Knuckles' Chaotix/Gameplay

Knuckles' Chaotix has a few quirks when compared to other Sonic games. The first and most obvious is that the player controls two characters instead of one. This makes gameplay quite different, but a tutorial at the beginning of the game helps explain this adequately.
 * The next most important change is that there are no live meters. When at 0 rings, and a partner is hit, he grows big and flies off screen. In a few minutes, he will return, but this leaves the player exposed. When the partner is hit, he loses 1 ring, while the player loses all rings when hit. If a large number of rings are lost, a giant ring will come out and if the player collects it, he will regain all rings. If not, the ring explodes into smaller rings. Normally in a sonic game, only 20 rings come out and the rest disappear forever, so this makes the game unique.


 * Also, unlike most 2D Sonic games, this has short cutscenes that precede boss fights. These usually explain the circumstances of the fight.