I love Knuckles Chaotix. I don't know what it is but I feel like it has a certain charm to it that the Megadrive Sonic games lack. The music for Isolated Island is also possible my favourite piece of music in the entire series. I would love for Christian Whitehead to be able to remaster it but I know that is very highly unlikely.
I thought Knuckles' Chaotix was an alright game. It DOES feel a bit boring though, given how the levels are designed. The art style is definitely reminiscent of a "Sonic 4" for that era, IMO. It's actually too bad that both Chaotix and the 32X didn't do well, I would actually have liked to see how a "Sonic 4" on the 32X could have been, even if it was just a prototype that never saw the light of day.
I just started playing through KC today, but have seen gameplay footage beforehand (both of Crackers and the first zone of KC itself). I am really amazed at this game's amazing graphics and music. If it had more badniks and a more "sonic-y" design, this would've made for an amazing Sonic 4. If a 32X Sonic 4 was ever made, this is how I'd want it to look and sound. Obviously, that's not what SEGA planned, but the game is still pretty fun none the less. I really wish that this game could get an iOS port like CD/1/2, but I doubt that'll ever happen. This game really doesn't get enough attention and deserves more love.
When Knuckles Chaotix was first released, I was jealous of 32X owners because the game looked gorgeous. Even though most reviewers panned it, I still really wanted it. I first played Knuckles Chaotix in the early 2000s via emulation and while it looked amazing and had a few great tunes, the gameplay was awkward and clunky. Having been inspired to give it another go because of Cooljerk's great analysis of the levels, I found it just as bad as I remembered. The whole ring-partner gimmick, while interesting, really hampers the gameplay. Running through levels while your partner hangs stuck below you and even halts progress, is frustrating. The concept really needed more thought. The level layouts are very basic and rarely condusive to gameplay flow. The random levels hamper this too. The level designs themselves, however, are quite unique. And the special stages are really cool. I appreciate that they are forgiving based on the number of rings the player has. Still, I'm glad SEGA recognised releasing this game with Sonic's name on it would have tarnished the franchise. It's a pity they didn't have the same foresight with recent games...
