Knuckles (P+)

Knuckles is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project+. He was revealed on March 17th, 2020 and was made available in P+ 2.0, which released on the same day. Knuckles is one of the three characters that were not originally playable in Brawl, with the other two being and . Unlike Mewtwo and Roy, Knuckles is a brand new character rather than a Smash veteran.
One of few characters originally planned for Project M, all plans came to a halt after Project M ceased its own development following version 3.6. Knuckles is the first clone engine character to hail from a third party universe, the third clone engine character overall (built using as a base), and the only newcomer to appear beyond the plans of Project M.
, Knuckle's voice actor between 2003-2010, voices the character in Project+, with his portrayals being re-purposed from various Sonic the Hedgehog media existing around the same time as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, beginning from to .
Knuckles ranks 10th out of 42 characters in the official Project+ , at the top of the A tier, making him a high tier character.
==Attributes==
==Moveset==
 	 	Name 	Damage 	Description
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	3% 	Two punches, followed by a neutral infinite.
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	4% 	Two punches, followed by a neutral infinite.
Neutral attack 	Neutral attack 	 	1% (loop) 	Two punches, followed by a neutral infinite.
Forward tilt 	Forward tilt 	 	12% 	A forward punch that can be angled.
Up tilt 	Up tilt 	 	11% 	An uppercut that sends opponents upwards. Similar to Knuckles' unused Uppercut attack from Sonic Adventure.
Down tilt 	Down tilt 	 	10% 	A sweeping punch that sends opponents upwards. Has a sweetspot at the tip of his knuckles.
Dash attack 	Dash attack 	 	12% 	Performs a running donkey kick from Sonic the Fighters, similar to Sonic's forward tilt.
Forward smash 	Forward smash 	Deep Impact 	(fist), (explosion) 	A charged punch forwards. A small explosion appears in front of his fist; this is the sweetspot of the move. Taken directly from Sonic Battle.
Up smash 	Up smash 	Rising Super Uppercut	 	An uppercut engulfed in flames. Taken directly from Sonic Advance.
Down smash 	Down smash 	Meteor Eruption 	, 1% (charging hitbox) 	Knuckles spins into the ground, then launches out to hit opponents. If done on a soft platform while holding down on the control stick, and charged for too long, Knuckles will fall through the platform. Has a hitbox on the ball while charging. Based off the attack from Sonic Battle.
Neutral aerial 	Neutral aerial 	 	12% (clean), 8% (late) 	A sex kick.
Forward aerial 	Forward aerial 	 	13% (early), 15% (late) 	A downward, fist enlarging punch that functions similarly to Mario's, having a horizontal knockback angle on the early hit and having a meteor smash hitbox on the late hitbox.
Back aerial 	Back aerial 	 	15% (early), 8% (late) 	Jabs behind himself with his elbow. Based off his Quick Reverse Back Attack from Sonic Advance 2. Has sex kick properties.
Up aerial 	Up aerial 	 	11% 	A headbutt attack from Sonic the Fighters that acts similarly to Donkey Kong's.
Down aerial 	Down aerial 	Meteor Punch 	11% 	Punches downwards with both of his fists, taken directly from Sonic Battle. Has a meteor smash effect.
Grab 	Grab 	 	- 	Knuckles reaches out with his left hand.
Pummel 	Pummel 	 	3% 	Punches with his right hand.
Forward throw 	Forward throw 	 	6% (hit 1), 10% (throw) 	Headbutts the opponent.
Back throw 	Back throw 	 	10% 	Spins his opponent round in a circular motion and throws them.
Up throw 	Up throw 	 	2% (hit 1), 10% (throw) 	Knuckles jumps into the air with his opponent and slams them into the ground. Similar to Volcanic Dunk from Sonic Heroes.
Down throw 	Down throw 	 	1% (hits 1-4), 10% (throw) 	Rapidly punches his opponent downward. Similar to his digging animation.
Floor attack (front)	Floor attack (front)	 	 	
Floor attack (back) 	Floor attack (back) 	 	6% 	
Floor attack (trip) 	Floor attack (trip) 	 	5% 	
Edge attack (fast) 	Edge attack (fast) 	 	8% 	
Edge attack (slow) 	Edge attack (slow) 	 	11% 	
Neutral special 	Neutral special 	Dig/Drill Claw 	20% (Grounded uppercut, clean), 11% (Grounded uppcercut, late)1% (aerial)	Grounded: Knuckles will dig into the ground for some frames, then enter it. The player can move underground for a short time, which can be extended by holding down the B button, before unearthing with an uppercut, akin to his introduction in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Can be used to become totally invincible, as well as get around projectiles. The uppercut has a sourspot on the late hit.Aerial: Based off of the Drill Claw move in Sonic Adventure 2. Knuckles will spiral downwards in a stall-then-fall move. If the B button is held down while landing, he will dig into the ground. From there, it functions like the grounded version.
Side special 	Side special 	Diving Punch/Glide 	16%, 5% (landing hitbox) 	Grounded: Knuckles jumps up and performs a diving punch, similar to the Stone Breaker Punch from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).Aerial: Glides around the air, can cling to and climb up and down walls. If the opponent interrupts your glide or if you press Z while gliding, Knuckles will perform an Aerial version of the Diving Punch instead of the Glide. The glide can be directly cancelled into aerials.
Up special 	Up special 	Spring Jump 	4% (spring) 	Bounces into the air off of a yellow spring. Compared to Sonic's version of the move, Knuckles does not go as high, as yellow springs in the Sonic series give you less height than red springs, giving it weaker potential as both a recovery option and method of gaining height for juggling. It also has an upwards launch angle on the spring projectile, giving it much better combo potential. Otherwise, the same as Sonic's. Only the first instance of this move can be acted out of per airtime, otherwise Knuckles will become helpless.
Down special 	Down special 	Spin Charge 	7-10% (dash), 8% (jump) 	Functions in a similar manner to Sonic's own version of the move, except Knuckles' does more damage at the cost of speed. This move can only be performed once per airtime.
Final Smash 	Final Smash 	Super Knuckles 	18% (startup), 16% (ram) 	Transforms into Super Knuckles using the Chaos Emeralds. Functions almost identically to Super Sonic.
===Stats===
===Taunts===
*Up taunt: Crosses his arms together and chuckles, much like his animation in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
*Side taunt: Punches towards the screen, then ends in a fighting pose saying, "Bring it on!". Taken from his gold victory animation in Sonic Advance 3.
*Down taunt: Knuckles does push-ups for as long as the taunt button is held. Taken from his idle animation in Sonic Advance 3.
===Idle poses===
*Winds up his elbow.
*Smacks his fists together.
===Victory poses===
*Punches wildly while shouting, "Bring it on! I'll take 'em all down!"
*Burrows underground to the front and comes out doing an uppercut. He finishes with his back facing the camera while looking towards the screen and grinning, saying, "No contest!"
*Jumps on scene with a ground punch and flips forward ending with a fist pump, excitedly shouting, "All right!"
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Knuckles players (PM)
* - Highest ranked Knuckles on PMRank 2023 at 28th. Placed top 8 at and .
* - Top level player with a Knuckles secondary, that is ranked 30th on PMRank 2023.
* - Ranked 25th on the 2022 PMRank and a notable inactive on PMRank 2023. Placed 5th at .
==In Solo Modes==
While Knuckles cannot appear as a CPU in , he does appear in All-Star Mode. He is fought in Stage 14 alongside . In Event Matches, He appears as an opponent in Event 2 and Event 40.
Knuckles' credits music is a remix of Theme of Knuckles (S3&K).
===Congratulations Screens===
KnucklesCongratulationsP+.png|Classic Mode
KnucklesCongratulationsP+ AllStar.png|All-Star Mode
==Role in The Subspace Emissary==
As Knuckles does not exist within the base game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he does not play a role within the story. Knuckles is instead automatically unlocked after finishing the main story.
==Trophy==
Knuckles's trophy can be obtained by clearing or All-Star Mode with Knuckles. This is the same Knuckles trophy from Brawl, but with the model and pose changed to match his appearance in Project+, as well as adding his full name like 's Classic Mode trophy.
==Alternate costumes==
Similar to Sonic in P+, Knuckles has colored fur to help identify him in team battles. His blue costume is intended to be a reference to Hydrocity Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. His white costume references Mecha Knuckles, from Sonic Advance. The Maroon color resembles the Knuckles Clan appearance in Sonic Adventure. Knuckles also has three semi-alts resembling Espio, Vector, and Charmy, the members of Team Chaotix which also function as secondary team colors. Similar to Sonic, Knuckles has a Jet Set costume with his being based on Garam's outfit. His Jet Set colors resemble, Yo-yo, the Poison Jam gang, DJ Professor K, and Slate. His Treasure Hunter Knuckles costume is a reference to the costume from Sonic Dash/Sonic Forces Speed Battle, and also includes his hat from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. The last treasure Hunter Knuckles costume resembles his classic pink fur appeareance.
Secret costumes:
 
Z-Secret Costume: Metal Knuckles: Replaces Knuckles with a character who was originally exclusive to Sonic R known as Metal Knuckles, who is his equivalent to Metal Sonic, which would also later apper as a multiplayer skin in Sonic Superstars.
R-Secret Costume: Sonic Adventure 2 gear Knuckles: Has Knuckles wear the Shovel Claw, Hammer Gloves, and Sunglasses from Sonic Adventure 2.
==Reveal trailer==
==Gallery==
Knuckles_P+_001.webp|Knuckles' down tilt getting blocked by Ike's shield.
Knuckles_P+_002.webp|Knuckles attacking Sonic with his up smash.
Knuckles_P+_003.webp|Knuckles using the Drill Claw.
Knuckles_P+_004.webp|Knuckles using the Glide.
==Trivia==
*Similar to Mewtwo and Roy, anything that would normally be exclusive to Knuckles (namely Congratulations video and a codec conversation) reuses that of 's. However, he has his own congratulations screen and trophy.
**When accessing replays in Brawl, Knuckles shows up as an iconless character under the name "Headrobo", which is the internal name of Galleom.
*Knuckles is currently the only character in Project+ to not be playable in an official Smash game, though he has appeared since Brawl in several non-playable roles.
Category:Characters (PM)
Category:Third-party characters