How Sonic Frontiers Redefined the Franchise

[@MechaKnuckles]

The fact that Sonic insisted on helping the last Koco also shows that Amy changed his perspective.

[@Hynotama]

That was so forced though. Sonic wouldn’t abandon anyone and that scene was forced in, to make Amy look good, at the expense of making Sonic look bad. I’m guessing Flynn is a feminist and, like all feminists, he has no idea how to make good female characters without denigrating or lowering the male characters in those interaction.

[@lasercraft32]

@@Hynotama That's a HUGE assumption to make based on basically no evidence... I am genuinely baffled why you think this is somehow feminist propaganda. No, its not even remotely out of character for Sonic. Did you forget that in Sonic Adventure, Amy literally asks Sonic to help with the Flicky and he turns her down? Sonic doesn't slow down to help because in his eyes the best way to solve the problem is to beat it at the source. Amy has to help the Flicky find its family on her own. Sonic has literally done this exact thing before. They didn't just do it to make him "look bad." That's just stupid.

[@mikebearthegamer1365]

Knuckles: You're too trusting Sonic. Sonic: No I'm not. Trust me. Favorite line/interaction in the game.

[@BraviaGames]

22:29, I wouldn't blame Flynn for this. In an interview with IGN, Flynn states that Sega "provided the story, backstory, plot beats, and usable characters" and told him to write about what he was given. Basically, he was on dialogue duty. Also, Idk how many people know this but ever since Sonic stories started using English witers, the Japanease localisation has been completely different. So every thing Pontaff and Graff and Flynn have written is just for the English audience. The Japanease dialogue for games like Colors, Forces, and Frontiers has been different for them.

[@RemisterReal]

Damn SEGA/S.T. get better !

[@FailedUltimatelifeForm7-10]

Just took a peak at the Sonic colors japanese with English subtitles the dualogue has a lack of cringy jokes and the characters feel more in character without the need to make the story serious.

[@anonymouslucario285]

​@@RemisterRealthey are getting better

[@taoufiktorchanitaoufik6977]

@@FailedUltimatelifeForm7-10 maybe it's better if later games don't have serious stories but instead stories that take themselves seriously

[@FailedUltimatelifeForm7-10]

@@taoufiktorchanitaoufik6977 yeah I agree

[@ARfritz]

This game is a solid 7.5/10 in my eyes, easily top 10 favorite sonic games.

[@newdraftanimations]

Even top 5! In my opinion

[@fantastic0990]

Top one for me

[@highlandave8507]

Top 5 for me

[@SynysterProjects]

Top 5 for sure. It's SOOOOOO CLOSE to being my favorite. Maybe the next 2 updates will make that happen!

[@explodingegg123]

top 5 for me (but I haven't played too many sonic games, although I would love to play more)

[@NotSoGenesiz]

one thing about frontiers that i love is that there’s still a whole lot more of it coming this year, it’s like it’s gonna be christmas morning every time new updates release lol

[@TheTC]

I dread playing the game again, but honestly I've been waiting for the friendless loser era to end for so, so long... Maybe the DLC will actually be good and redeem the train wreck of the main campaign. Only one way to find out!

[@MarzOnline92]

After watching the Knuckles prologue, it solidified my wanting for a solo Knuckles game. It's long over due and Knuckles deserves one (plus I want to see his treasure hunting hat).

[@MattTOB618]

His hat has actually appeared in the Archie comics, the Boom comic, and Sonic Dash/Forces: Speed Battle! But yes, I want it in more as well.

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

COMBAT, it could actually work with him as well! considering how he was earlier supposed to have a part in sonic unleashed it would be incredible!

[@MarzOnline92]

@@kaxcommentssomethingREAL Right?! He's literally perfect for a game like frontiers. Now just add in his treasure hunting mechanics from SA1 & SA2 & there you have it! An action/adventure, ground pounding, combo inputting, digging, puzzle solving, treasure hunting, Knuckles game with and Indiana Jones-like feel to it! And simply call it, "Knuckles' Treasure Hunt".

[@ROT695]

I’ve kinda been wanting a Knuckles metroidvania styled game where he explores a cave that ends up being a huge echidna ruin. Have him find old echidna artefacts that he uses as upgrades to get him around the map and unlock new areas. Would be a good game to give us lore on the echidna tribe and stuff

[@fasterthanlight1909]

1995's Knuckles' Chaotix was technically a Knuckles game.

[@ghrtyeje]

If you had the Adventurer's Box installed for pre-ordering the game, then that's why you had enough XP to buy multiple upgrades at the beginning. At default, you won't have so many unlocked at the start. In regards to the recovery ability, the way it works is that if Sonic takes damage that causes him to be thrown backwards and doesn't lose his rings until he hits the ground, that's when you can perform it; if you get hit by an attack that causes Sonic to lose rings instantly, it won't work. Please don't take that as criticism to your video though! I liked it overall and agree with many of your points! I'm glad Sonic Frontiers lifted your spirits for the franchise like it did for me! So hyped for those updates too!!

[@Spiney09]

I know a lot of people weren’t satisfied with the way they addressed Tails’ inconsistencies. Personally, I don’t think there’s a way to completely address everything without a full retcon, and allowing one retcon sets an extremely dangerous precedent. The way they handled it was instead to face the poor character writing head-on. I don’t think it solves all the problems with his character, but they did a good enough job that they can move on and build off the best aspects. Fans of the series should be glad that they addressed it in a serious way at all, so many other series just make a snarky comment about it there games/seasons later and never bring it up again. The game as a whole feels like a foundation for a new era of sonic games. Maybe they’ll spend the next decade exploring the ideas, and finding new mysteries. They’ve added new ideas to explore, I really hope they actually follow up on some of these.

[@ridingatractor7616]

What?? I think it was pretty good how Ian handled Tail's cowardness.

[@TheTC]

I think they should have just set Frontiers after Shadow the Hedgehog and continue the classic timeline instead of trying to patchwork the modern timline to be similar to the classic...tho this game seems to imply there's only one canon? Which just... makes everything seem crazy? Either way Tails' explanation for why he became worthless in 2008 just felt like a Sonic Boom joke.

[@TheTC]

@Broman2.0 Ses it doesn't explain why Tails just randomly became a coward and lost his powers alongside Amy

[@TheSwordsman100]

@@TheTC There is indeed only one timeline, Forces was a translation error that made people jump to conclusions due to how popular multiverse theory is now of days even though as seen with CD, Silver, Superstars, time travel via Chaos Control, heck every time time travel is used its real time travel used instead. I recommend Tails Tube a offical lore explaining series.

[@jayceallen6530]

Wyvern was probably my biggest highlight from this game, one of the best sonic bosses ive ever fought in my whole life, that music that fits the boss fight perfectly, the power in sonic throwing that boss, the 2nd phase of the song, all the qte’s, and it being the only titan with so much scale and chasing a titan is just conceptually cool(but i didnt like the black screens, hope they fix that in the future or at least make the throw fade out instead of cutting away). I also loved just seeing sonic interact with his friends again and with more than just a few throwaway lines between them. I cant wait for these 3 updates

[@timlyons3420]

INCREDIBLY underrated boss fight AND song!!

[@TheTC]

I hated that boss, but only cuz I didn't understand how parrying worked. Otherwise all the bosses were the same: button mashing to excellent music. Absolute highlight of the game, it's almost cathartic.

[@Xtreme-qk5qg]

I love it when sonic yeeted it into the mountain.😂

[@rickyrackey7930]

Roger’s Sonic then: LOL BALDY NOSEHAIR!!!! XD Roger’s Sonic now: *Red laser Eyes Meme*

[@BlueJack222]

21:30 Ian said that he didn't want to introduce another random alien species to the mix so he asked if they could be tied into something that we're already familiar with and that's how they became a part of the Chaos and Chao line

[@KamID2580]

This is why the bumble cast needs more attention because a lot of his complaints were addressed on there months ago.

[@TheTC]

@@KamID2580 Maybe if it wasn't a podcast. I never can bring myself to watch those. I need video I can ignore!

[@TheSinisterTerror]

just something I noticed both in my replay of the game, and in this video, but in the cutscene where Tails talks about leaving to go on his own, the sun is at Sonic's back, until he steps forward alongside him. *Sonic let Tails out of his shadow and let the sun hit them both as equals.*

[@slateoffate9812]

18:51 Sage didn't tell Eggman because she knew of Eggman's track record with losing control over things. She saw a hubristic pattern and tried to avoid it.

[@soulsparx]

see, i actually like the end. in a game all about death and grief, having the final boss literally embody death itself is perfect to me-- it isnt an engaging character because it *isnt* a character, it's a force, it is an entity. in that way, it's a lot like chaos-- chaos didn't have much in the way of personality either, but they were engaging as a destructive force of nature. also maybe its just because i grew up playing galaga and gradius, but i don't mind the final boss taking the shooter gameplay from the hacking stages haha

[@slateoffate9812]

39:30 I get why the artstyle is so uniform; the Ancients only had so much of their old resources to use, but I still would've liked to see structures made from the Ancients trying to use Earth materials. At the very least, I wish each island's Ancient artstyle was affected by the environment. We got a glimpse of that on Ares Island with some of the outer platforming sections looking dusty, but not much else. The island themes could also have been way more dynamic. We got small glimpses across the islands whose aesthetic could very well be their own island; the phosphorescent underground river on Ares Island being a personal fave. Kronos Island could've been perpetually foggy with moss and other plant life growing on the structures. Ares Island could've been all about above ground and below instead of just annoying crevices. Chaos Island should've leaned more into the fire/ice theming, making it a superior mix than Freeze Flame Galaxy. It also could've utilized the chemical ponds more, full of so much microscopic life it's honestly surprising Sonic doesn't get sick over there. Rhea Island should've leaned HEAVILY into the forest aesthetic. Make all the trees winter dead to emphasize the atmosphere of that part of the story. And Ouranos Island should've taken inspiration from its namesake, a greek term relating to the sky. What if Ouranos Island was actually Angel Island? That or it could've leaned more into the outdoor cave thing one of the Catapillers is located in. I liked the battle against the End. The shooter mechanic was exclusive to tech stuff before but the fact that it's used in space to fight the End makes the threat feel more powerful and unknowable. That being said, I do wish the End had a more creative name, like Telos(greek for end) or something. Oh, and I also wish Sonic's idle pose wasn't so tense. I know it's a homage to the genesis games, but imagine it being more relaxed, emphasizing Sonic's freedom, with one hand on Sonic's hip if they have to reference the genesis games.

[@chezi34]

For the memory tokens, it is actually explained during loading screen text. They’re essentially used to clean up their respective character’s frequencies, which suggests that they’re being projected onto the Overworld and can’t interact with Sonic until they can get a clear visual for both them and Sonic I know this doesn’t explain anything for Sage but that’s what it means for Amy, Knuckles and Tails

[@sanicboistolen]

Man I was so hyped for this game, even past ign’s terrible gameplay showcase, the game was gifted to me from pre purchase, and I saw no gameplay videos past release so I could have the full, 1st time ever experience, and when I hit those titan fights, I had SHIVERS dude, hearing the those first inspirational words “I’m hanging onto the other side, I won’t give up till the end of me” just were beautiful, so much of this game was done right, and the upcoming updates are sure to make it better. Thank you sonic team

[@zomebody5529]

Same!

[@Xtreme-qk5qg]

Giganto was basically the tutorial on how to fight the titans, wyvern is when they throw different mechanics at you, and knight is in my eyes, THE MOST ANIME BOSS FIGHT I'VE EVER HAD.

[@sourlab]

I just want to hug the person who said make knight slit in half after sonic using THAT DAMN SWORD

[@tyforestreacts]

The game? Solid 7/10. The gameplay’s fine and the story is the same. Nothing too much to write home about. But I had a stupid smile on my face the entire time. Playing it felt MAGICAL. For the first time in so long, I had a ton of fun playing a new Sonic game. Colors, Generations, and even Lost World to a degree were fine in my opinion, but lacked something that I just couldn’t put my finger on. Forces didn’t help, and if anything, only made it worse. But Frontiers? It was then that I discovered what past games were missing: a longing for more. For the first time in a long time, I am anxious and thrilled for the future of Sonic. If this game is the start of something new, I will accept it with open arms.

[@whybother5741]

19:19 I remember someone saying that the Emeralds might’ve been incorporated into the fight of Light and Dark Gaia and weren’t always so important. However, here’s some food for thought, in rush, it’s stated that the Emeralds counter parts in the Sol dimension keeps the world in balance or whatever. But this game implies that those Sol Emeralds either must’ve not always been on Blazes planet in her Dimension, or they ARE from her planet. This, combined with the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a Master Sol Emerald, might imply that the Sol Dimension is a Dimension where the Sol Dimension equivalent of the Ancients never had to leave their original planet, because the End was a either defeated, OR the End simply hasn’t attacked them yet.

[@bismarsyauqie7885]

Considering how Frontiers came out the way it did. Can you imagine in the alternate universe where Pontac & Graft wrote the story for Frontiers or what happened if Ian Flynn wrote the story for Forces ? (I think it will be intresting for fun sake)

[@TheTC]

I think Forces would have still been an aright game and Frontiers still would have sucked. Better (or worse) stories/characterization wouldn't have impacted gameplay or level design which is the skeleton of a good game. The story can only enhance it. The fact both games were basically made in a year because of crunch, restarting and focus on graphics really leaves me feeling like there'd be little significant changed.

[@thehedgehognerd]

I honestly think that this game is simply a miracle. After the abomination of a story and game that was Sonic Forces and with first trailers it didn't seemed like this game is gonna turn everything around....and yet IT DID. Story is incredible (execpt for the ending), gameplay is awesome and fun to play (but rough around the edges), the world is atmospheric, THE MUSIC IS GOD-TIER, and characters are reperesented very well. Plus I love the fact this game refrences to previous events (good and bad), and even calls out plot holes and character inconsistency from 2010's. I don't care what anyone says, this and God Of War (2018) are go to examples how to redefine long running game franchise.

[@TheTC]

I'll never understand people that thing Sonic Forces was the worst thing and then praise Sonic Frontiers. It's like saying that Burger King is the absolute worst, but an entire van full of Burger King is peak. Like literally every criticism except game length that can be said about Sonic Forces is there in Frontiers among other new ones. I see people say this and I'm just like "This is the same damn game except *huge*" Well, I guess it also has the Shadow the Hedgehog 2006 combat, no Classic Sonic and no extremely customizable character that kind of out-did boost Sonic in fun factor (Tho I dunno how fun it'd be if you actually'd have to *try* but I guess Sonic's never been skill based) It's just weird. I can't even think of another case like this. People hate mid, but absolutely adore mid that grossly overstays their welcome. Tho I guess, everyone has their opnions, but I just don't understand what's so radically different from Forces' flaws from Frontiers' unless people just actually really really really need to spend eight hours being lost in a god damn maze, like maybe if Forces had that then it wouldn't have been shat on so hard. But I guess I have a friend who played the game very similarly to how I did and while I was having an AVGN villainous breakdown he was having the time of his life so just... but he also liked Sonic Forces, just not nearly as much as Frontiers so I guess that's not a fair comparison. It's just... so bizarre to read.

[@thehedgehognerd]

@@TheTC It's simple. Forces had rushed story, bad characterization and wasted potential. Frontiers mostly fixed that, still it went downhill in the finale but this was a massive setup from the previous game. That's why most people like me love Frontiers, and hate Forces.

[@TheTC]

@@thehedgehognerd I dunno what part of Forces' story is rushed. Like if the game was delayed I dunno what would have been expanded. I guess there could have been more drama by having Sonic absent through half of the game... Frontiers I dunno how I'd've made that story good, it's mostly small things like the kokos not caring what happens, memory tokens are a main collectable but memory comes up once if you wait ten minutes, they do the worst job imaginable explaining "uh no actually STH and de facto Unleashed wasn't a reboot, Sonic's friends are just... inconsistent! Waka-waka!" Like it's fun to see the characters bounce off each other but that kinda happens in every game with a story... Like the only game I can think of that faltered at that is Generations and suprise that's the game without a story, like you might as well criticize Sonic 4 at that point. Sonic Frontiers just feels like the same thing we've been getting for the past 15 years except now the game's fucking 20 hours long. Which I think is much too much for how little it is.

[@thehedgehognerd]

@@TheTC You can beat Forces under 3 hours, there's a lot of plot holes, not explained things, characters behaving weird for no reason. Plus Eggman taking over the world should be bigger deal, and yet it's so hollow in this game. It needed prequel comics, IDW Comics and Encyclo Speed ia to sort of makes sense of not explaied stuff like what happened to Infinite at the end. YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO READ EXTERNAL MEDIA FOR CRUSIAL INFORMATION FOR THE PLOT. I don't know why I have to explain this when problems are very noticible. Also just because game is delayed doesn't guarantee a quality (case in point, Duke Nukem Forever). You don't like Frontiers, fine, but don't try to excuse the fact that Forces was badly executed and it's the same thing everytime, because fact remains that Frontiers have put characters and story on the right track and spiced up the formula, that's just fact.

[@TheTC]

​@@thehedgehognerd That's good, I never noticed any, honestly everyone's been weird since 2005, I agree with Robotnik winning should have been a bigger deal, I kinda assumed Infinite would return in a sequel (honestly expected him to be pretending to be Sonic in Frontiers what with the Infinite cubes) I'm just saying that Sonic Frontiers is everything wrong with Sonic Forces except the game goes on for 20 tedious hours when it deserved like four. Sonic Forces isn't a bad game, but if it was 20 hours long it definitely would have been. There can be too much of a good thing and I think it's obvious that there can be too much of a mediocre thing... Like even if Frontiers played like a good Sonic game the horrible level design and tedious monster slaying just sucks. I think Sonic Heroes was the only one that got beat im ups right cuz it was simple and it actually had good platforming.

[@letsdance7774]

re-watching this video, and it puts a huge smile onto my face during the gameplay section, specifically where you talk about how great the game would be with a higher momentum focus. update 2's deceleration slider and spindash especially have made me sink in an extra 10+ hours into the game, and I've just gone for every single memory token. what I expected to be a bit of a slog turned into an absolute delight with the things you can do with the spindash, and has immediately moved Frontiers up the Sonic game tierlist by a significant amount for me.

[@KOTSOSMC2002]

I'd argue against this video title's statement personally. Frontiers feels like something that came straight out of the IDW Sonic comics that have been going on since 2018, if anything 'redefined' Sonic it should be them. And their influence is heavily felt in Frontiers, characterization of established cast, elements introduced in IDW being in the game (the Egg Net, Tangle etc), they even share the same writer, Ian Flynn. And I'm saying redefined in quotations because this is really a reignition, it's more of a return to form. This is pretty much exactly what it was like back in the 1998-2009 Adventure Era days of the franchise, an era that a lot of normies and casuals like to call bad and 'the Dark Age of Sonic' but in reality for the majority of the fanbase it was the peak of the entire brand in pretty much everything, lore, ambition in the games, comics, TV, hell we even got plenty of books at that timeframe. Frontiers is our official exit from the Meta Era and a jump into a new one, an era that already feels extremely reminiscent of the Adventure Era, with all the maturity, charm and leaps in storytelling the franchise occasionally showcased and always deserved. If Frontiers and IDW is anything to go by, this new era of Sonic will not only be the best one yet, it might actually end up satisfying pretty much everyone, it seems like it's combining the best of all worlds (that being all 3 eras).

[@TheTC]

I agree except I felt Frontiers was the most meta of any Sonic game, it's just *rife* with fan-service. Like even if there's no reason to bring it up, they bring it up. I think the era it's leading us out of, is the friendless era. 2008-2022, Sonic finally, *finally* gets to play with his friends again. Sonic's no longer grounded! Also he's like 45 now I guess... but he's free! I guess Forces was sooorrrrrta the end since you can create a new friend for Sonic, and Mania had four friends for Sonic so Frontiers is like the first of the friends era (unless you're judging Frontiers on day 1 which, fair) but Sonic's friends were a huge part of Sonic's character and gameplay and seeing them return was like seeing a 3D Super Mario Bros. game after 20 years of nothing, like even if I hated Frontiers it's still exciting to see this again! Things can finally go back to normal! But will they?

[@T00ble]

The “exaggerated swagger of a blue hedgehog” bit already got my sub. This is such a great, well rounded review of the game. Although some my thoughts are different, it’s so great to see a review with well rounded thoughts and I can really see how you’ve reached those thoughts. Really appreciate the time and effort put into this for a smaller channel too!

[@firesonic1010]

"Sonic Evolved" doesn't sound half bad as a potential sonic game title, as far as the thumbnail is concerned. Sounds like a good title for a potential Sonic Frontiers successor.

[@JomaXZ]

A few notes on the Ancient lore stuff. The "Chaos is a mutated Chao" thing is actually official canon. There are minor hints in the games themselves like Chao being able to turn into Chaos Chao when trained and bred the right way, but it's also directly mentioned in a Japanese strategy guide. So it's obscure and more like a piece of trivia, but it's there. For a more direct and recent source, Ian Flynn himself has mentioned that it's canon according to SEGA several times on the Bumblekast. When it comes to the Gaia Temples and such, they really should have elaborated a little on that in the game (They probably lacked time and needed to focus on plot relevant things. Cause Tails mentioning Dark Gaia definitely means they had Unleashed in mind while writing this) but in Unleashed, Chip mentions after he gets his memories back that he just "puts the planet back together". Since the Gaia cycle has been a thing since the beginning of time, it just means that the Emeralds never were integral to that process. Chip could do it on his own. Especially since Unleashed itself mentions that the temples where built thousands of years ago. There must always have been a Chaos Emerald-less way to put the planet back to normal. We never got to see Chip put it back the normal way since Eggman awoke both of them prematurely and threw the natural cycle out of wack. Wish the game was a little bit clearer about these things, but I don't think it's too hard to put pieces like this together and solve what seems like an inconsistency. Personally I can't wait for a game where Sonic Team gives Ian Flynn more control over the story so we can get something truly amazing...

[@mrmelonman2893]

I thought everybody knew chip was doing the process himself tbh

[@senshi_dev_art]

One thing the Sonic franchise as always been about was spectacles, specially when it came to character moments, Frontiers took it to the best cinematic spectacle we've seen in any Sonic game to date, it is great

[@TheTC]

Absolutely agree.

[@caelkins6478]

I would like to think a lot of flaws are due to low budget and time restraints as opposed to laziness. Current Sonic Team seems to be an entirely different team and it seems like they’re still getting the hang of things to. The director is very active with the community and from what he writes in his tweets, it sounds like they didn’t get the time to fully realize all of their ideas.

[@TheTC]

No no no no. A lot of the problems were by design. They wanted the game to be longer, they wanted more moves that would have been pointless. The only real thing that was screwed over by crunch was the final hub world which would have been in a Genesis spaceship instead of recycled Kronos Island Zone. A.U. where Sonic Frontiers got delayed a year or two would have been just as bad if not worse. It was bad game design that ruined this game unfortunately. THo I guess the pinball and final boss wouldn't have been so bad, but it's like, those are small potatoes compared to the other problems. It's actually funny. Frontiers was the EXACT same thing as Sonic Forces all over again, except replace the C.C. with combat and stretch the boring level design to 20 hours. Which... some people like that so hey mission accomplished I guess.

[@caelkins6478]

@@TheTC great!

[@anonymouslucario285]

​@TheTC why are you here?

[@TheTC]

@@anonymouslucario285 Blame my parents.

[@steampunk1610]

It revitalized my love for this franchise and why I was such a fan of this bipedal blue Hedgehog.

[@spark9189]

i kind of expect the end to be similar to dark matter in the kirby series

[@son-of-1810]

It’s not a perfect game, it’s a good but flawed one though. It’s become my favorite Sonic game though, and I’m glad to see that it’s getting updates like no other game in the franchise has. You did a great job analyzing all the characters and their arcs. IDW Amy is favorite as well, so even though she wasn’t as bubbly as she usually is it was still great. Knuckles and Sonic being more like brothers was also great to see. Tails talking about Infinite and going on his own like the rest really showed me that they didn’t want to keep the characters in one place. I really wonder how the 3rd update will be, since we’ll be playing as other characters and with Ian saying Sonic Team was being ambitious with the writing for the new little story we’ll be getting. Great video, keep up the great work, hope you do one on the updates, or at least the 3rd one on what they’ve added or changed in the game.

[@BagOfCashews]

I actually like the respect shown for the heroes by eggman because these memos were clearly meant solely for him, so he’s more getting his thoughts out.

[@TheTC]

I also like how it's just more proof Big is a genius who is above adventure. Like he can fly planes, pilot mechs, travel through fantasy worlds, he can hack and master cyberspace but for gods sake he just wants to fish!

[@electricsoul3355]

Cyberspace is a dimension created by the Ancients to trap The End. It also stores the memories of the dead ancients. It takes the form of Sonic’s memories for an unknown reason though, could be because of his strength and ability to go in and out of it at will. Tokens are a gameplay mechanic, kinda like rings.

[@eduardoaugusto9206]

Oh my lord, Why are people saying that Frontiers retconned Unleashed? It seriously didn't! Think with me here! One of the flashback cutscenes in Rhea Island shows that the Ancients, at one point in the past, had the Chaos Emeralds and that, after fleeing from their planet, they took the Emeralds with them, and landed on Earth because the Master Emerald was making the Chaos Emeralds react to it. Well... Apparently, people are saying that this contradicts the story of Unleashed? I have seen so many people say this doesn't make sense because Unleashed said that the Emeralds are part of the planet's cycle? That's literally not true, my guys. I think you're the ones misremenbering the story of Unleashed. I even rewatched all the cutscenes from Unleashed just to check before making this post. According to what Chip and Professor Pickle said: The destruction and rebuilding cycle of the planet is done by Dark Gaia and Light Gaia. The two get into a fight every million or so years, Dark Gaia rips apart the planet and Light Gaia puts it all back together. It was never stated that the Emeralds are part of the process. "Okay then, smartass, then how do the Emeralds tie into the story of Unleashed since we used them to put the planet back together?" Well, based on what Pickle and Chip explained, I understood that the Chaos Emeralds and the Gaia Temples are basically a backup plan to restore the planet in case Light Gaia couldn't do it hilmself. It just so happens that the Emerald's power and "the planet's power" make great sinergy with each other. If not that, then at the very least, the Emeralds and the Temples can be used as a way to sway the battle in Light Gaia's favor.

[@MattTOB618]

I'm really glad I was able to actually experience this game myself without getting spoiled on anything. The Super Sonic fights were incredible; I absolutely LOVED the sidekicks' development; the Cyberspace Levels weren't awful the first time around (although I didn't go out of my way to find them, and I stopped looking for them altogether on the last island); Eggman and Sage's growing bond was amazing; I enjoyed the parallels to the Metal Virus arc that Sonic's Cyber Corruption had, and how Sonic was portrayed throughout; I didn't mind the last two islands basically being Ouranos Island Parts 2 and 3; and, while I didn't cry the first time out of pure shock, whenever I relisten to Dear Father now, I get kinda misty-eyed. I even enjoy most of the backstory, and how The End was portrayed! The only problem I really had was how quickly Sonic's Cyber Corruption was fixed, but even then, that's mostly just a nitpick compared to everything else. After Sonic Forces, I'd thought this franchise was on a decline. But now, for the first time in a while, I actually have hope for this franchise!

[@TheTC]

Me too. I couldn't do it until March cuz I *had* to play it with my brother and I really wanted to record the blind LP and honestly I deserve a medal for not being spoiled on anything. (Still need to edit the videos, it'll be fun seeing my reactions, tho all I remember is negative stuff...)

[@decayedwolf1997]

This video voices my opinions on Frontiers almost perfectly. The only difference is that I didn't mind the Cyber Space controls too much. I mean, yes, Sonic is clunky and the boost is pitiful, but throwing in tricks like magnet dashes and rail boosts makes it feel like the stages turn into playgrounds. Overall, I have two ratings of Frontiers. As a Sonic game, it's easily a 9/10, far better than anything in recent memory (aside from Mania). As a game, it's more of a 7/10. Still tied with Mania for my favorite game in the franchise, though.

[@Z3RO5286]

Mania doesn't count tho. It's not the main sonic game.

[@TheTC]

Yeah I often hear that the acts have significantly clunkier controls but like... aunno I never noticed that? The only real diff was I couldn't go full-tilt mode in there but I honestly only needed that for the squid.

[@SuperUnknownPerson]

Perfect timing on the upload with the dlc dropping later today!

[@iggyminious]

Good video overall, but I think the point at 49:06 is something that needs clarifying. If 60 people working on Sonic Frontiers sounds insane, that's because it's not entirely true. That number comes from interviews with Takashi Iizuka that happened well before Frontiers released. Based on the in-game credits, Frontiers' core team was easily the largest of any mainline Sonic game, with over 80 artists, 14 designers, and 40-ish programmers. Yes, there were roughly 60 for the main gameplay aspects (programming and design), but in that case, saying 60 people worked on Sonic Frontiers is like saying 60 people worked on, say, Batman: Arkham Knight. It was probably true at some point, but from what I understand about game development, the team usually starts off small and gets bigger as the game's vision is fully realized. ...which leads me into what I speculate is the true reason behind Frontiers' cut corners: how long it took for Sonic Team to figure out what they were even making. Iizuka and Kishimoto have stated several times that half of Sonic Frontiers' five-year dev cycle was spent in a state of heavy playtesting and trial-and-error, not knowing exactly how an open-world Sonic game would play and having to restart development at least once. With that in mind, I'm guessing that a lot of the team was brought on very late in development, making the game seem like it had fewer people working on it than it did. (It's worth noting that many members had apparently never worked on a Sonic game and/or were working on Sakura Wars and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2). Regardless, Sega has openly said that they'll be giving future games bigger budgets, so I expect the next game to be even better, especially with the clear ways a sequel could improve.

[@TheTC]

Yeah that's true, they even started over from square one once they found a true open world to be boring. God I want to believe you. I want to believe the next game is good and makes me forget this awful game. Tho unlike Forces, I see too many people desperately swallowing the bitter pill hoping the next one is candy and I fear if the next game is like Frontiers it'll be like how Attack of the Clones made people realize that The Phantom Menace wasn't as good as they thought it was. I'd love to be wrong cuz it's been 20 years since we've had a great Sonic game, and I'd love to see that again. Tho damn I'm just not wanting to set myself up for disappointment.

[@traegiggers50]

The link between the starfall islands and Angel island is covered. It was where the Master Emerald was and the backup refugee island when everything went to crap.

[@sausagesausage]

I'm desperate for a Sonic game like Frontiers but with a robust physics engine and a focus on momentum building with loops and ramps to fly off of, just like the classics but in 3D.

[@TheTC]

I'm not sure how Frontiers could have been redesigned for me to enjoy it without it becoming just Sonic Adventure or Sonic Lost World.

[@Jtmissile]

​@@TheTC Maybe Sonic Utopia or Green Hill Paradise Act 2. Of course the Green Hill aesthetics would need stripping away but they show how well Sonic can work in an open world.

[@eviecoul]

Love the character arc analysis, they did a great job emphasizing the individuality of the group. Awesome review of the game👏👏

[@middyjohn]

Great video nick, I treat Sonic Frontiers like a child that I always favor above the other kids, they along with my other favs get to sit in the fancy table while the other 10/10 games can sit elsewhere. I'm also glad I played it completely blind. Yes I'm super biased, since fighter and platformer games are my 2 fav genre, so frontiers? combined with sonic? thats going to the golden display. Don't get me wrong tho, I still want all the glaring flaws to be fixed

[@os9077]

Sonic Frontiers is the best Sonic game in the entire franchise! This game in it of itself is a masterpiece regardless of Sonic games! The open world is so fun to explore and you can run freely and platform at full speed and fight enemies, bosses and Titans, it's so fun! You can also combat and fight a lot of unique enemies and bosses, and unlock a lot of new combat moves and skills, at the skill tree! You can also upgrade Sonic, you can upgrade his strength, speed, ring capacity and defense! The story is the best out of the whole franchise, and the voice acting is very good, Roger Craig Smith did an amazing job as the voice of Sonic! The music in this game is incredible and it's the best music in the entire franchise! The Super Sonic fights against the Titans were amazing and some of the best fights in a video game! This game is a 10/10!

[@TheTC]

Masterpiece maybe, but far from a magnum opus. I hated the hub world, found combat to be bland and I always relied on full tilt mode so upgrades meant nothing to me. The story was fine, probably the best part of the game besides fishing and boss fights. Like the braindead combat suddenly doesn't matter when there's good music and intense spectacle. It makes me wish the normal game was good cuz each boss fight was like finally cresting from the depths of hell and marveling at the glorious sky and then getting shot by the Ken Penders chaos syphon and oh I'm back in hell... The music I was most upset with cuz I actually have both full soundtracks and it's just... the hub worlds are only okay, and the actual acts have mostly horrible music... Still looking forward to playing as Amy Rose again.

[@os9077]

@@TheTC wtf are you talking about

[@TheTC]

@@os9077 A masterpiece is akin to a proof of concept, a finished work proving that you're a master of your craft, magnum opus however is peak craftsmanship.

[@samueltreminivalle3494]

Dude you using Kronos island 3rd movement at the beginning was an amazing choice, that’s my favorite overworld theme

[@djroscurro9859]

24:12 Time. It was definitely time. Hell sega wanted the game out a year earlier than it was released.

[@TheTC]

Ironically I'd've liked the game if it was rushed more cuz there'd only be three islands or at least they'd be smaller than they are.

[@minimoltieposmt215]

After too long, I've finally seen it in its totality to say it's a good video. I appreciate that there's a wide variety of content from the game being discussed, how honest it is with constructive criticism, and how the audio is pretty much you 100% of the time, keep even a shred of the experience for others to witness on their own.

[@indigorose6527]

Something you should know about the writing is unfortunately Ian Flynn didn’t write the whole story. The plot itself was written by someone else. But the dialogue was written by Flynn. If you know his writing through the comics, its very obvious. Just wanted to point that out.

[@TheTC]

Makes sense why the Japanese story was so different and apparently "as if A.I. translated it" It's also why I don't care as much for the fanservice. Sticks isn't mentioned in Japan so is she canon? Barely! I wouldn't hold out hope for seeing her or playing as her...

[@Thefandomjumper307]

41:06 yea, and it's not just Ouranos Island, that is half of . You may have heard of this, but for others reading this who don't know, apparently Rhea and Ouranos island are supposed to be connected with Kronos island. Not only can you see similar details when comparing the entire map of Kronos and Ouranos, but if you see closely both Kronos and Rhea, Rhea island is pretty much just the bottom part of Kronos And another hint on how Ouranos is connected to knronos is that, if you go somewhere very far in the Ouranos island, you'll come across a barrier that prevents you to pass any further in the island, making the evil sky voice say something about how you're going off course in the island. Now the reason i bring this up is because apparently, a few others noticed how if you look at the distance, you can see kronos at the other side. Now, for me personally, i didn't pay attention too well to detail to notice this, so i can say for sure. But if that isn't enough for you to believe then don't worry.. *✨️There's more✨️* Another way you could detect how Ouranos is connected to Kronos is if you break some part of the game to let you see it or see a glimpse of it, at least. There's a video where someone caused a glitch where it sends Sonic flying infinitely up the sky, and after a few minutes, you'll get to see the entire kronos island once you look down. But not only will you see Kronos island, but you can also see the other half of it being Ouranos island as well. But i wouldn't say seeing it entirely at the side to say the leaste, you can barely see it because the island is underwater, but over all, you can still see it because of the layout of the map (hope i used that wording right.) And yea, that's practically it. Kronos Island was originally going to be this one big island, but they split it into 3 instead. Now, i don't know the reason for this but from my understanding, i think the map for this really big island idea dropped was probably because the map for it in the game would be too big for the screen but, I'm not entirely sure so, take this theory how you will with a pinch of salt. Aside from that though, i really love this review, even if I'm late to it, it's nice to hear someone review sonic frontiers, and while it's not perfect, i can definitely say it is one of the best sonic games i have ever played. Like, really - it's the first time a sonic game made me want to play it again on hard mode just to see the final boss.

[@AsuraTM0]

"the exaggerated swagger of a blue hedgehog." d a w g.

[@ItsNickForShort]

I couldn’t resist 😭

[@bowserbreaker2515]

I've noticed Ian Flynn really loves writing Eggman's robots as siblings (Which I think failed in IDW). In Archie, Gamma and Omega referred to each other as "Brothers", and that's also what Shard called Metal Sonic. While I really enjoyed Frontiers, I am very annoyed that Tangle was canonized. People said IDW was incredible, and the fact that Ian Flynn wrote it made me believe it was great. But after reading the first 50 issues, Tangle and Whisper and Bad Guys, I really hated it. It's good the characters are being done well in the games at least.

[@mrmelonman2893]

Why did you hate it?

[@bowserbreaker2515]

@@mrmelonman2893 For one, the art is incredibly inconsistent. They change pencillers like, every other issue. 2, while Tails, Knuckles, and Amy aren't awful, they just don't really do anything. And Sonic, is just awful. His "philosophy" is him saying even complete madmen like Eggman shouldn't be arrested and should just be go free?! Lastly, Ian chose to put in the Zeti in the comic as much as they are in it. Not even he could make them interesting. There is a great video by The Silver ace01 that pretty much explains all my problems.

[@MattTOB618]

19:54 "Chaos had zero personality in Adventure 1, and the reveal of his relationship to the Ancients changes nothing about that story" Okay, I have some thoughts about this. First off: Chaos had enough personality for his place in the story. He was the dedicated protector of the Chao, got enraged when the Echidnas trampled them in their attempt to seize the Master Emerald, and held onto that rage the entire time he was sealed. It was only when Super Sonic neutralized him and he saw that the Chao were still thriving that he calmed back down and allowed Tikal to take him to the afterlife (or whatever it is she does in that last scene). All those actions tell me he's devoted to his duty as protector of the Emeralds and Chao, so much so that he held a grudge for *hundreds* of years! Sure, it's rather 1-dimensional, and it's similar to Knuckles in Sonic 3, but it's still a personality, and it fits the story of Adventure 1 well. Secondly: Sure, it doesn't redefine the plot of Sonic Adventure 1 in a big way, but does it really NEED to? It's not like Chaos himself was personally there for the story of the Ancients vs. the End; it just explains why he looks the way he does, and why he's the protector of the Emeralds in the first place. It's kinda like if we got an Indiana Jones prequel movie that showed us that Indy's ancestors fought in the Hundred Years War or something; sure, it's a nice tidbit, but does it really have to turn EVERYTHING we know on its head? Maybe it's just me being burnt by the Star Wars Sequels doing this so badly (Palpatine....), but I'm actually kinda GLAD that this reveal doesn't rock Adventure 1 down to its foundation. I can still enjoy that game on its own merits, but knowing what we know now can provide its own little enhancements. And the way I understood it, the point of the backstory was more focused on the origins of the Chaos Emeralds rather than the origin of Chaos (it originally wasn't even meant to BE Chaos's species who brought them to Sonic's World until Ian Flynn stepped in and reworked it, which shows what their priorities were from the start). TLDR: Chaos is fine the way he is. Other than this one point, great video!

[@ItsNickForShort]

I’d argue that what you said about Chaos isn’t personality but rather motivation which Chaos definitely had. I just don’t think he had any real character besides a mission which works in context of the story but making him related to the ancients just seems kinda needless. To clarify I also don’t think it needed to rock adventure 1 to its core but rather show a new perspective. I get the perspective of thinking it’s a cool tidbit but personally I would’ve preferred something more since to me it feels more like a fact than a fun fact. To each their own btw, just think it’s an interesting discussion point 🤙

[@backslash_bks]

In order to get the good old borderline scary eggman we need one small thing Sage. More specifically, her permanent death. I think that in a future game Eggman will become his grandfather and try to make an ultimate life form (bonus points if it is for sage's sake) and eventually sage will permanently die, making eggman completely lose all sanity he had left, his ultimate life form will be reprogrammed to be a killing machine of planet ending levels and will try to end everything, sonic will connect with sage too and he too will grieve for sage's loss with the final message being how different people face the death of a loved one. Is this a long stretch? Yes, a very long one. But it kinda feels to me like this is on the horizon. But eh, I'm just a guy after all

[@Darian-sama]

Every time I mention that I don’t like the The End boss fight, I always get the response “Well we had good super sonic battles throughout the game so it’s fine” but In my eyes, this is the final boss, why not cap the game off with a really cool super sonic battle in space with sage assisting you (which she could from a distance with supremes gun). It was really disappointing that the game ended with the underwhelming Supreme and the mini game boss The End, especially because it had the potential to be the best boss in the game.

[@stopmotionmangemantproduct1111]

Whoever said that has the lowest standards of all time 😂😂😂 "we've already got super sonic fights so it's fine" no tf it's not

[@Darian-sama]

@@stopmotionmangemantproduct1111 IKR I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING

[@areakastudios6704]

I wouldn't have minded it if we had an intense super sonic fight with it beforehand. The fight with the end feels more like a sendoff to the game as a whole, I think it would have worked as a bonus stage like "the hardest part is over, just finish it off now".

[@christopherford39]

@@Darian-sama good thing it was confirmed that it was gonna get fixed

[@squeaks5677]

What sucks is that I really do love the music that plays during the final boss fight.

[@rz-yt]

I loved Sonic Frontiers. I call it the best Sonic game in a long time. I actually enjoyed the story and Ioved how it felt much more different than what Sonic has done and the Character arcs were great. For me, I felt stronger feeling for Tails' and Knuckles' arcs, but I liked Amy's.

[@Starfall_abyss]

The most thing I hate in frontiers even more than cyberspace is... invisible pocket. the most thing I loved is the gameplay.

[@TheTC]

I hated how huge and empty the hub worlds were. If it was just cyberspace well... I guess it would have only been a worse Sonic Forces but at least it would have been short.

[@nikowrld]

crazy how we all thought the game was gonna be horrible after the ign presentation, but it turned out to be one of the best games imo

[@TheTC]

I saw absolutely no change from the preview to the game... wait I take that back. The preview didn't show how tedious the hub worlds were and all the fucking speed traps that wear you down. Like I know it's impossible to be objective with critique but damn I wish I saw what y'all see.

[@anonymouslucario285]

​@TheTC are you just commenting on all the comments complementing this game?

[@TheTC]

@@anonymouslucario285 In general or on this comment section? Cuz in general I also comment on people bashing the game (hilariously they usually dislike the parts I either enjoy or find negligible)

[@mercenarytao7930]

I just finished the game and thought Chaos island was the best island? Looking online, it seems to be the least popular though. The first two islands focused on 3D gameplay exclusively whereas Chaos island focused on 2D gameplay exclusively, could be a gameplay style preference. My favorite aspect of Chaos island's design was how most areas were blocked off by gameplay sections and the player was required to complete those sections in order to navigate the island. The other islands mostly let us go "off the rails" to get to new places however we please whereas Chaos island required us to play a miniature 2D Sonic level to go anywhere. I wish the other islands would have blocked off more areas with miniature Sonic levels as well (whether 2D, 3D, or a blend of both). In the next game, I hope to see elevation (i.e. low area, middle area, high area, underground, caves) and distance play a bigger role as gates with gameplay sections needed to be completed in order to access each area.

[@callmebluyie2252]

like fr, the pacing of the video and the content, the writing of the script in video and ur voice goes very well, and seriously this vid should have allot more attention that it already has, honestly keep it up cuz, cuz even if u dont have "that many" subs, that doesnt always say how good of a creator u are

[@ItsNickForShort]

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it :)

[@Tue_Weirdddd]

"the exaggerated swagger of a blue hedgehog" *RAHHHHHHHHH*

[@higurashikai09]

Awesome video! I've played the first island of Frontiers but I can't really play the whole game in long sittings because of motion sickness (even more of a problem in ChaosX's Project 06, so I can't indulge in Sonic games as much as I really want to). I love hearing other people's opinions on this game and their hopes for the future. This franchise is part of my childhood and I am really excited for the future. I do hope they polish certain things especially to make the game feel smoother because, man, is the camera pretty shaky when Sonic runs over rough terrain. It's fun in small playtimes though.

[@Cruddy129]

The thing is with The End being blander than Infinite - See, i agree with you that The End as a boss or a surprise villain was totally out of left field and it certainly didnt send much clues on what its intentions was But here's my take on it - The End is literally the most powerful entity Sonic has ever encountered thus far, (Solaris dont count since you know, non-canon reboot and this game doesnt seem to acknowledge its existence as such) Tails says so that its power rivals or perhaps even surpasses Dark Gaia, who was at the time Sonic's most powerful enemy, it is basically responsible for destroying whole planets with little effort, and bringing the chaos emeralds to sonic's world since the ancients used them as a power source to power up the titans - Can infinite do that? No, all he did was create illusions and started a war just because he had a severe mental breakdown after he lost to Shadow its said to be infinite, meaning it cannot die so the ancients had to contain it in Cyberspace, its existence is limitless, there's no End, to The End - and if it is truly an unstoppable force, then i can imagine that this wont be the only time we see of it But if there's one thing i hated about the end is that its boss battle was arguably one of the worst that sonic games has ever done So if anything, the boss had more focus on the implications and hints of its existence rather than what its like on the surface, so thats up to us to picture what its like when it was battling the ancients

[@Fooza05]

I actually quite like The End's dialogue. Just wish it had more presence throughout the story. Istg when it started to say that he saw through Sonic's mind in Cyberspace I was left wondering "They REALLY didn't have enough time did they?"

[@Da_caffeinated_insomniac]

From the ending the best I can guess is from what developers have stated they lost time to create something more original and had to rehash or under-develop both the islands and the bosses but hey it’s seemingly gonna be changed (also they might explain the bringing sonic back thing in update 3 hopefully)

[@PopularNoise]

you hit every point of happiness and criticism i had EXACTLY on the head! never found anyone that relates as much, especially with how the ending fell flat and i just kind of laughed 🤣

[@mega_sulten]

I really liked this video, you came with so much praise which softened out the critisism. You had very good points and made it very clear how much love and care you put into making this video. Frontiers was the first Sonic game I played and was one of the big factors that got me intrested in Sonic as a whole, and that's also making me really happy to see how everyone is so happy about this game. and with that new DLC and the patch that made the master king trial easier this game looks so great to me now. I still havn't played frontiers to the end since I lost all motivation because of that trial, but I really want to play it again soon, just have to finish SA2 since I just started that. But again great video, and you got a subcribe from me, love your videos and keep making them

[@Wolfstar73]

Love the review💙 but about Oranos Island, if Rhea was a story Island/the unexplored Kronos area, then Oranos should have been a snowy Island (in my opinion)

[@TheTC]

The devs wanted the final hub to take place in an abandoned space ship that was used to arrive to Mobius. Which? Yeah I kinda wish they did that... I probably would have still be in a "who cares,finish this garbage fire" mentality but it woulda been better than Uranus island

[@Wolfstar73]

@The T.C. but the one thing that is really good about Oranos Island is the music. You can't disagree with me on that.

[@TheTC]

@@Wolfstar73 I don't remember what it sounds like cuz when I ripped the OST all the hub worlds kinda blended together and wasn't something I wanted to listen to.

[@SynysterProjects]

I have to completely disagree with your assessment of Eggman's arc in Frontiers. I thought everyone, INCLUDING Eggman, showed a lot of growth and maturity that we haven't seen in.... well, ever. I got a very similar impression of Eggman that I did at the end of Sonic Adventure 2, that maybe, just MAYBE, Eggman could change his ways and become something of an ally to Sonic against much more serious threats. That he could start using his genius for good. I don't often care much about villains turning over a new leaf, and usually I'm severely disappointed when it seems like they might, but then end up not (Frieza in Super is a massive example), but Eggman has been in this weird role too many times to be coincidence. Where he isn't really a villain anymore, he forms an uneasy alliance with Sonic and co. for the greater good. He always ends up going right back to his old ways, but I'd like to see them subvert our expectations in the sequel and give Eggman a truly heroic role. Maybe he has to team up with Sonic to "revive" Sage or something, and that pushes him over from respecting Sonic to being genuinely indebted to him in a way he can never repay. I never really liked Eggman until his Adventure Era incarnation, but he IS a redeemable character and I would give anything to see him redeemed.

[@Ironica82]

For parries, I think they should have been regulated by what difficulty you chose. Easy would be infinite timer (to help the newcomers), normal should have been a second or two, and hard should be half a second (akin to Dark Souls).

[@TheTC]

I dunno how I feel about the parries cuz I never really understood how they worked, at first I was like "Okay you need to time it" then I was like "Wait can I hold forever" but that didn't work and then I realized that after parrying once you have to re-press the buttons so I just... never really got to abuse that function.

[@TheEmery223]

Well, this analysis just earned you a new Subscriber because I fully and wholeheartedly agree with everything you mentioned. Terrific work!

[@ItsNickForShort]

Thank you for the kind words!! I hope to keep up the quality!!!

[@giornogiovanna8476]

Just gotta quickly say involving the endgame, it was confirmed by Iizuka that it was a time issue, infact he apparently tried begging Sega to let them delay the game to 2023, but they said no

[@Cruddy129]

God, imagine what the game would be like if SEGA wasnt so stubborn

[@TheTC]

@@Cruddy129 Probably more tedious, but at least I would have felt something at the end besides "what the hell was *that?!*" Tho then again maybe the characters would have been playable and I COULD CLIMB THE GOD DAMN CLIFF OF ARES ISLAND ZONE, SAVING ME A MIGRAINE Ugh... They think Ares Island Zone was 100% what they wanted to do with the game, Sonic Team have gone insane I can't even...

[@LyricMMX]

The end is supposed to litterally be the physical representation of death, which death and the afterlife is a major theme in the games story. After all, the symbol is a representation of the afterlife. it also hints at that sonic, sage and, the player all see a different version of the end based around how they interpret death, the reason its a moon for the player is cause the moon is a universal symbol of death. For example: sonic calls The End, "He", Sage calls The End "It" and the player hears a Female voice for The End Also, when it comes to the parry, not requiring timing. Thats actually to the games benefit.. cause It'd be impossible to properly time due to the fast-paced nature of the combat.. your zipping back and forth weaving in and out of attacks.. there's way to much going on for you to focus on when a single attack will land, however due to the combat wanting you to be quick and efficient holding the button down and waiting for an attack isn't really the best strategy however holding it once you see a strong attack start is perfect..

[@zphoenix9693]

I mean, its it just me, or does anyone else absolutely enjoy Cyberspace? I always have alot of fun playing it. Was it really that bad? Also, this video had alot of humor, and I love it, 10/10

[@THEBITEOF87-k5z]

This was before all the updates so cyberspace wasn't improved yet

[@zphoenix9693]

@gamelife218 Yeah, I forgot that the updates came out after this. Even so, on my end I still go by my statement, I had alot of fun playing them, but I do wish it felt alot smoother like before, but ye

[@sanicboistolen]

16:25 I love how the murder of sonic the hedgehog makes this official

[@kaosagamerreal]

I actually really enjoyed Cyberspace! One of my favorite batches of Sonic stages for sure. But I totally understand how it's not for everyone. The stages are insanely fun to replay and the soundtrack helps immerse me even more with the stages, and the visuals are gorgeous. But again, I completely understand if you or anyone dislikes it. But me? I love them.

[@ShadowCringelord]

This is one of the best sonic video essays I’ve seen in a while. Love this

[@ItsNickForShort]

Thank you so much!! Your words mean the world 💪

[@BABILA.]

“the exaggerated swag of a blue hedgehog” not a reference i was expecting but very funny

[@ROT695]

Honestly when it comes to combat and button mapping what they should have done is have it so you have one dodge button and then have the other button used specifically for when you want to use a special attack. Hold the button and then press one of the 4 face buttons. The party then can be used by just holding the dodge button whilst standing still. If they did that then the combat would of been fixed I think. I do hope for the next game they add a bunch of special moves that you can unlock and then choose which moves you want to use. Maybe even have it so there are a bunch of Ariel moves and ground moves so depending on if you are in the air or not you can have a different selection. Plus have the slide button be replaced with a spin dash. I feel like you’d be able to do a lot more interesting things that way

[@Ponch126]

I literally fell asleep during the pinball section and somehow managed to get the amount required to proceed.

[@nightlydata2181]

(check replies for p2) I have MANY 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. Tails was done "well" for the most part I feel but it wasn't so much execution or intentions but direction that bothers me. Puttin so much attention to the "inconsistency" doesn't help & only tends to backtrack his character to Adv 1 days which now that I think bout it might be the point for everyone to some degree. A spiritual reset that only regards the 2010's beyond the offhand reference cus that's wut ppl didn't like. U can def tell Ian Flynn is tryin little by little is tryin to insert HIS SONIC into the writin & even shows this wit the random refences to boom/idw stuff that wasn't a thing before like tangle/sticks. He's luckily bein held back by the overall plot by SEGA he still has to work under but who knows how long that'll last. 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 Sages' relationship wit Eggman while endearin comes off a little cheep & is also HELLA inconsistent wit the egghead for the past 30+yrs(I like Sage though). Knuckles (I used to think) was good don't get me wrong but he's def the more openly introverted type than Sonic is so him outright sayin he envies Sonic feels slightly out of character & I don't think it would be that hard to "fix" this, jus change/add a few parts while keepin the same overall conversation. Amy feels like her Boom self to an extent which makes sense but I (used to) think that's fine since Boom Amy is my fav ver(actually was wut got me to like/understand main Amy after hatin her for yrs lol)but I will miss her more loud hyperactive self in the older 3D games(such character progression on my part lol). The story on the whole feels like a not as good rehash of Adv 1/BK which is jus lame to me. 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 a “good” "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 (Meta era Sonic has never outright gone against anythin that makes sonic, sonic & surprisingly keep a lot intact in the most subtle of ways despite the writers mostly never bein that familiar wit the games till maybe forces). 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). They seemed to have a "finesse" to writin Sonic not jus in games but any media by them & always keep consistent to a surprisin degree(there felt like unspoken nuance to it). Western writers can't do it the same cus their priorities R diff. Sonic from the beginnin has always had trouble from the first game wit translatin himself over & funnily enough it wasn't till 06 where that was finally bein fixed for the main games but that only lasted till 2010 where SEGA tried addressin ppl's "issues" wit 2000's Sonic stuff & we're only jus fixin it now after a decade cus they were too afraid. & by usin Ian Flynn for writin it shows they still somewhat R. I jus hope the award they'll get for this doesn't get taken too far like wit Lost-World/Forces but the difference is the issues now will be so subtle unlike before even Sonic fans won't see an issue overall. I 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!

[@nightlydata2181]

I wanna talk bout the Jp script for a moment I LOVE THIS SCRIPT WAY MORE THAN WUT FLYNN COOKED UP The dialogue can be hella stilted, awkward, & unfittin at times(no shortage in-part cus the cutscenes were made purely for the eng script & nothin else). Despite that while there R a few moments I think flow better in eng, most of the Changes Jp makes have a MUCH better flow in the story for me(I actually didn't laugh at the Sage cryin scene wit the song/flashbacks from 5-20 mins ago for once lol. Since the context is diff it's less jarrin) Amy, Tails, & Eggman R the MAIN highlights for me. Amy is more consistent wit her character & WAY less vague bout the love shit she was spoutin & the change her journey wit her Koco brings great buildup to it. Eggman is WAY more subtle AND MORE BUILT UP towards his newfound care for Sage which is SO MUCH more consistent wit this 30+ yr character who's never cared for anyone but himself & his pride in his extraordinary creations(the final scene where eggman reaches out for Sage before pullin back & clenchin his fist hits WAY harder). I HATED THE BIG TAILS CUTSCENE that deals wit his character near the end. Havin his character become "inconsistent" is retarded. The changes aren't even huge on a surface level but usin the Koco to help show Tails has his own way of doin things that work for him same as Sonic is WAY better. The eng script was an overcorrection that hurt his character more than it helped imo. Even the way Sage is has a lot of cool changes from her bein more direct bout murderin sonic(lol(& more calculative soundin most of the game overall) to the way She describes him throughout the journey bout how he won't stop runnin even if it kills him cus that's the only way to make sure he doesn't die which to me holds more weight than "Farewell Hero"(they even made the "Goals" reference scene better by addin in the animal capsules lol... SPEAKIN OF). THE WAY REFERENCES R HANDLED IS WAY BETTER cus instead of jus haphazardly tossin any callback in at places it's unnecessary(fortunes, DARK GAIA, STICKS) they're only brought to bring context, info, & elaboration on current events yet R still plentiful to a bearable/highly appreciable degree. The Scene where Amy, Tails & K(heh) save sonic from the cyber-corruption is explained WAY BETTER & thus doesn't come off as a pure "Friendship" cliché (It still is but u get me) & the cheesy music DIDN'T help the eng script imo. Knuckles is the weirdest for me but overall I'd say they're bout equal in things I liked/disliked(his was the only 1 in Eng I had little to no issue wit minus this ONE bit of dialogue but I love the very diff direction Jp takes it too). The Jp script was able to make Flynns Script "SO MUCH BETTER" & keep MOST of it intact while not steppin all over his toes & I didn't think it would be possible without a massive do-over yet THIS WORKS SO WELLL(again minus the stuff I mentioned at the beginnin)! Sry for the essay but I needed to air my grievances/worries

[@jateyboi1108]

I think the story was pretty good.

[@nightlydata2181]

@@jateyboi1108 cool for u but I could do a whole hour & some long vid goin over y I think it's 1 of if not THE worst in the series so far

[@somekidontheinternet4735]

im thinkin sonic is back fellas

[@2002dash]

Really can't wait for you to talk about all the DLC now

[@Kyri45]

We NEED an updated video discussing the final Update from you!

[@RatchetClankFan112]

This game makes me hopeful for the future of Sonic and it’s my favorite game

[@emis_doodls]

This game, despite its many flaws, has become my favorite in the series. I just love it so much

[@LeAndre_McCoy]

The End is a great antagonist. It isn't a great God or force that you can overpower. It's a force of nature. The End is just that. The End. It's death. Key things stated in it's monologue: -...You have defeated gods and machines. They were mighty. They were finite. I am infinite. I am nothing. - Destroying this vessel means nothing...

[@ElsanneJ]

Nice review - hopefully it pops off

[@ItsNickForShort]

Fingers crossed!

[@thefriendlydefault9684]

sup great to see you back

[@davidbeer5015]

The only thing I can say that others probably haven't is, and this is more to just present a differeing view, I honestly didn't hate the Cyberspace stages? Maybe it's from having missed like...every boost game (06 was the first one I missed and then just never caught up), but something about them was just fun for me and I didn't have the "overused" aesthetics's feeling as most...plus like 90% of the stages was actually new to me because I didn't play those other entries. Chaos Island was rough. I think there were some neat platforming moments, but waaaay too much 2D, not to mention the deception signposts. 1 thing I thought was cool about the Titans was 1) I didn't know you could quick Cyloop them like that, so that was neat to learn after beating them All without it, and 2) I learned a neat trick with Knight where you can avoid the shield riding by doing the combat dodge around when he's blocking to hit him in the back (and the shield riding is a great way to reset the Ring timer, iirc)

[@themetalgamer9864]

Honestly, I think Frontiers nailed the formula, but I feel like the game tried to be more like Breath of the Wild instead of Mario Odyssey. I feel like Sonic's world should have more vibrant colors like the recent Sonic Prime Netflix series, but that's a nitpick. Moreso, I found the challenges that unlocked more of the map to be too repetitive. I think Mario Odyssey's Moons are a great example of challenges that Frontiers should have gone for. The Cyberspace levels are wonderful in concept, but they repeated the same few setpieces. I love Green Hill and Chemical Plant as much as anyone, but they shouldn't be half of the linear levels.

[@spark9189]

2 things: first, cranking all the sliders up make the game play so much better. second, cyberspace would have played fine if it had the sliders cranked all the way up and kept your speed stat.

[@Dweble_pebble]

You are the first person i've seen wear the digital deluxe boots and gloves

[@ItsNickForShort]

I thought they were cool 😭

[@hunterwolfplayer9592]

You work at "conic idw metal virus review part 2" ?

[@TheReZisTLust]

The biggest peeve i have is the mini bosses and challenges that send Sonic into the air which is the absolute last spot I want to be as Sonic unless parkour. It just felt clunky and slow gliding down waiting to drop. Besides that the learned skills take you out of some moves like spin dash is cancelled for a stupid move.

[@AsuraTM0]

Ah yes, an hour upload. We love to see it.

[@borederlands5387]

i genuinely don't believe sonic lost world is proud to be a sonic game, that's the one game in the franchise i can point to and say that about

[@callmebluyie2252]

uhm like, THIS KIND OF QUALITY BETTER GET U TO 1 MIL SUBS ARE U SERIOUS OWo?

[@AsecasJavi]

It does get an explanation Also I disagree on the ancients. It adds since we know why chaos exists and why the chao ere how they are in hidden places The end was cool, poorly executed

[@Cade_The_Squirrel]

I think Eggman has alot of showmanship, where he likes to show himself as powerful and calculating to his enemies but when he is alone or with those he trusts entirely he is more open, Eggman is an egotist, hense why even though he respects Sonic he still does what he does, he wants power and that hubris overwealms any chance of him showing humbleness to Sonic, it's all a put on

[@r4psc4llion32]

I was so fucking confused at the end of the game when the moon started trying to fight me I straight up had no clue what was going on the first time