If you guys haven't noticed, Each next installment in a video game franchise is supposed to bring so much more cool and brand new things to the table the time being. Sonic the hedgehog is no exception! Each sonic game after the last brings us so much more characters, levels, bosses, bad guys, and well, you guys get the point here! The thing is though Sonic and knuckles has always been in my opinion the most ambitious game of the whole genesis trilogy, And well, you guys are about to find out why in just a second! This is Sonic and knuckles for the Sega genesis.

Story-7/10
Alright, once again, the plot is continuing from the last game in the trilogy, The thing here is, Well I will tell you guys! Sonic and knuckles picks up rom where the last game has previously ended, You have stopped Dr robotnik at the launch base, and thus his death egg has now crashed into the floating island and into the lava reef, Now don't get annoyed here, But Dr robotnik is still coming up with plans to bring back the death egg! How will he do it this time? Well guys, He is going to do the most daring thing of all! Capture the precious Master emerald from the Island! This precious has been guarded by knuckles for the whole time being, and he will do anything to make sure It stays there! Sonic and knuckles find out about this, Now their quest officially begins!

Gameplay-8/10
Sonic and knuckles still plays like all the three previous sonic games I have reviewed lately, Except there are once again more brand new things to come here! And here It Is, The game can now be played in certain "Stories" Which means, Sonic has his own side to the story, and Knuckles has his own side to the story, It is similar to that of Shadow the hedgehog in that aspect, Except Shadow the hedgehog lets you play levels in certain orders in order to get new and different endings, But anyways, As sonic and knuckles, It is your job to guide sonic and knuckles through 6-8 huge dangerous and vast levels! Defeating enemies, collecting goodies, and well, Running really fast! Controls are the same in all, D-pad is move, A B and C are jump, And that is all. Sonic and knuckles control very differently from each other, and here is why so, Sonic controls like he did in the previous three games, and well, Knuckles is a brand new addition to the pack! Knuckles can glide, punch, climb, and sore his way to victory! I will say, Knuckles is a very likable character, He has everything that Sonic has, and that is a plus. Now for the special stages, they are pretty much the same as they were in Sonic three, you run around giant 3D stage and run through the blue spheres! The level design is pretty nifty to say the least, The first level of a world now has a special mini boss to go with it! The third game didn't have any of that from what I remember! Now for the actual bosses, They are as always really challenging and really offer tons of challenge for the player! Returning once again are the sub stages from the last game, And these levels include Super sonic levels where you roar through the stars as Super sonic! Avoiding meteors and such in your way. Oh yeah, This game most remarkably uses a new nifty "Lock on" Feature! With this feature, you can play as Knuckles in sonic 2 and 3! Just plug on any of those two games on top of Sonic and knuckles, and viola! You can now play as knuckles in Sonic two and three! DLC before It was cool guys.... Anyways, that is It for the gameplay!

Graphics-9/10
This is the fourth installment in the sonic franchise, and for what It is worth, This is without a doubt the best looking sonic on the genesis in a while! Sonic and the gang are back, and they are looking as better ever! Except the cast of characters has shrunk now! Instead of Sonic tails knuckles and eggman, It is now Sonic knuckles and eggman! It is no real big though, But anyways, each level in this game is bright, vast, big, colorful, and just a blast to explore from start to finish! The levels here arrange from glaciers, volcanoes, jungles, airships, and so on! Now for the actual characters and sprites and such, They are once again very recognizable and really good as well! These sprites though have been the main source used for sprite movies, scene creators, and so on! Now please note that Only sonic one and two use the classic sonic sprite from there, Every game after uses the taller sonic that we have here!

Sound-8/10
Ah, by now, you should just already know how amazing awesome the music and sound is in each sonic game after the last! And this game uses the best soundtrack out of all of them! The music in this game is not only catchy, bright, upbeat and happy, But It also sounds like they put tons of effort into It as well! As you dash through the mushroom hills, you get zany sounding 16-bit music at It's absolute finest! Good they put this one in generations! Or! The suspenseful and dangerous music as you blast through the skies as Super sonic! That is my personal favorite one! Now for the sound effects, they are exactly the same as what you have been hearing in exactly last two games, But they are still pretty good! No problem, you got your jump sound, your ring sound, your hurt sound, your exactly and bounces, and so on! Anyways, that is pretty much It for the soundtrack!

Addictiveness-8/10
As a kid, I had so much fun latching on Sonic two and three just so I could play as knuckles in those two games, and I really really miss doing It today! I mean think of It, All you needed was just a genesis, and three games! You didn't need all of this internet and online stuff to do it! Oh yeah, please note that if you put any game on top of Sonic and knuckles besides sonic two and sonic three, then you will be taken to a home version of the Special stages from sonic 3! Yeah, I wasn't aware of this, But now i know. The actual game is still pretty darn fun and speedy as usual! The new two story feature also works alot as well!

Depth-8/10
In my honest opinion, this game offers without a doubt the most amount of content then any other sonic game before It! I mean, just look at this! The game most importantly features the all new and innovative lock on feature where you can lock on Sonic two and three and play through the two games with knuckles AND unlock new stuff and secrets you couldn't find before! The main adventure is also 6-7 worlds long, So prepare for a long and healthy 1-3 hour quest! And there are those crafty chaos emeralds, which let you turn into Super Sonic, You know you want to!

Difficulty-8/10
Man, this game was all fun and such,But the game also suffers from a pretty high difficulty level as well! When I was little, I had trouble playing through the flying battery zone, I hated It with all my might! I got to the boss fight and just completly gave up all hope from there! But as the years passed, I have gotten better at this game and complete It all in a sitting! No save states and nothing! Oh well, Sonic games ar known from their difficulty level, so don't blame Sega!

Overall-9.3/10
This is without a doubt the most ambitious sonic game I have played in a while! Not because It offers tons of new stuff, But It is because the game's lock on feature! I personally thought this was an excellent Idea from the start! And It is still today! Now anyways, I gave this game a 9.3 because how much It has for you to do, and the challenge level! Anyways, this has been RedHotToddy's 117 review, and well, See you guys later!

Awesome review, very extensive! Dare I say... too extensive? No. 5/5, great job! 

Very nice review. I think I might even play Sonic and Knuckles again sometime soon. Keep up the great work!