Before I begin, Happy Thanksgiving Vizzed Board! Welcome back to Sonic 2 Month, today I'll be reviewing Sonic & Knuckles. Now, Sonic 3 was fun, but it was missing...something. Actually, as it turns out, it was missing quite a bit. Sonic 3 was released early on in 1994 and Sonic & Knuckles was released November of the same year. This game was an expansion to Sonic 3 (Well, technically, it was the missing half of the game) and featured Lock-On Technology. It had a cartridge reader on top of the cartridge so that you could insert Sonic 3 and complete the game and play as Knuckles in Sonic 3, you could attach Sonic 2 to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2, and you could put pretty any other Genesis cartridge and get more Blue Sphere stages (Yay?). Now this "Expansion Pack" could actually be played as its own game, it's the only expansion I know of that can do that (Eat that, World of Warcraft!). So how good of a game was this "expansion"? Let's find out!

Graphics
     The graphics here are pretty much the same as Sonic 3. One thing different though, is that the Super Sonic ending art looks a million times better in this game. That being said though, there is one thing I forgot to mention during my Sonic 3 review. The Special Stages look amazing. Now remember, the Genesis didn't have Mode 7 capabilities, but these Special Stages would probably make you say otherwise. They're rendered in a semi-3D terrain and just look very good, especially on the Genesis. The cutscenes are back and the animations are still pretty good as well. They keep the story moving quite nicely even if they don't have voice acting. While the game's graphics are pretty much the same as Sonic 3's, I would believe that's mainly due to the fact that this is part of that game anyway.

Sound
     If I had to summarize the soundtrack in one word, it would be AWESOME! But, let's not just keep it there, let's elaborate on why I think it's awesome. Everything from Mushroom Hill Zone to Doomsday Zone just fits so perfectly with its setting. I especially like the Flying Battery Zone music. There were some rather unfortunate, in my opinion, changes to some of the tracks from Sonic 3. The mini-boss theme is different, Knuckles' theme is different, the invincibility theme is different, there are a couple more, but that would be getting nit-picky. I certainly don't absolutely hate these changes, but I kind of wish they'd kept those themes from Sonic 3 (But hey, that's what Sonic 3 Complete is here for right?). As a whole, the soundtrack is just as good, if not better than Sonic 3's.

Addictiveness
     This game is really addicting. Sure, they dropped the save feature from Sonic 3, but it's actually a little more addicting. Maybe it's the fact that we can finally play as Knuckles. The game offers many paths to use to get to certain locations, but then again, what good Sonic game doesn't? This really keeps you coming back, especially since Knuckles has his own paths that only he can take. There is also a level exclusive to Super Sonic, but I'll talk more about that a little later. Overall, this game is very addicting, it's just something that'll keep you coming back every so often to see just what paths you haven't taken.

Story
     Once again, this game's story is integrated within the game itself through small cutscenes, but I'll give you a basic rundown of what happens at the beginning. After the events of Sonic 3, it appears that Sonic has defeated Eggman and his Death Egg once again. Well, he'd better think again, because Eggman's back and ready to finish what he started on Angel Island. It's up to Sonic to stop Eggman once and for all. However, just like in Sonic 3, (Yeah, I forgot to mention this too.) Knuckles is always trying to get in your way and stop your progress. He's always one step ahead of you and will try anything to stop you, he even throws a boulder at you! The rest of the story is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll stop here, but not before saying that the story is better than Sonic 3 and definitely gives you a nice conclusion to everything.

Depth
     Since it's a lock-on game, there is a lot you can do just by having this cartridge, but let's talk about what's actually in-game. There are a total of 7 Zones (8 including the Super Sonic exclusive level). They are: Mushroom Hill (Sounds more like a Mario level doesn't it?), Flying Battery, Sandopolis (I hate this level, it's too long and repetitive), Lava Reef, Hidden Palace, Sky Sanctuary, Death Egg (Sonic only, now actually a level), and Doomsday (Super Sonic only, final boss of the whole game). The first four zones have 2 Acts each and the next two Zones have 1 Act, Death Egg technically has 2 Acts, and Doomsday is only one Act. Once again, the Special Stages are Blue Spheres and there are 7 of them. Collect all 7, you can become Super Sonic or Super Knuckles. I think it's neat that there's a level/boss that is exclusive to Super Sonic, it's also the first time in the series there's been one, but this becomes a trend in the 3D games. To summarize, this game offers a lot, even just by itself and is a joy to explore (except Sandopolis Zone).

Difficulty
     Just like every other Sonic game I've reviewed, it gets easier the more you play it. Sure, it's a bit difficult at first, but the more times you play it, it just gets easier. Again, the Special Stages are pretty much the most difficult aspect of this game. That is, unless it's your first time in Doomsday Zone. I can't even count the number of times I died in my first attempt. After that first time though, it's really not difficult at all. That's pretty much all I've got to say here, so let's move on.

Gameplay/Controls
     Since Sonic's gameplay is exactly the same as it is in Sonic 3, I'll simply talk about Knuckles' gameplay, since it's slightly different. As Knuckles, you can do everything Sonic can do, D-pad moves left or right and let's you look up and down. You perform the spin dash by holding down and mashing any or all buttons to death (not literally) and releasing down. The difference? Knuckles cannot use the Insta-Shield or the elemental shields' double jump abilities. He can instead glide and climb walls. To glide, simply hit a button after jumping, then control Knuckles in the direction you want him to go. Also, Knuckles can't jump as high as Sonic can, but he can bust rocks simply by running into them. The game controls great and you feel like you're in complete control the entire time.

Overall, this game is simply amazing. It can be an expansion pack, it's own game, or access other games. It's basically DLC, but playable without the original content, it was ahead of its time and I think that's something Sega set out to do here. I think it plays quite nicely as a game of its own, but I think the full experience lies in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but I'll save that for the future. I give this game a 9.5 out of 10. Join me Saturday for the conclusion to Sonic 2 Month, when I review...Sonic 2! (Shocking, isn't it?) Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

Great review!

Sonic & Knuckles... Ahh, a game I have played lots of time, and I never get tired of playing it... And it gets better if you play it with Sonic 3 locked-on!

Keep the good work!

Memories! You sir are an amazing reviewer I will look out for your reviews!