History WMG / Sonic3AndKnuckles

[[WMG: Knuckles would've been a SecretCharacter had the game been released as a single catridge]]

[[WMG: Had the games released as one cartridge than Knuckles would've been a SecretCharacter.]]

* Imagine how cool it would be to see Knuckles constantly be your opponent without any idea he'd be playable only to end up unlocking him. I'd imagine his unlock criteria would be beating the game with all 7 Chaos Emeralds (the Super Emeralds were only created when the game was split in two). The reason for this rather than simply beating the game is that Master Emerald is never retrieved in the non-emerald ending. Furthermore, Knuckles' story clearly takes place after the good ending of Sonic/Tails' campaign despite what Sega claimed around the release of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'', as such it would make sense to not have this mode available from the start. But once it was split into two and Lock-On Technology became the selling point of part 2, they couldn't hide Knuckles' playability.

* Imagine how cool it would be to see Knuckles constantly be your opponent without any idea he'd be playable only to end up unlocking him. I'd imagine his unlock criteria would be beating the game with all 7 Chaos Emeralds (the Super Emeralds were only created when the game was split in two). The reason for this rather than simply beating the game as the Master Emerald is never retrieved in the non-emerald ending, despite what Sega claimed around the release of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'', Knuckles' story clearly takes place after the good ending of Sonic/Tails' campaign.

* The developers have gone on record as saying that the Super Emeralds are gone - "I don't know how, but they're gone." You only gain access to the Hyper Emeralds when you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds to begin with, and enter a ring to Hidden Palace Zone, where the Master Emerald (currently) resides. The Master Emerald then granted power to the Chaos Emeralds due to proximity. After Sonic defeats Eggman in Doomsday Zone, proximity to the Master Emerald again removes the power from the Chaos Emeralds, leaving only enough energy for Sonic to make it to Earth and flash off a Hyper Form at the end of the credits. Knuckles can control this power of the Master Emerald, which is why he was able to knock away the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic in the first place, and later uses it in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' during the Last Story. However, Knuckles is conveniently missing from Hidden Palace Zone every time Sonic visits it from a special stage ring, and thus the Master Emerald's power runs free and grants said power to the Super Emeralds. Every other time the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald appear together in the series, Knuckles is around to keep the Master Emerald's power contained.

* Think about it: unlike Eggman he doesn't have any vehicles or technology and just fights you barehanded. Also, every time he got the drop on Sonic before he had the element of surprise or Sonic was unable to attack back effectively for whatever reason. Sonic totally kicking his ass is just a case of RealityEnsues.

* The developers have gone on record as saying that the Super Emeralds are gone - "I don't know how, but they're gone." You only gain access to the Hyper Emeralds when you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds to begin with, and enter a ring to Hidden Palace Zone, where the Master Emerald (currently) resides. The Master Emerald then granted power to the Chaos Emeralds due to proximity. After Sonic defeats Eggman in Doomsday Zone, proximity to the Master Emerald again removes the power from the Chaos Emeralds, leaving only enough energy for Sonic to make it to Earth and flash off a Hyper Form at the end of the credits. Knuckles can control this power of the Master Emerald, which is why he was able to knock away the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic in the first place, and later uses it in SA2 during the Last Story. However, Knuckles is conveniently missing from Hidden Palace Zone every time Sonic visits it from a special stage ring, and thus the Master Emerald's power runs free and grants said power to the Super Emeralds. Every other time the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald appear together in the series, Knuckles is around to keep the Master Emerald's power contained.

[[WMG: The Hyper Emeralds only existed because of the Master Emerald.]]
* The developers have gone on record as saying that the Hyper Emeralds are gone - "I don't know how, but they're gone." You only gain access to the Hyper Emeralds when you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds to begin with, and enter a ring to Hidden Palace Zone, where the Master Emerald (currently) resides. The Master Emerald then granted power to the Chaos Emeralds due to proximity. After Sonic defeats Eggman in Doomsday Zone, proximity to the Master Emerald again removes the power from the Chaos Emeralds, leaving only enough energy for Sonic to make it to Earth and flash off a Hyper Form at the end of the credits. Knuckles can control this power of the Master Emerald, which is why he was able to knock away the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic in the first place, and later uses it in SA2 during the Last Story. However, Knuckles is conveniently missing from Hidden Palace Zone every time Sonic visits it from a special stage ring, and thus the Master Emerald's power runs free and grants said power to the Hyper Emeralds. Every other time the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald appear together in the series, Knuckles is around to keep the Master Emerald's power contained.

* Think about it: unlike Eggman he doesn't have any vehicles or technology and just fights you barehanded. Also, every time he got the drop on Sonic before he had the element of surprise or Sonic was unable to attack back effectively for whatever reason. Sonic totally kicking his ass is just a case of RealityEnsues.

** Or maybe Knuckles' story is the non-canon one.

* Alledgedly, Sonic 3 was concieved as a standalone game, but far up north, two midgets somehow programmed a flawless imitation of Sonic's game engine and used it to create Sonic & Knuckles. They tried to pitch it to their boss, who thought [[ItWillNeverCatchOn it would never catch on.]] Fortunately, these two guys successfully sold the idea to Sega, and got rich off of it, despite Sonic Team taking credit for the game. A rare mini-documentary talking about it can be found [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJZs6k3BNK8&feature=related here.]]
* Jossed: It was intended, from the start, to be part 2 of ''Sonic 3''. In fact, ''Sonic 3 and Knuckles'' is the form of the game that was originally intended by the developers. The only reason why it's not is because Sega couldn't finish the game in time.

* In ''Sonic 3 and Knuckles'', the ending where Sonic beats Eggman using his Super Sonic form instead of his Hyper Sonic one shows a {{Stinger}} where a singular [=EggRobo=] stands on top of a pile of his broken comrads with the implication that this is the exact same [=EggRobo=] Knuckles faces in his story. Since it's implied in-story that the playable Knuckles' story takes place after Sonic's, this means that canonically Sonic never once, turned into Hyper Sonic even in this game.

She was meant to be playable in SonicCD

** The Archie comics confirmed this.

Why else are the item boxes, which are clearly technology, there? It's even more obvious when you run across item boxes with Eggman's face on them, and opening those hurts you. Or the betting machines in the Casino night zone, or the fact that even Robotnik/Eggman's bases are pretty hedgehog friendly, what with Sonic sized tubes, and devices that Sonic can operate, or if you take Sonic CD into account, the fact that all the bad future levels are run down, even Robotnik/Eggman's bases. Without you, he no longer has a reason to keep them in good condition.

Exactly what it says on the tin

How else does one explain asteroids in orbit above the earth?

* This also explains Eggman's growth spurt between this game and Sonic 4, despite being an adult. In Doomsday Zone, you ram his final robot to destroy it and win the game. Eggman somehow absorbed some of Sonic's energy from the hits, causing him to grow.

* As an add-on, exposure to Chaos energy is probably what turned his eyes green. The height could be explained by puberty.

As Hyper Sonic, his eyes turned green, just like his modern look. Sonic 4, taking place after this, is the first canon appearance of the modern look and the homing attack. The biggest evidence is that as Hyper Sonic, he could unleash a double jump attack the propelled him further and destroyed any minor enemies on screen, and with the general ability to direct his momentum, and now the boosting he's clearly growing in power.

She was meant to be playable in SonicCD