Knuckles

"Knock Knock, It's Knuckles!"

Knuckles is a protagonist in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, making his debut appearance as an antagonist in 1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and becoming an ally in Sonic & Knuckles.

He is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
During the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the development team sought to create a character that would rival Sonic (as opposed to Dr. Robotnik's role as a full-on antagonist). After dozens of concept designs were pitched (including a reptilian design inspired by the popularity of the Jurassic Park franchise), Knuckles' final design was designed by Takashi Yuda.

Yuda had designed Knuckles as an "intimidator" due to his incredible strength. Many aspects of the character's design were inspired by studies conducted on American youth, which led to Knuckles' dreadlock hairstyle and red coloring (while Yuji Naka had originally pushed for the new character to be purple). He was initially meant to speak with a Jamaican accent.

Upon his debut in 1994, Knuckles became a wildly popular character, making his playable debut in Sonic & Knuckles that same year and gaining his own self-titled game in the form of Knuckles' Chaotix in 1995. In 1999, Knuckles, alongside many other Sonic characters, was redesigned for the release of Sonic Adventure, which would become the definitive look for Knuckles going forward.

Knuckles is recognized as a major player in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, appearing in various games, comics, films, and other media based on the franchise. He has also become the subject of numerous internet memes, most notably "Ugandan Knuckles" in 2017.

Gameplay Information
"The last of his kind and the guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles the Echidna is hot-blooded and no-nonsense. He’ll break down any threat to Angel Island, whether it be solid or frail, and while he may have started off as a rival to Sonic, he has since become one of the Blue Blur’s closest allies.

Knuckles’ claim to fame is his brute strength and fighting skill, which he has honed over the course of his duty. However, seeking more answers of his heritage, he set off to the tournament with the hopes of using the Winner’s Wish to discover the truth of the Echidna tribe… After leaving the Master Emerald in safe hands, of course."

Knuckles is a character with great potential for dishing out damage. He has solid combo potential and a number of heavy-hitting attacks, some of which can get KOs fairly early on. In addition, his horizontal recovery is one of the best in the game distance-wise, making it easy for Knuckles to recover from above the stage. Overall, Knuckles is a character who excels in grounded combat due to his hard-hitting moves and combo potential.

However, due to this, Knuckles suffers with aerial combat, having weak aerial attacks and a poor vertical recovery. In addition, Knuckles is slower than his build suggests; While he isn't as slow as a heavyweight, his speed and jump height are less than desirable. While Knuckles isn't completely helpless in the air, players should strive to focus on attacking on the ground, using Knuckles' Side Special as their main recovery option.

Moveset

 * Wall Jump: Knuckles is able to jump off of walls.
 * Wall Cling: Knuckles is able to cling to walls for a short period of time.
 * Wall Crawl: Knuckles is able to crawl on walls for a short period of time.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Knuckles throws a quick jab.
 * Dash Attack: Knuckles throws a double punch resembling the Double Punch from Sonic Battle.
 * Forward Light: Knuckles throws a hook punch resembling the Megaton Hook from Sonic Battle.
 * Up Light: Knuckles throws an elbow jab. This can combo into itself at early percentages, as well as lead to combos at higher percents.
 * Down Light: Knuckles jabs at the ground. This can combo into itself at early percentages.
 * Forward Strong: Knuckles throws an overhand punch resembling the Knuckles Chop from Sonic Battle. This is his best kill move.
 * Up Strong: Knuckles throws an uppercut resembling the Knuckles Upper from Sonic Battle.
 * Down Strong: Knuckles punches the ground, creating a shockwave in front of himself. This attack resembles the Quake Punch from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
 * Counter: Knuckles throws a double punch resembling his dash attack.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Knuckles throws a jab forwards.
 * Forward Air: Knuckles throws a double axe handle resembling the Meteor Punch from Sonic Battle. Opponents hit in the early frames of the move can be spiked.
 * Back Air: Knuckles jabs behind himself with his elbow, resembling the Back Attack from Sonic Advance 2.
 * Up Air: Knuckles sweeps his fist above himself.
 * Down Air: Knuckles throws a downward angled cross resembling the Kn. Air Hook from Sonic Battle.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Knuckles grabs the opponent with one hand.
 * Pummel: Knuckles punches the opponent’s gut.
 * Forward Throw: Knuckles lifts the opponent with one hand throws them forwards. This is his best combo throw.
 * Back Throw: Knuckles suplexes the opponent.
 * Up Throw: Knuckles uppercuts the opponent into the air. This is his best kill throw.
 * Down Throw: Knuckles tosses the opponent upwards before punching them into the ground, resembling the Fire Dunk from Sonic Heroes.

Stage Intro
Knuckles uppercuts through the earth, landing and striking his battle stance.

Taunts

 * Knuckles crosses his arms and chuckles, referencing an animation from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
 * Knuckles shadowboxes. This taunt is capable of dealing light damage and fixed knockback to opponents and is a reference to his idle animation from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
 * Knuckles pounds his fists together while saying "I'll make you eat dirt!"
 * Knuckles rolls his shoulder, commenting "Not bad!"

Victory Animations
Knuckles' victory theme is an excerpt of Unknown from M.E. from Sonic Adventure.
 * Knuckles shadowboxes while saying "Bring it on! I'll take 'em all down!" before ending on a pose. This animation originates from Sonic Adventure.
 * Knuckles rests in front of the Master Emerald.
 * Knuckles winds up his arm before posing with his arms folded in reference to his victory animation from Sonic Advance 3.

Trivia

 * Both Knuckles' tagline and a line from his biography ("whether they be solid or frail") are references to Unknown from M.E. from Sonic Adventure.
 * Knuckles was originally planned to have his glide be a mobility mechanic, but this was moved to his Side Special after gliding was removed as an official mechanic.
 * Knuckles was originally planned to have the Volcanic Dunk as his Down Special, but this was changed to allow Knuckles to use his more iconic digging ability.

Gameplay-Related

 * Upon being KO’d via blast zone, rings will fly out from Knuckles’ direction.
 * If Knuckles is the last fighter to lose their final stock in a Stamina match, he will be launched upwards a short distance before falling through the bottom of the screen, resembling his death animation in many Sonic games.

Credits

 * Nibroc-Rock: Creator of the Hyper Knuckles render.