The dialogue is really good too; early on in the game you cross paths with Amy, who informs you that she has a boyfriend called Dexter that is much better than Sonic – yet when you meet the flirtatious Rouge the pink hedgehog is quick to get jealous. Another chat with Tails sees Sonic reminisce in Green Hill Zone, leading to a confused response from your friend: “Good times? You mean the countless occasions where Eggman’s turned our animal friends into slave robots and we had to fight them all?” BioWare brings up many aspects of Sonic’s past without being patronising in the slightest.
Gameplay is set up in two major segments; adventuring and battling. Controlling characters on the world map will be familiar to anyone who’s played The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass – the touchscreen is used for all direction, while certain character-specific actions can be executed using either any shoulder button or by pressing a virtual button on the touchscreen.
The maps are vast and varied, but sometimes it became confusing as to where we exactly had to go – a basic representation of the world you are in sits on the top screen, showing you objective markers and a fog so you know where you’ve been before. For example in Central City, getting behind a block of houses meant finding an underground subway that only Sonic could use. Perhaps it was due to the fact that our time with the game was cut short and we wanted to see as much as possible, resulting in plenty of questioning after five minutes of roaming where to go next.
You can have up to four characters in your party at any given time, and certain characters have skills that are unique to them, so switching between them on the world map is a must if you want to get anywhere. Sonic can take advantage of loops and tubes, Tails and Rouge can fly between gaps and Amy can smash obstacles with her Piko Piko Hammer. Savvy use of a certain party is certain to earn you special bonus items on the field, such as stat raising objects and equipment.
The bottom of the touchscreen hides a quick menu, that has options to save your game, use any items you’ve collected and access a journal detailing your next objectives in case you forget. SEGA wanted us to play the main game and told us to avoid an option we’ve not seen before – a Chao Garden. Various purple spotted eggs found in the world map seem to be linked to this side of the game, as every time we collected one we kept spotting an info screen informing us of a hatched chao…
The Battle system works differently, and plays like a cross between a Grandia game and Elite Beat Agents. Your current party lines up against an army of potential badniks, and the fight is split into “Rounds”. At the start of each round you get the chance to assign commands to each character, ranging from attack, defence, using items and special moves (known as POW moves). Once orders are set, everyone’s speed is taken into account and timeline of actions play themselves out.
During this time you will need to interact with your Nintendo DS depending on whether you are trying to pull off a POW special move or defending against an enemy’s POW. POWs are stackable abilities that characters can purchase using points they earn after levelling up. Using them in battle uses up PP, and their chances of connecting are dependant on whether you can input certain rhythm commands in time. You will either need to tap the screen in various areas in rhythm or touch and slide a big button across a path in order to execute or defend against a special move.
Some of the moves can be devastating and represent each character quite well. Sonic can obtain an Axe Kick where he Sonic Battle-kicks his enemy in the face, or can use Fastball, a combo move with Amy where Sonic is smacked with the Piko Piko Hammer into a badnik at great speed. Some of Amy’s moves, Tantrum and Low Blow, dealt heavy damage if connected and Rouge’s Distract move lowered an enemy’s stats by having her… er, apparently use her assets to her advantage. Tails had health POW moves and other support moves such as Tinker, which drastically lowers a badnik’s strength.