Over the weekend, the cover of the new issue of Nintendo Power started making the rounds, and with it, news of the new title from SEGA, “Sonic and the Black Knight.” Now, there’s finally some information from inside the magazine to help bring some of the game’s mysteries to light.
As noted previously, the game comes as a successor to Sonic and the Secret Rings as part of the “Storybook Series” of Sonic games, and is developed by the same team as well; this would be a good thing, one might surmise, given that the flaws of that game were more by design choice than by bugs, glitches, or inability to manipulate a camera.
The story follows Sonic as he is summoned to the realm of King Arthur by a sorceress named Merlina. But all is not well in Camelot; as the King has become corrupted, and now rules as the tyrannical (and titular) Black Knight. Sonic, aided by a talking sword named Calibur which serves as his mentor, begins his quest to overthrow the Black Knight as a mere knave; in order to have any hope of defeating Arthur, Sonic himself must become a full-fledged knight.
The game seems to abandon Secret Rings’ “NES style” configuration, in which he was moved left and right by tilting the controller appropriately; now, movement is performed by the control stick of the nunchuck, and as Sonic runs along, a simple flick of the remote will execute a basic slash, enough of a blow to deal with basic grunts.
But that’s not all there is in the waggle; more advanced swordplay becomes involved as you are also able to thrust, parry, and best of all, pull off a buzzsaw-like Sonic Spin in midair. During the demo, NP staff witnessed Sonic making a daring leap from a high precipice, stabbing his sword into a wall to slow his descent as sparks flew from the steel blade slicing through brick and mortar.
Of course, for those who say Sonic is all about the speed, they may be relieved to know (assuming they haven’t written off this game or Sonic entirely yet) that combat is being implemented in such a way that you can slice through anyone in your path without even slowing down.
Going back to the knave-to-knight aspect, Sonic earns points towards knighthood by helping out downtrodden village folk; on the other hand, say you were to smite a maiden and take your money back (joke!), then your reputation will suffer. Once at the end of a stage, the game tallies up your good deeds versus your bad, and updates the ranking accordingly. Personally speaking, I’m hoping that there’s a rank for the really bad players that says “Anyone Got a Can Opener?” or something of the sort.
Sonic and the Black Knight, or SBK for short, also features a number of items– around 200, in fact, which you can purchase from villagers and combine to create new items. These may also be traded online with friends, if one so wishes.
And speaking of stuff to gather, in a neat touch, the developers have the rings come in burlap sacks, rather than monitors.
The items Sonic gains range from magical tomes to gauntlets and new swords, giving him unique benefits once equipped. He will also use magic elementals which look like Chao heads (creepy) to help him do various things, with red ones helping his jumping ability and blue ones boosting his speed. The skill system from SSR returns as well, though the developers are aiming to not have it interfere with the game’s tempo this time around.
Grinding is back, but with a slight twist; now, Sonic can fire a ballista (read: really big bow on wheels), grinding the rope to reach his destination. Each stage will also feature multiple branching paths to find townsfolk and treasure chests, which “recalls Sonic’s early Genesis days” with an element of exploration.
Much like Unleashed, there will be a mix of 2D and 3D gameplay, with the camera panning to the side for some classic-styled action. The mission structure from Secret Rings returns as well (one of those “by design” flaws mentioned before), but the developers are aiming to make it less arduous. No stupid races against balls of light or “get no rings” challenges, please.
Oh, they also say “no dinosaur eggs.” Mixed feelings about that; as noted above, there are challenges I hated far more in Secret Rings.
In Secret Rings, familiar faces such as Ali Baba and Sinbad were played by the likes of Tails and Knuckles, and the same holds true here, as a number of familiar faces take on Arthurian roles, though none have yet been mentioned. In addition, an entirely optional choice allows for one to play as some of Sonic’s friends, if they so wish. Or they can merely stay True Blue and speed along their merry way. But doing so would mean passing on the likes of Shadow, or better still, Knuckles, who brandishes two swords at once. Yeeeah, booooy. The full cast, however, is not yet divulged.
Secret Rings also featured a special gauge which could be filled by acquiring glowing balls of energy, allowing Sonic to perform moves such as the superfast “Speed Break,” or slow things down. The meter returns here, filling gradually by way of vanquishing foes and collecting purple elementals. Once it reaches a certain point, Sonic will be able to unleash a powerful combination attack that will be able to tear through multiple foes in rapid succession.
Finally, if you’ve even bothered to read this far, it’s worth knowing that 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 infectious.”
Personally speaking, I cannot wait for this one. If they switch to a normal jumping mechanic from that used in Secret Rings, and actually let players play through the story this time, it could be a lot of fun. The prequel was pretty good as modern Sonic games go (better than Sonic the Hedgehog on 360 and PS3), but had its own unique problems; if those are addressed, SBK could be a real winner.
Check out images from the issue of Nintendo Power here at BlueBlur.Org, assuming they get their bandwidth issues straightened out.
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