Sonic and the Black Knight (ソニックと暗黒の騎士, Sonikku to Ankoku no Kishi^?, lit. "Sonic and the Dark Knight") is a 2009 game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, released exclusively for the Wii as the second and final entry in the Sonic Storybook Series, following Sonic and the Secret Rings.^[1] Set in the world of Camelot, the game combines Sonic the Hedgehog's trademark speed with a new sword fighting system, making use of the Wii Remote's motion-sensing functionality to a swordplay action gameplay.^[5]

Plot[]

In the world of Camelot, while on the run from the Black Knight and his Knights of the Underworld, Merlina the Wizard is surrounded by the Black Knight's minions, and, before she is taken, performs a summoning ritual that brings Sonic the Hedgehog to her world. Sonic defeats the Black Knight's minions before Merlina teleports them both away in a whirlwind. The Black Knight sends out his three Knights of the Round Table, who are still loyal to the Black Knight despite his evil, to find and kill Sonic and Merlina on sight. Merlina explains that the Black Knight, once King Arthur, is immortal, as he possesses the scabbard of Excalibur. After training Sonic in the art of swordsmanship, Merlina explains that King Arthur was once a wise and just ruler but became corrupted by the power of immortality granted by having possession of Excalibur's scabbard. Sonic acquires Caliburn, a talking sword who is highly skeptical of Sonic's abilities, and they head off on their quest while Merlina goes into hiding (Merlina explains that she would be recognized in town). They first find the Blacksmith (Miles "Tails" Prower's counterpart) in the Castle Town, in order to sharpen Caliburn's blade. The Blacksmith recognizes Caliburn, but cannot remember when he has heard of its name before.

Sonic heads off to see Nimue, the Lady of the Lake (Amy Rose's counterpart) and previous owner of the scabbard of Excalibur, to find out how to stop the Black Knight; on his way, he encounters and defeats Lancelot (Shadow the Hedgehog's counterpart), one of the Knights of The Round Table, and claims his sword. The Lady reveals that she will only assist Sonic when he becomes a true knight and presents him with three tests to be completed in three days. After completing them, Sonic soon encounters a crying child whose village was abducted by a dragon and decides to help her. Sonic soon encounters and defeats Gawain (Knuckles the Echidna's counterpart) and takes his sword before he can kill himself out of shame with it, asking him if there is more to being a knight than serving a king. With the townsfolk saved, Nimue reveals that she was the crying child and was testing Sonic, and that he can blunt the scabbard's power by retrieving the sacred swords wielded by the Knights of the Round Table. Afterwards, Sonic meets Percival (Blaze the Cat's counterpart) and defeats her before saving her from falling from a cliff, an act that finally earns him Caliburn's respect and the title of "Knight of the Wind". Merlina has seen those events from her reflecting pool and arrives to inform Sonic that the Black Knight is on Faraway Avalon. Sonic and Caliburn pursue and defeat the Black Knight with the power of the three sacred swords.

Having fought and defeated him by using the four Sacred Swords (including Caliburn), Merlina reveals to Sonic and The Knights of the Round Table that King Arthur was an illusion conjured by her grandfather, Merlin. She then takes Excalibur's scabbard to become all-powerful, so she can be the new queen.

Sonic and the Knights of the Round Table are forced to flee, with Gawain preparing to give up. However, Sonic asks Gawain what he said before - isn't there more to being a knight than just serving a king? Nimue arrives, and with her help, Sonic and the Knights set off to use the sacred swords to defeat Merlina by putting up a barrier around the kingdom, which is then revealed that is too weak. After the four swords form a barrier around the castle, Sonic confronts Merlina, who explains that she knows the kingdom will soon come to an end and wants to make it last forever.

Sonic battles her, but is outmatched; in the process, Caliburn is broken in half, and Sonic takes a very severe beating. Nimue and the Knights watch Sonic's efforts, and shout at him to run. Sonic refuses, resolving to stop Merlina no matter what. Sonic's determination, combined with the power of the sacred swords, repairs Caliburn, and the duo transform into Excalibur Sonic and the true Excalibur, respectively, while Merlina transforms into a monstrous creature known as the "Dark Queen". After a long battle, Sonic and Caliburn manage to defeat Merlina. Though Merlina continues to lament the fate of the kingdom, Sonic gives her a flower and tells her that, while all worlds have to end, they merely need to live life to the fullest in the time that they have; reminiscing about her grandfather, Merlina takes his advice to her heart.

Afterwards, Percival congratulates Sonic, who responds that he couldn't have done it with out the help of her and the other knights. Lancelot says that the Knights of the Round Table will have to disband now that King Arthur is gone, but Caliburn reminds them that he is the one who chooses the one to be king; thus, Sonic is the true King Arthur. After the credits roll, Sonic, who has been taken back to his world, explains his journey to Amy Rose. She - having jumped to conclusions - then complains that he is lying and forgot about their date, then proceeds to attack him with her Piko Piko Hammer. The game then shows a book, titled King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, change its title to Sonic and the Black Knight, the same process in the previous game, Sonic and the Secret Rings.

Characters[]

Image	Characters	Biography
	Sonic the Hedgehog & Caliburn	The world's fastest hedgehog, who is never far from chaos, has an exciting new mystery to unravel. In this tale, he will start out as an apprentice and work his way up to earn the honorable title of a knight. Guided by his sacred sword Caliburn, he'll be a knight unlike anyone King Arthur has seen before. Worry not, good people of Camelot, the amazing duo shall bring peace to the kingdom and be praised as one of the greatest knights of all time.[6]
	Merlina	The Royal Sorceress of Camelot, Merlina is the granddaughter of the legendary Merlin. When King Arthur turned evil, Merlina used her magic to summon Sonic to help her save the kingdom.[6]
	King Arthur	The legendary king is best remembered as a loyal monarch who wielded Excalibur. However, now he rides a black steed and leads knights from the underworld, spreading terror throughout the kingdom. The Black Knight's grip on his tyranny over Camelot has never been challenged... until now.[6]

Gameplay[]

The gameplay of Sonic and the Black Knight differs from traditional games in the Sonic series by mixing in the new element of swordplay, along with the traditional Sonic platforming and speed. Swordplay is implemented through the Wii Remote and hence, similar to Sonic and the Secret Rings, however players no longer control Sonic's movement on rails as the team say they have learned from the biggest criticisms about it. The gameplay is mainly 3D, but occasionally the camera will shift to a side-scrolling perspective for traditional 2D gameplay.^[7]

Swordplay is implemented so that players can slice through enemies without slowing down,^[7] but when faced with more formidable enemies, players will engage in advanced swordplay, able to thrust, parry, and even perform a buzz-saw maneuver.^[7]

The stages feature townspeople that the player can choose to help or injure; these actions and the player's deeds will be judged at the end of each stage, updating the player's "Knight's Honor Bonus". Helping the townspeople will boost this bonus, while hurting them will make it drop.^[7] At the end of each stage, the player's actions will determine their morality on their player card, with white and gold symbols giving a large multiplier allowing for faster growth, and red and black symbols causing less than normal growth. The more gold symbols the player has on their card, the less quick time inputs are required to donate to townsfolk, going so far to skip the quick time micro game altogether if you are seen as chilverious enough via Crest of the King.^[8] By helping out grateful citizens, players will be able to purchase new items from them, acquiring items such as gauntlets, magical tomes, and new swords. There are 247 items in the game, some of which can be gained by opening treasure chests in the Missions. An online mode allows treasures to be traded. Additionally, the player can collect townspeople by completing Missions, which will increase the player's title, thereby unlocking additional Skills, better items and more support from the townspeople.

The game changes the traditional level items, such as springs and speed pads, into "fairies". These fairies come in varying colors; yellow fairies are used to gain rings, blue fairies are used as springs and as speed boosts, and red fairies are used to fill up the "Soul Gauge". This gauge, much like the Soul Gauge in Sonic and the Secret Rings, is also filled by defeating enemies, and is used to unleash a powerful attack called "Soul Surge".^[7] Besides the rails from previous games, players can fire a ballista and then grind across its rope.^[7] There are also unlockable abilities that you can acquire through the different missions.

The mission-based system from Sonic and the Secret Rings also returns, but the missions are easier to complete. Each stage consists of multiple missions which feature different stipulations.^[7] The skill system from the aforementioned game also returns, but were reviewed to adjust any problems that were present in that game; the skill system is also designed so as not to interfere with the game's tempo.^[7] There are also Legacy Missions in the game where the player simply must head to the Goal Ring. Some items of Sonic and the Secret Rings also appear, like the Platinum Ring and the seven World Rings as collectible items.

Character-specific gameplay[]

Sonic[]

Sonic is the fastest character in the game and possesses all the standard skills in the game. However, contrary to other characters, Sonic's aerial attack consists of him spinning with his sword as he dashes into enemies, similar to Homing Attack, giving a greater attack range and attack rate. He also does not slow down from sword slashing while running.

Sonic's Soul Surge is modeled after his speed and Homing Attack. When using it, Sonic targets a foe and strikes it with an accurate, swift slash if the Wii remote is swung, or do a stylish kick that skyrockets enemies high if the nunchuck is swung instead. At the beginning of the game, Sonic starts out with only the balance-orientated Knight Style, but over the course of the game, he will able to use the power-orientated Paladin Style and the speed-orientated Cavalier Style.

Sir Lancelot[]

Sir Lancelot's gameplay in Sonic and the Black Knight is quite similar to Sonic's gameplay. Just like Sonic, he has a homing attack, and can also use this attack in order to perform an aerial attack. Lancelot's variation of the Soul Surge, Chaos Punishment, makes him vanish and reappear in front of an enemy to slash him. When used with no enemy near, Lancelot will glow blue and fly through the stage.

While wielding his final sword, Ddraig Goch, Lancelot can also use Chaos Spears by simply slashing with his sword. Also, Lancelot will combine his Chaos Punishment attack with Chaos Blast when attacking an enemy.

Just as Percival and Gawain, he can only be used in the levels Knight's Passage, Shrouded Forest, Great Megalith, The Cauldron and Dragon's Lair. Like Gawain and Percival, Lancelot is permanently set to his character style in Adventure Mode, which is Knight Style.

Sir Gawain[]

Sir Gawain's style of fighting is heavily ground based. His two swords allow him to strike with strong ground combo attacks, but his aerial attacks are mostly dives. He can also glide like Knuckles to cross long-distances. One of Gawain's drawbacks is his lack of a Homing Attack, meaning Gawain would have a heavy disadvantage in Legacy Missions. However, Gawain's aerial attack can be considered a pseudo-homing attack, despite not being able to destroy the enemies on Legacy Missions.

His Soul Surge, Wild Meteor, has him throwing him his swords like boomerangs at enemies. He can only use this move on the ground, but it can strike both flying and ground foes easily. While this move doesn't allow him to gain distance while attacking like other Soul Gauge moves, he can still run incredibly fast if used when no targets are around.

Like Lancelot and Percival, Gawain is permanently set to his character style in Adventure Mode, which is Paladin Style.

Sir Percival[]

Sir Percival's gameplay in Sonic and the Black Knight is quite different from Sonic's gameplay. Unlike Sonic or Lancelot, she has two jumps, of which the first is used as a homing attack. Her aerial attack can be used to stay in the air for a longer time, as it sends her straightforward without losing height. The downside of this, however, is, that her aerial attack can't be used as effectively as Sonic's or Lancelot's. Her ground-based attacks make her speed from enemy to enemy. In her variation of the Soul Surge, Flame Purgation, she covers herself with fire and is freely controllable. This is very useful when fighting against multiple enemies at the same time.

Just like Lancelot and Gawain, she can only be used in the levels Knight's Passage, Shrouded Forest, Great Megalith, The Cauldron and Dragon's Lair. Also, like Gawain and Lancelot, Percival is permanently set to her character style in Adventure Mode, which is Cavalier Style.

Excalibur Sonic[]

Excalibur Sonic is only playable in the battle against Dark Queen. While the player takes him as the playable character, his movements are slow in the air and cannot avoid attacks easily. However, by using /, the player can spin to left or right quickly. Excalibur Sonic possesses a special type of Soul Surge that enables him to draw a significant amount of energy from each attack dealt by utilizing it. In addition, the Soul Gauge is doubled in his case and by continuing attacking at the right time with his soul surge, the Soul Gauge becomes green and allows him to activate more powerful attack.

Excalibur Sonic can attack huge projectiles greatly with increased swordsmanship capabilities than Sonic but is vulnerable to small energy orbs.

Scoring system[]

Main article: Point#Sonic and the Black Knight

Controls[]

Button formation[9]	Movement
	Move/Dash
Tap	Hop
	Jump
+ back	Back flip
while midair	Jump Dash/Homing Dash
Shake Wii Remote	Attack with sword
Hold	Guard
	Soul Surge
Soul Surge + shake Nunchuck	Kick
while on wall	Wall Slide/Wall Climb
while on wall	Stop
left/right + while on wall	Move
	Pause

Objects[]

Items[]

• Apple
• Black onyx (only appearance)
• Fairy (only appearance)
• Goal Ring
• Rich Ring
• Ring
• Ring Container (only appearance)
• Treasure chest
• Will 'o Wisps (only appearance)

Gimmicks and obstacles[]

Bat (only appearance) Butterfly (only appearance) Corner Pole (only appearance) Dash Panel Explosion Trap Giant spear Goal Plate

Grind Rail Horse-Drawn Wagon Iron ball Jump Panel Log (only appearance) Minecart Mushroom

Mystery Circle (only appearance) Slime (only appearance) Spikes Spring Thunder dragon (only appearance) Wide spring

Characters[]

Playable characters[]

• Amy Rose (Battle Mode)
• Blacksmith (only appearance)
• Blaze the Cat (Battle Mode)
• King Arthur (first appearance)
• Knuckles the Echidna (Battle Mode)
• Shadow the Hedgehog (Battle Mode)
• Sir Galahad (Battle Mode) (first appearance)
• Sir Gawain (first appearance)
• Sir Lamorak (Battle Mode) (only appearance)
• Sir Lancelot (first appearance)
• Sir Percival (first appearance)
• Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Excalibur Sonic (first appearance)

Non-playable characters[]

• Caliburn (first appearance)
  • Excalibur (first appearance)
• Dr. Eggman (cameo)
• King Arthur's horse (only appearance)
• King Uther Pendragon (only appearance)
• Lady Igraine (only appearance)
• Merlin (only appearance)
• Merlina the Wizard (first appearance)
  • Dark Queen (first appearance)
• Miles "Tails" Prower (mentioned)
• Nimue (only appearance)
• Sir Ector (only appearance)
• Townsperson (only appearance)
• Troll (only appearance)

Enemies[]

Crawling-One (only appearance) Eyeball-One (only appearance) Fish-One (only appearance) Fish-One (blue) (only appearance) Fish-One (purple) (only appearance) Fish-One (red) (only appearance) Fish-One (yellow) (only appearance) Fish-One (white) (only appearance)

Flapper Giant-One (only appearance) Soldier-One (only appearance) Soldier-One (axe) (only appearance) Soldier-One (crossbow) (only appearance) Soldier-One (spear) (only appearance) Soldier-One (sword) (only appearance)

Areas[]

• Misty Lake
• Camelot Castle
• Deep Woods
• Titanic Plain
• Crystal Cave
• Molten Mine
• Faraway Avalon
• Knight's Passage
• Shrouded Forest
• Great Megalith
• The Cauldron
• Dragon's Lair
• Dark Hollow

Bosses[]

1. Mist Dragon (Misty Lake)
2. King Arthur (Misty Lake)
3. Sir Lancelot (Deep Woods)
4. Sir Gawain (Titanic Plain)
5. Sir Percival (Molten Mine)
6. King Arthur (Faraway Avalon)
7. Earth Dragon (Dragon's Lair)
8. Dark Queen (Dark Hollow)

Other modes[]

Battle Mode[]

Main article: Battle Mode

Battle Mode is the multiplayer aspect of Sonic and the Black Knight. Here, up to four players can battle it out in ten different modes:

• Battle: The winner is decided by the number of opponenets eliminated.^[10]
• Survival Battle: The last player to survive the battle is the winner.^[10]
• Ring Battle: The player with the most Rings at the end of the battle wins.^[10]
• Goblet Battle: The player who holds on to the Goblet for a certain period of time is the winner.^[10]
• Evasion Battle: Avoid the Grim Reaper at all costs!^[10]
• Trap Battle: The winner is decided by the number of opponents eliminated with traps.^[10]
• Battle Phantoms: The outcome of this battle is decided by the number of enemy knights slain.^[10]
• Sudden Death: This elimination match is played with zero Rings.^[10]
• Battle Giants: Players will cooperatively defeat the giant enemy knight against the clock.^[10]
• Battle 100: Players will cooperatively take on 100 enemy knights against the clock.^[10]

Ranking[]

Ranking allows the player to connect to online leaderboards and see how their skills measure up to others around the world. The player is given a twelve-digit Friend Code that can be exchanged with others as to compare times and be added to each other's Friend Roster.

Upon clearing a Mission in this mode, the following with be displayed after processing the time via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC):

• Near your Rank: List of twenty players with scores closest to the one achieved.^[11]
• Top 20: List of the top twenty scorers will be displayed.^[11]
• Friend Ranking: Ranking which consists only of friends registered in the Friend Roster.^[11]

Treasury[]

Main article: Treasury

The Treasury contains all items that the player has collected and identified in Adventure Mode. Most items can be send to friends that are registered in the Friend Roster.

Gallery[]

The Gallery holds unlockable music, artwork and character voice lines for the player to enjoy. It includes the following categories spread across eight Vaults:

• Illustrations: View concept art, such as characters and environments.^[12]
• Movies: Replay all of the movies/cut-scenes and action scenes that have been scene in Adventure Mode.^[12]
• Books: A source to learn of King Arthur's legendary stories, as well as the hero and supporting cast.^[12]
• BGM: Listen to the background music of different stages and scenes.^[12]
• Banners: Check all of the banners that have been earned from various accomplishments.^[12]
• Voice Overs: Listen to voice acting and self-introductions of the voice actors.^[12]

Options[]

Options is the main settings menu in Sonic and the Black Knight. It holds the following options:

• Language Settings: Changes the language settings for the on-screen text and the voices from the available languages.^[13]
• Display Settings: Toggle the screen image to soft/sharp.^[13]
• Game Settings: Turn the subtitles and hint voices on/off during gameplay.^[13]
• Pointer Settings: Turn the option to have the pointer available in certain selection screens on/off.^[13]
• Change Name: Access the Name Input screen to change the name of the current game profile that is being played on.^[13]
• Emblem Editor: Access the Emblem Edit screen to modify the emblem used to identify the current profile's game records.^[13] Extra frame shapes and relief images are unlocked through Adventure Mode.

Development[]

Artwork contest[]

Sega of America held a competition for fan artwork of Sonic characters. The top twenty of the US, Europe and Japan were placed in the game for display and their artists will win a free copy of the game.^[14][15] Artists had to be a registered user on Sega's website to submit art.

There was a fuss over a plagiarized photo by an Italian contestant, whose copy was that of another artist, who happened to post it on DeviantArt. The original artist was later located and compensated for the mistake.

Soundtrack[]

Main articles: Tales of Knighthood: Sonic and the Black Knight Original Soundtrax and Face to Faith: Sonic and the Black Knight Vocal Trax

The soundtrack of Sonic and the Black Knight was mainly composed by Jun Senoue, mixing familiar Sonic themes with a Celtic style. In addition, his band, Crush 40, returned to perform the main theme of the game, "Knight of the Wind," along with several others.

The song "With Me" is the final boss song composed by All Ends. The ending theme for Sonic and the Black Knight is "Live Life", also performed by Crush 40. This song is slower than most of Crush 40's heavy rock songs, giving it a slower, more peaceful rock anthem feel.

Some character themes from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 are featured in the game as well. Other themes are unlockable by equipping medallions of any surrogate knight, leading to songs such as Blaze's theme "Vela Nova" being heard during gameplay.

Two physical soundtracks were produced. The first, Face to Faith: Sonic and the Black Knight Vocal Trax, contains ten vocal/instrumental songs from the game,^[16] while Tales of Knighthood: Sonic and the Black Knight Original Soundtrax features over seventy songs.^[17] Both were released on 8 April 2009.^[16][17]

Cast and Voice Direction[]

Christopher Collet, Julie Rath, Greg Weber were the voice directors for the English dub and Eriko Kimura was the voice director for the Japanese dub.

Role	Voice actor(s)
	English	Japanese
Sonic the Hedgehog	Jason Griffith	Jun'ichi Kanemaru
Sir Lancelot		Kōji Yusa
Shadow the Hedgehog
Caliburn	Casey Robertson	Hiroaki Hirata
Merlina the Wizard	Melissa Hutchison	Mamiko Noto
King Arthur	Gavin Hammon	Hidekatsu Shibata
Sir Gawain	Dan Green	Nobutoshi Canna
Knuckles the Echidna
Sir Percival	Bella Hudson	Nao Takamori
Blaze the Cat
Nimue	Lisa Ortiz	Taeko Kawata
Amy Rose
Blacksmith	Amy Palant	Ryo Hirohashi
Sir Galahad	Pete Capella (archive, uncredited)	Daisuke Ono (archive, uncredited)
Silver the Hedgehog
Sir Lamorak	Jason Griffith (archive)	Daisuke Kishio (archive, uncredited)
Jet the Hawk

Reception[]

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	55.19%
Metacritic	54%[18]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1Up.com	C+
AllGame
Computer and Video Games	5.6/10
Eurogamer	4/10
GamePro
GameSpot	4.5/10
GamesRadar
GameTrailers	5.7/10
GameZone	5.8/10
IGN	3.9/10[19]
Nintendo Power	8/10
Official Nintendo Magazine	78%

Sonic and the Black Knight has received generally mixed reactions from critics, with a Metacritic aggregate of 54% based on 51 reviews^[18] and a GameRankings average of 55.91% based on 34 reviews. While its commercial performance was positive, entering the Japanese sales chart at 30th place and the North American one at tenth, it was de-listed in 2010, following Sega's decision to remove all Sonic games with "mixed or average" Metacritic scores from retail stores in order to increase brand value after positive reception for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic Colors.

Nintendo Power gave the game an 8/10, stating the gameplay is "pulled off in a fine fashion", but also said the main story is "fairly short". IGN gave the game a 3.9/10, praising the game's visuals and the overall presentation, but went on to state that "most of the dialogue [of the story] is so badly written" and that the camera "proves downright obtrusive at points, shooting Sonic's movements behind foreground barriers -- a huge frustration."^[20] Famitsu gave the game a 26/40, comprised of two sevens and two sixes. GameDaily gave the game a 7/10, citing that "repetitive combat, easy missions and limited controls keep it from greatness," but acknowledged its "attractive presentation, decent combat and bonus content." Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game 78%, praising the game's visuals and soundtrack, but criticizing the swordplay mechanics and multiplayer element. GameSpot also noted that, while the sword is useful for slashing through enemies, there is a noticeable delay from the time the player swings the Wii Remote and the time Sonic swings.

Merchandise[]

Several toy websites had pre-orders ready to go for Sonic and the Black Knight action figures, with a June–July 2009 release date.^[21][22]

EB Games Australia offered toy swords with pre-orders of the game.^[23]

Trivia[]

• There are several instances where Sonic reacts familiarly to characters in the storybook world:
  • Upon meeting the Blacksmith, Sonic calls him Tails but immediately corrects himself.
  • Before Sonic fights Lancelot, Sonic says "Some things never change," referencing the fierce rivalry he has with Shadow.
  • When Sonic meets Nimue, he attempts to run away since Nimue resembles Amy, similar to how Sonic runs away from Amy when he sees her.
  • When Sonic encounters Gawain, he states, "You look just like this knucklehead I know," and "You sound just like that knucklehead, too," referencing the reckless fights between the two in past games.
• During some scenes, certain character songs from Sonic Adventure (Sonic, Knuckles/Gawain, Amy, and the Blacksmith/Tails) and Shadow the Hedgehog (Shadow/Lancelot), play in the background. Lancelot, Gawain, and Percival have medals which are used as equipment that change the background to their respecting themes from the selected video games below.
  • Knuckles/Gawain: "Unknown from M.E." from Sonic Adventure.
  • Shadow/Lancelot: "All Hail Shadow" (Crush 40 version) from Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) and "Throw It All Away" from Sonic Adventure 2 (cutscene only).
  • Blaze/Percival: "Vela Nova" from Sonic Rush.
  • Tails/Blacksmith: "Believe In Myself" from Sonic Adventure.
  • Sonic: "What I'm Made Of" from Sonic Heroes and "It Doesn't Matter" from Sonic Adventure (cutscene only).
  • Amy: "My Sweet Passion" from Sonic Adventure.
• This is the first 3D Sonic game that Dr. Eggman does not appear in any shape or form, even though his Badniks appear in the Legacy missions. However, in this game, the Joker Card (one of the game's many collectable items) has the Eggman Empire's symbol printed on it.
  • However, Eggman is also seen on some of the winning fanart of this game.
• A violin instrumental version of "It Doesn't Matter" (Sonic Adventure 2 version) plays when viewing the fan art video.
• When Sonic and Caliburn are about to encounter the Dragon in the Dragon's Lair, Sonic says "Yeah, this brings back memories; except last time it was with Shadow." This is a reference to the battle with Biolizard in Sonic Adventure 2, or it may be a reference to the boss fight in Lethal Highway against the Black Bull in Shadow the Hedgehog.
• This is the first Sonic game where Sonic is actually seen eating chili dogs.
• Jet the Hawk appears for the first time as a playable character outside of the Sonic Riders series, the first time playable off his Extreme Gear, and the first time he appears without Wave and Storm.
• This is the fourth Sonic game with an E10+ rating. The three previous ones were Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Unleashed.
• This game is one of the three Sonic games that do not play the main theme during the final boss fight, the other ones being Sonic Heroes and Sonic Generations.
• This is the only game besides Sonic R and Sonic Adventure that features Tails Doll (in the fan artwork for both America and Canada).
• This is the only Sonic game where Sonic uses a weapon throughout the entire game.
• The background music at the Blacksmith shop is a violin instrumental of Believe In Myself, Tails' theme song in the Sonic Adventure series.
• The spell that Merlina chants at the beginning ("Ifalas zaras I e zaraq! Ifalas zaras I e zaraq!") is the same spell that Erazor Djinn used to summon Ifrit. However, the subtitles in Black Knight are different, and even state that she's saying two different phrases.
• This is the first 3D Sonic game without a 3D ending.
• In Knight's Passage, Sonic says, "Who was it who kept treating me like a rat again...?", possibly in reference to Erazor Djinn constantly calling him a rat in Sonic and the Secret Rings.
• Amy makes an appearance as herself after the credits. However, only her voice is heard.
• Initially, Galahad and Lamorak were in the main story, but for some unknown reason, Sega took them out.
• This is the first Sonic game where a British cast was included.
• During the Legacy missions, there are items and gimmicks seen in the other Sonic games, such as the Flappers from Sonic Heroes and the Silver Rings (which count as 20 Rings) from Sonic and the Secret Rings.
• The seven World Rings from Sonic and the Secret Rings appear as collectible items in the Legacy missions.
  • Collecting all seven will unlock the Crush 40 cover of Seven Rings in Hand in the Gallery.
• This is the third Sonic game where Amy chases Sonic with her Piko Piko Hammer at the end of the game (but it was not shown). The two previous ones are Sonic Rush and Sonic Riders.
• This is the last Sonic game to feature the 4Kids Entertainment cast providing new voice lines, as they would be replaced with newer voice actors (with the exception of Mike Pollock, the voice of Dr. Eggman) starting with Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors. While Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing also had the 4Kids cast, they were mostly reused voice clips from previous games, with only a few characters receiving new ones.
• All of the swords that Sonic wields are weapons that were used by King Arthur in the legends: Clarent was a knighting sword that was used for ceremonies, Caliburn represents the sword in the stone, and Excalibur was the sword the king used until his death.
  • Clarent was later taken by Mordred and used to kill King Arthur.
• The "Ring-Giver" missions are possibly a reference to Anglo-Saxon kings being called "ring-givers," and Sonic was the true King Arthur.
• One thing Shiro Maekawa regretted was that in the game's initial development stage Caliburn was a girl when he initially drafted the story of the game and later, he was surprised to hear that was changed afterwards.^[24]
• There is a French exclusive edition of this game called Sonic et le Chevalier Noir Legendary Pack that comes with a Wii Remote shell that is modeled after Caliburn.
• From a certain point of view, this is the only game where Sonic is portrayed as a "villain".

Videos[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website (Japanese)
• Arthurpedia, an official website dedicated to research about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Japanese)
• Official website (English) (archived)