Sonic Chronicles Details Surface

BioWare is set to revive the Sonic series on the Nintendo DS with their new RPG

January 14, 2008

Last week we told you on the blog that the new Sonic RPG that BioWare was developing might be called Sonic Chronicles. Today, the Nintendo Power issue profiling the game has been released and the news is confirmed: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is on the way for the Nintendo DS.

Sonic Chronicles will take place two years after Sonic's last battle with Doctor Eggman. While Sonic is on vacation, he learns that Knuckles appaears to have been captured by a group known as the Marauders. Six Chaos Emeralds are also missing.

Doctor Eggman (who is known as Dr. Robotnik in earlier games), will not be the main antagonist in the game. However, according to Nintendo Power, one of BioWare's aims is to make Eggman more credible as a villain, and may inject new material into the Sonic franchise's past by deepening the plot surrounding Sonic and his nemesis.

The game will play off of one of BioWare's strengths in the RPG genre by giving you eleven playable characters. Up to four party members can be chosen at a time. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rogue, Shadow and Big are confirmed to be on the roster so far. Skills or attributes can be assigned to each character can be applied as the player signs up -- again, a common thing among BioWare's titles.

What differs from most BioWare titles is the turn-based compat that will appear in Sonic Chronicles, although that's not entirely surprising as the action combat of games like Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect might be difficult to faithfully replicate on the Nintendo DS handheld. There will be no random battles, however -- all enemies will appear in the playing field prior to combat.

Sonic Chronicles will feature turn-based combat, with battle actions being decided then played out in rounds.

Character movement will be controlled by the stylus, not unlike The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

As for the aesthetics, the game will feature fully-animated cutscenes between levels. The game will also feature a soundtrack based on classic music from previous Sonic titles that have been remixed and updated.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is expected to be released within 2008. We can't help but notice how the game's name features a subtitle — it may be that Sonic Chronicles is intended to be a new series of games in the Sonic franchise.