Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood



Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is a Nintendo DS console role-playing game based on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. It is being developed by Canada|Canadian RPG developer BioWare, who is now part of Electronic Arts. The game is scheduled to be released in September of 2008 in North America and Europe.

A preview of the game was featured in the February 2008 issue of the Nintendo Power magazine, giving details on the game features and confirming its name. It also confirmed that there will be 11 playable characters, however there are 9 playable characters so far. The interview also states that the game will feature areas and music from previous Sonic games ranging from Emerald Town to more classic fields such as Green Hill Zone, Central City, Mystic Ruins and new ones such as Blue Ridge Zone.

Gameplay
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is an RPG that will be fully controlled using the stylus. There will not be any random battles (i.e., the enemies will be shown on screen), the battles will be turned based, each character in the game will have a specific ability, such as Tails being able to fly, and the player can have 4 party members at a time during the game.

In the current build of the game, special attacks are made by rhythmically tapping and dragging on indicated locations on the touch screen of the Nintendo DS, much like Elite Beat Agents. These are done using "Fatigue Points", which are similar to "Magic Points" (MP) in other RPGs. The player can also choose which attributes to increase when leveling up, and special attacks can be bought using rings as currency. The battle system will also allow for team attacks, said of Chrono Trigger, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and "Suikoden".

The game will have two acts, one set in a standard Sonic area where you can find the master emerald, while the other one will take place in a "darker world".

Chao will also play a part in the game, and will be raiseable in the Chao Garden. Rumor has it that the Chao aspects of the game will be the same as the Sonic Adventure series, except that the player can choose a Chao to tag along in battle, or they can keep the Chao in the Chao garden. Additionally, the Chao can be swapped using Wi-Fi.

Story
Sonic is taking a vacation after defeating Dr. Eggman two years ago. He gets a call from Tails saying that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group of Marauders, and that 6 of the 7 Chaos Emeralds are missing.

According to BioWare, Eggman will not be the main villain, but he will be a "more credible bad guy again". The game will also have fully animated cutscenes.

The game also introduces a new character named Shade. She's confirmed as playable characters.

Amy says "You're a Tramp!" to Rouge.

Confirmed Playable Characters
The following characters have currently been confirmed:


 * Sonic the Hedgehog: He spins on loops.
 * Miles "Tails" Prower: He can fly over obstacles or up towards cliffs.
 * Knuckles the Echidna: He is an excellent digger and also a climber.
 * Amy Rose: Her hammer can be used as a weapon to destroy obstacles.
 * Big the Cat: His personality is more developed. He is very sensitive and has a big heart.
 * Shadow the Hedgehog: He uses chaos control to reach other areas others can't reach.
 * Rouge the Bat: She glides and climbs walls.
 * E-123 Omega: He can shoot missles from long distances,
 * Shade: She is the lieutenant to the Marauders.

Videos
Some more footage.

Trivia

 * In-game character artwork is from Sonic X, Sonic Adventure, and Sonic Adventure 2 (at least for Big, Amy, Tails, and Eggman).
 * Many characters have been rumored to appear in Chronicles as photos or boards, not much of the game is yet known, so there is no proof as to whether Marine, Mighty, Ray, and Sally Acorn, will appear. (where are all these cameos coming from?).
 * Cosmo's seed is seen in Tails' house as revealed through a screenshot.
 * The Sonic Chronicles official site opened on June 23, 2008, Sonic's 17th birthday.