9:34 imagine a open zone Angel island, you start at the beach and depending on where you go you either fall to hydrocity or directly go to marble garden
I have thought of such a thing years ago, thought it could be rather impressive with how varied the locations can be and how they interconnect (imagine endless mine as a underground tunnel system to fast travel to different areas, or how the desert can have way more than just the pyramid near the tomb, or how sky sanctuary and chaos angel adds a verticality aspect to the scale of the island beyond how high ice cap would be)
@@the120cxxits implied that the desert stages in sa2 happen in ángel island, imagine if they just tried their hardest and made a gigantic island that allows you to go through all the levels of 3&knuckles, ice cap (sa1 ver), red mountain, pyramid cave and more, it would be awesome, and like have the whole thing at a incredibly big scale to be able to explore and do the missions
I can defend the environments in Frontiers because the Starfall islands draw from the description of actual ruins of ancient civilizations and Neolithic structures. I want the next game to be more urban. Have all the open zones be cities with NPCs, missions, and an emphasis on modernization as opposed to preserving history. Since Pittsburgh is not the same as Los Vegas, which is not the same as Venice, which is not the same as Tokyo, there’s so much diversity with this concept.
Well said! Like I said, I think the environment in Frontiers is beautiful, but it should definitely be a one time thing cause I think going with this style for future open zone games would be pretty lazy
I imagine doing something like this in a city setting is intensive as hell, probably opens the door for a shitton of bugs Like, Rockstar can do it, they constantly do something similar, But can Sonic Team do it?
@@Necro-xy5ej Sega is a professional game studio so I think I should be able to trust them with handling that much data. For me it’s the best direction so that Frontiers 2 feels more like a sequel and less like dlc.
The first island was made smaller mainly because a really big island was confusing to navigate for people playing for the first time. They decided to ease players in to the bigger worlds.
I know but I personally think making the world smaller isn't the right way to fix that, I mean why would someone complain about the world being too big in an open world game lol
6:52 You could have a supersonic boss fight in the beginning like how sonic unleashed opening cutscene worked out so the player knows how it feels to be super sonic which drives them to play the game
7:30 they missed out on having so many cosmetics and they could have did level up items like the Adventure games. Sonic has like 10 amazing pairs of sneakers now (Light Speed Shoes SA1 and SA2, 06 Gem shoes, Prime, Movie, Riders, etc.)
Ngl with how shadow gens looks and plays i feel that frontiers 2 will take the open zone and turn it into something completely different from frontiers, new better artstyle levels (rather than plain grass and sand and such) peak animations like in shadow gens, bigger and expansive world building with more character interactions with good animations and just a game that feels alive
Im glad people understand that the game itself on its own is pretty good whilst still acknowledging its flaws, this video basically hits the nail on the head for me, and I agree its a good Intro for the formula, with potential to grow which doesnt make what we got BAD, just, needs to grow, also i would KILL for an open zone version of Central City, or Eggman Land, really any previous area, Aesthetically. Could bro have cooked?
I think it would be cool if the game took place on an island so we would have a mostly "mobian" cast, but maybe throw in a few humans to show that they exist in the same world.
1. Fix the floating rails or at least better incorporate them into levels. The pop-in is insanely distracting. 2. Expand on the skill tree or at least make the amount of EXP you get smaller so that fighting enemies isn't pointless about halfway through since you've alredy unlocked everything (keep it proportional tho, obviously. Mini bosses should reward tons and infinately respawning enemies should give next to none) Hell maybe make it so that, like Unleashed, EXP is used to level *everything* from damage to your max speed so you are always starved for more. 3. Puzzles should be used as a way to unlock more of the level and/or optional content instead of mostly boring busy work 4. Don't lock the spindash away as an endgame feature and make momentum a thing outside of it too. Sonic just feels wrong without it.
8:20 if you specifically talking about the ultra realism of the environment idk.. here's the thing it's not the first time sonic interacted with realistic elements just look at sonic adventure 1,2,06, unleashed,black knight(which...btw has the same art direction of sonic frontiers), sonic forces, secret rings etc.. so sonic being in an realistic environment isn't something out of ordinary or out of place forntye franchise not that I disagree with you i totally agree i think it would be better if the world felt more alive you know this is just a reminder lad that sonic is no stranger to realism..
To me there are two essential first steps: 1- Make a Sonic that is fun to control and just move around, and feels rewarding to learn and master. 2- Design a world that takes advantage of Sonic's movement and makes you want to learn how to traverse it, and allow for player expression. 3- This video I guess.
Vast open "realistic" spaces with random crap strewn around isn't interesting to me. I'd much prefer a large, but dense interconnected world with purposeful and coherent design. Something like the Souls series or Metroid Prime (not in gameplay). The beauty of Sonic level design is in the surreal, colorful, compact and complex geometry and paths.
Ik this is probably not gonna happen soon but I been saying for the longest platinum games would do Sonics combat so much justice I was playing nier automata and tmnt mutants in Manhattan and somehow both styles fit for sonic and just imagine if they experiment with more characters like Silver and Blaze
Frontiers I'd nearly perfect if you ask me. Ian Flynn's writing is spot on. It acknowledges previous events instead of existing within a vacuum. Everyone is actually in character instead of a wacky caricature version of themselves. I think for the sequel it just needs a bit more of that Sonic aesthetic. The Chaos Islands look nothing like the rest of the Sonic world. Like if you showed me the Chaos Islands without any of the characters I would have zero reason to believe it was a Sonic game.
I feel like Frontiers 2 should be an open zone version of sonic unleashed. Instead of the collectathon gimmick it should be structured similar to sa1. Stages are actually locked parts of the open zone and after you clear those stages you unlock more of the map. This is so you can incorporate the open zone and stages as one piece. Also we should bring back the chao garden
@silverv1997 so I also had ideas of sub zones with these open zones. Let's say station square you have the city but you also have these sub zones that have unique interactions like a theme park you can ride rides for platforming or for sandbox reasons. Or a casino you can play casino games and stuff. Have shops and restaurants. Have emerald coast have a ship big owns and you can buy a fishing rod and instead of having a forced fishing spot you can fish any where in the open zone. And of course the chao garden
7:31 PERSONALLY i think they collective items they choose like the menory tokens,skill points,music items and purple coins may be good enough ad collective items that's just me though but hey cosmetic doesn't sound too bad though
I wish there was at least one open zone that was City themed or more industrial themed. I really got sick of nature in this game. Hope the next Sonic game will have that.
Here are my 2 cents on your ideas: 1. The reason why Kronos was split, as confirmed by Kishimoto, is that playtesters thought a huge island like beta Kronos will be unwelcoming to new players. So, for accessibility sake, they made Kronos small and short compared to other islands so players will be able to ease into the gameplay loop better. The rest of Kronos was repurposed for Rhea and Ouranos. It's only once you get to Ares island where the game really opens up with huge islands. While Rhea is only a tower climb segment, I enjoyed it for what it was. Just doing 6 platforming gauntlets in a raw is fun. Ouranos is fun too, even if I'll admit it feels unfinished storywise. In terms of gameplay content, it's comparable to Ares or Chaos. 2. Why would I want to run around and collect currency for cosmetics? They don't affect gameplay so their reward feels shallow. The reason why the memory tokens work is that they contribute to progression (AKA the very gameplay you're playing). When you collect them, the reward is clear. But let's say I don't care for outfits, why should I do the platforming in the open zone? 3. If skill points are to become the rewards for open-zone platforming, you need to handle it like Final Horizon, where some skills are mandatory for progression. However, it'll also require a MUCH larger skill tree to stretch the game loop for longer. I'm not sure how big of a skill tree they can accomplish with Sonic without making his moveset overly complicated and messy once he gets all the skills. Overall, I just prefer memory tokens to stay as the reward for open zone platforming, as I feel like they are more balanced and solid. 4. The reason why Big exists is that, if there's a part of the game you don't like, you can skip it by purchasing the items from big. It's meant to make the game appeal to many players. And sure, you could say: "If everything in the game was fun, I wouldn't have needed to skip it". But my answer is that that's only you🫵. Others wouldn't have enjoyed certain parts of the gameplay no matter what Sonic Team would've done. Let's say some random player wants to experience only the platforming portions of Frontiers without any of the combat. He can resort to Big to purchase all the portal gears he needs. That way he can only collect the memory tokens and vault keys the intended way, and not compromise what he's interested in when playing a Sonic game. If you think Big's fishing is too OP, play on Extreme difficulty (where all the prices are x10 higher) and turn off the slot machine in the Starfall event so you won't have a lot of fishing tokens. 5. I get adding villages for variety sake, but why loops? Simply because it's Sonic? But the problem is that loops can only work in a 2D Sonic game. In 2D, loops are obstacles you have to overcome by running fast enough. In 3D, they are automated. At least it doesn't matter too much in a course-clear stage, as it feels like just a small spectacle moment in-between all the platforming. However, in open-zone gameplay, why should I waste time going through the loop when it's much faster going AROUND the loop? Heck, even in cyberspace, when players get to a loop, a lot of times they just jump to the other side because it's overall faster this way. Really, I don't care for Sonic-ish esthetics. I care solely for gameplay. I don't need loops in a Sonic game if there isn't any gameplay purpose for them. Maybe you could place a memory token on their ceilings so I'll have a motivation going through them, but even than I think it'll be better to simply make another platforming course. 6. I don't mind adding NPCs to the maps. Maybe we could have Station Square as an open-zone map, with many residents walking/driving in it. But why should I care for doing their side quests? Why should I waste time interacting with them when all I care about is doing the main content that contributes to progression? I'm afraid adding side-quests will be a waste of development time, when they could've used that time to improve other aspects of the gameplay (physics, combat etc). If some of these missions are a part of the main story than sure, I'll do them. But if they aren't, and the reward I get from them is something like skill points or a cosmetic than I wouldn't be interested since outfits don't affect gameplay and I can get skill points by fighting enemies or exploring the map. In summery, while I think you have good ideas on paper, it's clear you need to think them through a bit further. Personally, I think the gameplay loop is perfect as is. Just exploring big maps, doing a lot of platforming and combat and participating in many activities is very fun. My personal ideas for improvements are more practical. A few tweaks and additions to combat, improving movement a little more, making the titan fights all unique gameplaywise (essentially, giving them all fun gimmicks like Knight), erasing Shark from existence (because holy sh*t he's boring) and more of this kind of fixing. I don't mind some of your ideas, but not in the manner you proposed them to be implemented.
I agree, I admit that these weren't all thought out that well and that some new problems would rise from them, but like I said in the vid, I'm not a professional, I was just giving my opinions on what I'd personally like to see them do. Thank you for your feedback! I really appreciate people giving me honest criticisms of my videos, it helps me improve in the future!
@@silverv1997 I guess I can come off as defensive when UA-camrs offer "fixes" to a game because than, even if a professional (I'm not saying I'm a pro either) can recognize the proposed ideas also have issues (maybe even greater than the ones in the game), many dumb viewers with no knowledge in game design will be like "OMG hire this dude" or "take notes devs". I hate when stuff like this happens because the devs might actually listen, and this'll lead to an even worse product, and the fans will still complain (even though the fans ARE the ones who proposed these ideas). I hope you can understand my perspective now.
Loops can work in 3d for the momentum purposes(if there will be any). Jumping around loop will kill your speed, but going through it will give you massive speed and adrenaline rush
@@purplebruh947 But you can reach top speed again by boosting/spin-dashing again, which still makes skipping the loop the better option. Heck, that's exactly what I do in Sonic Utopia. At this point, you'd have to nerf the boost/spin-dash to put more emphasis on rolling, and I'm not sure if this is a good thing for an open-zone Sonic game. Because traversal with Sonic is fast, these big landscapes don't feel like filler content like many other sandbox games. Making Sonic overall slower just to incentivize players to rely on rolling feels like it'll make the open-zone maps more tiresome to travel through.
Something I would like is that instead of only Sonics friends you Can find can find the custom character from forces there and you can play as him as he Helps sonic. They play just like sonic but with any of there wispons instead of boost like forces
I'd just like it if more of the platforming relied less on automation and homing attack chains and more on natural usage of your abilities and the terrain to get to where you wanted. Final Horizon was a good step in that direction I think but it could still be improved upon by tightening up the moveset so it isn't as easy to invalidate all of it and having more that could only be gotten into from a select few areas (provided they do something about the pop in anyway). Also, I hope if the cyloop comes back they do more with it. Felt like a missed opportunity that it was kind of just a secondary function that only really got a lot of use in combat. I was really hoping they would've done more with those structures that reassemble themselves after you loop them for instance, instead of just pillars that you climb up to get one thing, they could've been used as shortcuts to other areas, as a mini challenge to do during tense platforming sections or even just for more mini interactions in the open world like those cactus' in Ares Island that set off fireworks.
Having open zones with multiple different POIs and regions I feel would be enough. Obviously have shops for cosmetics, food, decorations, ect. NPCs, this can range from conversations with NPCs, to side quests, or even rival races/bosses. Secret areas that only certain characters can access, imagine exploring a cave area that can only be accessed by breaking through a wall with Knuckles. As for cyberspace, just make the traditional stages extensions of the open zone. Make the layouts similar to that of Beta Windy Valley from SA1, have NPCs in these stages that just wave or give Sonic some encouragement. The levels could be accessed through warp rings and they could bring back the mission structure from Frontiers but instead of getting keys you get XP and rings. I was also thinking of having Egg base raids. They would work like a rogue-like, testing out your skills in combat and platforming. If you die you get thrown out of the base and have to start over, the base itself would have monitors, items, and chests to keep Sonic healed and powered up. When you beat the boss of the Egg Base you get a reward (Egg Memo or special costume). I don't want just generic grass land or generic desert, give me unique, varied, distinct environments with their own landscapes. A beach that has a town/city, underwater ruins, a cruise ship, aquarium, a water park. A jungle with some villages, mushrooms to bounce on, vines to grind on, swamps to get lost in ect. Finally, give us new badniks, I'm so tired of seeing the same tiring Motobugs and Buzz bombers, not that I mind having them around, but I just want fully original locations and enemies for the next game.
Personally, I'm a little opposed to going full Open World with Frontiers 2. The current approach they have, with multiple distinct areas to explore, feels more fitting. It's less Breath Of The Wild, and more Super Mario Odyssey, with traveling about multiple islands and doing funny lil platforming challenges to get trinkets. Plus, y'know. Sonic Frontiers 2 still has to release on a Nintendo platform, so I don't think they can make a BOTW sized map where Sonic runs through it in a minute flat
Give us 7 Islands/environments the size of Kronos or even Ares, and then at least 7-14 cyberspace zones with 2-3 acts each that have not been reused before (bringing in characters like Blaze and Shadow can open the floor for DS and PSP stages as well)!
give us gorillion levels that are gorillion minutes long, and gorillion islands that are gorillion square miles each, and gorillion characters, an-and gorillion loops
U cooked! I think you have a good ideas, i would honestly just want a big city or location with tons of places to go downhill and uphill while getting momentum, kind of like sonic overdrive (a fan game) with huge gaps that you need a lot of speed to cross
I don't care if they go with realistic again. I just need sonic speed simulator's open world design loops slopes. Rails connected to said loops and slopes
Y'all need to stop complaining about the Starfall islands looking like reality . Because sonic adventure 1 2. Unleashed and especially 06 look realistic yet you'd stupidly compare those to frontiers to say sonic needs to look like this when it's the same fucking thing.
@@spidersonic-b5q I'm not complaining about it, in fact I LOVE how frontiers looks, I think it's beautiful, I just think there's a massive absence of personality and life in the worlds, I think they're beautiful but very dead
@@silverv1997 I think we can all agree on the game looks...dead maybe because it really is like they are running on a graveyard of an ancient civilizations so I can definitely understand why the tone like this but a bit of life... won't hurt like we're at the point that Amy tells you the land looks sad and empty even the game itself tell you the it's empty as hell look I don't hate the world of sonic frontiers infact i quite love it how visually looks thanks to hedgehog engine 2 I can look past over this one due to the tone and it's story but I don't want the next game have dead environment..like frontiers
Yeah this game was great, almost prefect for me! It’s hard to imagine anything better than this! Even the bugs were fun to mess around with! Are these bugs still in the game after update 3? Although I do wish they would add a cgi opening if they are still going to update it for the future, and fix that pop in and combat. About traversal, what they can do is integrate the platforming challenges into the open zone rather than floating platforms. They could also make the design more momentum based rather than too automated with springs, dash panels and grind rails. I And the towers are really fun to climb. I can’t believe there are no loops; I think there are some on the ground but they are made of platforms and not earth, but that still a crime for a Sonic game! And yes, the environments look too realistic for Sonic, make them more colourful and add more variety. But I do like that there are some underground sections you can go to. Did that before TOTK!
One thing I wouldn't mind seeing Frontiers 2 do is utilize the Homing Dash in the level design. Imagine seeing a far-off area that seems nearly impossible to reach,but Homing Dash from an enemy and you're sent flying all the way to that area. I know that it's blasphemy to keep a glitch and have it as a main attribute of the game,but I think it can be cool.
I think also taking some cues from Adventure 1 could be good for improving the open world format. Though it was much smaller in scale, we had a modern setting with Station Square that had hotel side, main city, shopping area, and sewers which all felt really good to explore. In the same world we also had Mystic Ruins with Tails' workshop, the jungle, and the Master Emerald shrine. Then there's also Eggman's ship which was a whole area itself. Most of all, it felt natural to have an area filled with humans and a more "Sonic-y" area together in one game. I also think taking the parkour system from Lost World would be amazing in adding interaction to the world and letting Sonic be more expressive. The ideal open world format would be something that combines Adventure 1, Unleashed and Frontiers IMO and I hope we can get something like that!
i think the emeralds could each be chipped into 4 pieces, and that as sonic collects them, he can get different levels of super sonic. so, collect all 7 1/4 emeralds, and he gets a quarter power. Get the second quarter and he has half power etc etc
honestly i think they should just do one big open world and set objectives arround it and then each major area of the world has a huge boss you can fight if you finnish that areas quest and then you can do each quest in any order you would like just my idea though
My suggestion is get rid of cyberverse and the challenges around the map And make it instead make linear challenges you can start in the open zone and by leaving the area by too long you give up Also being able to change characters mid gameplay is something I’d like to see
It would be cool if you could unlock the bosses by talking to npc and that boss would have one chaos emeralds or something that helps sonic unlock new skill tree it would be cool if sonic could summon a giant sword made of chaos energy and stab the titan then blow up the sword
maybe the platforming collectables could be Sonic Adventure style upgrades, you dont NEED them to beat the game, but they sure make it easier and or more fun ...but theyre actually optional, unlike SA2
I believe sonic frontiers 2 should be 100% 3d with no 2d sections and should evolve the open zone gameplay.also cyberspace bosses would be amazing along with multiple playable characters.plus hyper sonic should return for this game.
I have a bold suggestion that will prolly never happen. has anyone noticed how silver would fit much more than sonic in frontiers? cyloop, and most of his new abilities especially in the super sonic sections would fit silver so much better, like in final horizon when sonic snaps his fingers to crush the end, or when he picks up the sword against knight. replacing cyloop with phsyco kinesis works almost perfectly. I also don't remember super sonic being able to materialize spears or make titans float. these are all feats that silver has done though, it honestly frustrates me how sonic would have better off been in being silver in frontiers. even the vibe would kind of match silver, when I look at frontiers I don't really see a game that sonic fits in. I feel like frontiers 2 should atleast include silver or in any combat orientated open zone for that matter in the future.
I kidd you not Ive spent and enjoyed more time in the Unleashed hub worlds than the starfall islands, i remember wasting an hour fixing some NPC's relationship issues in spagonia and i felt more immersed than i ever have mindlessly boosting through the mostly flat and empty terrains of the starfall islands I dont mean to say the unleashed hub worlds are better as id say the starfall islands do a better job of being open zoned and fun to blast through but like you said they lack life or interaction, once your done the campaign the 100% journey is short and bland, for an open world game it didnt feel open ended, i like it as a sonic game for the most part but i didnt like how they took the formula of a slow paced game like BOTW and then went ahead to put it in a game that encourages being speedran (as more evident by big the cat) I really enjoyed this video, hope to see more!
Ngl, I had much the same thoughts, But I did look more towards influences besides botw because I feel like they may have drawn from that game specifically a bit too much to the game's detriment, hence the actual platforming in open zones feeling tacked on as a afterthought instead of the plan from the get go that's built into the terrain.
Frontiers was too repetitive. It should've had unique challenges like Mario Odyssey, not the same "puzzle" over and over. And the cyberspace levels used like 4 themes recycled over and over. Sega needs to treat Sonic like a proper mascot like Nintendo treats Mario and Sony treats God of War. ONE blockbuster mainline game per console generation. MAYBE two if it's at the beginning and end of a generation.
5:02 aaand making the world more cohesive like the floating rails even though i have no problem with them like it's cool and it's not gonna kill my experience but visually it looks jarring man and really out of place it's looks like mario maker and putted a bunch of assets slap together and call it today maybe that's what exactly they did! When i was reading the development cycle of this game they had no plans to add platform in the game at all it was only going to focus on combat and exploration thank god play testers told them to add platforms because otherwise...it would've been bad and boring and along with that one of the members of sonic team proposed the idea to use the gimmick of floating rails for sonic frontiers that can save the game like..i get why it's like this but you can't tell me it's ideal it looks like a fangame made by a bunch of amateurs rather than made by some professional game developers. 5:38 oh...nvm you mentioned what i said few seconds later lol.
Too also I have come to this place because of the one who is that what they call a mouse that has the things one would call needles who goes by the name that they call mrneedlemouse.
One big disagreement I have is we need to keep the fishing or have an equivalent. The whole point of it is you can chose how you want to play. That allows people to play at their own pace & focus on what you want. Without it people would need to do thing they may not want to bother with. Besides it's an optional aspect and even those who want to do everything can still use it to collect lore through egg memos. This argument feels like the equivalence of remove easy mode because it's too easy for you. But that doesn't count for everyone else which a game (at least one targeting mass appeal) does need to do
@@partyjams I understand your point and to an extent I agree, I like the fishing in Frontiers and would like to see something similar in the next game, my problem with it is that it doesn't make the game "easier", it literally beats it for you, as long as you have enough purple coins you can just fish your way through the game
@@silverv1997 but why is that a problem? If you don't want to do that, then don't do it. However it allows others to skip past whatever they want. It's players choice and that's a good thing. If easy mode is a bad example, why about "auto mode"? Where the game will do some of the things for you. Allows players to skip through grinding or other portions of the game they don't want to deal with. Another example being the option to skip cutscenes. You can miss massive context of the game but some people want to move on to more gameplay.
Where did you get the info that they promised 3 islands before 5? The first thing I remember from the pre-release was the Steam page mentioning 5 islands.
@@silverv1997 But like do you have any concrete example of a piece of promo that I could check out? Not hating btw I’m just very curious. I think Frontiers is fascinating
They really need to address the physics and implement proper momentum and rolling. Make combat fast paced and fun, instead of what we got. Also, cut down on the automation, dash pads, spring chains, orange rings etc and make the gameplay experience more organic.
Dawg you cooked. Good job
@@MrNeedleM0use Thank you so much man!
@@Debugboy Nah man. Like this is honestly a really well made video
9:34 imagine a open zone Angel island, you start at the beach and depending on where you go you either fall to hydrocity or directly go to marble garden
I KNOW RIGHT, THAT WOULD BE EPIC
I have thought of such a thing years ago, thought it could be rather impressive with how varied the locations can be and how they interconnect (imagine endless mine as a underground tunnel system to fast travel to different areas, or how the desert can have way more than just the pyramid near the tomb, or how sky sanctuary and chaos angel adds a verticality aspect to the scale of the island beyond how high ice cap would be)
@@the120cxxits implied that the desert stages in sa2 happen in ángel island, imagine if they just tried their hardest and made a gigantic island that allows you to go through all the levels of 3&knuckles, ice cap (sa1 ver), red mountain, pyramid cave and more, it would be awesome, and like have the whole thing at a incredibly big scale to be able to explore and do the missions
I can defend the environments in Frontiers because the Starfall islands draw from the description of actual ruins of ancient civilizations and Neolithic structures. I want the next game to be more urban. Have all the open zones be cities with NPCs, missions, and an emphasis on modernization as opposed to preserving history. Since Pittsburgh is not the same as Los Vegas, which is not the same as Venice, which is not the same as Tokyo, there’s so much diversity with this concept.
Well said! Like I said, I think the environment in Frontiers is beautiful, but it should definitely be a one time thing cause I think going with this style for future open zone games would be pretty lazy
@@silverv1997 Ancient relics->cities->space
Past-> present-> future
Exactly what I've been saying. Also having the final act be in space would be cool
I imagine doing something like this in a city setting is intensive as hell, probably opens the door for a shitton of bugs
Like, Rockstar can do it, they constantly do something similar, But can Sonic Team do it?
@@Necro-xy5ej Sega is a professional game studio so I think I should be able to trust them with handling that much data. For me it’s the best direction so that Frontiers 2 feels more like a sequel and less like dlc.
Unleashed areas coming back for an open zone game would be so cool
The first island was made smaller mainly because a really big island was confusing to navigate for people playing for the first time. They decided to ease players in to the bigger worlds.
I know but I personally think making the world smaller isn't the right way to fix that, I mean why would someone complain about the world being too big in an open world game lol
@@silverv1997the only reason I could see people complaining would be if there’s not enough to do in the world
6:52 You could have a supersonic boss fight in the beginning like how sonic unleashed opening cutscene worked out so the player knows how it feels to be super sonic which drives them to play the game
😮 I actually really like that idea!
7:30 they missed out on having so many cosmetics and they could have did level up items like the Adventure games. Sonic has like 10 amazing pairs of sneakers now (Light Speed Shoes SA1 and SA2, 06 Gem shoes, Prime, Movie, Riders, etc.)
Ngl with how shadow gens looks and plays i feel that frontiers 2 will take the open zone and turn it into something completely different from frontiers, new better artstyle levels (rather than plain grass and sand and such) peak animations like in shadow gens, bigger and expansive world building with more character interactions with good animations and just a game that feels alive
Im glad people understand that the game itself on its own is pretty good whilst still acknowledging its flaws, this video basically hits the nail on the head for me, and I agree its a good Intro for the formula, with potential to grow which doesnt make what we got BAD, just, needs to grow, also i would KILL for an open zone version of Central City, or Eggman Land, really any previous area, Aesthetically.
Could bro have cooked?
I think it would be cool if the game took place on an island so we would have a mostly "mobian" cast, but maybe throw in a few humans to show that they exist in the same world.
How to fix the single super sonic boss fight problem: Make it replayable, and add SUPER SONIC TO THE OPEN WORLD AS A REWARD FOR BEATING THE GAME
1. Fix the floating rails or at least better incorporate them into levels.
The pop-in is insanely distracting.
2. Expand on the skill tree or at least make the amount of EXP you get smaller so that fighting enemies isn't pointless about halfway through since you've alredy unlocked everything (keep it proportional tho, obviously. Mini bosses should reward tons and infinately respawning enemies should give next to none)
Hell maybe make it so that, like Unleashed, EXP is used to level *everything* from damage to your max speed so you are always starved for more.
3. Puzzles should be used as a way to unlock more of the level and/or optional content instead of mostly boring busy work
4. Don't lock the spindash away as an endgame feature and make momentum a thing outside of it too. Sonic just feels wrong without it.
8:20 if you specifically talking about the ultra realism of the environment idk.. here's the thing it's not the first time sonic interacted with realistic elements just look at sonic adventure 1,2,06, unleashed,black knight(which...btw has the same art direction of sonic frontiers), sonic forces, secret rings etc.. so sonic being in an realistic environment isn't something out of ordinary or out of place forntye franchise not that I disagree with you i totally agree i think it would be better if the world felt more alive you know this is just a reminder lad that sonic is no stranger to realism..
Hopefully we can have smoother animations in the game and make a better sonic model
To me there are two essential first steps:
1- Make a Sonic that is fun to control and just move around, and feels rewarding to learn and master.
2- Design a world that takes advantage of Sonic's movement and makes you want to learn how to traverse it, and allow for player expression.
3- This video I guess.
They could have easily just added snow to Ouranous or Rhea to make a difference! Eggman could have made one island metal/industrial even!
Vast open "realistic" spaces with random crap strewn around isn't interesting to me. I'd much prefer a large, but dense interconnected world with purposeful and coherent design. Something like the Souls series or Metroid Prime (not in gameplay).
The beauty of Sonic level design is in the surreal, colorful, compact and complex geometry and paths.
Ik this is probably not gonna happen soon but I been saying for the longest platinum games would do Sonics combat so much justice I was playing nier automata and tmnt mutants in Manhattan and somehow both styles fit for sonic and just imagine if they experiment with more characters like Silver and Blaze
Frontiers I'd nearly perfect if you ask me. Ian Flynn's writing is spot on. It acknowledges previous events instead of existing within a vacuum. Everyone is actually in character instead of a wacky caricature version of themselves. I think for the sequel it just needs a bit more of that Sonic aesthetic. The Chaos Islands look nothing like the rest of the Sonic world. Like if you showed me the Chaos Islands without any of the characters I would have zero reason to believe it was a Sonic game.
I feel like Frontiers 2 should be an open zone version of sonic unleashed. Instead of the collectathon gimmick it should be structured similar to sa1. Stages are actually locked parts of the open zone and after you clear those stages you unlock more of the map. This is so you can incorporate the open zone and stages as one piece. Also we should bring back the chao garden
@@JT_Toons That's a great idea actually!
@silverv1997 so I also had ideas of sub zones with these open zones. Let's say station square you have the city but you also have these sub zones that have unique interactions like a theme park you can ride rides for platforming or for sandbox reasons. Or a casino you can play casino games and stuff. Have shops and restaurants. Have emerald coast have a ship big owns and you can buy a fishing rod and instead of having a forced fishing spot you can fish any where in the open zone. And of course the chao garden
Open-zone version of sonic unleashed? BRILLIANT IDEA!! 👍👍
Straight facts I totally agree with this
7:31 PERSONALLY i think they collective items they choose like the menory tokens,skill points,music items and purple coins may be good enough ad collective items that's just me though but hey cosmetic doesn't sound too bad though
I wish there was at least one open zone that was City themed or more industrial themed. I really got sick of nature in this game. Hope the next Sonic game will have that.
LET'S GO. SONIC UNLEASHED ONCE AGAIN IS SHOWN THAT IT IS THE GOAT.
Dude you deserve more subs than me. That was a subscription worthy video! Can’t wait to see the next one!
@@SanicBoi Thank you so much for that! And thanks for commenting! I'm actually already a fan of your content, I just watched your video on Sonic CGI!
@@silverv1997 oh actually? Thanks man!
Here are my 2 cents on your ideas:
1. The reason why Kronos was split, as confirmed by Kishimoto, is that playtesters thought a huge island like beta Kronos will be unwelcoming to new players.
So, for accessibility sake, they made Kronos small and short compared to other islands so players will be able to ease into the gameplay loop better. The rest of Kronos was repurposed for Rhea and Ouranos.
It's only once you get to Ares island where the game really opens up with huge islands.
While Rhea is only a tower climb segment, I enjoyed it for what it was. Just doing 6 platforming gauntlets in a raw is fun.
Ouranos is fun too, even if I'll admit it feels unfinished storywise. In terms of gameplay content, it's comparable to Ares or Chaos.
2. Why would I want to run around and collect currency for cosmetics? They don't affect gameplay so their reward feels shallow. The reason why the memory tokens work is that they contribute to progression (AKA the very gameplay you're playing). When you collect them, the reward is clear. But let's say I don't care for outfits, why should I do the platforming in the open zone?
3. If skill points are to become the rewards for open-zone platforming, you need to handle it like Final Horizon, where some skills are mandatory for progression. However, it'll also require a MUCH larger skill tree to stretch the game loop for longer. I'm not sure how big of a skill tree they can accomplish with Sonic without making his moveset overly complicated and messy once he gets all the skills.
Overall, I just prefer memory tokens to stay as the reward for open zone platforming, as I feel like they are more balanced and solid.
4. The reason why Big exists is that, if there's a part of the game you don't like, you can skip it by purchasing the items from big. It's meant to make the game appeal to many players. And sure, you could say: "If everything in the game was fun, I wouldn't have needed to skip it". But my answer is that that's only you🫵. Others wouldn't have enjoyed certain parts of the gameplay no matter what Sonic Team would've done.
Let's say some random player wants to experience only the platforming portions of Frontiers without any of the combat. He can resort to Big to purchase all the portal gears he needs. That way he can only collect the memory tokens and vault keys the intended way, and not compromise what he's interested in when playing a Sonic game.
If you think Big's fishing is too OP, play on Extreme difficulty (where all the prices are x10 higher) and turn off the slot machine in the Starfall event so you won't have a lot of fishing tokens.
5. I get adding villages for variety sake, but why loops? Simply because it's Sonic? But the problem is that loops can only work in a 2D Sonic game.
In 2D, loops are obstacles you have to overcome by running fast enough. In 3D, they are automated. At least it doesn't matter too much in a course-clear stage, as it feels like just a small spectacle moment in-between all the platforming. However, in open-zone gameplay, why should I waste time going through the loop when it's much faster going AROUND the loop?
Heck, even in cyberspace, when players get to a loop, a lot of times they just jump to the other side because it's overall faster this way.
Really, I don't care for Sonic-ish esthetics. I care solely for gameplay. I don't need loops in a Sonic game if there isn't any gameplay purpose for them. Maybe you could place a memory token on their ceilings so I'll have a motivation going through them, but even than I think it'll be better to simply make another platforming course.
6. I don't mind adding NPCs to the maps. Maybe we could have Station Square as an open-zone map, with many residents walking/driving in it. But why should I care for doing their side quests? Why should I waste time interacting with them when all I care about is doing the main content that contributes to progression? I'm afraid adding side-quests will be a waste of development time, when they could've used that time to improve other aspects of the gameplay (physics, combat etc).
If some of these missions are a part of the main story than sure, I'll do them. But if they aren't, and the reward I get from them is something like skill points or a cosmetic than I wouldn't be interested since outfits don't affect gameplay and I can get skill points by fighting enemies or exploring the map.
In summery, while I think you have good ideas on paper, it's clear you need to think them through a bit further. Personally, I think the gameplay loop is perfect as is. Just exploring big maps, doing a lot of platforming and combat and participating in many activities is very fun.
My personal ideas for improvements are more practical. A few tweaks and additions to combat, improving movement a little more, making the titan fights all unique gameplaywise (essentially, giving them all fun gimmicks like Knight), erasing Shark from existence (because holy sh*t he's boring) and more of this kind of fixing. I don't mind some of your ideas, but not in the manner you proposed them to be implemented.
I agree, I admit that these weren't all thought out that well and that some new problems would rise from them, but like I said in the vid, I'm not a professional, I was just giving my opinions on what I'd personally like to see them do. Thank you for your feedback! I really appreciate people giving me honest criticisms of my videos, it helps me improve in the future!
@@silverv1997 I guess I can come off as defensive when UA-camrs offer "fixes" to a game because than, even if a professional (I'm not saying I'm a pro either) can recognize the proposed ideas also have issues (maybe even greater than the ones in the game), many dumb viewers with no knowledge in game design will be like "OMG hire this dude" or "take notes devs".
I hate when stuff like this happens because the devs might actually listen, and this'll lead to an even worse product, and the fans will still complain (even though the fans ARE the ones who proposed these ideas).
I hope you can understand my perspective now.
Loops can work in 3d for the momentum purposes(if there will be any). Jumping around loop will kill your speed, but going through it will give you massive speed and adrenaline rush
Yeah exactly, that's why I want loops in the next game
@@purplebruh947 But you can reach top speed again by boosting/spin-dashing again, which still makes skipping the loop the better option. Heck, that's exactly what I do in Sonic Utopia.
At this point, you'd have to nerf the boost/spin-dash to put more emphasis on rolling, and I'm not sure if this is a good thing for an open-zone Sonic game.
Because traversal with Sonic is fast, these big landscapes don't feel like filler content like many other sandbox games. Making Sonic overall slower just to incentivize players to rely on rolling feels like it'll make the open-zone maps more tiresome to travel through.
Something I would like is that instead of only Sonics friends you Can find can find the custom character from forces there and you can play as him as he Helps sonic. They play just like sonic but with any of there wispons instead of boost like forces
0:17 glad he didn't add sonic lost world in the screen because the game is somewhat good and redeemable and polished ofc..
I agree! I actually really like Sonic Lost World
@@silverv1997 oh.. good so it's not just me who enjoy it's gameplay but the story sucks nothing positive i can say about the story.
@@JakeThehedgehog-m1x yeah the story's bad but I have alot of nostalgia for the gameplay and I think it's a fun time
How can you love sonic games and enjoy Lost World. It plays nothing like sonic, looks nothing like sonic, there is no sonic in that sonic game
It's all subjective my guy
I'd just like it if more of the platforming relied less on automation and homing attack chains and more on natural usage of your abilities and the terrain to get to where you wanted. Final Horizon was a good step in that direction I think but it could still be improved upon by tightening up the moveset so it isn't as easy to invalidate all of it and having more that could only be gotten into from a select few areas (provided they do something about the pop in anyway).
Also, I hope if the cyloop comes back they do more with it. Felt like a missed opportunity that it was kind of just a secondary function that only really got a lot of use in combat. I was really hoping they would've done more with those structures that reassemble themselves after you loop them for instance, instead of just pillars that you climb up to get one thing, they could've been used as shortcuts to other areas, as a mini challenge to do during tense platforming sections or even just for more mini interactions in the open world like those cactus' in Ares Island that set off fireworks.
Sonic Unleashed keeps getting better
Having open zones with multiple different POIs and regions I feel would be enough. Obviously have shops for cosmetics, food, decorations, ect. NPCs, this can range from conversations with NPCs, to side quests, or even rival races/bosses. Secret areas that only certain characters can access, imagine exploring a cave area that can only be accessed by breaking through a wall with Knuckles. As for cyberspace, just make the traditional stages extensions of the open zone. Make the layouts similar to that of Beta Windy Valley from SA1, have NPCs in these stages that just wave or give Sonic some encouragement. The levels could be accessed through warp rings and they could bring back the mission structure from Frontiers but instead of getting keys you get XP and rings. I was also thinking of having Egg base raids. They would work like a rogue-like, testing out your skills in combat and platforming. If you die you get thrown out of the base and have to start over, the base itself would have monitors, items, and chests to keep Sonic healed and powered up. When you beat the boss of the Egg Base you get a reward (Egg Memo or special costume). I don't want just generic grass land or generic desert, give me unique, varied, distinct environments with their own landscapes. A beach that has a town/city, underwater ruins, a cruise ship, aquarium, a water park. A jungle with some villages, mushrooms to bounce on, vines to grind on, swamps to get lost in ect. Finally, give us new badniks, I'm so tired of seeing the same tiring Motobugs and Buzz bombers, not that I mind having them around, but I just want fully original locations and enemies for the next game.
The Sonic prime strays will NOT be tolerated
Personally, I'm a little opposed to going full Open World with Frontiers 2. The current approach they have, with multiple distinct areas to explore, feels more fitting. It's less Breath Of The Wild, and more Super Mario Odyssey, with traveling about multiple islands and doing funny lil platforming challenges to get trinkets. Plus, y'know. Sonic Frontiers 2 still has to release on a Nintendo platform, so I don't think they can make a BOTW sized map where Sonic runs through it in a minute flat
Give us 7 Islands/environments the size of Kronos or even Ares, and then at least 7-14 cyberspace zones with 2-3 acts each that have not been reused before (bringing in characters like Blaze and Shadow can open the floor for DS and PSP stages as well)!
give us gorillion levels that are gorillion minutes long, and gorillion islands that are gorillion square miles each, and gorillion characters, an-and gorillion loops
U cooked!
I think you have a good ideas, i would honestly just want a big city or location with tons of places to go downhill and uphill while getting momentum, kind of like sonic overdrive (a fan game) with huge gaps that you need a lot of speed to cross
@@niv6921 Thank you so much!
I don't care if they go with realistic again. I just need sonic speed simulator's open world design loops slopes. Rails connected to said loops and slopes
Y'all need to stop complaining about the Starfall islands looking like reality . Because sonic adventure 1 2. Unleashed and especially 06 look realistic yet you'd stupidly compare those to frontiers to say sonic needs to look like this when it's the same fucking thing.
@@spidersonic-b5q I'm not complaining about it, in fact I LOVE how frontiers looks, I think it's beautiful, I just think there's a massive absence of personality and life in the worlds, I think they're beautiful but very dead
@@silverv1997 I'm not talking about you bro😐 I was just talking in general.
@@silverv1997 wait a minute you forgot cyberspace
@@silverv1997 I think we can all agree on the game looks...dead maybe because it really is like they are running on a graveyard of an ancient civilizations so I can definitely understand why the tone like this but a bit of life... won't hurt like we're at the point that Amy tells you the land looks sad and empty even the game itself tell you the it's empty as hell look I don't hate the world of sonic frontiers infact i quite love it how visually looks thanks to hedgehog engine 2 I can look past over this one due to the tone and it's story but I don't want the next game have dead environment..like frontiers
Needlemousw is COLLABING NOW? We in a new era
Yeah this game was great, almost prefect for me! It’s hard to imagine anything better than this! Even the bugs were fun to mess around with! Are these bugs still in the game after update 3? Although I do wish they would add a cgi opening if they are still going to update it for the future, and fix that pop in and combat. About traversal, what they can do is integrate the platforming challenges into the open zone rather than floating platforms. They could also make the design more momentum based rather than too automated with springs, dash panels and grind rails. I And the towers are really fun to climb. I can’t believe there are no loops; I think there are some on the ground but they are made of platforms and not earth, but that still a crime for a Sonic game! And yes, the environments look too realistic for Sonic, make them more colourful and add more variety. But I do like that there are some underground sections you can go to. Did that before TOTK!
One thing I wouldn't mind seeing Frontiers 2 do is utilize the Homing Dash in the level design.
Imagine seeing a far-off area that seems nearly impossible to reach,but Homing Dash from an enemy and you're sent flying all the way to that area.
I know that it's blasphemy to keep a glitch and have it as a main attribute of the game,but I think it can be cool.
theres a ancient build loop in the pyrimed in kronos, but none in the regular ground
I think also taking some cues from Adventure 1 could be good for improving the open world format. Though it was much smaller in scale, we had a modern setting with Station Square that had hotel side, main city, shopping area, and sewers which all felt really good to explore. In the same world we also had Mystic Ruins with Tails' workshop, the jungle, and the Master Emerald shrine. Then there's also Eggman's ship which was a whole area itself. Most of all, it felt natural to have an area filled with humans and a more "Sonic-y" area together in one game. I also think taking the parkour system from Lost World would be amazing in adding interaction to the world and letting Sonic be more expressive. The ideal open world format would be something that combines Adventure 1, Unleashed and Frontiers IMO and I hope we can get something like that!
10:39 bruh...why is knuckles have a gun lol😂😂😂😂
10:00 This is exactly what sonics pack in lego dimensions did lol
i think the emeralds could each be chipped into 4 pieces, and that as sonic collects them, he can get different levels of super sonic. so, collect all 7 1/4 emeralds, and he gets a quarter power. Get the second quarter and he has half power etc etc
honestly i think they should just do one big open world and set objectives arround it and then each major area of the world has a huge boss you can fight if you finnish that areas quest and then you can do each quest in any order you would like just my idea though
My suggestion is get rid of cyberverse and the challenges around the map
And make it instead make linear challenges you can start in the open zone and by leaving the area by too long you give up
Also being able to change characters mid gameplay is something I’d like to see
It would be cool if you could unlock the bosses by talking to npc and that boss would have one chaos emeralds or something that helps sonic unlock new skill tree it would be cool if sonic could summon a giant sword made of chaos energy and stab the titan then blow up the sword
maybe the platforming collectables could be Sonic Adventure style upgrades, you dont NEED them to beat the game, but they sure make it easier and or more fun
...but theyre actually optional, unlike SA2
I believe sonic frontiers 2 should be 100% 3d with no 2d sections and should evolve the open zone gameplay.also cyberspace bosses would be amazing along with multiple playable characters.plus hyper sonic should return for this game.
I have a bold suggestion that will prolly never happen.
has anyone noticed how silver would fit much more than sonic in frontiers?
cyloop, and most of his new abilities especially in the super sonic sections would fit silver so much better, like in final horizon when sonic snaps his fingers to crush the end, or when he picks up the sword against knight. replacing cyloop with phsyco kinesis works almost perfectly.
I also don't remember super sonic being able to materialize spears or make titans float.
these are all feats that silver has done though, it honestly frustrates me how sonic would have better off been in being silver in frontiers. even the vibe would kind of match silver, when I look at frontiers I don't really see a game that sonic fits in.
I feel like frontiers 2 should atleast include silver or in any combat orientated open zone for that matter in the future.
I hope the open zones get a improvement not rushed and more challenges and complete cgi sega please give Sonic team more time
I kidd you not Ive spent and enjoyed more time in the Unleashed hub worlds than the starfall islands, i remember wasting an hour fixing some NPC's relationship issues in spagonia and i felt more immersed than i ever have mindlessly boosting through the mostly flat and empty terrains of the starfall islands
I dont mean to say the unleashed hub worlds are better as id say the starfall islands do a better job of being open zoned and fun to blast through but like you said they lack life or interaction, once your done the campaign the 100% journey is short and bland, for an open world game it didnt feel open ended, i like it as a sonic game for the most part but i didnt like how they took the formula of a slow paced game like BOTW and then went ahead to put it in a game that encourages being speedran (as more evident by big the cat)
I really enjoyed this video, hope to see more!
Ngl, I had much the same thoughts, But I did look more towards influences besides botw because I feel like they may have drawn from that game specifically a bit too much to the game's detriment, hence the actual platforming in open zones feeling tacked on as a afterthought instead of the plan from the get go that's built into the terrain.
Frontiers was too repetitive. It should've had unique challenges like Mario Odyssey, not the same "puzzle" over and over.
And the cyberspace levels used like 4 themes recycled over and over.
Sega needs to treat Sonic like a proper mascot like Nintendo treats Mario and Sony treats God of War.
ONE blockbuster mainline game per console generation. MAYBE two if it's at the beginning and end of a generation.
5:02 aaand making the world more cohesive like the floating rails even though i have no problem with them like it's cool and it's not gonna kill my experience but visually it looks jarring man and really out of place it's looks like mario maker and putted a bunch of assets slap together and call it today maybe that's what exactly they did! When i was reading the development cycle of this game they had no plans to add platform in the game at all it was only going to focus on combat and exploration thank god play testers told them to add platforms because otherwise...it would've been bad and boring and along with that one of the members of sonic team proposed the idea to use the gimmick of floating rails for sonic frontiers that can save the game like..i get why it's like this but you can't tell me it's ideal it looks like a fangame made by a bunch of amateurs rather than made by some professional game developers.
5:38 oh...nvm you mentioned what i said few seconds later lol.
Sonic needs big open spaces for the gameplay, i think its limited in what they can do
I would actually like a green hill open zone (but as an side zone not a main zone)
Sent here by needlemouse.
Me too.
Too also I have come to this place because of the one who is that what they call a mouse that has the things one would call needles who goes by the name that they call mrneedlemouse.
if the the platfroms matchs like you grind on idk woods and leafs or smth and instead of towers there can be like big trees or ancient old stuff
One big disagreement I have is we need to keep the fishing or have an equivalent. The whole point of it is you can chose how you want to play. That allows people to play at their own pace & focus on what you want. Without it people would need to do thing they may not want to bother with. Besides it's an optional aspect and even those who want to do everything can still use it to collect lore through egg memos. This argument feels like the equivalence of remove easy mode because it's too easy for you. But that doesn't count for everyone else which a game (at least one targeting mass appeal) does need to do
@@partyjams I understand your point and to an extent I agree, I like the fishing in Frontiers and would like to see something similar in the next game, my problem with it is that it doesn't make the game "easier", it literally beats it for you, as long as you have enough purple coins you can just fish your way through the game
@@silverv1997 but why is that a problem? If you don't want to do that, then don't do it. However it allows others to skip past whatever they want. It's players choice and that's a good thing. If easy mode is a bad example, why about "auto mode"? Where the game will do some of the things for you. Allows players to skip through grinding or other portions of the game they don't want to deal with. Another example being the option to skip cutscenes. You can miss massive context of the game but some people want to move on to more gameplay.
I can't wait to the next 15 years for them to remaster this game to fix all it's flaws 😂😂😂
Momentum
Better environment
Less realism
Less anime-like combat
I hope the next game the world looks like sonic and not generic Fortnite map
lol theyll never make another sonic game that wont suck. just looking at this footage i can tell that you could be playing thousands of better games
@@eisviech9984 If you're not a Sonic fan then I'll kindly ask you to not watch my videos
Where did you get the info that they promised 3 islands before 5? The first thing I remember from the pre-release was the Steam page mentioning 5 islands.
The game's marketing constantly advertised 3 islands and it's clear that the choice to split them into 5 was made later in development
@@silverv1997 But like do you have any concrete example of a piece of promo that I could check out? Not hating btw I’m just very curious. I think Frontiers is fascinating
The plan was 5 completely different than three companies different and then five with three being the same
They really need to address the physics and implement proper momentum and rolling. Make combat fast paced and fun, instead of what we got. Also, cut down on the automation, dash pads, spring chains, orange rings etc and make the gameplay experience more organic.
I don’t wanna be that guy but “Sega hire this man”