Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

I liked Sonic Chronicles a lot more than I thought I would, but I'll admit it's not the game it could've been in the hands of a more seasoned developer.

First off, if you've been burned out on Sonic stories in the past, there's no worries here. This is much more Archie Comics-caliber Sonic (that means it's good) than all the prose in Sonic Adventure combined. It's true to the franchise, but not offensively stupid. So it's a lot breezier than the typical Bioware fare, but perfect for Sonic. Unfortunately, their patented conversation trees don't really work that well here, but oh well.

Exploring the game is an effin' treat. The music is great - a lot of remixed tunes for long time fans - and the visuals are peerless. Bioware really went all out here; the 3D models are detailed (for DS) and animate really well. Meanwhile there's tons of high res, drop-dead gorgeous 2D art everywhere. This is seriously one of the finest looking DS titles on the market.

Unfortunately the gameplay stumbles a bit. Like KOTOR and some of Bioware's other games, it's just clunky. There's an over-reliance on hitting touch screen buttons that's just out of place - especially when nearly every other RPG on the platform has the good sense to use the entire touch screen for stuff like advancing a conversation (here you must a hit a tiny button centered on the screen). And the battle system is a bit of a chore; utilizing "rounds" instead of turns, so you don't have a lot of control over actions. You also can't look away, because many, MANY mini-game-esque touch screen actions command your attention. It's kinda a drag. The Flee minigame is actually fun though, and a really nice match for the license.

Overall though, there's too much good here to pass it up because of a few clunky interface issues. Just like KOTOR. I'm seriously considering purchasing this from Gamefly, or buying my own copy (for the jewel case and stuff). It's a very good DS RPG, and an excellent recent Sonic title.

It looks great but Sonic as an RPG?? Nope, not for me..sonic is supposed to be fast, runnin through the loops, hittin the bounce pads etc., etc., and this is nothing what i was expecting. you actually have to slowly guide sonic where hes going by touching in front of him constantly. i lost interest after a couple minutes. if you want a completely different sonic the hedgehog, then be my guest.