Sonic Frontiers - Kronos Island Battle Rush (S-Rank)

I decided for a change of pace in this game, so the next part of Sonic Frontiers I’ll put up is the “Battle Rush” mode. This is a mode, unlocked after finishing the story, where you’re given 9 to 11 rounds, each one themed on an island, where you’re pitted against one or more enemies found on that island. This includes not just common enemies, but Guardians (bosses found scattered about each island), and ending with that island’s Titan.
Since dying results in the game automatically putting Sonic back at the beginning of the round, albeit with the time elapsed NOT resetting, your goal is to finish these rounds as quickly as possible. That’s why I maxed out all of Sonic’s stats. Even with max stats though, it won’t be a cakewalk to reach that S-Rank time; you need to remember how to defeat these enemies, even if Sonic’s majorly increased attack power means some of these strategies are simplified compared to when the story was still going on in Kronos Island.
S-Rank Time: 5 minutes
00:06 - Round 1: Five Soldiers
These are the basic enemies in the game, as basic as they come. Even with Sonic at Level 1, he can still defeat them in a few hits at most. At Level 99 (Max), one hit each is all it takes. Unlike later Soldier units, these ones have no shields, so they can’t stall.
00:16 - Round 2: Ninja
This is the first Guardian Sonic fights, and so, it’s straightforward and has the lowest HP of any Guardian. The basic model of the “Ninja” line of Guardians, they specialize in hand-to-hand combat. I meant to boost right up to it to start attacking it, but I overshot it. Otherwise, I could be done in about 4 seconds less.
00:30 - Round 3: Two Bubbles
This is the first enemy you find where regular Homing Attacks with punching and kicking is ineffective. The innermost unit will charge up an electric attack while Sonic is busy batting away the white defensive parts, and if you take too long, those white parts will regenerate. Instead, you use this projectile move Sonic learns very early on to whittle away at it from a safe distance.
00:45 - Round 4: Two Shells
A Shell is a common enemy that will launch a big spinning blade at Sonic when his back is turned and he’s a fair distance away. but will fold that blade over itself, like its namesake shell, when Sonic is close. To finish them off quickly and safely, I use a Cyloop to disarm the blade, then attack it and finish it off before the blade can return.
01:15 - Round 5: Three Bangers
Bangers can be found in a few areas of Kronos Island and will roll at Sonic with an unavoidable attack, but they sacrifice themselves in the process. I found out a Cyloop confuses them long enough to destroy them before they can do that. For this, it’s important to do them in the right order, or else another Banger will attack Sonic while he’s doing a Cyloop.
01:23 - Round 6: Squid
The Squid was the most annoying Guardian to fight during the early game, because Sonic’s Speed isn’t high enough to quickly catch up to it, and it has enough HP to do a lot of super armor attacks back at Sonic. With speed and attack maxed out though, I was able to finish this quickly.
01:53 - Round 7: Cyclone Platforming
Cyclones are the Starfall Islands’ counterpart to Bladed Spinners, midair enemies that can be defeated in one hit that are more meant as Homing Attack stepping stones. There are 5 of them in this one, and the round ends when they’re all destroyed. The camera is weird with the first spring though, so i often messed up there because you need a double jump to reach the next platform (and a boost just sends you flying off the platform).
02:11 - Round 8: Tower
The third Guardian found in this gauntlet, the Tower is a narrow, vertically oriented adversary that shoots missiles and, in the later phases, flies around. The head is the weak point: each segment has its own HP meter, which shortens the Tower each time you deplete it, but depleting the head’s HP destroys it completely and is the only way to end the battle.
02:37 - Round 9: Asura
This is a huge Guardian, one that dominates the skyline in many areas of Kronos Island. Its weak points are the tips at the tip of each of its three arms, which you can reach by traveling through the blue circles along those arms, which appear when it slams a hand against the floor. Red ones repel you away. I always found this annoying because Asura’s shape causes Sonic to run right off before he can reach the top. I also struggle to stay at a good height to attack the next arm tip right away; I got lucky here.
03:27 - Round 10: Giganto
Music: “Undefeatable” by Kellin Quinn
Giganto is the Titan of Kronos Island, and the Kronos chapter ends here. I had to grumble when I saw it includes the climbing part, which is always a chore to me. I’m so bad at it, by the time I reached the Super Sonic phase, I had barely a minute left. Super Sonic is always in a hurry due to consuming a Ring per second, but Giganto has some time-wasting moves, like that mouth laser.

[@strategist9]

Man this looks annoying to S-Rank. The time keeps ticking even when the battle has even started yet, not to mention the QTEs in the final fight here. And the climbing of enemies...looks really clumsily implemented. Like, it's a cool idea, but I'm not here to play budget Shadow of the Colossus. Every other fight just lets you get started so I don't get why they make you climb Giganto.

[@Overhazard]

When I first found out I had to climb Giganto playing through the story, I thought to myself, "This is the most un-Sonic-like gameplay I've ever played in a Sonic game." (Restricted only to what Sonic himself does, so stuff like Knuckles's Emerald hunting doesn't count.) I have not actually played Sonic Labyrinth though, the Sonic game where Sonic moves slowly and is under a constant time limit.
I definitely agree, though, that the timer should be stopped during introduction cutscenes. Not sure how the timer should be implemented in the quick-time events though. Maybe as soon as the prompt appears and ends when you complete the input(s).