On Wednesday this week a recent US patent was discovered that many rumoured to be the name of the new Sonic RPG planned for the Nintendo DS. Those utterings have turned out to be true as this week Nintendo Power has published a seven-page article on Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. We’ve got the first key details and scans below.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, reports Nintendo Power, takes the form of a turn-based battling RPG (there are no random battles, enemies can be seen in the field of play, like in Paper Mario). Teams consist of four party members at a time, although there are 11 in total and currently 7 are known (Sonic Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow and Big the Cat).

Attacks for all characters are specified before they are initiated in an attempt to keep the game’s momentum up, while special moves take the form of the Elite Beat Agents-style input. Team attacks are also possible, while levelling up and special attacks can be purchased with the currency of gold rings.

As for the title’s storyline, it is set two years after Sonic last defeat Dr. Eggman. Presumably while chilling out, Sonic gets a call from Tails who breaks the news that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group called the Marauders, and also that a total of six chaos emeralds are also missing. The magazine reveals that Dr. Eggman is not the main villain, possible because Bioware wants to re-introduce a bit of credibility into the character.

There are two acts, one taking place in the standard Sonic universe and another in a darker, more mysterious world. In addition, there is talk of a “twist” between Sonic and Dr. Eggman, something that alludes to their encounters in previous games.

Other snippets of information from Nintendo Power reveal that Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood includes side quests, characters with unique skills (floating Tails for example) and a control method that uses just the stylus (similar to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass). The graphical style is said to have a hand-drawn, watercolour appearance, a style complemented by “fully animated cut scenes” and remixes of classic Sonic tunes.

[Source: NeoGAF]

We’ll bring you more information on what is likely to become one of the Nintendo DS’ most anticipated titles of 2008 as we get it.

Have you high hopes for Sonic Chronicles? Let us know in the comments section below.