Power Trio or Five Man Band?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

What I'm saying is, is it really worth it to try and fit her into a plot?

If you can allow it into the plot, yes.

Even if you improved her character, there's not much you can do with her in an actual story.

Yes there is if you can figure out a role for her the plot. She may not be much of an action character, but that doesn't stop her from being used in an actual story.

[Badnik Zero]

Cream storyline. Mephiles takes the form of Vanilla?

For who else Knuckles should interact with, I say Shadow. Contrasting how they're similar and different also lampshades the fact that they've essentially taken the same character path in development. Chronicles had one scene where Knuckles and Shadow seem to understand each other well.

I was disappointed not to see more between the two.

[Kuzu]

Cream storyline. Mephiles takes the form of Vanilla?

For who else Knuckles should interact with, I say Shadow. Contrasting how they're similar and different also lampshades the fact that they've essentially taken the same character path in development. Chronicles had one scene where Knuckles and Shadow seem to understand each other well.

I was disappointed not to see more between the two.

I always wondered how Knuckles & Shadow would interact if they had more of an understanding, I mean they do kinda have similar developments in character.

[batson]

Chronicles had one scene where Knuckles and Shadow seem to understand each other well.

[Kuzu]

Really? I dont remember that scene, in fact i dont seem to remember any dialogue between them. What did they say in that scene?

It was after Shadow joined them, they had a little conversation.

[Ekajra]

Because I got lazy and only skimmed the last three pages and since I'm mostly here to talk about Knuckles, I shall do so.

Now, I am very much a Knuckles fan. He has pretty much always been my favorite character, and if there's one thing that breaks a game for me, as far as story is concerned, it's how Knuckles is portrayed. And as much as I love Knuckles, I greatly prefer the fact that he hasn't been in the last two main game over the way he had been shoved in before. I'd prefer them not to use him unless they have a very good reason, and as much as people have been trying to disregard it, the Master Emerald/Angel Island are really the most important factors in his inclusion in the plot, if not his entire character. His whole world up until the Death Egg crashed on it was the island and the M.E.. And they are what define him as a character. This example has been stated numerous times, but Sonic is like the wind; free and flowing wherever he so whims. Knuckles is like a mountain; strong and unmoving, dedicated to one place. And it should take quite a bit to get him involved., but it also shouldn't be that hard to do it. For example, let's take Sonic Heroes. Knuckles doesn't really have much of a reason to be there; he just shows up with Tails in the Tornado while they are trying to find Sonic. Now maybe this happened earlier and just wasn't explained, but wouldn't it make a whole lot more sense for Sonic and Tails to go ask Knux for his help if they thought they would need it. As dedicated as he is to the island, he understands that protecting the rest of the planet from Robotnik also protects the island. And if they're already fighting Robotnik, he should have to worry about someone else getting the Emerald (because honestly, who else is going to go after it? Rouge? She decided that treasure hunting was too much work for too little pay... though they kind of ignored that at the beginning of Heroes). That would be one way of involving Knuckles, though using it too much would get bland.

But, as much as I love the Rad Red, I think it's better for him not to show up as much. Besides, we always have spin-offs. They're like filler episodes in anime that focus on the characters who never show up in the main plot anymore. And sometimes the spin-offs have gotten Knuckles' personality better than some of the main games. Zero Gravity for example, did a really good job with Knuckles despite that fact that he was still just inexplicably there. In the first scene he's yawning, possibly due to boredom. Boredom. The guy who normally spends all his time sitting around a giant rock (though honestly, he probably explores the island a lot too). It shows that he really doesn't want to be dragged around by Sonic and Tails anymore. Then, later they bring up the fact that he's an expert on ancient ruins and languages and whatnot, something that could be very useful in plots but they never bring up. Mainly because for a while Knux got flanderized to being the team idiot. I mean, people call him gullible, but when you (seemingly) live alone for most of your life, it takes a while to get used to getting used to people, and the times he was tricked by Robotnik were early in his experiences with outsiders.

As for people he should interact with, I agree with the opinion that he should meet Shadow more often. They're both rivals of Sonic, but in different ways. And while they're both more serious, Knuckles is more serious in keeping up a charge given to him by ancestors he knows little of, while Shadow knows just about everything about his path, and is serious because of what he is/has become. Also the Chaotix, mostly because I also really like how Knuckles is portrayed in the comics and I think the Chaotix have a possibly of opening more ways for Knux to appear (though with the detective agency version it might be a bit harder... they could always bring back Mighty...). But regardless of who he teams up with, I think Knuckles should remember "his own" advice: "Just believe in myself, won't rely on others" and "this alliance has a purpose; this partnership is only temporary".