Frontiers Limited Edition 4LP Vinyl available now. It'll probably sell out on about 30 minutes. 2LP version also available, and will probably be available for considerably longer. Edit: lol its been about 90 minutes and it's still available. Still not sure how long you've got though. Edit 2: 118 minutes and it's now sold out.
There's a Magic: The Gathering card I have whose flavor text is along the lines of "art is never finished, merely abandoned" and IMO that's also totally true for programming and other team efforts. In the home stretch. I still can't believe I'm hyped for this. I hope it turns out well, it comes out next month right?
We got a bunch of new Frontiers screenshots (featuring Knuckles and Tails): https://twitter.com/TailsChannel/status/1584536415001616384?s=20&t=olaXJ91qCZZz8hwgIe3LfQ Edit: And new Frontiers gameplay from iGN:
Okay so I've watched the recent Sonic Frontiers Previews. Everyone who knows me is aware that I've been very critical about this game. I think the combat looks subpar. I think the open world exploration looks dull. Etc. But I can't deny that this game has gotten good preview reception. Consistently since people have gotten hands on gameplay. Both from general gamers (Sonic fans and otherwise) and from critics. The most recent wave of previews are positive. Even from IGN. That can't just be waved away. It does seem to be the case that the game is enjoyable to play. Also the more I see the game the more I like the aesthetics. Especially the music. But visually it looks very nice. The sunset Sky Sanctuary looks beautiful. Asset reuse won't be as bad if they actually do interesting aesthetic choices with filters and atmosphere. The more complex Green Hill cyberspace level looks promising. If the Cyberspace levels get more complex as the game progresses that would be a big positive. A big worry I had for Cyberspace levels is that they would all be Forces esque. So I know this may sound incredible but I think I'm starting to understand the appeal of this game. I still have a lot of concerns about the combat and exploration. Still, I'm probably going to buy the game when it comes out (unless it gets horrible reviews). Imagine if I end up loving it. Lol!
That sky sanctuary definitely looks like Generations Sky Sanctuary Act 1. Curious if cyberspace will reuse any other levels besides the Genesis era from Generations. Also, Arcade mode? A quick back to back way to play the more traditional stages? Brilliant, this game needed exactly that.
Yeah I'm a bit worried since the IGN preview mentioned he only saw GHZ, CPZ, and the Cyber City aesthetics. I feel like I read about someone playing a rooftop run style level?
There is entirely too much 2D in this video, holy shit lol. Like I naively hoped they wouldn't be any 2D action in the main gameplay at all, so this video was certainly slapped me back to reality. Oh well... Everything else looks amazing tho, and the arcade mode is exactly what the game needed to maintain the series' traditional high replay value. Having to run around in the overworld every time you want to replay a specific stage would've killed a lot of repeated playthrough, for me at least. I'll replay the game from scratch every once in a while of course, but I think most of my play sessions after finishing it will be with the cyberspace stages. (And they went above and beyond, too! A simple level select ala Unleashed would've been quite enought for me haha) edit: the new Green Hill stage looks fucking amazing, what the hell?! More of that, please and thank you!
The Sky Rail level design has me super intrigued for what else may be in store… I wonder how Sonic operates in the SA-style levels.
Ya that level design lines up with Sky Rail like 90%, so weirdly we’re getting non boost stages shoved into the boost model?
I also saw a Chemical Plant with Radical Highway's layout in Johnny's video. Still very excited for and happy with this game overall but man I hope there's more level themes later on, would hate for cyber space to be sadder than it already is.
That video was so satisfatory to watch. And that interview with Izuka was really fun. Also, the Green Hill level design in this video look way better than I was expecting? Wow. And man, I fucking so much the bosses design in this game. Ah, here is ANOTHER IGN video, this time being the final preview / impression of the game:
I think I have to go media blackout soon. Johnny says the core of the game is solid, that's basically enough for me. He's worried about the long-term, but he got burnt out on Dark Souls 1 without even fighting 1/6th of the bosses, so I shouldn't have much to worry about. I'm gonna say it. Game seems cool. Hope it stays cool.
I mentioned it on Discord, but it does make me wonder if SEGA is using Frontiers to experiment with making a versatile Sonic game engine. We have 3D platforming, combat, 2D platforming, fishing, customization on how Sonic plays, and levels pulled from probably every major 3D Sonic game. Also the boost is not overpowered, but still useful. I have some doubts since this is SEGA we're talking about here, but best case scenario, they could use this engine for future titles and finally get other characters playable again. It's unlikely, but not impossible. Seeing Johnny's video does make me pretty optimistic for the game.
IGN Japan uploaded some long-form footage, which includes a cyberspace level that is based on Green Forest from SA2! Starts at 7:26, in case you want to skip to it. However, I'm wondering if these should be regulated to the spoiler thread instead? Some of these previews do take place later on in the game.
Yup, no doubt about it that’s Green Forest right down to the scalable tree, the broken loop, and the collapsing parts at the end. Smart, reuse level layouts from Unleashed, Generations, and SA2, aka “the good ones” or the closest to that consensus in 3D anyway. No Forces, Colors, or Lost World to be seen (but also sadly seemingly no SA1 stages either). Something really trippy about seeing the SA2 levels here. All of cyberspace feels like every Generations stage mod put into a collection.
