Play Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog Online

Knuckles the Echidna was a 1995 Sega Genesis game, developed and published by Sega. It was a standalone spinoff of Sonic & Knuckles, letting players experience familiar zones from a new perspective without the need for lock-on cartridges. This was a time when platformers often reused assets to extend a series' life, and Knuckles' game fit right into that trend.

You control Knuckles, whose abilities differ from Sonic's; he can punch through certain walls, glide across gaps, and climb vertical surfaces. The goal is to collect the scattered pieces of the Master Emerald across seven stages, each with multiple routes and hidden areas. The game emphasizes exploration over speed, with slower, more deliberate pacing and some frustrating enemy placement. It feels like a methodical, sometimes punishing tour through reworked Sonic levels.