For the past decade, Sonic has been one of the most well known characters in the platformer genre, with Mario being the number one. We’ve seen him jump, stomp, collect rings, and follow his archenemy named Eggman in almost every Sonic games released by Sega. Gamers have loved Sonic throughout his platforming career and it’s finally time for Sonic to step up and give his fans an all new type of game. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood will be Sonic’s first role-playing game thanks to the development staff from Bioware, whom we know from their great works in the RPG genre with the likes Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect.
When Sonic Chronicles was first announced, speculations from fans and critics arose as to how Bioware and Sega would pull this off. After getting a hands-on with the game and finishing the game in four days, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood manages to keep the charm of our blue hedgehog and make it unique in a phenomenal way.
In every RPG game released up to this point, we’ve seen how deep a story can be with a lot of unexpected plot twists and surprises. In Sonic Chronicles however, the story can’t be called “exceptional” because it’s pretty generic and mediocre. I really wasn’t expecting Sonic Chronicles’ story to be like the story of Final Fantasy IV or Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen as every Sonic game’s weakest point is the story.
Taking place after the defeat of Dr. Eggman and having everyone living peacefully, Tails called Sonic and reported to him that Knuckles had been abducted by an unknown alien group called Marauders and they’re on a mission to steal the Master Emerald that can give them absolute power. This marks the start of Sonic’s new adventure where he will be venturing into five big places from your favorite Sonic games like Greenhill Zone and team up with eight notorious characters we’ve seen from the Sonic saga (Knuckles, Cream, Tails, and a lot more that will really spoil the story if I mention them).
Since the game is created for the Nintendo DS, expect the use of the stylus every time you play it. Sonic and other characters can be controlled using the stylus. Each of the characters in the game has a special ability that will allow you to reach certain places in the game. Characters such as Tails, and Cream can use their “flying” abilities to leap from one place to the next while Knuckles and Amy can smash wooden box to open a way for your team.
The way the battle works in this game will require your 100% attention as there will be times you can void the special “POW” attacks by tapping a corresponding sequence that will appear on the screen. The more accurate you are, the chances of the attacks being void is high. This goes the same when your characters chosen to participate in battle are doing special “POW” attacks.
We’ve known Bioware RPG games have strong character customization and Sonic Chronicles is no different. Every time Sonic and the gang get experience and gain a level, they will be given level-up points that they can use to raise their stats. Special “POW” attacks can also be learned by spending points after leveling up. There are around five “POW” special attacks for each character and some of them need a certain character in the party to have it unlocked and once unlocked they can do a combination attack that will do massive damage.
Expect to get 10-15 hours for the whole game. There will be parts of the game you’ll be pissed about because a certain boss is too hard but if you just take your time and level up, everything will be a piece of cake. It will take time to get used to the battle system of the game but once you put time into it, you’ll get a good play through. There will be a lot of back tracking and side missions in this game so it will really give you a good amount of playtime if you want to complete the game 100%.
Similar to Mass Effect, there will be a menu in the game where you can access your mission list and codex that will act as your glossary and diary. Your mission details will be listed and the definition of certain words mentioned in the game will be listen as well. This is good for anyone who is lost and confused in the game which I guarantee you will be.
As for the graphics of the game, it’s nothing to get excited about. It’s pretty mediocre and there will be some comic-style scenes you’ll encounter throughout the game, which I find interesting but aside from that, get ready for a lot of stuff to read and explore. As I said earlier, there are only five major places that Sonic will be rushing into and it’s somehow big but some will be inaccessible due to the characters you have in the party.
If you are looking for voice overs, Sonic Chronicles does not have any in-game voice overs so basically prepare to be bored out by reading too much text in the game but the warm tune that you’ll be hearing from the game is rather exceptional. The battle theme in the game has an awesome beat but overall, I fell in love with the soundtrack in the game.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood can be considered something unique. It’s not your average western or Japanese RPG that you’ve known before. It doesn’t have a strong compelling story but the fun and enjoyable gameplay will somehow give Sonic fans the charm they’ve been wanting from Sonic and the gang.
SCORING BREAKDOWN
STORY – 7.4/10
Nothing to be excited about. Pretty mediocre story just like the other Sonic games out there.
GAMEPLAY – 8.5/10
If you give yourself time to learn the basics of the game, you’ll learn to fall in love with it. For 10-15 hours of gameplay, it’s pretty satisfying and a new atmosphere given to us by Sega is a great way to enjoy another great Sonic title.
MUSIC- 7.9/10
Only complaint is no voice overs and some of the themes used in the game can get rather annoying.
GRAPHICS – 7.3/10
Pretty mediocre. Few cut scenes but the comic-style scenes they have in the game are pretty interesting.
OVERALL – 7.8/10
Sonic Chornicles: The Dark Brotherhood is not for everyone. It takes time to get used to this new style of gameplay but as I said earlier, if you put your time in it and give yourself a few hours to see the game, you’ll eventually love it and want to play more.
