Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

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Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
System(s): Nintendo DS
Publisher: Sega
Developer: BioWare
ROM size: 128 MB
Genre: RPG
Release Date RRP Code Rating JP 2009-08-06 ¥5,040 w/ tax NTR-P-C5RJ AU 2008-09-25  ? ? EU 2008-09-26  ? NTR-P-CSNP US 2008-09-30  ? NTR-P-YWSE
ESRB PEGI USK 6 OFLC CERO A

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, called Sonic Chronicles: Yami Jigen kara no Shinryakusha (ソニッククロニクル 闇次元からの侵略者) in Japan, is an RPG developed by Canadian developer BioWare for the Nintendo DS. It was released in September 2008 in North America and Europe, with a later Japanese release in August 2009.

Because of 128MB cartridge's space limits and the use of Mobiclip for the opening and comic book stylized cutscenes, cutscenes do not feature extensive voice recording; basically only character grunts were used in the game.

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 traveling 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. Traveling 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 realize 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) - Optional character (not necessary to complete the game)
• Dr. Eggman (Shifter)
• Shade (Power)
• Cream the Rabbit (Support) - Optional character (not necessary to complete the game)

The player can have up to four characters in a party at one time, with Sonic as a mandatory protagonist. Characters can use their various Movement Abilities to access certain areas of terrain which are otherwise impassable; for example, only Big, with his "Invulnerable III" attribute, can push through the bioelectric fields of the N'rrgal Colony.

• See Sonic Chronicles POW Moves for details on the character's combat attacks.

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 collectible 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

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History

Release

Those who preordered the game in the US received a free set of 3 styluses, featuring Sonic, Knuckles, and Shade; those who preordered in the UK received Sonic, Amy, and Eggman themed styluses. Those who preordered from Radioshack recieved a free DS skin with the game logo, and an image of Sonic on it.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood	Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Japanese	Sonic Chronicles: Yami Jigen kara no Shinryakusha (ソニッククロニクル 闇次元からの侵略者)	Sonic Chronicles: Invaders from the Dark Dimension
French	Sonic Chronicles: La Confrérie des Ténèbres	Sonic Chronicles: The Brotherhood of Darkness
German	Sonic Chronicles: Die Dunkle Bruderschaft	Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Spanish	Sonic Chronicles: La Hermandad Siniestra	Sonic Chronicles: The Sinister Brotherhood
Italian	Sonic Chronicles: La Fratellanza Oscura	Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

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

BioWare - Art

• Lead Artist: Joel MacMillan
• Concept/Levels: Joy Ang, Nick Thornburrow, Brian Sum
• 3D: Dustin Nelson, Francis Lacuna
• Technical Artist: Elliot Christian
• Animation: Nick DiLiberto, Arneil Marquez
• GUI: Nelson Housden

BioWare - Design

• Lead Designer: Miles Holmes
• Tech Design: Graham Scott, Jonathan Epp, Jonathan Ferland
• Additional Design: Raylene Deck, Cookie Everman
• Writing: Jay Turner
• Thanks: Keith Warner, Karin Weekes, Corey Gaspur

BioWare - Audio

• Audio: Steve Sim
• Additional Music: Richard Jacques

BioWare - Localization/External

• Localization Producer: Jenny McKearney
• Tools: Chris Christou, Chris Mihalick
• External Producer: John Campbell

BioWare - Special Thanks

• Handheld Group Founder: Dan Tudge
• Special Thanks: Scott Horner, Edi Osghian, Mike Laidlaw, Richard Boylan, Karin Weekes, Chris Hale, Vance Dylan, Jeremie Voillot, Marwan Audeh

SEGA - America

• CEO:Naoya Tsurumi
• President & COO: Simon Jeffrey
• Sonic Character Supervisor: Takashi Iizuka
• Sonic Character Coordinator: Keith Palmer
• Executive VP of Corporate Planning: Hitoshi Okuno
• Vice-President of Sales: Sue Hughes-Taigen
• Vice-President of Marketing: Sean Ratcliffe
• Vice-President of Product Development: David Cobb
• Development Operations Director: John Merlino
• Senior Producer: Constantine Hantzopolous
• Producer: Kirby Fong
• Associate Producer: Ethan Einhorn
• Director of Marketing: Don Mesa
• Product Marketing Manager: Judy Gilbertson
• Assistant Product Marketing Manager: Ken Balough
• Director of Public Relations: Charles Scibetta
• Public Relations Manager: Tali Fischer
• Creative Services: Jen Groeling, Heather Lucchetti, Bridget Oates, Marco Garcia, Mary Disbrow
• Web Producer: Marjorie Puruganan
• Community Manager: Julian Mehlfeld
• Flash Developer: Michael Dobbins
• Web Developer: Jeremy Caine
• QA Supervisors: Shawn Dobbins, Demetrius Griffin
• Mastering Supervisor: Rhianna Kellom
• Mastering Lab Technicians: Rey Buzon, Chris Rilles, Keith Aloro
• Standards Supervisor: Stephen Akana
• Standards Leads: Junior Sison, Christine Letheby
• Standards Technicians: John Belcher, Lawrence Mann, Niroth Keo, Steven Cook, Anthony Williams
• QA Lead Tester: Phil Musil
• Assistant Lead Tester: Rishad Virgin
• Testers: Aaron Keillor, Kelly Robertson, German Roverso, Jack Wagner, Jeff Hawkins, Tony Soto
• Special Thanks: Who is Mr. Soup?, Nestor Protacio, Ms. Vuckovic, JC, BJ, PJ, Shawn Green, Brand Inman, Ken O., Luke Letizia

SEGA - Europe

• CEO: Naoya Tsurumi
• President/COO: Mike Hayes
• Development Director: Gary Dunn
• Director of European Marketing: Gary Knight Senior
• Producer: Katrin Darolle
• Assistant Producer: Alex Humphries
• Head of External Development: Jim Woods
• Publishing Manager: Nathalie Ransom
• European PR: Lynn Daniel, Kerry Martyn, Wouter Van Vugt
• Marketing Manager: David Corless
• Brand Manager: Ben Chalmers-Stevens
• Online Marketing Manager: Mike Evans
• Creative Services: Alison Peat, Michelle Blake, Ed Bostock
• Head of Operations: Mark Simmons
• Purchasing Manager: Caroline Searle
• Operations: Natalie Cooke
• Legal Counsel: Nicky Boxall, Mark Bennett, Saad Choudri
• Head of Development Services: Mark Le Breton
• Localisation Manager: Marta Lois Gonzalez
• Localisation Coordinator: Giuseppe Rizzo
• Localisation Team: Antonella Marras, Antonio Catanese, Carole Kunzelmann, Brigitte Nadesan, Jean-Loup Lansac, Jesus Alvarez, Marco Borelli, Nicole Thomer, Daniela Kaynert, Jay Bannmuller, Sebastian Perez Salguero
• Shift Managers: Stuart Arrowsmith Master
• Technicians: John Hegarty, Jigar Patel, Roy Boateng
• Senior Team Lead: Julie Metior
• Team Lead: Natasha Sanders
• Assistant Team Lead: Deanne Anderson
• Testers: Ricky Lovage, Elweed Suliman, Andrew Coulson, Alexander Maw
• Standards Coordinator: Mohammed Ajaib
• Standards Technicians: Aaron Wright, Ross Caoli, Hiroki Saito
• Language QA Coordinator: Jean Baptiste Bagot
• Senior Language Team Lead: Stephan Wolschon
• Assistant Language Team Lead: Goffredo Pagliei
• Language Testers: Edoardo Levanti, Ludovic Garnier, Mario Horky, Rafael Bermudez

Other

• QA (EA)
  • Senior QA Lead: Keith Vedol
  • QA Lead: Victor Romero
  • QA Test Team: Angelo Ayson, Shaun Kiggens, Leo Kuma, Nick Rocha
• NITROGEN STUDIOS CANADA INC.
  • Unit Director/Storyboards: Greg Tiernan
  • Unit Producer/Project Manager: Nicole Stinn
  • Lead Animator/Storyboards: Mike Linton
  • Animator: Coin Giles, Jeff Bailey, Bryce Bezooyen, Darren Schmidtz
  • Compositor: Nadine Shinkaruk
  • "The Zoah" named by SEGA Nerds Ray Larabie at Typodemic

Official website

Sonic Chronicles website.

The Sonic Chronicles page on the Sega Europe and America websites features a minigame in which you control Sonic with the mouse, collecting rings in order to gain access to downloadable media. The game consists of two areas: Green Hill Zone and Voxai Colony Beta, which contain a total of 75 rings (some hidden behind scenery). Collecting a certain number of rings rewards you with two wallpapers, and a set of icons for collecting all the rings.

Artwork

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  Promotional cover art

Wallpaper

From BioWare.com:

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Japan exclusive:

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Manuals

Main article: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood manuals

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  Nintendo DS, US

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  Nintendo DS, UK

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  Nintendo DS, JP

Physical scans

Nintendo DS, US
Cover
File:SonicChronicles DS US manual.pdf Manual

Nintendo DS, JP
Cover
Card File:Chron ds jp manual.pdf Manual

Nintendo DS, UK
Cover
File:SonicChronicles DS UK manual.pdf Manual

Nintendo DS, FR
Cover

Nintendo DS, DE
Cover

Nintendo DS, ES
Cover

Nintendo DS, IT
Cover

Nintendo DS, AU
Cover

Nintendo DS, CA
Cover

Promotional Material

• JP TV adverts

External Links

• Official Sega of America website
• Official BioWare website
• Official Sega of Japan website
• Sega of Japan catalogue page

References

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