Being a Sonic fan and a RPG fan, this was a match made in heaven...sort of...
As an RPG this game delivers. The battle system was different, but I really liked it. It makes battles go faster. Battles are fought in rounds. Depending on the speed of the characters thats how many turns you would get in that round. For example sonic usually got three turns, while Eggman only got one. In battle you could attack, defend, use items, and use POW moves. The Pow moves are just like magic in other RPG games. Battles run smoothly, and there aren't really any complaints about the battle system. So overall as RPG combat goes this game excells.
As far as everything else it feels just kind of average. The game is about 15-20 hours long, which is good for a handheld game. The story is pretty average. The chaos emeralds are stolen and its up to sonic and friends to get them back. (Sounds familiar doesn't it?)But that doesnt necessarily hurt the game. The ending was really weird, which ruined part of the game for me. The design of the game is pretty average. There are a little over 10 areas to visit and they are pretty small. Plus the game is pretty easy. The map tells you where to go. Its really hard to get lost in the game. Some puzzles and bosses are tough, but not to many.
If you are a sonic fan or RPG fan this will definitely catch your eye. It's fun, and fairly simple. But more than likely it will get looked over in this Fall's huge line up of AAA games. It does come across as very average. The combat system is a plus, but everything else feels mediocre. I feel a little dissapointed because I knew this game could've been epic (like Super Mario RPG!) but it fell short.