Absolute Gadget

Review: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Written by Sam Bridgett Thursday, 09 October 2008 08:00

Anything Mario can do, Sonic will at the very least have a crack at. From platforming to tennis to racing, this has been the rule for many a year. And yet that plumber fellow has starred in no less than six critically-acclaimed RPGs, and ‘hog-boy has been uncharacteristically lazy about the whole concept. Until now.

In bringing its speedy hero to the most unspeedy of genres, Sega has sensibly farmed out the work to RPG maestros Bioware (the team behind Mass Effect and the Knights of the Old Republic titles). Bioware claims to be hardcore Sonic fans and blimey, its not kidding. Chronicles is catnip for the diehards, with old games, cartoons and comics all referenced in various ways (even Blighty's own Sonic the Comic gets a nod). If, like your humble writer, you've been following the adventures of this lippy little speedster for longer than you probably should have, I defy you to play this without a big grin splattered all over your face.

We'd also like to take a moment to applaud the scriptwriters. Sonic is frequently saddled with a plot that's either too simple or trying too hard to be all grown-up. Bioware, though, has got the tone spot-on and also found the time to gift a few characters with genuinely laugh-out-loud lines. (Rogue robot Omega even invokes the spirit of his mightiness Bender B. Rodriguez at one point.) Sadly, Bioware's famed "play it your way" approach to characterisation obviously had to be reined in when dealing with a company's mascot, but you are frequently given the opportunity to make Sonic act like a sarcastic jerk purely for the pleasure of acting like a sarcastic jerk, which is delightful.

{mospagebreak}So, some slightly naff 3D graphics aside, the presentation's impeccable. But the gameplay? Um. The majority of your time is spent battling, and the battle system needs a few kinks ironed out.

You start off with just Sonic in your party. Eventually you get eleven characters to choose from, though you only use four at a time. However, the battle system is clearly designed for four characters and a decent amount of POW attacks (read: magic spells). The net result is that the first five or six hours of the game are a bit of a slog.

Once you've got a good fighting force under your belt, though, things look up. POW attacks are where the fighting's at, and they're inputted via Elite Beat Agents-style tapping, sliding and poking, which keeps the turn-based action fresh. In a nice touch, the enemies' POWs also flash up on screen, and by correctly inputting them you can cause them to miss. Nifty. There remain a few niggles, though, such as the fact that there's no text explaining what your items do mid-fight.

{mospagebreak}Outside of fights the play's a little shallow. Most missions are a case of "fetch this, go there", though there are a few puzzles that require you to use all four characters at once. They're pretty simple, mind. It's at about this moment you realise that this is essentially My First RPG - Sonic's fanbase can be divided quite neatly into twentysomethings who were kids when the first Mega Drives came out, and kids now, and the game's mechanics are more clearly aimed at the latter. It's not bad, just a little disappointing, but understandable.

Chronicles can be irritating, but you'll find yourself always ready to forgive its flaws. Still, let's have a sequel that irons ‘em out, eh, Bioware?

Verdict: 7/10

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