Sonic the Hedgehog 3: The Harsh Reality of Knuckles’ Spinoff Show
The latest installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, has left fans feeling disappointed and unmoved by the treatment of Knuckles’ spinoff show. While it was initially exciting news for fans to see Knuckles, one of the most popular characters in the series, getting his own spinoff show, the reality has proven to be quite different.
The Knuckles show, which followed the titular character as he trained Wade Whipple to face his estranged father in a bowling competition, failed to live up to fans’ expectations. The show barely had any impact on the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and it now appears to be completely unnecessary to the franchise.
The película itself barely acknowledges the existence of the Knuckles show, with only two minor references. Knuckles’ gloves catching on fire and the fact that he has entrusted Wade Whipple to guard the Master Emerald are all the connections made between the two. Fans of the franchise who didn’t watch the spinoff show won’t even notice that they missed anything.
The lack of impact from the Knuckles show highlights how pointless it was for the franchise. The storyline could have been woven into the narrative of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but instead, it’s a standalone, self-contained story that has no connection to the larger Sonic universe. The spinoff show’s story, which was about a bowling competition, was never going to have any influence on the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
The only option for how Sonic the Hedgehog 3 could have addressed Knuckles was to have the spinoff show end with Knuckles entrusting Wade with the Master Emerald, which would have created a more natural bridge between the two stories. The franchise wasted an opportunity to create a deeper, more engaging narrative by not using the Knuckles show to its full potential.