Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

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Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
System(s): Nintendo DS
Publisher: Sega
Developer: BioWare
Genre: Role-Playing Game
ESRB PEGI USK 6 OFLC CERO A

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is an RPG developed by famed Canadian RPG developer BioWare (Baldur's Gate; Neverwinter Nights) for the Nintendo DS. It was released in September 2008 in North America and Europe. No Japanese release date has yet been specified.

Story

The story of Sonic Chronicles is split into two acts, which are further divided into several chapters. The first takes place in Sonic's world, with the team attempting to unravel the situation they are in, whilst also stopping the Master Emerald from being taken. The second act sees Sonic and the team travelling to another dimension, called the Twilight Cage, in order to stop a new threat to their own world.

Sonic Chronicles opens by detailing Eggman's defeat, and presumed death, some time ago after the destruction of the Egg Carrier at the hands of Sonic and friends. In the present, Sonic is on vacation when he receives a call from Tails, stating that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group called the Marauders, who have stolen the Chaos Emeralds. Travelling with Amy Rose to meet Tails, they are escorted by Rouge the Bat to meet the G.U.N. Commander, who informs them that they have been watching the Marauders for some time, and know where to search. Having no luck, they eventually locate the Marauders' base in the Mystic Ruins, and with the help of Big the Cat, they find Knuckles, who is found escaping from some robots; leaving the base, they find Angel Island has gone. Devices found in their initial search help them locate Eggman, who claims to be a reformed character, revealing that he survived the crash of the Egg Carrier by anticipating his own defeat and making a robot that would rescue him. He informs the team that Angel Island is being pulled to Metropolis, the location of the Marauders' main base.

With Metropolis as their next destination, they meet Shadow and join up in order to find E-123 Omega, but are attacked by Shade and her Marauders. She reveals herself to be an Echidna of the Nocturnus Tribe, leaving Knuckles, supposedly the last of the Echidnas, shocked. After her defeat, the team head to Angel Island to get the Master Emerald before the Marauders, but are shot down; they confront the Nocturnus leader, the Grand Imperator Ix, who reveals his plot to take over the dimension. Shade is shocked, having believed that Ix merely wanted to bring her clan back to Earth, as they had been sealed in an alternate dimension called the Twilight Cage. Tails and Eggman arrive with a non-lethal weapon, using it to transport several of the Nocturnus back to the Twilight Cage, but Ix escapes and steals the Master Emerald. This causes Angel Island to fall from the sky, and Knuckles saves Shade as the island crashes into Metropolis.

Tails and Eggman build a vehicle, dubbed the Cyclone, that will transport them to the other dimension, but Eggman claims he must remain to ensure their safe return; as they leave, he reveals that he has a more sinister plan in mind for them. Once in the Twilight Cage, the team encounter the rock-like Kron Colony, who assist them on their journey by providing them with a Chaos Emerald. Next, they meet the N'rrgal Colony, who will give the team their Chaos Emerald if they take a weapon from their enemies, the Zoah. Having gained the Zoah's weapon by defeating their leader in combat, the team discover it is another Chaos Emerald — the two races realise they have been duped by Ix, who gave them the Emeralds to keep each other in check. Two further Emeralds are found in the Voxai Colonies, inhabited by a telepathic race who have been controlled by a group of three Voxai known as the Overmind, whose dominating telepathic power stemmed from the use of Chaos Emeralds. The team defeat them, and the new leader gives them the two Emeralds that had been given to them by Ix.

With the remaining two Emeralds on Nocturne, the team gathers the leaders of all encountered colonies and carries out a plan to invade the Nocturnus home world. The Voxai find weaknesses in the force field around the planet, the N'rrgal suck energy from it, and the Zoah launch a missile created by the Kron that can penetrate it. Splitting into two teams, they defeat two Gizoids who each use a Chaos Emerald to wield the elements of fire and water, and also lower the force field surrounding Nocturne in order to allow the invading forces from the other Twilight Cage races to attack. Both Knuckles' and Sonic's team then fight Ix, and are victorious; Ix then uses the Master Emerald to achieve a Super Transformation, but Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic, and defeats him. As Nocturne begins to fall, and is nearly destroyed, the team escapes to the Cyclone and heads back to Earth. Once back in Metropolis, they find Eggman waiting for them with a rebuilt Metropolis, and the team take the Cyclone to confront the new Eggman Empire. The game ends at this cliffhanger moment.

Playable Characters

All playable characters are put in classes that determine their unique abilities. These classes are Power (ex: Sonic), Shifter (ex: Tails), and Support (ex: Amy).

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Power)
• Miles "Tails" Prower (Shifter)
• Knuckles the Echidna (Power)
• Amy Rose (Support)
• Rouge the Bat (Shifter)
• Shadow the Hedgehog (Power)
• Big the Cat (Support)
• E-123 Omega* (Power)
• Dr. Eggman (Shifter)
• Shade (Power)
• Cream the Rabbit* (Support)

The player can have up to four players in a party at one time, with Sonic always being in. Only certain characters can do certain things. (ex: Tails can fly over things) You will be able to split the party into teams at some points.

*Some characters are optional and you do not have to unlock them to progress the story. These characters are Cream and Omega.

Gameplay

As with many RPGs, two main types of gameplay will appear: exploration, and combat. During Exploration the character is directed by using the stylus while obstacles are cleared by pressing an action button. The combat scenes also be controlled with the stylus. By rhythmically tapping the stylus special attacks can be performed at the cost of POW points. Certain special attacks require certain characters to be in the party as they participate in it. After a winning victory currency, experience points, and possibly items are left behind.

Characters will also be able to collect and equip Chao, each with their own ability, to enhance a team member's status. These Chao will be collectable and can be stored in the Chao Garden, and using the Wi-Fi link, players will be able to swap the Chao they have collected.

Chapters

• 01: Hostile Reception
• 02: The Search For Knuckles
• 03: Egghunt
• 04: A Wolf In The Shadows
• 05: Battle For Angel Island
• 06: Black Hole Sun
• 07: Quest For The Chaos Emeralds
• 08: Sector Scylla
• 09: Sector Charybdis
• 10: Citadel Showdown

Trivia

• This is the first Sonic game since Sonic Adventure, where Robotnik actually referred to himself as "Doctor Robotnik".
• Sonic Heroes is alluded to as several teams from it are present (except for Team Chaotix although Vector the Crocodile is mentioned, and makes a brief appearance).
• Team Rose is mistakenly called "Team Amy" in the game.
• Cutscenes do not feature extensive voice recording, basically only character grunts were used in the game.
• Swatbots from SatAM are present, and Metropolis bears greater resemblence to its Fleetway portrayal than it does to the Metropolis Zone factory-city of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit).

Manuals

• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood US Manual
• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood EU Manual
• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood JP Manual

Production Credits

BioWare - Programming

Lead Programmer: Brook Bakay
Programming: Dan Hein, Dan Fessenden, Zousar Shaker, Chris Michael Smith, Mark Brockington, Andrew Gardner
Tools: Andy Desplenter and Scott Meadows
Additional Tools: Neil Flynn and Rejean Poirier

BioWare - Production

President: Dr. Greg Zeschuk
CEO: Dr. Ray Muzyka
Core Design:Mark Darrah, Dan Tudge, Brook Bakay, Joel MacMillan, Miles Holmes
Project Director: Mark Darrah
Associate Producer: Dorian Kieken
Assistant Producer: Steve Lam

BioWare - Quality Assurance

Lead QA: Mitchell Fujino
QA: Arone Le Bray, John Epler, Michael Liaw

Resources

Box Art

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  US cover

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  UK cover

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  AU cover

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  German cover

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  French cover

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  Spanish cover

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  Italian cover

Artwork

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External Links

• Screenshots on Sonic Chronicles' IGN page.
• SEGA's official Sonic Chroncles minisite.
• Bioware's official Sonic Chronicles minisite.
• An assortment of walkthroughs and stat sheets for Sonic Chronicles at GameFAQs.

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Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems

2005  Sonic Rush     2007  Sonic Rush Adventure     2008  Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games | Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood     2009  Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Rush & Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll     2010  Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing | Sonic Classic Collection | Sonic Colours      Unknown date  Super Speed Pack (201x)  Demos  Sonic Rush (E3 demo) | Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (demo) | Sonic Colours (demo)  Unreleased  Sonic DS