Nintendo Power V225

This is the February 2008 issue of Nintendo Power, labeled as Volume 225. It's featured articles included Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Alone in the Dark, Okami and Assassin's Creed. The issue also has fourteen other previews and ten reviews

Cover Story
The magazine had a huge preview for Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, an RPG developed by BioWare and published by Sega for the Nintendo DS. The story involves the disappearance of six of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles has also disappeared, kidnapped by a group called the Marauders. When Sonic discovers all of this he immediately goes to find out what’s going on. Most of the characters from the Sonic games will appear in the RPG. Besides Sonic and Knuckles; Tails, Amy, Rouge, Shadow, Big the Cat, and Eggman will make appearances. Rings can be used as a form of currency and familiar locations such as Green Hill Zone and Mystic Ruins will be in the game. A part of the game will take place in an alternate universe that is darker than Sonic games usually approach. A new character named Shade will also be involved somehow, however it is not known whether she will be friend or foe, or will be a possible playable character.

Battles will be the usual RPG fare, up to four characters fight enemies turn-based style. This game will be a bit different though in that the player chooses actions for every character in their battle party before they launch their attack and receive attacks from enemies. Characters can pull off special actions that require "Fatigue points". A single character can execute Power moves, which require player participation through the touch screen. Characters can also join together to create combination attacks. So far there are about 40 combinations and anywhere from two characters to the entire party will be involved. Each character will play a unique role in the game, whether it is through their abilities on the field map or their specialized attacks in battle. The game is expected to see a Fall 2008 release.

The article also includes an interview with the co-founders of BioWare, Dr. Ray Muzycka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk.

Other Highlights

 * Pokemon Snap was the Virtual Console staff pick of the month.


 * There was a preview of Alone in the Dark for the Wii console published by Atari and developed by Hydravision. The story follows the protagonist, Edward Carnby, as he tries to figure out how he has time traveled from the 1920’s to the 21st-century, awakening in monster-ridden New York City.


 * An article showcased the artwork from the upcoming Wii game Okami, which is being developed by Ready at Dawn. While there was no in-game footage, there were descriptions and corresponding artwork for a number of characters.


 * An article titled "Lost in Translation" listed noteworthy Japan-only handheld games that have not been released in America.


 * Super Mario Galaxy game director, Yoshiaka Koizumi, discusses Nintendo Power’s top ten favorite moments from the latest Mario platformer.


 * There was a preview covering the Assassin’s Creed prequel on the DS. The story centers on Altair and his attempts to retrieve “the chalice”, a mysterious object that has the power to end the Crusades and is wanted by both the Crusaders and the Saracens.


 * This issue had the second installment in Nintendo Power’s celebration of its 20 year existence. This installment explained how articles were put together in 1988 and used issue #2 as an example.


 * Power Profiles #10: Interview with Takashi Iizuka, a designer turned producer who helped create the NiGHTS and the Sonic the Hedgehog Games, and is now currently the head of Sonic Team.


 * Playback: A look back at Clay Fighter for the Super NES.


 * Next Month states that the March 2008 Vol. 226 issue will include results of the 2007 Nintendo Power Awards and an apparent top-secret RPG that will be the cover story next month.