If Sonic the Hedgehog is renowned for anything, it's his speed; throughout the sixteen-bit era it was the pace of the Sonic games that set them apart from the rest of the platforming pack. Even now, with a slumping reputation and a growing back catalogue of less than exemplary next generation outings, the name Sonic is closely tied with the idea of rip-roaring speed. Story and characters are more often than not afterthoughts in a Sonic game; Eggman/Robotinik has stolen the Chaos Emeralds, you and your animal friends must get them back. It's a simple formula and one that's worked countless times, typified by the one button, jump and smash combat system. It makes sense then that the next step the series takes is into the story-, character- and combat-driven world of the RPG. Er, okay then.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood could have been a horrible mess, a hacked together mishmash of styles and ideas that didn't function as an RPG or a Sonic game; at least, it could have been if it was developed by someone other than Bioware, the legends behind such classic RPGs as Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect. Anyone who's played a Bioware game will know exactly what to expect from this title from the word go; turn-based combat, quests and side quests and a branching story line affected by the decisions that you make as you play. Add to these genre staples the Sonic universe and you end up with a game that should appeal to RPG aficionados and SEGA fanboys alike.

The story is a new one, involving the rise of a new enemy - the Marauders - and their plans to use the Chaos Emeralds for their own evil gain. There are plenty of twists and turns, as you'd expect, but the action and reveals flow along at a decent enough pace, with the story unveiling itself rapidly throughout each chapter of the game. There's not a lot of meat to the story but that's only to be expected, as this is a more child friendly Bioware game than we're used to, and the deeper, darker aspects of story that they often deal with have been abandoned in favour of a more black and white approach.

Unsurprisingly you play through the game as Sonic, guiding the titular blue hedgehog through a variety of different environments that will be instantly familiar to anyone who's ever played a Sonic game before. Your adventure begins in The Green Hill Zone and includes stops at the Mystic Ruins and Emerald Town, as well as all new areas such as the Blue Ridge Zone. Each of these areas is dramatically different from the next, with plenty of secret areas to discover and enemies to fight. Sonic is joined along the way by a variety of other cast members, from older characters like Tails and Knuckles to more recent additions to the family like Big the Cat and Shadow the Hedgehog, as well as a newcomer who plays too important a part in the story to mention here. Each of these characters possesses a different skill set; Sonic is fast, Knuckles can smash things and carries a ladder, Tails can fly, Big the Cat can become invulnerable. You can have a team of up to four characters at one time, so balancing out their abilities is essential. For example, there are places you can't get to without a ladder, or poison gas that only Big will be able to take you through. It's a simpler use of a mechanic that Bioware has used in its more 'grown up' games, and it works well here, forcing you to think tactically.

You must level up each of your characters individually, with XP, or experience points, gained from winning battles and completing side quests and parts of the main quest. The game controls a lot of the levelling but you're allowed to allocate bonus points to speed, attack, defence and luck, each of which has different effects in the game. Levelling up also lets you buy more POW moves - more on those later.

As well as helping you in your exploration, your team appear when there's fighting to be done. The combat mechanic will feel comfortable to anyone who's played a traditional computer or console RPG before, but it contains its fair share of surprises to keep even the most seasoned player on their toes. Battles are split into rounds, at the start of which you select the actions that your team will perform in that given round. You can attack an enemy, defend, try to flee or use one of the numerous potions and items in your inventory. You can also unleash a POW attack on your opponents, combo moves that require you to tap and slide your stylus across the touch screen at the correct time; the more accurate your stylus moves, the more damaging the attack. Different characters have different moves, some that require other characters to be present and others that are support moves, helping with healing or defence. You can only perform POW moves if your characters have enough PP, so deciding the best time to launch an attack can sometimes prove crucial in battle.

Sometimes when you've engaged an enemy, they'll try to run away, which opens up a simple race section where you have to tap the touch screen in order to make your characters jump over boxes and gain rings. If you catch up with the bad guys then you get to finish the battle, let them escape and it's back to the exploration screen without the XP or items you gain from defeating enemies. Another key element of the battle system are the Chao that you find in the exploration sections of the game. These little creatures, when hatched, can be bonded to a character, boosting their stats or performing a support role such as healing or PP regeneration for one or all of the team. With a good team and a decent selection of Chao, any enemy is beatable.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is, despite its name, a very bright game. Everything is presented in gorgeous primary colours, with clean cartoon lines and an understanding of the way that the Sonic universe works. The cut scenes are amongst the best I've seen, with some excellent use of the dual screen capabilities of the DS and almost comic book style box outs. The characters are all distinct and the design of the new enemies and allies fit in brilliantly with the world that SEGA has allowed Bioware to play in. The music and sound effects are spot on, aping an era of sixteen bit legends whilst still sounding fresh and exciting. The 'ping' you get every time you pick up a ring is still enough to bring a smile to the face of anyone old enough to remember the Nineties. As mentioned above, the environments are distinct and lovingly crafted, the whole package doing justice to the reputation that Bioware has earned from years of creating amazing games.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood could have been awful, but it's not. It's a joy to play, every bit the Bioware experience but mixed in with the instant arcade style thrills of Sonic's glory days on the Mega Drive. True, it's sometimes a little slow and suffers from the same problems that other RPGs are guilty of; every once in a while you will find yourself wandering around not really sure what it is you're supposed to be doing. My advice has to be persevere because if you keep going you'll be rewarded with one of the most entertaining RPGs ever to grace a handheld console. There are few games that make real use of the features of the DS, but Bioware has crafted a control system that feels fresh and intuitive, with some of the cleverest uses of the hardware since The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. Sonic Chronicles is a breath of fresh air in a genre so often dominated by stuffy warriors with giant choppers stumbling around brown dungeons shooting fireballs at Orcs, as well as being a new start for a character that has been so badly stalled by poor games. If you love RPGs then buy this game, if you love Sonic then buy this game, and if you're undecided about either then buy this game and fall in love.

Reviewed by Harry Slater for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).