Update [Tue 14th Dec, 2021 00:45 GMT]: A Sega representative has reached out, and apparently the Sonic Frontiers story details shared by Polygon were "incorrect" and have now been removed. In response, we've also removed this plot synopsis from our original story.
Original story [Sun 12th Dec, 2021 00:05 GMT]: The Sonic Frontiers announcement trailer didn't exactly reveal much, but it certainly left us wanting to know more.
While we already know the game's narrative is being handled by Ian Flynn - the head writer of IDW's current Sonic the Hedgehog comic, we've now reportedly got Sonic Frontiers' plot synopsis as well. This information was shared by Polygon (via Sonic Stadium) and reveals Dr. Eggman is once again up to no good.
Sonic Frontiers is being developed by the "experienced members" of Sega's Sonic Team Japan - led by producer Sachiko Kawamura and director Morio Kishimoto. It's due to arrive "holiday 2022" on Nintendo Switch and all other major platforms.
What do you think of the above story description? Leave a comment down below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 64
Wow that was.. fast ;D
This is the first Sonic game I’ve been really interested in and looking forward to since… ummm… Sonic Generations? Lol. Glad they’re trying something new and ambitious with him. Just wish they’d bring back the Chao garden!
“Experienced” developers how literally haven’t put out a quality Sonic game in over a decade.
Eggman bad. Sonic beat Eggman at end. Wow spoilers.
Gotta love it when the baddies don’t do their full homework, leaving a weakness
Doesn't sound too out of the ordinary for Sonic, Eggman tries to use his technology on a big bad, it doesn't work, and becomes a bigger threat. Hope it's actually better in execution than some of the other Sonic storylines.
@DeathByLasagna What about Mania?
Can't say I've ever noticed a sonic plot besides beat the bald guy.
Trying not to get too excited given Sonic Team’s propensity for haphazardly slapping new game mechanics together but an open world that allows players to blaze across it at top speed sounds too good to ignore.
It sounds like Eggman got his plans from Calamity Ganon.
I like the fact the AI is named SAGE because then it feel like that Sonic fans made the ancient technology come into existence and that's just kinda funny to me
Oh my god. I can’t believe Sonic has to save the day.
Meh. After being disappointed in every Sonic game of the last 30 years barring Generations, even Colors, I've learned my lesson.
Besides which, shoehorning Sonic into a more realistic open world almost feels meme-worthy. Oh this is popular right? Let's go with that! Anything but classic 2D sidescrolling fans want.
It's catering to platforms and gamers that value realistic open worlds above all else, and will come at the cost of running well on the platform Sonic always does best on.
It's fine. I've accepted Sonic as a relic of the past- a series I loved growing up but which is no longer relevant.
Just give me that Sonic Collection with 3 and Knuckles, and I'm happy.
Does anyone really care about the plot in a Sonic game? It's about as meaningless as the "plot" in any given Mario game.
Gameplay is what matters here.
@Shadowthrone Story in sonic is way more relevant than Mario's in the very least.
I personally don't mind sonic stories.
Gee, a game where an AI becomes too smart and tries to take over the world? Never heard that one before.
(Holds up Persona 5 Strikers)
@Shadowthrone I'd argue that part of what made SA 1& 2 so memorable was the story. But Sega/Sonic Team has been struggling to re-capture that magic since then (though, I did enjoy Unleashed).
Yeah, gameplay comes first, but that can help elevate what little plot is thrown in (like Mario Odyssey).
@Fighting_Game_Loser
I like how SAGE is an anagram of SEGA.
I like how Sega has a failure rate of almost 100% with these games and yet every single time people are like "wow this time they will deliver!111"
Wait! Sonic has friends? Meaning there are more characters in this universe besides him and Eggman!?
@SalvorHardin I almost typed “what about Colors and Generations?” Than realized that those games came out 11 and 10 years ago. 0:
Hopefully the game delivers, I know Sonic has a reputation, but man I would love another truly great Sonic game.
nothing original about the story line, however, there was nothing original about the story line for mad max fury road - which nonetheless maintains one of the top 3 most cherished artifacts of media for me, somehow.
I am simultaneously excited for and dreading this game. I want it to be great but at the same time my expectations have never been so low.
See, there's still the part about how the heck will they pull off a Switch port. Unless the game was developed with the Switch hardware in mind (which never seems to be the case for Sonic games on the Switch), I have very low confidence.
Race against time and Amy is in the game? So this is a sequel to Sonic CD.
@Kirbo100 I can't speak for DeathByLasagna, but I'm not as interested in the 2D games. I just like 3D games better and the classic gameplay just slows you down too much. Also, Mania is essentially a SEGA-sanctioned fangame, it was developed by prominent fan developers in the Sonic community and approved by SEGA to sell as an official game, so it doesn't speak to the quality of Sonic Team themselves.
I'm optimistic! Other than some missteps with Forces, the last few Sonic Team games have been ptetty good in my opinion. Lost World, Generations, and Colours were all pretty good.
@DeathByLasagna Chao garden was great!
Isn’t that the same tired story loop of every 3D Sonic game?
This game is gonna look compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
@RainbowGazelle Even the Boom games? Those were pretty awful.
I am looking forward to seeing what Ian Flynn can do as writer for the video games rather than the comics. His Archie reboot stuff was some of his best work but it required a lot of characters with their own priorities to always make sure Sonic and friends had something to do. Right now it sounds very isolated, keeping it to the core cast but I got a feeling there will be more to uncover from what I get of the synopsis.
How do y’all feel about a remake of Sonic 3 & Knuckles but as a 3D open-world game?
I ask because to memory, it was the first Sonic game where the levels flowed together. Sort of makes sense to me and would be cool.
Wow. This looks like it could be a really good game and I am seeing a lot of people comparing it to 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' like they have 'Pokémon Legends: Arceus' and I love that game so I don't have a problem with them drawing inspiration from it. Hopefully we get to play as Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow too. Tails especially would be fun to play as in an environment like this.
@Kirbo100 I didn’t grow up with the classic 2D Sonic games so I wasn’t looking forward to it. When I did eventually play the game it ended up being a really nice surprise. Really enjoyed it and I hope a sequel comes in the future!
I'll wait for a gameplay trailer. I just can't see how open world and break neck speeds equate without vast areas of nothing so interested in how it will play (and not so much the bloody story - already gives me alarm bells.)
@Bolt_Strike None of the three Sonic Boom games were developed by Sonic Team, just like how Sonic Mania wasn't developed by Sonic Team.
I almost hope they slow sonic down a little bit. Part of the con of Breath of the Wild was the pace at which you discovered the world. I feel like an open world Sonic game would basically need to be like a spider web of paths crisscrossing through different places.
I don’t think that’s what this will end up being since they mentioned there will still be zones. I suspect it’ll be more like Mario Odyssey if the Kingdoms were bigger but more empty. Which could still be fun I guess.
I still think if you really wanted to bring the magic of 2D sonic into 3D you’d have a world with about 5 layers of webs the lowest level would be underground which you could fall into through pits and would sometimes have big under water sections, but be largely tunnels, pits and rivers, then you’d have the ground levels which would have 3 separate heights that you’d generally switch between, and then you’d have a sky level which you’d occasionally end up in and would often have some sort of reward for making it that high up. On all three levels you’d have a variety of different biomes that would bleed into each other.
That’s the way I think it would make sense to try and recreate sonic’s world in 3D. But I don’t think Sega wants to put the time in the way. Nintendo did with Odyssey or Breath of the Wild. So I suspect that they’ll try to make it feel open world but it’ll ultimately just be on rails.
I don't have enough faith in this "experienced" team to make an actual good experience out of this. But I'd like to be surprised with a genuinely good Sonic game again.
The plot sounds pretty standard but Ian Flynn tends to do a decent job with his plots in IDW and the handling of the extended cast. At least we should expect Tails to not be a coward, Knuckles to not be an idiot and Amy to have some level of competence.
Shadow if he's there will still act like bargain basement Cell Saga Vegeta though. Sega seems to be pushing that change.
"But he has to go fast" was missing from the synopsis.
Considering that Amy is in the initial trailer & it's being handled by someone from IDW, I'm hoping we see some of the Archie-verse, post SatAM character deprh seep into the storyline rather than plastering the game with new characters.
Hope this turns out well. Trailer has me a bit worried. Aside from the ruins, it feels like the open world is basically what you would get if you were to use UE4's defaults only blurrier.
Corrupt guardians lol
I'm keeping my expectations low for sonic since sonic games hasn't been that good minus generation and colours I just wish we have chao garden feature back i miss that from sonic adventure and 2.
This BOTW concept just doesn't fit in sonic game but I change my mind when I see gameplay first.
A whole 11-12 months before it comes out..
That's plenty of time for Sonic Team to do what they usually do, and turn a fun gaming element into a moronic gimmick that ruins the entire experience.
I'll buy it like I buy every Sonic game.
I'm an idiot..
@nessisonett Jeez, thanks for ruining the surprise.
I just don't see Sega ripping off Breath of the Wild for Sonic somehow working out to a good game. Not only is it a poor fit for Sonic, but Sega doesn't have the chops to make something with the scope and ambition of BOTW. The main problem here is Sonic doesn't have an identity in terms of gameplay mechanics and Sega is desperately throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. That never works out well.
Ah yes, the AI program Sonic Amateur Games Expo. Truly a worthy opponent.
Well we will be getting this on ps4. Hopefully it comes out on that because it may not be next gen but I have better hopes than the switch version
"Sonic must race against time to discover the truth, save his friends and maybe even save himself at the same time."
So...team up with Classic sonic again?
So... sonic breath of the wild then?
I'm actually looking forward to this one. I just hope they don't mess it up.
@nessisonett Yeah, but Ian Flynn is the writer. We are sure to be in for a good time. (Ian Flynn is the equivalent of having Tyson Hesse working on Sonic).
@Debbiee In American football they always talk about how the NFL is a copycat league, when one team does something and it becomes successful, the other teams all try to replicate what that team does. I think the same thing is true for gaming (really, I think this is a capitalism thing, not just an NFL or gaming thing), anytime we see a new style of game that becomes wildly successful, other developers try to copy them. That's what's happening with BotW, it was a wildly ambitious and successful style of game and other developers want a piece of the pie so they're all releasing BotW clones.
@Bolt_Strike I agree, they were awful. But they weren't made by Sonic Team.
@Bolt_Strike Yeah. I think you are right and as long as the games are good and can stand on their own I don't have a problem with it since I like that style of game. I would love to see an open world 3D Donkey Kong game too
First time I've been excited for a Sonic game since Sonic Advance.
@Madao to be fair thought it is coming out holiday of next year. so they still have time to work on that part
"The Legend of Sonic: Beath of the Hedgehog" lmao do we also get to climb walls Knuckles style or do we just run up the walls?
I hope the are no wisps in this game, those tiny little alien have been way overused and I have kinda grown sick of them.
Looks very botw inspired. I’ll keep checking in
I don't get the BOTW comparisons. It has a different art style, the trailer didn't show anything implying BOTW style crafting, combat or gliding. So is anything that shows a big world now "BOTW style?" (as if that game invented large gaming worlds)
If there's any Nintendo game this reminds me of as far as visual style, it would be Xenoblade Chronicles X. Almost realistic, but with saturated colors and fantastic landscapes.
Shame it will be a crap port on Switch. Definitely getting on PS5.
Why haven’t you guys done an article on the new sonic colors update
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