The Story of Sonic and the Black Knight

[@joshuareesor1756]

Fun Fact: The flower Merlina has throughout the game is a specific species, straw chrysanthemum, which in European countries is associated with grief (due to its prevalent use on grave sites) and eternity (due to not withering or fading for a long time after being plucked). That she revives and directs the flower like a weapon during Sonic's confrontation with her can also be seen as a visual metaphor for her holding onto and weaponizing her grief, with Sonic giving her the flower back afterwards and letting her come to terms with that grief now that she has calmed down.

[@tacticianmagician4716]

Yo that's such a good observation man! Never thought about what flower that was!

[@baraksha1]

Is it fucked up that this story actualy DID helped me conquer my fear of the end of the world as a kid?.

[@ierdandrakslei1176]

Means this game's story did what it set out to be, a nice fairy tale for all ages. It makes me wishe I had a wii for the story book sonic games.

[@isaacargesmith8217]

I dont think it is, it's media focused for kids with a message about how change comes and that we shouldn't be afraid of that after all.

[@rynobehnke8289]

Not at all. This is what the story wanted to accomplish so it just shows that its really good at doing what it wants to do. That being helping children over this fear.

[@runningoncylinders3829]

Sammer's Kingdom gave me some chills. What was with the Wii and end of the world games? Even Rosalina mentions a kind of cycle, like what?

[@Mew4U]

That's good. I mentioned this on a comment I left too, but what sonic said to Merlina seems based off some Buddhist and Stoic teachings. There is comfort coming to terms with the end.

[@novaspacewitch9963]

I think you overlook the way Sonic handling the fights with the other Knights ties into the themes of the value of life. He actively refuses to kill Lancelot at the duel, he stops Knuckles from taking his own life, and he goes well out of his way to save Percival even though she's his enemy. It has a balance between "death is natural and you have to learn to move on or risk wasting what you have" and "life is precious and you should treasure your time on this earth"

[@CrashWeezerman]

Yeah, except King Arthur, fuck that guy.

[@afanisthedolphin]

I think a theme that a lot of people tend to gloss over with this story is Sonic essentially being the bad guy. It's referenced when he pulls out Caliburn from the stone, but it's roots reach much deeper into the story. Sonic is trying to kill the king (yes, kill). And by the end, he's specifically acting to doom the world in destruction. These are the things a villain would do. Yet not only does he not care, he embraces that mantle, because he does what he thinks is right, not what the world is thinks is right. "I told you, I don't mind playing the bad guy every once in a while." Even the soundtrack of the game conveys this. Knight of the Wind as a theme has a very eery and villainous sort of feeling. I actually thought it was going to be a villain theme back when I knew nothing of the story. "I know I will bring you pain and fear." "In a rage I slay each and every one, till this war is won." And this whole theme also extended to Merlina and her theme With Me. Her becoming the Queen of Evil in an attempt to do what she believes is right is also a mockery of that concept. She doesn't care if the world sees her as evil, just like Sonic. The difference is that they're fighting for different ideals. Which is why With Me, essentially is written for both of them. "Dare to fight, evil's might" as they both essentially are at this point. "All wrapped up in my evil plan." They're both villains to the world, in one way or another. "Face this day with me." both of them calling out to each other to see their vision. It's the true core of what Sonic is. From his oldest theme in "It doesn't matter who is wrong and who is right." This is what settles this game as having my favorite characterization of Sonic, as well as what makes me love Merlina as a villain so much. Oh and, great video as always!

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

Sonic is a murderer confirmed

[@artey6671]

I'm not sure I'd agree. Of course, it's easy to see the other guy as the bad guy, so everone is the bad guy in someone's perspective, but that can be applied to just about anything. Sonic is trying to kill the king because he's evil and wants Merlina dead. (Although, now that I think about it, why does he want Merlina dead? She's the granddaughter of Merlin, who created fake Arthur.) And Merlina betrays Sonic, which is enough to set her up as an enemy, I think. I don't consider Sonic to be the bad guy.

[@F1areon]

@@artey6671 Plus it's implied Merlina's chosen method to try and preserve the world forever would've had HORRIBLE consequences for all the inhabitants; they would've been overrun w/ underworld creatures and also frozen in time.

[@ataladin87]

"It doesn't matter, who's wrong or right" "Just beat it Merlina"

[@afanisthedolphin]

​@@artey6671 Whether you consider him to be the bad guy or not, the important thing here is that from many perspectives he can kind of be. I don't think you can argue Sonic is "the bad guy" when he's beating up Eggman. However, this is a far more morally gray case. Sonic's goal in the game is to actively doom the world to destruction. Also, it's easy to speculate as to why Arthur wants Merlina dead. Reason being, she wants him out of the way so she can use his scabbard. So, she's a danger to him.

[@alexos9011]

39:55 I was one of those kids that kept thinking about all of these heavy things such as death and stuff. I don't think I was particularly more mature than other kids around my age but I was constantly analyzing things around me and basically trying to figure my life out (yeah I was a weird 7 year old). I had a really difficult childhood, abusive parents and didn't really fit in anywhere. I'm really glad I had the Sonic series and its ambition to tell meaningful stories growing up. And trust me when I tell you that this game's story resonated with me in a way, few other video games did (The only other non Sonic example I have is Mario Galaxy which tackles the same kind of themes). And at a time where I was actually thinking about my own life's end, having Sonic bringing such a beautifully simple answer to all of my anxieties was magical and truly uplifting. Kids can experience loss, they experience grief, they can be aware of their own mortality. They are way more analytical about things than we give them credit for. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not flying over every kids head, and that's what truly matters. What Sonic said to Merlina at the end of the game, it was something I, and I'm sure a lot of other kids, needed to hear. Because parents don't necessarily want to engage with these types of conversations with their kids, and it's actually cool that the Sonic series provided weird kids like me with uplifting morals on deep topics like that. Of course as an adult I can recognize that these stories don't necessarily explore these themes in the best way, but if they were able to touch some kid's heart to the point where they still care deeply about the stories in the new entries of this franchise as grown adults, then it means they definitely succeeded at something.

[@richigo-3796]

Just hearing It Doesn’t Matter as Sonic’s resolve causes Excalibur to be reborn is the sickest shut in the world. I adore that song for really sticking true to who Sonic is- a free spirit doing what’s right.

[@TC7-Thecomplex7]

I'm pretty sure it's also the very last time we ever hear his theme again.

[@dragonmaster3030]

@@TC7-Thecomplex7 you here it in generations but only as an unlocked level track and nothing specificly tied to anything

[@animekid9000]

Yes, the scabbard of Exacalibur granting its wielder immortality is from the tales specifically started around Robert de Boron's Merlin if I recall right, along with all the French expansions. Morgan le Fey usually tosses the scabbard into a lake relatively early into Arthur's reign.

[@ierdandrakslei1176]

Yeah, I don't know if it's linked to these author's specifically but I recall there's a relatively popular trope/exchange between merlin and arthur about which is important between the sword or the scabbard.

[@MasterDisaster64]

I think Merlina was going to put the world into permanent stasis. The wiki suggests this at least. So it's less that everyone gets to be immortal and more that everything is frozen in time. That makes Sonic's outlook more undeniably correct, as it's less "I want this world to end" and more "what's the point of existing forever if you're not really living". - And as others have said, the theme can be seen as a broader "change is inevitable" rather than death specifically. Which makes it even more poignant considering what the series would become soon after.

[@sirkjohno0129]

Touching on that last point, it genuinely feels like this game overall is a swansong to the Adventure/2000s era of Sonic and foreshadowing of the changing times. Of course, I don't really agree with what Sonic would become as the 2010s hit the horizon, but I do feel that a reset to a more consistent format was inevitable

[@lpfan4491]

Idk where the Wiki sourced this information from, because I cannot for the life of me see how the script as shown in the game could be read that way. Is it in some easy to miss line? She literally just unleashed darkness and they never elaborate what in the world her plan was.

[@PhirePhlame]

Fun fact: the whole thing with Gawain wanting to commit seppuku (literally) is a part of Japanese bushido, not European chivalry. They're similar enough that you can _mostly_ get away with conflating them as this game does, but suicide is very much one area where those two codes come nowhere close to agreeing with each other. Bushido is the one that considers it a form of penance to reclaim family honor. However, chivalry is derived from Christian ideals, which consider suicide to be a terrible sin in and of itself, regardless of circumstance. Thus, that scene's invocation of dark archaic values was wildly inaccurate since he's a knight, not a samurai.

[@quasar4780]

Once again, a game made by Japanese people for Japanese people, taking inspiration from medieval Europe without understanding the cultural differences.

[@lukescrew1981]

Yeah kind of stupid but considering what they were trying to do is understandable that kind of fuck up

[@lpfan4491]

I don't like the story, but that is one of the times I give it some leniency because this telling of the story is so offkey that I just headcanon Gawain being from the east and him thus following diffrent cultural values compared to other knights.

[@CrashWeezerman]

I think it's interesting that conflating Bushidō with Chivalry is something we do on both sides of the pond.

[@sonic5993]

...I feel like you are Geek Critique are secretly conspiring to release these at the same time lol Also, I know you have a preference for the Japanese script and actors, but this is definitely Jason Griiffith's finest hour as Sonc (and Shadow) imo. And its a shame it was his last game too. The way he delivers Sonic's final line to Merlina always touched me with how sincere and compassionate he sounded.

[@kenn_k]

i was thinking the same shit, lmao like what are the chances

[@rikibdgd4764]

@@Thenumber1yoshi what does popularity have to do with anything

[@thetrickster6371]

@@Thenumber1yoshi In fact, ur mum

[@LoliconSamalik]

@@Thenumber1yoshi Sonic is originally written in Japanese. Therefore, listening to the script in Japanese with an english sub backup (for those still learning JP) is more fundamentally ideal for review purposes since context can be lost with a shoddy or so called "professionally localized" translation. Popularity is irrelevant. And Sonic is popular with kids who grew up with anime and manga anyhow. So that's already a moot point.

[@sonic5993]

@@Thenumber1yoshi ...what?

[@rynobehnke8289]

Just a few things I want to add and say. The theme of Black Knight is actually carried throughout the whole game as its not just about "Death isn't the worst" but its overall over the value of life. During the first half its all about Sonic clashing with a society that sees life not as worth something its all about upholding your duties which is why we got the technically wrong synchronization with a Samurai and a Knight for Gwain with his attempt at Seppuku to atone for the his failure. Sonic is here teaching all of the Knights as well as his sword that there is more to life than just fulfilling a duty and obeying a master. His is teaching them that life is worth something. And with Merlina at the end its the other side that life has meaning because it isn't unlimited that a world that goes on forever a life that never stops would destroy the worth of life. Fight for it and what you believe in with all your might, don't throw it away for something dumb and don't make it meaningless by thinking more about its end than what you can still all do with the time you have left, These are the each other supporting core themes of Black Knight that also perfectly show Sonic's view on it. So its not 2 separate ones but 1 whole one about the value 0f life itself. Caliburn is actually the original name of Excalibur. The history of Arthurian legend is long and complicated but the final accept version as Caliburn as the sword of the stone that after breaking ones is upgraded to Excalibur by Nimue latter. So this whole part of Black Knight is even more directly a Arthurian legend reference than even you seemingly realized. Even tho I know with your perception of Sonic canon will never except it unless Mwekawa himself were to say it. But the mostly likely reason Sonic accepted to go on a date with Amy is because the player can force Sonic to ask Amy out in Unleashed. (on that note great visual detail that Sonic at the start has 2 chilly dogs seemingly 1 for him and 1 for Amy) While his gameplay model has Arthur look gold so do almost all cut-scenes including the pre-rendered ones depict his armor with a thick black energy effect if not just flatout black. There is also the fact that Merlina's last line of defense is a giant mostly black Knight of the Underworld with her at its center so I guess we do have a black knight. I feel like in this story summary should you have mentioned the credits fakeout after beating Arthure as it at first made it seem like its just a average Heroes Journey type story were Sonic has to learn to be a true knight and by doing so overcame the Black Knight Arthur that was unbeatable to him at first. As this is really what makes the massive plot twist with Merlina work so well. While I love Black Knight one thing that has always bothered me about it and I wish you would have talked about would be just how quickly Sonic was willing to go for the murder way with Arthur especially given how he prevented 2 of the other knights from dying prior. The game just doesn't give Sonic and Arthur enough time in my opinion to justify Sonic imminently being willing to go for the kill. I had no issue with Sonic cruelty towards Erazor in Secret Rings because the games really hammered it down how every action of Erazor made Sonic more and more mad at him. From ruining the world, over the arrow of judgment and the constant insults to finally killing Shara and being fun of her weakness. But Arthur seems a bit lacking comparatively.

[@Pariah6950]

Oh, damn. Caliburn is actually the original name? I had no idea. That's cool. And you're damn right I don't consider the date in this game related to Unleashed lol. There's no way that such a small optional interaction in one game that likely wasn't even written by the lead writer is something Maekawa would have been aware of. It's just for the ending joke. Nothing more. I think with killing Arthur, it was just a matter of necessity. You couldn't take the scabbard from him with him alive, so there was no other way to save the kingdom. And Sonic's not one to contemplate the morality of what he does. He just does what he feels is right, after all.

[@rynobehnke8289]

@@Pariah6950 Yes in large part thanks to Disney is the fact that Caliburn is an actual name in Arthurian Legend and the actual sword of the stone a lot less known nowadays. As the 2 teams working on Unleashed and Black Knight this time weren't split apart by continent wouldn't I be as surprised as you would be if the Amy framing device was actually born when Uekawa was talking with people on the Unleashed team found out about that Amy scene and found it funny and so included it in his own story he was writing at the time for Black Knight. But I can understand if you don't think these 2 things are releated. I mean at which point does the game say Sonic can't just snatch the scabbard from Arthur ones the 3 sacred swords nullify its power? Was it in the Japanese version was just missing in English because I can't remember such a thing being stated anywhere.

[@Pariah6950]

@@rynobehnke8289 It's just one of those video games things. He has the scabbard, so you have to beat him to get it. Technically Sonic could rip it off him as he runs by. But then there's no game lol.

[@myseconddisp291]

@Pariah695 One thing I've noticed about your attitude towards these stories in your videos is that you give to much power to authorial intent. It's okay if the creators didn't intend something initially; so long as you can support your view and interpretation adequately using what is present in the work it should be fine, especially when it comes to a thirty year old frabnchise that is no stranger to retcons and inconsistencies. At the end of the day, criticism is about overinterpretation, not interpretation. I'm not a shipper mind you, but to me the whole Sonic and Amy's date in unleashed and this game makes sense. It doesn't have to be intended to be a valid option.

[@ScrapsandSlaps]

@@Pariah6950If Sonic was allowed to lose then they could have just had him lie the first fight to Arthur. Then he goes through the game, gets better with Caliburn, gets the other swords to seal Arthur’s power, and steals the scabbard. While a bit simpler, and cooler, to just kill him, the story can be rewritten without the death. Granted that might go against some theming but you get the point.

[@keylimecookies]

The “why do flowers grow if they know they are destined to whither” is one of my favorite lines in anything ever

[@porygonlover322]

Re:description, I'd actually really like to see a Greek myth storybook game, despite how "generic" it sounds. These storybook games have a recurring theme of sort of refuting the messages of the original stories they're based on by having Sonic's attitude and personality clash with the way the worlds he's dropped into work - Secret Rings takes a story with the framing device of a woman overcoming someone's evil by being such a dang good wife that he falls in love with her and refutes that by having Sonic help a woman away from her abuser, and Black Knight takes a mythos about the honor of knighthood and the glorious past and refutes that by having Sonic define his own heroism and kill a past that hangs over the world like a cancer. A Greek myth game could take the recurring themes in those stories about accepting fate and your place in the universe by having Sonic defy the gods and win. Lovecraft would be aesthetically very cool, but I don't think the themes of those stories are ripe for Sonic to come in and blow apart the same way (unless you really wanna get into the weeds on Lovecraft's racism)

[@Pariah6950]

That's a good point. But I do think Greek mythology would be such a boring setting. I think Sonic can tackle racism easily. I've even thought about how I'd go about it before.

[@porygonlover322]

@@Pariah6950 I agree that Sonic _could_ but it's a big swing, and if they fucked it up it could easily be one of the worst stories in the series. Also I do admittedly have kind of a soft spot for Greco-Roman aesthetics, but there's plenty to work with there that goes beyond the same stately columns over and over - look at something like Kid Icarus Uprising, for instance. It would also be cool to put Sonic in a large-scale war setting like the Trojan War - there's a bit of that in Shadow the Hedgehog, but Sonic himself is very sidelined in that game.

[@Breakaway-ic5gj]

@@Pariah6950 I can imagine 'Who taught you how to hate' from Disturbed being the main theme song of that game

[@odd-eyes6363]

If there is a mythos in which Sonic would thrive by ripping its themes apart it's Lovecraft. Sonic would just face the threats head on and refuse to be afraid. Like he did with Dark Gaia and The End, both of which are cosmic and existential entities that are much more active than anything we see from HP's stories

[@odd-eyes6363]

If they did a storybook game for the Greek Myths, then Sonic should probably be Perseus, like he filled the shoes of King Arthur this game. Perseus is known for being the only Greek hero who was a pretty swell guy and caused no tragic end for himself by giving into hubris or wrath

[@thespookymage6294]

So now might be a fun time to flex a bit of my medieval history degree to your last point about there not being a black knight in the game. So, in Arthurian mythology the idea of a black knight is usually dedicated as the ideal warrior who tends to appear from nothing to challenge our heroes. When many of these stories would serve as inspiration for jousting tournaments, the Black knight was a role to be appointed as a sort of, "Final Challenge" for the contestants. Unlike in popular culture, the title of Black Knight was appointed to someone who essentially was a lone wolf and does good deeds on their own for the sake of chivalry. In my view, the Black Knight of this game is both symbolic of King Arthur the illusion with the idea of challenging the ideal warrior, as well as sonic himself in doing good deeds alone. You could say I am maybe reading too deep into this which, fair enough. But I still think its interesting all the same because it works on some level other then a cool title.

[@roberu8465]

they really decided to make the most random sonic stories be the coolest shit ever for no reason

[@insertcreativename802]

2:05 Something I think is worth mentioning is the specific characters chosen to play knights in the story. Shadow, Knuckles, & Blaze all have something in common, all three are powerful, (& at least at one point) rival characters with boss fights in their debut games. When people who’ve played previous Sonic games see those 3 in the intro cutscene, we can tell that they’re going to be dangerous to Sonic, BECAUSE we recognize & associate them with the characters filling their shoes, & know who they are to Sonic in his world. Even the knights only seen in multiplayer are filled in by Silver & Jet, who also fit this pattern (although Jet never raced Sonic in a 1v1 race to my knowledge, feel free to correct me if you can tell me when).

[@KidAL0]

I’d say Sonic and Jet on Babylon Garden is, for all intents and purposes, a 1-on-1 race. Obviously there are robots during the gameplay, but they’re generic npc robots, and the cutscenes directly before and after depict solely Sonic and Jet facing off. It’s clearly meant to be a contest between the two

[@insertcreativename802]

@@KidAL0 Yeah, that does make a sense, thanks for telling me.

[@Mew4U]

I think what Sonic told Merlina was based off the real philosophy of momento morí, which is something that many Buddhists or Stoics follow. It could have not made you feel comfortable because it's something you struggle with right now, which is totally understandable and normal, especially for younger people. It's a survival instinct to fear death. I used to be scared too, it's part of growing up but once you accept it, you become more at peace with it and value the small things and petty problems don't mean anything. That's why sometimes some elderly people are so content. This story could have gotten a lot deeper, but it is a story about a hedgehog that got lost in a storybook, lol. I appreciate the writer going there though.

[@Pariah6950]

The thing is, I do resonate with this theme. I do appreciate life and try to live it to the fullest. That doesn't stop the knowledge that it's all going to end one day from being terrifying lol.

[@starryskyday3160]

@Pariah695 I personally feel death was terrifying until i learned to not only appreciate life but also respect death. Once I made that difference I felt my appreciation of life wasn't something i had to try so hard to do.

[@Mew4U]

@@Pariah6950 aw yeah, I'm sorry. I hope you don't have to carry that for a long time.

[@bluecheckmiya]

Never minded the direction Sonic was going in during this time. We got good and creative games that had excellent simple stories. Got to see how many creative ways this series could be used outside of just high speed momentum based platforming. I never conform to the ideas of “what a series is supposed to be” because Im a guy that likes to challenge those kinds of ideas in fiction.

[@autobotproductions1244]

Besides the state of the franchise could be seen as a metaphor for Sonic himself. Never staying in the same place for long and always moving to the next adventure whatever that may be

[@djlanner1174]

Sonic agrees ! 👍

[@lukescrew1981]

There's a reason why the 2000's were the golden age for Sonic. They were constantly trying new things.

[@lasercraft32]

I personally think its commendable that they were willing to try new things with Sonic. Yeah its a little weird, but Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight are two of my favorite games of all time... And NO they didn't just give Sonic a sword to fit the motion controls... they gave him a sword because this is the Sonic STORYBOOK SERIES and its the story of King Arthur. It was a sequel to Sonic and the Secret Rings. Everyone says its dumb that they gave Sonic a sword to "make him cooler" but no. Sonic was already cool, and Sonic with a sword is still cool... Not because the sword is cool but because SONIC is cool. Its the kind of crazy thing you'd never expect but they made it work.

[@emberthefox4951]

I have two theories on why Sonic collected the sacred swords before even knowing he'd need them: 1. Classic gut feelings and/or figuring that getting several swords to choose from would be a good move. 2. Simple threat elimination. He's leaving his enemies alive, but he doesn't want them to cause him any more trouble so he takes their swords instead. In Gawain's case, it also forces him to face Sonic's lesson instead of throwing his life away.

[@Nic_2751]

Once again Geek Critique coincidentally uploads a Black Knight video back to back

[@meleeludens]

i noticed that too omg, i swear his uploads have been suspiciously similar to Pariah’s 🤔

[@Angie2343]

@Pariah695 Sonic being royalty is subtly hinted at in Caliburn's line of "Have you forgotten who I am? I am the sacred sword Caliburn! I am the one who decides who is worthy of the crown! ...He [Sonic] is the true King Arthur!"

[@joshuareesor1756]

50:50 I always figured that the titular Black Knight was supposed to be Merlina. King Auther's armour looks black in the intro, but it's dark gold, which could hint at his nature as a fake villain. Then Merlina is revealed as the real villain, becoming the "Dark" Queen and using the true Black Knight, which has black armour with blue and red flames.

[@kilometersperminute4113]

The title in Japanese is “Sonic and the Knight of Darkness”, with darkness vaguely related to ‘villainous’. Maybe they thought that Dark Knight will clash with Batman or smth like that lol

[@myseconddisp291]

I don't think the theme is about death specifically. It's about finality and how nothing lasts forever. A lot of the times we are reluctant to move on. It's not just death; it's also grief, the pain of losing something that you have and cherish. I think the fact that it's simple makes it digestible for kids. It wouldn't mean much to kids if you get too much philosophical or dwell on it to the point of making them uncomfortable. Children may not experience the same amount of existential dread as adults do, but they are also much more resistant to change. They want to have their life as it is. It's hard for them when they have to guive up a lot of the things they have in order to move to the next stage of their life. When I was a kid I didn't want to grow up. I didn't want things to change and most importantly I didn't want to change myself, because then I wouldn't have been able to look at the world the same. For me, Sonic's perspective works wonderfully. That's how I see and deal with my own mortality and the changes around me.

[@kiritosintern]

Best characterization of Sonic ever, hope that Sonic Team will look back at this and incorporate more of his badassery again.

[@YungStuffynose]

for some insight, I never considered that the ending was a metaphor for death as a kid and I only considered that it could be when I got older. Instead, I interpreted it as tackling finality in general such as dealing with moving away from a group of friends or changing schools. I especially got this idea with the fact that as of colors onwards all the 4kids voice casts that I was used to were noticably changed and that made me look back on black knight and say "oh they are trying to talk about finality with this game and how change is inevitable". If the message of this game is about tackling death then I can definitely see how that is way out of their depth for the scope of this game but thats just my perspective from when I first beat the game.

[@SaddieMoon]

10:38 In my opinion, Sonic has been so inconsistent and always jumping the shark became Sonic’s identity, and I kinda love seeing those inconsistencies from the 90’s to the 2020’s. It’s very fun.

[@ultimateshadeofwar]

40:58 Let's give the story where credit is due, a lot of the story about the game when you look at it from what's being said, it's about "How do you live life" which done through the idea of Chivalry, and we see how it's tried to be impose on to Sonic, but Sonic rejects it, going more with "I live my life how i want it, i will just take what i think fit it, from what i see around me". This can also be in the biggest obvious moment of Gawain trying to take his life. And the more i think about it, thinking about Sonic's answer to Merlina, it does make more sense for the question of this story to be exactly that, not about living life, but how do you live life. The Knights of the Round live it through a rigid code until Sonic comes around shows then through what he hears from Caliburn how to be more flexible. Merlina is the ultimate challenge as she lives life thinking that there is no reason to enjoy of live something that will end, as such, through Sonic giving her the ultimate answer of how do you live life according to him. And with him being the hero and beating the bad guy is very clear that was the ultimate right answer.

[@RyansFine]

The scabbard granting immortality is from the myths. Arthur losing it before his battle with Mordred was the main reason Arthur perished soon after

[@Zejgar]

Sonic and the Black Knight brings back a lot of things from the previous Sonic games. In addition to the musical cues of characters, the rearrangement of SA1's It Doesn't Matter, the gallery mode that is choke-full of images and music from the past, the multiple playable characters... The legacy mode that replaces gameplay gimmicks with more Sonicky ones... there are also the little things. Like how some levels end with a signpost, and in some of these levels Sonic runs through the signpost, making it spin, just like in the classic games. Sir Lancelot says "Just watch this" when he performs a trick, just like Shadow does in Sonic Heroes. The theme of finality in this game's story coincides with how Black Knight is the last game before the drastic shift to a more light-hearted tone of Sonic come Colors, which itself coincides with the change of voice actors. Black Knight heavily feels like a climax of the series, brought not as a bombastic epic that openly revels in Sonic's legacy, but as a humble story that merely wears Sonic's face. Out of all the games in the series, I respect Black Knight the most. Maybe it came at just the right moment in my life. Also I'm a little sad that I'm not familiar with the King Arthur's myth, so I can't fully appreciate the way this game handles it, but from what I've heard, it's moderately more faithful to the "original" version of the myth, before the popculture adaptations of it. I guess that's the consequence of the developers not being familiar with the topic, and willing to do their research, going straight to the source, dodging all the iterations along the way? Just my guess.

[@cellperfecto421]

I would like to see some sort of conclusion video about what makes a Sonic story after all these story videos are done. It would be interesting to see a recapitulation of what makes some Sonic stories work and why some don't.

[@dbw2587]

Merlina's fear of death and desire to create a world free of it reminds me of Yhwach from BLEACH and just like Ichigo, Sonic doesn't want to live a world where there's no fear of death because if there's fear there must also be courage to face that fear

[@ZobirisMage]

When I was in elementary school my sister had died and ngl the game's themes helped me through the grieving process. I still carry the "live life to the fullest" attitude to this day

[@LonesomeKrow]

My condolences my friend. Was she your younger or older sister?

[@ZobirisMage]

@@LonesomeKrow She was my oldest sister, she passed at only 18 years old. It's all good tho, she taught me that art can keep anyone living long after their body dies c:

[@LonesomeKrow]

@@ZobirisMage I’m glad you treasure her memories, and I’m sorry for your loss. What took her?

[@ZobirisMage]

@@LonesomeKrow Sickle cell anemia, she was in the hospital almost all the time because of it

[@LonesomeKrow]

@@ZobirisMage I’m sorry if I opened up any old wounds. Thank you for sharing, I’m sure she’s smiling down on you and proud of you. Keep it up champ, thanks for talkin to me 👍🏻

[@GuardianArk15]

Fun little thing I noticed is that all the knights (including the multiplayer ones) are past "rival" characters

[@CMJ06]

40:01 this game was rated the same age rating as shadow the hedgehog in the UK so i believe they were targeting an older audience

[@TheJaredPunch]

Ah, definitely among the most underrated Sonic games there is. And the last game to demonstrate Jason Griffin’s talent as Sonic. Excalibur Sonic is also my favorite non Super Sonic form.

[@STikER326]

As a guy in his early 20s living in a war-torn country, I'd like to give my own perspective on this whole "accepting death" thing. When you don't know if you're gonna survive through your youth because you may die from a missile attack or on the battlefield after being drafted to the military, messages like one conveyed in this game keep me going forward. No matter how close may death come, you still gotta live your life the best you can and cherish its every moment. Don't let the fear of death ruin your life and make the fullest out of it. At least, that's what I figure.

[@fractalairduct7600]

One thing that I think is really neat about this game is how perfect the 'casting' is, they clearly put a lot of thought into it. (Though given how many versions of the King Arthur mythos have existed, there's a bit of leeway.) Lancelot is the greatest fighter and swordsman among all the Knights of the Round Table, to the point where he is said to be the greatest knight in the world. The ultimate, if you will. He was therefore both a great ally and rival to Arthur. For bonus points, Lancelot also tends to be heavily tied to the religious themes in Arthurian myth, and was prone to fits of madness where he forgot who he was. Gawain is one of Arthur's closest friends and one of the first knights at the table. He's had something of an inconsistent portrayal over the years as both a villain and hero, which over time evened out into him being a deeply flawed individual who is willing to confront his failings and overcome them. He is hotheaded and impetuous, tending to fight first and ask questions later, which often gets him into trouble. However, he is also shown to be compassionate and noble, and will always do the right thing in the end. Percival is a bit more of a stretch - he was raised in seclusion from the rest of the world, making him naive and foolish, but also very innocent and pure of heart, qualities which enabled him to find the Holy Grail. Later versions of the story would have Percival fail in the quest, with Lancelot's son Galahad to be the one to succeed, as in his ignorance Percival failed to ask the key question that would have healed the Fischer King. Might have been a better fit for Silver, to be honest. Still, Percival was one of the most noble, diligent and honorable knights at the table. As for Arthur himself... one thing I think that's important to note is that the code of chivalry as portrayed in this game is clearly based on the samurai code of bushido, rather than anything from Arthurian mythology. The *actual* code of chivalry emphasizes showing mercy and compassion, and doing what's right even if it contradicts orders. This means that Sonic *is* the best representation of true chivalry in the game. Pariah touched on this in the video, but Sonic does exactly what Arthur does in the legend: draw the sword from the stone, bring together the Knights of the Round Table, and bring peace to the land.

[@fractalairduct7600]

Casting Amy as the Lady of the Lake/Nimue seems to be more for the sake of having someone to give you quests in the story than anything to do with her as a character. What I do find interesting is that she is the one who is ultimately responsible for Merlin's downfall in the myths. I have no thoughts on why Silver is Galahad and Jet is Lamorak. If someone who knows more about Arthuriana than I do has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

[@normalichu]

Someone told me this one day, and I think it is a cool idea: Sonic and the Wizard of Oz. And, since in these games Sonic does an auto-run, he would always follow the yellow path :P

[@JokesterAmmers]

This does boil down to personal view on this theme: but for me, it did leave hit an emotional weight for me that I can't even begin to verbalize to those around me. While yes Sonic isn't with Merlina all the time I do like it shows him being himself, enjoying his life doing what he believes to be right like he always does. From him refusing to kill, or overlook someone who tries to kill themselves while they were antagonistic and clashed against him for what they believed in. He shows to us, the players there's more to life then just death. We should live just as much as he does, and it's okay as long as we try out best and maybe some day we can become like him reaching out hands out to people, and be a support pillar to him. So it's touching when everything is all said and done Sonic shows the same compassion to Merlina who was afraid to reach out through her fear and grief. That there will always be someone there for her to wipe away those tears figuratively speaking. tl;dr Sonic good. Thank you for the fun watch!

[@caveirainvocada9438]

About the weird directions Sonic was taken in this era, while they affected the gameplay in abysmal ways, i quite like a lot of what happened narratively in the "dark age" for Sonic. To me it was pretty clear that 2000s Sonic was supposed to be kinda like one of these infinite shonen series that adds a lot of lore and stuff in each arc so there can be more villains and gimmicks and power scaling (the power scaling part not so much because since it's a game series it would have to affect gameplay too but you get the point) which can become really weird and inconsistent and dumb, but can work if done well and if your audience is willing to take it for what it is. Since he is a flat character that's supposed to be more about how he impacts people around him and less about how he is impacted about his surroundings, Sonic has potential in pretty much any setting you can imagine. Even here the arthurian legend was used to tell a story with very fitting themes and message imo. Would i want the series to become this way again? I honestly don't know, maybe if they guaranteed the gameplay wouldn't become messed up because of some random gimmick, but probably not. Is it an era that had a lot of good stuff in it despite the critical reception of the games in it? Definitely.

[@Romanode_]

They got to have more of these Hand-drawn cutscenes, they’d be perfect for spinoff games.

[@grimm-jimm5470]

Honestly didn't expect you to tackle this story before the new year, not that I'm complaining. About that, I agree that the portrayal of Merlina's conflict and reveal as the true villain is pretty half-baked. If she had more of a presence in the middle of the story, or you saw her more in the game, it'd probably work better with its payoff. For what we have, I think the topic of accepting death, ruination, and just existing finitely was tackled about as well as it could within the constraints of a kid's game -- without focusing on the literal mortality of the other characters or Sonic himself. It's a dour, serious lesson, but I think it's one a kid should eventually learn. It sorta links up a bit with the theme of Sonic as an inspiring, self-motivated agent of change in a world that's ridgidly feudal and idealistic, filled with people who either don't know any other ways to live, or are reactionary and hostile to changing it like Melina and King Arthur. Can't keep prolonging the world of a story, but you can certainly improve things in time you have. On that note, I gotta disagree with you on the game's title. I mean, in a literal sense it's a misnomer, but metaphorically, the fake King Arthur is the titular "Black Knight" as he's a ghostly figurehead initially conjured by Merlina's grandfather and, well, menaces his own kingdom with demons. Not very deep, but I think it's passable. Loved the vid, tho'. Looking forward to more.

[@tonycorona8501]

I heard Black in Japan means Dark. So the Game title could be Sonic and the Dark Knight, which I suppose makes more sense.

[@lol-gv7ox]

Personally, the "Inconsistency" of the Sonic series ISN'T an issue. Like, there has never been a real DIRECTION to the games. The vision of the franchise has always been jumbled, ESPECIALLY in America, where Sonic has been biggest. Like, even at the beginning, there was the several different shows with radically different moods and premises. The games haven't been consistent since, like, Sonic 3&K, MAYBE Sonic Adventure. Hell, the writer of SA2 went "Yeah, I don't like the Sonic of the Mega Drive Era, I'm going to write him in a way I like". Like, looking at one of the games and going "What does this have to do with Sonic" is silly. What does a floating island that used to have an ancient civilization on it have to do with Sonic? What does a sealed Ultimate Lifeform being unleashed into the world to wreak havoc have to do with Sonic? On the surface, these would seem silly to inject into the series from the core premise of "Blue Hedgehog with attitude fights robot armies and saves nature." It's the fact they're in a Sonic game that makes them have something to do with Sonic. Sonic fighting the Ultimate Lifeform that just so happens to be a hedgehog makes about as much sense for the franchise as Sonic being forcibly transformed into a monster. Honestly, for the most part, saying "What does this have to do with (franchise)", especially in more fantastical, loose settings, just doesn't make sense to me. And also, I still don't get how people heard "Sonic with a sword" and went "that sounds silly", adding a sword on top of Sonic just makes sense as a gimmick for one game. Especially with the fact he turns into a spinning ball of death when he jumps into the air. Adding a sword on top of that sounds baller. Though, I may be biased, because my first Sonic game was Unleashed. And, to me, Unleashed and Black Knight are both Peak Sonic.

[@pinkyoshi9339]

I've been waiting a while for this one, black knight has personally one of my favorite stories

[@NiohArcadia]

I wish there were more of these storybook games every now and then instead of just the two we got. I would like to see something like Sonic and the Journey to the west; Sonic and the wizard of Oz, Sonic and the Labors of Hercules, Sonic in Wonderland, Sonic and the 3 pigs (this one is a joke) and those are the ones I can think of at the top of my head. This is still my favorite Sonic story despite the critiques that I for the most part agree with. I really enjoy these videos even if I vietmetly but respectful disagree with some of your takes. Please keep up the great work man.

[@odd-eyes6363]

Five years ago I suffered a lot from thanatophobia (a pathological fear of death) after someone very close to me passed away. I'm not gonna lie, Sonic's final talk with Merlina and the song "Live Life" helped me get through these dark times and defeat this fear so I could stop living afraid and actually enjoy myself again. As much as I love Sekiro, that's not the kind of game that would get me to enjoy life again, that's something only Sonic pulled of.

[@rynobehnke8289]

Oh and unretaed to Black Knight Sonic Never had 1 unified identity. During the 16 bit era did Sega effectivly let every country do with the franchise what they thought would make it the most profitable leading to a lot of diverse between continents. But even than did the different branches of Sega on there own green lit a lot of incompetable different projects. America is the most obvious one with AoStH, SatAm, Archie Sonic, The American game Manuals, games themed after the cartoon ( with Spinball's 2 version even using different cartoon versions of Robonik). Japan was not much better between the OVA, the games manuals, the Shukaku Sonic Manga and the original Sonic 1 promotional manga. Europe was also really weird from strange Sonic novels Sonic the Comic and one shoot comics from french. And were as at least everything was in every part of SoA and SoJ's influces did SoE section of parts of it to different countries with in Europe. And ontop did they than also get dubs of the American TV shoes ( with Germany for some reason deciding to air SatAm and AoStH as one cartoon under the name "Sonic the irre Igel") And even if we just look at the games do we still got not 1 clear picture. CD and Knuckles chaotix are far more surreale than any of the other ones. Sonic 3 all off a sudden makes a big deal of continue after hardly existing in all the games prior, And its visuals are far less cartoon-y. Spinball being SatAm themed Puyo puyo being redskined into a AoStH themed Robotnik game. Sonic School house existing at all J-pop for Sonic 1 and 2, Rock and Jackson Pop for 3, mit 90's Disco for Jp/Eu CD and electronic ambiance for US CD, Eurodance for R and 3d blast Saturn, more rock and Chip tune for 3d blast mega-drive/genesis. So while Sonic's identity in the mid 2000's wasn't uniform ether its hardly worse than it was in the 90's I would argue it war more uniform even as there were less third party products and those that still existed like Sonic X were far more inline with the games during that era.

[@Pariah6950]

I don't agree. I'm talking about the series creatively. The alternate US and EU stories, cartoons, comics and etc. were all just marketing materials made by people with no awareness or interest in the original vision. None of that is even Sonic, if you ask me. I'll give you that it muddied the idea of what Sonic is a ton. But only if you even consider any of that to begin with. Which Sonic Team clearly never did. Like, if Sonic X-treme had come out, I would not have been surprised if Tiara never appeared in a Sonic Team game. They almost never acknowledged anything that they didn't make. Even things like Fang were squarely outside of "Sonic Team's Sonic". And the Japanese side materials aren't that different. Just using the IP for brand recognition. The non-Sonic Team games were doing a lot of weird stuff that didn't match the main series, for sure. But a lot of those outliers like Schoolhouse and Spinball can easily be dismissed in the same way as the side materials. People who don't even know what Sonic is, and don't care, just using the IP for sales. But when it comes to the creative efforts by Sonic Team, the games post SA2 are far more out there than what they were doing before. Once upon a time, Sonic Team had a vision for what Sonic is. And that died.

[@sandudelcea6707]

@@Pariah6950 stop hating on american sonic for sally's sake ! Jeez !

[@rynobehnke8289]

@@Pariah6950 I have to disagree with your statement. Not only because you are arbitrarily focus on only a specific set of games that were made by a constantly changing team and ignore everything else. But also because that leave you with only 2 games as you obviously have to ignore CD and Knuckles chaotix as both games do very very different things from 1,2 and 3. And even than did these 3 games change and reiterate a lot. Especially 3 is very different from the 2 games prior setting far more focus on story, a near complete art style change for the world with only Launch Base zone looking like a Sonic 1 or 2 stage visually, giving up the core idea that Sonic is about getting faster on replies in favor of introducing a save system that always had the risk of muddying this core aspect of Sonic (even tho I'm thankful for this change) and level design that incorporates vertical platforming without is slowing things down as oppose to Sonic 1 were vertical platforming would always kill moment or Sonic 2 which for the most part just got rid of it. And even than are these 3 games only so similar because they had the same game director. Most of the 2000's odd balls like Shadow and Secret Rings were always considered canon spin-offs the same way CD is which as I previously mentioned goes into a very different direction from the Naka directed Sonic games of the 16 bit era. So why do you count them more than the spin-offs of the classic era. Also on your Tiara point. Sonic team ultimately has to answer to Sega so if Tiara would have been a hit would she have appeared in Sonic Team games because Sega would have forced them to include her. SoA even already messed with CD's American manual to rename Amy to Sally for the SatAm tie-in (which with Sally's original Pink design would also have appeared far more believable)

[@lukescrew1981]

​@@Pariah6950There was never an "original" vision

[@revolution_is_my_name8981]

my favorite story in the franchise! i'm excited for this

[@greenhillnerdnew8148]

honestly, the theme of breaking away from rigidity, and the theme of living life to the fullest, are one in the same. they kinda fumbled the exection, but the same way that the darks knight's regeneration corrupted him, merlinas "preservation" of the kingdom actively poisons it, sonic is the oposite of that, the real king arthur, the real solution to saving that world, is to free it from "conservation", from "tradition", to inject it with new life, a second wind. sonic should have literally shown to merlina how she was ruining the kingdom, the same way she killed the flower by plucking it, how HIS use of the sacret sword was the healthy use of it. merlina's obcession with preservation was afixxiating, like the norms that made gawain almost kill himself.

[@catcocomics1601]

so the most likely context to Sonic agreeing to go on a date with Amy probably comes from Sonic World Adventure where uhhh towards the end of the game the player is allowed to have Sonic accept or decline Amy's offer to go on a date with her later once the whole adventure is over so I wouldn't be surprised if they went with that.

[@TiniStar]

For the whole Amy date ending gag, it's theorized that it was supposed to be a reference to unleashed, when Amy says they should go in a date after sonic saves the world and Sonic has the option to say yes and Amy responds with, it's a promise!

[@Pariah6950]

I'm aware. But I highly doubt Maekawa was even aware of that when writing this. It's just a small optional conversation. I don't think they're related at all.

[@Mr.Maguro]

I mean it's a weird thing to make continuity out of. It's an optional bit of NPC dialogue. What if the player missed it or had Sonic say no? Does that result in a branching timeline?

[@Pariah6950]

@@Mr.Maguro Exactly.

[@Slendermangaming666]

@@Mr.Maguro Yes, Sonic In the HedgeVerse Real

[@tonycorona8501]

Sonic having no clear identity in the 2000's sounds well enough. You can tell 2000's Sonic Team were experimenting with different game styles, and ultimately this led to their weird stories that had practically nothing to do with the original vision of Sonic. If I could compare it with anything, it would be... that time Batman was a parody version of himself in the Silver age until the Bronze age came along; or Superman dying, him returning with a mullet and then dividing himself into two electric versions of himself. Admitedly, and shout out to Dragon ball Dissected, it can be comparable to Dragon Ball starting Z, where martial arts, which were the bread and butter of the series until that point, were phased out slowly in favor of science fantasy wrestling. It is a bit odd that, in the 2010's, the product with the biggest energy to the original stories, was Mania. And even then, Mania has some identity from the 2000's, what with the final boss being "Eggman betrayed by his creation, only this time he fights back". And even then, Mania story is a bit lacking without talking of Forces.

[@tonycorona8501]

@@yrooxrksvi7142 yes?

[@tonycorona8501]

@@yrooxrksvi7142 no different from other 2D titles, so I fail to see the críticism beyond snobbery.

[@lukescrew1981]

Sonic never had an "original" vision

[@lukescrew1981]

Imagine being afraid of the inevitable

[@___8241]

8:42 he *did* just say sonic wasn't worth killing tbf

[@Hamlock_]

About Sonic and Amy's date, some people think that's it following up on some dialogue in Sonic Unleashed. And considering that Black Knight came out right after Unleashed it could be true.

[@graemehutton2433]

They also push her as a genuine love interest in 06- you have to choose who Sonic loves, Amy or Eloise in like a vision or a trial or something? I can't quite remember. Obviously I chose Eloise cos she's a pretty redhead 😅 but Amy is maybe the canon choice there too.

[@markofthewolvessucks8930]

@@graemehutton2433 Elise will always be better looking and Richer than Amy lol.

[@ドラゴンリュー-f1x]

Merlina is for me one of the best female sonic villains in the sonic series alongside witchcart and sage It's very sad that she was so desperate to change the fate of the story and prevent the tragedy from happening.

[@mrelephante]

36:39 man i was so immersed in the cutscene i forgot i was watching a recap lmao, caught me off guard, love black knight's story

[@matthewisguy7336]

30:10 “The budget kicks in” lol

[@MS54905]

51:39 talking with Amy in Sonic Unleashed before going to Eggmanland gives the context of this date

[@greenhillnerdnew8148]

having no direction for the sake of trying cool shit (that resonates with target audience)>>>>>>>> "maintaining a solid identity" on a serious note tho, glad you recognize how some feel diffrently than you on the matter.

[@braxtonyeary9398]

Merry Christmas pariah

[@TheJaredPunch]

You too.

[@seagullmoe]

i think this is the first time we hear you praise the music of a sonic game

[@Scroteydada]

Man if 06 was actually Sonic Adventure 3 then we would have at least had an anchor point for the brand amongst all this oddness. It's not even the sword stuff - it's that it's not a platformer. If 3D Mario had a sword gimmick we all know it would be another flavour of Mario 64 at its core. Sonic Team never had that kind of faith in Adventure. Massive shame.

[@SaddieMoon]

33:33 I prefer having a English version of Sonic stories (Especially with a story based in King Arthur). I can’t deny how frickin’ cool the Japanese voice acting sounds.

[@gerardosaenz9496]

Happy 15th Anniversary Sonic and the Black Knight.

[@graemehutton2433]

Cool video, really enjoyed these two as I never got a Wii- I still think it's stupid- and it's great to hear the stories. Lots of people clarifying the scabbard in Arthurian lore, just another quick note- Arthur doesn't pull Excalibur from the stone (that's a different sword), he gets it from the lady in the lake.

[@juliane.mfarias9285]

Everyone: *Loving Sonic ATBK because the story is good* Me: *Loving it for having the coolest Super Sonic form*

[@aortaplatinum]

I was thinking about what you said regarding the ending and I wanted to chime in because it seemed like we all missed the point, due to how the story was presented and the choice of dialogue. Since the very beginning, Sonic's always been a series about nature VS technology, and Black Knight is just an evolution on that idea, going for the more supernatural, spiritual version of it: life VS wisdom. Think of it like this, a character, let's call him Z, knows that he is going to die, he knows that due to how change is the only constant of the world, that means that there can never be true security in anything, because all things change and all things end. In order to combat this, Z decides to use all the power afforded to him to essentially stop time, or at least stop the concept of entropy, like an inverse of The End from Sonic Frontiers. But, of course, this stagnation, wallowing in the present and past while refusing to move forward, is much more of a slow-burning numbness than the fear of death, because, like you said, things ending is what gives them inherent value. This concept is explored much better in other stories like the above-referenced Xenoblade 3, or both Neon Genesis Evangelion and the New Evangelion Movies, it's not JUST a fear of death, it's a fear of moving forward. Because instead of using their knowledge of what will happen, and weaponizing that knowledge for good, Z and Gendo Ikari and Merlina all decide to instead take the safer, shut-in route, and just try to escape to a stagnant world of false happiness, dooming all others and themselves in the process. Godmode gets boring very quickly. Sonic, being an agent of change in all ways, even in the real world with the series' experimentation and constant change, realizes what a stagnant world would mean, and realizes how unnatural that is, how hollow and false a world like that would be. He fights, not to force the people of Arthurian Legend to inevitably die, but to give them the choice to live and the power to grow, even *IF* that choice comes with a limited time. TL;DR play Xenoblade 3 it does this way better and it's story isn't even finished

[@meleeludens]

Hey just wanted to say, as someone who watches a TON of youtube, I rarely genuinely look forward to an upload as much as yours. Have been counting the days til this specific video XD Your content is great, and I can’t wait to watch this one!

[@EYYYYYJustin]

Merlina is an underrated sonic waifu tbh. If it was her developing a romance with somic in 06 I would be praising it to high heaven.

[@Zero-ontheleft]

As much as i love merlina and i would pay to see more of her, i don't think a romance with sonic would be a good way to use her character. (i also think elise would be a better character with her story wasn't focused on romance)

[@sandudelcea6707]

@@Zero-ontheleft IT'S NOT FOCUSED ON ROMANCE, YOU IDIOTS !!!!!!! her story is about her beeing a princess and boteling her emotions so she doesn't cry, that probabbly mentally scared her so that's why she becomes so emotional and crazy during the last story (also the kiss with sonic is epic, let's be real)

[@ierdandrakslei1176]

Need moar witch waifu material.

[@runningoncylinders3829]

Destiny's Sorceress and The Master of Faster?

[@sandudelcea6707]

@@runningoncylinders3829 maybe

[@SaddieMoon]

18:25 It makes more sense to have the Lancelot battle after the lady of lake tells Sonic how to defeat King Arthur. Same goes for Gawain.

[@TehJellyLord]

I don’t think fans over praise that specific story theme specifically, I think people praise the overall story of Black Knight in general in comparison to other Sonic stories that do not handle the characters as well and whatnot, and they just use that quote from Sonic at the end of the game as an example of what they are talking about.

[@Jbelnap510]

I feel like you kind of glossed over the fact that Sonic and Merlina continue their conversation during the last boss. The conversation mostly involves Merlina trying to convince Sonic that's he's in the wrong and Sonic responding with steadfast resolve. I don't think that extra dialogue would sell you on Merlina's arc if you weren't already convinced, but I do think it makes the end result of the arc more justified because it shows us how self destructive it is to grieve over something that hasn't happened yet. The speech about living to the fullest doesn't come until after the narrative explores what the alternative looks like. And also some of the best one liners Sonic has ever had in the franchise come from this conversation so there's that too.

[@tonycorona8501]

I did tell you we would see each other in Camelot this Christmas. Somebody pick on that phone, because I callllllllllleddddd it!

[@Pariah6950]

I was busy, damnit lol.

[@mrbanks456]

I don't think the ending is actually about accepting your own death, that's a bit too nihilistic of an interpretation. I think it's more about accepting change. With that comes death, obviously, but the death of other people or things. Merlina's lost all hope in the future and wants to control the fates of everything in the story so that it remain the same. Sonic is a part of this story now, so he ain't having that. As we see in the final cutscene, the world doesn't end, nobody dies. Sonic just basically says "It's time to move on." Sonic, the "new" King Arther, brings change to the people around him and is the hope Merlina needed to move on. Also,.considering that this was Maekawa's last Sonic game, he too had to move on. So there is a bit of a meta narrative here too. The vagueness and metaness of the story makes this a little hard to believe, I know. You have Sonic saying "Every world has its end" like he's saying you should accept oblivion with a smile on your face. But I have a more impressionistic interpretation.

[@Pariah6950]

I highly doubt Maekawa knew this would be his last Sonic game. And even then, the theme of death is very apparent in the game. Merlina's flower is a metaphor for it. That's why it dies in her hands.

[@mrbanks456]

@@Pariah6950 I wont deny that death is a component in the story, but it's not the MAIN theme.

[@nightlydata2181]

I think it's fine BK didn't go THAT FAR (it's a story for kids after all) wit the whole DEATH thing. I think the fact that Merlina doesn't interact wit Sonic that much creates a nice difference to how he is wit Shahra at the in SR. This Duo(technically trio cus Caliburn lol) never become friends but the overall structure of workin wit a girl till her unsolved issues/turmoil cause betrayal(ig Merlina might not count cus while she was usin Sonic like Shahra they were never close in the story so.. up to u). She's relatively in the background till the end while Sonic grows wit Caliburn(it might've been nice to have 1 or 2 more background scenes that allude to the finally more tho). Merlina is def my fav antag & 1 of my fav Sonic characters ever cus I relate IMMENSELY to her. I agree wit u in that I DON'T COMPLETELY AGREE WIT SONIC IN THIS BUT THIS IS WHERE HIS WHO HE IS AS A CHARACTER COMES IN PLAY IMMENSELY FOR ME. Jus like in SR despite winnin the fight sonic NEVER imposes his ideals on others, he only says "wut he THINKS" which shows he's fine if others disagree. I have a cripplin fear of death (similar to u) ever since I was 3-4(LITERALLY MY EARLIEST MEMORY IS LEAVIN PRE-K 1 DAY ASKIN MY OLD TEACHER & MOM WUT THE POINT OF LIFE IS IF I'M JUS GUNA DIE. I was screamed at for it & never mentioned it again basically cryin myself to sleep at random in nights & never had anythin short of the freakiest nightmares that left wit a racin heart as a kid wit no help whatsoever). This games Story means a lot to me since it helped me in some ways & is overall my fav Sonic story for the the things u mentioned in the vid & even description(ye I read it too lol). I want to point out that I think Sonic is DEF supposed to be the "BAD GUY" in this story. In the beginnin Merlina is tellin Sonic if he goes through wit takin caliburn & killin King Arthur he WILL be "THE ABSOLUTE WORST OF KNIGHTS" & Sonic's like "that's cool wit me." Sonic is also revealed to be the TRUE king Arthur of the book but despite the King needin to protect his ppl, cus Sonic alr had his clash wit Merlina & he hates authority(ESPECIALLY havin it himself) he's jus like "Nope not me peace out ya'll can die for all I care" then proceeds to gloat bout ALL OF IT to Amy like he literally didn't jus sentenced an entire civilization, HIS OWN PPL, to inescapable death/demise(lmao). Finally Jason Griffith def had his best performance here imo & the eng localization of this game (like 06-Unleashed) was STUPENDOUS. Great vid as always

[@zanlancer4426]

4:28 That actually is a part of Arthurian legend. The scabbard of Excalibur makes its owner invincible, or if we are going by the exact words of the text it prevents its user from sustaining injury or losing blood. In the actual mythology Arthur eventually ends up losing the scabbard which results in him inevitably being defeated.

[@Hypersonic-hg8kd]

51:40 The context of sonic going out with Amy actually takes place in unleashed cause close to the end of the game you get to make sonic choose if he agrees to go on a date with Amy. So the ending makes more sense if you played sonic unleashed before just to understand the situation

[@magma_fire_bagwan]

Holy shit i was NOT expecting the Outer Wilds mention. Im now being hit with a suckerpunch of good memories. Fantastic game

[@Mr.Maguro]

My idea for a third Storybook game would be based on Journey to the West. It's a looong story, so there's quite a lot to pull from for both story and level ideas. I don't feel like im suited to tell how or why the themes of Sonic could contrast or deconstruct Jouney to the West like they did with Arthurian Legend, but I do have a general idea of who should be casted into their roles. Sonic would obviously be Son Wukong, the cocky force of nature that is taken out of it's comfort zone by force. Knuckles would be Pigsy, the stubborn rival that often bickers with Son Wukong, although I'd like this interpretation to be far less pathetic and incompetent, because clowning on Knuckles often results in rather mean-spirited flanderization. Sandy is not very fleshed out since he doesn't often voice his opinions to the group and is the one that contributes less in the original story, to me that sounds like an excuse to have a sheepish Tails in one of those good old "learning your self worth and recognize your inner strenght" type of stories. Tripitaka could, I guess, be our pink-haired girl with personal issues that Sonic helps her with. And the White Dragon horse can be... well, if the Black Knight can ride a horse in this world of anthro Sonic characters then, I see no reason to change that.

[@Pariah6950]

I thought of that too. A good pick. But the real question, what's the motion control gimmick? That's why they did Black Knight, after all. A third game probably would have to incorporate Wii Motion Plus into the core gameplay. And that would then inform the choice of setting in some way.

[@sandudelcea6707]

@@Pariah6950 bro, imagine if they made the 3rd storybook game for the kinect, it has motion controls after all

[@Mr.Maguro]

@@Pariah6950 That's a good question.. assuming that this game concept is a Switch exclusive, I'd say have one remote control Sonic and the other control Knuckles and their respective weapons, because "blue and red controllers haha so clever." In all seriousness though, having a game be designed around the option for local co-op would probably justify the inclusion of someone other than Sonic as a playable character. Unlike Black Knight where you unlock the knights of the round table late into the game and feel tacked on as a result.

[@Jungle9825]

I had no clue Merlina was afraid of death. When I played this game as a kid I just thought: "Unga bunga! Evil lady! Unga bunga!" That plotline went right over my head.

[@mavrickindigo]

Really looking forward to your analysis of frontiers considering people were saying the Japanese translation was the worse version this time around

[@sebastianmartinez5963]

The story of this game was a pleasant surprise since it proved to be a very good story although it is a bit short. Now, I see many talking about Sonic's characterization in this game, but I don't see anyone talking about the relationship between Sonic and Caliburn. At the beginning of the story these two did not get along due to their differences. Sonic was very rebellious and liked to do things his way and Caliburn was very strict and disciplined. But as the story progresses, the two end up working together and Caliburn ends up accepting Sonic for who he is, calling him Sir Sonic, the Knight of the Wind. I grew fond of Caliburn and was very sorry for how he breaks in half during the final battle (I hate you Merlina). As a fun fact, Caliburn's English voice actor Casey Robertson also did the voice of Reala from NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

[@MS54905]

42:12 I am with u 100% on this one lol I was even wondering if I should comment at 33:23 that a world that goes on forever sounds super freaking awesome and this is kind of one of the only few games I disagree with Sonic's mentality on this specific topic (that even got me to disappreciate the character a bit, even tho I love him a fucking freaking lot lol), he sounded pretty ignorant when he basically just killed a world that he's not even gonna stay, or be a part of (I came to watch the video curious of ur take on it and I didn't expect u to have the same mentality of mine on this, I felt that not too much people would disagree with Sonic , cuz.. he's the "hero" he's always "right" and knows what's good and stuff so I always felt insecure about not agreeing with him here, as if I was wrong, but hearing that I'm not alone on this actually is pretty comforting lol I appreciate that 🤍)

[@noobbox9113]

lol i never knew sanji did the voice of the sword

[@Howardpower679]

Sonic and Amy date is a sonic unleashed follow up dialog

[@legoboy7107]

Isn't the context for Sonic agreeing to go on a date with Amy in Unleashed, where if you want you can agree to go on a date with her? I think at some point Amy asks about that and you can choose to either say "That could be fun" or just refuse. So Unleashed does have an instance where Sonic can agree to go on a date with Amy. Could have nothing to do with Black Knight and just be coincidence but could also be the tiny insignificant bit of context for that scenario I guess.

[@markofthewolvessucks8930]

Sonic deserves better than Amy lol.

[@ultimateshadeofwar]

12:15 I disagree, yes this teams were disconnected in the sense that each of then were doing their own stuff, but Sonic's own identity i don't think it was lost, i think it can come off as that because how radically different this games are, but in that era and even now days, i would say contrary to what everyone believes, i think it was a peak era of ideas and creativity, it could had been the peak of the Sonic series. But because of how overall, not in the doing their own stuff, but on a management sense, the franchise wasn't well handle, it end up coming off as you describe it. In fact, in terms of creativity, i would say the Sonic series has not recover since, and that it has been doing a very poor job on getting better. Some may see Frontiers as a possible step foreward in general, and in creativity, it's a bit of a step foreward, but just that, the gameplay and stories still have not recover from the consecuences of the bad management of this era in the behind scenes, not the doing their own stuff part.

[@Pariah6950]

Based on the evidence that there are so many people who lost interest in Sonic, I think it's safe to say the series lost its way. There's a reason that happened. And it's surely in part due to Sega's poor management of the games. But there are so many people who love the Genesis Sonic games that don't even know a single thing about the games that came after. Clearly whatever grabbed them with the original games was no longer there. It's like I said in my Riders video, by this time Sonic had a new identity. One that was about shoving Sonic into things the old Sonic would never fit in. I would argue Colors was on a really good track, minus the tone shift. That in many ways feels like a true to the series Sonic game. But after that game... we'll get there when we get there.

[@ScrapsandSlaps]

I wouldn’t really call this era of games all that creative. It’s like he said in the video a lot of the wacky ideas are really just trend chasing. If you look at how Frontiers follows Breath of the Wild, Sonic Team hasn’t really changed much in that regard. What was definitely different about this era was ambition. Nowadays they barely have the gall to try radical ideas like this anymore. It may be more consistent now but without their ambition they can’t even get back to the appeal of the classic era.

[@lukescrew1981]

You are absolutely right

[@lukescrew1981]

​@@yrooxrksvi7142Yeah most of the time he doesn't really know what he's talking about

[@lukescrew1981]

@@yrooxrksvi7142 He praised Free Riders?

[@Sylocat]

Wait, Arthur is never referred to as "The Black Knight" in the game itself? I've played the game multiple times and I never noticed that.

[@SaddieMoon]

The perfect Christmas special

[@J_productionss]

THIS is how I find out Caliburn's JP voice is also Sanji from One Piece??

[@GeospaciallyGone]

0.45 Sonic Unleashed released a year prior, and 𝘪𝘵 had chilidogs.

[@lukescrew1981]

Imagine calling Sonic a Mary Sue

[@lukescrew1981]

It's so weird watching this in japanese.

[@ierdandrakslei1176]

Really enjoyable as always. One thing I'd wanna say and kinda point out, since I feel like it's a bit of "polarising" aspect due to the nature of the subject matter and the way the game handles it. When it comes to the notion of death obviously we all have our own perspective and experiences associated to it, which is why I can see how sonic's philosophy feels off... But I do think it handles it apropriately. Obviously it's a sonic game, you're not really gonna play these games for the story... At least I won't, but with a subject like that it certainly has a good way of portraying the fear and overall heavy nature it instills without being heavy handed and with a character like sonic. Which goes really hand in hand very well with it's theming and soundtrack. Even for someone like me who has come to terms with how fucked we are, Live Life's instrumentals and lyrics really manages to strike right in the kokorro for me... Anyway gonna check out this Outerwilds game seeing how you talked about it Pariah, between the hook (or grappling ? Kinda forgot >->') shot game and this, it seems like I'll get my fair share of presents for this christmas.

[@PDS350]

Outer Wilds is a fantastic game, 100% Recommend it too.

[@sketchsskotch1073]

"You're not really gonna play these games for the story" - I feel personally attacked XD

[@ierdandrakslei1176]

@@sketchsskotch1073 Hopefully not too harshly >v>' Obviously if there's a good story to enjoy take it... It's just that to me games are about playing, especially in cases of franchises like Sonic. As far as someone like me is concerned, if I want stories to read/watch there's other "mediums"... Or genras like visual novels but I kinda lost my touch for looking up at doujin creations, so I guess it doesn't hold much water coming out of the lazy ass that I am.

[@sketchsskotch1073]

@@ierdandrakslei1176 For me. I don't think I'd like Sonic 100x as much as I would if it didn't perform any attempt at storytelling. My first game was Adventure 1 and my favourite way to pass the time in that game wasn't actually playing the levels, but it was to roam around the Hub Worlds and try to look for secrets and wonder about the world. The hub world made SA1 feel like it took place in a living breathing place with history and people with their own lives. I also find that the story helps enhance the gameplay, I don't feel I'd enjoy BK's final boss as much without the dialogue between Merlina and Sonic and the characterization behind the two that inform their decision. Powering through Egg Fleet as Team Dark wouldn't have felt half as exhilarating if Shadow didn't declare himself as who he is, even without his memories. Its to the point that I'll love objectively lesser quality titles like Sonic Unleashed or Sonic 3 over their technically superior successors like Sonic Generations and Mania because while those two improve upon the predecessors. In the end, they feel like games, there's no real story in Mania or Generations. While 3&K and Unleashed feel like experiences.

[@ierdandrakslei1176]

@@sketchsskotch1073 ... Guess my points flew over the head, at least it's interesting to see that despite having pretty much the same first experiences with the franchise, almost to a T if we exclude my luck with getting Mega Collection + at the time, the contrast couldn't be more blatant. Well keep being passionate but try to be more concise, I was similar in that regard too to a degree.

[@runningoncylinders3829]

Totally could've left the whole matter of the final stakes as Merlina wants to trap Sonic in the storybook, but since Sonic is aware of a world beyond it with no way to bridge the worlds he wants to escape the story he has become a central character in. I'm not sure this Sonic cares about the world revolving around him, and it would be as meta of an ending as an entertaining one.

[@sheriefwoodard8686]

Mario can come up with a hammer a vacuum, go carts and broom sticks no one would care gimmicks are just a thing in platformers. A lot are unique inventive and fun. As long as they don’t overstay their welcome I’m fine you can’t do the same thing forever before it gets boring and you can’t perfect new ideas without ever testing the waters. As far as voice acting and Sonic’s character this game does it best I wouldn’t change a thing

[@Gear07]

Ahhhhhh, I've been waiting for this! Your content is one of the best I've seen in this entire site

[@Prime_Legend]

I believe this is where Shiro Maekawa peaked story wise truly. Sadly this was his last title.