Takashi Iizuka Interview: Knuckles Chaotix 2 and NiGHTS 3 Considered

Takashi Iizuka Interview: Knuckles Chaotix 2 and NiGHTS 3 Considered

In an interview with Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka, GamesTM Magazine reaveals that the man behind upcoming titles Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Sonic Colours “would personally love to make a third NiGHTS game”.

Iizuka also reveals that he has considered making both Tails and Knuckles games in the past: “I actually considered making a game like Knuckles Chaotix at one point, but Sega has unfortunately not given me the green light to do so.”

Although there are no current plans to make either title, the interest of the head of Sonic Team could mean that there could be a possibility for the creation of these titles in the future; something that should give die-heard Knuckles & NiGHTS fans a small ray of hope.

The rest of the article can be read in next month’s edition of GamesTM Magazine, available to purchase in the UK from the 2nd of September, 2010.

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Published by

Adam Tuff

With a decade under his belt, Adam is one of The Sonic Stadium's most seasoned writers, with interests in the music and merchandise of the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Adam is the co-organiser for the Summer of Sonic convention.

61 Comments

  1. Lol, port the original NiGHTS first before any third game concept ever comes around.

    I wonder why he decided to bring up NiGHTS all of a sudden? …….. …. … .. o.o?

  2. I’m sorry to bring reality crashing back into everyones lives but I would love for this NOT to happen. Considering firstly that the sequel to Nights on the Wii, ‘Nights: Journey of Dreams’ was an utter disaster the idea of a third game doesn’t appeal to me.

    The next game, Knuckles Choatix wasn’t awful but it was still pretty bad mostly due to how the game mechanics handled. If a sequel was made there’d have to be a a lot of refinements and changes.

    I’m looking forward to Sonic 4 and Sonic Colours but I think he should wait for the reception of those games before moving anything else forward.

  3. If they made a Nights 3 I just hope its like an updated version not like some new kids to throw in and say blah blah blah I cant play Soccer neeeehhhh 😀

  4. I’ve never even played the first Knuckles Chaotix game yet. NiGHTS I’m not really into. I’ve owned NiGHTS Journey of Dreams and I’d thought the game is ‘okay’. I’ve never played the first NiGHTS though but I would like to

  5. Having both a 32X and Saturn with Knuckles Chaotix and Nights this makes me feel happy. Main reason why I bought both systems.

  6. Neat, especially as a few years back he said if a new NiGHTS were to be made, it’d be on Wii.

  7. I just want a game starring Tails.

    [You’ve got two! – Tails Lame Patrol and Tails “Not Quite as good as Sonic” Adventure – T]

  8. @ProjectZuel

    Journey of Dreams was developed by Sonic Team USA, and they have been absorbed back into Sonic Team Japan who is developing Sonic Colors. I would never expect the Shadow the Hedgehog team to do NiGHTS justice, but I’m certain the Sonic Colors team can.

  9. Knux chaotix 2 could be cool, maybe a 3DS game, with plusthe original game,
    in fact, to me, Chaotix is not a really good good game, the level design is weirdo, but the music is one os te most cool and underated at sonic franchise, is a strange game, but deserves appear in some compilation.

  10. It really winds me up when people get the name of that magazine wrong. It’s called “games TM” not “games”.

    [Must be real easy to wind you up, Ash! Thanks for the “polite” correction – T]

  11. And as long as they include Mighty, I’m excited.

    Oh, and NiGHTS 3 would have to be done right. You know, with original controls, no lame-ass plot, etc. Even though I’d buy it anyway.

  12. I hope people realize that the same team that did Shadow the Hedgehog did SA1 and SA2, as far as I can remember… If I’m wrong, then I’ll facepalm at my lack of remembering things. I do know that team was eventually dissolved back into the main Sega of America, though/

  13. I would love a new Knuckles Chaotix game since I really loved the first one. A new NiGHTS would be good as well, I’m not a fan but I think it’s nice that SEGA acknowledges them and wants to make them happy.

  14. @ T-Bird

    B-but I loved Tails Adventure! Tails Sky Patrol was okay, but would have been really good if you could actually touch the ground.

    I just thought of something… why not make a NiGHTS game for the PlayStation 3? There needs to be a good SIXAXIS game on that system and since NiGHTS is so colorful and detailed it would look amazing, especially if they used the hedgehog engine.

  15. Oh and T, you forgot Tails and the Music Maker! 😉

    Sorry for the triple post but I just got SSBB again and I’m about to unlock Sonic… again.

  16. Considering Knuckles isn’t really in the main Sonic series anymore (only spin offs) it would be really great to give him his own new adventure game with the Chaotix behind him as wacky sidekicks. Plus the return of Mighty? We can dream.

  17. How about porting Knuckles Chaotix a little more first? The MD Sonics have been ported to everything from consoles, to iPads/iPhone, to toasters, so may as well make cash out of porting KC onto everything…

  18. Knuckles and Tails do need to get back in the spotlight, Tails was demoted from cute little partner who wanted to be like his best friend to the dorky little sidekick. And Knuckles went from badass rival, to bumbling gullible idiot who needs to get back to guarding the Master Emerald and stop roaming around doing nothing. I mean, neither of them have been playable since SA2B(besides 06, which I won’t count because they weren’t relevant to the story… like… at all.).

    And a NiGHTS 3 would be pretty cool, I enjoyed Journey of Dreams, never played the first one though.

  19. @ Lieuteneant Goomba

    Aren’t you forgetting a game that they had a very major role in? (cough cough Sonic Heroes) let’s not forget that they were relevant to the plot of both Riders games, Sonic Rivals 1 and 2, Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure (Tails at least), and Chronicles.

    Though I do see where you’re coming from. I miss the old stories of Knuckles and the Master Emerald… I mean, does he even look at the Emerald? I bet it’s getting awfully lonely…

  20. @ Joe Higashi Well, then it was SA2 I was thinking of. Sonic Team USA, which back then, I know it was specifically the San Francisco branch, Sega Studio USA (which was later absorbed into the whole of Sega of America now). In other words, I was technically right I just mistakenly included SA1 into the mix. However, granted, I half-facepalmed at being half-wrong.

  21. Takashi, leave it alone… you guy’s have ruined enough of Sonic’s history, don’t ya think?

  22. It would be interesting if a new installment to Tails’ Adventure and Knuckles’ Chaotix is in the works, but it depends on how things go. If they *do* make them, I hope those nasty reviewers won’t criticize them this time around. Just because they’re not your average Sonic game does not mean you have to be a butt about it.

    @KjrinKA2
    Why would anyone ruin Sonic’s history? All that fanfiction and art that people post on DeviantArt and such are the problem, not SEGA. Geez.

  23. @ sonictoast

    i totally agree with you , it would be a wonderful idea if they do so.

    at least if they make a single game at first to try thier luck on knuckles’s back story it actually not a bad idea for starters 🙂

  24. Edge: I don’t see Knuckles breaking a rock in Rush as story relevant xD

    I would love both of the games. I want another game with the Chaotix, especially Espio.

    NiGHTS I’d love to see in HD.

  25. Who really gives a crap about Nights.

    Knuckles Chaotix sequel would be WAY PAST COOL, as long as they get rid of that buddy ring system.

  26. A Tails or Knuckles game would be great! They both need a bit more spotlight if you ask me, the two biggest sidekicks in the game and they havent been properly playable for years.

    A Tails game would be good if it was a kind of speed/exploration game. Maybe Sonic Unleashed day time but with no boost and more exploration/flying =P

    Same with Knuckles, cant say i would look forward to the ring binding thing again though, i thought that gimmick kind of sucked, but some people liked it and if they can make it work in 3D then im all for it =P Personally, whilst i love Sonic and playing as sonic i do miss playing as the characters too. A few other character spin offs would be good =]

  27. People whining about Journey of Dreams need to get over it. It was a fairly competent game.

  28. @KjrinKA2 agreed and what they have to do is replave sonic team’s current members with professinals make a good sonic 4.Oh and who cares about gay nights i want mah Ristar 2 dammit.

  29. @ Shade Vortex

    That is very true but it also goes to show the fluctuations in quality during the years of Sonic Teams history. There has also been several key members of Sonic Team that left before the release of Shadow the Hedgehog including Naoto Ōshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara. Takashi Iizuka was the person who started to take the series in strange directions when he was left more to his own devices with Shadow the Hedgehog being a prime example.

    @ Alphabits

    Perhaps while people whine about Journey of Dreams was because it was only a competent game. The original Nights was a classic that still holds up better, even more so than it’s sequel.

  30. I’d like a Chaotix 2 but not a NiGHTS 3

    Mainly due to the fact that Knuckles Chaotix had an idea that it could run with and make a full, fast-paced game with it. However having a sequel like some others have said would need a lot of refinement and would probably have to be in 2.5 D or something. I don’t really think the game’s main mechanic can even work in 3D. If they did get it to work in 3D I have the feeling it will be very heavy on lock-on mechanics or like Sonic Heroes.

    And NiGHTS 3 needs to be a no. Journey of Dreams was crap compared to the original NiGHTS and alone its just a “meh” game. It really doesn’t even deserve the title NiGHTS in its name. Seriously, that game should be renamed to “Sega needs more money”. I would like a NiGHTS 3 thought, if they can get their shit together can fix all the issues people had with the 2nd game, along with the first.

  31. @SonikkuHedgehog “Who really gives a crap about Nights.”
    I do -_-

    @Alphabits
    Agreed. Personally I would love to have another NiGHTS game, even by Iizuka.

  32. Can’t we just get along for once? People need to learn how to stop whining and moaning about such things.

  33. @ Marcellof

    I know, that’s why I put (Tails at least) after Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure.

  34. Awesomeness, bout time Knuckles got time to shine again.
    And since were including his closest friends why not add Rouge? (Shes sexy and smooth)

  35. @Vulpine
    It’s heavily implied in SA2 that Knuckles and Rouge have a thing going – A mutual respect x surreptitious affection sort of thing. Shadow saved Rouge’s life spurred on by his memories of Maria, not romantic interest. Haven’t seen anything to indicate a romance one way or another since then.

    @Soniman032
    Good use of Wild Canyon line. I c wut u did thar.

  36. Oh, er, and yeah, interesting article. Chaotix 2 might be an interesting experiment. Just hope they don’t leave out Mighty like they did in ‘Heroes’.

    Although I wish they’d release the original Chaotix on a collection. Sonic Gems seemed appropriate… in fact, that’ve been a good time for the Super Sonic Arcade machine, the rollerball one with Ray and Mighty.

    But I digress.

  37. @Beau
    Oh, geez. It is obvious that Shadow and Rouge have feelings for each other. Haven’t you played some of the later games they’re in? And besides, Knuckles does not love Rouge, and the only reason why he teams up with her in Sonic Rivals 2 is to get his darn Master Emerald back. In all honesty, the idea of a relationship developing between those two doesn’t work out. Rouge’s hints of feelings towards Knuckles is a crush, which is just a short-lived infatuation, not affection. The stuff she shows towards Shadow, however, is actually part of a sort of deep emotion and compassion she feels for him. Before you say anything about them not having feelings towards each other, think about it: Shadow and Rouge are not brother and sister. They’re not related the last time I checked, and (in Sonic Battle) Rouge called Shadow a “prince” and carried him to her place, and is something a sister would never say to a brother. So this could mean that it’s possible to see affection between Shadow and Rouge. Now, I won’t stop anyone from supporting Knuckles/Rouge because that is their own personal opinion, but thinking that Knuckles/Rouge is canon and that Shadow should be an ice-hearted loner or yaoi material or some fangirl’s boyfriend, is not acceptable. Fanfic writers and such have ruined characters so much, and it has been very difficult for me to look at anything Sonic these days. It’s sad that a bunch of losers have ruined a great gaming franchise that we all know and love because of the trash that they create.

    It is possible that they might release Chaotix and SegaSonic the Hedgehog in a future ‘Collection’ game, but we don’t know for sure unless SEGA makes one or not. We can all hope, though.

  38. I don’t really understand why people want Mighty so much. He hasn’t been used in almost a decade, and in Chaotix, he was pretty much a Sonic clone. As for a Knuckles game, I think it would work well as a beat-em-up style like the Werehog. Tails would probably be more like a traditional Sonic game except focusing on his flight abilities. I really don’t have much of an opinion on NiGHTS. I’ve never played the first one, but I enjoyed the second one. I’d probably just rent a third.

  39. @Vulpine: they’d have to make the text in segasonic the hedgehog english since it was originally in japan 😛

  40. @Tails6000
    You’re probably right, but SegaSonic also had a European release back in the day. If that is the case, then why can’t there be a US release as well? It would be good if US residents (like me) had a chance to play the game.

Comments are closed.