If you were in elementary school during the early ‘90s you had a tough decision to make: Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog? Sorry, Keanu Reeves, but this was the real “red or blue pill” dilemma. Me? I chose the blue pill, spat it out after a few years, and gladly consumed the red one when Super Mario 64 came out. Considering that all of the Sonic games released within the last decade did not meet expectations, could this year’s Sonic Chronicles lure me back to the blue side?

The game has you guide Sonic’s ragtag team of talking animals (who all wear gloves for some reason) through several locales as they work together to battle Dr. Eggman’s alter-ego. Unlike other Sonic games, The Dark Brotherhood is a turn-based role-playing game (RPG), much like the Final Fantasy series. What differs from typical RPG is its battle system: You perform attacks by tapping and sliding across the DS’s touch screen like in Elite Beat Agents. This keeps you involved in every battle and becomes surprisingly addicting.

The enjoyable battle system of The Dark Brotherhood almost made me forget how truly mediocre the rest of the game really is. The story is forgettable at best and moves quite slow; it pretty much consists of playing fetch for a bunch of lazy people. The art, animation, and sound are in need of a good polish as well.

Overall, The Dark Brotherhood is a decent title that should tickle any Sonic fan’s fancy. If you’re looking for a satisfactory handheld RPG to pass some time then this could be your winner. What’s awesome is that you can play the game with only one hand, making it a must-have for any (and I mean any) liberal arts class. Just don’t come looking for me when you fail your next test.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS)
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: SEGA
Price: $35