>>530250428
>It's just something he does to pass the time and feel connected to his ancestors
No, it is his JOB that he absolutely does take seriously. If Sonic is free as the wind, Knuckles is as immovable as a mountain. Knuckles' life is dedicated to being the Guardian of the Master Emerald and Angel Island. Yeah, he explores the island, treasure hunts, and all that, but all of that is within the boundaries of his duties as the Guardian of that sacred floating homeland. It's something he takes absolutely seriously.

>>530250659
>A sidekick is still a hero, they're a joint partnership and SA2 reflects that better than anything. Amy just tags along. That's it.
Amy is also a hero. Both Tails and Amy are heroes, and both are tagalongs to Sonic. Don't act like Tails is Sonic's level while Amy isn't, because that's a darn lie. Both are on the same level, whether that's "just" a tagalong, or an equal partner to Sonic, Tails and Amy parallel each other. Amy in the Adventure games wants to earn Sonic's respect and prove herself, she isn't just a tagalong any more than Tails is at that point.

>You only pretend they're in the same boat to prop up Amy, same reason why you want Knuckles written out of the series.
False. I don't want Knuckles "written out of the series" and I have never claimed any such thing. I want Knuckles to be written as he is SUPPOSED to be, same with every other character. Knuckles is supposed to guard the Master Emerald, because Knuckles is supposed to be Sonic's thematic opposite. Sonic is the wind, Knuckles is the mountain. Knuckles is the fighting buddy, friendly rival, he challenges and opposes Sonic. He is not a tagalong like Tails and Amy are, he does his own separate thing and has his own separate life from Sonic.

Tails: Kid Sonic, the Sidekick
Amy: Girl Sonic, the Love Interest
Knuckles: Anti Sonic, the Rival

Tails and Amy follow Sonic. Knuckles DOES NOT follow Sonic, Knuckles guards the Master Emerald. It is that simple.

The fact that Knuckles IS KNUCKLES is not the problem with his character.

If Sonic is as free as the wind, Knuckles is as immovable as a mountain. This is the core concept. This means that while Sonic is a nomadic traveler, Knuckles always has to be rooted in place on Angel Island watching over the Master Emerald. The issue that then arises is simply "how do we get Sonic & Knuckles in the same place?"

But, what is required to make Knuckles work is two things:
1) The series needs a very strongly defined setting as the core backdrop, where Angel Island exists and holds significance.
2) Knuckles himself needs individual story focus, that puts the spotlight on him alone separate from Sonic. If he is the Guardian of the Master Emerald and all of Angel Island, then he should consistently have to face threats to the very things he has to protect. Otherwise, his job holds no weight. The Emerald and the Island are at the central point of the series' lore and mythos, so it deserves to be treated as such.

Simply deleting the Master Emerald so Knuckles is free to just follow Sonic on his adventures, is not how you use Knuckles. Because that assassinates the very core of his character and the root of his dynamic with Sonic.