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Sonic Frontiers Thread - PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by MykonosFan, May 27, 2021.

  1. Hamzawesome

    Hamzawesome

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    Imo, the Wisps have cemented themselves as the power-up for Modern Sonic, they've been part of the franchise for over 1/3 of its life at this point. They're used in Generations, Lost World, Runners, Forces, Team Sonic Racing, IDW comics and now you have Sonic Colors Ultimate and the Wisps animation coming soon. I would be shocked if they didn't make it into Sonic 2022.
     
  2. Beamer the Meep

    Beamer the Meep

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    Honestly, I don't mind the wisps too much. The main problems people seem to be having with them are that A. their appearance after Colors didn't seem to be explained, and B. The quality of Wisps in Lost World and Forces left something to be desired (Even if the Wispons were an interesting concept).

    For the first point, it was explained adequately enough in Runners that some chose to stay behind on Sonic's World. The problem with that is that it was a mobile game that Sega quickly trashed after Beta because hardly anyone played it. It's something they could hint at in Colors Ultimate if they care that much about it, which I doubt will happen.

    As for the second point, did we really expect much else from Sonic Team? I will give them credit for coming up with the Wispons as it's a creative take on the wisps as powerups, but both them and the wisps in Lost World are terribly implemented. They need to design powerups with actual, useful utilities like the sneakers and shield monitors have. The concept itself is sound and can be greatly expanded upon, it's just that Sonic Team for one reason or another can't seem to pull it off.

    I do expect the return of them in some form in this new game though. If it is an open-world game, there is the potential for more utility, like the spike wisp allowing Sonic to scale cliffs and so on. We just have to wait and see in all honesty.
     
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  3. Snub-n0zeMunkey

    Snub-n0zeMunkey

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    yeah honestly I'm a bit impressed we managed to get this much discussion out of such a short trailer lmao (thanks mostly to the leaks)

    don't really know what else I can say about 2022, other than I really hope the wait for more news won't be too long
     
  4. Blue Spikeball

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    I wouldn't mind the Wisps so much if they a) didn't break the flow and b) didn't result in Sonic's abilities getting gutted.

    They should have been optional powerups like the elemental shields, and they shouldn't be required for moves Sonic could perform on his own in previous games (I'm looking at the boost and Light Dash here).
     
  5. Frostav

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    I don't like wisps because they are all arbitrary extremely restrictive powers. They aren't even like the mario powerups that they're clearly cribbing from--when you get a fire flower in mario, you get an additional move and you're otherwise the same (...like the elemental shields in 3&K. Damn, Sonic already did this right decades earlier! :V). When you get a wisp, you are forced into a glorified minigame where you can do like two things at best. Rocket shoots you up. Drill drills. Laser auto-targets you through crap. Burst gives you effectively infinite jumps. They're so...boring. There's no way to use them in creative fashions. You get the wisp, you see the Arbitrary Obstacle they're designed to circumvent, and then you Do The Thing and pass it.

    They are also completely antithetical to the concept of flow that has persisted throughout almost the entire series. Sonic is defined by a sense of flow and momentum (even when the physics are not focused heavily on momentum itself) and the wisps are the literal antithesis of that concept, as well as the concept that Sonic has a simple moveset which he can utilize to clear anything in his way. And personally, I absolutely despise on their face mechanics in games that are extremely arbitrary and designed to circumvent one painfully specific kind of obstacle with zero creativity possible, and the wisps are the nadir of that kind of game design.

    Finally...I cannot help but notice that the wisps in Colors are almost exclusively used in 2D Sections, and this applies to Planet Wisp in Gens. In 3D they just kinda break entirely or are so highly limited (as in Forces with the wispons) that in a game focused heavily on 3D gameplay (obviously, an open world isn't going to have much 2D, though the cyberspace levels might though I hope to fucking god they don't :argh:) I don't see wisps working. But in any case, I'd like a Sonic game where Sonic's moveset is fleshed out enough to not need power-ups.
     
  6. BadBehavior

    BadBehavior

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    Yeah people compare them to Mario but in those games you don't gotta stop dead in your tracks to chuck a fireball or swing your tanuki tail. So Marios doing the whole "gotta go fast" shtick better than Sonic in that regard.

    Let the chortles of irony commence.

    If Iizuka/Kishimoto/Sega Execs (delete as appropriate) are putting a gun at Sonic Teams head forcing the Wisps back in, then at the absolute bare minimum they should be retooled so that no matter the ability, it doesn't impede Sonic's core moveset or the flow he has when activating. One top of my idea is, if this isn't a boost game, make Laser/Drill damage enemies when running at top speed.

    Or they could work like they always have and only work in the one specific section of the level, 99% of the time in 2D and have Sonic stop dead in his tracks when you use them, probably with some intrusive tutorial prompt, and take away all of Sonics abilities while he's using them like it's Balan Wonderworld. If Colours Ultimate gets like a 77 on metacritic, that's probably whats gonna happen. "People liked it that way, let's not change it"
     
  7. Josh

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    I like the Wisps! Laser is my favorite. They're cute. The announcer is fun, too. "MAXIMUM COLOR" was one of the coolest finales in the series. Wispons were a neat idea to integrate them into moment-to-moment gameplay better, though I didn't say it was a well-executed idea. But they were a nice fit for TSR, and I'm perfectly fine if they do (or don't!) come back for Chaos Rangers. I don't think it'll be the thing that makes or breaks the game.
     
  8. Hamzawesome

    Hamzawesome

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    Ironically enough, Sonic Forces fixed the "flow" problem of the Wisps by having them activate instantly instead of pausing the game. Of course it wasn't perfect and the game itself had like 50 other issues that prevented this one improvement from being obvious during gameplay, but it's still something.

    I think the reason why some people like the Wisps a lot is because of the variety they add to the gameplay, for better or for worse. Instead of playing through the entire game as just the blue Sonic with the same moveset, the Wisps allow for a change of pace and color in an attempt to keep people engaged with something new. It worked best in Colors, that's usually the game most casual Sonic fans seem to like.
     
  9. SonicGenesis89

    SonicGenesis89

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    I don't know if anyone else has noticed this or not but it seems that Sega were giving us some hints about the new 2022 game way before the teaser trailer came out.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Classic Sonic on the left would represent "Sonic Origins" while Modern Uekawa Sonic in the center would represent "Sonic Colors Ultimate" and lastly the new 3D Sonic render on the right would represent the new "Sonic 2022 game (Sonic Rangers)". The new 3D Sonic render on the right has the same blue glitchy / digital lines featured in the new teaser trailer and interestingly half of the word "Generations" also features this effect. They were giving us subtle hints all along but we were too blind to notice!
     
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  10. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Wisps could be fantastic exploratory tools in an open space. Like if you held onto them like you hold onto powers in Bowsers fury and could then use them wherever you want, in a 3D space that'd be pretty fun I think. It'd be a tad game breaking feeling but so what? I think it could be fun though to solve puzzles with different wisps too.
     
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  11. I think I'm just going to have to dip out of this one.

    I'm finding it hard to get excited about any Sonic news these days. I guess I don't want to admit it to myself, but I'm just not 'into' Sonic anymore.

    As much as the classics & Adventure 1 hold a special place in my heart, I think it's probably time for me to move on until another Mania style game comes along.

    I keep popping back occasionally to see what's going down but just can't get into it again, and I end up just moaning about the new games so I don't bother posting. I don't want to take away the enjoyment from the newer fans that grew up with the 3D series.

    Any other of the older folk on here feel the same way?
     
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  12. Trickster's Joke

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    Why is it a sacrifice, like why can't we just have a good game where we can play as multiple characters.
    If that's the stipulation we will never play as other characters again. I would rather just to be able to play as characters I enjoy. Then have some imaginary stipulation sega will never reach. Is all i'm saying
     
  13. foXcollr

    foXcollr

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    I get the feeling the Wisps won't be coming back in this game, but that's like 90% me just projecting expectations of what I'd like to see. I don't mind them too much, they're pretty cute and they worked well in Colors. But I feel like Forces kinda put them on the backburner with the Wispon thing, with Wisps themselves being absent from most of the game. I guess I just get the feeling they're trying to go in a different direction with the franchise (yet again) for this title, and Wisps will be relegated to a Chao-like role, canon critters that are only occasionally referenced, and for very niche reasons.
     
  14. Josh

    Josh

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    Not personally, but I always was able to find something to enjoy in even the worst games. Even some of my favorite games are 3D, haha. Nonetheless, do whatever makes you happiest, but I selfishly wish you'd stick around! Do you have any idea how outnumbered I feel these days? :V Oddly enough, I tend to find the most common ground with the younger people actively in the community, who grew up with Colors and Generations and the like, moreso than the mid-late 20s folks who want Sonic to go back to SA2. Colors, I remember, brought a lot of Oldbies who hadn't liked anything since SA1 (or earlier!) back into the fold, so it makes sense some of the new fans who came onboard there might have similar tastes.

    And of course, you can find people across all demographics who adore Mania. But believe me, I *definitely* understand feeling alienated by the state of things right now, so like I said, do what's best for you! :)
     
  15. Overlord

    Overlord

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    Gentle reminder to keep discussion on topic to the game =P
     
  16. I can relate.

    The classics through SA1 were, for lack of a better expression, "my era" of Sonic as far as I'm concerned. Like, I've enjoyed and appreciated sonic in many of his titles since but the former period is when Sonic was exactly what I wanted out of him. Honestly, since 2001 I've just been along for the ride, with Sonic taking unexpected and yet somehow predictably unsatisfying directions in that he's tried so many different things, and yet none of them have ever really gotten close to nailing it for me.

    Where we differ is that I have always wanted to experience the same "feeling" I got when playing the classic games, in 3D. The kind of skill mastery and fluid momentum gameplay within a vibrant world. What S3K nailed perfectly....what SA1 tried to do but failed and what we haven't seen attempted since.

    I don't think Rangers or whatever the final title will be, is necessarily that. But it does represent hope for me that ST is finally attempting much of what I've wanted since SA1 what it failed to do.... and it's successors didn't even try to do.

    So if this next game comes out and ST really just jumbles the controls and Sonic doesn't feel good to control and it's just a lazy copy of botw with no gameplay nuance.....that'll be even more disappointing to me than the last two decades of consistent mediocrity. If that happens, I'll probably join you. Hoping it doesn't though.
     
  17. LuckyLagomorph

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    While we don't have much info through more official channels, I'm still cautiously optimistic based on the info we've got from others. Throwing Sonic into an open world could be intriguing, as long as they actually fill that world up and it's not just flat/mildly hilly terrain with some trees and enemies sprinkled here and there just to make the map bigger than it needs to be.

    Of course it is hard to be optimistic since it's Sonic Team we're talking about and the vast majority of their more experimental Sonic titles felt half-assed. But at the same time the fact that it seems like they're willing to even try something different after playing it safe with Forces (And Lost World to an extent. That one felt more like a slightly-faster Mario game than a Sonic game) makes me kind of excited to see what they'll do this time.

    That said, still gonna wait for more concrete info before I get too excited over what could end up being a bad game. Like I said, it is Sonic Team we're talking about.
     
  18. Lozicle

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    This, though I'd see the wisps less like Mario power-ups and more like Link's tools. See a wall that needs breaking? Pull out the Bomb Wisp. See a laser crystal and wanna know where it leads? Use the Laser Wisp. Noticed a cave under the water? Use the Drill Wisp to swim through it (though hopefully it would control better than in Lost World). They would alter Sonic's core move-set, but if it's only for a few seconds, then I don't have a problem with them.
    I would like them to be permanent tools though, rather than them being like the CAPture powers in Mario Odyssey where you have to grab them everytime you want to use them, cuz then they would either have to be exactly where you need them, which makes the solutions too obvious (or reveals to you that the problem exists in the first place), or you'd have to go find them before you can use them, which could be tedious.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2021
  19. Blue Spikeball

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    I haven't read most pages, so this was probably brought up before, but just in case. Have people mentioned that the trailer seems to be showing or referencing the spincycle?

    You see Sonic's trail leaving a line, which he uses to form a circle at 0:20.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2021
  20. Blue Blood

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    Uh, yeah. That's one of the most convincing things about the leaks. Not only does Sonic form a circle with the trail, but the circle glow when it's completed whilst the part not in the circle does not. And on top of that, if you look closely during the "side scrolling" part of the trailer, Sonic does not perform a boost as it might first appear and actually warps away, potentially to the cyberspace area that the leaks discuss.