lot.

 

It's actually amazing that a game like Zero Gravity, a SPIN OFF no less, has given him more to do than some of the main games! I want to explore that side of him, the treasure hunting and all that. I don't want this new Knuckles, who is now also a show off since Sonic Lost World. -__-

[Indigo Rush]

.While I understand that it seems possible that Knuckles would have more knowledge than he lets on, it seems more likely that he would know more about his culture than someone else's, unless said culture was related to his own. But beyond that, yea its more or less just filling in blanks and needed details.

The Knuckle Clan was a very warmongering tribe. To warmonger, you need to attack other cultures and countries. Not necessarily learning much about them, but even in actual recorded history, there are examples of stronger tribes and cultures stealing a weaker group's loot and knowledge. The idea isn't exactly foreign, so, yes, this would be a matter of filling in the blanks.

 

Also, I never really put much stock in the "treasure hunter" shtick, mostly because it seems very arbitrary with how it was introduced, and then never elaborated on. We're first thrown this line in SA2 by Sonic, and it seemed more in jest than anything else. Afterwards, the only evidence to show that he's a treasure hunter is......nothing. Not to say that he can't be a treasure hunter, but it seemed more like a throwaway line than actual occupation of his.

So what's the problem?  It sounds like you're coming across as having more of a problem with this than you actually do.

[Sparky]

.While I understand that it seems possible that Knuckles would have more knowledge than he lets on, it seems more likely that he would know more about his culture than someone else's, unless said culture was related to his own. But beyond that, yea its more or less just filling in blanks and needed details.

 

Also, I never really put much stock in the "treasure hunter" shtick, mostly because it seems very arbitrary with how it was introduced, and then never elaborated on. We're first thrown this line in SA2 by Sonic, and it seemed more in jest than anything else. Afterwards, the only evidence to show that he's a treasure hunter is......nothing. Not to say that he can't be a treasure hunter, but it seemed more like a throwaway line than actual occupation of his.

Knuckles was a Treasure Hunter in the OVA. They had to get that idea from somewhere.

[Indigo Rush]

Precisely. And the OVA was co-produced by Sonic Team of the early-mid 90's.  

 

I'm under the impression that certain details such as Knuckles' knowledge of ancient cultures and affinity for treasure hunting had to have been written down in some official Japanese canon bible which has yet to be released to the public. Not to say that Sonic Team or SEGA pays much heed to it nowadays, however if such a continuity bible exists, it could explain why such an obscure trait of Knuckles' suddenly resurfaced in a spin-off game. I mean, you could even argue that Knuckles' gameplay style in the Adventure games is derived in part from that treasure hunting trait of his, not just his digging, gliding and climbing abilities.

[SlickEvan]

Hmm first post. Anyways, I think Knuckles has ultimately devolved. This whole treasure hunter thing, I gathered was it was more a joke than an actual character point. A joke because Knuckles is always on a hunt for his EMERALD, whether it be shards or the whole thing. I honestly think the emerald could be used in new plots without much work at all. In Lost World EGGMAN could have stole the Master Emerald to power a mind control device for the zeti. Which would allow Knuckles to ride along with Sonic and Tails while keeping his character in tact. Have an extra like Silver or someone stand around pointlessly with Amy. Then you could show Knuckles opening a capsule and THEN have him boast at Sonic. There, now you have a purpose for Knuckles and a Joke without it being at the expense of his character. I for one miss the Knuckles who wasn't the Amy-esque tag along.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I'm starting to wonder how would Knuckles know about other cultures when he barely knows his own, and be able to guard the Master Emerald on top of it all, in addition to being a treasure hunter. Doesn't that seem a bit weird that he's meant to guard this ultimate power constantly, but would still have time for looking into other cultures and hunt for treasure?

All the more reason to explore these things and develop connections to them.

 

This is partly why I find Chronicles to be a very useful and interesting despite its little respect and research to the lore and certain characterization, all of which could be fix via retooling it. Even more amazing that it does all this without throwing everything away and instead makes use of them.

 

So what's the problem?  It sounds like you're coming across as having more of a problem with this than you actually do.

Well to be fair, him being a treasure hunter has been a bit of a throwaway line that's been used sparingly. Not that it couldn't be used for Angel Island alone, but just a note.

[Splash the Otter]

This is a case of Sonic Team moving him from being the guardian of the Master Emerald and developing and expanding on his character. First off, it isn't that unreasonable to expect that the Knuckle Clan, clearly far ahead of their time with ancient technology (the parallel between Angel Island and Hayao Miyazaki's "Laputa" was an intentional one) as well as knowledge of ancient cultures, therefore having some sort of library or hidden treasure trove of knowledge that maybe only Knuckles has access to? I mean, he's lived his entire life on Angel Island up until Sonic shows up, so I would think such a developed culture could at least have had some archives to read.

 

The rest is simply filling in the blanks. When did Knuckles' parents die? Did they teach him ancient languages? After Knuckles left Angel Island to explore the world for himself, did he run into any other treasure hunters? These things are not yet explained, but there is no evidence that could contradict that ever happening. 

 

So... at first glance it seems weird and contradictory, but once you consider the implications of Knuckles living on an ancient civilization that could very likely be filled with archives upon archives of lost or forbidden knowledge, as well as him being a bit of a loner in the time periods between each video game entry, it's not unreasonable to see Knuckles gain this sort of repertoire. 

 

Besides, he was always referred to as a bit of a treasure hunter, and Angel Island is pretty huge. He doesn't have to be standing next to the Master Emerald 24/7 to be protecting it. It's not like Eggman's Death Egg landed directly on top of the Hidden Palace, Knuckles had to leave to confront the imminent threat at some point. So who knows what kind of rare goodies and bits of world trivia he's dug up over the years on that island alone.

I can totally see Angel Island being a "home base" of sorts for Knuckles. The only question is how he would get onto and off of it.

 

.While I understand that it seems possible that Knuckles would have more knowledge than he lets on, it seems more likely that he would know more about his culture than someone else's, unless said culture was related to his own. But beyond that, yea its more or less just filling in blanks and needed details.

 

Also, I never really put much stock in the "treasure hunter" shtick, mostly because it seems very arbitrary with how it was introduced, and then never elaborated on. We're first thrown this line in SA2 by Sonic, and it seemed more in jest than anything else. Afterwards, the only evidence to show that he's a treasure hunter is......nothing. Not to say that he can't be a treasure hunter, but it seemed more like a throwaway line than actual occupation of his.

It my be an informed attribute, but it's a good way to make Knuckles more accessible. I mean, let's look at the alternatives:

 

1. Knuckles goes back to Angel Island and is never seen again. Fans of the character demand that he return, Iizuka trolls them by bringing back Fang and Mighty instead.

2. Knuckles never develops beyond guarding the Master Emerald. After it gets broken for the umpteenth time, he realizes that his efforts are futile and kills himself.

3. Knuckles continues to appear in cutscenes without having any role in the story. Only a few people realize that he's been reduced to a background character.

4. Knuckles opens up a burger shop, ElectroKyurem leaves the fandom in disgust.

 

Okay, I know the examples I gave are kind of ridiculous, but my point is that expanding on his skill as a treasure hunter is an option with no forseeable ramifications, and makes sense to boot.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I can totally see Angel Island being a "home base" of sorts for Knuckles. The only question is how he would get onto and off of it.

 

It my be an informed attribute, but it's a good way to make Knuckles more accessible. I mean, let's look at the alternatives:

 

1. Knuckles goes back to Angel Island and is never seen again. Fans of the character demand that he return, Iizuka trolls them by bringing back Fang and Mighty instead.

2. Knuckles never develops beyond guarding the Master Emerald. After it gets broken for the umpteenth time, he realizes that his efforts are futile and kills himself.

3. Knuckles continues to appear in cutscenes without having any role in the story. Only a few people realize that he's been reduced to a background character.

4. Knuckles opens up a burger shop, ElectroKyurem leaves the fandom in disgust.

 

Okay, I know the examples I gave are kind of ridiculous, but my point is that expanding on his skill as a treasure hunter is an option with no forseeable ramifications, and makes sense to boot.

Great now you gave me an idea for an art/fanfic