Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

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New role. New rules...

— Tagline

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (ソニッククロニクル 闇次元からの侵略者, Sonikku Kuronikuru Yami Jigen Kara no Shinryakusha^?, lit. "Sonic Chronicle: Invaders from the Dark Dimension") is a Nintendo DS role-playing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by BioWare and published by Sega. The game was released in North America and Europe in September 2008.

It focuses on the events surrounding the kidnapping of Knuckles the Echidna and the disappearance of the Chaos Emeralds, which leads into a much larger story. This game is notable for being the first (and so far only) RPG in the Sonic series. Due to real world interferences, the game is considered non-canon.

Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot, ending details or any kind of information follow.

File:Sonic Chronicles (The Dark Brotherhood) - Title Screen.png

The title screen of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

4,000 years ago, there were two rival civilizations co-existing peacefully with each other: the Knuckles Clan and the Nocturnus Clan. The former was the keeper of the Master Emerald and sought to expand its territories. Unwilling to yield their territories to their rival clan, the Nocturnus Clan soon declared a war of expansion against the Knuckles Clan. Eventually, an unanticipated cataclysm destroyed the Knuckles Clan and ripped Angel Island from the surface of the planet. Meanwhile, the Nocturnus Clan and everything associated with it disappeared for unknown reasons, never to be seen again.

Back to the present day, Dr. Eggman is defeated for good, with Knuckles, Amy, and Sonic distracting the scientist while Tails sabotages Eggman's ship, the Egg Carrier, which falls to Eggman's base in Metropolis. As all his of machines were destroyed and suspicious activity ceased, Dr. Eggman was presumed dead. As things had gone quiet, Sonic decided to go on a solo adventure around the world, and the others thus went on their separate ways.

After some considerable time had passed, Sonic received a call from Tails while on his vacation, stating that Knuckles had been kidnapped. Traveling to Central City with Amy Rose to meet with Tails, they are escorted by Rouge the Bat to G.U.N. headquarters to meet the Commander. He informs them that they, along with Team Chaotix, have been watching the Marauders for some time and have managed to locate their hideouts, but searching them for Knuckles proved fruitless. However, Tails managed to find and fix broken communicators found at each hideout, which allows them to pinpoint the location of the Marauders' base to the Mystic Ruins.

Traveling by Tails' Tornado plane to avoid the soldiers guarding the Ruins, they meet up with Big the Cat who helps them locate the base, where they find Knuckles escaping from some robots. Leaving the base, they find Angel Island gone. Back at Tails' workshop, Tails develops an Eggman Tracker to locate Eggman and find out his connection to these events. After searching around previous areas for a while, including running into Shadow, Tails assembles a set of Eggman's devices the group discovered along the way to disable a force field they had located in Green Hill during their search. Inside, they find Eggman, who claims to be a reformed character, revealing that he survived the crash of the Egg Carrier by anticipating his own defeat and making a robot that would rescue him and nurse him back to health. Eggman informs the team that Angel Island is being pulled to Metropolis, the location of the Marauders' main base.

Taking the Tornado once more to go to Blue Ridge Zone in order to enter Metropolis from there, they meet Shadow and join up in order to find E-123 Omega, who Shadow was looking for, but are attacked in Metropolis by Shade and her Marauders. Shade reveals herself to be an echidna of the Nocturnus Clan, leaving Knuckles, supposedly the last of the echidnas, shocked. After Sonic defeats her, she blocks the main pathway to Metropolis, but Eggman finds another route through a railway tunnel. Once there, Eggman tells them of a weapon in his lab that could help defeat the Marauders, provided he has the necessary parts. Dividing into two teams, one group, with Sonic and Knuckles, head to Angel Island to get the Master Emerald before the Marauders, and the other, led by Tails and Eggman, assists in making the weapon. Tails and his team develop a non-lethal weapon designed to return the Nocturnus to their unknown home. Meanwhile, Sonic's team infiltrates a Nocturnus airship headed for the island, but encounter problems when the enemy manages to disable the ship's weapon. Tails and Eggman use one of the remaining weapons in Metropolis to shoot down the surrounding ships to clear the way for Sonic, but accidentally shoot the ship on which their friends are on, sending them onto Angel Island. Once on the Island, Sonic and Knuckles confront the Nocturnus leader, the Grand Imperator Ix, who reveals his plot to take over the dimension.

This revelation shocks Shade, who believed that Ix merely wanted to bring the Nocturnus Clan back to earth, for they had been sealed in the alternate dimension called the Twilight Cage during the Argus Event. It's minions come close to defeating Sonic and his team, but just as they are on the verge of defeat, Tails and Eggman arrive to save them, using a teleporter under Metropolis to get to the Island. They use their non-lethal weapon to transport several of the Nocturnus back to the Twilight Cage. The team fights Ix, but he escapes and steals the Master Emerald (which is considerably smaller in this game), causing Angel Island to fall from the sky. Ix sends the heroes and Shade flying away. Knuckles saves Shade as the island crashes into Metropolis. From there, the group witnesses Ix creating a wormhole which transports the Nocturnus back to their realm, ready to dominate. Tails and Eggman come up with a plan to follow him, deciding to build a vehicle that could cross into the alternate dimension. However, the collision with Angel Island knocks the city's power out. Sonic and a reformed Shade team up to restore the power, and also retrieve a Dimensional Buffer to help Tails. The group leaves in the vehicle, dubbed the Cyclone, while Eggman remains behind, saying that he must make sure that they can return.

Once in the Twilight Cage, the Cyclone crash lands on a rocky planet, the Kron Colony, after being damaged during the inter-dimensional trip. Tails suggests that they can power the ship up with a Chaos Emerald, and locates one on the colony. The team are confronted by the Kron, giant rock creatures who believe them to be Nocturnus spies. The Kron are gifted weapon makers and were forced by Ix to create weapons and armor for his troops. The warehouse used by the Kron to produce these weapons is powered by a Chaos Emerald, and Sonic and team offer to liberate the colony from Ix's control. They manage to take the Emerald, and win the trust of the rock people, and travel onward. The Nocturnus home world of Nocturne is blocked off from the heroes by a force field, prompting them to visit the N'rrgal colony, the home of the slug-like, energy-leeching N'rrgal people.

The N'rrgal suck all the energy from the Cyclone, but Tails discovers that another Chaos Emerald is located on the planet. The N'rrgal queen meets the team and tells them that the bitter rivals of the N'rrgal race, the Zoah, are in possession of a powerful weapon, and that they cannot risk confronting them in battle. She offers their Chaos Emerald in return for the Zoah's weapon. Sonic and his team then head to the Zoah colony, where they must find and dispatch this "weapon." Upon talking to the Zoah leader, the team discovers that they are in allegiance to Ix, but only because he defeated their chief in single combat, and according to Zoah law, whoever defeats the leader can have any one favor from them, even the service of the entire race. Sonic challenges the leader to a battle, and frees the Zoah from their servitude. The leader gives them a Chaos Emerald, revealed to be the weapon given to them by Ix. The team realizes that Ix gave both the Zoah and N'rrgal Emeralds to keep the two races in check for his plans. Upon revealing this information to the leaders of the two races, they gain the trust of the Zoah and N'rrgal.

Tails finds two more Emeralds in the Voxai Colonies. The Voxai are a race at peace, capable of mental domination. However, the Overmind, a group of three Voxai who rule the colonies, are truly loyal to Ix, and have taken control of the citizens, corrupting their minds. The team lands on Voxai Colony Beta, and meets Thebes, a citizen who has escaped the control of the Overmind. He tells them of the source of the Overmind's power, the Chaos Emeralds, with which they were able to dominate the minds of all the people in the Voxai colonies. Thebes leads them to a teleporter to take them to Voxai Colony Alpha, which is guarded by a psychic field to block out trespassers. Once there, they confront and defeat the Overmind. Thebes becomes the new Voxai leader, and gives them the two Chaos Emeralds given to them by Ix. With the last two emeralds on Nocturne, the team gathers the leaders of the Kron, N'rrgal, Zoah, and Voxai to the Kron Colony, where they all team up and come up with a plan to invade Nocturne. The united races, led by Sonic and his team, launch an assault on the Nocturnus home world.

The Voxai find weaknesses in the force field around the planet, while the N'rrgal suck energy from it, and the Zoah launch a missile created by the Kron that can penetrate it. Sonic and his friends pass through the opening made by the united races, and encounter Prefect Charyb and Prefect Scylla, two Gizoids who wield the elements of water and fire, respectively, each with a Chaos Emerald. The group splits in two, Sonic and Tails leading one group and Knuckles and Shade leading the other. Knuckles is reluctant to kill Ix, believing that the Nocturnus can be saved, but promises not to let this belief interfere with the mission. The two teams lower the force field around Nocturne, allowing the forces from the other Twilight Cage races to enter. Sonic's team destroys Charyb, while Knuckles' team kills Scylla, each winning a Chaos Emerald. Knuckles' team confronts Ix in his throne room, while Sonic's team comes in from a balcony to witness the fight. Sonic at first believes that Knuckles is betraying them, but is proven wrong when he watches them fight. Knuckles wins the fight, followed by Sonic fighting Ix, causing Ix to run. Sonic's team then gets a second chance to fight him, and also emerges victorious while Knuckles retrieves the Master Emerald. Ix uses the Nocturne to achieve a Super Transformation. Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and defeats him.

As Nocturne begins to fall, and is nearly destroyed, the team escapes in the Cyclone and heads back to earth. Once back in Metropolis, they find Eggman waiting for them with a rebuilt empire, who immediately attempts to shoot them down. Apparently, time moves much slower in the Twilight Cage and what seemed to be only a short while has actually been several years on earth, giving Eggman plenty of time time to rebuild his empire. The game ends with Sonic, Tails and Omega rambling about the makers of the game, and, as the team is about to confront the new Eggman Empire, the words "THE END?" appear on the screen, ending the game with a cliff hanger.

Characters

Image	Character	Biography
File:Sonic 141.png	Sonic the Hedgehog	The world's fastest supersonic hedgehog sports an attitude and a sarcastic grin. When his tour of the world is interrupted by a call for help, he knows he has no choice but to return at breakneck speed. Evil deeds to Sonic are like a red rag to a bull, and when his friends are caught up to it, there's no holding back.
File:Knuckles 35.png	Knuckles the Echidna	Believed to be the last of his kind, Knuckles is the stoic guardian of the Master Emerald. Despite being Sonic's rival, they've often worked together to recover the Master Emerald from the villains who sought to steal it. His spiky fists pack a mighty punch and enable him to climb vertical faces with ease.
File:Tails chronicles.png	Miles "Tails" Prower	Tails is a kid fox with two tails and a zeal with helping Sonic, who he has always thought of as a big brother. With Eggman out of the picture, his engineering skills have become unrivaled. His ingenious creativity has been put to good use during Sonic's extended absence, building wondrous mechanical marvels for the betterment of society.
File:Amy 13.png	Amy Rose	Amy is a pink hedgehog with a big heart and an unrelenting yearning for Sonic's affection on her own terms. Though generally good natured, she gets hot-headed when riled, and her weapon of choice, the Piko-Piko Hammer, can always be relied upon to make her feeling clear. She missed Sonic while he was away, but a lot can change over time.
File:Rouge 14.png	Rouge the Bat	Rouge is a sassy and flirtatious bat with an eye for jewels and treasure, and a knack for stealthily procuring them. She has been contracted by GUN (Guardian Units of Nations) via the president, which makes her an advantageous ally, though Sonic and friends feel better keeping an eye on their valuables when she's around.
File:Big 6.png	Big the Cat	Big is a giant cat who lives in a hut in the Mystic Ruins, and he spends his days fishing with his best friend Froggy. He's a little slow-witted, but doesn't pretend to be otherwise, and he always does right by his friends. He's enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the past few years, so he is apprehensive about having to leave his home on another adventure.
File:Cream 11.png	Cream the Rabbit	Cream is a well-mannered young rabbit with flapping ears that enable her to fly. She's rarely seen without her best friend; a dapperly attired Chao named Cheese. Though she detests violence in all its forms, there's no telling what she might do when the safety of her friends is threatened. Her favorite food is ice cream, which she would happily eat every day.
N/A	The Marauders	This group is filled with secretive and surreptitious criminals with black hearts and villainous intent, not to mention access to an array of highly unusual weapons and mechanical devices. Although they've been making their presence known in Central City of late, little else is known about who they are and what they're after. As Knuckles found out first-hand, they don't back away from a fight and they pose a formidable enemy for anyone who dares to stand in their way.

Gameplay

File:Battle in Sonic Chronicles.jpg

Battle scenario in a pre-release version of Sonic Chronicles.

File:Latest sonic prototype.jpg

The two different features of gameplay in Sonic Chronicles.

As with many RPGs, there are two main types of the gameplay feature: adventure fields and combat. In the adventure fields, a character is controlled by tapping the stylus where the player wants the character to go. Action bubbles appear when near obstacles that can be interacted with, and are used to traverse certain features of the environment, such as loop-de-loops. Navigation can also require a certain character to be in the lead for progress to continue, taking advantage of that character's special ability, be it flying, climbing, or dashing through loops. Puzzle elements also feature, allowing the party to work together to complete a task, usually involving pressing switches in various areas to make something happen.

Enemies can be seen walking around in the adventure fields. Depending on the party's level, enemies may be aggressive and move towards the player. If an enemy is touched, combat begins. Battles are fought in a close-up, turn-based battle arena. Standard attacks are available as well as special attacks, dubbed "POW Moves", which can be performed by following the on-screen prompts and tapping the stylus when and where you are indicated to. These moves use up "POW Points", in a manner similar to "Magic Points" in other RPGs. Both solo and team POW Moves exist. Team attacks require two, three, or all four characters, and drain POW Points from each. All of these POW moves require the player to perform real-time events on the touch screen with the stylus but are extremely powerful if performed successfully. Examples of individual special attacks include Sonic's Axe Kick and Knuckles' Uppercut, Some of the game's team special attacks include the Blue Bomber, which requires Sonic and Tails, and Hail Storm, the most powerful special attack in the game, which requires Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. After combat is complete, items are found, ranging from stat boosters to character equipment - equipable in one of three slots (hands, feet and accessories) per character. Experience Points are given at the end of each battle, and when a character levels up, their stats increase as well as their health and POW Points replenish. Players are also given a bonus point, which they can place in any stat that they wish: speed, attack, defense, or luck. Players are also given special attack points, which can be used to purchase POW Moves, or to increase the level of existing moves. Increasing the level of a move makes it more powerful, and increasing the chance that status effects will be inflicted.

Chao

Characters are also able to collect and equip up to forty different Chao, each with their own ability to enhance a party member's stats or other beneficial effects. The better a Chao's effect, the more difficult it is to find. These Chao are stored in the Chao Garden and, using the wireless connection, players can swap Chao they have collected with other players. Trading Chao also causes them to level up, increasing their stat boosts.

Characters

Classes

• Power: Characters in this class focus on attacking and have POW moves that are all focused in dealing damage to enemies. They regain 1 PP per action when defending.

• Shifter: Characters in this class are balanced between fighting and supporting the team but may lean more to one side within their attack POW moves and pure status effect causing moves. They regain 2 PP per action when defending.

• Support: Characters in this class have low attacking power and have POW moves that focus only on supporting the team or applying negative status effects on enemies. They regain 3 PP per action when defending.

Playable characters

Image	Character	Class	Stats (lvl. 1)
			HP	PP	Spd	Atk	Def	Lck
File:Sonic 141.png	Sonic the Hedgehog	Power	33	7	7	8	14	3
File:Amy 13.png	Amy Rose	Shifter	27	9	4	7	12	2
File:Tails chronicles.png	Miles "Tails" Prower	Support	27	9	5	7	20	2
File:Rouge 14.png	Rouge the Bat	Shifter	27	6	6	8	19	4
File:Big 6.png	Big the Cat	Support	50	7	4	6	10	2
File:Knuckles 35.png	Knuckles the Echidna	Power	33	7	5	6	14	2
File:Cream 11.png	Cream the Rabbit (optional)	Support	24	8	6	8	16	5
File:Robotnik 38.png	Dr. Eggman	Shifter	50	10	4	6	10	2
File:Shadow 26.png	Shadow the Hedgehog	Power	30	6	7	8	18	1
File:Omega 3.png	E-123 Omega (optional)	Power	36	7	4	7	12	2
File:Shade 2.png	Shade the Echidna	Power	52	6	5	8	22	2

Non-playable characters

• Guardian Units of Nations
  • GUN Commander
• Vector the Crocodile
• Gizoids
  • Scylla
  • Charyb
• Nocturnus Clan
  • Imperator Ix
    • Pir'Oth Ix's Super State
  • Nestor the Wise
• Zoah
  • General Raxos
  • Commander Syrax
  • Haniman
  • Gentleman
• Kron
  • Foreman Krag
• N'rrgal
  • Queen N'rrgal
• Voxai
  • Thebes
  • Overmind
• EggRobo (cameo)
• Swat Bots
• Black Doom (mentioned)
• Pachacamac (cameo)

Chapters

1. Hostile Reception
2. The Search for Knuckles
3. Egghunt
4. A Wolf in the Shadows
5. Battle for Angel Island
6. Black Hole Sun
7. Quest for the Chaos Emeralds
8. Sector Scylla
9. Sector Charybdis
10. Citadel Showdown

Development

Although both lead programmer Brook Bakay and BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk state the origin of Sonic Chronicles is "mysterious", both suggest it was a result of Zeschuk and BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka's friendship with Sega of America's then-president Simon Jeffery, and their passion to work on a project together. Accordingly, during one of their talks, the conversation shifted to Bakay and Zeschuk's interest in both the Sonic franchise, and creating a high-end game on a handheld system, which led to the idea of Sonic Chronicles.

Development officially began in 2006 when BioWare began to look into a handheld video game project to start, and at that point, had over thirty people involved. From the very start of development, one of BioWare's major goals for Sonic Chronicles was to win back former Sonic fans who had become disillusioned with the franchise's recent entries by reminding them of how "deep" and "interesting" the IP was. Another major goal was to create a Sonic game that stayed true to to franchise, while also adding an original and darker touch. This goal led to the creation of the Twilight Cage, introduced to the game as a way of bringing unseen characters and locations into it.

Bioware was given much room for creativity on the project through Sega, allowing the developers to fully tie Sonic Chronicles into previous Sonic entries. Most of the negative feedback from Sega concerned the look of the main cast in the game.

When developing Sonic Chronicles, the limitations of the Nintendo DS hardware created difficulties for BioWare, as many of the hand-painted backgrounds for the game were too large to hold in memory, and had to be broken down into smaller pieces as a result. The game's status as BioWare's first Nintendo DS title also resulted in the development team having to adapt to a different style of development than they were used to, developing a smaller game on a portable console under a tighter development schedule, as opposed to a larger game on a next gen-console under a long development cycle. As a result of these difficulties, the developers worked to give the game a visual style that celebrated the DS' capabilities, instead of working against them. Conversely, BioWare found that the DS dev environment made playtesting more efficient; with larger-scale console titles, they would often find themselves waiting over a week before they could do testing. With Sonic Chronicles, they could begin testing after a single night, allowing them to adjust and make changes more efficiently. Zeschuk stated that BioWare enjoyed developing for the DS overall and had more future plans for the system. The Real-Time Interactions during battles in Sonic Chronicles were inspired by other games on the Nintendo DS with similar features, such as Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and Elite Beat Agents.

During development, inspiration was taken from a variety of different forms of Sonic media, including the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics and its spin-offs, and the Sonic X anime series. Sonic X specifically inspired the character designs in the game, with many characters being drawn to resemble their appearance in the show.

File:Zoahdesign.png

Promotional artwork for the Zoah.

In February 2008, Sega announced that it would be giving fans the opportunity to vote on the name of a hostile alien race that would appear within the game. Until 4 March 2008, fans were able to visit Sega of Europe's Sonic portal, Sonic City, and vote for their preferred name. The winning entry in the contest was The Zoah, a reference to the town in Panzer Dragoon Saga. The name was initially suggested by Sega Nerds.

Preview

In a preview of the game featured in the February 2008 issue of Nintendo Power magazine, details were given on some of the game's features, as well as confirming its name. One of the details it confirmed was that there would be eleven playable characters, but only nine had been announced at that point. The interview also stated that the game would feature areas from previous Sonic games, ranging from classic fields such as Green Hill, Central City, Angel Island and Mystic Ruins, to new locations such as Blue Ridge Zone.

Sequel

As Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood ended on a cliff hanger, there was a great deal of expectation amongst fans that a sequel was being worked on. Shortly prior to the release of Sonic Chronicles, associate producer Dorian Kieken claimed that BioWare was ready to work on a sequel, and believed Sega would greenlight one of the original game sold well. Kieken also noticed that the team had a precise idea on what to do if a sequel was approved.

Kieken later confirmed that the sequel to the game was already being written, but under an unknown title.^{[citation needed]} However, it was then stated that no plans for a sequel were in the works. However, since EA acquired BioWare, plans of a sequel seem to have been dropped, and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood became a one-shot game. The cause of the sequel's cancellation is currently unknown, although it likely was a result of the legal issues caused by the incorporation of certain concepts into the original game.

In 2023, lead designer Miles Homes would reveal much of the rough plot for the cancelled sequel in an interview with Did You Know Gaming.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	75%
Metacritic	74%
Review scores
Publication	Score
1Up.com	A
Destructoid	6.0/10
Game Informer	8.5/10
GamePro	3.5/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star half.svgFile:Star empty.svg
GameRevolution	B-
GameSpy	3.5/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star half.svgFile:Star empty.svg
Hyper	4/10
IGN	6.5/10
Nintendo Life	8/10
Nintendo World Report	6/10
Official Nintendo Magazine	93%
PALGN	6.5/10

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood was generally well-received by critics, garnering a 74% average at aggregate site Metacritic based on 54 reviews, and a 75% average at GameRankings, based on 44.

The game received positive reactions in the area of graphics and environments, being "bright, colorful, and cheery", "undeniably nice-looking" with "slick presentation," and with cut-scenes that are "visually sharp." Chris Scullion of Official Nintendo Magazine called the game "a fantastic Sonic game" and "a superb RPG game in its own right."

As Sonic's first transition into the RPG genre, the overall scenario, including the game's story and dialogue, were received with mixed reception. Critics acknowledged that, compared to other games in the genre, the "chapter-based story is predictably lightweight and cartoony," and though interesting enough, it "takes a backseat to the actual gameplay." Combined with a generally low difficulty level, described as "phenomenally easy," the story and scenario were cited as a good reason that this entry would be suitable as a role-playing game for younger gamers. Reviewers also agreed that the story only begins to become more elaborate and interesting in the second half of the game. The cast of playable characters, who some reviewers acknowledged were less than well received in previous Sonic games, were generally received well, and were "well written and likeable."

Further to the reception of the RPG design, gameplay elements of the role-playing genre also received mixed reception. Some reviewers cited the "overbearing" battle system becoming "an annoyance," while others found the combat system a "joy," with a good difficulty level and "some great tension." The lack of multiplayer options, aside from the ability to share Chao, was also seen as a disappointment.

Adaptations

Archie Comics has made an adaptation of Sonic Chronicles titled "Invaders from Beyond", featuring the kidnapping of Knuckles. The short strip only covers this incident, thus serving as a prequel of sorts and ends by urging readers to buy Sonic Chronicles to find out "what happens next".

The characters and concepts of the game have also been adapted into the primary canon of the series, though they have thus far only been referenced in various comic issues. A fuller disclosure of information took place in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia.

References to Sonic media

When writing Sonic Chronicles, the team at BioWare decided to "open the Sonic toy box" by taking inspiration from several forms of Sonic media. Research materials for Sonic Chronicles included disks containing episodes of the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, Sonic Underground, and Sonic X. Additionally, many issues of the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comic series were used for reference, each with a "Property of BioWare Corp." sticker added onto it.

As such, some elements of the final game possess notable similarities to the aforementioned series of Sonic media:

Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)

• Swat Bots and Swatbot Mk. IIs appear as enemies in Sonic Chronicles, both of which are based on the Swat-Bots which regularly appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog television series. Additionally, they are referred to in-game as old Badnik models, a possible reference to their origin in early western media.
• Robodillos are stated to be "roboticized" creatures. The concept of roboticization originated from the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, and would go on to be mentioned in several other pieces of early western Sonic media, including Sonic Spinball.
• The Eggman Detector, Communicator, and Med Emitter items bear a striking resemblance to Nicole's handheld form which first appeared in the television series.

Archie Comics

• The Nocturnus Clan is heavily based on the Dark Legion, while Shade and Imperator Ix appear to be inspired by Julie-Su and Dr. Finitevus respectively. Nestor the Wise also bears some loose visual similarities to Locke.
• The Twilight Cage is likewise based on the Twilight Zone from the Archie comic series. Following the release of Sonic Chronicles, the Twilight Zone was renamed to the "Twilight Cage" to match up with the game.

Notably, these similarities would lead former Archie Comics writer Ken Penders to pursue legal action against Sega, BioWare and Electronic Arts, which in turn led to several lawsuits, culminating in his characters being rendered unusable in the comics, and removed from them following the Super Genesis Wave.

Sonic X

• The pieces of artwork and dialogue portraits used for the playable characters in Sonic Chronicles are drawn in a similar style to the promotional character artwork for Sonic X.
  • Additionally, three of Amy's dialogue portraits in Sonic Chronicles are directly based upon pieces of artwork used for her counterpart in Sonic X.
• In Sonic Chronicles, Shadow the Hedgehog is usually depicted with one less back quill than in his usual depictions. This design quirk originates from Shadow's Sonic X counterpart, who also lacks a quill compared to his original design in Sonic Adventure 2.
• In Tails' workshop, a flower pot can be seen with a small plant growing in it. The plant in question appears to be based upon Cosmo's seed, which Tails plants following the conclusion of Sonic X.
• The Blue Cyclone possesses a similar name and purpose to the Blue Typhoon.
  • Additionally, the later half of Sonic Chronicles' plot bears some resemblance to the third season of Sonic X, with both revolving around the protagonists traveling through space (or the Twilight Cage, in the case of Sonic Chronicles) and exploring various galactic bodies in an attempt to stop a cosmic threat.
• In the "prologue" section of Sonic Chronicles' manual, a screenshot of Angel Island from Sonic X is used.

Trivia

• Team Rose is mistakenly called "Team Amy" in the game.
• Dr. Eggman is never playable at the same time when Shade the Echidna is.
• Blue Ridge Zone, like Station Square, is named after a real-world location—the Blue Ridge Mountains.
• In the game's intro, Shade the Echidna is shown in the Mystic Ruins. This is impossible to achieve in the main game, because the player can't return to the Mystic Ruins after they unlock Shade. Also, a different section of the intro shows the team in Metropolis Ground Zero, but with only three characters on the team: Sonic, Amy, and Rouge. Normally, the team would had four characters long before this point. These are likely from a beta version, and were never removed from the intro.
• This game includes a lot of references to past Sonic features, such as Green Hill, the first version of the Tornado, Swat-Bots (from the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series and the comic series by Archie Comics), Metropolis Zone, Capsules, and a Sega Mega Drive, as well as Station Square in Blue Ridge Zone.
• After completing the game, the player can start a new game while inheriting some gameplay data aspects of that completed game file. This includes the following:
  • Levels of all characters (the total number of Points assigned to POW Moves is still reset for each character).
  • All Equipment, Consumables and Chao
  • All Rings collected via exploration (such Rings do not respawn).
• During Chapter 10, when facing the Gizoid Centurions and Prefect Charyb underwater, the characters involved will lose a lot of points in their Defense stats for the rest of the game. The effects carry over if a new game is started from the previous data, but because all the other characters start from level 1 again, only Sonic is affected by the carry over.
• This is the first Sonic game since Sonic R to have one of the emeralds appear in a different color such as orange and pink. The Japanese release of Sonic Chronicles changes the color of this emerald to match up with its traditional appearance.
• On the FAQ on the website for the English version, Vector is called "Vector the Alligator."
• Though the strategy guide confirms five Viral Chao, only Stugs has been officially allowed for use. The Japanese version added three in an easily obtainable manner, leaving only one unused in that version. All five are in the game data and can be glitched into the game via hacking.
• This is also the first game to feature Chao interactivity since Sega Superstars.
• Many of the musical tracks used in the game are remixed versions of themes from previous and the classic Sonic games. The reason for this is unknown.
• In Blue Ridge Zone, an old man says a boy named Timmy is in a well, an obvious reference to the 1980 film, "Lassie".
• One of the knickknacks in Nestor's home is a Sega Mega Drive controller.
• This is the second handheld Sonic game with artwork not done by current Sonic character artist, Yuji Uekawa, the first being Sonic Battle.
• Throughout the course of the game, the player has the choice to engage in a romantic subplot between Sonic and Amy.
• Chapter 6 is called "Black Hole Sun" in the game, is the title of a song performed by the American grunge band, Soundgarden, from their fourth studio album, Superunknown.
• The image in the top screen of the party selection mode depicts Amy drawn with normal gloves, like the ones Sonic wears, unlike the golden bracelets she usually wears.
• According to Ian Flynn, head writer on Archie Comics, the game takes place a few years after the main timeline; however, former Sega Europe community manager Kevin Eva stated that fans should consider the game an alternate universe due to its troubled production, but noted that the canon is essentially in constant flux at any given time for Sega's convenience.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia would later reiterate the above statement, describing Sonic Chronicles as a "non-canon adventure".
• Before the official launch, Sega released a Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood browser mini game for social networks like Windows Live, Facebook, and MySpace.
• In an early preview for Sonic Chronicles, it is stated that the game contains a remix of the Green Hill Zone theme from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Despite this, no such theme is present in the final game, with the Green Hill Zone map using its own unique theme as opposed to a remixed one. It is unclear whether a remixed theme was present in review builds of the game, or if the reviewer made an error.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official website (English) (archived)

Sonic the Hedgehog handheld games

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