Sonic Frontiers is going to be one of those Sonic games I think. One that determines the direction of the series going forward, for better or worse.
The type of game that will have Youtube "Reviewers" make statements similar to "Sonic has had a rough transition to 3D", I mean it's not like certain Youtube "Reviewers" haven't already tried to completely shoot this game out of the sky like they're trying for a High Score in Duck Hunt.
Hell, I'm sure there will be a review in the near future that will completely demonize this game and refuse to see any remote positives whatsoever, because that's just what Sonic as a franchise gets at this point.
So moving on from this preamble, what exactly is Sonic Frontiers?
Well, I would make the comparison that it is what Sonic CD attempted to be. A sandbox game focused on using Sonic's movement in satisfying ways, but instead of having completely dogshit levels and the horrid Robot Generators, we have other, not spectacular collectathon stuff.
Yeah, I won't beat around the bush, the general collectathon stuff this game has you do isn't really too interesting. You mostly go through little obstacle courses and do short little bursts of Sonic to get a collectable, usually the one to progress the plot.
However, while these sections aren't really that amazing, the process of traveling in the open world is the most fun I've had in a 3D Sonic game since Generations in 2011. The sheer amount of flying off of things at super sonic speeds to traverse over miles worth of land all while doing air tricks is just inherently satisfying to me. Drop Dashing down a long slope and rolling super fast across the ground, using the maximum boost, all of it was just a joy for me.
They even fixed what I thought was most broken about the boost, that being that it no longer damages enemies. This forces the player to consider their movements more than they had to in the previous boost games.
It also puts an emphasis on combat which... isn't good, but it is nowhere near the sense of tedium and misery of Sonic Heroes. Combat is much faster, and very automated, which while resulting in a boring CAG feel, is much better than the absolute sloggy shit from Heroes and 06 where enemy health bars were massive and took so long (and in Heroes' case you had to do everything FOUR FUCKING TIMES OVER).
The Cyberspace Levels were fun, but yeah they're not nearly as good as Generations, made even more noticeable when the game outright uses level design from that game wholesale with barely any changes. The best levels were easily the ones referencing SA2, but even then I still don't like one specific thing about them.
The Cyberspace Levels only have 4 aesthetics, two of which I am already tired of.
Short little rant here: I am so tired of seeing Green Hill and Chemical Plant. They've been borderline stock aesthetics for Sonic for the past half decade now and I am fucking exhausted of seeing them. Please, Sonic Team, use any other fucking level aesthetics I beg of you. I get that Green Hill and Chemical Plants are staple levels of the franchise but still, they've been overused so much to the point of just being a visual bore.
Another major issue I have with this game does come down to the worlds themselves aesthetically. None of the worlds feel like a place Sonic would belong.
For what I think, and keep in mind this is just me being subjective, a better concept would be to use the "Zone" concept of the classic games to have Sonic go through more colorful areas, and have them all connect to one another like a Metroidvania. That way we can have beautiful, cartoony areas to run through with hopefully less melancholic music as we blaze through loops and the like.
This is because while I enjoy boosting through these islands, I still think that they don't suit Sonic as a character. Maybe that's the point, but I'd still prefer something that goes back to the visuals of Classic/Adventure Era Sonic, or hell even the early boost games like Unleashed and Colors, because what we have in this game is just incredibly forgettable as a world.
Boss Fights are peak, I'm not gonna spoil on that, just know I think they're peak.
The plot itself, while I don't think is super deep, I do like how the characters all interact. For the first time in years we probably have the best character writing I've seen in a Sonic game. They don't feel like one-dimensional jokes, but rather multifaceted people all with their own sets of problems. Amy goes from being one of the most obnoxious characters to being a sensible girl who wants to spread positivity to the world around her, Knuckles and Sonic easily have my favorite dynamic in the entire game with their rivalry being given a good focus as we see them goof off with one another and even having Knuckles have an introspective moment on his place in the world. They even fixed the problems with Tails that were made in Forces, making him not fully dependent on Sonic, and given that Tails is my favorite Sonic character, this made me super happy.
If I had to say who the best written characters were though, the relationship between Eggman and new character Sage takes the cake. I will not go into details, though I will say it's kind of fucked up that the stuff showing their relationship is locked behind Big the Cat fishing, because it's so fucking good.
Oh yeah, Big the Cat fishing, almost forgot. This is basically an alternate way to get the collectables the game provides. It's really simple and honestly a relaxing break, it also is the only way to get the Eggman Records which I definitely recommend getting.
The ending too, god it's so good.
Minor Spoilers Ahead:
Firstly, this game gets the "forced shmup section" right by
A. Having you experience the gameplay multiple times before hand so you get practice instead of it completely blindsiding the player.
B. It's essentially optional as it's only in the Hard Mode of the game, and there isn't anything other than a different ending theme locked behind it.
This is how you get me to want to play shmups, not shoving the shit in at the last minute and calling it a day, resulting in a complete halfassed section.
Then there's the scene right before the credits...
Egg
Spoilers over
I'm sure in time this game will be culturally reevaluated as either the game that sent Sonic down an even worse downward spiral or as the beginning of a new era of Sonic titles that people genuinely enjoyed. I'm hoping for the latter, but as a Sonic fan, I can never be too sure.
There was another review I saw here that complimented how Sonic as a franchise is always experimenting, and how admirable that is. I think that's ultimately what's kept me coming back to the Blue Dude in these past 10 years. Regardless of whether it absolutely sucks or is a great time, Sonic isn't afraid of shaking things up. It's what makes it more than just another platformer to me.
So I salute you Frontiers, may you be the stepping stone to a brighter future to the Snarky Speedster.
The type of game that will have Youtube "Reviewers" make statements similar to "Sonic has had a rough transition to 3D", I mean it's not like certain Youtube "Reviewers" haven't already tried to completely shoot this game out of the sky like they're trying for a High Score in Duck Hunt.
Hell, I'm sure there will be a review in the near future that will completely demonize this game and refuse to see any remote positives whatsoever, because that's just what Sonic as a franchise gets at this point.
So moving on from this preamble, what exactly is Sonic Frontiers?
Well, I would make the comparison that it is what Sonic CD attempted to be. A sandbox game focused on using Sonic's movement in satisfying ways, but instead of having completely dogshit levels and the horrid Robot Generators, we have other, not spectacular collectathon stuff.
Yeah, I won't beat around the bush, the general collectathon stuff this game has you do isn't really too interesting. You mostly go through little obstacle courses and do short little bursts of Sonic to get a collectable, usually the one to progress the plot.
However, while these sections aren't really that amazing, the process of traveling in the open world is the most fun I've had in a 3D Sonic game since Generations in 2011. The sheer amount of flying off of things at super sonic speeds to traverse over miles worth of land all while doing air tricks is just inherently satisfying to me. Drop Dashing down a long slope and rolling super fast across the ground, using the maximum boost, all of it was just a joy for me.
They even fixed what I thought was most broken about the boost, that being that it no longer damages enemies. This forces the player to consider their movements more than they had to in the previous boost games.
It also puts an emphasis on combat which... isn't good, but it is nowhere near the sense of tedium and misery of Sonic Heroes. Combat is much faster, and very automated, which while resulting in a boring CAG feel, is much better than the absolute sloggy shit from Heroes and 06 where enemy health bars were massive and took so long (and in Heroes' case you had to do everything FOUR FUCKING TIMES OVER).
The Cyberspace Levels were fun, but yeah they're not nearly as good as Generations, made even more noticeable when the game outright uses level design from that game wholesale with barely any changes. The best levels were easily the ones referencing SA2, but even then I still don't like one specific thing about them.
The Cyberspace Levels only have 4 aesthetics, two of which I am already tired of.
Short little rant here: I am so tired of seeing Green Hill and Chemical Plant. They've been borderline stock aesthetics for Sonic for the past half decade now and I am fucking exhausted of seeing them. Please, Sonic Team, use any other fucking level aesthetics I beg of you. I get that Green Hill and Chemical Plants are staple levels of the franchise but still, they've been overused so much to the point of just being a visual bore.
Another major issue I have with this game does come down to the worlds themselves aesthetically. None of the worlds feel like a place Sonic would belong.
For what I think, and keep in mind this is just me being subjective, a better concept would be to use the "Zone" concept of the classic games to have Sonic go through more colorful areas, and have them all connect to one another like a Metroidvania. That way we can have beautiful, cartoony areas to run through with hopefully less melancholic music as we blaze through loops and the like.
This is because while I enjoy boosting through these islands, I still think that they don't suit Sonic as a character. Maybe that's the point, but I'd still prefer something that goes back to the visuals of Classic/Adventure Era Sonic, or hell even the early boost games like Unleashed and Colors, because what we have in this game is just incredibly forgettable as a world.
Boss Fights are peak, I'm not gonna spoil on that, just know I think they're peak.
The plot itself, while I don't think is super deep, I do like how the characters all interact. For the first time in years we probably have the best character writing I've seen in a Sonic game. They don't feel like one-dimensional jokes, but rather multifaceted people all with their own sets of problems. Amy goes from being one of the most obnoxious characters to being a sensible girl who wants to spread positivity to the world around her, Knuckles and Sonic easily have my favorite dynamic in the entire game with their rivalry being given a good focus as we see them goof off with one another and even having Knuckles have an introspective moment on his place in the world. They even fixed the problems with Tails that were made in Forces, making him not fully dependent on Sonic, and given that Tails is my favorite Sonic character, this made me super happy.
If I had to say who the best written characters were though, the relationship between Eggman and new character Sage takes the cake. I will not go into details, though I will say it's kind of fucked up that the stuff showing their relationship is locked behind Big the Cat fishing, because it's so fucking good.
Oh yeah, Big the Cat fishing, almost forgot. This is basically an alternate way to get the collectables the game provides. It's really simple and honestly a relaxing break, it also is the only way to get the Eggman Records which I definitely recommend getting.
The ending too, god it's so good.
Minor Spoilers Ahead:
Firstly, this game gets the "forced shmup section" right by
A. Having you experience the gameplay multiple times before hand so you get practice instead of it completely blindsiding the player.
B. It's essentially optional as it's only in the Hard Mode of the game, and there isn't anything other than a different ending theme locked behind it.
This is how you get me to want to play shmups, not shoving the shit in at the last minute and calling it a day, resulting in a complete halfassed section.
Then there's the scene right before the credits...
Egg
Spoilers over
I'm sure in time this game will be culturally reevaluated as either the game that sent Sonic down an even worse downward spiral or as the beginning of a new era of Sonic titles that people genuinely enjoyed. I'm hoping for the latter, but as a Sonic fan, I can never be too sure.
There was another review I saw here that complimented how Sonic as a franchise is always experimenting, and how admirable that is. I think that's ultimately what's kept me coming back to the Blue Dude in these past 10 years. Regardless of whether it absolutely sucks or is a great time, Sonic isn't afraid of shaking things up. It's what makes it more than just another platformer to me.
So I salute you Frontiers, may you be the stepping stone to a brighter future to the Snarky Speedster.