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

From what I’ve gathered, it sounds like they’re doing major revisions to the story in Rhea and Ouranos. I’d been assuming that the “new story content” was going to be “we’re actually finishing the ending” and it appears that is going to be the case.

 

Is this true? I would have never expected them to remake what is practically a third of their game, and I don't think I've ever heard a company do this before.
If it is the case, would we be able to play the original release version?

 

This is the exact thing that happened with FF15, a whole chapter was redone with a free update, besides other additions through DLC and stuff

Original release version would "officially" cease to exist cause it would be deemed as incomplete, unless you refuse to update of course

This is also kinda what Mania did, with Plus release, the original version is not out there officially unless you play a physical version offline or pirate an older version, so you miss on the original Metal Sonic boss for example

 

Someone put together some of the, uh, leaks

Spoiler: Update 3 Leaks/Spoilers

https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicFrontiers/comments/14j74e2/footage_of_playable_amy_from_update_3/

Amy's Power Boost is a tarot card motorcycle, that is actually sick

 

Oh I definitely don't think Frontiers nails what should be done with these Action Chain events. They definitely are an idea, and it's not the worst idea, but they don't really take advantage of what this kind of Sonic game can be.

Again, looking at Tony Hawk, it can be a matter of doing a really silly thing for an NPC, nailing a specific combo (do a Spin Dash into a Drift into a blablabla), or simply reaching a unique area and interacting with the environment in a certain way. Those are really vague descriptors that you can make a lot of missions out of. Doesn't just have to be collectibles or points on a timer. And yeah true, this requires the world design to be more interesting too. Floating gauntlets made of generic chunks aren't going to cut it next game. I can't even say they do now!

 

Yeah, I'm not advocating for a full Tony Hawk rip off in the next game either. My point is that this is how you can easily increase the amount of content and longevity of the game. Get your core components and movement right, have a fun set of levels/world and just give people some unique twists on going through them again. There are people that are still playing the 2018 Spider-Man game long after its done just because it's fun to move around. Hell, Spider-Man 2 from 7th Gen is a short as hell game, but the map is loaded with a bunch of simple side missions that are fun to do and ace.

Sonic just needs to feel fun to move again. I think Frontiers is definitely heading towards the right direction, especially with these updates. It's not quite there yet with the heavy automation and the bland floating platforms, but the idea is starting to blossom a little bit.

 

I assumed the DLC3 would be some post game island exploration, but if it's an extended ending - I really like this Idea.

I hope they will remake the last boss fight, because it was the weakest portion of the game...

 

Except physical versions of Mania were first made with Plus, so it already has the changes that came with that. I think maybe you're able to grab the previous versions on Steam but I've never tried.

 

Me too. Can anyone confirm in spoiler tags? (if the leaks say so)

 

Finally unlocked the spindash and I spent a while playing around with it. It's fun to dick around with, even though the terrain is so obviously not built with it in mind. "Spinboost" is probably a better name for it.

I think it's pretty cool that you can cyloop while using it and being able to start a spindash while still in motion feels really satisfying to pull off. Lot of potential there.

It's fine for a bonus unlockable but not exactly how I would want spindashing to work in the next game. Feels crazy that we might be inching towards a future game based around rolling and momentum. The seeds of a good idea have been planted, but I don't know if Sonic Team will be able to give the seeds the nutrients they need so they can blossom to their full potential.

Playing this game again felt weird for me, I think the last time I actually played it was when the christmas update released in December. I've quickly realized that I really do not like how often this game tries to steal control away from you and it feels like I'm sometimes having a wrestling match just trying to get control back.

I'm not sure what happened here but I think I got trapped in a forced 2D section and I swear to god I was pressing every button on the controller so I could break free but I guess sonic was too busy moonwalking in mid-air to care that he was falling to his death.

When Sonic Team start work on the next game (if they haven't already) I really hope they have a major re-think about how to approach the open zone concept from fresh angle. I hope they focus more on player-driven freedom. I also hope they play Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 and really really think about why those games might still be held in such high regard by the fans.

 

Okay, got the spindash, finished up the kocos, and got the Frontier Elite costume (I was kind of hyped to see what it’d be - the actual skin made me laugh).

I agree with @Snub-n0zeMunkey completely on the spindash. It’s not at all how I’d implement the spindash and is super jank, but damn if it isn’t fun to use.

I think they’re in a good position now to take everything that works, and start the next game with a more comprehensive vision in mind without having to start from scratch and graft different shit on that wasn’t planned from the beginning. I think the game is some of the most fun I’ve had with a 3D Sonic in at least a decade (maybe two), but it’s just not put together well at all.

Anyway… don’t fucking touch the shooter boss in the third update, Kishi. Improve the Super Sonic fight against Supreme, add another phase, etc., but keep my Sonic-brand Ikaruga. Legit chills for me throughout that sequence.

 

The shooter boss was terrible and unfun… get rid of it and add a teamwork-based boss like the weird out-of-place voice clips calling on the titan(S) implied there would be…

 

So, I need to make a video of this, but..

The SA1 Spin Dash is in the game. Kinda.

So as most people know, when you release the spinboost while moving forward you uncurl into a run. Well it ends up that this only happens when holding a direction while letting go of LT. If you let go of LT AND the stick, Sonic enters that weird somersault state. It doesn't last long, but it technically happens. Which is strange, you think it'd just let you go into that roll even when holding the stick.

But it gets weirder. You know how people have acknowledged you can "drift" into a Spin Dash using the slide first? Well, you can also start a Spin Dash at any point by pressing B during the somersault state. Which means.. yeah! The SA1 Spin Dash! If you let go of LT and the stick, Sonic will leave the spinboost but continue rolling. During this state you can press B to charge up a Spin Dash even if you're not holding LT. You can do this indefinitely, too, as long as you time it right.

I mean, it's basically pointless in this game since the spinboost shoots you at max speed, and the somersault state's traction is far too tight in the base game to allow good rolling physics. But it's there. And with a mod or two, I can see this being tweaked into a pretty good Spin Dash.

 

I've found that a more fun method is to hold LT, jump as soon as you hit the ground and then stomp and you'll do a significantly stronger drop dash, plus you can jump and then stomp again to keep doing it. If you lower all the deceleration you also just launch yourself into the air when you jump.

 

Honestly if they did this that would be huge. Not sure how they would realistically go about fixing the Corrupted Sonic plot line, but if it does then I might finally be invested to see the ending. Not sure for others but that arc's botched conclusion was when I checked out.

 

Finishing the ending seems like what's in the cards tbh, I don't have the link on hand but Kishimoto did say in a tweet reply that the final 1/3 of the game was very rushed and they didn't get to do everything they'd originally planned. He has also been very receptive to fan feedback about the final boss and ending and seems extremely aware that it's a part of the game that needs a lot of work. I expect at least some changes to the last 2 bosses, but what I'd really love is for them to deck out Rhea and make it worth playing. I'd love to run around that island and have actual stuff to do beyond climbing those towers and collecting a few music notes.

Also I really see the foundation of something promising with the physics changes, but I agree the way everything is implemented is underwhelming. I played around a bit with the air deceleration and ground deceleration sliders, and it definitely is a big game changer, but I genuinely wish you just carried over momentum regardless of whether or not you're boosting. I don't get why you need to hold boost as you're jumping, when past muscle memory always has me thinking I can tap boost and then jump instead of holding it. I also hope, whenever a Frontiers 2 comes out, that letting go of the boost button doesn't cause you to decelerate dramatically, that always catches me off-guard when I go to pick up this game again. It feels like the game was more fun back when I had a weak boost, because now my options are to go at blazing speeds that often result in hitting a wall in .01 seconds, like in those tight canyons on Ares, or I run at an absolute crawl. I know I can change the boost speed in the options, but then you have to flip back and forth between settings. I kinda feel like the power boost should be a separate button / thing, it's great for getting from one end of the map to the other in the blink of an eye, but not super great for navigating more precise parts of the island. But I'm seeing a lot of other people really enjoy it, so I don't know really. I think the reason the power boost feels so necessary to begin with is because the game wants you to keep travelling back and forth between landmarks/dialogue spots, but getting from one place to the other isn't... the most fun. I rely on the powerboost to take me between landmarks and I honestly avoid a lot of the setpieces and rails and springs and stuff, because I just want to get there. If that makes sense. My main point though... having deceleration (or lack of deceleration) only apply to boosting feels like a weird choice.

Snub's spindash footage looks pretty neat, it kind of has me imagining a Frontiers 2 with no boost, but the Spindash works similarly to this. It isn't a "spinboost" where you can accelerate indefinitely as long as you hold the button, but it can be used to turn around quickly or do little drifts along curves in the path, and it has this same kind of dropdash functionality. That seems like it could be really fun tbh

 

My feelings about Frontiers are still all over the shop. The broken-ass Spindash along with the pointless Lost World style rolling and confusing inclusion of two different drop dashes have done little to convince me that Kishimoto and Sonic Team aren't fairly incompetent when it comes to game design. Even really minor things like the birthday music being an awesome 30 minute playlist that restarts on death when the update is based around micro challenges designed to kill you just have me in disbelief. How do obvious problems like this elude the entire development team? That's not even a gameplay thing. It's just basic presentation.

But damn, if they aren't at least trying here. The new platforming challenges actually utilise the game's physics. I'm only just starting them now, and one of the first things I find on Kronos is a completely free flowing ramp that you have to boost yourself off to land on a platform with a Rare Koco. It's not amazing design or anything (and too many 3D fangames are all about flying through the air), but it's a small glimmer of promise.

And the very concept of the Action Chain Challenges deserves praise too: racking up points and a multiplier by going fast and performing different actions. And the whole time you're not on a prescripted path that ultimately works like a QTE. You have full control. Like, fucking hell YES! This is what the Rush duology had that every other boost game completely forgot. If the islands were better designed as playgrounds with more dense platforming sections and fewer boosters and springs stripping you of all agency every five seconds, I'd be getting some stores Jet Set Radio vibes. Sonic could always benefit from some JSR gameplay inspiration. This style of gameplay could even recontextualise the combat into something not only more engaging, but also something that feeds properly into the platforming gameplay loop rather than being repetitive minibosses that I usually try to ignore.

If this is highlighting the lessons that Sonic Team learned from the reception of Frontiers and what we can expect more of in the third update and eventual sequel in a few years time, I'm feeling a bit more optimistic. Even though I've always enjoyed Frontiers, it's shortcomings and functional similarities to previous games really did not fill me with any hope. I'm eagerly awaiting the third update now.

 

yeah I really feel this and it's a big reason why I didn't want to upgrade Sonic's speed to max in my playthrough. Doing a boosted cyloop is also way easier with the weak boost.

This is purely a guess but the fact that they put boosting on the right trigger for this game makes me wonder if at some point in development they planned to have analogue boost that changes in speed depending on how hard you press on the trigger? Sort of like accelerating in a racing game. Maybe they had to scrap this idea because the Switch doesn't have pressure sensitive triggers? Just a wild guess and I could be completely wrong but it's interesting to think about lol

 

I think the placement is a combination of Right Trigger typically being accelerate as well as other games, like Lost World, usually using the Right Trigger as “run” (which is likely due to influence of driving games as well as just giving people access to the face buttons). I don’t think there was any other place for it when you consider the cyloop and jump need to be easily accessible.

 

Speculation might be fun and all, but yeah. Mapping boost to a trigger was honestly a long time coming. I'm surprised it took them until Frontiers to do it honestly. Boost is held near continuously in the boost games, just like accelerate in a racing game. Freeing the the face buttons to allow more comfortable control when on the move is a no-brainier.