Author: Dr. K

Game Corner [Mario Month]: Wario Land 4 (Nintendo Switch)

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So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 14 February 2025
Originally Released: 21 August 2001
Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Also Available For: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Wii U (Japan Only)
Metacritic Scores: 88 / 8.8

Quick Facts:
Designed by Hiroji Kiyotake to symbolise Nintendo R&D1’s displeasure at being denied the chance to create original videogames, Mario’s dastardly doppelgänger first appeared in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (ibid, 1992). Wario then usurped Nintendo’s portly plumber as the face of Mario’s handheld sub-series, leading to three highly regarded portable adventures. Wario Land 4 restricted Wario to an ancient pyramid and incorporated “Metroidvania”-like exploration alongside more traditional platforming mechanics compared to its previous two games. A strong seller, Wario Land 4 was met with widespread acclaim as reviews praised the replay value, colourful and lively graphics, and balanced challenge, though the lack of true innovation was noted.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Like its predecessors, Wario Land 4 is a 2D, action-orientated platformer in which players take Mario’s despicable lookalike through an ancient pyramid, navigating a simplistic hub world to take one of four passages and explore four worlds in each, tackling a boss at the end to obtain treasure from the pyramid. Players get two save files and, for the first time in the Land series, a health bar, represented by hearts. Wario can partially or completely refill his health by defeating enemies and collecting Little Hearts to fill a meter, Hearts for a full heart, or smashing special treasure chests for a Full Health Item. Wario’s abilities are largely retained from the previous titles, with him jumping with A (jumping higher the longer you hold the button) and charging at enemies, destructible objects, and treasures chests with B or X. You can hold down the Left or Right trigger to charge ahead, ploughing through most enemies and blocks, perform a leaping charge, butt stomp by pressing down in mid-air, swim by tapping A, and roll into a ball to crash through small tunnels by holding down on slopes. Enemies can be stunned by bumping them, allowing Wario to automatically pick them up. If you hold down B, you can charge a throw, with Wario tossing whatever he’s holding higher and further the longer you hold it down, which is great for smashing blocks, hitting ! switches, or opening certain doors by tossing shapes. Players climb ladders, use warp pipes, and jump to small or moving platforms to progress, earning points for every enemy defeated and the gems they collect. Blue and Red Crystals are plentiful but you’ll want to explore and experiment to collect the Diamonds hidden in each world. Some blocks can only be destroyed with a fully charged dash or by performing a ground pound from way up high. Wario must frantically return to the entrance warp upon activating a Frog Switch, giving him up to ten minutes to do so before the bomb explodes, robs him of some treasure, and returns him to the hub world.

Blast and transform your way through worlds to find the Jewel Pieces needed to progress.

Although Wario can now take damage and fail his quest if he runs out of hearts, he can still be transformed by certain enemy attacks and environmental factors. When consuming food, Wario becomes fat and heavy, easily crashing through blocks and shrugging off attacks. When pricked by a Beezley, Wario inflates like a balloon and floats until he hits a ceiling, floating higher by tapping B, while bubbles force him through water and rapids if you’re not careful. Flames set Wario on fire, causing him to run around in a panic and eventually become consumed, destroying Bonfire Blocks in the process. Similarly, he becomes a snowball when hit with falling snow, rolling down hills and crashing through Snowman Blocks as he goes. When crushed, Wario flattens and awkwardly floats down shafts and through tiny gaps and, when hit by a Yeti’s sneeze, he freezes and flies back. If hit by a Menhanmā’s hammer, Wario becomes a spring, leaping high into the sky and through any blocks by pressing A, becomes a shambling, gloopy zombie when hit by a Skeleton Bird, falling through any platforms as he goes, and transforms into a bat upon touching a Minicula, allowing him to fly by tapping A. While some of these are temporary, others are cancelled out upon touching water or light sources, and they seem far more situational compared to the last two games. I was disappointed that no new transformations appeared and that the transformations aren’t as interesting as it’s usually pretty simple to figure out how to use them. Similarly, while players can uncover hidden doors by exploring and smashing blocks, most worlds are quite linear, with alternate paths generally being quite obvious and leading to the same collectibles. Wario must find four coloured Jewel Pieces in every world and escape with the ghost-like Keyzer to open doors in the hub world’s passages, meaning you either need to explore thoroughly the first time through or return the world to find what you missed. This can be a bit annoying and basically forces you to 100% every world, which can be a chore, especially when Jewel Pieces are only accessible after hitting the Frog Switch and opening new paths.

Despite the mini games and variety, the gameplay loop is tedious and simplistic.

As you explore, you come across mini challenge rooms where you must toss archaeologist Arewo Shitain-hakase past obstacles or at switches to earn additional Diamonds, and you can play three mini games to earn Coins. These see you timing swings of a baseball bat, playing an endless runner, and matching Wario’s face. The Coins earned are used in the Item Shop prior to each boss fight, gifting you powerful, automatically triggered items that reduce or decimate the boss’s health. Otherwise, worlds offer some surprising variety as they’re themed around jungles, temples, factories, and deserts rather than sticking to the Egyptian pyramid aesthetic. Some worlds are notably maze-like, like the looping 40 Below Fridge, which has you rolling about as a snowball to access new passages, and Hotel Horror, which is a haunted hotel maze of doors and ladders. Wildflower Fields has you scaling giant beanstalks, Pinball Zone forces you to throw multiple Chomp Balls into Pinball Tulips to unlock doors, and Doodle Woods sees a floating Hoggus spawn enemies with its drawings. A pirate ghost kidnaps Keyzer in Crescent Moon Village, pistons and conveyor belts litter the steampunk-esque Curious Factory, and you’ll be swimming through underwater passages in Mystic Lake. Flying carpets carry you through the sky in Arabian Night, you must stop the chance wheels at the correct places in The Big Board to gain transformations and open paths, and you hop to swinging, vine-like platforms in the rainswept Monsoon Jungle. The challenge is relatively fair, with most enemies and hazards being more of an annoyance, but the difficulty comes in searching for the Jewel Pieces and Keyzer and racing back to the entrance warp before the timer runs out. Temporary platforms, tricky jumps, and alternate paths both help and hinder this task, but the gameplay loop gets a bit tedious very quickly since you must find all the Jewel Pieces and Keyzer to progress. This means there’s less emphasis on collecting loot and exploring for hidden treasure than in previous games, less focus on the transformations, and more focus on replaying worlds until you’ve found what you need to progress.

Presentation:
Without a doubt, Wario Land 4 is the best-looking game in the series so far. Wario is more animated and expressive than ever, spouting phrases as he succeeds or takes damage and performing various idle poses, such as pumping iron or skipping rope. He even flails about in water and has never looked better when transformed into a zombie or set on fire, which makes it all the more bizarre, disappointing, and frustrating that the game’s story is practically non-existent. Even the Game Boy Color games featured cutscenes and some dialogue, but all we get here is some shots of Wario blasting about in his muscle car, finding the pyramid, and opening its doors. The ending tries to compensate for this by offering large sprite art renditions of Wario’s victories over the bosses, but it’s too little too late and I was very disappointed to see that the story didn’t get more emphasis. Similarly, it’s quite unfortunate that Wario’s stuck inside a pyramid for the entire game, visiting worlds by leaping into warp portals rather than exploring an ever expanding and changing island or larger hub world, things that even the first game did much better. The music was equally forgettable, with none of the tunes really sticking in my head, an annoying jingle playing every time you transform, and the environment and soundtrack warping and distorting when you’re ordered to “Hurry up!” after activating the Frog Switch. It’s a shame as there are some fun, comical moments, like a cameo from Mr. Game & Watch and the various items being wheeled out to attack the bosses, who are all large and disturbing. It might’ve been nice to include some sections where you barrel along in Wario’s muscle car, or to bring back the hats from the first game, or to see Wario properly exploring the pyramid rather than just hobbling to each passage and walking through samey-looking hallways each time.

Despite Wario Land 4 being a visual treat, the lack of focus on story hurts it.

And yet, there’s a fair amount of variety in Wario Land 4, with each passage sporting various environments to explore, each one somewhat related to a specific theme. The Emerald Passage is themed around nature, for example, meaning you explore a palm tree seaside, a flower field, a sprawling lake, and a stormswept jungle. The Ruby Passage is themed around industry, placing you in an industrial factory, a toxic landfill akin to a sewer or junkyard, a freezing fridge with lots of slippery platforms and snow, and a pinball-themed maze. The Topaz Passage is themed around toys, with the first world literally being a toy chest, the second being a toy village, the third being a stationary-themed woods that would fit right in with a Yoshi title, and the final world seeing you knock over and outrace dominos before they block off paths and doors. The Sapphire Passage is themed around horror and ghosts, with you exploring a haunted village, a night-time Indian city, a fiery cavern full of lava and flaming geyser, and a labyrinthine hotel that’s so full of spookies and mysteries that Wario should’ve called Luigi for help! The final area, the Golden Passage, lands you right on the Frog Switch and gives you 9:30 to reach the ending, running a gauntlet of all the enemies, obstacles, and gimmicks you’ve encountered before and utilising each of Wario’s transformations to progress. This world is a golden-bricked environment with falling chandeliers that transitions to a stone temple and features drops to rushing water that loop you around if you’re not careful. None of Wario Land 4’s worlds are particularly innovative or original and they feature less alternative paths and rewards compared to the last three games, making them far more linear save for a few instances where you must search a little harder for missing Jewel Pieces. I liked that they remained visually distinct from other Super Mario games, featuring few gimmicks and aspects from those games, but it would’ve been nice to see them play more into Wario’s strengths and transformations, and maybe feature more collectibles to unearth by exploring.

Enemies and Bosses:
As far as I can remember (it has been a while and I don’t care to dig too deep into it), Wario Land 4 features an all-new line-up of baddies, though some fulfil similar functions, like Menhanmās squashing you with their hammers and Kaentsubos and Pig Head Statues setting you on fire. The most common enemies are the Goomba-like Marumen, who simply wander back and forth, while the Shy Guy-like Spear-Mask prod you with spears and the masked Totsumen charge you. Spikys need flipping over with a ground pound to attack their underbellies, Shieragutchi spring from the seabed, and Goggley-Blades cut through the water to try and skewer you. Bow Balloons and Beezley’s turn you into Puffy Wario, Ringosukī apes toss apples to help or hinder you as Fat Wario, and Skeelton Birds can send you plummeting through platforms if their spit turns you into a zombie. Men’onos and their mummified variants charge with axes, harmless caterpillars slither around the Wildflower Fields, mole-like creatures ram into you, and large sea monsters pop from holes in the background of Mystic Lake. Various robots patrol the Ruby Passage worlds, such as an armoured mech that tosses its head and a robotic bird that flies at you, while miniature toy Wario’s litter the Topaz Passage worlds. They’re joined by spear-wielding Dice, a strange hybrid of a pig and a snail, and ballerina pigs spawned by Hoggus. Bowlers toss boulders in the Fiery Cavern before being turned into Yetis when the world freezes, bats flitter about in Arabian Night, and a large pirate ghost lingers in the background of Crescent Moon Village, being harmless until they spot Keyzer, whom they abduct on sight. There are six bosses to contend with in Wario Land 4, with four being fought in whatever order you tackle the Passages in and the first fought to clear the Entry Passage, each being significantly damaged by the item your purchase, and each fought against a timer.

Six surreal, monstrous bosses offer a decent challenge beyond just ramming into them.

The first is a monstrous eggplant that wanders back and forth in an enclosed arena, assisted by smaller minions and eventually turning feral after enough hits. At first, you must ram its face but, when it goes mad, you must hop over it to finish it off from behind. After waking Cractus, you must climb the nearby ladders to avoid its chomping mouth and spiked leaves, butt stomp its head as it passes under you. After a few hits, it spews bile that transforms you into a zombie, adds homing jabs to its arsenal, and floats around more erratically. I fought Aerodent next, a giant inflatable bear controlled by a mouse ghost. You must avoid the pin enemies it drops and hit its glowing feet to expose the mouse, ramming it to deal damage, dodging the flames it drops and desperately trying to land multiple hits in a small window. Catbat was somewhat similar in that you must ram the cat on its head, avoiding its spiked furballs and using the waves it spews to get closer, eventually butt stomping its head to finish it. Finally, I fought Cuckoo Condor, potentially the toughest of the regular bosses. This giant cuckoo clock bird-thing grabs you in its talons and drives you into the spiked wheels on either side of the arena and tosses buzzsaws, which can also be electrified. You must quickly ram its claw to hit the boss, then frantically grab the eggs it drops before they spawn explosive chicks, and toss them at just the right angle to deal damage. The final boss is a multi-phase battle with the Golden Diva, which tosses you about with is Kabuki-like masks, shields itself with a fan, drops green enemies, spawns a rubber ball, conjures black eggs and explosive chicks, and drops a spiked hammer. You must ram, grab, or use each of these to deal damage, either by tossing them or springing into her face, eventually stunning her when she destroys the ground to reveal spikes and butt stomping her head.

Additional Features:
There are four Jewel Pieces in each world and each must be collected to unlock the boss doors. You must also find Keyzer or else you can’t access each subsequent world in the Passage. Every world also hides a CD, unlocking a music track for the Sound Room, and hides hidden challenge rooms where you toss about Arewo Shitain-hakase to snag extra loot. The game can be played on “Normal” or “Hard” from the start, which affects how much health you start with and even the placement of Jewel Pieces and treasure. Beating the game on “Hard” unlocks the extra challenging “S-Hard” mode, and all bosses are revived once you finish the game, allowing you to battle them again and best your time and replay previous worlds to find those missing CDs. You can waste a few hours grinding the mini games to earn extra Coins and try out the different items against the bosses, and you’ll get different endings depending on the difficulty you play and how fast you defeat the bosses, depicting Wario with more or less loot and driving different vehicles. This version of the game also allows you to rewind the action and create save states, significantly reducing the challenge and making it a bit easier to hunt for Jewel Pieces and Keyzer or undo any mistakes.

Final Thoughts:
I was really excited to get into Wario Land 4 since I’ve been a huge fan of the series since Wario’s debut. I was expecting it to be like the last two and feature multiple paths, lots of treasure, and tricky puzzles focusing on Wario’s bizarre transformations. Instead, I got a relatively simple platformer that significantly reduced the focus on these transformations, making Wario more vulnerable and not even offering any new power-ups for him. Sure, you still have to explore the worlds but nowhere near to the extent as before, with most alternative paths being fairly obvious and offering little reward since your treasure barely matters this time around. All that matters are those damn Jewel Pieces and Keyzer, crutches that force you to linger in worlds or replay them just to progress to the boss, which really soured the experience for me. I think it should’ve been mandatory to have one or the other, then have the other gimmick used to unlock bonus areas or challenges. Instead, you can just ignore everything and focus only on collecting those, eliminating much of the appeal in exploring and figuring out the game’s far simpler puzzles. While Wario Land 4 looks fantastic and is a visual treat, this gameplay loops really stifled my enjoyment. The race back to the beginning and to defeat bosses added some tension but also seemed like a forced gimmick to artificially up the challenge, and the minigames were uninspired and boring, which is a shame as the items you buy are quite fun. I was really disappointed by the lack of focus on the story, the linear nature of the narrative, and that Wario was stuck inside a pyramid, even if the worlds have some decent variety. Ultimately, as gorgeous as Wario Land 4 is, I feel it doesn’t live up to its deeper and more complex predecessors, offering far less replay value and being a disappointingly lacklustre title instead of the definitive Wario Land experience.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Ae you a fan of Wario Land 4? How did you think it compared to the other Wario Land videogames? Were you disappointed by the smaller scale of the game and the forced collection of Jewel Pieces? What did you think to the graphics and bizarre bosses? Were you also surprised to see there were no new transformations and less focus on treasure hunting? Did you ever beat the game on S-Hard mode? Would you like to see more of Wario or do you think he’s better suited as a side character? How are you celebrating the Super Mario franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Wario, feel free to drop a comment below, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other Wario reviews.

Game Corner [Mario Month]: Yoshi’s Story (Nintendo 64)

Dr. K2 Comments

So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 21 December 1997
Developer: Nintendo EAD

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo Wii U (Virtual Console)

Metacritic Scores: 65 / 7.2

Quick Facts:
Super Mario World (Nintendo EAD, 1990) showcased the processing power of the Super Nintendo and introduced one of Mario’s most popular supporting characters, Yoshi. Originally designed to be included in the 8-bit games, Yoshi took the spotlight in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Nintendo EAD, 1995), a colourful and innovative platformer that was also a critical and commercial success. This kick-started a slew of Yoshi-centric spin-off titles, including this lush 2.5D adventure originally developed for the ill-fated 64DD peripheral and designed to appeal to gamers of all ages. While criticised for its clunky controls and short length, Yoshi’s Story is almost universally loved for its whimsical music, colourful graphics, and charming gameplay.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Yoshi’s Story is a colourful 2.5D platforming adventure that sees players pick from one of six different coloured Yoshis and travel through six worlds (or “Pages”), each with four levels apiece, gobbling fruit and avoiding hazards. The game plays almost identically to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, though the much-maligned Baby Mario character has been removed, and your Yoshi now has a traditional health system, one represented by a smiling flower that wilts as you take damage. The game offers a “Practice” mode so players can test the game’s controls, which again mirror Super Mario World 2, with all of Yoshi’s previous abilities returning. Yoshi jumps if you press A, jumping higher if you hold the button and frantically kicking his legs in a “flutter” for additional airtime to cross longer gaps or compensate for poorly timed leaps. If you hold down on the control stick while in mid-jump, Yoshi performs a ground pound to crush enemies and break boxes. B sees Yoshi fling out his long, sticky tongue to gobble up fruits or enemies, the latter are swallowed and turned into a line of eggs that trail behind you. To fire eggs, players hold the Z trigger and use the handy reticle to aim, with eggs used to defeat enemies, pop balloons to release more fruit, smash blocks, and even collect Coins or Special Hearts from afar. Eggs also ricochet off walls and can be acquired by hitting Egg Blocks, though you cannot throw them underwater. If you hold the Right trigger, the camera zooms in and Yoshi sniffs around to detect hidden fruit, and you can tap the Left trigger to toggle the heads-up display (HUD) to see how much fruit you’ve collected. Similarly, pressing “Start” pauses the game, allows you to return to the main map, and displays your current score (referred to as Yoshi’s “Mood”) and totals for each stage.

Explore, platform, and toss eggs across colourful stages to gobble up fruit and make the Yoshis happy.

Like pretty much every Super Mario-adjacent title, players collect Coins in Yoshi’s Story; though they’re primarily for your score, collecting some in quick succession may spawn extra fruit. There’s no timer and players are limited to six lives, with their Yoshi being spirited away to Baby Bowser’s keep if they’re defeated and players only able to retrieve them by finding a White Shy Guy and finishing a stage with them trailing behind him. Your goal is to eat thirty fruits per stage; once you do, the stage ends and you’re taken to the next Page, encouraging multiple playthroughs as you won’t play every stage for each Page. If you reach the end of the stage without eating thirty fruits, the stage loops around until you’ve found them all, so it helps to explore and complete the various mini challenges hidden in some stages. While peppers and Black Shy Guys damage Yoshi, eating fruit, Power Bees, and Power Flowers recovers Yoshi’s health, with different Yoshi’s recovering different amounts depending on their tastes. You can also ground pound to change the colours of Shy Guys and restore more health or get a full health refill by collecting Special Hearts or a randomly selected “Lucky Fruit”, and even gobble Bob-ombs to toss them, though they’ll explode and hurt you if you take too long. Occasionally, the enthusiastic pup Poochy aids you by indicating hidden fruit for you to ground pound, or five hopping Coins will spawn that you must devour to spawn a melon. Yoshi can grab and throw Huffin Puffin chicks as a substitute for eggs, utilises Bumber ’Chute umbrellas to avoid hazards and enemies, and occasionally transforms into an egg after eating a tulip to launch to otherwise inaccessible areas. Yoshi can also swim (though can’t toss eggs underwater), temporarily becomes invincible after eating a small, heart-shaped “Super Happy” fruit, and can warp around the stages by finding four Miss Warps or utilising doors and vases. Giant snakes and serpentine dragons carry Yoshi across or up vast chasms and change direction when you jump, though I found Yoshi quite slippery and that it was tricky making precision jumps at times, leaping to some annoying drops or unnecessary deaths.

A bunch of vivid hazards and platforming challenges await in this whimiscal adventure.

You must be wary of spike beds, bottomless pits, lava, falling spikes, and rotating platforms on your adventure. While Yoshi’s Story is pretty easy, some stages offer a greater challenge with troublesome gimmicks, like forcing you to find a key to unlock a door or swinging off wooden weights to briefly open doors. You’ll be surfing on leaves and ghosts (a clunky task), blasted along by gusts of wind, latching onto Surprise Balls, and bouncing on springs to traverse higher. Message Blocks provide hints and ? Switches temporarily create additional platforms, often to Special Hearts. Hitting ? Blocks initiates a mini game to earn additional melons: you must either quickly devour five Coins, race against an unseen Chomp to eat as many melons as possible before you reach a goal flag, and jump past seven melons. If you spot a melon flowerpot, ground pounding it initiates another mini game where you must frantically try to balance a stack of boxes and bring them to the finish line. These mini games can greatly speed up your progress so they’re worth seeking out, and it’s also advised you ground pound often or burst ? Bubbles for additional rewards. Players must deal with a lot of moving and temporary platforms, see-saws, rails (with players hitting levers to alter their direction), propellers, and swinging vines. Occasionally, large, sword-like spikes travel across or stab from the floors and ceilings, players must traverse cogs without being chewed up between them, Shy Guy’s fire cannons from the background, pistons threaten to crush you, torrents of water push you back, and bumper balls bash you about. There are buzzsaws to avoid, rolling balls to awkwardly run on across gaps, beehives that send a swarm of bees your way, little elephants that obnoxiously block your path with stop signs, thorned piranha plants and living globs of lava that must be subdued with an egg to the face, and jelly that slows your movement and keeps you grounded. Naturally, you also traverse caves, maze-like areas, and being carried across pits or lava, with it being recommended that you always have a full stock of eggs to snag any fruit or dispose of any enemies to make your life easier.

Presentation:
Super Mario World 2 was super cartoony and colourful and Yoshi’s Story takes this aesthetic and really runs with it, presenting every stage with a child-like whimsy that gives it a visual identity unlike most Nintendo 64 games. The Yoshis and their enemies are all lively, plasticine 3D models, with the Yoshis happily dancing when left idle, muttering and yelping, and even panting when low on health and dramatically keeling over when defeated. Poochy excitedly yips and bounds around to get your attention, the game’s sparse cutscenes are related through charming rhyming, and the soundtrack is suitably fanciful, resembling a nursery rhyme. While the Yoshis don’t sound or play any differently, which is a shame, the pop-up book aesthetic of the cutscenes is very charming (though it gets a bit laborious seeing the game recap your entire adventure once you beat it). The score board is rendered as a chalk board and Pages are presented with a unique hand-crafted aesthetic, with some appearing to be made from cardboard and construction paper while others are plastic, wool, or other crafting materials. It certainly gives Yoshi’s Story a unique (if somewhat blurry) appearance, one that’s far more detailed and colourful than Super Mario World 2’s picture-book aesthetic (which is still evoked at times), but it can make things a bit cluttered. If you enable the HUD, this is exacerbated to an almost painful degree so I’d recommend disabling it, but some environments are so dense and their colours clash and blend so much that it can be difficult to determine what’s a platform or where enemies are. A great example is Piranha Grove, where thorned piranha plants slink around in the dense, thorny jungle in the background while twists of thorny vines and winding piranha plants pop up from the foreground. Some stages attempt to provide branching paths, others have you loop and warp around to reach fruit; others have you crouch-walking past hazards or exploring dark, dingy caves. A lot of it stays very close to the usual Super Mario formula, for sure, but the game’s visual identity and unique completion mechanic allow it to stand out as you may want tow ait to eat that last fruit so you can find any missing Special Hearts.

The game’s picture book, crafted, plasticine aesthetic bolsters its unique visual identity.

You start in a vaguely field-like area, which contains rail lifts and a tower, before descending into a cavern filled with bones, fire-breathing skeletal dragons, and jelly-filled pipes. When you reach the “Summit”, you’re up in the clouds or atop snowy mountains, before tackling the dense jungle with its thorns, waters, hollowed out trees, and gigantic Blurps. The “Ocean” Page has you swimming around a coral reef, stealing fruit from the many flailing tentacles of Sea Anemones or racing past a beach front as Shy Guy’s shoot cannons from their pirate ship. The game culminates in Baby Bowser’s tough, hazard-filled castle that’s full of Boos, magma, buzzsaws, and mechanical obstacles, to say nothing of the pits and insta-kill lava. Progression is, however, a bit odd in Yoshi’s Story. While you’re often given the chance to pick which stage you want to play on each Page, you won’t visit every stage in succession like in other Super Mario games and platformers. This means that no two playthroughs are the same, with the game limiting which stages you can pick depending on how many Special Hearts you collect. I played through the first stage of every Page in my first playthrough, for example, then the second, but the game wouldn’t let me play every stage three unless I’d previously collected enough Special Hearts, which encourages replayability and exploration, but is surprisingly obtuse for such a simplistic title. Still, I enjoyed how each stage offered different gimmicks and aesthetics: you’re not just exploring the skies in “Summit”, for example. P.3-1 has you hopping to clouds and riding snakes up in the sky, P.3-2 sees the night sky brought to life by cardboard cutouts, while P.3-3 and P.3-4 take place on a snow-filled mountaintop. Similarly, I liked how Baby Bowser’s castle changed depending on which stage you picked, favouring either a medieval aesthetic, a haunted mansion, or a lava-filled cavern. Since I found the “Jungle” Page a bit headache inducing, my favourite Page was the “Cavern”, with its dark and gloomy dinosaur graveyard, Blaarg’s lava-filled boiler with its dipping bones and skeletal bridges, and the jelly-encrusted drainage pipes. I wasn’t a big fan of the underwater stages in “Ocean” and much preferred the beach setting since Yoshi’s abilities are limited underwater and he controls a bit too loosely for my liking when swimming.

Enemies and Bosses:
While Yoshi’s Story features a bunch of new, bizarre enemies, there are some familiar faces. The most obvious and recurring are the Shy Guys, who wander about, drop bombs or spiked fruit or carry fruit on propellers, stomp around on stilts, hide in trees, captain pirate ships, hop about on pogo springs, toss snowballs from the background, and even pilot missile-firing submarines! Lakitu also appears, awarding melons when you complete mini games, tossing spiked balls, and even blasting you with water jets. Boos haunt the “Ghost Castle”, going shy when you face them, masquerading as blocks, and even mimicking your movements in a line, Bob-ombs parachute from the sky, Bullet Bills fly at you, Chomps try to take a bite out of you, and gigantic Blurps try to swallow you whole. You’ll be taking out spiders, knocking slug-like slimes from vines, avoiding spiked and puffer fish and eels when underwater, clambering to Raven’s to gain extra height off jumps, and keeping an eye out for mischievous ghosts who hide in sticky jelly. A moss-encrusted Wiggler makes an appearance, frogs hop in your face, bat-like ComBats swoop when you get close, spiked centipedes slither around, and bumblebees buzz around trees and nests. A rainbow-coloured smiley face of death bounces about and tries to ram you, Blaarg, Bone Dragons, and Piranha Plants pop up to give you a scare and spew fireballs, and the floating Piranha Pests will temporarily shrink you to near-microscopic size, rendering you defenceless for a time, if they eat you. When exploring the “Bone Dragon Pit”, you’ll probably come across a three-headed Bone Dragon, whose Hydra-like heads must each be taken out with eggs to earn three melons. A giant, pinkish slug lurks in “Jelly Pipe”, with its only weak spot being its large, expressive eyes, while the strange, worm-like Snorkel Snake loops around the waters of “Lots O’Jelly Fish”. Its long length, circular motion, and spiked body make the Snorkel Snake a constant headache, one you’re denied the catharsis of defeating since Yoshis can’t throw eggs when underwater!

Even the more challenging bosses are ridiculously easy if you’re fast with your egg throwing.

There are five bosses to contend with in Yoshi’s Story, with all but one fought when clearing a stage in the third world, “Summit”. Each introduces themselves via a fun little cutscene and is fought in an enclosed arena, taking three hits to defeat, with the exception of the final boss. I fought the Cloudjin on my first playthrough, which takes place above a bottomless pit and sees you hopping to see-saw platforms, grabbing eggs as the gigantic cloud-like genie floats about and drops spiked balls that roll into you. He’s a big target and there are a lot of hazards to worry about, but you can simply spam your eggs and have a good chance of beating him fairly quickly. Inviso was a lot tougher since he turns invisible, barely peeking out from the background, and flooding the arena with chicks. Luckily, like all other boss battles, you can gobble Power Bees and other items to replenish health. Next, I fought Cloud N. Candy, who’s an absolutely joke. He’s big and hops about, but you can literally just spam your egg throw and beat him in, like, five seconds. Don Bongo’s fight can be tricky, though, since you’re in an enclosed space and his tantrum rains debris from above. You must target his lips, which become enlarged with each hit to make them an easier target. Naturally, Baby Bowser is the game’s toughest boss, with the fight being a two-phase affair. You can eat from the constantly replenishing Super Lucky Tree to replenish your health, though, and toss Bob-omb’s at the ceiling spikes to hit Baby Bowser as he flies around on ghosts. After three hits, he takes a more grounded approach, spitting fireballs and trying to crush you with his butt, but you can easily toss or ricochet Bob-ombs to do him in.

Additional Features:
There are three Special Hearts in each stage of Yoshi’s Island. Collecting them not only fully replenishes your health and adds to your final score but also unlocks stages in subsequent Pages, allowing you to experience every stage and boss in Yoshi’s Story (though always on separate playthroughs). Collecting Coins, eating enemies, and eating fruit also adds to your score, with players entering their names on the game’s high score table after finishing the game. However, while Yoshi’s Story doesn’t allow you to review this high score table until you finish the game, you can replay any stage you’ve beaten (as long as you collect all the Special Hearts) using the “Trial Mode” option. If you explore the “Caverns” and “Summit” pages, you may find a black- or white-spotted Giant Egg. Complete the stage with this in your inventory and you’ll unlock the Black or White Yoshi, who again only differ in their colouration rather than having additional abilities like unlimited health or eggs, though every fruit is their favourite, so they do enjoy the benefits of greater health replenishment. There’s also an invincibility code you can input if things are getting too difficult, and you can utilise a save state feature if playing through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

Final Thoughts:
This was my first time playing Yoshi’s Story, a game I’d never had all that much interest in as a kid but which I decided to pick up for my modest Nintendo 64 library since it’s a reasonable price. It’s interesting that the developers chose to make a more traditional, 2.5D platformer rather than translate Yoshi’s gameplay into 3D like with Mario, especially as 3D gaming was all the rage back then and games like this were often seen as outdated as a consequence. Nevertheless, Yoshi’s Story certainly impresses with its whimsical, colourful crafted worlds that showcase the Nintendo 64’s ability to surpass its 16-bit predecessors with detailed, if familiar, locations. I really enjoyed the personality of the plasticine models, though I would’ve liked to see the Yoshis play a little differently (perhaps being faster, slower, having more or less eggs, or being better at swimming) to add some variety. A two-player co-op mode would’ve been nice as well, as well as the ability to free play any stage without entering the “Trial Mode”. The Special Heart progression system threw me, confusing me for a bit, and potentially handicaps players who simply eat every fruit without exploring. It’s weird that all the bosses are fought in “Summit” and, while I enjoyed their appearances, they’re all far too easy. It is fun that the finale offers different challenges depending on which stage you pick, and that each playthrough is different depending on which stage you select, but it does become a touch tedious when you just want to play through each stage successively. Still, Yoshi’s Story is a lot of fun, despite how slippery Yoshi can be and some of the more awkward mechanics. It’s hardly the most impressive Nintendo 64 title and doesn’t really showcase what the console was truly capable of, but it’s a fun, colourful little adventure that harkens back to the glory days of 16-bit platformers and it gives Yoshi a chance to shine as a fully capable solo star rather than a glorified babysitter.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Was Yoshi’s Story in your Nintendo 64 library back in the day? What did you think to the crafted aesthetic and bizarre stages? Were you disappointed that the Yoshis didn’t have different attributes? Did you ever collect all the Special Hearts and beat every stage? Are you a fan of Yoshi and, if so, which of his games is your favourite? How are you celebrating Mario’s birthday this year? Whatever your thoughts on Yoshi’s Story, feel free to share them below, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other Mario content!

Movie Night [National Pokémon Day]: Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker

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Pokémon: Blue Version and Pokémon: Red Version (Game Freak, 1996) saw a new craze sweep entire generations. Accordingly, February 27th is internationally recognised as “National Pokémon Day”.

Released: 19 July 2003
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Distributor: Toho

Budget: Unknown
Box Office: ¥4.5 billion
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 61%

Quick Facts:
Given how popular Pokémon was at the time, it’s no surprise that the aptly-titled Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Yuyama, 1998) was a box office success. Subsequent feature films soon followed, though they were released straight to video by 2003, right in the middle of “Generation III”. With the highly regarded Pokémon: Emerald Version (Game Freak, 2004) imminent, this feature spotlighted the elusive Jirachi and was somewhat divisive among audiences.

The Review:
Set during the Advanced era of the anime (2002 to 2003) and continuing the streak of feature-length films based on the third generation of Pokémon videogames, Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker sees aspiring Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum (Veronica Taylor), his partner Pokémon Pikachu (Ikue Otani), and his friends, former Rock-Type Gym Leader Brock (Eric Stuart) and siblings May (Veronica Taylor) and Max (Amy Birnbaum), take a detour from their journey across the Hoenn region to witness the Millennium Comet, which appears once every thousand years. Though initially disappointed to find the location of the advertised festival to be an empty valley, the group are amazed when a troop of vehicles pull up and quickly erect an elaborate fairground, including a huge tent for the Great Butler’s (Wayne Grayson) exciting magic show. Assisted by Diane (Megan Hollingshead), Kirlia (Unknown), and Mightyena (ibid), Butler wows the crowd by conjuring Pokémon out of thin air and Brock is immediately besotted when the magician does the same with Diane, though Max is more drawn to the mystical crystalline object in Diana’s hands. Rushing to investigate, Max and Ash are quickly roped into Butler’s show but their fifteen minutes of fame are rudely interrupted by Team Rocket – Jessie (Rachael Lillis), James (Eric Stuart), and Meowth (Maddie Blaustein) – who pose as clowns to steal some Pokémon and briefly snag Pikachu before being scuppered by Butler and his Dusclops (Unknown) to the delight of the unsuspecting audience. Impressed that Max can hear the rock’s calling, Butler lets him take the crystal and reveals it contains a sleeping Mythical Pokémon, the titular Jirachi (Kerry Williams), which is said to awaken and grant wishes for seven days while the Millennium Comet is overhead.

Max takes the spotlight as he bonds with the playful Jirachi during his brief awakening.

That night, May “sings” what’s said to be a soothing lullaby (but is just her going “doo-de-doo” over and over) to help Max sleep and inadvertently awakens Jirachi, much to Max’s delight. Although the pixie-like Pokémon fails to live up to its legend by merely teleporting objects or people when granting wishes, Max forms an immediate bond with the childlike sprite and spends every waking moment playing with Jirachi, causing some mischief when Jirachi insists on playing when the gang are supposed to be helping Butler. Max is thus horrified when a local Absol (Eric Stuart), sensing a coming calamity, suddenly attacks Jirachi and equally enraged when May insists on counting down the days on her dreamcatcher-like trinket in anticipation of making her own wish. While I’ve never been Max’s biggest fan, it is sweet seeing him take the spotlight and form a genuine friendship with Jirachi like Ash and Pikachu. Indeed, when Max lashes out at May for constantly reminding him that his time with Jirachi is short, it’s Ash who consoles him by sharing his own experience with saying goodbye to close friends and remembering them. Though Max is extremely protective of Jirachi, he’s young and easily distracted and also not a Pokémon trainer, though even his more seasoned friends are unable to keep Jirachi from being Pokénapped by Butler. Although they save Jirachi, thanks to Absol and Diane, Jirachi is left injured in the fracas, turning the movie into a brief road trip to Jirachi’s home, Forina, so it can recover. Along the way, Max and Jirachi grow closer, making their inevitable separation even harder for Max as he just wants to do is play and be with his new friend.

Humiliated by Team Magma, Butler embarks on a misguided plot to abuse Jirachi’s power.

Unfortunately, this isn’t meant to be due to Jirachi’s nature as it routinely hibernates for a thousand years after only seven days. While this means Max’s time with Jirachi is limited, it also means Butler’s working to a very short timetable. Though appearing to be an amiable magician, Butler was once a scientist working for the nefarious Team Magma and attempted to impress them by reanimating the Legendary Pokémon Groudon from a small fossil. When his machine malfunctioned, Butler was ridiculed and excommunicated, so he plotted to awaken Jirachi and forcibly acquire the power he needed to resurrect Groudon. Butler does this by abducting Jirachi and using Dusclops to force open its “true eye”, which absorbs incredible power from the Millennium Comet and would grant Butler his wish to be acknowledged as a credible scientist. Butler’s misguided desires see him shun Diane, who’s as in love with him as he is with her, and happily endanger anyone in his path, even torturing Jirachi to achieve his ends. Butler’s aided by his fearsome Salamence (Unknown) and a slew of devices (presumably of his own making) that tie into his status as a magician. A master illusionist, Butler easily makes it seem like people and Pokémon are disappearing and even beats Ash and the others to Forina and sets up mechanical capture devices to ensnare Jirachi and properly focus its power. Butler’s Pokémon and tricks are even enough to keep the feared pseudo-Legendary Absol at bay and fend off a local Flygon (Shinichiro Miki) who helps the heroes. As is tradition for these films, Team Rocket are largely here for comic relief and have little relevance. When Jirachi awakens, they greedily follow Ash and the others to try and snag it only to end up absorbed by Butler’s abomination of a Groudon and once again relying on their enemies to save their asses.

Though fearsome, Meta Groudon is undone by Jirachi’s incredible pre-nap power.

Indeed, while Ash and the others save Jirachi from Butler’s machine, the damage has been done and a titanic, grotesque mockery of Groudon goes on a mindless rampage. Rather than being the fabled Ground-Type kaiju, this corrupted Groudon is said to be “pure evil” and sets about absorbing energy from the land, immediately decaying plant life and absorbing Pokémon and humans with its glob-like tentacles. Fearsome and completely invulnerable, this “Meta Groudon” shrugs off all attacks and absorbs anything in its path, including Absol, Team Rocket, and Diane. Horrified by what he’s unleashed and at his beloved’s fate, the remorseful Butler immediately works to reverse the damage. Though naturally distrustful of Butler, Ash agrees to help spirit Jirachi back to the magician’s machine to reverse the polarity and dispel the fake Groudon, only to be absorbed by the creature shortly before preparing his machine. Drawn to Jirachi’s energy, Meta Groudon begins to melt to try and drown the pixie-like Pokémon, only for Jirachi to successfully absorb natural energy and unleash Doom Desire, rocketing Meta Groudon into the night sky where it explodes like a firework, freeing its captives. Upon reuniting with his new friends, the exhausted Jirachi asks Max to sing the lullaby to send it back into hibernation and, though distraught to say goodbye, Max and the others willingly oblige. Thus, Jirachi turns back into a crystalline form, though Max consoles himself with the knowledge that his friend will always be with him. In the aftermath, a repentant Butler vows to recommit himself to more tangible matters, like his relationship with Diane, having learned to value what really matters in life. Though upset to have missed her chance at making a wish, May agrees with Ash that the best way to make dreams come true is to keep pursuing them, ending the film on a heart-warming message about never giving up on your goals and never forgetting your friends.

Final Thoughts:
I’ll admit that I’m slightly biased when it comes to Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker. I much prefer it when the Pokémon movies have high stakes and big, explosive battles between fearsome Legendary Pokémon. It also really bugs me that we never got a movie pitting Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza against each other as that could’ve made for an awesome, world threatening adventure. I’m also not a big fan of Max, who’s especially bratty here, or Jirachi, a relatively weak and largely forgettable Pokémon compared to some of its peers. Still, I don’t necessarily hate this film. It lovingly explores the nature of friendship through Max’s relationship with Jirachi, which is seen as whimsical and carefree but doomed to end in heartache as Jirachi’s time awake is so limited. There’s a meaningful lesson about enjoying the time you have, being mature enough to say goodbye, and always remembering your friends even if they’re gone and this ties in nicely with Butler’s character arc. Shunned and humiliated by Team Magma, Butler becomes obsessed with proving his intellectual superiority, forsaking everything to achieve his goal, only to be horrified when his wish comes true and results in catastrophe. Meta Groudon is a frightening presence that’s sadly underutilised and easily dispatched but results in a pretty intense finale as it wrecks the natural landscape and threatens our heroes, though I still would’ve preferred to see the real Groudon or at least seen this corrupted version battle something more interesting than an Absol. Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker is one of a handful of the features that’s clearly aimed at a different, younger audience than myself and I can accept that, but it doesn’t mean I have to like missing out on what could’ve been. While there’s a heart-warming message here and some fun visuals and moments, it’s not enough for me to say this is one of the better Pokémon movies and it’s ultimately forgettable when you consider some of its messages were told far better in other films and episodes.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker? Do you prefer the more action-packed Pokémon movies? Did you like the focus on Max and his relationship with Jirachi? Were you also disappointed that we never got a true Groudon in the films? Which Pokémon game, generation, and creature is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating National Pokémon Day today? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi to fund more Pokémon content on the site.

Back Issues & Knuckles: Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles

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When Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994) released on this day in 1994, gamers were introduced to Knuckles the Echidna. Takashi Yuda’s mischievous, dreadlocked antagonist is my favourite of Sonic’s supporting cast so excuse me while I celebrate his debut throughout February.

Published: 8 February 1996

Story Title: “Crash of the Titans” (Part I to IV)
Writer: Mike Gallagher
Artist: Art Mawhinney

Story Title: “Fathers and Sons”
Writers: Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders
Artist: Ken Penders

Quick Facts:
Following an initial four-part miniseries, Archie Comics’ Sonic comic books became the longest-running videogame comic book in history. As proven by cartoons like Sonic the Hedgehog/SatAM (1993 to 1994), Sonic was extremely popular at the time, so Archie branched out with a Knuckles the Echidna companion series that eventually became bogged down by convoluted lore. Before a bitter lawsuit forever changed Sonic’s comic books, Knuckles famously matched his rival in every way, including getting his own impressive “Super” form.

The Review:
“Crash of the Titans” sees stubborn loner Knuckles the Echidna make an unexpected appearance in the Great Forest just outside of Knothole Village, the home of the Freedom Fighters. When intrepid leader Princess Sally Acorn and enthusiastic sidekick Miles “Tails” Prower spot Knuckles stomping around, they call in Sonic the Hedgehog. Despite always parting on friendly terms with Knuckles in the past, Sonic and the others are suspicious of their visitor, especially as he never leaves the Floating Island he’s duty-bound to protect. Sonic’s suspicions become full-blown paranoia when Knuckles heads towards Robotropolis, the mechanical, polluted capital of Mobius’s semi-cybernetic dictator, Doctor Ivo Robotnik. Assuming Knuckles is out to cut a deal with Dr. Robotnik, Sonic races off, barely acknowledging Sally’s order that he simply talk to the echidna. When the story shifts to Knuckles, we learn that he’s disgusted by the environmentally destructive ways of “landlubbers” and why he’s come to the surface. After witnessing a Chaos Emerald be split in two in the Triple Trouble special (Gallagher, et al, 1995), Knuckles became concerned about his floating home, which was once held aloft by a dozen Chaos Emeralds and now relies on only one. Determined to keep the island from falling, Knuckles consults the legendary Book of Myths and discovers a link between the Chaos Emeralds and the Magic Rings found within “Zones” (in Archie’s comics, Zones are temporary, semi-magic dimensions that spawn from Chaos energy). Knuckles also learns that Magic Rings sporadically appear at the fabled “Lake of Rings”. However, Knuckles assumes that the Lake of Rings must be in Robotropolis due to the high radiation generated by the mechanical hellscape and left the island under the care of his super strong ally, Mighty the Armadillo, to investigate. Instead of a mystical lake, Knuckles finds a polluted, desolate grotto on the city outskirts, one that was apparently once closely monitored, and is suddenly blindsided by the hot-headed Sonic.

Sonic’s reckless desire to fight Knuckles sees the two transform into their Super forms!

After landing the first hit, Sonic speed reads Sally’s declaration for a parlay but, naturally, Knuckles isn’t interested and the two go at it. Sonic smacks Knuckles with his signature Figure Eight but finds himself running right into a tree when Knuckles yanks on a nearby root. Though temporarily stuck, Sonic uproots the tree and collapses it onto Knuckles, forcing Princess Sally to intervene to keep the landscape from being damaged. While her presence quells the fighting, Sonic and Knuckles continue to bicker, but Sally ignores them as her portable computer companion, Nicole, detects vast radiation coming from where the tree was standing, discovering the entrance to an unknown, hazardous Zone swimming with Magic Rings and Chaos Emeralds! Eager to get what he came for, Knuckles dives in, prompting Sally to offhandedly comment that Knuckles “hasn’t changed since [they spent] summers together”. Stunned by the revelation that Sally has known Knuckles all this time, Sonic pauses his pursuit to question the princess, only to be dismissed and sent after the echidna, the matter shelved in favour of some dubious flirting. Sonic enters the chaotic, hazardous Zone (a mishmash of Badniks, spikes, and other vaguely recognisable videogame elements) to find Knuckles snagging the Magic Rings and making a run for a Chaos Emerald. Thanks to his superior speed, Sonic easily snags fifty Magic Rings and seven Chaos Emeralds, transforming into Super Sonic, a golden, super-powered form that makes him functionally invincible. While Super Sonic is busy bragging, Knuckles quickly collects enough Magic Rings to trigger his own transformation, a burning pink form he dubs “Hyper Knuckles”.

The fierce, super-powered battle destroys a temporary Zone and earns Knuckles a backup Emerald.

Angered by the gimmick infringement, Super Sonic quickly learns that Hyper Knuckles’ strength has been increased “a thousandfold” when he takes an uppercut. However, Super Sonic immediately answers back by demonstrating that he’s now “a thousand times faster than before” with some rapid punches to Hyper Knuckles’ snout. Hyper Knuckles retaliates by smashing a chunk off the Zone and bashing Super Sonic over the head, amazed at how fast Super Sonic recovers but refusing to back down. The two super-powered rivals fly at each other, brutally grappling in an impressive two-page spread before Hyper Knuckles easily deflects Super Sonic’s Super Spin Dash (which is oddly drawn to be the Figure Eight) and snatches his golden-hued rival out of mid-air with his superior strength. However, Super Sonic pivots, using the “backward momentum” to propel himself at Hyper Knuckles with a Super Figure Eight, only for Hyper Knuckles to immediately recover, spin his spiked fists like wheels, and launch a flying kick to Super Sonic’s nose! With both combatants enraged, the two clash with such incredible force that they literally bend time and space and disrupt the integrity of the Zone. The unstable energies are so powerful they cause the Zone to explode, triggering an earthquake so massive that Dr. Robotnik picks it up on his sensors. The explosion obliterates the Zone, drains Sonic and Knuckles of their Super forms, and returns the exhausted, disorientated Sonic to the Lake of Rings. Princess Sally confirms that the Zone and all its Magic Rings and Chaos Emeralds were destroyed, revealing that she saw everything using the seemingly inoperable camera setup nearby. She then gives Sonic a lift back to Knothole but refuses to elaborate on her past with Knuckles. As for Rad Red, he returns to the Floating Island with a brand-new Chaos Emerald in hand, his epic fight with Super Sonic apparently having made waves amongst its residents.

Recalling his father’s teachings gives Knuckles the motivation to find his missing friends.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Archie Sonic special without a backup story. Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles opts not to feature an additional story focusing on the two Super-powered forms and instead continues Ken Penders’ convoluted backstory for Knuckles with a flashback to his youth. “Fathers and Sons” shows that young Knuckles grew up alongside his father, Locke, who taught him his duties as a future guardian of the Floating Island. Locke reveals that this responsibility is passed down through the generations and takes Knuckles to the Chaos Chamber for the first time, revealing that the island is held aloft by a Chaos Emerald and emphasising Knuckles’ duty to protect it. This flashback is revealed to be the ruminations of the troubled Knuckles in the present day as he ponders the puzzle of the mysterious “Archimedes”, a disembodied voice who’s been testing him over the last few months and recently kidnapped his allies, the Chaotix. After dismissing the idea that Archimedes is his father testing his mettle, Knuckles recalls his father’s teachings, which stressed analysing a situation before deciding the best course of action and understanding an enemy before attacking. Knuckles also remembered how his father disappeared into the “Forbidden Zone”, passing his duties as guardian to his son, and his run-ins with Sonic, Dr. Robotnik, and the Chaotix. Realising that he’s let his pride get in the way and that he still needs to grow up to be the guardian his father always wanted, Knuckles vows to track down Archimedes, get the answers he’s seeking, and rescue his friends to make his father proud.

Final Thoughts: 
Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles is a lot better than some of the other 48-page Archie Comics specials I’ve read, but not by much. The main story is showcased far better than some of Archie’s other videogame adaptations, taking up most of the pages and thankfully limiting the backup stories to one ugly, but ultimately forgettable footnote in Penders’ weird Knuckles canon. “Crash of the Titans” retains the distinctly “SatAM” style rendering of its characters but still laces that more serious tone with puns and daft moments, like Tails and Dr. Robotnik breaking the fourth wall, the Book of Myths being hidden in a tree trunk, and Princess Sally’s letter. The story is another example of Archie’s writers awkwardly trying to mash videogame elements with their largely disconnected canon, placing videogame mechanics like traps, spikes, Magical Rings, and Chaos Emeralds in unstable, interdimensional Zones that randomly appear throughout Mobius. I’ve never been a big fan of this and much prefer it when the comics simply adapt the game Zones into locations within the comic’s world, which seems like a far easier solution. They could still have had Rings and Chaos Emeralds in Special Stages/Zones to include fantastical elements, which is something the Fleetway comics did to really well. As presented here, the Zone is kind of baffling. I don’t get why it’s populated by Dr. Robotnik’s Badniks and traps or why Archie’s Sonic comics had so many damn Chaos Emeralds floating around. I guess they figured the many Chaos Emeralds included in Sonic’s games were all different sets, but that doesn’t explain why they’re all green. Archie also deviates from SatAM by changing the nature of the Magic Rings. In SatAM, the Power Rings were invented by Sonic’s Uncle Chuck, spawning from a machine installed at the Lake of Rings every twenty-four hours, temporarily boosted Sonic’s speed and power, and could also be used as a power source. Here, they’re much closer to their videogame counterparts and simply facilitate a Super transformation.

The colourful, heated brawl between Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles certainly delivers.

Technically, “Crash of the Titans” is a very barebones story. It’s simply another chapter in the rivalry between Sonic and Knuckles, one given extra spice by the revelation that Sally and Knuckles grew up together and Sonic’s many dubious run-ins with the hot-headed echidna. Accordingly, Sonic doesn’t hesitate to attack, suspicious as he is of his untrustworthy rival, and the two finally have a more physical fight that’s given time to breathe with the additional pages and panels. “Crash of the Titans” emphasises that Sonic and Knuckles are as bad as each other and evenly matched: both are stubborn, prideful, and occasionally reckless, letting their emotions get the better of them, and Sonic’s pure speed is perfectly matched by Knuckles’ brawn. Even Sonic’s hitherto-unique ability to turn Super is matched by Knuckles, who debuts his Hyper Knuckles form and proves every bit Super Sonic’s equal. The battle between Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles was really well executed, being a colourful, engaging brawl that saw the two bust out some unique moves, such as Knuckles spinning his fists for added momentum and Super Sonic super-charging his Figure Eight. As they’re both functionally invulnerable, the stakes are minimal during this fight and there could never have been a clear winner, hence the destruction of the Zone, which only further reinforced how evenly matched the two were. Still, I think it might’ve helped differentiate the two if Sonic had been reckless and irresponsible and Knuckles had been trying to avoid a confrontation and talk sense into his rival, only to be pushed to the edge and fight back, if only to show that Knuckles is the more mature of the two. The backup story is barely worth mentioning but, again, I would’ve preferred to see this ditched to perhaps see Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles set aside their differences to battle Dr. Robotnik (or one of his creations). Still, Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles was an enjoyable, if mindless special that delivered exactly what it promised and upped the ante for future conflicts between the two rivals.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy the clash between Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles? What did you think to Hyper Knuckles’ first appearance in Archie’s Sonic comics? Did you enjoy his Archie Comics changed the lore of the Chaos Emeralds, Rings, and Zones? Would you have liked to se the two team up against a common enemy? Which of Archie’s Knuckles stories and/or characters was your favourite and how are you celebrating Knuckles’ debut? Use the comments below to share your thoughts and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest more Knuckles content for the site.

Game Corner [Zelda Day]: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch)

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On this day in 1986, legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka launched the Legend of Zelda series, now one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises.

Released: 13 September 2024
Developer: Nintendo EPD and Grezzo

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch 2
Metacritic Scores: 85 / 8.4

Quick Facts:
After the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Zelda sold over 6.5 million copies, the franchise spawned a handful of generally questionable spin-offs, though the titular princess only took the spotlight in a much-maligned and poorly conceived release for the ill-fated Phillips CD-i. Following the critical and commercial success of their 2019 diorama-inspired remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (ibid, 1993), Nintendo and developers Grezzo originally conceived the follow-up as an expansion of Link’s Awakening’s dungeon editor. The project changed to put the princess at the forefront and the dungeon editor mechanics became the “Echoes” system (purposely included over series protagonist Link), and the game was specifically designed to appeal to all gamers. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom released to largely positive reviews that praised the innovative changes to the franchise formula and adorable visuals while criticising the restrictive combat options and clunky user interface.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Much like the adorable and fun-packed diorama-like remake of Link’s Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a 2.5D, quasi-top down adventure in which players explore a version of the fantasy land Hyrule that closely mirrors The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo EAD, 1991) and its sequel. Of course, the most obvious thing that separates Echoes of Wisdom from other Zelda titles is that players now play as the titular princess for the first time in a mainline game…after clearing a quick pre-game sequence where you control a fully powered-up Link and battle the Demon King, Ganon. Once Link is sucked into a rift and lost in the “Still World”, however, you exclusively guide Zelda across Hyrule, sealing rifts and collecting “Sanctions” of the legendary Goddesses to confront the being responsible for the rifts, Null. If you’ve played the Link’s Awakening remake or the classic Zelda titles, Echoes of Wisdom will be immediately familiar, though it does include elements from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD, 2017) and Tears of the Kingdom (ibid, 2023). Players talk to non-playable characters (NPCs), open chests and doors, or pick up various items with A, jump with B, and perform a spin attack with the Right trigger to cut through grass and move a bit faster (though it doesn’t damage enemies). Unlike Link, Zelda doesn’t carry a sword and shield, but she can still target enemies with ZL to send her “Echoes” in to attack. Zelda wields the Tri Rod, gifted to her by the pixie-like companion, Tri. By defeating enemies or encountering shimmering objects, Zelda can add Echoes to her repertoire with ZR and spawn them with Y. Each has a different cost, as indicated by Tri’s current level, and you must seal rifts and rescue Tri’s friends to level him up, which reduces the cost of using Echoes so you can spawn more to solve puzzles and attack enemies.

Echoes and Automatons do Zelda’s fighting for her and and are essential for puzzle solving.

There are loads of Echoes to learn; they’re mapped to the right directional pad (D-pad), and you can set favourites and sort them by type and order obtained. They remind me of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog (Various, 1991 to 1994) debug modes as you spawn regular props (chairs, creates, etc) or enemies who attack on your behalf. Sadly, this means Zelda mostly takes a backseat in combat as you use Moblins, Wizzrobes, Chompfins, and the like to fight for you. There are different levels, too, with the stronger Echoes taking more hits and dealing additional damage but costing more to spawn. Echoes are also essential for solving the game’s various puzzles. You’ll need flaming Echoes to light torches, keep you warm on Holy Mount Lanayru and melt ice, meat to distract enemies, hopping Armos statues to press pressure pads, ranged Echoes to activate switches, and Wind Cannons to extinguish flames or push you across gaps. Echoes create stationary, moving, and temporary platforms, spawn Strandtulas to create webs to climb between, Bombfish to blow up weak walls and blocks, and Mothulas you can grab to float across gaps. You can spawn beds to sleep in and refill Zelda’s health (though enemies still drop hearts and you can still extend her health by finding Heart Pieces), burrow through soft dirt with Holmills, and light up dark underwater caverns with Tanglers. It can be fun experimenting with Echoes to find hidden areas and solve puzzles, though I stuck to a handful of specific Echoes to get past most areas. There are times when you need specific Echoes like the animal statues specifically created for the Gerudo Dungeon and the Ancient Orb used to access the Great Deku Tree. Other times, you spawn boulders to weigh down platforms, summon specific enemies to appease NPCs, use lava rocks to safely bypass lava, or spawn Water Blocks to swim between bodies of water in the bizarre Still World. Similarly, Zelda can eventually unleash six of Dampé’s “Automatons”, mechanical duplicates of various enemies that deal greater damage and take more hits, but cost Rupees and “Monster Stones” to repair. Considering how many Echoes there are, I found little use for these and honestly got annoyed with the Echo system as it wasn’t as much fun as fighting directly.

The limited Swordfighter form, versatile Tri, and various accessories add to the gameplay.

The Still World is Echoes of Wisdom’s take on the “Dark World” concept from previous Zelda games. Areas of Hyrule are blemished and impassable thanks to rifts that spawn shadowy monsters who cannot be learned and don’t drop hearts or Rupees and can only be dispelled by venturing into the surreal, twisted Still World. In here, elements of the regular world are slanted, fragmented, and turned upside down, forcing you to use Echoes in new ways to traverse the endless void and locate Tri’s friends. This opens new areas on the map and levels-up Tri, who also latches onto objects and enemies with X, allowing you to move blocks from afar or carry objects to NPCs to complete side quests. You can also latch onto moving platforms to be carried across pits and solve puzzles from a distance. Soon into the game, Zelda acquires Link’s “Sword of Might” and assumes his form by pressing up on the D-pad. This allows you to swing and charge the sword and, eventually, fire arrows and toss bombs, but only for as long as the Energy Gauge lasts. You refill this by collecting energy (generally by defeating enemies in the Still World) and the gauge can be increased and her weapons upgraded by saving Tri’s friends and finding “Might Crystals” around Hyrule. I found it best to save the Swordfighter for bosses as even a fully upgraded Energy Guage won’t keep sustain the form for long. Zelda can extend her time in this form, locate Might Crystals, improve her swimming, and gain additional benefits from various accessories. While you can only equip a couple at a time (unless you pay a Great Fairy to make you more “stylish”), these are super useful for negating quicksand, preventing slipping on ice, and spawning more hearts or energy. Similarly, Zelda can wear different clothing for additional benefits, such as recovering more hearts when sleeping in her pyjamas, talking to cats to solve side quests, and increasing her spin radius.

Echoes help you navigate Hyrule, the dungeons, and seal the rifts spilling into the Still World.

You’ll be collecting Rupees to buy items from shops, helping NPCs to earn Might Crystals, Heart Pieces, and empty bottles to store restorative fairies, and collecting keys and maps to progress in dungeons. Like in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, enemies and chests often yield monster parts or various fruits. These can be brought to Deku Scrub vendors to mix smoothies to recover health or energy, stave off frigid cold and resist fire damage for a set time, reduce damage for a set time, and speed up your wall climbing, among other benefits. Every NPC provides hints about where you should go next, though you’re free to explore and tackle each area, rift, and dungeon in any order. Zelda doesn’t acquire new items from dungeons, just additional parts for her Swordfighter form that aren’t necessary to solve puzzles, so you’re free to tackle the main and side quests however you like. These are tracked on the map, and you can set stamps and waypoints to guide you, though some areas are more challenging. Holy Mount Lanayru features freezing water and areas that sap your hearts, the Gerudo Desert is full of quicksand, lava is rife on (and in) Eldin Volcano, and you must grab air bubbles to properly navigate the Jabul Waters and its ruins. As ever, dungeons get larger and more complex as you progress. These include a mixture of top-down and 2.5D sidescrolling sections and have you spawning Echoes to activate switches, open gates, and acquire keys to progress. You move giant boulders, ride elevators, defeat all enemies, climb walls, pull levers, and step on pressure pads as standard. Often, you must use Tri to latch onto objects beyond gates to progress; other times, you must place statues in specific spots or destroy blocks to find keys. Faron Temple has you going in and out, weighing down platforms and lighting up dark areas, while Lanayru Temple sees you heating up (or cooling down) special orbs to thaw or freeze up different areas. Gerudo Sanctum has you pulling out giant plugs to fill areas with or drain them of sand, you must spawn lava rock Echoes to cross and ride flava plumes in Eldin Temple, and you must strategically place (or destroy) Armos statues in Faron Temple.

Presentation:
As it’s based on the Link’s Awakening remake, Echoes of Wisdom looks, (mostly) plays, sounds, and feels exactly the same. This is great, for me, as I’m a big fan of the diorama-like, plasticine art style used to bring this epic fantasy world to life. It’s exactly in keeping with the aesthetic of the classic Zelda games and I much prefer the traditional, top-down approach to Zelda. Like Link, Zelda is mute here, talking only through pantomime or Tri, but she gets a chance to show more personality than ever as she’s framed for the rifts and initially goes incognito, meets Hyrule’s various races and helps with their rifts, issues, and worries, and tirelessly traverses both worlds to save her people and rescue Link. Zelda assumes a few different forms with her Swordfighter ability and clothing, though this latter mechanic doesn’t get much attention, unfortunately. This may be the biggest and most diverse 2.5D rendition of Hyrule yet, but it’s easy to explore (even with the rifts) and the fast travel system makes getting around a doddle. All the classic Zelda locations return, with the mischievous, all-female Gerudo waiting in the desert, two warring factions of Zora out by the swamp, and Gorons residing in the mountains. They’re joined by Tri’s people and the yeti-like Condé on Hebra Mountain, yet locations like Kakariko Village, Lake Hylia, and Hyrule Castle all make welcome returns alongside a typical mist-shrouded forest, spooky graveyard, and dingy swamp. As colourful and varied as Hyrule is, the game really impresses and ups its challenge in the ominous Still World, where a desolate void lurks in the background, NPCs are frozen in time, and parts of the environment are scattered about as bizarre makeshift platforms.

The unique story and reimagined locations are married with some all-too-familiar dungeons.

These are areas where Echoes of Wisdom shines best as it mirrors Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom by offering largely visually uninspiring dungeons. They’re not as confusing or layered as other 2 and 2.5D Zelda dungeons and are surprisingly easy to figure out considering the additional mechanics offering by Tri and the Echoes. It’s not too difficult to work out when you have to latch onto something and move it to higher ground, for example, or hit a faraway switch with something like a Boomerang Boarblin. Suthorn Ruins eases you into things nicely, appearing as an ancient, cave-like temple of cracked walkways and broken paths. Jabul Ruins emphasises swimming, with you avoiding whirlpools and grabbing air bubbles alongside stepping on coloured switches to raise a waterspout in the main chamber. Gerudo Sanctum features a wind gimmick and is structured like a boobytrapped training ground, forcing you to clear away and drain sand to progress, while Eldin Temple is housed within an active volcano. You must ride steam bursts, cross lava, and carefully climb rocky walls to progress. Faron Temple steps up the visuals as it’s housed within the Still World, so it’s got a surreal air to it, dark chambers, and crystals to charge with electrical attacks. Lanayru Temple and the surrounding mountains was probably my favourite area as you must fight against the slippery ice, stave off the frigid cold, and power up machinery to freeze or thaw different rooms. Things go full bonkers when you confront Null, however, as you battle through his insides alongside Link like the Kafai side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (Nintendo EAD, 2000) and traverse a fractured, bastardised version of Hyrule to reach the end. The game’s story is primarily told through speech bubbles, though some higher quality cutscenes crop up now and then. Musically, Echoes of Wisdom does well, emphasising more relaxed tunes than usual and peppering remixes of “Zelda’s Lullaby” and the main overture into the mix, though nothing really jumped out at me as very memorable.

Enemies and Bosses:
All the usual suspects return in Echoes of Wisdom, with every enemy (save for their rift-spawned shadows) capable of being spawned as Echoes. You’ll be swatting crow-like Guays and bat-like Keese from the air (with these latter also boasting fire, ice, and lightning variants), slaughtering spear- and sword-wielding Moblins (the tougher variants also boasting shields), and struggling to reflect Octorock’s projectiles without a shield. Lizalfos thrust and leap with tridents, Peahats pop from the ground and fly at you with their bladed underbellies, Mini-Moldorms snake around, Torch and Freeze Slugs crawl along leaving damaging trails, and elemental Wizzrobes teleport about small areas firing magical energy waves. Tektites pounce from the water, Beamos fire lasers from their eyes, snake-like Ropes lurk in grass, and you’ll even track down a super-strong Lynel that’s worth adding to your Echo line-up. ReDeads and Gibdos freeze you with a horrifying scream, Poes become intangible and toss flames from their lanterns, Darknuts wield giant axes, and ravenous Chompfin wait in the sea. There are also some new enemies to contend with, like the rain-spawning Drippitune and distracting Ribbitune (though they pose little threat), the Tweelus rock monsters who fly into a rage when attacked, swooping Albatrawl, and armadillo-like Caromadillo who roll into a ball to attack you. Many enemies receive shadowy variants in and around rifts and some (like the Ball-and-Chain Trooper and White Wolfos) act as mini bosses. Other optional mini bosses appear in side quests: the centipede-like Lanmola lurks in the Gerudo Desert, the Barinade-like Bori is fought in the wrecked ship, the red-hot Volcanic Talus is battled in Summit Cave, and the sentient gas ball Smog is encountered in the Eastern Temple. Naturally, these tend to be tougher battles, with Volcanic Talus being a flaming variant on the Seismic Talus boss battle and Bori emitting a powerful electrical field that’s difficult to avoid as you frantically destroy its mini jellyfish.

Amidst the fun mini bosses, you’ll find dark copies of Zelda and multiple iterations of series hero Link.

There are six mini bosses to contend with across Echoes of Wisdom, with your first being a battle against Ganon himself! This is essentially a stripped down version of A Link to the Past’s final battle as sees you (as Link) swatting Ganon with your sword as he teleports about, tosses his trident, and lunges from across the screen. You must defeat an Echo of Lord Jabu-Jabu to access the Jabul Ruins, and this fight sees you tossing Bombfish when he breaths in deeply and frantically swimming or hopping to wooden planks as he chomps around in the water. In Faron Temple, you encounter the multi-headed plant monster Manhandla twice, with you again stunning it by tricking it into eating Bombfishes so you can sever each head. In the second fight, it sprouts more heads, with two spitting projectiles. Lanayru Temple’s Slime Eye was a bit of a pain as you must avoid being squashed when it drops from above and spawn ice Echoes to freeze it. Each time you shatter it, it splits into smaller forms, which can quickly clog up the screen and make it difficult to avoid taking damage. When in the Stilled Ancient Ruins, Zelda battles her rift-spawned doppelgänger, who floats about and spawns shadow monsters of her own. You must lock onto her and fire your arrows to knock her down, preferably spawning a Lynel to handle her minions and deal big damage to her as she has a lot of help. Additionally, your most persistent enemy in Echoes of Wisdom is a shadowy double of Link who’s fought three times. Each time, he adds a new weapon to his arsenal which you receive upon victory, meaning you must battle against his sword swings, bomb tosses, and arrows. Link fires up to three arrows, charges a Spin Attack, jumps about, and powers up to be faster or spawn duplicates. Still, it’s generally easy enough to distract him with one Echo and spawn another to hit him from behind even with pits or multiple attacks to worry about.

Some large and complex, unique, familiar, and challenging bosses stand in Zelda’s path.

There are also eight regular bosses, with some being returning faces from the franchise. I fought the Seismic Talus first, which circles the arena and rapidly spins its long, rocky arms or slams them to the ground. You must target the exposed core on its back when it’s stunned or distracted, but the weak spot moves as the fight progresses. Next, I battled the fish-like Vocavor underwater in a 2.5D setting. You must grab air bubbles and dodge the whirlpools it spawns and its tail attack, dropping Bombfish to target the growths on its skin and leave it vulnerable for your sword. The giant mole Mogryph burrows under the sand, sending sand plumes at you, and diving across the sand to skewer you. You must trick it into colliding with the statues to stun it, then spawn your own when it takes to the air, watching for quicksand and sand twisters. I was super happy to see Volvagia return in Eldin Temple for a pretty challenging battle. Volvagia’s largely invulnerable when circling and you must avoid falling into the lava or stepping on red-hot tiles. When it pops from a lava pool, fire your arrows or use Tri to tug at its necklace to stun it, but watch for the energy balls and fireballs it spits and its wide-arching head swipe. Another familiar face, Gohma, guards Faron Temple. This time, you must use electrical Echoes to quickly attack the green crystals on her body to stun her, avoiding or burning the webs she spits out and taking out her babies as they appear. As you deal damage, Gohma stomps about and tries to trap you in her pincers and fires a sweeping laser. Skorchill awaits in Lanayru Temple and spins around on the ice, stomping to drop icicles, or switching to its fire helmet to spit fireballs and performing a flaming spin. You must alternate between ice- and fire-based Echoes depending on which helmet Skorchill’s wearing, with it eventually rapidly switching between both forms by the finale.

As tough as Ganon is, newcomer Null pushes your Echo-casting and Tri-throwing to their limit.

Ganon returns in Hyrule Castle, now noticeably more formidable since Zelda lacks Link’s usual attacks. In addition to his massive trident and teleporting antics, Ganon tosses fireballs and goads you into playing dead man’s volley, so be sure to have your Energy Gauge topped up. This was easily the toughest fight of the early game for me since Ganon is very aggressive. However, Ganon’s not the big bad here. Instead, it’s Null, a shadowy being once imprisoned by the Goddesses that somewhat reminds me of Nightmare from Link’s Awakening. The final battle with Null has three distinct phases, with Link joining you for two of them. In the first, you must latch onto Null’s arms and stretch them out so Link and your (Lynel) Echoes can attack. When it hides in the walls, you must avoid the draining goop it spawns and yank on its arms, again relying on Link and your Echoes since Zelda loses her Swordfighter form in the endgame. In the second phase, Zelda battles alone in Null’s bloodstream, like the Vocavor fight, swimming past giant whirlpools and spawning Chompfins to attack Null’s tentacles. The final phase is basically the same as the first, but much tougher. Null has more hands that are harder to snag (seriously, I kept grabbing Link or my Lynel, which was super frustrating!) and transforms into each of the previous bosses and uses their signature attacks, sometimes becoming multiple at once, or mixing and matching them, meaning you could be faced with as many as four Ganons alongside two flying Mogryphs! This was easily the most troublesome phase as the arena is filled with giant enemies and attacks that are difficult to avoid, so it’s best to sneak in a nap when you can or drink some special smoothies to even the odds. After enough hits, you must snag the “Prime Energy” from its body, rapidly tapping A to dispel the creature and restore the land.

Additional Features:
As in every Legend of Zelda videogame, there are numerous Heart Pieces to be found here. You get full ones for defeating each boss, and another heart for every four pieces you find, with forty of them spread across the map. There are also 150 Might Crystals to find which, when taken to Lueberry, will upgrade your Energy Gauge and Swordfighter form. You only need 125 to upgrade everything but, with all 150, Lueberry builds a machine to fill the Energy Gauge at will (not that you’ll need it by then). There are also sixty-nine (…nice) smoothie recipes to make, with you earning new accessories for crafting set amounts, and twenty-eight accessories to find, buy, or earn. There are eleven outfits to wear, though three are unlocked using Amiibos and one is only awarded after finding all twenty-five stamp locations. Each time you fill a stamp card, the Stamp Guy gives you a reward, such as a bottle or golden egg, and finding all twenty-five lets you dress as him. After finishing the game, you get a stamp on your save file and are free to finish up any side quests or tasks, with the map expanded to show any Echoes or collectibles you’ve missed. There are fifty-one side quests, from showing monsters to NPCs, finding a stray horse, talking to local cats while wearing cat clothes, tackling options side dungeons and mini bosses, ferrying items back and forth, locating a possible spy in the Hyrule guard’s ranks, and playing hide and seek. You can also collect acorns for rewards, play the game in the more challenging “Hero” mode, or head to the Slumber Dojo to tackle timed challenges. These see you battling enemies with various restrictions (such as having no Echoes or items at the start, playing in darkness or against elemental forces, or having healing drinks banned) and endure boss rushes, with various awards gifted depending on how fast you complete each challenge (with the final reward being Link’s iconic green tunic).

Final Thoughts:
I was super excited for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom because I was such a fan of the Link’s Awakening remake and this visual style for the franchise. This is the Zelda I enjoy: colourful, oddball, top-down adventuring with a clear progression system, a bunch of collectibles, and fun enemies and bosses to face.  In that regard, Echoes of Wisdom more than delivers with its clear allusions to A Link to the Past, incorporating the side quest tracking and certain mechanics from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and giving long-time fans something new to experience through Zelda. While the dungeons were somewhat basic, I really enjoyed all the mini bosses peppered throughout the game, especially the fights against Dark Link, and the bosses were surprisingly challenging. Ganon and newcomer Null were especially taxing at times, though I suspect players who take advantage of the smoothie, accessory, and Echo system may fare better. Unfortunately, as fun as the Echo system can be, I wasn’t a fan of how it replaced real-time combat with almost a real-time strategy flavour. Zelda cannot attack unless she transforms into what’s basically Link, robbing her of a lot of agency (especially as she’s known to be a keen archer) and making battles needlessly tedious. The Echoes were good for puzzle solving but even this aspect was downplayed, with many of the puzzles being far too familiar and not as innovative as the system promises. It’s a shame as there’s a lot to like here but it mostly felt like I was playing with a janky debug mode, spawning random crap into each area to see what would happen, which wasn’t that fun as many Echoes are pretty useless. I wonder if a back-and-forth system might’ve been better, where players control Link and Zelda, switching between them depending on the situation. Echoes of Wisdom is still a gorgeous and enjoyable title, however, and well worth your time, I just think it fails to live up to its full potential at times.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom? Were you happy to see Zelda take the spotlight for a change? What did you think to the Echo system and how it took control away from the player? Did you enjoy the surreal appearance of the Still World? What did you think to Null and did you also struggle against his final form? Did you ever complete all the side quests and conquer the Slumber Dojo? Which Zelda game is your favourite and how did you celebrate the franchise today? Whatever your thoughts on Echoes of Wisdom, drop a comment down below, go check out my other Zelda reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi to see more Zelda content.

Back Issues & Knuckles: Knuckles’ Chaotix

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When Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994) released on this day in 1994, gamers were introduced to Knuckles the Echidna. Takashi Yuda’s mischievous, dreadlocked antagonist is my favourite of Sonic’s supporting cast so excuse me while I celebrate his debut throughout February.

Published: 9 November 1995 (cover-dated: January 1996)

Story Title: “The Chaos Effect” (Part 1 to 3)
Writers: Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders
Artist: Art Mawhinney

Story Title: “Tag! You’re It!”
Writer: Ken Penders
Artist: Harvey Mercadoocasio

Story Title: “The Hunt is On!”
Writer: Ken Penders
Artist: Ken Penders

Quick Facts:
After publishing a four-part miniseries, Archie Comics spearheaded the longest-running videogame comic book and expanded their reach with a popular Knuckles the Echidna companion series. Prior to that first three-issue series, Archie detailed how Knuckles met his Chaotix running buddies in this loose adaptation of the rare and obscure Knuckles’ Chaotix (SEGA, 1995) and they were by his side even when overly complicated lore and a lawsuit changed Archie’s Sonic comic books forever.

The Review:
“The Chaos Effect” sees the Knothole Freedom Fighters (reckless point man hog Sonic the Hedgehog and his enthusiastic, two-tailed buddy Miles “Tails” Prower, fearless leader Princess Sally Acorn, tech guru Rotor the Walrus, the partially roboticized Bunny Rabbot, and officious Antoine D’Coolette) invited to what was then known as the Floating Island, a near-mythical hovering peninsula held aloft by a Chaos Emerald and known to dislike intruders. When Sonic and his friends arrive, they find a fully decked out carnival theme park populated by their fellow Freedom Fighters (including Sonic’s number one fan, Amy Rose, and his rival, Geoffrey St. John). Surprised that the island’s guardian, super strong loner Knuckles, would invite them much less host such an extravagant attraction, Sonic and the others are introduced to the brains behind the carnival: Renfield T. Rodent, who invites them to try out the Hall of Mirrors. Inside, while the others are startled (or amazed) by their warped reflections, Sonic’s suspicions about the whole thing immediately turn out to be true when the Freedom Fighters are trapped within the mirrors! Knuckles’ shock is doubled when Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the cruel-hearted despot who has conquered and polluted most of Mobius, reveals the entire thing was an elaborate trap to dispose of his hated enemies. When Knuckles attacks, he finds the light has stripped him of his natural abilities and that Dr. Robotnik spared him so Knuckles could witness the madman’s ultimate victory.

When Dr. Robotnik captures Sonic and co, Knuckles reluctantly teams with some new allies to rescue them.

With his dreadlocks pruned and his fists lacking spikes, the handicapped Knuckles ponders how he’s going to save his allies, only for a hyperactive little honeybee, Charmy Bee, to suddenly fly by and offer some advice. Both are startled when Espio the Chameleon reveals he’s been hanging out, while invisible, in the forest and all three ready themselves for a fight when a ruckus storms their way. When this turns out to be music loving, wannabe rap star Vector the Crocodile, Espio relieves him of his headphones before being knocked on his ass, along with the others, when powerhouse Mighty the Armadillo bursts through the mountainside. Although Knuckles is suspicious to see that Mighty is accompanied by two robots, Heavy and Bomb (strangely sporting very different appearances to their videogame counterparts), the duo explain that the “power gems” installed into them by Dr. Robotnik allowed them to develop sentience and a conscience. When they learned of Dr. Robotnik’s carnival-themed plot, they came to help, bringing a cache of power gems and experimental weapons to disrupt Dr. Robotnik’s mad scheme. Encouraged, Knuckles sets to work rescuing the Freedom Fighters and Dr. Robotnik is alarmed when his theme park attractions and rides suddenly activate. As they’re all powered by separated control mechanisms, the semi-cybernetic tyrant correctly surmises that Knuckles must’ve had help to bring them all online. However, Dr. Robotnik quickly adapts and uses his “material transport system” (because “teleporter” would be too simple, I guess) to bring in some reinforcements.

Despite its immense size, Mecha Sonic is reduced to scrap metal by an enlarged Knuckles.

This comes in the form of Metal Mecha Sonic, Sonic’s deadly, robotic doppelgänger. Greatly enhanced since its last deployment, the ever-loyal Mecha Sonic is sent after Knuckles and his new allies and immediately locates them in the heart of the carnival. Immediately taking charge, Knuckles commands they attack preemptively, which sees Charmy Bee fly around Mecha Sonic to little effect and Espio turning invisible to lure the super-fast robot into crashing into a building. Utilising a ring-like tether wielded by Vector, Knuckles dives at his foe, only for Mecha Sonic to switch to infra-red (seems tactically dangerous in the daytime, but whatever…) and snag the energy beam connecting the two rings. However, Vector apparently uses the mysterious rings to teleport or switch places with Knuckles (the art isn’t very clear…) and toss Mecha Sonic towards Mighty, who sends it crashing through a few buildings. While still recovering, Mecha Sonic is surprised when Bomb explodes next to him, only to shrug it off and grow to immense size thanks to a power gem. To face this Kaiju-sized, red tinted goliath, Knuckles utilises one of Heavy’s power gem’s to also become a giant, battling Mecha Sonic Kai on equal ground. Dr. Robotnik’s fears about the volatile nature of the power gems comes to fruition when Knuckles smacks Mecha Sonic Kai into the Hall of Mirrors, freeing the Freedom Fighters and restoring Knuckles. Rather than ponder why he didn’t smash the mirrors when he was in there (could’ve just tossed a rock or something…), Knuckles smashes Mecha Sonic Kai to pieces with his renewed strength. However, Dr. Robotnik makes a hasty exit on a rocket-powered rollercoaster, leaving Renfield to take the fall. Although Sonic encourages Knuckles and his “chaotic” new friends to form a super-team, they all comically disagree and refuse to entertain such an idea.

Once again, Archie wastes time on pointless backup stories that are largely disconnected from the game.

This not-team then appear in the special’s two back-up stories. The first sees Charmy Bee kick off a game of “tag” between the group. While Mighty’s initially reluctant, he quickly participates by shoving Vector into a pool since he doesn’t have anything better to do. Vector’s frustration doubles when Charmy Bee deftly avoids him and Mighty knocks over a tree to fend him off. While hopping aside, Vector trips over the sleeping, invisible Espio, who he quickly tags before racing off. Annoyed, Espio tries to pounce upon Vector, only to crash and burn and briefly meet a mysterious fire ant who quickly disappears in a puff of smoke. When Charmy Bee flutters by to check on Espio, he unwittingly leaves himself open for a tag and the story ends with the game said to continue. “The Hunt is On!” continues Knuckles’ issues with the elusive and mysterious Archimedes, a hitherto-disembodied voice who’s been testing the guardian’s abilities (and patience) over the past few months. The story begins with Knuckles frantically running from an explosive barrage and stumbling upon Charmy Bee, Mighty, and Vector, who are confused by the attack. While gathering his wits, Vector stumbles down a hole and, when the others try to get him out, they’re suddenly attacked by more explosive orbs, which put Charmy Bee down for the count. Knuckles and Mighty are joined by Espio, who’s amazed that Knuckles spotted him during all the commotion. While Knuckles discusses Archimedes with a confused Espio, Mighty is suddenly attacked by a strange robot on treadmills. Relishing a “challenge worthy of [his] matchless strength”, Mighty battles his mechanical attacker, with the two beating each other into submission. Knuckles urges Espio to find the puppet master behind these events, only for a shadowy figure to quietly abduct Espio (since he’s not a ninja yet). When Knuckles notices his friend is gone, Archimedes challenges him to decide whether his friends are more important to him than safeguarding the Floating Island. This ends the story on a cliffhanger that would finally be resolved in Knuckles’ first miniseries the following year.

Final Thoughts: 
Archie Comics strikes again with another meandering, borderline insulting 48-page special that has little to do with the source material and wastes its pages on forgettable backup stories and the asinine Archimedes sub-plot Ken Penders was pushing. As ever, the art in the main story is passable and mirrors the popular cartoon on which the comics were partially based, though things appear much more rushed than usual here, with many characters being bloated and off-model. Things are far worse in the backup stories, with Knuckles appearing like liquid at many points and Charmy Bee seemingly growing and shrinking between panels. “The Chaos Factor” is further hampered by Knuckles magically being physically altered by Dr. Robotnik’s technology (removing his dreads, spikes, and super strength) and the introduction of colourful new characters. It’s bizarre to me that Heavy and Bomb look so widely different; I wonder if Archie had seen any screenshots or artwork of the two when writing this special? Regardless, Art Mawhinney seems to be struggling with the Chaotix, which I kind of understand as they’re more complicated designs than Sonic’s regular crew. Vector and Espio, especially, appear warped throughout and the group’s characterisation is painfully one-dimension. Charmy Bee is playful, Espio turns invisible, Mighty is super strong, and Vector likes music. That’s about all we get here, apart from the random inclusion of the tether rings (which appear without explanation and are only used once, just like in Fleetway’s Knuckles’ Chaotix adaptation). On the plus side, the story seems to insinuate that the Chaotix live on the Floating Island (Espio and Charmy Bee seem to know each other) and the group expands Knuckles’ character, taking him from a loner who protects his residents as part of his duties to a team leader rallying his troops.

The main story pays partial lip service to the videogame but is a poor representation of the source material.

That’s about where the praise for Knuckles’ Chaotix ends, though. Like many of Archie’s videogame adaptations, the story is a disservice to the source material, taking place entirely in and around the amusement part that acts as the hub world in the game. This barely resembles Newtrogic High Zone, however, and is much closer to Carnival Night Zone or a standard amusement park. Rather than capturing Espio, Dr. Robotnik captures (presumably all) the Freedom Fighters with bizarre mirror technology that’s easily undone by breaking the mirrors (though Knuckles is apparently powerless to do this at first). The story does include Mecha Sonic, which is cool, and I quite liked its fight with Knuckles and the Chaotix as it was a good way to show their powers and test their mettle. Sadly, the group don’t overcome Mecha Sonic Kai with the “real superpower of teamwork”. Instead, Knuckles just grows to gargantuan size and fights Mecha Sonic Kai, somehow toppling the monstrous machine despite him lacking his super strength. None of the stories feature the Zones (or “Attractions”) from the videogame which is, again, a massive disappointment. Why not spend the entire 48-pages following Knuckles as he fights through a few locations (like Botanic Base and Speed Slider) slowly learning to co-operate and accept the Chaotix before reaching Dr. Robotnik’s secret base in Techno Tower? Or, at the very least, produce two, far better backup stories set in locations like Marina Madness or Amazing Arena, perhaps including some of the Badniks and bosses from the game. Instead, once again, it seems Archie Comics only had access to a few screenshots and the basic details of the game, meaning the cover art is the best thing about this let-down of a special that’s only notably for half-assing the introduction of the Chaotix.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

Did you enjoy the Chaotix’s debut Archie’s Sonic comics? Were you also disappointed by how badly represented Knuckles’ Chaotix was? Did you enjoy the fight between the enlarged Knuckles and Mecha Sonic Kai or would you have preferred to see the team tackle the titanic terror? Whare some of your favourite Chaotix adventures and moments from the Archie comics? How are you celebrating Knuckles this month? Whatever you think about Archie’s Sonic comics, and especially Knuckles and the Chaotix, comment below, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other Knuckles content!

Movie Night [Friday the 13th]: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

Dr. K2 Comments

Long considered an unlucky day due to superstitions involving the number thirteen and religious connotations, Friday the 13th is equally well-known as a long-running series of slasher movies. As a result, this is clearly the best opportunity to take a look at the Friday the 13th (Various, 1980 to 2009) horror series and to commemorate this unlucky and dreaded date.

Released: 28 July 1989
Director: Rob Hedden
Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Budget: $5.1 to 5.5 million
Box Office: $14.3 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 11% / 26%

Quick Facts:
The sequel to fan favourite entry Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (Buechler, 1988), Jason Takes Manhattan was originally conceived to return Lar Park Lincoln to the franchise before director Rob Hedden pushed to get series killer Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) out of his comfort zone. Budgetary concerns scuppered Hedden’s ambitious ideas and forced him to film mostly in Vancouver, meaning the film failed to deliver on its title and is largely seen as one of the worst in the franchise.

The Review:
After being trapped beneath Crystal Lake at the end of The New Blood, undead maniac Jason Voorhees has again passed into legend, spoken of as a bogeyman to locals like Jim Miller (Todd Shaffer) and Suzy Donaldson (Tiffany Paulsen). As the high school seniors canoodle on a small yacht on the clearly freezing cold lake, they have no idea that Jason’s rotting corpse is trapped below. After giving Suzy a scare with a heavily truncated version of Jason’s backstory and donning an incredibly faithful replica of the killer’s mask, Jim nonchalantly drops anchor, snagging an underwater power line and resurrected Jason through the power of electricity. Pissed after having his nap disturbed, Jason climbs aboard and slaughters the two, disconnecting the anchor and accidentally drifting away from Crystal Lake and to the Big Apple! Oh no, wait, that doesn’t happen as that would actually make sense and deliver on the title! Instead, Jason sneaks onto the nearby SS Lazarus, a steamship chartered to take Jim and Suzy’s fellow graduates to New York City. Unseen by all except a crazed deck hand (Alex Diakun), whose warnings naturally go unheeded, Jason picks off a new batch of unsuspecting and largely horny twenty-somethings teenagers. While the ship is populated by colourful, if painfully one-dimensional characters, our main protagonist and ultimate “Final Girl” is Rennie Wickham (Jensen Daggett), a somewhat withdrawn and quiet girl with a crippling fear of water. After losing her parents as a child, Rennie was raised by her uncle, Doctor Charles McCulloch (Peter Mark Richman), an uptight and demanding authoritarian who doubles as the school’s Biology teacher and is aghast when Rennie’s English teacher, Colleen Van Deusen (Barbara Bingham), encourages Rennie to make the trip to face her fears alongside her dog, Toby (Ace).

Haunted by a past encounter with Jason, Rennie struggles with her fears and overprotective uncle.

Charles is extremely overprotective of Rennie, aggressively dismissing Sean Robertson (Scott Reeves) from pursuing Rennie and shielding her at all times, often to Rennie’s detriment. Charles is so focused on laying down the law he completely misses that Rennie has a psychic connection to Jason, whom Chrles regards as a long dead superstition. It’s later revealed that young Rennie (Amber Pawlick) had a particularly harrowing experience when her uncle pushed her into Crystal Lake to force her to learn how to swim. Scared by her uncle’s warnings that young Jason (Tim Mirkovich) would drag her under, young Rennie encountered (or possibly imagined) the mongoloid grabbing her leg, leaving her deathly afraid of water and haunted by visions of the drowning Jason begging for help. This aspect isn’t explored much and seems to be a manifestation of Rennie’s fear of water rather than a true connection to Jason. It’s a bit of a shame as it might’ve been a nice twist for Jason to pursue Rennie either to silence the voices in his head or to finish the job he started as a boy, though this latter idea is equally perplexing as Jason was never trapped in the lake as a child so I assume the lake is haunted by his spirit? It’s quite muddy and open to interpretation, but also barely utilised, which is a shame as Rennie could’ve used the character development. Sean is similarly uncharismatic, simply being a handsome young man to protect and worry about Rennie. He gets some wrinkles thanks to the pressure put upon him by his father, Admiral John Robertson (Warren Munson), which sees Sean reject his father’s expectations and then unconvincingly try to maintain order once Jason’s rampage is discovered. I quite liked the close relationship Rennie shared with Coleen, who encourages her passion for writing and stands up to Charles, but none of these aspects are as entertaining or as interesting as they could be as they’re just window-dressing to the carnage.

In a boat load of one-dimensional victims, Julius shines as a charismatic stand out.

Unsurprisingly, the kids aboard the SS Lazarus are largely there to look good and die in creative (if severely butchered) ways. There are some clichés, of course, such as bitchy Tamara Mason (Sharlene Martin), who uses film nerd Wayne Webber (Martin Cummins) to blackmail Charles, purposely shoves Rennie overboard out of spite, and flaunts her sexuality in front of any good-looking guy she sees. Tamara is joined by Eva Watanabe (Kelly Hu), who initially tries to emulate her but cuts ties with her after the Rennie incident but doesn’t really do anything else. They perv on boxers Jason Newston (David Jacox) and standout character Julius Gaw (V.C. Dupree), whose whole thing is…well, boxing. Yet, Julius stands out as he defies Charles’s attempts to take control when the bodies pile up, grabs a shotgun to chase Jason, and is eager to confront two street punks (Sam Sarkar and Michael Benyaer) when they abduct Rennie in New York. Julius has far more charisma than bland-ass Sean, stealing every scene with his easy-going, snarky attitude and even daring to go one-on-one with Jason, despite being outmatched. Jason’s victims are rounded out by rocker J.J. Jarrett (Saffron Henderson), who could’ve been a cool, colourful addition but is instead reduced to being his incredibly underdeveloped first victim, and a bunch of forgettable, interchangeable students and ship workers who are either taken out by Jason or left to drown when he scuppers the Lazarus. It’s crazy that the film not only drops the ball on its title but also does nothing interesting with a boat full of horny, drunken, stoned students. We barely see them interacting in a social setting, there is no sex and barely any sexual activity between them beyond Tamara’s unsuccessful seduction of Charles, and all we ever see them do is wander the ship or react to whatever new problem Jason’s caused.

Sadly, Jason’s hampered by some butchered kills, an awful look, and by barely being in New York.

By this point, this is largely to be expected as Jason was the established star by this eighth movie. There’s no sense of dread or suspense to Jason as we clearly see him enter scenes or follow him as he stalks his prey with a hulking menace, sadly all while sporting an obvious visual downgrade from the last film. Depicted as strangely white and constantly wet and slimy, Jason sloshes his way though the ship seemingly at random, bashing J.J.’s head in with her guitar, thrusting a steaming hot sauna rock into Jason’s stomach, slitting Admiral Robertson’s throat (and leaving him propped up against the wheel for Sean to find), and stabbing Tamara with a mirror shard. Very few of these deaths are shown, of course, leaving us with a glimpse of the bloody aftermath. Much of Jason’s terror relies on jump scares as he now blatantly teleports from scene to scene to ambush his victims or get ahead of them, even when clearly seen to be some distance away seconds before. This ability is kind of fun and speaks to Jason’s unstoppable nature, but also inconsistent as he choses to pursue Rennie and Sean through New York rather than simply teleporting ahead. There are some interesting changes to Jason’s character, though, such as his legend evolving into a warning for inexperience swimmers and him apparently being both a physical force and a grotesque apparition that lurks under Crystal Lake and haunts Rennie. This child-like form constantly changes in every appearance, becoming more monstrous as the film goes on, and is always begging for help, tying into Jason as a tragic horror villain. However, this plot thread goes nowhere and means nothing. There’s no sense that Jason is trying to reunite with or destroy his boyish spirit, or that his child self is trying to help Rennie. Her psychic connection to Jason seems to lure him to her and even has him accidentally saving her from being raped, but that’s about it, making it a bizarre inclusion.

Jason meets a lacklustre end in the sewers courtesy of a flood of toxic waste.

Indeed, we’re almost encouraged to celebrate Jason’s actions, especially once the survivors reach Vancouver New York and it’s revealed just how much of a bastard Charles is. Sure, it’s sad to see Jason smash Julius’s head off and how casually he throttles Eva and shockingly (pun intended) seeing him toss Wayne’s body into the ship’s electricals, but he also murders the gang bangers who dose Rennie with…something (I assume it’s heroin?) and threaten to rape her. It takes a good hour or so for Jason to reach New York, and then another ten to fifteen minutes for him to escape the dingy docks and back alleys and stalk through Times Square. These were some great shots and it’s fun seeing Jason walk the streets, smash through a diner, and ride the subway all while barely attracting a glance from the disinterested New Yorkers. Sadly, as many have stated, Jason doesn’t “take” Manhattan in the slightest and is barely seen in the iconic city as the film spends more time pissing away the boat premise and having the survivors flee through alleys and sewers. Desperate to escape Jason, Rennie and Sean head into the surprisingly spacious sewer tunnels, only to learn that they flood with toxic waste every midnight (because…of course they do!) Since Jason decides not to employ his teleporting powers, this leads to a somewhat tense chase and a somewhat horrifying moment when Rennie tosses toxic waste into Jason’s face and leaves him a mewling, semi-skeletal wreck that’s somehow his worst unmasked appearance. As Sean and Rennie struggle with a sewer grate, Jason staggers after them, only to be swamped by the toxic waste, him somehow spewing up vile liquid and crying for his mother as he’s hit. The toxic waste melts Jason and washes his remains away, leaving Rennie with a vision of his unconscious child form to symbolise her overcoming her fears (I guess?) Rennie and Sean then reunite with Toby and are left wandering New York, apparently having defeated Jason in the most mediocre way possible.

Final Thoughts:
Fun fact: This was the second Friday the 13th film I ever saw, after Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (McLoughlin, 1986), so I’ve always had a touch of nostalgia for it. However, even I cannot defend this one. The franchise had well and truly run out of steam and ideas by this point and that’s reflected in the desperate decision to try something new. Ironically, placing Jason on a ship or in a big city could’ve been really good ideas if the film had committed to them and done them in interesting ways. I almost understand how restrictive it would be having Jason wander around New York without much purpose but promising that and then confining him to a boat was a ridiculous decision. The main portion of the film might’ve been fun if they boat had been livelier, full of sex and drink and over the top characters doing horny teenage things, all while Charles scowls in the background and Jason brutalises the kids one by one. Instead, the setting is as wasted as the city scenes, which are so obviously not in New York that it makes you wonder why the filmmakers bothered. It’s such a shame as there are some good ideas here, such as Jason’s legend having different layers, Rennie’s connection to him, and the suggestion that there’s some kind of bond between them. However, none of that is developed in a meaningful way so it feels like a waste of time, especially as Rennie is such a boring character despite her past trauma. While Kane Hodder physically embodies the role like no other, Jason looks awful here, especially when unmasked, and the kills are completely forgettable save for Julius having his head knocked off. I imagine even die-hard Friday the 13th fans struggle to defend this one, which is such a let-down in every sense of the word that you’re better off skipping it and watching any of the previous entries instead.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

Do you agree that Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is one of the worst in the franchise? If you consider it a guilty pleasure…why? Were you disappointed that Rennie’s past/psychic connection with Jason wasn’t explored more? Which of kills was your favourite and what did you think to Jason’s demise? How annoyed were you to find that Jason barely spends any time in New York? Which Friday the 13th film are you watching today? Use the comments below to tell me what you thought of Jason Takes Manhattan, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other horror content.

Back Issues & Knuckles: Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble

Dr. K2 Comments

When Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994) released on this day in 1994, gamers were introduced to Knuckles the Echidna. Takashi Yuda’s mischievous, dreadlocked antagonist is my favourite of Sonic’s supporting cast so excuse me while I celebrate his debut throughout February.

Published: 3 August 1995 (cover-dated: October 1995)

Story Title: “Tttriple Tttrouble!!!” (includes “Part II: Zone Sweet Zone!”, “Part III: Echidnapped!”, and “Part IV: Blue Blur vs. Rough and Red!”)
Writer: Mike Gallagher
Artist: Dave Manak

Story Title: “Submersible Rehearsal”
Writer: Mike Gallagher
Artist: Art Mawhinney

Story Title: “First Contact”
Writers: Ken Penders
Artist: Jon D’Agostino

Quick Facts:
Following their initial four-part miniseries, Archie Comics began the longest-running videogame comic book and capitalised on Sonic’s popularity with a popular Knuckles the Echidna companion series. Before that convoluted lore and a bitter lawsuit forever changed Sonic’s comic books, Knuckles featured in this loose adaptation of the largely under-rated Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (Aspect, 1994).

The Review:
Not unlike its videogame source material, “Tttriple Tttrouble!!!” sees ruthless cybernetic dictator Doctor Ivo Robotnik in possession of a Chaos Emerald. Rather than having one of five after his experiments scatter the others across the planet, Dr. Robotnik has one of many Chaos Emeralds, though this is sufficient to power his “mega-engine” and pollute the entire planet Mobius. However, this plan gets dashed due to an oversight by his robotic assistant, Crabmeat, who miscalibrated the machine. The imbalance causes an explosion that breaks the Chaos Emerald in two and rockets each part into orbit, prompting Dr. Robotnik to call “Bounty Hunters ‘Я’ Us” to hire a bounty hunter to retrieve the gems (again, not a million miles away from the videogame). While making a messy chili dog snack (or four…), Sonic is brought to the Freedom Fighters’ control room, where their resident mechanic and scientist, Rotor the Walrus, has detected the erratic energy signature of a Chaos Emerald. The three then watch as the Chaos Emerald shard crashes into the Great Forest, its unstable “magic” creating a “new Zone” (apparently, this is how the game’s environments are integrated into Archie lore). Excited to explore a new area, Sonic speeds off, refusing to wait for Rotor’s analysis and unaware that he’s being stalked by a mysterious, wolf-like figure. Meanwhile, Knuckles finds a rare moment of relaxation under the sun interrupted by the other Chaos Emerald shard, which streaks overhead and crashes into Mount Osohai, the Floating Island’s unconquerable mountain range. Undeterred, Knuckles glides over and is stunned to see the shard burrowing into the mountain, then ends up unconscious and plummeting to certain doom after being struck by a piece of rock.

While recovering a Chaos Emerald shard, Sonic is blindsided by Nack the Weasel.

When Sonic arrives at the crash site in the Great Forest, he’s greeted by a bizarre, fairground like portal leading to “Triple Trouble”. Naturally, he enters without a thought, completely oblivious to his mysterious stalker, whom Dr. Robotnik orders (via “2-way, 3-D holo-wrist radio”) to follow. Exasperated by the rotund dictator’s blustering, the mercenary mutes his employer and heads into the Zone in his sky-cycle, which has been programmed to mimic Sonic’s moves! In a change of pace for most Archie adaptations, we get to see Sonic racing through Triple Trouble’s Zones, but this is reduced to a simple montage of panels that literally just show him bouncing, running, snowboarding, or adventuring across the game’s locations before bopping Dr. Robotnik on the head and reaching the exit. There are no battles against Dr. Robotnik’s enlarged Badniks, none of the game’s power-ups (except the snowboard), and the comic just blasts through them all rather than taking place in one or two of the game’s locations. The snowboard panel is essentially a rip-off of the game’s artwork, there’s no explanation as to how or why Dr. Robotnik or his Badniks are there, and the Chaos Emerald shard is bizarrely housed within a futuristic chamber, which Sonic races into to deactivate before the Zone presumably closes behind him. However, as soon as Sonic retrieves the shard, he’s blasted by his stalker, the infamous bounty hunter Fang the Sniper Jet the Jerboa Nack the Weasel! With Sonic successfully captured, Nack demands Dr. Robotnik pay him double the price to retrieve the other half of the Chaos Emerald and the tyrant, eager to mount Sonic’s head on his wall, begrudgingly agrees.

Despite a disagreement between Sonic and Knuckles, the Floating Island is saved.

Oblivious to Nack’s impending arrival, Knuckles wakes in a hidden cave and is cared for by the Ancient Walkers, mute, masked, enigmatic figures from echidna lore. Astonished, Knuckles interprets their cave drawings as a warning that the Emerald shard will cause Floating Island to explode if it reaches the island’s Chaos Emerald power source. Returned to the surface, Knuckles spots and summarily knocks out the passing Nack, unaware that he’s just knocked Sonic into a lake. This wakes Sonic and, pissed at being blindsided, he bursts from the water looking for payback and immediately assumes that Knuckles attacked him. Attacking without thinking, Sonic is easily overpowered by his super strong rival, who’s driven into a fury after Sonic kicks him in the nose. Going “Hyper-Knuckles” (which sees Knuckles turning his fists into buzzsaws rather than adopting a Super form), Knuckles sends Sonic flying with a haymaker, leading to them flying at each other in a rage. Their scuffle ends, however, when they recognise Dr. Robotnik’s voice coming from Nack’s communicator (…despite him muting it earlier…) This clears up the misunderstanding and sees Sonic direct Knuckles to puppet Nack’s unconscious, battered body to deceive Dr. Robotnik. Retrieving Nack’s Emerald shard, Sonic joins Knuckles in intercepting the other half in the island’s crystalline Chaos Chamber, where they just barely reunite the two in time to save the island. The two frenemies almost come to blows again when the restored Chaos Emerald mysteriously vanishes but part on mostly friendly terms, unaware that the Chaos Emerald teleported into the possession of the mysterious Ancient Walkers.

Tails and Knuckles embark on separate adventures largely disconnected from the source material.

While I’m here, I may as well go over the other  stories also included in this 48-page special. The first is a solo adventure for Sonic’s two-tailed buddy, Miles “Tails” Prower, which features his Sea Fox submarine from Triple Trouble and laid the groundwork for Archie’s Tails-centric miniseries. Unfortunately, “Submersible Rehearsal” takes place in the waters near Knothole Village rather than, say, Tidal Plant Zone and sees Tails confront an enlarged Octobot rather than one of Triple Trouble’s bosses. Though amazed by the Sea Fox built for him by Rotor, Tails is outraged to learn that Princess Sally Acorn has forbidden him from taking it out to sea because of concerns about his age. However, Tails improvises when an injured sea gull washes up warning that Dr. Robotnik is rebuilding his “submerged, waterproof robot maker”, draining the oil from the bird into his tank and setting off to help. When Tails finds the underwater facility guarded by Octobot, he doesn’t hesitate to ram to mechanic cephalopod, rescuing the marine life it held captive before destroying the roboticizer with the Sea Fox’s missiles, making an enemy of the besmirched Octobot in the process. The second story sees Knuckles once again tested by the mysterious Archimedes on the Floating Island, making this story even less connected to Triple Trouble. In fact, “First Contact” has more in common with Sonic & Knuckles (SEGA, 1994) as Archimedes sends one of Dr. Robotnik’s Fire Breath units after him and then makes him battle a Hey-Ho. At first, these robots see Knuckles believe “Archimedes” is Dr. Robotnik pulling another trick, but a plunge into the Chaos Chamber sees Archimedes dispel these accusations and aggravate Knuckles with cryptic taunts about his hot-headed nature. Challenged to solve Archimedes’ puzzle, Knuckles later contemplates the lesson with his friend, rocker Vector the Crocodile, and the mystery of who or what Archimedes is and what he wants.

Final Thoughts: 
As always, Archie’s adaptation of a videogame leaves a lot to be desired and takes the barebones, basic suggestion of the source material and reconfigures it into one-and-a-half semi-original stories set within their convoluted canon. I tried really hard to cut this 48-page special some slack, especially the main story, as it almost mirrored the videogame in a dysfunctional way but then it completely dropped the ball. Although I’ve read all the Archie Sonic comics, I don’t recall it being established that the game’s Zones spring out of thin air (or “magic”), though even if that was established it’s a pretty stupid idea. Mobius is a planet, for God’s sake! You just have the Zones be places in the world, which is what Archie usually does, so this weird-ass funfair-like portal…thing…was ridiculous. It also appears to be temporary, as Sonic must race to the Chaos Emerald Chamber and “shut [it] down” with a lever. How that lever, the chamber, and the technology surrounding it appeared is anyone’s guess (more “magic”, I suppose) but it’s nowhere near as ludicrous as Triple Trouble’s Zones conveniently having Badniks, traps, and even Dr. Robotnik in them. Normally, I complain that these adaptations are limited to a single, barely recognisable location from the videogames but this time, I’m complaining because Triple Trouble’s Zones are reduced to a montage. Sure, it emulates the 2D action of the videogame but it’s very lazy. Why not have Dr. Robotnik’s “secret lab” be in Robotnik Winter Zone or Atomic Destroyer Zone, the Emerald shard land in Great Turquoise Zone or Meta Jungura Zone, “Submersible Rehearsal” set in Tidal Plant Zone and “First Contact” be reconfigured into having Knuckles be tested in Sunset Park Zone? There’s really no excuse for these stories not to be set in the game’s locations and it’s kind of insulting that they’re limited to Knothole and the Floating Island.

Sadly, though it comes close, the comic is a poor representation of the videogame.

As ever, the art is passable, resembling the main Sonic comics and the cartoons that inspired them, except for “First Contact”, which sees Knuckles rendered painfully off-model and Hey-Ho looking like its melting! I can’t say I was massively blown away by the Ancient Walkers, who didn’t seem necessary to the story, but I did like the introduction of Nack the Weasel. It took a little too long for him to be revealed and it’s a shame to reduce him to Dr. Robotnik’s lackey, but it’s a role that suits him and he’s always been a visually interesting character. Although we never get to see what his sky-cycle is capable of, it’s not insignificant that he got the drop on Sonic and was well on his way to succeeding when Knuckles clobbered him. I quite enjoyed the fight between Sonic and Knuckles, which is thematically similar to the videogame and sees them go at it with a bit more gusto than in previous encounters. I do think this special issue suffers from not devoting its entire length to the source material to depict a literal three-way chase for the Chaos Emerald (or its shards, or whatever!) between Sonic, the opportunistic Nack, Knuckles, and Dr. Robotnik. Had Archie done this, we could’ve seen at least three or four locations from the game in more detail, seen Sonic battle Dr. Robotnik’s giant Badniks, and had a more action-packed adventure rather than a middling story that essentially acts as a shameless advertisement for the game. Ultimately, this was a very frustrating issue to read as it came so close to being at least tolerable and was very promising but, once again, the covert is the best thing about this special (aside from Nack) and the backup stories aren’t really worth your time unless you’re really invested in Ken Penders’ awful plans for Knuckles and getting a prelude to Tails’ later solo adventure.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Did you enjoy Nack’s debut in Archie’s Sonic comics? Were you also disappointed by how poorly this adaptation represented Triple Trouble? Did you enjoy the fight between Sonic and Knuckles? How interested were you in the riddle of Archimedes? Did you enjoy Archie’s Knuckles lore or did you find it to be overly complicated? How are you celebrating Knuckles this month? Let me know your thoughts on Archie’s Triple Trouble adaptation in the comments and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want to see more of Knuckles’ Archie adventures on the site.

Movie Night: Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

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Released: 16 July 2005
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Distributor: Toho

Budget: Unknown
Box Office: ¥4.3 billion
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

Quick Facts:
An instant phenomenon, Pokémon (Nintendo/Creatures/Game Freak, 1995 to present) dominated playgrounds with videogames, trading cards, and an ongoing anime series (1997 to present). This led to the successful first feature film, which spawned a slew of sequels. By 2005, these were being released straight to video outside of Japan but continued to feature popular Pokémon like Mew, who famously birthed Mewtwo on this day.

The Review:
Taking place during the Advanced Battle portion of the anime series (2004 to 2005) and featuring Pokémon from the upcoming Diamond and Pearl releases (Game Freak, 2006), Lucario and the Mystery of Mew opens in the distant past of the Kanto region. At this time, the beautiful Cameron Palace was caught in the middle of a brutal war was fought between two, heavily armoured Pokémon armies. This impending danger is discovered by the titular Lucario (Sean Schemmel), a stoic and proud Fighting/Steel-Type Pokémon who wields incredible power through its “Aura” abilities. Focusing its power through a nearby crystalline formation, Lucario warns its master – “Aura Guardian” Sir Aran (Jason Griffith) – of the danger before being attacked and temporarily blinded by two Houndoom (Koichi Sakaguchi). Although Lucario fends off the Pokémon, he’s stunned when Sir Aran abandons Queen Rin (Bella Hudson) and the castle. When the aghast Lucario pursues, Sir Aran traps it within a magical staff, leaving it feeling hurt and betrayed. History, however, remembers Sir Aran very differently as it’s said he travelled to the nearby “Tree of Beginning” and ended the conflict between the Pokémon armies, restoring peace to the land. Sir Aran’s so well-renowned that Cameron Palace holds an annual festival to celebrate its hero, one that aspiring Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum (Veronica Taylor) and his friends just so happen to be present for. Ash, Brock (Eric Stuart), May (Veronica Taylor), Max (Amy Birnbaum), and (reluctantly) Pikachu (Ikue Ōtani) dress in period-appropriate outfits for the occasion and Ash (garbed in an outfit resembling Sir Aran’s) conveniently wins the annual Pokémon tournament to be crowned “Aura Champion”. Though he’s annoyed to miss out on the dancing and revelry, Ash is amazed by an ancient staff he’s gifted and the whispers he can hear emanating from it and is absolutely gob-smacked when Lucario is unexpectedly released from it.

Betrayed by its master, Lucario struggles to trust humans and their intentions.

Still partially blinded and confused from the time dilation, Lucario initially mistakes Ash for Sir Aran and flees, amazed to find that hundreds of years have passed, but is calmed by Lady Ilene (Bella Hudson), who recognises it from legend. Lucario’s awakened just in time as a mischievous Mew (Satomi Kōrogi) has been masquerading as various Pokémon (including the legendary Ho-Oh) during the festivities and playing with Pikachu and other Pokémon, unaware that world-renowned record breaker and part-time Pokémon trainer Kidd Summers (Rebecca Soler) is hoping to track it to the fabled Tree of Beginning. A miscommunication sees her Weavile (Eric Stuart) get a little rough with Mew, Pikachu, and Team Rocket’s outspoken mascot, Meowth (Maddie Blaustein), leading Mew to teleport itself, Meowth, and the injured Pikachu to the Tree of Beginning to heal. When Max informs the others, Kidd eagerly joins them in journeying to the Tree of Beginning (much to Brock’s delight) and Lucario obediently agrees to lead them, though it’s fraught with scepticism about human nature. The journey sees Lucario learn of Ash and Pikachu’s friendship and remember happier times with Sir Aran, where its master taught him to hone his Aura to attack and communicate. Somewhat uptight and reserved, Lucario struggled to let its guard down even when encouraged by its master and lashes out whenever Ash and the others invite it to bathe or share food, believing humans cannot be trusted. Local “time flowers” only further sour its mood as he’s reminded of Sir Aran’s treachery and it eventually comes to blows with Ash, believing Ash would abandon his so-called friend just as easily. Max helps make peace with some chocolate and Ash later tearfully apologises, aware that he’s on edge with worry about his lost friend.

The mischievous Mew accidentally endangers our heroes when they venture to the Tree of Beginning.

While Meowth enjoys hanging out with Mew at the Tree of Beginning, Pikachu is equally eager to reunite with Ash but compelled to stay by Mew, who wants to keep playing. When Ash and the others – included Meowth’s Team Rocket cohorts James (Eric Stuart) and Jessie (Rachael Lillis) – reach the Tree of Beginning, they’re violently attacked by its three guardians, the legendary Regice (Kunihiro Kawamoto), Recirock (Eiji Miyashita), and Registeel (Atsushi Kakehashi), mindless near-automatons who attack both groups and drive them further into the Tree of Beginning. Within, the humans are attacked by “antibodies” that resemble fossil Pokémon and swallow them as a defensive measure, shrugging off their attempts to fight back and leaving any Pokémon unharmed in favour of consuming their human companions. This leaves Pikachu so distraught when Ash seemingly dies (…again) that Mew reluctantly uses its incredible powers to converse with the Tree of Beginning and restore those it absorbed, quelling the Regis and reuniting the trainers with their Pokémon. The antibody subplot was a touch unnecessary, I feel, and distracted from the inclusion of the Regis, who were enough of a threat by themselves since even Lucario couldn’t hold them off. While the Tree of Beginning makes for an interesting natural maze and beautiful background, it gets very samey and the film even drops the ball on finally paying off the Ho-Oh tease from the anime’s first episode. I’m also not sure if this Mew is supposed to be the same one from the first movie and it’s a little lacklustre having the main plot be kicked off because the cheeky little kitty wanted to play with its new friends. This means May and Max don’t get much to do beyond berating Ash or helping to melt Lucario’s heart, though Kidd makes for a fun temporary addition to the cast as she’s a pioneer with all kinds of nifty gadgets that are sadly wasted on this adventure.

When restoring Ash imperils Mew, Lucario makes the ultimate sacrifice to reunite with Sir Aran.

There is no central antagonist in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. The antibodies and Regis are simply defending the Tree of Beginning, which has a symbiotic relationship with Mew and threatens to degenerate after the effort of restoring everyone drains Mew’s life force. Determined to save Mew using the Tree of Beginning’s fabled regenerative powers, our heroes journey to the tree’s heart and find Sir Aran’s gloves resting on a pulsating crystalline structure containing his frozen corpse. A nearby time flower reveals that Sir Aran shunned Lucario to keep it from following him to the Tree of Beginning, where Sir Aran sacrificed his life using his Aura to stop the warring Pokémon. Galvanised and guilt-ridden by this revelation, Lucario attempts to use its own Aura to restore Mew and thus save the Tree of Beginning, only to find it lacks the strength. However, Ash conveniently has the same Aura potential as Sir Aran so he slips on the hero’s gloves and helps boost Lucario’s power, somehow just willing himself to generate Aura without any training or knowledge of how to do so. Of course, the plan works and all is restored, but the effort proves fatal to Lucario. A time flower shows Sir Aran’s last moments, where he tearfully wishes his Pokémon well and hoped to be reunited with it someday and Lucario weeps, acknowledging Sir Aran as his friend and saying its farewells before dissipating into energy sparkles and reuniting with his friend in death. Exiting into the fresh air, Ash promises to also keep them both close by and Kidd vows to never reveal the Tree of Beginning’s location to keep it safe from tourists. Lucario is also immortalised alongside Sir Aran at Cameron Palace and Mew even gains a new playmate: a Bonsly (Eric Stuart) May befriended on the journey.

Final Thoughts:
I had high hopes for Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. I liked Lucario and even used one on my Diamond team back in the day, though it ended up being far from the dark counterpart to Mewtwo I imagined it to be. It’s kind of weird seeing a Fighting/Steel-Type Pokémon have telepathic powers but the movie kinda explains it through its “Aura” gimmick, a semi-psychic power that makes this Lucario exceptional and which Ash also conveniently has. I don’t think this was necessary; I think his physical resemblance to Sir Aran would’ve been enough and he (and the others) could’ve just given Lucario emotional support in the finale rather than seeing Ash emit an Aura Sphere out of nowhere. If you’re looking for spectacular Pokémon battles, you won’t find them here as Ash has one of his weakest teams ever and this film is more focused on exploring Lucario’s lost faith in humanity and realising that its friend didn’t betray him after all. I do wonder if the film might’ve been improved by having Kidd be an antagonist looking to capture Mew or gain control of the Tree of Beginning as the film suffers somewhat without a villain. The Regis are painfully wasted, leading only to chase scenes, though the antibodies offer some of the more harrowing moments where characters, believing they’re about to die, release their Pokémon (Ash even tells Pikachu he loves it before being devoured). I was disappointed to see that Ho-Oh was simply Mew in disguise, however, and had no relevance to the plot and that Mew didn’t get more significance until its life was suddenly in danger. In the end, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was a decent, somewhat emotional adventure with some relevant lessons to teach about human nature and such, but it’s a somewhat by-the-numbers Pokémon feature that I don’t think really lived up to its full potential.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Are you a fan of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew? Did you guess that Sir Aran hadn’t really betrayed Lucario? Were you also unimpressed that Ash could wield Aura? Do you think the film squandered the potential of the Regis and Mew? Were you disappointed that Ho-Oh didn’t factor into the plot? Which Pokémon feature film is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, leave them in the comments below and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest more Pokémon content for the site.

Back Issues & Knuckles: Sonic & Knuckles

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When Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994) released on this day in 1994, gamers were introduced to Knuckles the Echidna. Takashi Yuda’s mischievous, dreadlocked antagonist is my favourite of Sonic’s supporting cast so excuse me while I celebrate his debut throughout February.

Published: 11 May 1995 (cover-dated: August 1995)

Story Title: “Panic in the Sky” (Part 1 and 2)
Writers: Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders
Artists: Art Mawhinney and Dave Manak

Story Title: “Fire Drill”
Writers: Ken Penders
Artist: Jon D’Agostino

Story Title: “Lord of the Floating Island”
Writers: Ken Penders
Artist: Harvey Mercadoocasio

Quick Facts:
Following an initial four-part miniseries, Archie Comics started the longest-running videogame comic book and capitalised on Sonic’s popularity with a popular Knuckles the Echidna companion series that eventually became tarnished by convoluted lore and a bitter lawsuit that forever changed Sonic’s comic books.

The Review:
The two-part story “Panic in the Sky”, which acts as the centrepiece to this 48-page special, sees the legendary Floating Island (as it was then known) sending the locals in a panic when it descends below the clouds and passes over the Western Coast of Mobius (as Sonic’s world was once called). Naturally, the Knothole Freedom Fighters (engineer Rotor the Walrus, semi-Roboticized Bunny Rabbot, cowardly Antoine D’Coolette, and fearless leader Princess Sally Acorn) are bemused and alarmed by the floating continent, which is heading straight for Knothole Village. When Sally wonders how the island floats (odd, considering a later retcon reveals she knew Knuckles as a child), Sonic and his enthusiastic two-tailed fox pal, Miles “Tails” Prower, fill the gang in on their earlier adventure to the Floating Island and their encounter with Knuckles. Although Sonic left on friendly terms with the echidna, he and Sally ponder Knuckles’ true allegiance and she orders Antoine to investigate any potential threat posed by the island. Sonic’s alarmed when their “turbo-prop” biplane is suddenly attacked by heavy artillery now installed around the island and orders Antoine to fly to safety while he and Tails parachute down to see what’s going on. After being knocked loopy by a pendulum in a vague allusion to the Mushroom Hill Zone, Sonic’s attacked by the axe-wielding Hey-Ho, though a single hit is enough to destroy what’s presented as a mini boss in the videogame. Sonic then runs right into a trap and finds himself hanging on for dear life. He’s therefore glad when Knuckles shows up, only to find the echidna is unimpressed with “trespassers [turning his] home into a war zone” and ready to send Sonic plummeting to his doom.

The hot-headed Knuckles makes a desperate gamble to safeguard his island.

Luckily, Tails is on hand to help but, in his haste, his rock misses its target and both Sonic and Knuckles fell into an underground cavern, eventually ending up on a slab of rock floating in a lava stream (like in Lava Reef Zone). Before the two can come to blows or be boiled alive, Tails swoops in for the save and Sonic makes Knuckles realise that the Floating Island has been hijacked. Angered and concerned, Knuckles leads Sonic and Tails (via “zoot chute”) to the Chaos Chamber, a crystalline cavern that houses the Chaos Emerald that keeps the island aloft. When Knuckles investigates a strange device siphoning power from the gem, he gets a nasty shock that doubles when Mobius’s devious, semi-cybernetic dictator, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, appears (via hologram projection) to spill his latest plot. After discovering the Floating Island, Dr. Robotnik began surreptitiously turning it into his personal battleship, installing engines, a command centre, and weaponry, all powered by the Chaos Emerald and with the purpose of annihilating Knothole Village. Distraught that he was easily duped into fighting Sonic and Tails rather than spotting the takeover, Knuckles smashes the Chaos Emerald, causing the Floating Island to drop from the sky! Panicked, Dr. Robotnik quickly ejects, though his hopes of seeing Knothole decimated by the falling island are dashed when Knuckles busts out a spare Emerald to keep his home aloft (only to later reveal he smashed the spare and replaced it with the original in a double bluff). Though he vows to use better judgement next time, Knuckles refuses Sonic’s offer to join the Freedom Fighters, with Sonic musing that Knuckles is apparently destined to be a loner.

Ever wondered what Knuckles does in his day-to-day? Yeah, me neither…

Accordingly, the rest of the special is taken up with two solo stories for Knuckles. The first, “Fire Drill”, sees Knuckles investigating an explosion at the beach (which borders Sandopolis Zone), finding only a crater and footprints in the sand leading to a nearby bush. Leaping into action, Knuckles is left angered and humiliated when whoever it is disappears and, eager to get his mitts on whoever’s messing with him, Knuckles glides over to the only place they could’ve gone: the ruins of the Sandopolis Zone. Assuming only Sonic could evade him so fast, Knuckles braves his fear of the dark to enter the temple ruins and is further enraged when he’s buried beneath falling debris. Blundering into the maze-like temple, Knuckles barely avoids being skewered by an axe and finds a room full of strange hieroglyphics that momentarily puzzles him before sand pours in. Knuckles easily leaps to safety and smashes his way out of the temple, following “Sonic’s” footprints to the island’s edge and, bizarrely, assuming the hedgehog ran to his death, completely oblivious to the shadowy figure (later revealed to be the fire ant Archimedes putting the young guardian through his paces). “Lord of the Floating Island” closes the special and sees Knuckles rescuing Benjy the Kangaroo during a particularly wild storm as part of his duty to safeguard the island’s other inhabitants. Though grateful, the youngster asks his protector to “bring back the sky”, learning about eclipses from Knuckles before being air-lifted out of the path of a pack of dingoes rattled by the chaotic weather. Although Benjy’s scared by the harsh winds, the weather calms as the eclipse passes and Knuckles returns the youngster to his mother, happy to “protect and serve” his floating home and all its inhabitants.

Final Thoughts: 
Considering how rushed and short Knuckles’ introduction into Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics was, Sonic & Knuckles was ideally placed to deliver a more comprehensive adaptation of Sonic 3 or the titular videogame (SEGA, 1994), perhaps something again to the French adaptation published in the year prior to this special. Instead, as Archie (and Fleetway, to be fair) often did, the publisher spread elements of Sonic 3 & Knuckles across multiple stories and specials, meaning the best thing about this one-off comic is the cover, which promises a far more enjoyable story than anything contained in its pages. Like Knuckles’ debut story, “Panic in the Sky” takes place almost entirely in one location, which can only be generously described as the Mushroom Hill Zone. Sure, Sonic hops to some giant mushrooms, flies through the sky using a pendulum, and fights Hey-Ho, but there’s basically no substance to any of this and comic does an awful job of bringing this colourful location to life. I again have to assume that Archie’s writers and artists only had access to very limited materials when producing these stories as everything’s presented out of context or radically altered, such as the lava flow and the “Emerald Chamber”, neither of which evoke the same feeling of grandeur as Lava Reef Zone of the Hidden Palace Zone. Dr. Robotnik’s plot to weaponise the Floating Island is an interesting one but it’s ridiculous that Knuckles prioritises attacking Sonic and Tails over wondering why the stars have changed position and his island is so wildly off course! Rather than Sonic and Tails enduring a hazardous trek across Sonic & Knuckles’ recognisable locations, struggling to talk sense into Knuckles and racing to prevent the launch of the Death Egg, we get a nothing burger of a rematch between Sonic and Knuckles and a lame-ass, childishly simple solution to Dr. Robotnik’s plot.

Sadly, the special fails to deliver an enjoyable or visually appealing adaptation of the videogame.

Incredibly, rather than devote all 48 pages to adapting Sonic & Knuckles, Archie’s one-off special wastes the rest of its pages on meaningless solo stories for Knuckles. On the one hand, I don’t mind this as Knuckles was still new to readers (and gamers) at the time and “Fire Drill” does at least take place in Sandopolis Zone. On the other hand, he’s not fighting any of the Badniks or mini bosses from the videogame or exploring its locations in interesting ways. The Sandopolis Zone temple is a far cry from the haunted pyramid of the videogame, which would’ve made for an awesome setting for a story, and “Fire Drill” seems more concerned with introducing some mystery around Knuckles and his shadowy stalker. “Lord of the Floating Island” is, in a word, ridiculous. All this story tells us is that Knuckles is committed to safeguarding the island, which we already knew, and that Archie Comics decided that the Floating Island should have a bunch of other anthropomorphic inhabitants on it rather than Knuckles literally living in isolation. This would be fine if he were doing something interesting, but all he does is save Benjy, recap Dr. Robotnik’s threat, and teach him/us about eclipses. While the art in “Panic in the Sky” is in-line with Archie’s Sonic publication and mirrors the 1993/1994 Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon on which it’s partially based, the other two stories are awful. Knuckles, especially, looks disgustingly off model and his gliding is constantly depicted as flying, which was a common mistake. I appreciated seeing his climbing and super strength on show, but none of the stories are particularly impressive showcases for Knuckles and the entire special feels like a waste of time as the main story is essentially a repeat of Knuckles’ debut story and the other two are a waste of time.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

Were you also disappointed by Sonic & Knuckles, its atrocious art, its pointless stories, and its less than half-assed attempts to adapt the videogame? Perhaps you enjoyed this era in the Archie comics and would like tot ell me why when everything is so cheaply done? Which of Archie’s Knuckles stories and/or characters was your favourite and why? Are you celebrating Knuckles’ debut this month? Comment below with your thoughts and support me on Ko-Fi for more Knuckles content!