“Sonic the Hedgehog turn based role playing game.” This sentence to my adolescent self would have been dismissed as lunacy back in the rodent’s halcyon Genesis days. But somehow, and I am still aghast at just how this has happened, BioWare has delivered entirely on the promise.
Make no mistake about it - Sonic Chronicles is a slow game. And not just by Sonic the Hedgehog’s standards. It seems almost implausible then that it captures the spirit of the classic Sonic titles, and is competent enough to build an exciting, enthralling and extremely fun game out of what many dismissed as a dead franchise. Rebirth? Not quite, but certainly it is the beginning of change for the iconic SEGA mascot.
Unusually for a handheld game, Chronicles rewards extended play. Featuring gameplay mechanics similar to the Mario RPGs of the past, the game plays out at a very fractured pace. Plot wise, and you have probably already guessed most of it, someone is messing around with the Chaos Emeralds and it is up to Sonic and his roaming gang of fuzzy vigilantes to save the day. But despite BioWare’s almost impeccable narrative credentials, we’re not here for a gripping tale and they don’t really fully deliver one either. The plot simply provides context for a series of chapter based romps across the world map, battling numerous foes in pursuit of the mysterious and ominous Dark Brotherhood.
All your favourite Sonic friends are along for the ride; Miles, Knuckles and Amy are series stalwarts, and the inclusion of Sonic Adventure era companions such as Rouge and Big the Cat can be hit or miss depending on your feelings toward them. Regardless of personal preference, each fills a party role mechanically and contributes to the battle system, enhancing the fighting with special abilities and group powers. There are even some unexpected allies that join you, throwing up all sorts of questions best left to dedicated Sonic fans to answer.
To explore the game, you navigate an isometric overworld in a distinctive illustrative art style. The inclusion of loops and ramps is a bit of a distraction here, because traversing them is hardly fluid and requires context sensitive button presses on the touchscreen to activate them. Yes, you collect rings, and as you guessed, you can spend them on new items and bonuses. Losing that critical fast pace makes this exploration less of a furious race and more of a sedate expedition. Navigation is also sometimes highly confusing, as the maps themselves are drawn in such a way that it is sometimes hard to differentiate scenery from walkable terrain, a problem I encountered often when peeking around every corner and nook. Breaking up the flow of your travels even more are frequent random battles, which play out in a turn based system mashing together aspects of Partners In Time and Elite Beat Agents. So much so, in fact, that as the game progresses you develop a rhythm to the battles, sometimes able to work on autopilot; such is the repetitious nature of the encounters. Boss battles and varying monster types break up the monotony well, allowing you often to fully unleash the skills you have acquired meatgrinding the minions, which is often flashy and loud and requires careful timing and touch screen interaction.
At its core, Sonic Chronicles is an RPG, and BioWare have infused the fast paced frenetic action of Sonic with a plethora of plodding conversations and dialogue options. At times this begins to really grate, especially when the random battles pile up with them to create an extremely disjointed experience. But if you can get past this, you will find a charming and altogether vintage Sonic game that includes all the hallmarks of the series as well as a little of that BioWare innovation on the role playing side. Not suited for commuters or gamers with short attention spans, Sonic Chronicles manages to really capture what was so attractive about the characters and setting of the very first Genesis titles. It is the attention to detail and a huge step in a new direction that really sets Sonic Chronicles above other iterations, and one which I hope continues.
This is an extremely competent game, impressive in every area with few minor problems. Chronicles is always slow paced but constantly feels on the verge of blistering speed and excitement. Capable of wowing you with incredible visuals and your traditional BioWare plot twists, it creates a sense of nostalgia among diehard Sonic fans, while also having the hooks to draw in new people to the mesmerizing world of the Dark Brotherhood. All this in a Sonic RPG? Yes, it really is true.
