Latest 'Sonic' should stir nostalgia among fans
More than 15 years ago, "Sonic the Hedgehog" on Game Gear was the height of portable gaming cool. Now the series aims to win its way back into the hearts of gamers who loved it as kids - and is doing so by taking the signature blue hedgehog and his buddies into a new genre.
The new "Sonic Chronicles" RPG retains some classic elements, but falls short of fulfilling its potential with repetitive combats that slow down a game known for its fast pace.
"Sonic Chronicles" throws players into the action quickly, with Sonic's buddy Knuckles having been kidnapped by an unknown force that has also stolen the perpetually missing Chaos Emeralds. Sonic teams up with friends from previous editions including Tails the tinkering flying fox and the pink hedgehog Amy Rose, who entertainingly protests too much that she's not interested in Sonic and has another boyfriend.
The main mechanic of the game is a very satisfying puzzle map where different forms of movement are needed to get around obstacles. The result is a solid combination of Sonic standbys like gathering rings and spinning through loops like a roller coaster car, using the stylus to direct your party. More direct mini-puzzles are scattered throughout, posing fairly simple challenges where you have to place four party members in different positions to get something to happen. Things get a little problematic once you have more means of movement than you have slots in your party. If you hit an obstacle that requires you to have a specific character to get through, you might have to return to base and change your lineup.
The combats are also a mixed bag. Actions are selected with a fairly standard RPG options menu that offers a nice variety of attacks for each character. Special moves for both your characters and enemies involve a stylus mini-game where you have to tap or drag in certain fashions to either avoid an assault or get your moves to work. This can be satisfying once you've mastered the skills, but inconsistency might make it frustrating. It's possible to perfect a set of combinations and miss with your attack or fail your attempts to dodge an attack and still take minimal damage. The result is the time-consuming mini-game can feel less like an opportunity to add skill to the system and more like a waste of time that creates an incentive to avoid using special moves whenever possible.
Fights also change in difficulty rapidly from easy to just plain mean. There are multiple opponents with automatic regeneration abilities that require you to change your tactics, which keeps things interesting, and others can easily one-shot your characters making saving regularly a good idea. The problem is that even tricky bad guys get dull when you have to fight them over and over again. Many of the quests involve such repetition, and when you've seen the same exact room and the same exact fight for the fourth time you're likely to be bored.
Luckily there are elements that keep things light and enjoyable throughout. The dialogue is cute without being cheesy, and customizing gear and chao - companion creatures you hatch from eggs collected throughout the game - add another level of tactics. Some of the humor might be lost on people who haven't played Sonic before, but whether you're picking it up for nostalgia or not, there's enough fun to make you want to go through all the dialogue options as you chat with the classic characters.
"Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood"
Rating: 2&189; stars
Genre: RPG
Platform: DS