Sonic Frontiers PIVOTS the Series - A Sonic Frontiers Review
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- #sonicfrontiers #sonicthehedgehog #sonic
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Sonic Frontiers represents a stark change in direction for the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Open Zones, Cyber Space Stages, well written extended cast who experience actual growth and a story that is aiming to be much more like the like the narratives we seen in the likes of Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
Amy Rose, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman are all vastly different to the versions we've gotten used to over the past 10 or so years, and the newly introduced Sage was far more engaging than I ever expected!
So is Sonic Frontiers the Pivot we've all been hoping for? Despite what outlets and people like Digital Trends or VideoGameDunkey say, I think there is a lot of positives t be found in Sonic Frontiers. And for anyone who, like me, has been waiting impatiently for the extended cast of Sonic the Hedgehog to actually matter again? Let's just say there is finally light at the end of that tunnel!
The Open Zone game play, Cyber Space Stages, the combat, the characters, the story? Let's discuss them all!
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VideoGameDunkey Sonic Frontiers Video - • Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Frontiers Announcement Trailer - • Sonic Frontiers - Anno...
Sonic Frontiers Prologue Divergent - • Sonic Frontiers Prolog...
I can’t believe that Sticks the Badger, Dadonpa, Tangle, and Jet the Hawk have been canonized into the main games. I look forward to the day that Nack the Weasel and Dave the Intern return once again
Also, I couldn’t be happier about this game. In the time since Forces, Sonic the Hedgehog was displaced as my favorite series by other games, but it’s actually back to my favorite again, thanks to Frontiers. I couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds
I’m hoping for Mighty and Ray to be canonized into the modern series
This game was extremely fun and it is getting me hyped for a sequel, especially if they return to familiar territory like Station Square, Angel Island, the remains of Prison Island, all of those locations in an open zone setting. Man, that would be awesome. Also, bring back the customization options too, because wearing the Soap Shoes is such a treat
Completely agree this is the new age
The Super Sonic segments were so damn good in this game. My other favorite and least-favorite parts are pretty similar to yours, so let me just expound on this a bit.
Being able to become a Super Sonic that feels like the regular Sonic you've played up to that point except stronger is SUCH a good thing. The way they kept your core moveset the same in terms of combo functionality while adding onto its power and hype is just so, so cool. The dynamic music and crazy good animations really tied everything together. I still get pumped up every time I hear one of those songs.
With Super Sonic's story appearances occuring multiple times in the same game, and the door being left open to solve the mystery of the Master Emerald in the next game, maybe we could even see our old pal Hyper Sonic again someday...?
Ian Flynn has the instincts of a fanfic writer, from everything I've seen. He has this love of the series backed up by an encyclopedic knowledge of the lore and characters, and he's interested in how it all ties together and how each part affects the rest. It's the things we see in the best fanfiction, IMO, digging into the characters and their world as interconnected evolving things, rather than treating every story as taking place in a vacuum. I never found the references to feel forced, mostly because I think I didn't stay still long enough to get a lot of the flavor text triggered.
Thank you for this video-- it was wonderful and interesting hearing your thoughts on a game that I hugely enjoyed. I'm one of those people who dipped in and out of the series, so yeah, I actually found the reused stage structures amusing, rather than tedious or repetitive. Didn't care for only four skins, no, but going "Hah! This is Dragon Road!" or "Oh hey, Metal Harbor!" was actually fun for me. I agree the Cyberspace stages were the weakest part of the game, but... well, at the end of the day, I still had a ton of fun.
Get him gone.
24:00 I suspect that an Egg Memo talking about his hatred for mysteries being answered with more mysterious is probably purposeful for that exact reason. Though another Egg Memo says that some form of radiation, likely Chaos Energy, caused such deastic DNA changes that only Eggman could tie Chaos back to the Ancients. Thus explaining Chaos's transformations with the Chaos Emeralds.
But for me, Sonic Frontiers was really awesome. Sure, I would have liked a little more difficulty in some sections, particularly with the Parry mechanic, but it was such a good time that I can't really be mad. Yes, it has some unanswered questions, but as I heard one person say, revealing the origin of the Chaos Emeralds might lessen their impact on the lore. So I'm okay with just leaving it as "they came from another planet," at least for now.
2022 has to be the *best* year for the Blue Blur and his friends.
Can’t believe it’s finally time that Sonic fans are eatin’ good :)))
Hello there LMC
One of the few Sonic UA-cam videos I was waiting for. I LOVED this review.
And yeah. I think the DLC should just be character campaigns, allowing Knuckles, Amy, etc. to be playable, sprucing up that Open-Zone formula.
Going forward, the momentum of movement needs to be tweaked, but all in all? I came out from Frontiers really hyped for Sonic's future.
Excellent review, I always enjoy your analysis and can't wait for your more indepth thoughts on charaters and the stories!
Considering all the changes going on atm - like that they try to tie up the lore so it's more consistent, lifting/loosening some mandates(at least it feels like it?? I think I read something along the lines but I am not sure), them acknowledging past mistakes(just look at the lyrics of Undefeatable), etc. - the change in a new direction is really noticeable.
And I am HERE for it. It feels so good to see the characters as themselves, see Sonic...just as a whole character again who is there for his friends.
You basically summed up all of the "negatives" I have about this game as well and tbh I wouldn't mind shorter levels if they would reuse like...any other than the same stages because Sonic has so many banger levels on a design level alone. The "goal" I would personally like to see would be open levels again, in the style of Frontiers even with some 2d aspects but the main focus on the free controls. Like I just want to explore again! I want to move the camera! I would be fine with a mixup and I like the ideas Frontiers brought in...but as you said just with a bit more variety.
It is sad to see that the only thing against the team is once again time(and well money obviously) - and especially manpower. I really feel like Sonic has a bright future ahead of him - and I am optimistic that finally even the higher ups slowly realize what the fans actually want.
As always a wonderful video, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the story!
I'd say i started optimistic just for their boldness of trying to go off in a new direction with a mix of open world, collect a ton, speedy platform and hack n slash style of gameplay. That felt like the old sonic team i loved that did burning rangers, nights into dreams and sonic 3 & knuckles, highly experimental games with old ideas mixed with new ones in a clever and cool way. The game started cool and fun but still just that. And the moment i fought squid with 3 fighting abilities unlocked and realized i could try killing it in one cycle with good combos and parries, all of that mixed with the fact i could start the fight flying towards it from any of the floating platforms or terrain... Yup the game just got that "oh i could instead try this to do it faster and cooler" out of me that the last game that did it was unleashed back in 2008. Loved it. Certainly not the best game from the series, but the first one in a long time that almost remind me why i'm a fan of this series. Btw i thought i was the only one who got why sonic team called this game an open zone, but at least someone else gets that this game doesn't play that much like botw and more like Mario Odyssey.
[Titan-sized comment ahead. Collect the seven Chaos Emeralds before facing it]
CyberSpace seems to be one of the most contentious parts of Frontiers. Many people see its flaws but love it, many people see it's flaws and dislike it.
I bet you can guess which side of the line I am on when compared to you, Mark haha.
I ADORED every CyberSpace level. I had such a grand time going through, optimising my runs and completing all of the challenges. I have never been into replaying Sonic levels this way before, so I was shocked to realise just how much I enjoyed them. I think that if Sonic Team just can't make Unleashed/Generations-level stages anymore and have to make Forces length stages in order to get the games out properly, THIS is how you use them. Now they just need to give us totally original layouts and aesthetics to improve them.
And contrary to what you said in the review, I am a longtime Sonic fan and the recycled stage layouts and aesthetics didn't matter to me nearly as much as I expected. The gameplay was just too enjoyable for me to care much. If they have to reuse assets to make fun stages, I won't complain. Especially when the whole game just OOZES with passion, effort and skill. Forces had effort, the passion was questionable but it was clear that there was a lack of skill there. The people behind Frontiers had a vision, the passion to make them and the skill to make them great.
Anyway on the other end of the spectrum, it is wonderful to see that the Titan battles are near-unanimously adored by fans - and very good to see that you enjoyed them too. I am so glad that new Sonic fans are loving this game, but man... seeing how happy this game is making longtime fans is truly heartwarming. It's been so long for so many people... seeing all of the successes Sonic has been having outside of the games since the first Paramount Movie finally culminate in an amazing game.
I have seen in a few reviews say now that the 2D sections on Chaos Island broke sometimes, which is really interesting because I didn't experience that at all. It is consistent that Chaos Island was the point in the game where some cracks started to show though which is equally as interesting.
The characters. Most of us agree that they're brilliant. It's tear-jerkingly good to see them BE characters again, not butchered mascots. All of the previous game callbacks are immensely appreciated by me and I love all of it.
I was kind of surprised to hear that you're not sure how you feel about Roger's new Sonic vocal direction. I came to like it a lot before the first Asura fight, and he only got better as the game progressed for me.
I hear that Ian has confirmed what Chaos' relation to the Ancients is now but the interpretation I gor from the game was:
-The Ancients found the Chaos Emeralds on their world
-The Master Emerald, already on Earth, drew them to it - hinting at a joint origin predating even the Ancients
-The Ancients sent a group of them to take the Emeralds to the Master Enerald in the event their plan to eliminate The End failed. Chaos was one of these Ancients and his time with the Emeralds in solitude ended up mutating him - maybe losing his Koko charm lead to some change too.
I believe it was explicitly stated that the Ancients found the Emeralds, not made them (though the dialogue may have been a throwaway line, which might explain it being easily missed).
Speaking of The End... AGGGGHHH. It's so frustrating that you aren't a fan of the true final boss, haha. It's another contentious part of the game. I began the The End fight disappointed and quickly came to love it. That said, I agree that it being a moon and being a hard mode version of the Commander minigame was WEIRD and was clearly not completed in the way the team wanted. Here's hoping the continued work on Frontiers allows the team the chance to retroactively complete their work on the final act of the game because its potential is higher than I can say.
I'd love to share more thoughts and bounce off of more of yours, but this comment is so long already that my phone is struggling to process my continued inputs, so I should cut this "short". If you'd like to chat more Frontiers, let's talk in Discord because I would love to talk about this game more (Ace Colony Ark plug - join the Discord, everybody)!
Great review, Mark. This video has some of my favourite writing and delivery from you. It's nice to see that you're improving constantly alongside Sonic. Count me excited for your subsequent videos on this fantastic game.
For everyone who isn't Mark:
Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts too.
Subscribe to AceCardGaming. Leave a Like on the video. And if it looks good to you, buy Sonic Frontiers.
I NEED to know where it’s specifically said that the Ancients merely FOUND the Emeralds and that their creator is still unknown! Everything else, (The ME being on earth, and calling to the regular Emeralds we can piece together through context, but i still remember it being teased we would learn about their origin. Which I don’t think we really do in Frontiers 😅
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Art, it’s ok that you like Cyber Space as much as you do, I forgive you! 😉
If Sonic Frontiers is a sign of things to come then I'm certainly excited to see what's in store, it'd be cool if they allowed the other characters to go super again in the future.
At the end of the day I don't even think it's Time or resources, wut Sonic team needs is MANPOWER. We have a team of 60(almost mostly newby sonic) devs workin on a AAA GAME while also havin to release the game on almost EVERY DEVICE under the sun(OG Xbone/PS4-Series X/PS5, THE SWITCH, & PC), While doin wut Sonic Team does best doin somethin completely diff that No ones done before(atleast not quite like them). It's hard to compare to somethin like GoW: Ragnarok which has the EXACT opposite situation i.e. HAS EVERYTHIN goin for it. But while not exactly even a 9 for me I love this game & the overall direction of the franchise & if they take the bulk of the criticisms (which they prob will) & SEGA HIRES MORE they'll do Amazin next time(I alr believe they did great).
I have a few issues wit the story like wit wut they do wit Tails feels like an overcorrection for the past decade & that part in particular feels like Ian Flynn bein like "HEY LOOK AT ME I'M FIXIN IT THAT'S COOL RIGHT?" Completely forgettin Tails HAS been on his own before like say UNLEASHED. Sometimes the writin feels like the WRITERS talkin to u DIRECTLY instead of lettin it jus play out in the story naturally. I'd have jus done Sonic lookin behind tails in slight amazement before smirkin at how focused tails is at the task. The references R great & I LOVE the continuity but that suffers a similar issue to a less egregious degree like when they haphazardly mentioned Dark Gaia jus cus they couldn't find a better way to integrate it. It jus feels so tongue in cheek like "don't wanna piss off unleashed fans"(I'm Unleashed fans & I'm pissed now so good job). Also even though this vid isn't bout that Sages' relationship wit Eggman while endearin comes off a little cheep & is also HELLA inconsistent wit the egghead for the past 30+yrs(I do like Sage though). Initially I was worried for the story CUS It was Ian Flynn, I got a love hate relationship wit his writin in IDW after bingin the past 50 odd issues. He created & I kid u not THE ABSOLUTE WORST "SONIC" I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! I CAN'T EVEN SAY IT'S ACTUALLY SONIC JUS SOME OBOMINATION THAT WEARS HIS SKIN THERE TO FRAME HIMSELF AS SUCH! But aside from mostly that in particular I can't deny he & his team know the characters really well for the most part. He's a really "good" writer but not the best "Sonic" writer imo. I'll say that while NOT "perfect" Frontiers Sonic is technically much better than before(even though I don't hate meta era Sonic lol(aside from Lost world). He feels like a nice in-between of OG/Meta era Sonic which is nice. This game from gameplay to story is the most ambitious since 06 & the third most ambitious of ALL the games under Adventure 1/06 & Imo it succeeds at it overall & I'm excited for the next thing to come but all this has made me come to a realization... Western writers shouldn't touch sonic games no matter how well they know the universe/characters or how "good" of a writer they R. I think it'd be best to jus leave it to Japanese writers mainly CUS of the way they write(that in particular is somethin hard to explain even if u're a weeb like me lol). Western writers can't do it the same cus their priorities R diff. I actually really liked the more questions than answers approach lore stuff with the Emeralds. I don't EVER want a true answer on wut they R or where they come from beyond the vaguest possibilities. From wut I can tell the ancients didn't CREATE them they jus used them before anyone we've known up to this point(which kinda leaves the Gaia temples up in the air but whateves ig). & EVEN THEN the M.E. IS STILL a HUGE MYSTERY cus IT WAS ON EARTH 1ST! I was initially VERY worried but save for wut may come in the future I LOVED THIS APPROACH SO MUCH!
I liked CS at the end despite agreein it's the worst part. The reused level design wit these controls is so unique in a fun way despite the awkwardness. That Should prob control either more like pure boost(say colors) or the open zone(FUCK THE DRIFT STAGE THO). ANYONE who complains bout 2D in a 3D Sonic game can FUCK RIGHT OFF TO ME, while the 2D stages were the worst part of CS for me I really liked it in Chaos Island(really adds to the Chaos lol) tho I admit it can be a bit much sometimes & ur not always afforded an easy exit when u enter accidentally. I liked Unleashed combat more(despite not bein the best at DMC/GoW kind've games) but Frontiers has a mostly simpler "Sonic'y" approach that'll prob work for more ppl especially cus it's more directly integrated without havin to "completely change character/playstyle". I actually really liked the Final Final boss bein a Toho bullet-hell Ikaruga kinda thing(felt like somethin outta Nier). Though I did get the feelin playin it there was somethin missin(like there was supposed to be 1 extra faze that would truly cap it off that was left out purposefully).
I'm sry for the paragraph but I needed to air my grievances/worries before I switch gears &... CONTINUE TO PRAISE THE FUCK OUTTA THIS GAME CUS SONIC IS TRULY BACK BABY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
By resources I definitely include people in that. Because you’re right, the team is far too small!
This comment was awesome, I'm glad you wrote it. Our opinions are so different and so similar in so many ways (Ian's IDW Sonic is one of my favourite iterations, and I am a fellow The End enjoyer). It's very interesting to read that you thought The End was building up to a second phase that would be the true final battle because I felt the exact same way when playing. I was shocked when I depleted the health bar and just... won.
I loved it but was sad that the team had to so obviously sacrifice a lot from the best Sonic game climax in years due to money, time and resource constraints.
Here's hoping SEGA really lets them off the leash going forward and gives then everything they need to bring their visions to life properly.
@@ArtHollow yup but for now lets hope those free updates to frontiers make it EVEN better
THANK YOU IAN THANK YOU SO MUCH
I don't think the Chaos Emeralds actually come from space considering the fact that the ME took the ancients off guard and the fact they're required for the Gaia temples. Instead I find it more likely that somehow (maybe one of the races of aliens that have shown interest in the gems before) the emeralds were taken off world. As for Chaos becoming a water dragon? Remember the emeralds "turn thoughts into power" so for a grief ridden guardian wanting to becoming a wrathful avatar of destruction, taking the form of a water dragon isn't that farfetched.
Of course! But why didn’t the emeralds have the same effect on the ancients? They lost their home world and were on the verge of extinction. Surely their thoughts would have invoked something in the emeralds too?
@@AceCardGaming
Thats a good point, in that case maybe it has to do with Chaos being a Master Emerald mutated chao (thus a spirit like entity) and not a ancient proper? Honestly I wish we could get a reason why only some people can access the full power of the emeralds.
@@AceCardGaming They could use ONE Chaos Emerald to charge a Titan, why bother with turning only one of them into a dragon using all Emeralds when they could build four superweapons and then use other Chaos Emerald to support their civilization and charge mobile Eclipse Cannons? Perfect Chaos is inefficient and wasteful compared to multiple Titans.
@@Gnidel You’re saying categorically the Titans are stronger than Perfect Chaos? It took Super Sonic to beat both. Granted there are 4, but even 1 emerald changed Chaos’ form. So I’m mainly curious why it was never a thing for the ancients. Not that I’m saying categorically it would have been a better strategy.
when it comes to the cyberspace stages, I find myself enjoying what was there instead of lamenting what could have been. Whilst i would have obviously loved new stage assets and fully original level design over what we got, i still find a great amount of enjoyment from the stages. speedrunning them is especially fun, because of stuff like the drop dash in 2d stages and the (unintended) magnet dash. there's a surprising amount of toying with momentum physics in these stages outside of the magnet dash too, even if they feel a bit more jank than the other 3D outings. I also felt like they were nice changes of pace from the open zone, even if some of the stages were admittedly lacking. im definitely in the minority, but they brought me a great deal of enjoyment (although please give the levels actual names next time so i dont need to get a mod to tell them apart in arcade mode LOL)
I feel like my boy Chaos and his little buddies the chao got shafted extremely hard. it stings even worse when Chaos is then rolled over and the really cool god water monster with a heart of gold is then replaced with "Sonic but edgey". I would really like a chaos and chao segment somewhere, but if they do do that and the writing is acknowledging my boys, I would like the new game/series to just be a small Chao garden spin off where Chaos and Tikal are just happy raising chao. they deserve a nice actual wholesome moment since the character ark is "done" for chaos.
(I say done, but Ifrit eating Chao was a perfect plot point to get Chaos in on the smack down given his main motive for flooding the world was his little homies getting trampled by echidnas. SEGA really missed out on a potential giant Kaiju fight)
What I love about this game despite the anticlimactic ending is that that they might set set up stuff for future games. It’s nice to know this games story will have some sort of effect on future games. They haven’t really done that since sonic heroes and shadow and after 06 they stopped caring about continuity all together!
YES IT'S HERE
Amazing and true review you didn’t bandwagon just too make sonic look bad like everyone else, but instead too give it’s pros and cons and ur perspective based off knowledge from previous sonics 10/10 review🔥👌🏾
I've yet to play "Sonic Frontiers", but from what I've heard, it reminds me a bit of the first game. It has some qualities mixed with some rough edges. If it receives a sequel or two that builds and improves its concept and mechanics, then this decade will potentially be a good one for Sonic. It could be the best decade since the 1990s.
This is a great review and sonic frontiers is becoming a great sonic game!
While Sonic Frontiers is good and has flaws, it's a huge step in the right direction, I had the same mind set with Sonic Unleashed and We got Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations which showed that Sega-Atlus wanted to stick with the formula after Sonic 06 killed the adventure, Unlike how I was back in 2008 though 2011 I'm even more hopeful for the series BC of Sonic Movie 1 and Sonic Movie 2 sky rocketed Sonic back to where the series was back in 1991 though 2001, I hope Sega-Atlus sticks with this and here are the improvements I want to see
Open Zones:
Less pop ins, more originals Zones have a Tropical themed Zone, Ancient Ruins themed Zone, Amusement themed Zone, Uban themed Zone, Jungle themed Zone, Ice themed Zone, Mountain themed Zone, Sky themed Zone (have the Sky themed Zone be a transition zone I.E Egg Zapien from Sonic Triple Trouble 16 bit) and Robotnik base themed Zone, have the open Zone have people to talk to and shops to go to, characters like Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Cream, Sticks, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Tangle, Whisper, Jewel and Belle give You mission to earn a red ring, Amy will give You hints though out the game touch a question mark.
Special Stages:
Each Open Zone will have red rings some will be collected some will be earned though Missions, if You get enough red rings in the Zone You can enter the Special Stage, while Cyber Space controls are sh*t I think it can be improved upon with the Special Stage, complete the mission in the Special Stage, You'll be awarded with the Chaos Emerald, once You get the Chaos Emerald, You unlock Super Sonic and Super Knuckles Playable, Eggman's Space Station Zone and the Ture Final Boss that is not Eggman and You fight it as Super Sonic.
Playable characters:
while Sonic should be the Playable character, Tails and Knuckles should be playable with their own moves, strengths and weaknesses .
All three characters: Spin Dash, Jump and Roll
Sonic: Boost, Light Speed Dash, Homing Attack and Drop Dash
Strength: Combat and Speed, Weakness: Can't Swim unlike Tails and Knuckles
Tails: Fly, Tail Attack, Hack into Badniks, Swim and throw bombs (I.E Tails' Adventure)
Strength: Speed and Swim, Weakness: can't go Super unlike Sonic and Knuckles
Knuckles:
Dig, Ambush (I.E Sonic 3 and Knuckles' opening,) Glide and Climb Walls
Strength: Beast in Combat and Swim, Weakness: Heavy and not as fast as Sonic and Tails
Story:
Need I say more than just keep Ian Flynn as the writer, while not perfect He showed that He cares about this series just as much and know how the tone should be.
People like Randomfox really seem to like gaslighting him
@@rickyrackey7930 That's Sonic Fanboys/Fangirls for you, they did this sh*t back in 2000s when Spax3 was gaslighting people to hate Jason Griffith BC Jason sent him a nasty E-Mail (which was false and Ed is doing the same sh*t with Lizzy Freeman,) if anything they should be blaming Sega-Atlus for the writing not Ian Flynn, they did this with 4kids (which is warranted BC of how they fu*ked up One Piece,) they did it with BRB over Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric being worse than Sonic 06, they did it with Paramount over Ugly Sonic and they keep thanking Sega for fixing Sonic's design and Sonic Movie being a success and for getting the series back to where it was from 1991-2001 when Paramount should be thanked for that and listen to the fans and for Sega to see that this series just as iconic as Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, the Legend of Zelda, ECT.
Sega needs to held accountable for questionable chooses they own the rights to Sonic Ian Flynn just writes the story, it's ok to not be a fan of someone but bashing them when you have no proof is just vile, say if Ian Flynn did do something vile (like what Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Ken Penders or Vic Mignonga did) then yes Ian dose deserve the hate but I'd never heard Him doing something wicked, yes he's not perfect (no one is not even Meakawa whom the Sonic Fanboys treat him like William Shakespeare.)
If anything most of these are Archie/Satam Fanboys who can't let the past go, Sonic Prime and IDW Sonic are canon now and we won't have this mishmash of different Sonic Universes that divides the Fanbase and starts going at each other throats, if they like Sonic Prime and IDW let them enjoy it don't gaslight and gatekeep them from what they like.
@@1upGaming1up If you this, you shouldn’t be considered a fan.
6:52 The shooting thing was a form of training until doing the real deal.
I'll preface by saying I really did enjoy Frontiers a lot &, much like yourself, it has actually given me some hope for the series future. I was especially pleased with the characterisations after so many years of hating who these characters had become, that was really refreshing. I always expected to not like Cyber Space, so I wasn't let down by the fact I didn't enjoy it. I hadn't prepared for just how bad the controls would be (especially considering how good the open zone controls are AND the fact they're customisable, whereas Cyber Space is bafflingly not), but whatever. I like the gameplay loop in concept & would have been quite happy had the levels been more akin to SA1 levels, rather than boost stages, but I fully accept that's a dream that'll never be fulfilled. My biggest disappointment was actually the parkour. I was really glad they were giving the parkour a second chance, because the idea of it makes total sense for Sonic. So I was extremely disappointed that it's so limited & restrictive, only being usable on specific surfaces. They made a mechanic that promotes freedom of movement & player expression, then completely restricted it to very particular instances. So many times I just wanted to run up a mountain, or a canyon wall, only for Sonic to smash into it & stop dead, or get partway up & slide back down & it just felt so wrong. Sonic's movement was generally pretty enjoyable in this game, but opening up the parkour abilities to be usable on any surface would have elevated the game quite a bit for me. It's kinda sad that they were actually less restricted in Lost World, because you could at least run on any wall in that game, even if it wasn't ever that necessary, you COULD do it if you wanted
Point taken in the parkour for sure. But if you want to climb pretty much any mountain or incline, drop dash is your friend, it’s so broken! 😅
@@AceCardGaming I have heard the drop dash is a lot more effective for climbing! I never really used the drop dash, actually. The boost kind of undermines it (other than for climbing, apparently!) & the double jump makes it a bit awkward to activate. I'm glad it's there, I just would have liked it to be more useful
You are such an awesome youtuber. I love you.
This may sound like an awkward comparison but I see this game has some areas quite similar to how Batman Arkham Asylum game was in some subtle ways just like the 2018 game Spiderman has too. Frontiers appear to be a game that is almost a fresh start with the game for the franchise after many to several failed experiments. With Sonic Frontiers, you only play as Sonic and with Batman Arkham Asylum, you only play as Batman. Even with skill points, the two games have similar systems. This may show how Sega will almost take their time with the development of sonic games to come as they will become bigger, better, and badder(in a good way). Just like how the buzz for Batman Arkham City was, the next game for Sonic will surely make a bigger impact and Sonic Frontiers is just the start of that.
28:09 fin.
I love to play sonic frontiers and I like your game review acecardgaming! 💙🎮🥰
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Hm, fair and valid points and opinions, I really hope the Future follows this up well enough.
First, great video like always!
Thanks!
i thought the finale was impactful seeing eggman care for hs creation was an interesting new take on his character
They definitely have gone an interesting direction with Eggman. I’m looking forward to covering it.
@@AceCardGaming i liked your review of the sonic characters especially amy cuz i found her very annoying but shes actually the reason they beat the final boss in sa2
(big review click read more for big review)
Open Zone: 7/10 - Running around was fun, the presentation left something to be desired, so much so i never bothered with the grind rails or other platform stuff unless it was part of a map challenge, or if i needed to get someplace very quickly buy just rail boosting off and fling myself in the desired direction (with style and panache)
Combat: 7/10 - I cant believe how much fun and RIGHT it feels to be sonic and beat the tar out of enemies. Make the combo system more complex and add more skills, and it becomes a solid 10/10 that has me itching for more.
Action Stages - 3/10 - Managed to earn a 3 instead of a 1, because while i cant name them, theres at least two of the 30 stages you can play that i actually bothered to play multiple times once i got all tasks done. The music isn't memorable, and the aesthetics of them all became an eyesore. If i ever see green hill, chemical plant, or sky sanctuary themed aesthetics ever again in my lifetime, it will be too soon.
Guardians - 7/10 - Some guardians were a lot of fun, the quick time events were lame and the mandatory parry made the fights too quick and easy during my playthrough. I defeated the guardians so quick, i never really got to listen to the music until i decided to stop playing and just listen to it on youtube instead.
Story - 9/10 - Sonic and his stupid friends were a treat to watch, and i made sure to get all other tasks done first before moving the narrative forward just so i can have back-to-back cutscenes of sonic and his friends interacting as dessert. a treat so good, i for sure will ask for seconds.
Minigames - 4/10 - If it were just Bigs fishing minigame, it would earn an easy 7, but unfortunately it isnt. The Koco minigames were a chore, especially the one where you gotta collect 600 parts, i had a hard time with that one and it just became a slog.
Final Boss - 1/10 - I heard the true final boss would be unlocked if you played on hard mode, so i was really looking forward to the 'secret' boss or whatever since i played on hardmode right from the start. The fact it was some stupid copy-paste bullshit bullet hell based off of an entirely different series really sucked all the wind out of my sails, and left me frowning in bitterness while i watched the end cutscenes. I cannot believe the hacking minigame was our final boss, and not some awesome skeptical like that of the Biolizard or Perfect Chaos.
Final Thoughts - This game i think earns an easy 7/10, with my hopes to seeing a direct sequel in both story AND gameplay philosophy.
While some small parts of it are meh or just okay, the story and characters were done perfectly, and i really hope SEGA and Sonic Team get him on board with this again. After 100% the game on xbox, im really wanting to know what the NEXT game will be like, and hope they have the guts and gumption to STICK TO THIS STYLE OF GAMEPLAY for at least one more game, and really polish it, the team getting a chance to re-approach this style of game will always make the sequel better now that theyve had a dry-run of it.
wow... copuld sonic actually be... back? holy shit man
Indeed! Things are looking far more promising than I ever would have thought!
@@AceCardGaming how long will it take you to finish the story vid
Probably a few weeks. Day job takes up most of my free time!
the cyberspace levels would be so damn fun in my opinion if the physics weren't so janky and slow.
But for real why the hell can we not re-do the titan fights
Chaos is a Chao who was mutated by the master emerald
I have thoughts on this angle too. Video in the works 🙂
"Cyberspace stages aren't memorable"
1-2 prevented that from being the case for me😅
I nearly added in a joke about that and for some reason didn’t use it! 😅
This was thread I made on Twitter:
Rethinking and solidifying my opinions on Sonic Frontiers and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s not really the best for what the franchise. Sonic is all about replay ability and Frontiers’ only source of replay ability comes from the Cyberspace stages which lets be honest are complete trash. Frontiers is the type of game most would play once and never touch it again for a couple of months to maybe a year. Compared to your standard Sonic game that focuses on Arcady gameplay, you’d play through it only to go back to specific stages you had a lot of fun with and replay them a lot whether you got a good rank in them or not. That’s another thing I think is seriously wrong with Frontiers, It’s just as easy as hell to get an S Rank like in Generations and Forces (Don’t even get me started on the physics in cyberspace).
Overall Frontiers is a pretty damn good game but it really isn’t the best direction for Sonic. I can only see this style of gameplay for the series lasting a good 2 maybe 3 games. The gameplay loop is kinda tedious but it manages to keep your attention long enough before you’re burnt out around island 3. My personal opinion on the best gameplay style for Sonic is the boost gameplay, it literally has everything you need but it seems like the current Sonic Team isn’t able to do that style justice. I also wouldn’t mind the adventure gameplay coming back. I do think a few things would need to be fixed with it such as how you’d split gameplay between characters without making it tiring to play each stage like in SA2 or having too many disjointed separate stories that combine into one like in SA1. But yea, those are my thoughts.
Now I’ve also tweeted out many times how I think the characterization of Sonic and the others feel a bit weird (the voice acting now that I think about it play into that). To simplify my grievances on the characters portrayals I think the fact American writers (such as Ian Flynn) are seemingly getting ready to take over the games series stories and lore and I’m not here for it. There’s something about the American writers that don’t seem to understand Sonic specifically as a flat character. They definitely understand his personality (to an extent) but it seems they can’t understand that Sonic isn’t the type of character that grows/learns from situations. He’s a character with all the answers and changes the people around him for the better. They seem to always want to give Sonic some sort of arc when he doesn’t need it.
Link to my original thread: twitter.com/aquabluetea/status/1596559730868391936?s=46&t=ZBcNoiAT-7oqztMAbaFyGw
I see it as a product of it being the first of its kind. There basically is no replayability in Sonic 1 because the game does not really facilitate speedrunning with its leveldesign. There is basically no replayability in SA1 because the score-element is beyond minimalistic and there are no rankings. There is no replayability in Frontiers besides just speeding through the game faster, which is made less impactful by a lot of the design having the Botw-style of "this is neat, but only once".
Unleashed and Unwiished are the only ones of the "dawn of a new era"-games that actually have proper depth of replayability to their names and it feels like a miracle, considering the context these games came out in. I am pretty certain they will figure out something for Frontiers 2, they always have after the first time.
I think the game is great, when i want to counter attack all my criticism, i'll just start pointing out the good stuff
The music, the story, the atmosphere, the caracterizations, the open zone design (find tokens - seeds - fight bosses - enter cyberspace - get Emerald) it's a pretty fun cycle
But one thing they absolutely need to do for a another shot at this
Please keep your speed when jumping, it's soul destroying to see how they messed this one up, while on the rails is really fun to jump and gain distance, on foot it totally kills the flow
And yeah SEGA, give Sonic Team more man power
I had my fun with this game, though mostly during the open-zone aspects. The music isn't my taste regarding the vocals (outside Vandalize, that one is really good) and everything regarding Cyberspace was awful, both design, music and controls. My story expierience I can summarize with: good start, interesting lore expansion on the emeralds' side but cheap attempts of speudo emotional beats with no real buildup (looking at you Sage). And the Moon... wtf. Uncreative design, very poor story integration...
The game is better than what the past decade produced, no doubt, but imo. Frontiers is being overhyped by many. It is no way near the greatest yet can lead to one of the greatest, if Sonic Team commits to improving.
It definitely isn’t the best 3D Sonic game or Narrative. It’s mainly just good to see things moving in the right direction.
I love Sonic Frontiers
So the Chao are descendants of the Ancients?
Kind of implied, but not outright stated.
I thought the game was okay. Just okay. Certainly better than games like Lost World or Forces, but still a far cry from the likes of Unleashed or Generations.
In no particular order:
Loved what they did with the characters. Sonic and Tails were no longer spewing shit one-liners, Knuckles was no longer a dumbass and treated with respect, and Amy is shown to be compassionate and still into Sonic without reaching into obsessive.
While the action stages just having the look of Green Hill, Chemical Plant and Sky Sanctuary AGAIN was a letdown, i didnt mind the reuse of layouts since they chose stages that hadn't been redone, like Green Forest and Sky Rail. I think the problem the series has been having wasn't so much reuse, but reuse of the same things each time. It also kinda helped that I learned to think of the action stages more like the equivalent of special stages.
And I think the Super Sonic fights showed exactly why we don't need Hyper Sonic back. Even though he still has to put in effort to succeed, its really inconceivable that there'd be some threat that Super Sonic is unable to handle. I'd personally rather other characters (most prominently Knuckles) get to use Super forms again, akin to the final fights of Adventure 2, Rush, or 06.
But most importantly, we need Sega to KEEP UP THIS LEVEL OF QUALITY. Between this, Mania, and the movies, Sonic's in the best position he's been in since, well, the 90s, and i don't want them to pull a Lost World and throw all that hard work away.
If they ever make a hyper-Sonic then that would invalidate all of the strength and power that Super Sonic built up. I like how they just keep expanding him
I cannot stand Roger's Sonic voice I just hate it so much