Sonic and the Black Knight
Sonic and the Black Knight[a] is a 2009 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Nintendo Wii. It is the second and final entry in the Sonic Storybook series, following Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007),[3] and involves Sonic being transported to the story of King Arthur by wizard Merlina, under the pretense that they are attempting to stop a corrupted Arthur (the Black Knight); however, it is later revealed that there was no corruption and that Merlina had secretly wanted to become the Dark Queen to prevent the legend's fate from occurring. Gameplay involves controlling Sonic around with the Wii Remote's motion-sensing functionality, particularly swinging around the sword to attack enemies and to move forward.
Sonic and the Black Knight
Tetsu Katano
Tetsu Katano
Morio Kishimoto
Makiko Nishimura
Yoshitaka Miura
Shiro Maekawa
Development on Sonic and the Black Knight began in 2007, shortly after the completion of Secret Rings and heavily involved the designers of both Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) and Sonic Heroes (2003), led by producer Tetsu Katano. Black Knight was conceived as a way to attract new audiences to both the series and the legends of Knights of the Round Table among console users, with Sega holding focus groups to choose which characters would appear in the game. Visually, the game was stylized after Sonic Unleashed (2008) and uses the PhysX engine. Black Knight was revealed in July 2008, and released in March 2009 in all regions. Various composers from the series, particularly Jun Senoue, Richard Jacques and Howard Drossin returned to write the soundtrack.
Sonic and the Black Knight received mixed reviews. Reviewers praised the graphics, presentation, story, and large amounts of bonus content, but criticized the controls, swordplay mechanics, and multiplayer aspects. Sonic and the Black Knight was de-listed from retailers in 2010, following Sega's decision to remove all Sonic series titles with sub-average Metacritic scores in order to increase the value of the brand. Black Knight would be among the final games in the series to feature the English voice cast from the Sonic X anime, whom would be mostly replaced starting with Sonic Free Riders (2010).
Plot[edit]
A wizard named Merlina, granddaughter of Merlin, attempts to flee from a black knight and his forces. Cornered, she performs a spell calling forth a champion to save her, summoning Sonic the Hedgehog. As they retreat, Merlina explains to Sonic that the black knight is actually King Arthur, who has been corrupted by the immortality granted by Excalibur's scabbard, and that Sonic must defeat him to restore peace to the kingdom. With Sonic's speed alone being insufficient to defeat the King, he takes up the talking sacred sword Caliburn. At Caliburn's suggestion, Sonic meets up with the Lady of the Lake, Nimue (Amy Rose), who tests Sonic to prove he is a worthy Knight. After completing her tasks, Nimue tells him that he must collect the other sacred swords wielded by Lancelot, Gawain, and Percival of the Round Table in order to dispel the immortality granted by Excalibur's scabbard. Defeating each of the Knights, Sonic claims all three swords and challenges the King once more, destroying him.
Sonic takes the scabbard back to Merlina, who reveals that there was never any King Arthur, and what he defeated was an illusion created by her grandfather Merlin, with Merlina manipulating Sonic in order to claim Excalibur's scabbard as her own. Merlina plans to use its power to make the kingdom changeless and eternal in hopes of averting the kingdom's fate from the legends. However, her plan is completely flawed, as such a world, going against the natural order of things, would not function properly, and it would come at the cost of innocent lives. She summons the underworld directly into the kingdom, creating the Dark Hollow and forcing Sonic and the Knights to flee. Nimue explains that the sacred swords can be used to form a barrier to prevent the Dark Hollow's spread, so Sonic and the Knights split up and journey to the kingdom's corners to form the barrier, but it proves to be too weak and the hollow continues to grow.
Sonic enters the Dark Hollow himself to confront Merlina, who has now become the Dark Queen, but she proves too powerful, destroying Caliburn and badly injuring Sonic. Seeing Sonic's continued resolve to stop the witch, Nimue and the Knights give Sonic the power of the sacred swords to restore Caliburn – now revealed to be the true Excalibur – and Sonic transforms into an armored super form called Excalibur Sonic. He defeats Merlina, destroying the Dark Hollow. After the battle, Sonic tells Merlina that, while everything has an end, people should live their lives to the fullest until that day comes. With King Arthur revealed as an illusion, the Knights of the Round Table prepare to disband, but Caliburn reminds them that he is the one who chooses the true king, now revealed to be Sonic.
In a post-credits cutscene, Sonic returns to his world and tells Amy about his adventures, but she believes it to be an excuse for missing their planned date. The game ends in a similar manner to Sonic and the Secret Rings, with the title of the book King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table changing to Sonic and the Black Knight.