Okay, the short answer to this question is "because he is" but just think about it for a second. Why is Knuckles an Echidna? If you still think I'm strange and weird, well your probably right, and several kids at my school could probably support that, but when you really think about it, you see that I've got a point. Why is Knuckles an Echidna? Still wondering about my mental condition? Let's go into it further.
As we all probably know, Knuckles was first introduced in Sonic 3 in *checks Sonic 3 cartrige case* 1993 and has since appeared on every other Sega platform (barring Mega-CD) and even got his exclusive game "Knuckles Chatoix" and more recently, a fully playable character in Sonic Adventure. However, what exactly is he? Well, when the first Sonic game was created, it used a common technique to develop it. An animal was taken, the animals attributes were used to inspire special skills and these skills were used to interact with an environment where the skills would be used to progress through the level and have a lot of fun on the way. This technique has been used to create numerous games and has ranged anything from the "Kao the Kangaroo" soon to appear on Dreamcast where you box your opponents, to the Amiga "Kiwi story" where you are a little yellow bird that fights with a bow and arrow! Having established that Sonic was one of those type of games, it was clear that future characters had to be similar to Sonic and also be animals. It was just the type of game Sonic is. (this has changed somewhat with the introduction of humans in Sonic Adventure but the humans were only used as unplayable "extras")
So, from the first game on, it was clear that all new characters were to be animals. In Sonic 2, Tails the 2 tailed fox appeared. Sonic CD had yet another hedgehog but this time it was female. Chatoix brought a multitude of new characters from an Alligator to a Chameleon to a Bee to an Armodillo. Nack the weasle was also introduced and the pattern goes on right up to Big the Cat. Nothing unusal about that. But now we get to the point of this article. All these animals, and indeed nearly all the animals from other platformers, are instantly recognisable by anyone. I mean everyone knows what a fox is, or a hedgehog, or a weasle, bee, alligator, cat and so on until suddenly we reach Knuckles. Does anyone know what an Echidna is? This is why Knuckles character is strange, because in contrast to the other characters an average person would not know what an Echidna is.
So what is an Echidna? Anyone who has bothered to look Echidna up in the dictionary would know that it is an Australian mammel also known as Spiny Anteater but what else? Well thanks to the Bilabong Sanctuary Website, we have more information and even this picture of an actual echidna.
An echidna is part of a special group of animals called the Monotremes, the same group as the Platypus. What defines this group is that the mammles in it "lay eggs and lack nipples". The female echidna lay a single egg and places it in a deep pouch on her stomach. The echidna has no teeth and feeds by breaking open ant and termite mounds with its forepaws, inserting its snout into the cavity and using its fast flicking tongue to catch prey.The echidna has a body which offers good protection.... when disturbed it will curl into a ball. Hmmmm, remind you of anyone?
So why, in deciding what new character to be in Sonic 3, decide to pick an echidna, an obscure, little known creature whoes only act of recognition I can think of was being a mascot in the 2000 Olympics, which didn't even exist then!
Well, first we must consider the position Sonic Team was in to create this new character. Firstly, it had to be playable, Knuckles dosn't actually become playable until Sonic and Knuckles, but he always was intended to be as Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were originally created as one game. This would mean that he would have to have skills, and new, cool ones at that. Secondly, he had to be the guardian of the Chaos Emerald and hence tough. Sonic 2 beta has helped prove the theory that Tails was originally meant to be guardian of the Chaos Emerads and a reason given as to why this never materialised was becuase Tails looked to cute or young for a task like that. So, if this is true, Sonic Team would definitely make sure that this new Guardian looked the part. Thirdly, he would have to be popular, there's no point in bring out an unpopular character into a franchise like Sonic is there? Fourthly, he would have to be memorable, distinct and recognisable. That way he would make a lasting impression and not just vanish as quickly as he appeared.
So with that established, they would have to find an animal that would fulfill all these parameters. So why and echidna?
One possibility is that they tried to recreate the same sort of success Sonic had as they did with Knuckles. In an effort to do this, they wanted Knuckles to look somewhat like Sonic. So due to this, they researched all animals that looked similar to hedgehogs. Closely related animals like porcupines might have made their intentions too obvious and made Knuckles look like a copycat, but echidnas aren't related to hedgehogs and they have similar appearances. Namely, they were both spiky. And because they were obscure, most people wouldn't see a picture of a real echidna and notice their similarity to hedgehogs. By using an echidna, Sonic Team would be able to create a character which looked part of the Sonic world and share Sonic's popularity.
Another possibiltiy is the spin attack. The way Sonic is able to curl into a ball and smash badniks has always been one of his most distinguishing characteristic. In Sonic 2, Tails was also given this ability probably because they wanted to give players the same gameplay. However, this seemed slightly illogical, after all, hedgehogs are always known to be able to curl into a ball but foxes? The new character would have to have the spin attack because how could you play a Sonic game withoug that sort of a move? Maybe Sonic Team didn't want the new character's ability to spin to be as illogical as Tail's ability to spin. So they tryed to find an animal that could curl into a ball like hedgehogs and, once again, animals like porcupines would be to obvious. It is interesting to note that in Sonic Adventure that while Tails and Knuckles can spin, it can only be done while they are running and only Sonic can do the Spin Dash.
Using an echidna would have other advantages as well. The way echidnas break open anthills with their forepaw could be used in the game as a punching move. This would give Knuckles a cool skill which was what Sonic Team was looking for. Also, like I said, Sonic Team would want Knuckles to have a tough personality which is just what this move would enforce. Knuckle's tough demenour would contribute to his popularity and make a lasting impression. It would also fit in with his role being guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. In the end, the punching move not only acomplished these things, they also gave Knuckles his name.
So there are quite a few reasons why an echidna was a good character for Knuckles despite, and even because, the animal is so little known. Once the basics were established, Knuckles could be developed into the final product. Whatever the reason for Knuckles being an echidna, they seem to have worked. Knuckles became a popular character whoes impression and recognition is still with us today and he continues to be an established part of the Sonic universe.
Well, time to go
back....no, not to the main page, to the Flying Fox thinks out loud section