Sonic Frontiersis finally out, and it’s gotten a bit of a buzz. With its new open world gameplay, it may be the bestSonicgame sinceSonic Mania, and the best 3D one sinceSonic Generations. Though whether it’s as good asGenerationsis another story. Some critics are saying so, while others are saying no. Such divisiveness is to be expected of aSonicgame at this point.
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However, the game will still give the Hedgehog’s enthusiasts plenty to talk about. What’s going on with the Starfall Islands? Why is Dr Eggman so interested in them? And whatEaster eggswill they reveal? Here are a couple some sharp-eyed fans may notice.
7Cast To The Past
Once upon a time, players had to choose Big the Cat and fish for frogs to progress. Now they can do it as Sonic by taking the purple portal to his pond, casting their line, and seeing what they canpick up for points. The crayfish aren’t worth much, but the red stingrays and golden coelacanths will really rack up the tokens. Still, there are some things people can’t put a price on, like nostalgia.
If Sonic doesn’t catch a fish or two, he can end up grabbing items from the classic games. Like the old check point posts, springs (in both yellow and red varieties), or the end-of-level goal posts. They’ll even have their own entries in the Fish-o-pedia, explaining their origins for anyone who didn’t getSonic Origins.
6Easter Egg Memos
It wouldn’t be an open-world game without audio logs to collect. InSonic Frontiers, they’re called Egg Memos: audio recordings made by Dr Eggman while within Cyber Space. There’s 24 in the whole game, and they each cost 15 tokens from the in-game store, and the best way to earn tokens is from Big’s fishing game. So, there’s more to those coelacanths and goal posts than just keeping the giant cat happy.
They’re worth collecting because they contain plenty of lore forSonicfans to get into. The rotund scientist will bring up all sorts of references to his and Sonic’s past. There’s his time on West Side Island fromSonic the Hedgehog 2, his cousin Maria fromSonic Adventure 2, Jet the Hawk and his bird friends fromSonic Riders, and Planet Donpa fromTeam Sonic Racingamong others.
5Continuity Chaos
The game involves Dr. Eggman exploring the Starfall Islands to make use of its ancient technology, and Sonic having to stop him while learning the truth about the Islands’ former inhabitants, simply dubbed ‘the Ancients’. They’re blue, translucent beings that may look familiar to veteran players.
Related:Sonic Adventure: Every Playable Character, Ranked By Their Campaigns
Especially if they’ve played theearly 3D gamesmore than the 2D ones. Dr Eggman explains it clearly enough in his Egg Memos, but those in the know will recognize their connection on sight. All that can be said without giving the game away to newer fans is that their history ties into Sonic’s past and present too.
4Where’s the Drowning Music?
This list can give this away though: the classic drowning music isn’t in the game! Well, not in any watery body on the islands anyway. If players stick Sonic under a lake or pool or the like, they’ll just get a countdown, then death if they don’t get out in time. However, they can come across a red blob enemy that’ll absorb Sonic into their mass.
They can get out if they repeatedly stop attack. But if they just leave Sonic in there, they’ll get a countdown and that old familiar jingle will start playing. It’s an orchestral version à laSonic Colors, so it’s not quite as nightmarish as the Genesis’ aggressive synth. But for a generation of players, it’s still nerve-wracking.
3Remember The Time
After 30 years of gaming, Sonic’s gained a long memory. Wherever he goes on the Starfall Islands, there will be something that reminds him of his prior adventures, and not just the critically acclaimed ones. Sure, there’s a waterfall here and there that’ll remind him of the Mystic Ruins inSonic Adventure, or the Sky Sanctuary fromSonic 3 & Knuckles. But he’ll also find a view that reminds him of Rail Canyon, the janky, pitfall-filled level fromSonic Heroes.
Another will give him a hankering for curry like the ones made in Shamar, the Middle Eastern-themed world fromSonic Unleashed. Most obscurely, at some point he’ll bring up Tangle the Lemur, a character from the IDWSonic Comics. Sticks the Badger fromSonic Boomgets mentioned too. Either all these sources are canon to the games as well, or Sega’srumored super gameis going to beSonic: Into the Hedgehog-verse.
2Flashbacks
Sonic’s not the only character to get these flashbacks. When he talks to his friends, they’ll sometimes have literal flashbacks during their conversations. The game will briefly cut to a scene from a past game in some cases, to emphasize their points. It wouldn’t do to give away all their appearances. But one instance has Sonic bring upSonic Lost Worldand bothSonic Adventuregames to pep a friend back up.
While another scene uses one of the Genesis games, complete with scan lines, when the character sees some familiar, palace-like architecture. One of the more perplexing scenes brings up the final boss from one of Sonic’s Gamecube games. In context, it illustrates their point, though the encounter wasn’t exactly one ofthe Blue Blur’s best.
1The Tetris Effect, Pinball Panic, and Sonic’s Colors
Sonic Frontiersalso shows the developers paying tribute to some other games beyond the hedgehog’s oeuvre. For example, there’s a building block puzzle that uses some veryTetris-like shapes. They have to be moved through portals that drop them vertically onto a plinth. It’s legally distinct enough from Alexey Pajitnov’s puzzle classic, but there’s no mistaking the influence. There’s also a pinball mini-game, which has been a staple since the Casino Night Zone level inSonic the Hedgehog 2.
However, the most startling addition is a shoot ‘em up section that looks akin to theYakuzaseries’Boxcelliosmini-games. But it doesn’t play like them. It plays like the Dreamcast cult classicIkaruga, as Sonic has to either dodge enemy fire or change the color of his shield to absorb it instead. It’snot as difficultas Treasure’s classic shooter, but of all the game references to use, that has to be one of the more unlikely ones.
Sonic Frontiersis available now on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
