Knuckles' Chaotix

Knuckles' Chaotix, also known as Chaotix, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, released for the Sega 32X.

The game was released in North America in March 1995. Its Japanese release was on April 21, 1995. Its European release was during May 1995.

It is the debut of the group Chaotix. The group has five members, including Knuckles the Echidna. The other four characters were headed up with Mighty the Armadillo (Who also featured in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog two years earlier in 1993) and also featured Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. This latter trio did not return (with the exception of Espio, who appears as one of the playable characters in Sonic the Fighters a year later) until Sonic Heroes in 2004 - albeit with changed personas.

The main story of the game is here taken from the manual:

Tomorrow's the big opening day for Carnival Island, a huge amusement resort with the latest in high-tech rides and games. As guardian of the island, it's Knuckles' job to make sure nothing goes wrong before the grand event.

Unfortunately, the evil Dr. Robotnik has other plans. He needs fuel for his latest diabolical device, and the Power Emerald that supplies electricity to the entire island fits the bill perfectly. His awful new invention, the Combi Confiner, should help him get rid of that annoying echidna and his friends.

When Knuckles returns from patrolling the far end of the island, he discovers that Dr. Robotnik has imprisoned all of his friends-Espio the Chameleon, Mighty the Armadillo, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee. After he chases the Doctor off, Knuckles discovers that he can rescue one friend at a time by using Ring Power... only the power that sparks between the rings holds the two partners together like a magical rubber band. Never held back for long, Knuckles finds that with a little teamwork, he can use the stretching and snapping action of the Ring Power to double-even triple-the partners' speed.

And they need all the speed they can get. As Dr. Robotnik drains the power from Carnival Island, everything on the island begins to break down! Robotnik must be stopped, or by tomorrow morning-the morning of Carnival Island's big opening day-the grand amusement park will lie in ruins!

In the game, two members of the group are attached by a link between two rings that the characters hold.

Stages

• Isolated Island/Practice Stage- A special isolated area played before the main game to get players acquainted with the special unique maneuvers introduced into the game. You were first placed into 5 areas that looped infinitely where the goal was to successfully execute one of the said maneuvers. After the fifth area, you are entered into three practice levels, free of enemies, to test your skills with the new moves you just learned.
• Botanic Base- The game's forest/jungle area. It seems to resemble more of Sonic 2's Mystic Cave Zone or Sonic 3's Angel Island Zone because of the level's appearance gave it a crowded feeling, unlike the open Green Hill-style levels seen in almost every Sonic Game.
• Speed Slider- A colorful level that looks as if Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone and Sonic 3's Carnival Night Zone had been combined (though it doesn't have the super-fun slot machines). Each level was very open and can be sped through easily.
• Amazing Arena- The structure and theme of this series of levels is highly unusual. When first entering the level, the zone is colored gray and dull, with the music to match its appearance. Each level in the Amazing Arena zone actually has a clock-like device that must be activated, which can be found by a half-opaque sprite of the clock with an arrow that points to the location that flashes onscreen every 15 seconds or so. Once the clock is activated, the level suddenly becomes "active", taking on a colorful appearance (mostly pink) with the music becoming suddenly upbeat as well. This is MANDATORY to do in every level. Failing to activate one and finishing the stage actually results the stage completion as failure. There is no reason why this forced side-trip is done on the player. The manual does not say anything about it nor is there any in-game message. Another notable thing about the levels is that various areas were closed off. You had to take a platform that transported you to different areas and you rode on one at least once or twice.
• Marina Madness- As the name implies, the theme of the level takes place by an ocean marina where platforms mostly consist of ocean docks and cruise ships. Strangely enough, this level DOESN'T have any water-based elements or hazards to deal with. The levels are pretty horizontal as well, compared to the other Zones in the game.
• Techno Tower- A futuristic-styled level where height is king, as the Tower part of the zone title implies. Various challenges imposed in the Techno Tower levels are made with vertical aspects involved. The level of difficulty of the levels was vastly reduced if you used characters best suited for them, such as Knuckles, Espio, or Charmy.
• Combi Chooser/Level Select Area- After completing all 25 levels, Metal Sonic appears at the Level Select area and takes over the controls, where the next-to-last boss fight begins. After destroying each of the 4 devices Metal Sonic attempts to destroy you with, you are deposited into another area that appears to be a highly damaged version of the area you were just in. The final fight takes place here with a gigantic and highly dangerous-looking Metal Sonic.

Alpha

A speculated alpha version of Knuckles' Chaotix known as Sonic Crackers is widely distributed on the Internet.