Editing Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (section)

==Development==
Although both lead programmer Brook Bakay and [[Wikipedia:BioWare|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/Sega of America|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 the Hedgehog series|Sonic]]'' franchise, and creating a high-end game on a handheld system, which led to the idea of ''Sonic Chronicles''.<ref name="DTOID1">{{Cite web|last=Sterling|first=Jim|title=Dtoid Q&A: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood – Destructoid|url=https://www.destructoid.com/dtoid-qa-sonic-chronicles-the-dark-brotherhood/|archiveurl=https://www.destructoid.com/dtoid-qa-sonic-chronicles-the-dark-brotherhood/|work=[[Wikipedia:Destructoid|Destructoid]]|date=26 August 2008|accessdate=4 January 2024|archivedate=8 January 2009}}</ref><ref name="NP">{{Cite web|last1=Zeschuck|first1=Greg|last2=Muzyka|first2=Ray|title=Sonic's New Friends|work=''[[Nintendo Power]]'' #225|date=February 2008|accessdate=4 January 2024}}</ref>

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.<ref name="igninterview"/> 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.<ref name="DTOID1"/> 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.<ref name="PALGN1"/>

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.<ref name="DTOID1"/>

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.<ref name="DTOID1"/> 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.<ref name="PALGN1">{{Cite web|last=Rositano|first=Joseph|title=Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Interview|url=http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=12392|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218170104/http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=12392|work=Palgn|date=6 September 2008|accessdate=4 January 2024|archivedate=18 December 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Gamespot1">{{Cite web|last=Ramsay|first=Randolph|title=Q&A: BioWare on Sonic Chronicles - GameSpot|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-bioware-on-sonic-chronicles/1100-6197173/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119020840/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-bioware-on-sonic-chronicles/1100-6197173/|work=[[Wikipedia:GameSpot|GameSpot]]|date=2 September 2008|accessdate=4 January 2024|archivedate=17 December 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Power Profiles #19: Greg Zeschuk & Ray Muzyka|url=https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/File:Nintendo_Power_234_pg._86.png|publisher=[[Nintendo Power]]|pages=86|issue=234|date=November 2008|accessdate=14 September 2024|quote='''Zeschuk:''' We've had a great time working on the DS and will definitely continue working on it in the future. One of the most refreshing things about the platform was the pure speed at which things move; often we would work on some big changes in the game as we iterated on the gameplay, and where we'd often have to wait a week or so on consoles to see any change, we'd be able to play the new version on the DS the very next day. This ability for tight iteration loops really helps us try out new things and make even better games!}}</ref> The [[Real-Time Interaction]]s during battles in ''Sonic Chronicles'' were inspired by other games on the Nintendo DS with similar features, such as ''[[Wikipedia:Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time|Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass|The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]]'', and ''[[Wikipedia:Elite Beat Agents|Elite Beat Agents]]''.<ref name="PALGN1"/>

During development, inspiration was taken from a variety of different forms of Sonic media, including the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' television series, [[Archie Comics|Archie]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comic series)|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.<ref name="Devdiary2">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uevIMlWA1GE |title=Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DEVELOPER DIARY # 2) |work=YouTube |date=19 September 2008 |accessdate=4 January 2024}}</ref><ref name="Sonictoybox">{{Cite web|url=https://youtu.be/iB4AW6-2R-I|title=Sonic Chronicles - Behind the Scenes 1|publisher=[[Sega]]|work=YouTube|accessdate=26 August 2022|date=5 September 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Zoahdesign.png|thumb|225px|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2008/02/19/sonic-chronicles%E2%84%A2-a-race-to-name/|title=SONIC CHRONICLES™ A RACE TO NAME|author=ArchangelUK|date=19 February 2008|work=Sonic City Blognik|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524074919/http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2008/02/19/sonic-chronicles%E2%84%A2-a-race-to-name/|archivedate=24 May 2011|accessdate=3 July 2023}}</ref> Until 4 March 2008, fans were able to visit [[Sega|Sega of Europe]]'s ''Sonic'' portal, ''Sonic City'', and vote for their preferred name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2008/03/04/sonic-chronicles-race-to-name-poll-is-live/|title=Sonic Chronicles: Race To Name - POLL IS LIVE|author=ArchangelUK|work=Sonic City Blognik|date=3 March 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216110934/http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2008/03/04/sonic-chronicles-race-to-name-poll-is-live/|archivedate=16 February 2008|accessdate=3 July 2023}}</ref> The winning entry in the contest was '''The Zoah''',<ref name="zoahname">{{Cite web|work=Sonic City Blognik|url=http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2008/03/19/zoah-far-zoah-good-the-winner-is-announced/|title=Zoah Far… Zoah Good - The Winner Is Announced|author=ArchangelUK|date=19 March 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524072729/http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2008/03/19/zoah-far-zoah-good-the-winner-is-announced/|archivedate=24 May 2011|accessdate=3 July 2023}}</ref> a reference to the town in ''[[Wikipedia:Panzer Dragoon Saga|Panzer Dragoon Saga]]''. The name was initially suggested by Sega Nerds.<ref>{{Cite web|work=Sega Nerds|url=http://www.seganerds.com/2008/03/19/sonic-chronicles-naming-contest-results-now-in/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625014850/http://www.seganerds.com/2008/03/19/sonic-chronicles-naming-contest-results-now-in/|archivedate=25 June 2009|title=Sonic Chronicles naming contest - Results now in!|author=Graham|date=19 March 2008|accessdate=19 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2008/03/21/sonic-chronicles-a-race-to-name-final-name-announced/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216110946/http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2008/03/21/sonic-chronicles-a-race-to-name-final-name-announced/|work=[[Sega]]|archivedate=16 February 2009|title=Sonic Chronicles: A Race to Name- Final Name Announced!|author=Clumsyorchid|date=21 March 2008|accessdate=21 March 2008}}</ref>

===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,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood info|url=http://gonintendo.com/?p=33179|author=rawmeatcowboy|work=GoNintendo|date=11 January 2008|accessdate=3 July 2023}}</ref> 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===
{{Main|Untitled Sonic Chronicles 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 [[Ken Penders' legal cases|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''.