Thoughts about Knuckles the Echidna?

[Kid Mind]

Sorry for bringing up the topic everyone, didn't actually know that it would create such a fuss...

[Chaos Warp]

FLYBOY FOX

Firstly, I'm female. Secondly, Knuckles was here first. Thirdly, what the hell has this topic got to do with Shadow? Get out of here. Honestly, if I see you bring Shadow up in an unrelated topic one more time, I am actually going to give you a strike.

Off topic: Wait, you're FEMALE?? That's not what your name says, FlyBOY. Darn sneaky .

On topic: I like Knux and I feel he has been very idiot-ified in recent games, which I don't like. Yes, he should be gullible, anti-social and temperamental, but these should not be flanderized so much that he becomes an idiot. He should only get involved with Sonic's heroics if his ME gets stolen, because I figure him the person that does not just shirk his duties. His SA1 personality mixed with some temperament from Current Knux would be the prefect personality for him, IMO. Just thought I'd leave my two (ME) shards on the matter (lolpun).

Edited November 15, 2011 by Chaos Warp

[Amomynous]

Not quite sure what's going on with Knucles in generations, but as of Sonic Free riders, Knuckels seems to have become impatient and 'tudy, pretty much how I figured Sonic should have been, not really fitting, though I could imagine him playfully teasing other characters, at least Sonic, being the friendly rival there's bound to be that kind of stuff thrown around.

More later when it comes to mind.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Mysterics

[batson]

Really do Sega hate Knuckles or something, I mean the days when he was the third most important character after Tails seem so far now, I mean at least Tails still gets to do things from time to time nowadays, Knuckles has mostly faded from relevance when it comes to importance, even Amy seems more important than him nowadays. Tis sad, He's still one of my favorite characters, and yet he barely gets any love nowadays; Chronicles, as bad as it was, at least gave him some focus, so I appreciate that. Its sad when I have to look towards spin offs for my share of Knuckles, I don't want him to be like Shadow and eclipse everyone or anything, but a little more focus on him, Sonic, and Tails wouldn't hurt.

Well well, stealing my opinions are we? For shame!

No but seriously, i agree with every single sentence there.

[Kuzu]

Not quite sure what's going on with Knucles in generations, but as of Sonic Free riders, Knuckels seems to have become impatient and 'tudy, pretty much how I figured Sonic should have been, not really fitting, though I could imagine him playfully teasing other characters, at least Sonic, being the friendly rival there's bound to be that kind of stuff thrown around.

More later when it comes to mind.

I can imagine both Sonic & Knuckles being impatient to some degree; Sonic for hating slow things, and Knuckles for being quite the Hot Head to wait for things.

I hope ST utilize him again in the future, otherwise he's just gonna fade from relevance altogether, which I would hate severely, I mean considering I've seen so many people coming up with ways for him to appear, I feel there's no excuse at this point. Knuckles has enough of a dynamic with both Sonic & Tails for him to appear without raising a few eyebrows. I would hope for the next game in the series to change that, but considering not even Tails gets to do much of anything despite being as prominent as Sonic at this point, I fear for the future of Rad Red.

[ArtFenix]

I want to play as him again. No, I don't want to go treasure hunting or sword fighting with him, I want a typical Sonic stage that lets me glide around and climb up walls. I miss that, and I don't like how my second-favorite Sonic character (#1 being Sonic himself) keeps getting nothing more than cameos.

Yeah and let him have BOOOOOST while climbing!

Well, I'd like to play as him again. Treasure hunting is fine by me.

And yeah, stop making him an idiot, Sonicteam! Knuckles was such a cool guy in the adventures..

Edited November 15, 2011 by ArtFenix

[Kuzu]

Well well, stealing my opinions are we? For shame!

No but seriously, i agree with every single sentence there.

I went inside your head, and stole your idea.

Nah but thanks, and yeah it seems Knuckles only gets focus in the spin offs that are mediocre at best.

Yeah and let him have BOOOOOST while climbing!

This actually isn't a bad idea given the current style.

And yeah, stop making him an idiot, Sonicteam! Knuckles was such a cool guy in the adventures..

If I recall didn't he get tricked again by Eggman in Sa1?

[OlenJimi]

Knuckles is the man. He used to chuckle, but not anymore, now he flexes his muscles.

[two tailed fox]

I too think that knuckles should be playable again (even if he has to do emerald hunting) In fact why not mix up his gameplay a bit. Give him regular stages where he has to glide and climb his way to the end, and then give him a few emerald hunting stages that way everyone is happy. Also tails needs to be playable again without the use of mechs, throwing rings, or other stupid gimmicks that ruin his gameplay. It's so simple. Just give him stages like sonic with more platforming, and sections where you need to use flight.

[Kuzu]

I too think that knuckles should be playable again (even if he has to do emerald hunting) In fact why not mix up his gameplay a bit. Give him regular stages where he has to glide and climb his way to the end, and then give him a few emerald hunting stages that way everyone is happy. Also tails needs to be playable again without the use of mechs, throwing rings, or other stupid gimmicks that ruin his gameplay. It's so simple. Just give him stages like sonic with more platforming, and sections where you need to use flight.

Why does Knuckles need a completely different style of gameplay? Emerald hunting is something everyone hated last I checked, bringing him back isn't going to endear him in people's eyes.

[The future]

I prefer Knuckles to have a mixture of Sonic's gameplay with limited amount of emerald hunting.

[Chaos Nightmare Moon]

I wish Knuckles displayed Warrior like traits again. He used to be this badass mystical warrior who was unpredictible in everything and took everyone by surprise with his presense with the goal to find the missing emerald shards.

He like Arbiter from Halo was like a beastial combat genius and probably was written to be better than Sonic in a straight up fight with no chaos emeralds or rings to match each other, just pure honor. Of course we can still see that since Sega has never had him or Sonic fight each other in a while, except for Black Knight.

[Kuzu]

I wish Knuckles displayed Warrior like traits again. He used to be this badass mystical warrior who was unpredictible in everything and took everyone by surprise with his presense with the goal to find the missing emerald shards.

He like Arbiter from Halo was like a beastial combat genius and probably was written to be better than Sonic in a straight up fight with no chaos emeralds or rings to match each other, just pure honor. Of course we can still see that since Sega has never had him or Sonic fight each other in a while, except for Black Knight.

[Burnt Ash]

Dude I point out Shadows flaws all time. Mostly because he's never been any significant after sonic 06.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Apart from Generations, Sonic 2006 was his last mainstream game. Of course he wasn't significant after Sonic 2006.

Hey, knock it off and quit egging him on. He annoys us as it is over the character, and this ain't the topic.

[Amomynous]

I can imagine both Sonic & Knuckles being impatient to some degree; Sonic for hating slow things, and Knuckles for being quite the Hot Head to wait for things.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Mysterics

[Mega]

Sonic Free Riders had almost everyone OOC, though. That's really no surprise.

[Kuzu]

Ironically it did wonders for Shadow, but that's for another topic.

Anyone else miss the small resemblance of rivalry between him and Sonic, I mean the days when they would get on each other's nerves and fight over petty things seem so long ago.

[Space☆Tomoki]

I've noticed how his personality has changed over the years. In S3K, he was kinda cocky, arrogant, and clever, but gullible and naive. In the Adventure Series, he was more serious and focused, but still gullible and naive. In Heroes, he was more laid-back, and gained back some of his cocky and arrogant traits. He didn't really serve much purpose in 06, but afterwards, he became a hot-headed, gullible butt monkey that has shades of incompetence. From what little was there, Generations seems to have made him cocky and arrogant again.

I kinda want him to be more independent, focused, clever and competent again, but at the same time, I still want him to be cocky and arrogant towards at least Sonic, because he's supposed to have a bit of an inferiority-superiority complex towards him (he's supposedly envious of Sonic's freedom and popularity as a Hero), and play up the vitriolic best-buds aspect in his friendship with Sonic a bit more; Have the two throw insults at each other and get into arguments more often (not all the time, mind you), but underneath it all is a rock-solid friendship. Play up his social awkwardness a bit as well, since he spent most of his life isolated, guarding the Master Emerald on Angel Island. I think they should also make him learn from his mistakes and make him less gullible and trusting towards obvious bad guys like Dr. Eggman; It's ridiculous how often he gets tricked. And of course, he needs to be made more relevant to the games again.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Spider-Man Noir

[The Tenth Doctor]

Knuckles had a bit of his better traits back in Generations. At least he chided Sonic.

Na, the last time Knux was quite good was Zero Gravity. Remember? He actually could read Ancient Babylonian. Knuckles has always been a close one to my heart (When I entered the franchise with Sonic Adventure he was my fave!) its sad to see him be changed into the steriotypical angry stupid guy. We need to see him make fun of Sonic again. As Sonic X classically put it "Sonic isn't my buddy!"

[Chooch]

Knuckles is my bishie and I love him which is why they should bring him back. Everyone who disagrees is wrong. ;3

Now that I've gotten that out of the way..

Yeah, I love this character. I think most people who have known me for any extended amount of time probably know that Knuckles the Echidna is, was and probably always will be my favorite Sonic character. Hell, my favorite video game character in general. I love everything about him even down to the most subtle details.*

I hate to be lazy with this, but I don't really think I could offer a better explanation of why Knuckles is such a valuable character in my eyes without regurgitating a lot of what Flyboy already said. It's still very relevant to this topic, so I'll quote what I said in the character interpretation topic from a little while back (I loved that topic by the way):

Knuckles the Echidna is the personification of loyalty. No, not Tails. Knuckles.

He doesn't entirely understand how or why he was given the burden of being the Master Emerald's protector, but despite that he feels obligated to do the job regardless. He understands the value of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds better than anyone else as well at the full extent of their power. For that reason he protects them. It gives his life true meaning and purpose. A reason to live.

You could say that Knuckles lives for other people. Sacrificing himself so that the Master Emerald will never fall into the wrong hands; preventing what happened to his ancestors all those years ago from ever happening again. He sacrifices himself in the same way when it comes to those he cares about as well.

He's proud of his ancestry and being a descendant of Echidna warriors; the Knuckles clan. That's where his name comes from, of course. In living up to that name, one of his primary hobbies is practicing his fighting skills (See: His trademark idle animation originally from Sonic 3) and working out (See: His idle animation in Sonic Advance 3). Another one of his hobbies that has since garnered more recognition is his fondness for exploration and treasure hunting. I believe this stems from his isolation in all the years he's been alive and lack of knowledge of his ancestry and origins.

Long before Knuckles' encounter with Sonic, I think Knuckles spent several hours each day exploring every corner of Angel Island using his immense strength, endurance, and excavation skills to find clues to his past. It makes sense considering how much it's implied throughout Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles that he knows the entire island like the back of his hand. It didn't matter how fast Sonic was, Knuckles was always one step ahead of him and ready to throw a wrench in his plans. Snickering at his feeble attempts to make his way across the island. I think he finds great fun in mischief and setting traps too.

His time on Angel Island protecting the Emerald has left him entirely unfamiliar with all sorts of social interaction. Thus giving him the reputation of being a gullible 'knucklehead' who is easily tricked and persuaded into doing the wrong thing. When he does find out he's been duped (and he always does), whoever they may be, they will learn to regret their decision. Knuckles is not one to take being embarrassed lightly and it's safe to say that he never will.

In keeping with my statement that 'Knuckles is the personification of loyalty,' I'll move away from the Master and Chaos Emeralds and move on to, well.. his friends. Sonic and Knuckles hardly ever seem to be on the same wavelength and constantly seem to irritate each other. At the end of the day, however, they respect each other and their abilities. They are complete opposites in essentially every way. They have completely different outlooks on the world and completely different ideals. The phrase 'opposites attract' is rather fitting here, I suppose.

Knuckles loyalty knows no bounds. If his help may be needed then he'll be there to protect his friends. That's what he's best at. Protecting. He is a guardian after all. Despite all their differences, it's particularly easy to assume that when the going gets tough, Sonic will be able to count on Knuckles to back him up whenever he needs help. And, well.. I think he enjoys being around to clobber on ol' Egghead.

It's funny, considering Knuckles' appearances in games that don't involve the Master Emerald are the subject of many debates. I really think if people were to quit looking at things so superficially and dig a bit deeper they wouldn't be so concerned with Knuckles taking time away from the Master Emerald do go adventuring with Sonic and Tails (and whoever else may be around).

Time and time again, the only reoccurring threat to the Master Emerald has been Dr. Ivo Robotnik himself. No one else. If Eggman's plans are thwarted, leaving him running with his metaphorical tail between his legs, the primary threat to the Master Emerald is always temporarily put at bay. Plus it's an excuse to mosey on off of the island, bust up a few robots, and hang out with the only real friends he has. Is that such a bad thing? I don't particularly think so.

I think people like Sonic and Eggman are things that Knuckles has wanted all along. It's a temporary cure to his isolation and loneliness. Yes, I said it. I think Knuckles is a lonely little bastard. He'll never admit it because he's too embarrassed to, but I genuinely think he is. When the Death Egg crashed on Angel Island, Knuckles life completely changed.

He may have to put up with an annoyingly cocky hedgehog, a overly clingy two-tailed fox, and giant mustached freak that oddly looks like food, but his life sure has hell has gotten a lot more interesting. Needless to say he's loving it.

It's interesting to note that since this post, I've gone and played Sonic Generations, peeped at Knuckles' profile description and found a very interesting note in regards to his gullibility:

Knuckles is a heroic and powerful echidna who lives on Angel Island, an island in the sky. He guards the island's giant Master Emerald. He's Sonic's rival and friend who can be stubborn and serious, and his belief in the goodness of others sometimes makes him gullible.

Yes, this is a very shoddily crafted excuse for his 'stupidity', yes this is a retread of what Cosmo said in regards to him in that really awful Sonic X arc, but do I care? Not at all. I find it... incredibly adorable actually.

Never change Knuckles. Never change.

* The level of creepiness of this statement is entirely dependent on how you take it. XP

Edited November 20, 2011 by Chooch

[Chaos Nightmare Moon]

Why do people want him to make him more competitive to Sonic, obviously Sonic is a saint compared to arogant jerks like Shadow, Jet and Omega. I'd like to see Knuckles get into pissing contest with the other Hedgehog who claims he's the Ultimate Lifeform and Perfect, at least Sonic doesn't shout he's the ultimate runner and call everyone he meets weaklings.

Knuckles should be hostile to other characters for once not Sonic, especially if he's always going to fight. Knux is a stubborn hard headed manly man, not a butt hurt loser who jealous of Sonic, if anything he should be jealous Omega who has enough strenght to seal the Ultimate Lifeform and Sonic's equal in every way.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Chaos Nightmare Moon

[Big Boss (legendsneverdie)]

What?

[Kuzu]

Why do people want him to make him more competitive to Sonic.

A better question would be, why don't you? Does he get in the way of your precious Shadow?

obviously Sonic is a saint compared to arogant jerks like Shadow, Jet and Omega.

What does this have to do with anything?

I'd like to see Knuckles get into pissing contest with the other Hedgehog who claims he's the Ultimate Lifeform and Perfect, at least Sonic doesn't shout he's the ultimate runner and call everyone he meets weaklings.

Once again, what the hell are you talking about?

Knuckles should be hostile to other characters for once not Sonic, especially if he's always going to fight.

...Ok.

Knux is a stubborn hard headed manly man, not a butt hurt loser who jealous of Sonic, if anything he should be jealous Omega who has enough strenght to seal the Ultimate Lifeform and Sonic's equal in every way.

Knuckles is jealous of Sonic's free attitude, he doesn't care about Shadow. I know you have a massive Shadow fetish, but its true.

What I don't understand is why you feel the need to constantly try to put down Knuckles in favor of Shadow, like its considered taboo to have Sonic compared to anyone but him. I know in that little world of yours Shadow is the only character that matters, but here in the wonderful place called reality, Sonic has more than one person who can go toe-to-toe with him and Knuckles is one of those people whether you like it or not. What I'm trying to say is: Grow the fuck up and get over your man crush on Shadow, its annoying and makes you look stupid.

[Milo]

Firstly, I'm female. Secondly, Knuckles was here first. Thirdly, what the hell has this topic got to do with Shadow? Get out of here. Honestly, if I see you bring Shadow up in an unrelated topic one more time, I am actually going to give you a strike.

A-HA! That's not what your profile (Gender: Not telling) or your name says! >=D

Anyway, Knuckles. I wish he would start becoming more involved in more games. And not just storylinewise (it doesn't even need to have ties with the ME). If he's made playable again, just give him the basic Sonic gameplay with his gliding, climbing, and maybe digging and punching abilities. No alternative game (especially treasure hunting) in any form whatsoever.