Sonic & Knuckles speeding into XBLA September 9

Once again, Xbox Live Arcade will be visited by a ghostly vision of Sonic the Hedgehog's good (see: not terrible) old days -- Shacknews is reporting that the Sega Vintage Collection 2 series will draw to a close on September 9 with the release of Sonic & Kunckles. As hinted at when this Sega collection was first announced, owners of the previous Sonic XBLA titles will have access to bonuses in the latest installment -- including the "Blue Sphere" mode (Sonic 1), as well as the ability to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and 3.

We've contacted Sega to confirm the release date and get pricing details -- and also to discover whether the Wii version of the game (revealed by an ESRB listing) will be made available simultaneously.