For as long as the Sonic the Hedgehog series has been around, it's storylines and lore have been almost constantly shifting. Since its games continued to try and change things up with every release, the Sonic franchise lacked stability for a good number of its years. Sonic Frontiers is here to change that, as Sega is taking a new initiative to solidify Sonic lore. Big changes are always part of endeavors like this, but fans can rejoice as the changes have brought back the depth of Knuckles the Echidna.
Knuckles the Echidna is one of the main core Sonic cast who plays a big role in Sonic Frontiers. After Amy, he's the second friend of Sonic's that gets saved, which is a blessing for fans of his character after the prequel short, Prologue: Divergence, made the story of how he got captured rather tragic. It's easy for fans to adore Knuckles, as he was always the kind-hearted yet gullible stoic guardian of the Master Emerald, but some recent portrayals haven't been kind to him.
Sonic Boom's Knuckles and Other Less than Great Moments
When talking about how Knuckles' character has been flanderized in recent years, most fans have their mind go to Sonic Boom Knuckles. The Sonic Boom project was criticized for taking the already in-depth Sonic cast and reducing them all to archetypes, like how Tails was reduced to the tech guy and Knuckles made into a buff idiot. It could be easily argued that the way the characters were changed was part of the series why the project failed outside the TV show, as fans didn't appreciate these classic characters being reduced to just tropes.
Alongside that, Sega's own releases during this time hardly used Knuckles, or if they did, they'd play up the echidna's ego and rivalry with Sonic in a way that most fans felt was disingenuous to his character, as seen in Sonic Lost World. Due to this, fans were given the idea that Knuckles wasn't the great guardian he used to be in Sega's eyes anymore.
Knuckles in Sonic Frontiers
Fans first got a taste of how Frontiers would focus on the red echidna with the Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergence short. It opens up with Knuckles once again guarding the Master Emerald, something that hasn't been shown in detail for a long time. The animation makes it a point to show both his bravado and kindness. In the end, Knuckles the victim of cruel irony as after spending the short thinking about how he's fine with being alone, he's trapped in the space between dimensions, shouting because he's alone and useless in a way that's heartwrenching to viewers.
Luckily, Knuckles is the second character players free in Sonic Frontiers, so he isn't stuck for long. Once saved, he goes on an emotional journey with Sonic where he helps out some of the Koco by acting as a leader, learning from the experience that perhaps he could go on adventures more often. Then, things take a turn. Knuckles finds a set of ruins that suggests the Ancients might have settled down on Angel Island. When these ruins are under attack, he openly cries out how important it is to him that he doesn't lose the one clue he has about his past.
Sonic Frontiers has presented fans who got tired of Knuckles being the doofus with a well-written in-depth look at the character after years of nothing but the former. Many fans are praising Sega for giving them what they wanted in terms of character.
However, there's an argument to be made that the odd portrayals of Knuckles were just showing other sides of him. Knuckles' gullibility came from him wanting to believe in the good in others, and he's always been truing to one-up Sonic as the two have a playful rivalry. However, this argument cannot be used for Boom Knuckles, who was drastically different and meticulously stupid. Either way, Knuckles fans can be happy, as they've received the best glimpse at his character yet, with plenty of evidence to suggest more will be coming in the future.
Sonic Frontiers is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
