Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

[Azier the Swordsman]

'Tis a Sonic RPG.

For the DS.

By Bioware.

Part of me wants to be excited.

Part of me is kinda scared.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_Sonic_RPG

[Fish and Chips]

I'd trade it all for a Sonic & Knuckles remake with the Sonic Adventure engine.

[Azier the Swordsman]

I'd trade it all for a Sonic & Knuckles remake with the Sonic Adventure engine.

Amen, brother.

[Debitt]

Adding moar props to Mr. and Chips' statement.

....considering the last few Sonic games they've released, I'm worried. And wishing oh so hard that that didn't have to be the case.

EDIT: Big the Cat. Even more frightened now.

[AsianBlossom]

I'm looking forward to this. I'm kind of scared, mostly because it's a different company, and that they said the second half of the game would be darker than what most fans are used to, but I'm also kind of relieved, insofar as I hope they don't have a Babylon fetish like Sega's having right now (how many games have something "Babylon" related lately?).

[Azier the Swordsman]

I would feel a lot more at ease if Square was behind this game.

[Tenshi no Ai]

I would feel a lot more at ease if Square was behind this game.

0_o I know some people would greatly disagree with that statement there.

Despite what people say about the new games, I'm still enjoying them. Sonic Rivals is the first series to have me hooked since the classic games.

I see this working out.

[Azier the Swordsman]

0_o I know some people would greatly disagree with that statement there.

Despite what people say about the new games, I'm still enjoying them. Sonic Rivals is the first series to have me hooked since the classic games.

I see this working out.

Square did great with Mario RPG and Kingdom Hearts. (Two of my favorite games) I don't see why they couldn't do great with Sonic.

[Omega Amen]

I would feel a lot more at ease if Square was behind this game.

I would feel more at ease that Bioware is behind this game, especially given their ability in creating cohesive universes/storylines and adding depth to characters' histories and dialog. The only RPG company that I think that can rival them in storytelling ability is Obsidian Entertainment (since they have lead writer Chris Avellone). We are talking about a premier, world-class, perennially award-winning RPG developer when it comes to Bioware, who will take their time to ensure a high quality game.

Their storytelling would be beneficial to the Sonic universe considering the influx of all these characters that were introduced with little to no reason, giving them sense of direction and purpose for their presence. They should at least be able to fix that mess introduced by the Sonic Team in recent years.

I have also found that most (not all) people who are "afraid" of this title have not played Bioware's RPGs, for whatever reason. Those who have played Bioware's RPGs tend to be quite optimistic even excited that this could be a huge comeback for Sonic.

There is a Nintendo Power cover story out there about this title. I pulled off a bullet point summary of the article from NeoGAF that shows the features of this RPG.

-In game graphics have a water color look, all hand drawn
-4 party members at a time
-Each character can do certain things ex: Tails can float over things (standard stuff)
-11 party members total - 7 known are Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Big the Cat
-Control done fully with stylus - think Hourglass
-Able to split party into teams at certain moments
-Rings are used as currency
-No random battles, see enemies on the field
-Turn based battles, choose commands for everyone in your party before they actually follow through. Want battles to be fast paced
-Elite Beat Agents style special attacks
-Team attacks (like Chrono Trigger)
-"Fatigue Points" instead of MP
-Choose which attributes to increase when you level up
-Purchase and level special attacks
-Bits of story - Sonic's on vacation from defeating Eggman 2 years ago. Gets a call from Tails that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group called the Marauders, and that 6 chaos emeralds are missing. Eggman not the main villain. But Bioware wants to make him a creditable bad guy again. Something about a "twist" between Eggman and Sonic that goes back to the earlier games.
-2 acts - first takes place in standard Sonic areas. 2nd takes place in a darker world
-Remixed classic tunes
-"fully animated cut scenes"
-simple dialogue trees
-Side quests

Sounds like Bioware is giving the Sonic game a full-featured treatment, especially for a DS title. That means they are very serious about this game, and that is very good news for Sonic fans.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Square did great with Mario RPG and Kingdom Hearts. (Two of my favorite games) I don't see why they couldn't do great with Sonic.

Oh didn't know that they did the Mario one. Kingdom Hearts though is definitely a Square trademark, but ya know.

[Azier the Swordsman]

I would be one of those people who have not played Bioware's games, hence why I am one of those people who are skeptical. But I'll give them a chance.

[Raiden no Kishi]

I've heard good things about Bioware, so I'll trust them, but I would love to see a Square-produced Kingdom Hearts-esque Sonic RPG. I think that could really work. However, I would want to be able to switch which party member you directly controlled, somewhat like Sonic Heroes, because I want to punch people in the face as Knuckles.

.rai//

[Omega Amen]

Thought today's IGN article on the game might interest some people here. While the interview is short and basic... there are some screenshots!

Click here for the IGN article.