Joystiq impressions: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

The game features Sonic and his band of friends, but I never thought that these mascots got in the way of the game. I didn't get far enough into the story to see how dialogue snippets and character customization define my own world, but Bioware says Sonic Chronicles has lots of choices.
Before wandering through the world, I picked a team of Sonic and three other characters, building my own party. Each character -- about 11 will be in the final version -- has unique abilities and attacks that are needed to beat certain areas. Like other RPGs, characters can be outfitted with equipment to make them faster, stronger, or otherwise improved. And most characters team up with another specific member for a combined attack.
I tapped the stylus onto the game world, leading Sonic around the map. Rings act as currency, although I didn't spend any I collected. The world looked great, with the backgrounds all drawn from scratch -- no repeating tiles -- and settings from the old Sonic games recast in an angled, overhead view. I even tapped a loop, and Sonic raced through the stunt.
After getting a general sense of the simple, screen-tapping controls, I faced off in a battle. The turn-based combat pits the player's team against many enemy types; roughly 40 to 50 should be in the final game. And while the combat relies on player stats, Bioware added some DS flourishes to the fighting. Certain attacks succeed or fail with a player's timing; I tapped, Elite Beat Agents-style, on closing circles to activate a simple offense. More difficult moves rely on well-timed, circular stylus swings or accurately tracing the path of a line.
I liked these mechanics because they gave me more control over the turn-based outcome. The ones I sampled felt well-executed, although I'm cautious-but-hopeful about other touch-screen moments in the game. (I was told about a way to hack computers by tapping the screen quickly in the same place. I didn't get to try that, but it sounds less interesting than the other moves.)
Bioware says the Fall, DS-only game will include a detailed, player-driven adventure. With the engaging combat, great-looking worlds, and intuitive control, the story is the final piece to the game. I get nervous when a big franchise is loaned to another company, wondering how much control Sega is retaining. Hopefully Bioware has been trusted to have its run of the Sonic universe.










Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Martez @ Apr 15th 2008 2:48PM
Do want.
FOXHOUND @ Apr 15th 2008 2:54PM
"I get nervous when a big franchise is *loand* to another company"
:x
Anyway, nice article. It's actually enticing me to glance at Sonic games and become a big fan once again. I mean, Nintendo was able to make Sonic worthwhile(see SSB'BRAWL)... why not BioWare? :]
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Apr 15th 2008 3:00PM
Dude. It's fucking bioware
BIO,KNIGHTS OF THE FUCKING OLD REPUBLIC,WARE.
It'll be awesome.
FOXHOUND @ Apr 15th 2008 3:03PM
Vegeta ---
I'm not skeptical of Bioware; I agree with you on the fact that they do good work(WHERE'S KOTOR3? OR AT LEAST A REMAKE ON PS3/X360? ;D)... but the subject matter of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG has lately been godawful. Even the 'UNLEASHED game looks bargin-bin ready. :\
Nigeria - MK: 0430-8491-9123 @ Apr 15th 2008 3:05PM
"UNLEASHED game looks bargin-bin ready"
No, no, no.
Just no.
baby sea tuna @ Apr 15th 2008 3:12PM
If Brawl was going to make Sonic *really* worthwhile, they probably shouldn't have made all of his special moves fling him off the board to his death...but maybe that's just my sucking at the game.
Chyld989 @ Apr 15th 2008 3:42PM
"If Brawl was going to make Sonic *really* worthwhile, they probably shouldn't have made all of his special moves fling him off the board to his death...but maybe that's just my sucking at the game."
I've never had that problem with him, I just have trouble hitting anyone with Sonic because his priority is so low.
samfish @ Apr 15th 2008 4:02PM
I don't have that problem with Sonic, either.
...Jigglypuff and her roll-out move, however...
Alexxxxx @ Apr 15th 2008 4:07PM
dude... loaned is correct, retard don't correct shit when you dont even know.
Mr Khan @ Apr 15th 2008 4:14PM
I don't have trouble dying with Sonic, but his moves can't kill worth shit. He's a good survivor and an excellent damager, but he totally fails at making the kills
At least to me, for fighting games, character quality is always subjective
FOXHOUND @ Apr 15th 2008 8:23PM
Alexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --
It was spelled incorrectly at the time of posting; and then edited. Go back to watching Spongebob and calm the eff' down.
Taco_Hell @ Apr 15th 2008 2:59PM
What is this feeling? Am I...Am I excited over a Sonic game after almost 10 years?
baby sea tuna @ Apr 15th 2008 3:05PM
Whatever the feeling is, you're not alone!
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Apr 15th 2008 3:07PM
It's either that or you have cancer.
Max Headroom @ Apr 16th 2008 12:54AM
It's not a tumuh!
Yourself @ Apr 15th 2008 3:05PM
I love timed attacks, this sounds like it implements them well, and if I didn't hate Sonic so much it would be one of my highest anticipated games of the year. Even so, this and The World Ends With You are making it look like a good year for DS RPGs. It's sad that I haven't had time to buy all the great DS titles that have been coming out.
As an aside: I know I was inquisitive about you on your last appearance, Zack Stern, but I have to say, your previews today have been thorough, well-written, and overall excellent. Keep up the good work.
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 15th 2008 3:27PM
im certainly going to co-sign with you on that one. The World Ends With You sounds like it will be a great game. when is it coming out here though? and what about those two Kingdom Hearts games? im on a serious RPG drought.
Yourself @ Apr 15th 2008 4:45PM
World Ends With You is April 22nd, just one more week (presuming you're referring to America).
iofthestorm @ Apr 20th 2008 4:41PM
If you've got *other means* of playing DS games, you could be playing The World Ends with You right now. I'll say no more...
Nigeria - MK: 0430-8491-9123 @ Apr 15th 2008 3:05PM
You sound bored? Nonchalant. Or maybe I expected/wanted glorious hyperbole.
I'm eagerly anticipating this game. I have a feeling it will be the defining game on the DS, and possibly the best game of the year. I really can't see anything better on any platform - aside from MGS. And possibly Resident Evil.
Psaakyrn @ Apr 15th 2008 8:17PM
Spore?
Markez @ Apr 16th 2008 12:27AM
Hey Nigeria, you ever play Mario n Luigi: Partners in Time? It was one of the early DS games, and had some pretty high technical schweet time based combat. This game is looking pretty promising, especially being that it seemingly has nothing in common with the last decade of Sonic games. That Sonic Wii game wasn't bad though, but wasn't really good either.
And to your other replier; I love my DS and all, but my guess is the DS Spore will be absolute and utter garbage. The pessimist in me still wonders if Spore will ever, ever be released on any platform. Sorry to say it, but any platform game of Spore just looks like lame garbage to me at this point. The hype, the delay, the stupid ego of the creators, have absolutely and utterly made this one of the most disinteresting games that I've come across. It's a big, pretentious yawner.
Anni @ Apr 15th 2008 3:05PM
I'm not the biggest Sonic fan, but the Rush series enstilled a lot of recent faith in the blue hedgehog, so I was on board with this game from the get-go. This article justifies some of that excitement quite nicely.
Thr3e2wenty8 @ Apr 15th 2008 3:16PM
SNOOOOOOORE.
Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ Apr 15th 2008 4:17PM
LLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAXXXXXXX
Toasty Toaster Man @ Apr 15th 2008 4:21PM
I was on a snooze cruise, I guess.
TheHuntIsOn @ Apr 15th 2008 7:04PM
Mega lol!
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 15th 2008 3:24PM
what are you nervous about? Sonic should have been "loaned out" a long time ago cause Sega doenst seem to know what to do with him anymore. Bioware seems to be a good company and i actually have pretty high hopes for this games since your review makes it sound like Paper Mario or the handheld Mario & Luigi RPG's (Superstar Saga and Partners in Time) which i loved.
Benny @ Apr 15th 2008 3:37PM
I haven't bought a DS game in a while, but this looks really good. I'm excited :)
Deck @ Apr 15th 2008 4:17PM
Zomgz this is uber!
Bioware = amazing.
Sonice = finally good again.
This game = w00tz!
Deck @ Apr 15th 2008 4:18PM
Sorry for the double post but I HAD to correct myself.
Sonic*
How I jumbled that I don't know.
theturtle363 @ Apr 15th 2008 4:31PM
Dark Brotherhood? Is sonic gonna be a medieval hit man?
jimmygotsmack @ Apr 15th 2008 5:09PM
Well, apparently they are trying to go with a darker storyline, what can make a brotherhood darker? IF ITS A DARK BROTHERHOOD, of course.
Because we all want to see are favorite childhood mascot go through horrible emotional pain and lost, with their bight colored faces and big friendly eyes. We get to see their heroic struggle, as their friends die left and right.....
Actually, I wouldn't mind that with sonic friends at all, but you get my point.
capt_carl @ Apr 15th 2008 5:04PM
I have to admit, I'm somewhat excited. I just didn't think that the "Secret BioWare Sonic RPG" would've be on the DS. I was secretly hoping for 360/PS3. I dunno about how old-school some of you guys are, but I personally haven't played a Sonic game that I truly enjoyed since Sonic 3 + Knuckles (YEA LOCK-ON!), and Sonic CD. With BioWare behind it, how can it go wrong?
*crosses fingers*
Mr Khan @ Apr 15th 2008 5:24PM
kinda makes sense, putting it on the DS still gets them a larger audience than PS3 + 360 combined (hell, even if you added Wii in, DS would still rival it, all for the cost of one simple development set)
A BioWare project on the DS is an oddity, though
Mr Khan @ Apr 15th 2008 5:26PM
Unique, hand-drawn environments?
How are they going to fit it in? Repeating textures has long been a trick to circumvent cartridge space
Although having only 50 enemy types (which is pretty paltry for an RPG, IMO) could help
Still can't wait for this. Great art, Sonic, and BioWare
Velops @ Apr 15th 2008 6:37PM
It can be done. Micro SD cards are so small that you can fit several of them into a DS game card housing. It's not really an issue of space. Unique, hand drawn environments are rarely done because it is a lot of time consuming work that can quickly eat up the budget. In 3D games, evironments are typically built with stock set pieces to reduce the amount of work.
RexDart @ Apr 15th 2008 7:05PM
"I get nervous when a big franchise is loaned to another company, wondering how much control Sega is retaining."
Hey, this is nintendo's lifeblood. They hardly make any of their own games.
M @ Apr 15th 2008 7:42PM
is it wrong that THE sonic game that makes me diflz inside is made by another company? like,not sonic team or even sega?
or maybe,is it the reason? lol
Kuuma @ Apr 15th 2008 9:54PM
I didn't know Sonic was a member of the Assassins Guild.
Schmobu @ Apr 15th 2008 10:59PM
is not this the complete antithesis (I think that is the word I wanted) of Sonic, he's a speed addict through and through, he should not be in an RPG period, it aint his style slow battles long dialog, menu use, not the sonic style. sell your shares while you still can.
Dan CiTi @ Apr 16th 2008 2:11AM
Yeah, platformers never turn out into good RPGs.
*cough*Super Mario RPG*cough*
Schmobu @ Apr 20th 2008 3:17AM
Super late reply, but Mario games and super fast, they suit RPGs I know I kinda played them all.
Schmobu @ Apr 20th 2008 3:17AM
*aren't super fast
I'm not telling @ May 24th 2008 3:20PM
I can't believe you didn't mention Dexter, you know the guy Amy fails to get sonic jealous with? Hmmm... is there an option to pretend to fall for it and leave her duped and alone? or at least totaly do the opposite?