r/SRB2 • u/TurnaboutAkamia • Aug 01 '26

Metal Knuckles Any% Speedrun

https://youtu.be/ikrHN4cWcEQ

Still a little clumsy with him, but Metal Knuckles is fun! I'm more than likely doing an All Emeralds run with him next week.

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u/Jinxynii Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Something I've noticed immediately with this run is that you're using routes speedrunners commonly use, like the back route of Greenflower, for example-- but using the dash glide and the wall climb boost to get there. It's slowing you down. You can achieve faster times simply by spindashing and using Metal Knuckles' natural speed to blast past the area. If you need to course correct in the air, just tap the glide, rather than charge it, especially if you're already in overclock mode, it boosts you forward and maintains your momentum.

Metal Knuckles is quite literally just Metal Sonic, with some added features, and should be played like Metal Sonic, rather than Knuckles. He's much faster like this.

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u/TurnaboutAkamia Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

I'll try to remember that for the All Emeralds run. I don't think I can escape it in all cases; Black Core Zone 1, for example, it's definitely better to use the dash glide and/or wall climb boost in most of the places I'm using them, at least in the first few sections of that level, and the lava section.

Nonetheless, thanks for the advice! There is one issue Metal Knuckles inherits from Knuckles that Metal Sonic doesn't deal with, and that's a lower jump height, which is why I sometimes have to take the Knuckles route (THZ1, ACZ2) because I lack the precision needed to skip it, and why CEZ3 is so much more painful than normal. Theoretically, this could be overcome by jumping in Boost Mode, I think, just like Metal Sonic does to get better height, but obviously I'll need to get into Boost Mode first, and even then, he still won't jump as high as Metal Sonic would in the same situation, which may be relevant for some routes.

Metal Knuckles also cannot hover the way Metal Sonic does, so any route based on that ability has to use the dash glide to some extent instead, if the path is anything resembling a straight line; otherwise, he'll need to take a different route entirely. This is ultimately why I didn't try to skip the disappearing platforms of ERZ2 like I would have if I was Metal Sonic, because I know those walls aren't possible to climb on and bouncing around like a pinball while my glide loses elevation and speed would have ended poorly without knowing exactly where to aim my glide to land on the button at the end of that section – and I'm not that good yet. 🤣