Sonic and the Black Knight is criminally underrated in my eyes. I actually don't dislike this game and while it isn't perfect by any means, It's definitely better than Secret Rings.
Sonic and the Secret Rings was a disaster on almost every front. The gameplay was a broken, unfair mess. The music was irritating, and the progression and pacing were horrendous. However, I commended the game's unique setting with the Arabian Nights and the idea of putting Sonic in popular stories. Sonic and the Black Knight is basically what I wanted Secret Rings to be.
The second and last game in the short-lived Sonic spin-off series known as the Storybook Series, Sonic and the Black Knight tells a very fun story in my eyes. Sonic is teleported to the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable and has to stop King Arthur, who in this game, was consumed by the power of his Sword and turned evil. Sonic, with the help of a wizard named Merlina and his talking sword, Caliburn explores the land of Camelot. The writing in this game isn't as good as it was in Secret Rings. However, the story and setting are so much more interesting to me and I love the banter between Sonic and his sword.
As for gameplay... It's a lot better than Secret Rings but it is still clunky and unfair in many aspects. Sonic will still move only forward but you are able to stop him now. The motion controls are gone and it makes it a bit easier to control him. He does have a sword now which is the main mode of attack which can be done by swinging the Wii Remote. However, it's hard to do the moves you want which end up in a lot of unfair deaths. Sonic will still run around and kill himself like an idiot because the controls (Although better) are still clunky. The level design is the worst part. Again, it's better than Secret Rings, but not fine-tuned enough. This game does have other playable characters which we haven't really seen since Sonic '06. You have Knuckles who in this world is Sir Gawain, Shadow who is Sir Lancelot, and Blaze who is Madam Percival. (All Knights of the Roundtable). They aren't as fun as Sonic (Especially Percival) but I appreciate them being playable.
What I do like, however, is that the game does tell you what levels aren't or are required and it makes the pacing so much better. I also love the music this time. Where I found the music irritating in Secret Rings, I didn't in this one. The soundtrack is great. Knight of the Wind by Crush 40 is one of my favorite main themes in any Sonic game and With Me by All Ends is also one of my favorite final boss songs ever. They don't spam the main theme at you like the first game so all the songs feel great.
This is also the last game in the franchise to have Jason Griffith play Sonic which is a huge shame considering how much he killed the role.
This game also is the last Sonic game with a real emphasis on the story. It's a cool character study of Sonic. The game shows that Sonic doesn't care if what he's doing is morally good or morally evil. All he wants is for people to live their lives freely and if anyone or anything tries to impede that, he will stop them. I love how they portray him in these games and Black Knight is what shows that.
Sonic and the Black Knight isn't by any means perfect. It has pretty lame level design and the controls still aren't perfect. But the story, the moments, the music, and many more make this game good in my eyes. It took the potential of Sonic and the Secret Rings and made it better. It is criminally underrated. Shame it's so short. Literally, beat it in a day. Still had a lot of fun with this game
3/5
Would Recommend
