Customer Reviews

Sonic and the Black Knight

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

...but is that really saying much? Fortunately, yes.
Again, SEGA is innovating with its mascot character. Now, our brave young hedgehog has been summoned back to the realm of King Arthur, charged with saving the lands from the King's recent evil transformation and tyranny. At once we are presented with an opening cinematic that is rather well executed (the ravens are particularly good), though not quite as polished as the stunning first movie of Sonic Unleashed. Here is where Sonic is summoned by the granddaughter of Merlin----Merlina. After a brief confrontation with King Arthur, Merlina whisks Sonic and herself away to a safe location.

Here is where the player comes in. The first two levels are simple tutorials, where one learns how to control Sonic and wield the sword, traversing across a field filled with wooden targets. Right away, the player discovers the nature of the gameplay. The way Sonic travels is the same as in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic can travel on only a narrow path through a three-dimensional world, generally only forward. There is no manual camera control, and if one wishes to retrace their steps, the camera does not follow Sonic's movements, forcing the player to walk into places they cannot see. This takes some getting used to, and is admittedly not my personal favorite method of gameplay. I much prefer the free-roaming three-dimensional environments of games like Sonic Unleashed and Super Mario 64. However, it is unique, and certainly acceptable once the player becomes familiar with the layout. Concerning the game's controls, they are very fluid and responsive. The swordplay is controlled by the movement of the Wii Remote, and adds a fun, interactive element to the game. Do not expect the sword to follow the Remote's movements exactly, as it only follows the direction the Remote is swung in, but this method is fun nonetheless. It is a lot funner than slamming down button combinations. Also, there are plenty of little goodies one can collect along the way. Some of these can be used to give Sonic better abilities, or forge new weapons for the other playable characters (Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Blaze the Cat, which are unlocked during the course of the game).

The story is quite well written, I believe. Some have said it is `too juvenile', but I wonder what they were expecting. It is a game for kids, is it not? And it is no sillier than most games, even ones that are constantly lavished with praise from the critics (Ratchet and Clank, anyone? Not that I dislike that series...). Really, the basic tale was not silly at all. I found it to have a timeless message concerning where our loyalties should lie. We are not to make idols out of mortals, obeying them even if it contradicts morality. Men are not infallible, no matter how they might have lived before. In addition, the humorous parts are actually funny, and there is not an unwanted character in the storyline. Also, as the game moves on, the story keeps getting better, with surprise twists and good messages, as well as touching moments.

How do the game environments stack up? They are masterfully done, from the graphic quality and lighting, to the incredibly minute detail (watch the thousands of individual grass blades blow in the wind). The sky is especially well done, and everything captures the feeling of a medieval world very well. When Sonic encounters the enemy knights (wispy creatures from the underworld that take the form of the armor they wear), his sword becomes very useful. It is fun to cut down these cloudy foes, but herein lies one of the game's less desirable traits. Here, the violence definitely warrants this title's E-10 rating. Though there is no blood, the way the smoke dissipates following an enemy's destruction imitates it rather well. Though it disappears quickly, this can get a little much over time.

Now we come to the music. The game's theme is good, mixing classical music with electric guitars rather well. The music in the menu screens is also well done----a good modern take on medieval music. Many of the levels themselves have very good music, with a minimum of electric guitar. But there are other levels (especially the boss battles) where the music suddenly becomes harder, and less connected with the feel of the game. This is the one major fault, in my opinion, of this game. Thankfully, hellish vocals are not constantly screaming in the background, like they are in Sonic and the Secret Rings. Even with this said, the score as a whole is excellent.

Overall, this is a very fun, enjoyable game. It is not perhaps as good as Sonic Unleashed, but it is still great. This is yet another title that shows Sonic is still running strong.

Ryan Robledo
Author of the Aelnathan:

This game is the best game I ever played! Ignore those stupid reviews saying ''Dont play this'' or ''Not worth money'' because it is your opinion!!! You wont regret buying it! I loved multiplayer mode. Theres a big variaty of playable characters. What else is there to say?!?

Great game similar to Sonic Unleashed! It has very good replay value, but must give it a break after 20 minutes or so. Unless you do much jumping and doing much trial and error, you won't survive for long. Like Paper Mario games, there is too much dialogue you can't skip for the most part.

You keep doing the same test run through different stages, and to me, it is redundant, and IMO quite a learning curve. What you do is not so much tedious per se but confusing, and what do all those items mean? I don't know how to access the inventory. It is difficult to do better than two of five stars unless you have practiced long enough.

The one nice thing other than great graphics, sound, and retro effects during the cut scenes like watercolor on film and paper is that, unlike most Sonic games (especially during the Genesis days, and man those were some awesome graphics back in its day), you don't lose all your rings in The Black Knight. To survive the (so realistic, wow!) dragon, you must get as many rings as possible, because it is hard to dodge those large bites. Just be sure that you truly know how to swing your sword, or you are a goner!

Minor annoyances, confusing inventory, and detraction from what a sonic game used to be, I give this game a B- or B. I have not played it long enough to state whether it would be recommendable.

I have been to England and France somewhat recently, and truly appreciate how awesome the Sonic Team went with this release. IMO Sonic Unleashed is a better game, though a bit more challenging, but less confusing.

Hope this is helpful. In some ways, video games in this genre remind me of Castlevania, and very much graphically reminiscent. In fact, this newest Sonic game featuring King Arthur sounds very much like a candidate for the Castlevania series. After all, they take place in Europe, so there you go!

Zelda: Twilight Princess has some similarities too, but I do not own it and have not played it. Best of all, the Wii is almost perfect--no technical glitches or bugs, but the Wii remote does go through batteries rather quickly.

It was one of the best games I ever played. The game is challenging but not impossible. As you make it past levels you get a rating (1 to 5 stars) and trust me its most of the levels I played I only got a 2 or 3 so you have to give it you all to get a 5. Unlike the other Sonics if you take damage you can't recollect the rings. Amazing graphics All the levels are unique, no to are same ranging from obvious missions to unbelievable missions. I also loved the story line.

ordered this for our 7 year old grandson.. he loves it ...
easy to follow for him and since I dont know much about them was glad I picked a winner

I don't care what the critics say, this is a great game. The graphics are good, the level design is unique, and it has great replay value. The worst you could say about the game is that Sonic having a sword is kind of a gimmick, but it's a gimmick that works and is fun. I rate this game 87/100.

I asked my kids for a review of this game, as my youngest just got it for a birthday present. The little suckers polished off $40+ of fun in only 2 hours!!!! The birthday boy loved it, but he always loves any game he picks. Older son said 'eh-- not long enough'.

As a parent, I say 'wait until you can buy used for cheap!' Compared to something like Super Smash Brothers Brawl, which has provided endless days of personal time for my wife and I, I feel cheated! $20/hr. of babysitting, punctuated with the typical mid-game brawl, was not worth it!

After a long 3 year break from Sonic games I decided on a whim to try out one for the wii. I used to be obsessed with the all their games released to gamecube and gameboy years before, but this game? Meh...
First I'll get the bad points out of the way. The overall plot is a little strange and strays far from the usual plots depicted in most of the Sonic series, as you probably know. In a way it almost seems to be mocking King Arthur, as if it was a bad roleplay of that time period. Plus the levels are way too quick- Most of them only take about 3 minutes to defeat, so you'll finish the adventure mode faster then expected. In fact, you can weasel your way through some of the levels by simply just jumping over the enemies and jiggling the wii remote randomly- So the "fun" just morphs into boredom. Also, some of the "missions" of the levels are too vague, so you'll have to discover how to defeat them on your own- which may take some trial and error. There was also lack of control in which direction you could move and didn't seem complete.
Now for the good parts. The whole concept of wielding a sword by using the wii remote is fantastic, and personally I thought the controls for different attacks were pretty well thought out and enjoyable. Though you could already do this with other games like Legend of Zelda, this game seemed to take it to another level. The music was also outstanding, as it always has been. The whole concept of this game was there, it just was dragged down by some flaws.
If you could get over the lack of control and intensity, you would probably find this game pretty good. It still doesn't compare to some of Sega's old masterpieces like Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Sonic Advance and all the oldies, but hey- It's still an interesting game.

This game rocks. The story is good, the controls are good, and the graphics and soundtrack rock. Also when doing the missions the game doesnt have high expectations to get top ranking in a level like most sonic games do. If you like sonic, pic this game up for a treat.

Brought it for my son around Christmas time. Received product on time and before Christmas. My son loves playing this game. It was exaculty what I was looking for.