Knuckles the Echidna is a character from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's secondary best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he fights his enemies using brute force and strength. His role is established as the guardian of the Master Emerald, a large gemstone which controls the series' integral Chaos Emeralds, and is the last living member of his tribe, the Knuckles clan.
Actor Idris Elba (pictured in 2018) voices Knuckles in the live-action film series.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main Sonic the Hedgehog games are platformers mostly developed by Sonic Team; other games, developed by various studios, include spin-offs in the racing, fighting, party and sports genres. The franchise also incorporates printed media, animations, feature films, and merchandise.
Sonic the Hedgehog co-creators: programmer Yuji Naka (left) and artist Naoto Ohshima (right) with a costume of the titular character (center)
The original Sonic the Hedgehog was released on June 23, 1991, for the Sega Genesis, boosting Genesis sales dramatically.
Hirokazu Yasuhara (pictured in 2018) designed most of the Genesis Sonic games.
Few Sonic games were released for the Saturn. The cancellation of Sonic X-treme is considered a significant factor in the Saturn's commercial failure.