BioWare - Sonic RPG Revealed

Dhruin

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You may have seen some newsbits around the 'net in the last few days about a site possibly uncovering the name of BioWare's Sonic RPG for the DS after digging through some patent office filings. Seems they were right, because GameIndustryWire has a cover shot of the latest issue of Nintendo Power magazine and the cover story is Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood -
The latest issue of Nintendo Power features a cover story and 7-page feature on BioWare’s mysterious role playing game for the Nintendo DS that stars Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Titled Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the DS RPG is said to be a stylus-controlled affair similar to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
According to details from the newest issue of Nintendo Power, the game has a hand-drawn watercolor style. Each member in your party—which can total four of the eleven available characters—will have special abilities (we’re betting the farm on Sonic being fast). Battles are turn-based and attacks are said to follow an Elite Beat Agents model.
I doubt we'll cover this one but we may check in on it occasionally just to keep an eye on BioWare.
More information.
 
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Another rpg based on someone else's franchise just like their roots. They just brought out Mass Effect and Dragon Age is on the way they're doing quite a lot really.
 
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I think you're forgetting that Bioware is indeed a Corp. now. This means they have a handheld division, an Xbox 360, a PC games divison, a MMO-division (in Austin, Texas, USA) and some other divisions as well.

I dont' mind Bioware making a Sonic RPG for the DS. Bioware seems to be doing this whenever they want to break into a genre or platform, be it the rpg-genre or the Xbox platform.

If you go to this site:

http://adventuregamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=455976#post455976

There's a link to some nice watercolory screenies on gamespot :)

They look fairly nice, although I have to say that everything looks really, really small, but I guess that's just because of the hardware limitations for the DS or so??

Also, I though that (real) turn-based game went out the window at least 5 or maybe even 8-10 years ago? I bet it will be the good ol' realtime with pause TB combat that some love and others hate with a vengeance....

/aries100
 
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I wonder where Patrick is; haven't seen him here in ages!!
 
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Also, I though that (real) turn-based game went out the window at least 5 or maybe even 8-10 years ago? I bet it will be the good ol' realtime with pause TB combat that some love and others hate with a vengeance..../aries100

I'm betting classic TB. I would of loved real TB for KOTOR and Baldur's but nooo they have to make it TB for a system I'll never buy or want.
 
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heh, I can't see this as anything more than a jrog. Sonic is a game that appeals to kids and I've seen some interesting things done on DS with jrpg's.
 
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If 'Sonic' is one of those games where I have to buy a controller with 15 buttons, and I get blisters on my fingers playing it, I'm guessing this isn't going to be an A-ticket PC title.
 
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I wonder where Patrick is; haven't seen him here in ages!!

Not surprisingly with the unintelligent BioWare bashing going on here. Just take a look at the comment above. Apparently it is unimaginable that a large corporation can cater to more than just the market you happen to be a part of.
 
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This is interesting. If it's part of funding expensive-to-make original RPGs than I'm all for it.

A DS has been on my To Buy list for quite a while, not sure if this is really the clincher though. I've just never been a huge Sonic fan. I wonder what Bioware will do with the mythos? I can't imagine it's too controlled or sacred.
 
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I have no interest in this (no DS for starters) but I can't see it as a big deal. They have 400 employees and multiple divisions - a handheld group shouldn't be a surprise and shouldn't impact anything else (handheld development is relatively cheap, for starters). Sonic isn't to my taste but it probably suits the medium and market.

And it would be nice to see Patrick more often.
 
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I think Patrick still is on paternity leave. (remember that he and his wife got a baby not that long ago). I think Bioware has a family plan where both mommy and daddy gets at least 6 months each when they become parents.

I haven't Patrick onboard the Bioware forums for quite some time, now. If some of you know his email adress or dare to write a PM to him, you should do so, trying to get him over here. It was really nice having him here, I think. And Patrick can defend himself from the Bioware bashing, I think. At least from what I've seen.

Bioware's strategy with this is quite simply to expand its markets, even to younger audiences (kids) who then, when they grow up, remember fondly thay the played Sonic RPG on the DS, and the, hopefully, buys other Bioware products, for the PC, the Xbox 360 or the PS3. And so does all corporations...
 
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A Corporation is expanding to other markets. Now that is something I have never seen before...oh wait.

Really, I don't see the big deal. If I ever buy a DS (planing on doing so for a couple of months now, I will give the game a try.

BTW: RPGs are welcome, no matter on what platform (not that I don't prefer my trusted PC to any alternative).
 
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Some info from NeoGAF:

-In game graphics have a water color look, all hand drawn
-4 party members at a time
-Each character can do certain things ex: Tails can float over things (standard stuff)
-11 party members total - 7 known are Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Big the Cat
-Control done fully with stylus - think Hourglass
-Able to split party into teams at certain moments
-Rings are used as currency
-No random battles, see enemies on the field
-Turn based battles, choose commands for everyone in your party before they actually follow through. Want battles to be fast paced
-Elite Beat Agents style special attacks
-Team attacks (like Chrono Trigger)
-"Fatigue Points" instead of MP
-Choose which attributes to increase when you level up
-Purchase and level special attacks
-Bits of story - Sonic's on vacation from defeating Eggman 2 years ago. Gets a call from Tails that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group called the Marauders, and that 6 chaos emeralds are missing. Eggman not the main villain. But Bioware wants to make him a creditable bad guy again. Something about a "twist" between Eggman and Sonic that goes back to the earlier games.
-2 acts - first takes place in standard Sonic areas. 2nd takes place in a darker world
-Remixed classic tunes
-"fully animated cut scenes"
-simple dialogue trees
-Side quests

The screens look nice, as does the overall game ... interesting to see how it plays!
 
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Not surprisingly with the unintelligent BioWare bashing going on here. Just take a look at the comment above. Apparently it is unimaginable that a large corporation can cater to more than just the market you happen to be a part of.


Make sure you let us know how it was after you're finished ok?
 
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Make sure you let us know how it was after you're finished ok?

Sorry, I don't have a DS. Sonic is also not really my thing, but I can see how this may be very good to some people.

I don't know how handheld RPG's are, really, but the story doesn't seem very involving, though. And I don't understand the "simple dialogue trees" remark. Are complex dialogue trees "not done" on handhelds? I can see how these systems would be more casual than PC's. Maybe that's why.
 
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