Knuckles the Echidna (franchise)

Knuckles the Echidna (ナックルズ・ザ・エキドゥナ Nakkuruzu za Ekiduna) is a Japanese-American-Canadian video game franchise created and owned by Sega, in partnership with Canadian game studio Lamp, Inc., starring Knuckles the Echidna, as the series was meant as a spin-off series to the main Sonic franchise. Even though Knuckles the Echidna, a 2.5D platforming game that acted as Knuckles' story in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, was released for the 32X in 1995, along with an Archie comic series which ran from 1997 to 1999, the series didn't officially start until 2008, when Sega partnered with Dimps and Lamp, Inc. to develop new titles for the newly-formed Knuckles the Echidna franchise, due to an overwhelming amount of fans who enjoyed the Knuckles game and comic series as much as the main Sonic series. Even though the Archie series ended in 2017, Ken Penders was still able to allow his characters in the Knuckles series from the Archie series to still be in the main Knuckles series.
== Games ==
* Knuckles the Echidna (2.5D platformer, 32X, 1995)
* Knuckles the Echidna (3D platformer, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, 2008)
* Knuckles: The Chaotix Mechanix (2.5D platformer, DS, 2009)
* Knuckles the Echidna V.S. Rouge the Bat!! (3D platformer, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, 2010)
* Knuckles the Echidna V.S. Storm the Albatross!! (racing game, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, 2010)
* Hyper Knuckles the Echidna (2.5D platformer, 3DS, 2011)
* 3D Knuckles the Echidna (3D platformer, 3DS, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, 2011)
* U R Knuckles (party game, Wii U, 2012)
* Knuckles the Echidna V.S. Doctor Finitevus!! (3D platformer, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, 2015)
* Knuckles the Echidna & Proto Man (3D platformer, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, 2023)
==Characters==
=== Heroes ===
* Knuckles the Echidna: Sworn Guardian of Angel Island who was trained by his father Locke, and later by a mentor named Archimedes.
* Julie-Su: A former solider of the villainous Dark Legion, and half-sister of their Grandmater Kragok and their Kommisar Lien-Da. She has since defected, and became Knuckles' girlfriend after fighting alongside him for a long period. The two of them share the 'Soultouch'.
* Chaotix: The team consisted of Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Mighty the Armadillo, Charmy Bee, and Heavy and Bomb. Charmy's fiancé, Saffron Bee, and Ray the Flying Squirrel eventually joined the team after the Archie comic series' cancellation.
* Locke: Knuckles' father and predecessor as Guardian of Angel Island. Locke foresaw a disaster via a prophetic dream, and exposed his son to Chaos energy while he was still an egg, giving him abilities beyond those of any other guardian. After training Knuckles rigorously, he passed the position of guardian on to Knuckles and joined his forefathers in the Brotherhood of Guardians. He reappears sporadically throughout the series to help Knuckles with his problems.
* Lara-Le: Knuckles mother who lives in Echinopolis. Her tumultuous marriage with Locke ended badly, and although he has tried to woo her back occasionally, Lara-Le has had enough of Locke placing his work above his wife and son. She currently lives with her new husband Wynmacher with whom she eventually has a child with named Knecapeon Mace. She dotes on her son and is very motherly towards him.
* Remington: A dedicated leader in the Echidnapolis Security Team and trusted ally of Knuckles. Although he is not corrupt, he is the son of former Dark Legion Grandmaster Kragok (though he himself was unaware of this fact), and has many underworld connections. Remington was briefly missing in action after being captured by Dr. Eggman, but he would later resurface, having seemingly learned of his Legionnaire heritage and taking command of the Frost Legion splinter group. His full memory was restored by Enerjak, and was since made the leader of the few surviving echidnas relocated in Albion.
* Brotherhood of Guardians: A group of former Guardians who operate out of Haven, a technologically advanced base in the Forbidden Zone, from which they also monitor the planet below. With the exception of Tobor (who is revealed to be a former Dark Legion grandmaster named Moritori Rex, posing as his cousin Tobor), they are all ancestors of Knuckles.
* Archimedes: A Fire Ant who trained Knuckles, as Fire Ants have trained all Guardians since they began. Archimedes or Archy (pronounced "Ar-kee") is kind and good-natured, though sometimes a bit sardonic, but his duty caused him to keep many secrets from Knuckles, which lead his pupil to mistrust him. Recent issues of Sonic the Hedgehog have shown him to be living on Angel Island, but he has received little exposure since his brief reappearance.
* Chomps: A carnivorous dinosaur and Knuckles the Echidna's loyal pet.
* Dingo Regime: The Dingo Regime is the social and military organization that encompasses the Dingoes of Angel Island Under the rule of Helmut Von Stryker, a huge, muscled soldier with a militaristic and aggressive nature who worked both against and alongside Knuckles. He is currently resuming command of the Dingoes in the Sandopolis Zone after the death of his son Kage Von Stryker.
* Golden Hive Colony: One of the most beautiful kingdoms in Angel Island, with its bee population living in harmony with nature. Its central place of power was at the Golden Hive Castle. It was destroyed by the Eggman Empire, but was eventually rebuilt with its surviving members King Bee, Queen Bee, Princess Bee, Prince Charmy, Lady Saffron, Jeepers, and Mello.
* Monk: The childhood bully towards Knuckles the Echidna that was hunted down by Hunter, a bounty hunter, but eventually turned against him and teamed up with Knuckles.
* Porker Lewis: He started off as a helpless pig that Knuckles freed from one of Robotnik's Badniks, but soon evolved into an expert in technology and a close friend of Knuckles.
* Vanilla the Rabbit: An adult rabbit and Cream the Rabbit's mother who lives with two Chao, Cheese and Chocola, and a robot, Gemerl. She is a good friend of Vector.
* Matilda the Armadillo: She is the younger sister of Mighty the Armadillo, from whom she was separated as an infant. She underwent roboticization but was later returned to normal.
* Honey Clothing: A fashion corporation founded by fashion designers Honey the Cat and Tiara Boobowski, both friends of Mighty the Armadillo.
* Moss the Sloth: An old sloth and the mentor of Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel.
* Relic the Pika: An adventuring archaeologist, who currently resides on Angel Island while researching the ruins there with her assistant Fixit. She is also a friend of Knuckles.
=== Villains ===
* Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik: An evil genius with an IQ of 300, who creates evil robots known as "Badniks" to control the universe.
* Dark Legion: The antithesis to the Brotherhood of Guardians, the Legion is an army of cyborg Echidnas who worship Enerjak and technology. Its leaders (known as Grandmasters) are all descendants of Enerjak's original alter-ego, Dimitri, just as the Guardians were descended from Dimitri's brother, Edmund.
* Dimitri/Enerjak: Knuckles' uncle generations removed, and supreme leader of the Dark Legion, he is the ancient forefather of every Legion grandmaster. He was powered by eleven chaos Emeralds and turned into a godlike being before he was defeated and depowered by Mammoth Mogul. After losing his power and enhanced longevity, he was rebuilt as a cyborg.
* Kragok: The leader of the Dark Legion at the beginning of the series, he subsequently turns over control to Enerjak when the latter arrives on scene. After a failed attack on Echidnaopolis he was imprisoned for a time, and was later sent to the Twilight Zone with Tobor. When the two emerged, Tobor sacrificed both their lives attacking the Dark Legion Battle Cruiser.
* Renfield T. Rodent: A shady businessman who ran the Happyland theme parks on the Floating Island while involving himself in underworld dealings as well. He was later contracted by Dr. Eggman to secretly build robotic armies, but this operation was shut down by the Chaotix Crew.
* Downtown Ebony Hare: A powerful gangster in Echidnapolis, he tried to muscle in on his subordinate Renfield's Happyland caper, attempting to kill Chaotix member Julie-Su in the process. He was later taken into custody by Constable Remington, and has not been seen since Eggman's take-over of Angel Island.
* Hunter: An Overlander who hunts Mobians for sport. Sophisticated and intelligent, he was also quite insane, but was still unable to defeat Knuckles, who threw him into the sea.
== Features ==
* Knuckles the Echidna (Archie comic series, 1997-1999) - Spin-off of the main Archie Sonic series.
* Knuckles the Echidna "SatAM" (1999-2000) - Based off the 1995 32X game and Archie series, animated by PiP Animation Services, imX communications Inc., and Funbag Animation Studios Inc.
* Knuckles the Echidna "X" (anime, 2005-2007) - Spin-off of Sonic X, animated by TMS Entertainment.
* Knuckles the Echidna (streaming, 2023-) - Animated by Stuntronics of Canada and America using said studio's animation software "Storyboard Pro".
Category:Series