The September 2008 issue of Nintendo Power has been received by the masses, and we now have some solid details on Sonic and the Black Knight. By “some,” I mean a freakin’ ton of new information can be found after the break, with much of it straight from the magazine. The game seems to carry a lot over from Secret Rings, which makes sense considering it’s the same development team. At the same time, there are several new game mechanics that might both excite you and worry you.
At the same time, the team is well aware of how the series has stumbled as of late, and they’re making sure they’re doing right by the series. Awesome, now lets shoot some ballistas.
- Black Knight is being handled by the Secret Rings development team.
- A similar storybook element will be used as in Secret Rings.
- “This time, a sorceress named Merlina summons Sonic to the mythical realm of King Arthur, but it seems the fabled monarch has somehow been corrupted and now rules the land as the tyrannical Black Knight.”
- “Our hero begins his quest as a mere knave. Only by becoming a full-fledged knight will he have any hope of defeating King Arthur.”
- “Just as they subbed in for such characters as Ali Baba and Aladdin in Sonic and the Secret Rings, a number of familiar faces will assume Arthurian personas in SBK.”
- ”This time, however, some of Sonic’s friends will be playable. Each hero will boast unique abilities, and though the team isn’t ready to divulge the full cast just yet, we do know the identities of two playable comrades: Knuckles, who brandishes two swords at once, and Shadow.”
- Playing as Knuckles, Shadow, or others is entirely optional. You can play through only as Sonic, or switch to other characters if you wish.
- “[Sonic's] sword, a talking blade named Calibur, serves as a mentor.”
- Sonic’s movement will be controlled by the Control Stick this time around rather than the tilting of the Wii Remote.
- “Combat is integrated in such a way that most of the time you can slice through any who stand in your path without even slowing down.”
- “As Sonic runs along, a simple flick of the Wii remote will execute a basic slash, which is enough to dispatch most low-level grunts.”
- More advanced sword techniques will include thrusting, parrying, and a “buzz-saw” attack while in mid-jump.
- “During out demo, we saw the hedgehog leap from a high precipice, then thrust the blade into a wall to slow his decent, sparks flying impressively as steel cut through brick.”
- Some residents will give or sell you new items. “Sonic can acquire everything from gauntlets to magical tomes to new swords, and when equipped, each article bestows him with a unique benefit.”
- Some of the total 200 items that are obtainable can be combined with others to make whole new items. You can go online and trade any of your items to friends.
- Some civilian townsfolk will ask for you help, and your decision to help them can speed you on your way to knighthood by earning you points. Smiting them will instead hurt your reputation.
- “At the end of each stage, the game tallies your good and not-so-good deeds and updates your rank accordingly.”
- Seeing as computer monitors don’t exist during the reign of King Arthur, multiple rings will be found in burlap sacks.
- Sonic can fire ballistas across large gaps and grind the ropes to get across.
- Magic elementals, resembling fairies with Chao heads for a body, can be used to perform certain actions. Red ones can help Sonic to jump while blue ones activate a speed boost. Yellow ones are also seen, and purple ones are mentioned.
- The gauges from Secret Rings are gone, but new ones will “bestow [Sonic] with similarly impressive powers. The meter fills gradually whenever Sonic vanquishes an enemy or snags a purple elemental, and when it reaches a certain point you can unleash a powerful combination attack capable of tearing through multiple foes in quick succession. You simply press the B button to lock onto the nearest enemy, flick the remote to strike him down, then press B again to move onto the next unfortunate soul. If you chain together enough smitings before the guage is depleted, Sonic will receive a speed burst at the end of the string.”
- “On the audio side, veteran composer Jen Senoue is taking a smiliar approach, injecting familiar Sonic themes with a Celtic flavor.”
- “Each stage has multiple branching paths and searching for townsfolk and treasure chests provides an element of exploration that recalls Sonic’s early Genesis days.”
- “The camera will occasionally pan to a side-scrolling perspective for a quick dose of classic 2-D action.”
- The skill system from Secret Rings will return, but the development team is actively making sure it doesn’t interfere with the game’s tempo this time. Hopefully this means you won’t have to play for 4 hours before Sonic can actually run fast.
- The mission structure from Secret Rings will also return, but the development team is making sure it is less arduous.
- ”When people see that Sonic is wielding a sword, they’ll probably have certain expectations of the multiplayer mode. And all I can say is that we’re thinking along those same lines.”
- ”The team behind Sonic and the Black Knight is keenly aware of the franchise’s past missteps, and their enthusiasm for doing right by the series is infections.”
