Since June, it feels like we've been getting a proper avalanche of Sonic Frontiers news, with the game currently scheduled to release toward the end of 2022. Although initial fan reaction to the gameplay footage was, shall we say, mixed, it seems many people are starting to come around to the game's drastic new direction, particularly after its impressive showing at the recent Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.
In a piece by Game Informer, it's been revealed that Sonic Team is hoping the latest entry will elevate the series' overarching narrative to new heights and transcend the usual "good guys versus bad guys" scenario that's been the focal point of the franchise up till now.
In order to achieve this, Sonic Team has taken on long-time Sonic the Hedgehog comics writer Ian Flynn, who has been a key figure for both the Archie Comics and IDW Publishing runs of Sonic the Hedgehog. In speaking with Game Informer, Sonic Team's creative officer said the following of Flynn's recruitment:
"Ian has been working as a comic writer for a long time, so I was very familiar with his work, but after reading the IDW comics, I was even more impressed with his talent. That's why I wanted to ask him to work on the story for the game as well. He knows the characters well, so he brought a great improvement to the characters' emotions and dialogue."
Flynn hopes that by introducing more nuance to the characters and weaving in plot points from previous Sonic titles, he can help Sonic Frontiers appeal to long-term fans, despite its drastic change in overall tone and structure:
"I'm a career Sonic nerd, so I wanted to weave some of the series' legacy into the story. I wanted to advance the characters' personal stories, even if just by a little bit. I also wanted to bring some interconnectivity to the previous games. There isn't anything that will be too dense for new fans to wade through, but just enough for long-term fans to appreciate."
Game Informer goes on to explain that while you're exploring Kronos Island - the game's primary setting - Sonic himself will make comments to himself that will reference characters and events from previous titles, including wondering if Kronos Island would make a suitable location for a new Chao Garden (indeed, this particular example may prove irksome for some, as it's been previously confirmed that, no, Chao Garden will not feature in Sonic Frontiers).
According to Sonic Frontiers director Morio Kishimoto, the game might also end up being quite different in Japan from a narrative perspective. As the Sonic franchise has proven to be significantly more popular in the west (the Mega Drive pretty much tanked in Japan, coming behind the SNES and PC Engine), the translation from Ian Flynn's writing will be adjusted to appeal to the Japanese market. Here's what Kishimoto-san had to say:
"I used the translation of Ian Flynn's story as a base and rewrote the Japanese to better suit the Japan market since Sonic is not as well-known as a character here in Japan when compared to how popular and known he is abroad. Many Japanese children grow up reading manga, watching anime, watching the live-action suit-hero shows, or watching Japanese movies, so the whole culture and entertainment familiarity in Japan is different from the West. So we needed to make some adjustments for our audience."
Despite this, there are hopes within Team Sonic that Frontiers will break through the Japanese market thanks to the fresh implementation of the open-zones. It'll also be interesting to see how the regional variations differ from one another, so if you're fluent in both English and Japanese, you might want to check out both versions and see for yourself!
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Do you think Sonic Frontiers' narrative will elevate the series new heights? Are you looking forward to playing the game? Let us know!
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 36
Is Sonic lore really that big a thing?
Have limited exposure to the series - I loved the Mega Drive games, own Battle 2 on the Gamecube as well as Colours on the Wii and Generations on the PS3 (as well as multiple re-releases of the orginal games), but never 'got' the story side of Sonic.
I guess for me, i've always looked at it as a companion title to the Mario games, as in it's never been about the story, and only about the gameplay...
That said, I used to love the UK (Fleetway) Sonic The Comic magazine from the mid 90s...
Steady waiting for this game. Cant wait for the release
Thb I wouldn't mind if they would drop the story all together. I personally don't think story is relevant for plattformers, just look at Mario those games are amazing and they always just have that "Bowser kidnapped Peach" story and that's it
I think it's great that they've brought on talent from other parts of the Sonic franchise. That's worked well for them in the past, like bringing in Tyson Hesse to fix the character designs for the movies, or bringing in parts of the fan game community to help with retro Sonic games.
For a whole decade, Ken Pontac has been credited as writing for Sonic games starting with Sonic Colors, including the 3DS Sonic Boom games, and continuing up to Team Sonic Racing.
He also wrote one episode of the Sonic Boom cartoon, which incidentally was the only episode in the whole show that had any real connection to any of the games.
@AndyMK84 you'd be surprised how die-hard serious some people get about it, character's representations, etc.
there are a lot of people who vehemently hate ian flynn as a result of being maybe just a bit too serious about Sonic The Hedgehog Lore
@somebread Oh, i've absolutely seen how rabid some of the fanbase get. I get that people are passionate about it, but it's a bit much (to put it mildly!)
Ah, the Chao Garden....one day
The bar to improve the story is not high.
Honestly? After what happened with the writers since Colors, maybe is for the best. The dialogue for Sonic Colors was a nice change of pace but every game it felt more souless. Specially in Forces.
Having a story that at least tries to do something (like Unleashed, for example) would be nice.
Edit: Also, even with the Chao Garden video being probably edited, is still weird how they admit Chao Garden is a popular request and they refused to do it nowadays for some reason.
Yeah, if you could give us a demo or release date, that’d be grrrreat
That's awesome! Story is my favorite aspect of games no matter what genre. Sonic and the Dark Brotherhood was a sweet game!! More story plz!!
Taking the Sonic series narrative to a new height is a pretty low bar to cross...
I've heard this is supposed to be a sombre story which has me interested.
Sonic and Robotnik finally make out in this one
I heavily value a story in any game, so I have high hopes here having read and enjoyed the IDW comics. I play games for the experiences, the stories they manage to tell or even the stories they allow to be created within players, so I always value a good narrative. It can give a lot of soul and staying power to a game that I’d otherwise forget in mere moments… and Sonic could do with some positive memorability instead of the constant trainwrecks.
Looking forward to watching this struggle to crack 60 on Metacritic
@mariomaster96 Personally, I’d love it if they did more creative storytelling in platformers. I’ve always found stories in gaming to be a great way to get me more absorbed into the game, and gives me an even bigger reason to finish them.
The only Mario games that interest me are the ones that go beyond the “Bowser kidnaps Peach” storyline. As for Sonic, well, there’s a reason why many still consider SA2 to be one of their greatest. I truly believe the epic storytelling (even if was a bit cheesy) is what helped it stand the test of time.
That’s nice, but it won’t make up for the game being a literal asset flip.
@DiggleDog
They’re more interested in telling us how this is 85+ rather than showing us why it’s a 85+, I can’t even think of an example of where this didn’t backfire for a game. They really wanna talk like Sonic Team is some gold star developer about to unleash its next masterpiece.
@AndyMK84 I mean, part of what made SA2 so loved and memorable was its story and additions to the lore. Personally I’d love to see more “story” in Sonic games, because when I think when it’s done right, it makes the games all that more compelling. The sonic comics where always fun for their stories, and having a writer from the comics team certainly has me hopeful!
I love some Sonic games but I've never given a solitary crap about the world beyond the premise of a platformer.
I feel like Sega has always had some grander vision that Sonic should be as ubiquitous and universally applicable like Mario, and for that reason I think it took a fan to make the best Sonic games in years. Sonic Mania played to the series' strength.
Screw the narrative, what's with Sonic's giant, long hands?!! Is this part of the lore?
@TheCrabMan
First off, I know you're being sarcastic, but the sarcasm can go in a couple of ways, so I'm probably agreeing with you by saying that sonic really is better without story. . .
And SECONDLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tales is a nickname! It's Miles Prower, you monster!
I Don’t give a flying fig about story in any game, but if Sega’s indeed got something, it should have gone into the trailer presentation for one specific reason... make the game look interesting.. How is Sega so bad at their dang job
Flynn is a real talent. I'm hopeful for the story in this one, though who knows how much freedom he may have.
@AndyMK84 The Archie series ran for nearly 300 issues, and in that time built up a huge amount of lore in its continuity. Not all good, mind, but it got a lot of Sonic fans through some of Sonic's rough periods. Then Flynn can in, cleaned up most of the mess in the lore, and headed a really good comic for several years, till...well, it's a long story.
Sonic Team's lore builders/writers are some of the cringest human beings on this planet and for this game to take it to new heights it would just have to make even the smallest bit of sense and not have Sonic trying to bag a human woman.
Again I wish people wouldn't get super hyped from this game, Sonic Team has not proven to be hype worthy in 15 years and I don't think making the game bigger is the solution. They can't even make regular sized Sonic games run smoothly or be an overly enjoyable experience. I have the right amount of faith in them pulling this off.
And the gameplay to new lows.
If they can manage dialog that doesn't make me want to start strangling forest animals every time Tails starts talking, that will be a step in the right direction.
Don’t think I’ve played a 3D Sonic since Generations on PS3; I keep trying to give Sega a chance but whether it’s the slightly-off Monkey Ball engine or Sonic Origins’ modding issues, I keep thinking their highs (I hear great things about Yakuza series and arcades) are likely behind them 🥺
@Screen
By the look of the enemies they only half rendered those assets
@steventonysmith
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a couple of competent developers with UE5 could recreate the entirety of what was shown in the trailer ina month.
@Screen
I doubt they would need to be competent or take a full month
Flynn being involved alone is the reason why the story is the least of my worries about this game. Having read IDW, I have no doubt this will be the best Sonic story in the video game canon.
The gameplay, on the other hand...
I'm not really worried about the story (as long as it doesn't try too hard to be "deep" and/or Sonic Team doesn't force their "helpful inputs" in the writing), as I'm sure Flynn knows what he is doing.
The gameplay is what concerns me.
I think just like Naughty Dog, Sega needs to drop Sonic and let other companies make titles of Sonic if they would like. I think it would be a huge cost savings to Sega to disband the Sonic Team and focus on their more consistent efforts.
I really wish there was a Chao Garden. I would be fine without one but most of the people in the Sonic fanbase are gonna throw tantrums like spoilt brats and we'll never hear the end of it.
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