Sonic Frontiersdid a lot of good for theSonicfranchise. While not a perfect game by any means, it set up a solid base for moving forward after the franchise has been spinning its wheels for years.Sonic Frontiersincorporated some of the elements that made theSonic Adventuretitles memorable while also integrating the speed and scale of a modern Boost game. Because of this, it feels like theSonicfranchise has finally found its footing after stumbling between failures and successes with no clear direction.
Moving forward, the next majorSonicgame will likely stick withFrontiers' open zone or open world gameplay. Even better,Sonic Frontiersitself is getting one year of support that will give it some extra polish, a few more features, and new playable characters coupled with a story expansion. Stepping away from theusual level-based 3DSonicstructure, at least for a little while, should allowSonicto build up some good habits. This goes for both the mechanics and narrative, asSonic Frontiershas also been lauded for both its excellent character writing and the lines it draws to oldSonic the Hedgehoglore.
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Sonic Frontiers Could Be The Start of a Lore Resurgence
In essence,Sonic Frontiershas recontextualized the whole franchise. While there have always been elements of mysticism and space travel,Frontiersmakes it clear that theSonicuniverse is much larger and older than anyone previously knew. As it turns out, the Chaos Emeralds, their guardian Chaos itself, and the Chao are all remnants of theAncient civilization that escaped to Sonic’s planetafter their own fell. What pursued them, self-identified as The End, is seemingly defeated at the end ofSonic Frontiers, but there’s plenty of room for something that powerful to come back. It’s a good story hook, but not the only one.
Now that concepts from classicSonicgames like Angel Island and much ofSonic Adventure’s plot have been revisited, the door is open for more to be done withSonic’s older titles. For better and for worse, manySonicgames introduce mechanics and plot points that end up being one and done. TheSonicfranchise has needed a firmer timeline, or at least solid lore statements, so that the average fan isn’t confused over whether the games take place on an Earth or another world called Mobius. Plus, tying old concepts into present plots can be satisfying if done well, so it’s worth looking into.
There Are Tons of Loose Story Threads Future Sonic Games Could Use
Many paths to relevancy exist forSonic’s old lore. For example, the Master Emerald apparently being native to Sonic’s planet would still give it some relevance even compared to the Ancients and their Chaos Emeralds, and would also justify any mention of Light Gaia andDark Gaia fromSonic Unleashed. As another example, Dr. Eggman has gone through many robots over the years, and there’s plenty of room for certain ones like Mecha Sonic, Metal Sonic, and the wrecked hulls or salvage operations for Eggman’s many airships to populate specific environments. Sonic’s extended friend gallery is open for collaboration, and there’s even the possibility of revisiting Emerl or Gemerl the Gizoids and their own lost civilization.
Alternatively, there’s no need to restrict the hedgehog’s adventures to familiar ground anymore. Sonic and friends could set off into the depths of space, potentially meeting up with a variety of familiar faces likeSonic CD’s time distorting Little Planet and theWisps fromSonic Colors. There could even be another branch of the Black Arms out there somewhere, or at least some explanation that sheds light on their motivations or knowledge of the wider universe.Sonic Frontiersdrawing upon older titles has set up theSonicfranchise for future story ideas just as much as its gameplay has, and fans are eager to see where these developments lead.
Sonic Frontiersis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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