Years ago, a blue hedgehog zoomed into fame like nobody else in gaming. Not every title carrying his name earned praise though. Take Sonic and the Black Knight – said to miss the mark by many. Yet Charles Harte, then just nine, thought it might be the greatest thing ever made. Now, close to two decades on, that childhood spark gets tested again. Was it really magic? Or simply nostalgia moving fast?
Out in March 2009 came a title called Sonic and the Black Knight – this one marked the last entry in what became a short-lived series known as the Sonic Storybook line, first sparked by 2007’s Sonic and the Secret Rings. Instead of modern cities, both adventures drop Sonic into old myths; here, it is King Arthur’s realm that pulls him in. With a famed sword named Caliburn in hand, his task unfolds – to protect the land from ruin. Back then, reviewers didn’t exactly cheer; reactions leaned toward disappointment, some flat-out calling it weak. One such judgment appeared in Game Informer, issue 193, where page 87 handed it a score of five out of ten.