Sonic SatAM setting + FFIII level graphics FTW.

What the…? It’s not even close to April Fool’s.

When I first read this I was saddened. I don’t care that a Sonic RPG is being made, but I do care that Bioware is putting resources into it. I’m sure many people will be excited (and Bioware being involved surely gives it a good chance), but I don’t know.

Sonic is seriously in one of the most obnoxious universes ever… most people can’t even stand his friends to begin with. Having to actually talk to them on a regular basis and probably run around even less than ever before is not something I would look forward too.

But, whatever, they’ve shown nothing of it and obviously I’m just being pessimistic. I’m still interested in seeing where they go with it.

“sonic rpg” is practically an oxymoron. this should be very interesting.

WTF? Story-driven games killed the series, and now they’re making an RPG?

Wow, freakin’ awesome.

I wouldn’t mind if other companies would start making (good) platform games and shoot’em ups based on their RPGs. I’m well aware this will never happen though.

I’m excited- never was a sonic fan, but if it’s something like Paper Mario for the DS, it could be awesome
More action RPGs, plz!

“Cautiously optimistic” - yeah, that about sums it up for me.

Unfortunately I despise all the characters in the Sonic Universe. I only like the (classic) gameplay. I will most likely be passing on this one.

I think the correct and only feasible response is, “…What?!”

Please god, no. I will sacrifice myself if it will stop this from happening.

@Howard Roark: I couldn’t even get the whole word. I just got a “…wha?”

I suppose I’d be more excited if I actually liked any of Bioware’s games. I never got a chance to play Jade Empire, and Knights was WAY too damn slow in gameplay for my tastes.

SO, we take Sonic, the fastest thing alive, and mix it with Bioware, who tells long drawn out, intricate stories through mind numbingly slow gameplay.

…This will not end well.

This seems like a non-news story. Any sonic game announcement is sort of blah now, let alone something “fresh” like this.

Not excited.

If Bioware were EVIL.. you wouldn’t even play as Sonic. You would create a Freedom Fighter of your own and work with Sonic and friends to accomplish various missions inside Robotropolis and beyond.

Of course.. this would mean that it would use the SatAM settings. Which I actually like.

Interesting, I would have never expected this particular partnership, but I will await it eagerly, mainly to see what Bioware do. Hopefully it will be set back at the old games, with the focus on the Mobius of old rather than the new-fangled clap-trap Sonic Team have spat out lately - and I never thought as a die-hard SEGA fan, I would ever be saying that.

It does make me a little sad though, to me it seems like a admission from SEGA’s top design team that they can no longer provide what makes the francise good anymore. But at least they are acknowledging their problems and outsourcing it, if Sonic were just the Sonic of old, over and over for the last 15 years, people would complain about it just as adamantly as they did about Sonic on the 360. Its time Sonic did something right.

I’ll take OMGWTF for $500, Alex.
But seriously, this is a bit of an oddball. The Sonic fighting game Sonic Team made was surprisingly good, but a full fledged Sonic RPG made by Bioware? Who knows

Story driven games killed the series… >_> You forget that the Sonic Adventure titles weren’t all that good.

To all you guys that think this is a bad idea:

Have you already forgotten what Square did with Mario? Super Mario RPG remains the best Mario RPG ever made, even after the “Paper Mario” and “Mario and Luigi” series.

A Sonic RPG made by the same guys as KOTOR and Jade Empire? Yes, please.

Super Sonic RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Super Sonic RPG: Legend of the Chaos Emeralds

Hehe thats better

You guys keep saying that story-driven games killed the Sonic franchise, but wasn’t it SEGA themselves writing the story? This time, it’s Bioware writing it. I have full confidence in them making the story worthwhile.

What I am NOT sure of, is gameplay. I mean, how could you do a decent Sonic RPG? Mario worked because his gameplay as always been much slower. But RPGs are hard to do with that much speed since it limits the detail in the environment and makes balance impossible. Oh well, we’ll just have to see what happens.

To add to what dead_prophet said:

Remember, Knights of the Old Republic was even better received than Episode I, which was made by Lucas himself!

@Lemond:

You bring up a good argument, but you’re missing two key points:

1. EVERYTHING Star Wars that Lucas has little to no involvement in is better than anything Lucas himself has done within the last 10 years. So, really, that’s not a fair statement.

2. You do bring a valid point about Sqaure giving birth to the Mario RPG series. And in fact, Mario RPG (along with Chrono Trigger) is the reason I really got into video games. However, there is a significant difference between Mario and Sonic.

Now, some people will argue it was story that killed Sonic. I suppose there’s a ring of truth to that, but I would disagree (personally, I enjoyed Adventure 2, Heroes, and the Secret Rings, along with Rush. But that’s just me, and I’m in a small minority apparently). But that isn’t the argument I will make here.

My problem with Sonic as an RPG versus Mario, as dead_prophet already explained, is that the Mario RPGs worked because there wasn’t a huge alteration to the gameplay mechanic. You would have to pause and go to a different screen to engage the enemy, but once you were there it wasn’t much more complicated than standard affair. Sonic, on the other other hand, would really need a gameplay overhaul (or some VERY creative minds, which, admittingly, Bioware is) to keep aspects of Sonic that made it so popular without alienating the fans, and at the same time keep RPG players interested. That’s a hard balance to work with.

NOW…a cool idea might be Sonic attacks while he’s moving. I mean, maybe you could use the stylus to select an attack, target an enemy, and then watch Sonic take them out…all while he happens to be moving. That would be kinda neat. And if they make it timed or incorporate button mashing or something, they may even keep it in tone with the series.

But again, I’m worried because you’re taking two ENTIRELY different genres and meshing them together…it’s like Mario Kart RPG. It just isn’t natural.

On a side note: I do retract my previous Bioware comment…somewhat. I didn’t like Knights, but I AM excited for Mass Effect. That looks cool.

So let me make sure I have this right: they’re taking a game that has always focused on speed and making it into an RPG, which IMHO is one of the slowest-moving genres around. They’re taking a game in which the story is bearable at best and making that story the central element of the game. WTF?

Can Sega please stop raping its beloved franchises and go back to developing original, innovative titles now? Pretty please?

Bioware’s Jade Empire is a good example of a ‘fast-paced’ RPG design.

In fact, the Jade Empire model makes more sense for Sonic. One main character engaging in real-time battles, with a ’support’ party member who may or may not assist in battle, depending on the nature of the assist.

As to why Bioware… I do not think it is an admission that Sonic Team is losing talent, rather I think this was a move to capture a larger, Western audience. With Bioware’s pedigree, it only makes sense that this is one game that will probably sell more in Europe and North America than in Japan, where Square Enix practically owns the RPG genre.

This will be an odd game indeed. I’m use to Sonic being a platformer, oh well, after World of WarCraft anything is possible.

If the transition of a RTS to MMORPG could of successfully occurred, why not platformer to RPG?

I’ll be sure to check this out once it’s released.

A lot of people are fearing how Sonic’s speed is going to be used in an RPG, which are generally slow-paced. You all seem to think that it’s going to be turn-based battles, completely sacrificing speed.

Am I the only one that thinks, with one of the best RPG Developers (especially in the West), they could be onto a very interesting twist on the genre? I’m not frightened by the concept, I’m looking forward to see what they come up with.

I know that a lot of people are pretty down on SEGA these days, but really, it’s not ENTIRELY their fault. I mean, the Dreamcast was one of the most innovative, foward-thinking systems ever, but the public shunned it. Not only was the system innovative in that it was online out of the box and had some sweet VMU action going on, it had some truly original games — Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Chu Chu Rocket and plenty more — that took huge risks and again the public paid no attention. So, I guess the SEGA we’re seeing today makes sense after the company was burned so badly with the Dreamcast. They’re playing it safe and trying nothing new, although perhaps this announcement of a Sonic RPG inidicates that SEGA is testing the waters somewhat in order to get a feel for whether or not we’re all ready for the company to once again try making some risky decisions.