"Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

[Gaz]

This looks interesting and I'm curious about the end result but I'm a bit unsure about the whole thing. I really hope the story isn't as serious as it sounds. The graphics look nice and I like the game's art direction. I think the game will turn out good but I'm not really sure if this is something that's well suited to the Sonic series and I'm not really much of a fan of RPGs anyway.

[Opa-Opa]

I hope Uncle Chuck is on that one, in his roboticized form.

[James McGeachie]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/ ... cscan3.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/ ... cscan1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/ ... cscan2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c357/ ... cscan4.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t301 ... cscan7.jpg (hell yeah)
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t301 ... cscan5.jpg

[K2J]

Just got my issue. I'm planning on putting the scans in a ZIP archive so Photobucket won't resize them; there are some images that haven't been posted yet, like the battle menu and the EBA-style attacks.

Sonic Chronicles NP Exclusive.zip Sorry about the off-centerness.

EDIT: Ohshiznit, there's an interview with Takashi Iizuka. I'll upload that later.

[THEbigLANDMAN]

I found this site googling some time ago, it doesn't resize the images

the game looks... interesting, I just hope the argument has nothing to do with archie comics and moebius...

[MiraiTails]

Thanks K2J! Lots of interesting things in the article.

I'm especially in love with:

the hand drawn over world. It feels, and looks(!) like a labor of love to me. (Are the character models in the over world drawn too? They look different than the 3D battle models to me.)

the fact that we'll be seeing classic genesis zones re-imagined, and hearing music remixes.

the fact that you can choose, to a large extent, which characters to focus on, and in which direction(s) to build their stats.

Right now, I'm not so crazy about:

the 3D character models for battles.
As others have said, they probably look better in motion and may be polished before release.

TBLM: The link doesn't work for me. What argument?

[Yami CJMErl]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t301/momossitepics/sonicscan7.jpg (hell yeah)

Holy shit, WANT.

[Gaz]

After reading through that preview I'm incredibly optimistic now. It seems odd to actually be able to say that about a Sonic game again. I like how they've gone back to the classic games and used those for inspiration. The team behind it sound like genuine fans.

[Ngangbius]

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4724/shadeun8.jpg

Shade?

[DBurraki]

And there's Bioware's typical female warrior.

[Oompa Star]

Kinda looks like a ram.

[The Ghost Of Ember]

And there's Bioware's typical female warrior.

I wonder who the aged mercenary from a dying, warlike race is going to be?

Thoughts on the article:

-Big's (probably) getting a IQ upgrade. Maybe this'll make me something other than indifferent to his character.
-Hopefully they'll share some of that IQ upgrade with Knuckles, since he's suffered from a severe dumbing down in recent days. Probably not since the plot starts with him getting kidnapped.
-The dialog choice thing makes me wary, it seems like they're trying to keep it in tone with Sonics character, but even so it perturbs me. I had thought that they were going to go for a more JRPG style with this.
-The combat system sounds like a turn based version of Chrono Trigger with Mario RPG elements thrown in. Not that I'm complaining.
-The twist mentioned previously was not properly described, it seems to center around Eggman specifically, without mention of Sonic.
-They want to make Eggman more of an adversary, but he's not the main threat? Pfah.

[K2J]

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4724/shadeun8.jpg

Shade?

Yeah, I posted that on the other forums, but this one doesn't allow images for some really odd reason, so...

Oh, and, yes, GHZ is the first place I posted this archive. So, if you want, you can put a big 'ol "GHZ Exclusive for 15 seconds" sticker on it.

I'm looking forward to the Mystic Ruins, especially that one shot of them in some kind of echidna ruins.

[Ngangbius]

-The dialog choice thing makes me wary, it seems like they're trying to keep it in tone with Sonics character, but even so it perturbs me. I had thought that they were going to go for a more JRPG style with this.

Everything about this game seems to scream Bioware trying to emulate JRPGs with the exception of the dialog trees. Though I have a feeling these dialog responses will be kept very simple and won't heavily affect your character and plot in contrast to Bioware's more mature titles.

-They want to make Eggman more of an adversary, but he's not the main threat? Pfah.

So it's like almost every Sonic console game since Sonic Adventure?

[cjmcray]

I think Bioware is going to pull a 'Sonic and Knuckles' and have the dark brotherhood seem like the villain, and at the end find out they were just being used by Eggman, and then Eggman reveals a twist in his evil plot, and you defeat him as the final boss, instead of some monster-like thing (chaos, metal overlord, finalhazard, solaris, black doom, etc) idk.

[K2J]

I think Bioware is going to pull a Sonic Rush Adventure and have the dark brotherhood seem like the villain, and at the end find out they were just being used by Eggman, and then Eggman reveals a twist in his evil plot, and you defeat him as the final boss, instead of some monster-like thing (chaos, metal overlord, finalhazard, solaris, black doom, etc) idk.

Fixed.

Also, Iizuka interview:

"Cover" Page
Page 1
Page 2

[Isuka]

If it wasn't blatantly evident from Captain Whisker's design, that'd have been a big, fat spoiler.

And please fix those links K, 'K? What an incredibly stupid pun...

[Edgerock]

I have some bullet notes on the info so far.

• they say there are people who won't be happy that this isn't going to provide the absolute fastest Sonic experience, as it's an RPG. But they say there are other Sonic games that do that, and their interest here is to still incorporate speed wherever it makes sense; they say it's really a combination of both BioWare and Sonic and they want to please fans of both.
• they joked that they're looking to raise Big's IQ a few points
• unlike most 2D RPGs, which use tile-based patterns for the environments, Sonic Chronicles' backgrounds are drawn entirely by hand. They did this because they wanted to try to bring back the series' "classic style."
• shoes will be a big part of Sonic's equipment that you purchase via rings at shops. Examples given are shoes that increase his speed, or give him fire attacks.
• the reason they have battle actions happen after you select actions for all party members is to give the battles a greater sense of speed as everything plays out. some characters will be able to perform multiple actions in a round, leading to "impressively frenetic battle sequences."
• again, the idea with the battles is, you have strategic thinking by turn-based input, but it will be "presented very quickly." "You see Sonic moving the way he should be moving."
• the reason they added real time active elements to the turn-based system is to keep the player engaged. They stated that Final Fantasy, even with its "speculator animations," disengages the play because there's no interaction.
• as you improve your characters, you get new field map abilities as well as battle moves. This will allow you to access new areas on the maps. It will encourage you not just to stick to your favorite characters; each one has unique abilities to offer.
• they don't just want to use preexisting Sonic story stuff. They want to leave the BioWare mark by creating new characters, new locations. But it will feel like it builds on the franchise rather than is tacked on.
• Muzyka has a Genesis signed by Yuji Naka.
• the project got started because Muzyka and Zeschuk knew Sega of America president Simon Jeffery from when he was at LucasArts and they were doing KotOR.
• "most of the high-quality handheld stuff is coming out of Japan. There isn't a lot of North American AAA handheld development going on." They viewed this as an opportunity for them.
• they think the DS is naturally attuned towards RPGs more. The two screens can show RPG stats that's appropriate for the genre. They say building on the DS is like when they were building on the PC years ago because you have a small, tight-knit team where each person is a key contributor.
• they say they really want to make something that stays true to Sonic, but still surprises and surpasses fan expectations because it's something new and different.

The director is Mark Darrah. Prior credits are:
• Baldur's Gate (lead AI programming, additional programming team)
• Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (lead programming)
• Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (lead programmer, Infinity Engine programming team)
• Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (lead programmer)
• Neverwinter Nights (programmer)
• Neverwinter Nights Gold (programmer)
• Jade Empire (lead programmer)
• Mass Effect (special thanks)

Lead artist is Joel MacMillan. Prior credits are:
• Jade Empire (cutscene art/animation team)
• Mass Effect (cinematics animator team)
• Jade Empire Special Edition (cutscene art/animation team)

The lead game designer is new to BioWare. His names is Miles O'Brien Prower Holmes; looks like he used to work at DICE, and his prior credits are:
• Dracula's Secret (artist)
• Shrek for Xbox (tester)
• Jump Start: Dino Adventure (lead artist)
• Diva Starz (lead artist)
• Full Auto 2 (designer)

[MiraiTails]

...Miles O'Brien Prower Holmes...

OMG for realz!?!

In all seriousness, is that his actual name?

[K2J]

...Miles O'Brien Prower Holmes...

OMG for realz!?!

In all seriousness, is that his actual name?

What the heck?! @Edgerock: Where are you getting that name? Is it in the article? I'm not seeing it.

Also: What other Sonic games would be like if Bioware got a hold of them.

[Edgerock]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... 43&page=12

I got all the info from here. Look at ethlred's post.

[K2J]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=226943&page=12

I got all the info from here. Look at ethlred's post.

Ah. So that strikethrough means "Prower" isn't his real name, but Miles is. He really should have put "Edgeworth" under that strikeout as well.

[Frieza2000]

They seem to be taking it in the sci-fi direction that began in SA2 and was continued with Shadow and 2k6 as opposed to the fantasy style of the old Japanese story. This reminds me of when we talked about another acquiring the series. What we're seeing here may be sort of a Frankensteinian revival, where we get a good game that retains its familiar body but with a new heart and mind. It's got rings and eggpods and loop-de-loops, but it doesn't feel "Sonic-y". The old spirit of the series is probably gone for good, along with its creators, outside of gratuitous retro fanservice.

I think the full significance of this game just hit me. Pushing 17 years, how many incarnations of Sonic, in any form of media, haven't had embarrassingly bad dialogue? How many have had a narrative worth paying attention to? These characters have always had stupendous story potential. It's sad and a little baffling that it's been primarily realized in a handful of fanfiction. That's what this game reminds me of: a good fanfic. Iizuka could remove the "good" from that equation, but I think this may be the first Sonic anything in years that you can play in the same room as other people without being ashamed.

[G.Silver]

how many incarnations of Sonic, in any form of media, haven't had embarrassingly bad dialogue?

The 16-bit games were pretty good in this regard.

[Crazy Penguin]

I don't think Shade is a very good name for a series that already has a character named Shadow.

Looking forward to this one, hopefully it'll be along the lines of Mario & Luigi.