After 15 Years, Sonic and the Black Knight's Story and Charm Demand a Second Chance (2024)

Sonic and the Black Knight is a great example when it comes to fan opinions being more powerful than what critics say when the game was originally released, with the mixed or average opinions it received at launch being replaced by adoration from many players years later. While the second and last entry in the Sonic Storybook Series is far from perfect just like Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight is fondly remembered for good reason.

The fact that Sonic used a sword in this game seemed like such a strange concept to many at first glance, but using knighthood as a tool to highlight important pieces of Sonic's character serves as a great point of storytelling for the series to this day. To many fans, Sonic and the Black Knight has evolved from a hilarious concept of Sonic using a sword for no real reason to a charming game that sets the baseline of what should be expected out of Sonic stories. This, combined with the detail in the Wii exclusive as a whole, begs the question whether it should remain there.

How Rereleasing Sonic and the Black Knight Could Fix the Flaws Holding It Back

Compared to Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight has a rather interesting premise as the blue blur is once again sucked into a book but without warning rather than willingly. He's greeted by the sorceress Merlina, as well as a fake King Arthur and his minions, leading to Sonic freeing a sacred sword from a stone named Caliburn to fight the corrupted ruler. Aware that the blue hedgehog knows nothing of sword fighting, he offers to train him until he makes a worthy knight, setting up the game for a unique take on Arthurian legend.

Sonic isn't alone, as different versions of Amy, Knuckles, Blaze, and Shadow appear as Nimue, Gawain, Percival, and Lancelot respectively, with Tails appearing as a blacksmith. Other details, such as Silver appearing as Sir Galahad in Battle Mode, rings being gathered in the world through fairies or followers, and even the fairies around the stages actually being Chao if one looks closely,all bring an incredible amount of charm to the experience. It makes sense as to why Black Knight sits as one of the more fondly remembered Sonic Wii releases as a result.

Alongside the charm sits the story, which is sent off with a climactic boss battle between Sonic and Merlina that comes from the reveal that Sonic was brought to this world to defeat the king so the sorceress could shape it to fit her grieving ideals. With themes of self-determination and that life is worth living even if its short, fans mostly talk about the story and aesthetic of Sonic and the Black Knight and barely if ever mention the gameplay itself. This is because Black Knight sadly takes after Secret Rings in terms of the poor controls they both share.

The Benefits Of Bringing Sonic and the Black Knight to More Current Platforms

While the motion-control oriented set-up holds Sonic and the Black Knight back, understanding of current trends with motion controls, as well as re-analyzing Black Knight as a game, could help it thrive. Just offering button controls, or re-shaping the motion controls to be better with what Sonic Team's learned from other projects, could help shape the gameplay to be something worth picking up in this day and age. With how much it means to fans, it would certainly do well if cleaned up and made into one of the recent Sonic remasters as being able to experience the world of Sonic's Arthurian legends will definitely excite those who are already a fan of the game's charms, and therefore entice those who never got to try it, or want to give it a second look.

Sonic Superstars

$35 $60 Save $25

Inspired by the franchise's 2D heyday, Sega's Sonic Superstars is a co-op platformer that features Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy as playable characters.

Franchise

Sonic the Hedgehog

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , PS4 , Switch , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One

Released

October 17, 2023

Developer(s)

Sonic Team

Publisher(s)

Sega

Genre(s)

2D , Platformer

Metascore

73

Split Screen Orientation

N/A (Shared Screen)

Local Co-Op Support

1-4 Players

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