"Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Recent happenings of pertinence to Sonic fans.
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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

Off and on for... three days, I think?. When you finish the game it restarts, but you keep all your stats and most of your items (no quest items, obviously) from your previous game. The game itself suggests you try finding the rings and chao eggs you've missed from before, so... I'm playing again trying to find everything to see if anything changes (also trying to have different characters in my team to see the different dialogues). I doubt it'll be drastically different, but the game is fun enough that I don't mind playing it over again.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Ngangbius »

So would you recommend this game as a full-price purchase for people who play tons of RPGs and already anticipating other RPGs for every console, including the PC or would you suggest that the get it when the price drops or as a rental? Or better yet, would you suggest that they should skip it all together?

It seems that there are some impressions I've heard so far makes it sound like it is overpriced.

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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

As I said, it feels pretty damn short, though it's definitely a fun experience. Here's my run down:

Gameplay: I never really was a huge fan of RPGs, mostly because I hate having to grind like crazy just to fight a slightly bigger pillbug, but that wasn't the issue here. I only died about ... two or three times, I believe, in the entire game. So I guess for an RPG it's not very difficult, though the rhythm based POW moves and attack avoidance system is pretty neat and the learning curve isn't that steep at all.

Music: There's some nice remixes of old Sonic tunes in here, though I can't say much about the original tunes in it. The sound effects can be pretty goofy at times, such as a weird turkey gobbling sound when Shadow showed up. However, I also found that hilarious, so...

Graphics: Beautiful, with the exception of the cutscenes which look like they were done in badly done in flash. Also the 3D elements look a bit out of place as well- seeing how much effort they put into hand painting the backgrounds and the character art, I don't see how it would of been that hard to make some hand drawn sprites to go with it as well, but... oh well- may be a system limitation or something. Overall it looks good.

Storyline: A bit predictable in spots and starts out slow at first, but the dialogue and characterization are spot on. They develop some of established characters more deeply as well, for example Amy (Dexter is a lie, by the way, but we all knew that). There are genuinely funny bits in the game as well. There's also plenty of references to older games, with locations such as Green Hill, Metropolis Zone, etc. Actually, Metropolis is full of nods to the old games with broken down pieces of Eggman's machinery, such as an Egg Robo and I believe a broken down boss from Sonic 2... the EggMobile with the drill on it? Yeah.

I'm going to buy it since I've already put down preorder money for it, but it's a definite rental. Actually the best Sonic game I've played in awhile. Maybe wait for the price to drop because I'm not sure it's worth 40 bucks for how short it is. Maybe 30, not 40.

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Ngangbius
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Ngangbius »

It retailing for $35 in the U.S. so I'm either assuming that you are not a U.S. citizen or they are overcharging you if you need to pay up $40.

I never really felt the need to grind in most RPGs since I find a large amount of them are easy already. The few challenging ones actually have you really rely more on stat altering spells than you usual FF. *shrugs*

Thanks for the impressions, sounds like this is more of a rental, moreso since CAG isn't listing a $10 CC gift card for the purchase this game. I guess I'll put the $10 gift card I recieved from DQ4 for some other $35-$40 handheld game instead. If I ever felt the real need to replay(or play it at all if I'm not able to rent it) this title, I'll just buy it used or on sale instead.

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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

Only 35? Then I guess that's alright for it. I forgot how much it cost- most games are 40 or more so I made a guesstimate.

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Ngangbius
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Ngangbius »

Most DS games are $30, while Nintendo's own "premium" games are $35 and Square-Enix games are $40 for some reason. So it's a bit unusual for Bioware to charge $35 instead of $30 like the vast majority of 3rd-party companies.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Radrappy »

Man. I don't have a DS and I've criticized the hell out of what I've seen of this game.

Yet I find my self with a powerful wanting to pick up a DS for this game right now. Its inexplicable. Haven't I learned my lesson? And yet I know in my heart that once playing the game, I will probably fall in love with it.

Now I know what it feels like to be one of those abused housewives.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Ngangbius »

I picked up my first DS mostly for M&L:Partners in Time which in the end turned out to be cute, but mostly forgettable.

Though, during that time, the DS didn't have a nice sizable library of games(especially for RPGs) compared how it is now.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by PSMad »

Good lord, the game is greatness. I’m having fun running around and killing stuff. The story also makes sense and it’s nice to see Bioware try to tie all the loose ends together into one coherent story; something Sega should have tried to do years ago.

As for the difficulty? I’ve been killed once by a big bird type thing but that’s only because it came out of nowhere and my party was pretty injured already. I’ve no idea how anyone could be getting beat up so consistently by the game… My characters are level 6-7 and I’m only on act 3. Have you been spending points upgrading stats when you level up and buying new POW moves?

Knuckles has just joined my party and I’m smashing things up like more giant birds and the Swatbots that gave me some trouble earlier. Also in my party are Sonic, Tails and Amy. I’m waiting for Eggman so I can roll with the original four.

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cjmcray
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by cjmcray »

PSMad wrote: I’m smashing things up like more giant birds and the Swatbots
whoa-whoa-whoa, hold on a minute.

There's SatAM stuff in this game? :\

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Hybrid
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Hybrid »

I've gotten by so far mostly by binging on items mid-battle against the tougher enemies. My party are all at Level 7 now and I'm at Chapter 5, I think (the Metropolis one).

Conversely, I don't understand how anyone couldn't be ridiculously frustrated at this game. If what I've been hearing about what level other people were at in certain chapters is correct, then I've never been underlevelled. I've collected items (both consumables and equipabbles) from enemies and bought them from the only available shops, but everything they sell seems pretty rubbish (I've equipped stuff regardless). I've got some good Chao and equipped them, but they're a marginal help at best. I beat the Scorpions I mentioned earlier by Revival Ring + POW Candy binging, and given that they could 2HKO my entire team I don't think it's me sucking that's making this so frustrating. Then again, I seem to be the only one having these troubles... But I don't understand how, since I'm about as good as you can get at doing/blocking POW attacks and my team are all adequately strong.

I'll tell you what is frustrating though, and has nothing do with my ability at the game: The enemy's ability to evade. I'm fighting against a pack of four Laser Drones in Metropolis, right? The quickest way to win most fights is to just condense your fire on one target at a time; Less living enemies means less damage sustained by my team. Yet, these Laser Drones sometimes get a little message next to them saying "Evading". When they do this, every attack thrown at them will miss. So say I fire all my POW moves at the first drone (with the knowledge that, should he be killed, my team will start directing their POW moves at the other Drones). He decides to evade. Every POW move and every regular attack misses him, even if executed perfectly. All my PP is drained and no damage is done whatsoever. And it's random, too; Sometimes they'll evade, sometimes they won't. If he doesn't evade, this particular battle is over in one round. If he does evade, this battle drags on for five rounds, at least (given all my strong moves now have no PP!). It just isn't fun, it's infuriating; Randomly telling me "lol all your attacks miss for no reason" is just stupid.

The game's pretty, the audio is pretty rubbish so far and in my personal experience, fights are either completely unbalanced at the worst of times, manageable at the best of times, and completely unexciting all the time. I don't see how anyone could actually enjoy just tapping little circles for five minutes every time they engage in combat.

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CM August
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by CM August »

I actually walked to the shop and bought this game. I blame it on you guys.

And... I'm enjoying it. It's hitting all the right notes, for the most part. I'm only on chapter 3, but so far it actually feels satisfying and worth the time to play. The only big criticism I have is that the sound/music is mediocre at best, and some finicky combat/menu elements. I'm not sure I like using the stylus so extensively, but it works quite well.
cjmcray wrote:whoa-whoa-whoa, hold on a minute.

There's SatAM stuff in this game? :\
I didn't believe the rumors, so it was a shock to find it was true. They're definitely SWATbots - or Swat Bots, whatever - albeit much bulkier and somewhat simpler in design. As far as homages go, that's not half bad.

Oh uh, Hybrid... I don't know if it helps to say, but I'm on level 7 at chapter 3 without any huge amount of grinding involved. I think you might be taking it too fast, no matter what Ritz said.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Frieza2000 »

Even so, if he's getting OHKOed and he's executing the blocking sequences perfectly, and he has all the armor, it means his stats aren't as high as they should be. When you level up, how are you distributing your points? Or are you using the points at all? I haven't played yet, but from the sound of it you're not gaining what you should be from leveling.

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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

That could be it. I didn't bother trying to set my own stats and allowed the game to auto-level. It'd be interesting if the problem was from poor stat choices, since I didn't fiddle around with those.
whoa-whoa-whoa, hold on a minute.

There's SatAM stuff in this game? :\
The only apparent SatAM elements in the game are the "SWATbots" (only that in name and only very, very vaguely in design) and a brief throw away mention of roboticization in regards to some robotic armadillos that attack you in Mystic Ruins. The point is never brought up again and there aren't any other references that could be tied back to SatAM. Instead, there's a great deal more references to the old Genesis games.
I don't see how anyone could actually enjoy just tapping little circles for five minutes every time they engage in combat.
Apparently it's the same set up as Elite Beat Agents, but I've never tried that. There's something satisfying about executing it correctly though.


I think I've become stupidly fond of this game and I look very forward to whatever Bioware tries next with this franchise.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Locit »

Woah, 1up's Ryan Scott gave it a glowing review and an A to go with it. I'm pretty much stunned.

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Hybrid
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Hybrid »

DBurraki wrote:That could be it. I didn't bother trying to set my own stats and allowed the game to auto-level. It'd be interesting if the problem was from poor stat choices, since I didn't fiddle around with those.
Could be, I guess. Can you redistribute all your gained points every time you level, or are they set in stone once you've used them once? If I can redistribute, I guess I'll try it.

I am really stumped by all this though. I'm not bad at games, and I'm not bad at anything this game is asking me to do, but I'm just finding everything is a struggle. As soon as I get passed this stupid team-split segment I guess I'll go back to an easier area and try to figure out where I'm going so horribly wrong.

As a side note, I'm thinking it was a mistake to put all my strong characters on Sonic's team and all my shitty, underlevelled characters on the Tails/Eggman team. Bleh.

How many Chapters are there, anyway?

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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

Can you redistribute all your gained points every time you level, or are they set in stone once you've used them once? If I can redistribute, I guess I'll try it.
I don't think there's anyway to do that without straight out restarting. Maybe try fighting the lowest level baddies you can until you gain some levels and try evening your stats out?

How many Chapters are there, anyway?
Wasn't paying very close attention but... about 7 or 8? Not that many.
As a side note, I'm thinking it was a mistake to put all my strong characters on Sonic's team and all my shitty, underlevelled characters on the Tails/Eggman team. Bleh.
I made the mistake with the team splitting at that point too, since it's the first time the game asks you to do so. I probably should of had Shadow with me, but instead he was on Eggman's team and complaining the entire time. I'm wondering if it'd of made a difference if I'd brought him with Sonic. I still got through that area fine though, but it's generally a good idea to round out your split teams. I think Rouge's stealth ability probably would of been better used with Eggman's team there too...

...

Oddly, I think it was expected of me to use Shadow more then I did, since I barely if ever used him. It seemed that not using him triggered some odd moments where people on the planets say they've seen 'me' (Sonic) when they had in fact seen Shadow, which lead me to confront him a few times. I never did figure out why the hell he was wandering around without me.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Zeta »

Do they ever reveal just what the hell species Shade is supposed to be? Goat? Lizard? Iguana?

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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

Echidna. She's wearing a mask. I have pictures, if you really want them.

EDIT: Take it back on the 7-8 chapter thing, there's about 9. Black Hole Sun is the sixth chapter, seventh is Sector Scylias (sp?), next is Sector Charyb (sp??), and then the final. If I remember correctly.
Last edited by DBurraki on Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Zeta »

Ah, that's unusual. Don't know how to feel about that.

Is it me, or does the plot of this game feel a LOT like the Archie Knuckles comic series? Is Shade supposed to be the SegaSonic version of Julie-Su?

Also, there are 10 chapters in the game.

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DBurraki
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by DBurraki »

It's actually not. I was worried with the title "Dark Brotherhood" and I had my suspicions about there being echidnas in the beginning, but they didn't rape the concept up the ass like Archie did.

Plus at the end all the echidnas remain banished in their little pocket dimension and only Shade comes out- but I suspect in later games she'll be sent back too as she herself said the only way she can stay out of the pocket dimension is through the power of her suit- but that isn't a solution to a long term problem. Shade's personality is also different from that of Julie-Su, who personally I can't stand.

EDIT: Full Body picture of Shade without helmet. I actually rather like her design, though it's a little complicated.

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CM August
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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by CM August »

There was nothing particularly wrong with the Knuckles comic plotline, except for ohmagahdz its not Sega.

Just met up with Shade on my file, coincidentally. And some of these side quests are really funny.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by P.P.A. »

To me, maskless Shade looks a bit like Tikal in battle mode, if she had one.
So, is this game worth buying or not? I hear a lot of different opinions at the moment...

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Hybrid »

I'd say it isn't. Putting aside any frustrations I may have had, a lot of it is uninspired. The battles basically revolve around three actions - "Tap a circle eight times quickly", "Tap circles when they turn green" and "Drag a circle across a line" - and once you've played the first hour or so of the game, you've basically played everything (with the obvious exception being characters/moves you haven't found/bought yet). The hand-drawn backgrounds are beautiful to look at, but when you're trying to play they're fairly deceptive; figuring out whether you're in front of, behind, or even on the same level as some background elements can often be difficult. My favorite example of this is in one of Eggman's strongholds, where a step-ladder is drawn to look like it goes to high level (it goes from the bottom screen up to a platform on the top screen), but when you walk over it you realize it isn't actually a physical object but rather a flat image painted straight onto the canvas. All your overworld tasks are menial - I rolled my eyes when some guy asked me to fetch his stapler, a task which must be completed in order to progress the story - and the puzzles are all less taxing than even the simplest in games like Phantom Hourglass.

The highlight of the game isn't the story, but rather the dialog, which is very well done despite the many branching conversation paths all ultimately lead to the same outcome. The game is definitely worth a rental (I'm only playing it for an hour or two each day and I'm already past the half-way point apparently, so it should be easily beatable in the time you rent it for), but I'd find it hard to recommend this as a buy. If you weren't a Sonic fan, I wouldn't recommend it at all.

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Re: "Sonic Chronicles" trademarked by Sega

Post by Rob-Bert »

So you're the only one here who disapproves of the game? Guess I'm gonna wait till Christmas for it anyway.

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