Games Database
Sega 32-X
| Viewed: | Not known | Genre: | |
| Arcade origin: | No | ||
| Released: | Unknown
(GB) |
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| Ratings: | 3+ |
Summary
Knuckles' Chaotix was originally under development for the Mega Drive - as Sonic Crackers. Sega took the decision to make the title exclusive to their ill-conceived and poorly received 32X. So Sonic was ditched in favour of Knuckles and a selection of characters from the Sonic Arcade game.
Although the 32X was a disaster in terms of sales, it's technical superiority over the vanilla MegaDrive is well demonstrated in Knuckles' Chaotix. Bright, detailed levels avoid slowdown while two well animated characters, joined by a magical umbilical bungee cord romp through them.
It's this gameplay feature that marks a radical departure from the previous Sonic titles. Where Sonic games had traditionally had majored on speed, the two characters joined-at-the-hip nature of Chaotix made for a fundamentally different style of game. The first character is controlled by player-1, the second by player-2 ot the CPU. THis requires a much more tactical approach to negotiating the levels. Where in the Sonic games, you could motor through, jumping and dodging in the right places, in Chaotix, you need to be much more aware of what your counterpart is up to, because they can severely limit your manoeuverability.
Enemy characters are vastly reduced from a traditional Sonic outing, and the levels are comparatively large - the focus is clearly on traversing them, rather than fighting baddies. And considering that you have the characteristics of the bungee cord to consider at all times, this is a good thing - but enough of a difference to disorientate fans of the series.
The result is one of the most advanced 2D platformers ever made - but whether this is a good thing or not in the eyes of the gaming public will forever be a moot point, because the dismal sales figures of the 32X means that few people ever got to see or play the game.
Although the 32X was a disaster in terms of sales, it's technical superiority over the vanilla MegaDrive is well demonstrated in Knuckles' Chaotix. Bright, detailed levels avoid slowdown while two well animated characters, joined by a magical umbilical bungee cord romp through them.
It's this gameplay feature that marks a radical departure from the previous Sonic titles. Where Sonic games had traditionally had majored on speed, the two characters joined-at-the-hip nature of Chaotix made for a fundamentally different style of game. The first character is controlled by player-1, the second by player-2 ot the CPU. THis requires a much more tactical approach to negotiating the levels. Where in the Sonic games, you could motor through, jumping and dodging in the right places, in Chaotix, you need to be much more aware of what your counterpart is up to, because they can severely limit your manoeuverability.
Enemy characters are vastly reduced from a traditional Sonic outing, and the levels are comparatively large - the focus is clearly on traversing them, rather than fighting baddies. And considering that you have the characteristics of the bungee cord to consider at all times, this is a good thing - but enough of a difference to disorientate fans of the series.
The result is one of the most advanced 2D platformers ever made - but whether this is a good thing or not in the eyes of the gaming public will forever be a moot point, because the dismal sales figures of the 32X means that few people ever got to see or play the game.