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Bioware Making a Sonic RPG on the DS
1up has the news that Bioware (makers of classic RPGs like Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights) is collaborating with Sega to make a Sonic the Hedgehog roleplaying game for the Nintendo DS. "Sega's latest effort clearly illustrates the company's increasing interest in (and reliance on) Western content developers and Western audiences ... Now all we need to do is sit back and wait for the patented Bioware mid-game reveal which unmasks Tails once and for all as the evil Dr. Robotnik. Who needs Mass Effect? When the angst-ridden backstory of Knuckles the Echidna is your muse, the world is your spiky-headed oyster." For the record? I need Mass Effect. Now.
It was bad enough when they started making Sonic about exploration, even though everyone who played Sonic to begin with liked it because it was about racing through pretty scenery and neat little set pieces as quickly as possible. Now they're making a Sonic game in the genre which is the complete antithesis of this style of game? Come on, Sega, you're killing me here.
On the bright side, if you're going to make a Sonic RPG, you might as well have BioWare do it.
Rob
I, for one, loved the first Sonic Adventure. It seems to catch a lot of flak these days, but remember that it got excellent reviews in its time.
That said, I can understand why fans of old school Sonic did not like the new direction of the series, even if it was quite well executed, and I readily admit that Sonic Adventure 2, Heores, etc. were less fun. I have high hopes for this new title - the change in genre doesn't bother me at all.
For a quick history lesson, Square did the same thing for the Mario franchise way back in 1996, with Super Mario RPG. It is widely regarded to be one of the best Mario games, and one of the best RPGs ever produced.
The fun bit is that it appealed both to first-time RPG players, and to experienced RPG veterans.
Now, if only Square (and the rest of the industry) would get its act together, and start releasing games for multiple consoles, I'll be a very happy man.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
Yeah, it's true. New Super Mario Bros was like a breath of fresh air for me, I haven't played a Mario game I liked since Super Mario World (I recognize the popularity of SM64, but I just think Mario should not be in 3-D. Ever.). Maybe the success of that game will lead to more 2-D platformers, here's hoping!
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
I wonder how the control scheme will work out for a Sonic RPG? Could Bioware make a battle system that mixes both RPG elements and the speed people want from Sonic games? Would there be a slew of attacks, possibly activated by the touch screen? In my opinion, this sounds like an interesting idea that could make for an awesome Sonic game.
I've thought the same thing, incidently thinking about it the day it was announced so it was quite a pleasent suprise to hear the announcement. As far as Bioware itself, yeah I guess Mario RPG style isn't really there thing, but then again they're quasi-real time combat style from KOTOR does seem a little better suited than (imho the superior) turn-based system. Atleast for a game staring Sonic as it's main character, it would.
I think they could pull this off, but they'd have to provide levels/zones/environments suited towards some rather well defined characters. We can't have Sonic fast just because he gets a +3 speed bonus over other characters for every level he earns. The RPG portion would have to run in the paths of abilities (like different jumps, rolls, attacks) rather than stats, levels and weapons (though it might work for some characters.) The environments themselves would have to be a lot more "on-rails" designed than other RPGs, or you again lose the feel playing as Sonic. Personally,I don't think an RPG really seem like it would work with Sonic, atleast not for everybody. A complex, traditional, multi-path RPG does however seem perfectly suited towards a certain villain of 300 IQ in the Sonic Universe...
Demented But Determined.