After a flurry of rumour and speculation over the weekend, SEGA officially announced the Nintendo Wii-exclusive Sonic and the Black Knight yesterday. It first appeared on the leaked-onto-the-web cover of the latest Nintendo Power magazine, and now the details from said issue have been divulged.

Using a similar storybook approach to Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic and the Black Knight sees Sonic travelling to Arthurian England where a sorceress named Merlina summons the famous hedgehog. When he gets there, he discovers that the monarch has been corrupted and now rules as the tyrannical Black Knight - which, we imagine, spells a whole lot of trouble.

Sonic begins as a lowly knave, but can secure upgrades to his weaponry along the way to earning a knighthood. There are about 200 new items to acquire in total, and they can be traded online with friends. The whole process is started by rubbing up the locals the right way, as Nintendo Power explains:

“At the end of each stage, the game tallies your good and not-so-good deeds and updates your rank accordingly…Sonic can aquire everything from gauntlets to magical tomes to new swords, and when equipped, each article bestows him with a unique benefit.”

Sonic and the Secret Ring’s skill system has returned, as has the ability to choose different routes through levels. However, SEGA states that the former will not interfere with the tempo of the game this time around, while the mission structure is said to be less arduous.

If you were hoping Black Knight would be solitary mission for Sonic, then it can be if you want, although you will have the option to switch to utilise the differing attributes of Sonic’s friends, including Shadow, and Knuckes - who possesses two swords. Talking of swords, Sonic’s is called Calibur, and acts as his mentor throughout:

“During our demo, we saw the hedgehog leap from a high precipice, then thrust the blade into a wall to slow his decent, sparks flying impressively as steel cut through brick,” writes Nintendo Power. “Combat is integrated in such a way that most of the time you can slice through any who stand in your path without even slowing down.”

While the old gauges from Secret Rings are gone, Nintendo Power adds that:

…a new special gauge will “bestow him with similarly impressive powers. The meter fills gradually whenever Sonic vanquishes an enemy or snags a purple elemental, and when it reaches a certain point you can unleash a powerful combination attack capable of tearing through multiple foes in quick succession. You simply press the B button to lock onto the nearest enemy, flick the remote to strike him down, then press B again to move onto the next unfortunate soul. If you chain together enough smitings before the gauge is depleted, Sonic will receive a speed burst at the end of the string.”

The publication concludes by noting that the Sonic and the Black Knight development team is aware of the franchise’s previous mishaps, and that they are enthusiastic about doing the right thing this time around.

Whether this’ll ring true in the end, it’s just too early to tell. Sonic and the Black Knight will be released in spring 2009.

Source: IGN Boards]