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[RK128]

Hello everyone .

To continue my adventure through past Sonics, going to talk about a game that I personally feel many overlook.

This is the sequel to Sonic & The Secret Rings, a motion controlled game that originated as a port of Sonic 06 for the Wii but turned into its own thing. I enjoyed that game a good deal but it was very flawed for one big reason; forced motion controls.

Sonic was locked on a single path and you tilted the controller left and right, which means platforming and navigating levels was a pain early on . You got upgrades and have a skill system to make things better by the end but still, it makes what should be a fun simple game into a rough time for people. I liked it but it was very flawed. A hell of a lot better then 06 (which came out a few month's earlier) though.

Why talk about this when discussing Black Knight? Well, due to being a sequel, the game takes a lot of elements form Secret Rings. Mission systems, skill system, core gameplay mechanics and level design style (going through forward-tunnels with some platforming along the way) are all rooted from Secret Rings.

That WOULD be a problem it was as flawed as Secret Rings.....but thankfully it isn't . I loved Unleashed despite its problems (personally think its a great game) and this continue's Sonic slowly getting better; just a fun fact, this game was made by the same team that made Colors and we all know how great that game is !

Okay, going into Black Knight, the gameplay gimmick this time out is Sonic having a sword. Considering this is on the Wii, you shake the controller to swing the sword left, right or thrusting it forward. The swinging is more or less a motion-controlled button and it works thanks to the fact you are moving sonic with the Nunchuck's analog stick and jumping is a lot better compared to Secret Rings.

In that game, you held the button to charge but due to this coming out after Unleashed, some elements from that bleed there way into Black Knight; Sonic can hop by taping the button, pressing A three times has Sonic stomping, and you go into 2D sometimes during set-pieces. Its nice seeing the Unleashed systems bleed there way into Sonic from here on out honestly .

The sword combat has a few layers of depth; you can shake the remote while homing attack to preform a powerful chain of attacks, you can shake it while moving backward to go in the air with a slash, and you have a Soul Surge gauge that lets you swing by shaking the remote (with you doing it timed with Sword Glows to extend how long you can do it) or shake the Nunchuck to preform a kick attack. Its a lot of fun and it makes the on-the-rails set up worth while this time out.

The level design is my only real issue with the game, as like Secret Rings its to tunnel focused. You have some platforming and it is fun, but coming right after Unleashed.....you wanted something similar to that and the fact you have control with the stick makes the focus on tunnel level design all the more questioning.

But that is honestly my only issue with this game; in my mind, this is the closest we got to a 'perfect' 3D Sonic before Colors and Generations released.

Firstly, gameplay is fun. Like I said before, the sword mechanics are well done and are fun but despite the level design being weak, the core gameplay makes it enjoyable. Plus the locations do have some creative gimmicks; caves with polls to swing across, walls to climb on in Camelot Castle, carriages to to ride on and more.

Secondly, the presentation is very strong with everything just clicking. The visuals are amazing looking on the Wii, as they have so much detail, great texture work, some strong animations and story scenes looking a lot better compared to Secret Rings.

It has such a great style and its nice seeing Sonic and friends fitting the King Arthur setting so well. And the music is great, mixing nice pieces with orchestra and Sonic Adventure Rock. Here are some examples:
Great Megalith
Shrouded Forest
Knight of the Wind
It Doesn't Matter
With Me
Seven Rings in Hand (Remix)

Love this soundtrack and like every Sonic OST, its very strong .

Thirdly, the story is well acted and one of the strongest Sonic stories next to Unleashed and Colors to me . The style with the scenes is really well done, the GC Scenes are great and the voice actors (the final time we got the 4Kids cast before we got the new VA's starting with Colors and Free Riders) have their best performance in the series here.

Sonic is great here, Amy's voice is well done, nice seeing Blaze have a bigger role in a 3D game, and everyone as a whole is well acted. Unleashed's story was great too, but its nice seeing that continue with Black Knight.

And my last point....its just a really polished Sonic game. Like Unleashed, everything is polished. The controls work with no issues, the visuals look clean, the soundtrack is great, the core gameplay is fun with little to no problems and overall, its a great Sonic game.

The level design is a problem but with everything being so strong, I can forgive that one issue. This is the final Storybook game (first being Secret Rings) and it is a nice send-off for this style of gameplay before moving onto Colors the following year.

By this point in Sonic's life (2009), the series got better and better, and its great to see it start here. I know many will disagree with my praising of this game, as the motion controls could be an issue, you can play as Sonic's friends (which many hate, despite this time out they all control like Sonic with one or two unique abilities) and the game has 'Sonic has a gimmick' trope. But I feel its a strong game despite its issues and I hope you all consider giving it a shot .

 

[gwiz210]

 

[HUELEN10]

I still can't believe how Gorgeous the game is, it's easily one of the prettiest Wii titles to ever be made.

Also, gotta love Sir Percival.

 

[RK128]

XD! You know what, this thread is worth it just for that image :'). Thank you for sharing that .

 

[RK128]

I still can't believe how Gorgeous the game is, it's easily one of the prettiest Wii titles to ever be made.

Also, gotta love Sir Percival.

I agree with both points .

The looks really impressive on the Wii and its great for Blaze to finally have a playable role in a 3D Sonic after introduction in the great Rush series .

 

[SatoAilDarko]

I was super surprised to see toys for this still on shelves in 2014 before Sonic Boom came out.

Yet they can't stock the new 6 inch Nintendo figures and the 4 inch goes out of stock pretty quickly.

 

[Nanashrew]

I still wish that we got another story book game because I genuinely enjoyed Black Knight. It improved a lot over Secret Rings, and a 3rd game would probably be even better.

 

[Nia]

I enjoyed this game.

I feel that

Spoiler

Merlina

is one of Sonic's best antagonists.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I never played this game but its soundtrack is some God tier level shit.

 

[RK128]

I enjoyed this game.

I feel that

Spoiler

Merlina

is one of Sonic's best antagonists.

I completely agree; that plot twist was completely unexpected honestly O_O!

I also liked how Sonic interacted with the characters throughout the game; nice little nods to past titles all the while keeping things strong. His interaction when he see's Amy is great though XD.

 

[RK128]

I still wish that we got another story book game because I genuinely enjoyed Black Knight. It improved a lot over Secret Rings, and a 3rd game would probably be even better.

The third game would of likely been modeled after Colors; gameplay using the core of Unleashed but with a gimmick that adds to the level design.

Maybe Colors was going to be the third storybook game but was changed along the way to be more in line with other games in the series. The team that made this also made Colors after all . Though its rumored that Colors was originally a port of Generations before turning into Colors, so who knows honestly.

 

[Nanashrew]

The third game would of likely been modeled after Colors; gameplay using the core of Unleashed but with a gimmick that adds to the level design.

Maybe Colors was going to be the third storybook game but was changed along the way to be more in line with other games in the series. The team that made this also made Colors after all . Though its rumored that Colors was originally a port of Generations before turning into Colors, so who knows honestly.

I would not have minded that tbh. Colors was great and if it took some from that for the next story book I'd have no issue.

 

[RK128]

I would not have minded that tbh. Colors was great and if it took some from that for the next story book I'd have no issue.

I would love that too .

It would be different from the other games in the series and be more inviting to people who couldn't get into this or Secret Rings.

I love Colors a lot so more of that is always welcomed in my book XD!

 

[Arc Christelle]

What the fuck is wrong with you?

 

[RK128]

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Damn, didn't expect that .

What did I do wrong man? I didn't write anything offensive in my OP or anything.......

If you hate the game, at least explain why :l.

Edit: You posted a few times in my Sonic 1 thread, so I will explain why I like this game a good deal .
-The gameplay works for me and I found it fun
-Presentation is very strong with this game
-Story is quite solid
-Like the elements from Unleashed slowly being used in other Sonic games
-Games Art Direction and Style something I really enjoyed
-Level Design is weak but that is it for issues for me

I hope I explained myself better compared to the OP now :l.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

What the fuck is wrong with you?

I dunno, what's wrong with you?

 

[Nanashrew]

Yeah, I guess some aspects of level design could be fairly weak. But I think overall it just works well and feels very arcade-like and I love that. Also I love Sonic running through tall grass, from like Colors and the long plains in Black Knight. It's a simple yet satisfying feeling to see Sonic running through at the speed of sound on a hilly plain with a lot of grass around, and I don't know why that isn't more common in 3D sonic titles.

 

[RK128]

Yeah, I guess some aspects of level design could be fairly weak. But I think overall it just works well and feels very arcade-like and I love that. Also I love Sonic running through tall grass, from like Colors and the long plains in Black Knight. It's a simple yet satisfying feeling to see Sonic running through at the speed of sound on a hilly plain with a lot of grass around, and I don't know why that isn't more common in 3D sonic titles.

Its something that reminds me of the Sonic CD opening when Sonic runs through hilly planes and through colorful hills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYW7-hNXZlM

It screams Sonic and its something that the Colors Team games (Black Knight, Colors, Lost World) do a good job nailing at points.

 

[Shizzlee]

While that post is just your opinion and all (I think the game is complete shit outside of it's presentation and its soundtrack), there's only one thing in your post that made me turn my head.

The controls work with no issues,

Hell no. I want the copy of the game you played. Swings don't register half of the time for me. This is a HUGE issue, especially since I used to run the game (no one else bothers so my records have remained untouched for years). Many restarts due to swings for starting the speedbreak not registering. Many restarts due to perfect hits dropping on bosses even though I'm swinging as hard as I can. Many restarts because I didn't get a homing slash. The controls are probably my main issue with this game. They are horrible to me. Since you're positive about the game, I should address my other issues with it instead of just calling it bad.

The horrible skills system from Secret Rings was brought over. Sonic shouldn't move like a tank at the start. I shouldn't have to level up his running speed and his agility. He should be as fast as he can be from the start minus the Crest of Wind which I can understand being something you need to unlock, and he should move smoothly as possible from the start. It's like you're unlocking better controls. In a Sonic game, that's a problem. I hated it in Secret Rings and I hate it here.

It's even worse since for the other playable characters, you have to find the materials (hoping the RNG gods are good to you) to make their swords since their upgrades depends on their swords. You have to replay certain levels over and over again to grind the materials to make their best swords. It's a huge pain in the ass.

Combat sucks complete ass. Most enemies you can dispatch just by mindlessly swinging the wii remote. Big characters you can jump and use B for perfect hits or use aerial attack into homing slash. While I'll admit that at least Sonic's moves are varied, most are not necessary and you can take care of almost everything with a jumping slash, homing slash, or B. You can also stick to the side of the stage and short hop pass them. They will just turn and look at you. The only enemies you actually have to fight are the big ones in black armor, and there are even ways to skip those.

The boss battles are a joke, Shadow 2 included. The duels you can get by just by doing aerial attack -> homing slash repeat until death. King Arthur 2 and Dark Queen you can perfect hit until death. As far as I'm concerned, there is no depth. It's very shallow.

You already said the level design is bad. I agree. It suffers from the same issue as Secret Rings in that only the main mission from each zone is decent. Every other mission has varying degrees of suck.

I disagree with the op. Don't waste your time with this game.

I'll admit that the soundtrack is great as mentioned with my favorites being Molten Mine, Crystal Cave, and Faraway Avalon. The game also looks great and cleans up insanely well in Dolphin. That's the only two good things I can say about the game.

 

[Jonneh3003]

I missed out on Black Knight but I actually really enjoyed Secret Rings, guess I should give it a go at some point. Played every Sonic game apart from this, both Sonic Booms and Knuckles Chaotix.

 

[RK128]

While that post is just your opinion and all (I think the game is complete shit outside of it's presentation and its soundtrack), there's only one thing in your post that made me turn my head.

Hell no. I want the copy of the game you played. Swings don't register half of the time for me. This is a HUGE issue, especially since I used to run the game (no one else bothers so my records have remained untouched for years). Many restarts due to swings for starting the speedbreak not registering. Many restarts due to perfect hits dropping on bosses even though I'm swinging as hard as I can. Many restarts because I didn't get a homing slash. The controls are probably my main issue with this game. They are horrible to me. Since you're positive about the game, I should address my other issues with it instead of just calling it bad.

The horrible skills system from Secret Rings was brought over. Sonic shouldn't move like a tank at the start. I shouldn't have to level up his running speed and his agility. He should be as fast as he can be from the start minus the Crest of Wind which I can understand being something you need to unlock, and he should move smoothly as possible from the start. It's like you're unlocking better controls. In a Sonic game, that's a problem. I hated it in Secret Rings and I hate it here.

It's even worse since for the other playable characters, you have to find the materials (hoping the RNG gods are good to you) to make their swords since their upgrades depends on their swords. You have to replay certain levels over and over again to grind the materials to make their best swords. It's a huge pain in the ass.

Combat sucks complete ass. Most enemies you can dispatch just by mindlessly swinging the wii remote. Big characters you can jump and use B for perfect hits or use aerial attack into homing slash. While I'll admit that at least Sonic's moves are varied, most are not necessary and you can take care of almost everything with a jumping slash, homing slash, or B. You can also stick to the side of the stage and short hop pass them. They will just turn and look at you. The only enemies you actually have to fight are the big ones in black armor, and there are even ways to skip those.

The boss battles are a joke, Shadow 2 included. The duels you can get by just by doing aerial attack -> homing slash repeat until death. King Arthur 2 and Dark Queen you can perfect hit until death. As far as I'm concerned, there is no depth. It's very shallow.

You already said the level design is bad. I agree. It suffers from the same issue as Secret Rings in that only the main mission from each zone is decent. Every other mission has varying degrees of suck.

I disagree with the op. Don't waste your time with this game.

I'll admit that the soundtrack is great as mentioned with my favorites being Molten Mine, Crystal Cave, and Faraway Avalon. The game also looks great and cleans up insanely well in Dolphin. That's the only two good things I can say about the game.

I just wanted to thank you for expressing your opinion and explaining why you don't like the game, instead of calling it shit and leaving the thread. That was very cool of you and a few points I honestly agree with despite the enjoyment I had revisiting this game.

The skill system is a lot better then Secret Rings but could of been better. The boss fights were really easy once you got the pattern. And your issues with the controls, I had those issues with the other playable characters.

I didn't cover this much in the OP, but after the mid-point of the game, you can play as three other characters; Shadow, Knuckles and Blaze. And while they all have the same core as Sonic, they have differences. Shadow can throw Chaos Spears when in the ground, Knuckles can climb walls faster and glide over everything, and Blaze has a strong lunch attack and a fire townardo.

Shadow and Sonic control fine with sword attacks for me, but Knuckles and Blaze feel so stiff and heavy for me, so I don't play as them often :l.

The game has some issues that I glossed over due to he fact they didn't bother me, but I completely understand why you didn't like the game. Thank you again for explaining yourself on the matter . That was cool of you !

As many of you know, I'm making threads on a lot of major Sonic games and before I move on to Sonic 2, 3&K, CD and Knuckles Chaotix, going to tackle a big one .

 

[MrBadger]

It's a bad game, but it looks lovely and has a rather interesting twist in the story

 

[Refreshment.01]

To be honest i knew the game existed, but i feared it was one those low efforts using an established brand to gain some easy money.

Your comments about the control and the game looks have me really curious.

Check your PM, please.

 

[Huge Succeeded]

I swear the Wii is where game control concepts that were 10 years ahead of their time went to die en-masse. mirroring Refreshment I'm kind of interested in this game now that I'm aware that the motion control had been reigned in, to a form that actually works well with the Wii's shitty motion sensing.

 

[mrmickfran]

I agree with both points .

The looks really impressive on the Wii and its great for Blaze to finally have a playable role in a 3D Sonic after introduction in the great Rush series .

Blaze was in 06 though.

 

[RK128]

Blaze was in 06 though.

I making a thread on 06 now, with covering Silver and Shadow's portions latter today. But Blaze being in a GOOD 3D game was nice .

 

[Anth0ny]

I need to play this one

 

[RK128]

To be honest i knew the game existed, but i feared it was one those low efforts using an established brand to gain some easy money.

Your comments about the control and the game looks have me really curious.

Check your PM, please.

Answered your question via PM so I hope that explains things better.

 

[Dragonslayer_023]

I always meant to play this, mainly because the music is so sweet. Never got around to it though.

 

[RobbieNick]

I agree with both points .

The looks really impressive on the Wii and its great for Blaze to finally have a playable role in a 3D Sonic after introduction in the great Rush series .

She was playable in Sonic '06.

For me, this was on the cusp of being a good game and just failed the mark. The gameplay up until the second half was decent. Controlling the other knights was a chore however and knight vs. knight boos fights were terrible.

That said, I actually really liked the story in this one (damsel in distress being the villain was a nice twist) and the soundtrack was great. Even the moral of the story was one you don't see every day (all things must come to an end and you need to accept it).

I really wish they would have continued the storyline series as maybe a budget title line. This is where Sonic Team had more freedom to experiment. Stuff like the behind the back camera angle of Secret Rings led to the daytime levels of Unleashed having the same angle.

 

[RK128]

She was playable in Sonic '06.

For me, this was on the cusp of being a good game and just failed the mark. The gameplay up until the second half was decent. Controlling the other knights was a chore however and knight vs. knight boos fights were terrible.

That said, I actually really liked the story in this one (damsel in distress being the villain was a nice twist) and the soundtrack was great. Even the moral of the story was one you don't see every day (all things must come to an end and you need to accept it).

I really wish they would have continued the storyline series as maybe a budget title line. This is where Sonic Team had more freedom to experiment. Stuff like the behind the back camera angle of Secret Rings led to the daytime levels of Unleashed having the same angle.

Maybe the might go back to the storybook style in the future, as there is a lot of potential for other locations for Sonic to visit.

The story is one of my favorites in any Sonic, so its nice that many like the story a lot too .

 

[Man God]

This game isn't fun to play. Honestly I find the controls to be a step back from Secret Rings.

But man, does it look good. Fun story too.

 

[Ferr986]

Never played this game, but if it's something like Secret Rings then it must be terrible. The controls on that game were beyond terrible.

I did listen the soundtrack and is ... ok? there's some good stuff but then there0s also your regular Senoue crap.

Overall, ST did good on leaving the waggle stuff and focus on a regular Sonic experience with Colors.