Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Reportedly Pulling From Unexpected Deep Cut Game (And It Rules)

The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is set to continue its winning streak when Sonic the Hedgehog 4 hits theaters next year, especially after that epic Amy debut in Sonic 3’s post-credits sequence. Amy’s impending debut is more than enough to get fans in seats, but a new report has revealed several more intriguing elements that might show up in Sonic 4, including some that pull from a supremely surprising deep cut from Sonic’s video game catalog.

In a new report from DanielRPK, we learn that the story of Sonic 4 could feature either time travel or multiversal travel, and either option could very well tie into the other part of the report, which states that Shadow is said to be a Knight wielding the Arondight sword. That last part in particular is actually pulled from Sonic and the Black Knight, and if you’ve never heard of it, we can’t blame you, as it is definitely one of the deeper cuts in Sonic’s long-running history.

What Is Sonic and the Black Knight?

While fans are quite familiar with any number of games in Sonic’s catalog, Sonic and the Black Knight isn’t an entry that comes up all that often, and it’s easy to understand why. Sonic and the Black Knight was released in 2009, which wasn’t exactly the hottest time in the franchise’s history overall, but it also stood out from many previous Sonic games in the franchise, and that wasn’t always a positive.

Sonic and the Black Knight was released on the original Wii, which is why there was a bigger focus on working in gameplay features that took advantage of the Wii’s motion-sensing technology. Since Sonic had a sword in this game, you could use the remotes to swing your weapon and still charge forward at incredibly high speeds.

Then there was the story, which also almost immediately set it apart from other games in the franchise. In Black Knight, Sonic is transported to the time of King Arthur by the wizard Merlina, and the goal is for Sonic to help take down a corrupted King Arthur. It’s eventually revealed that there’s more to the story, which results in Sonic having to take down an unexpected enemy, though later you also unlock the ability to play as Sir Gawain (Knuckles), Sir Lancelot (Shadow), and Percival (Blaze the Cat).

This is certainly one of the deeper cuts to pull from in terms of Sonic lore, but that’s also what makes it interesting. The Sonic franchise has already messed with time travel and multiversal shenanigans in the past, and having a story that involves not only Amy but also King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is certainly different from what’s come before in the first three films.

The team has yet to lead me astray, so I’m going to stick with them on pretty much whatever they decide. That said, they will immediately win me over in a huge way if Big the Cat ever makes his big screen debut, so here’s hoping it eventually happens someday.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 dashes into theaters on March 19th, 2027.