News Sonic Frontiers Trailer

[McGroose]

Im guessing that Sega is just really bad at understanding criticism. They hear the fans say they're sick of Green Hill zone and interpret that to mean the fans are tired of the usual Sonic aesthetic in general. 

An open world game like this has so much potential aesthetically. Could you imagine if you had something like Angel Island as a huge open world? I would've even loved a huge open world with a Green Hill aesthetic. It's just kind of disappointing that, out of all the incredibly creative zone environments established in the past, Sega decided to settle with Not-Hyrule. 

[Kuzu]

Naw its more like when they try to address criticism, they just do it really fucking badly. Like I said, if the game is good then we guuchie.

 

Anyway, I'm still holding out judgment on how this game is gonna play, that's the bottom line for me. But I kind of feel bad for Switch users, because that's Sonic's biggest market and they're probably gonna get the worst version again lmao.

[NoKaine]

This art style change isn't the result of taking criticism, it's simply just what they chose to do. To what for, has to be seen. They didn't make Lost World cartoony because they thought people hated Generations' relatively realistic art style. 

The leaks claim that the cyberspace levels looks not only like Sonic levels, but specific ones like Green Hill and Chemical Plant. If that's the case, the dissonance may be intentional.

[Alex2Beta]

I'm honestly fine with the look of the game, but I do hope there is more extreme terrain and yeah it could use some loops and ramps.

Since some of the stuff we've seen lines up with the rumors - I'm very curious to see of what this Cyberspace will be like: will it be a digital world like environment with actual level design like what Null Space should've been, will it be simulated world based around areas that resemble what you expect from Sonic? Will it be something entirely different?

Also no doubt cyberspace being "Unleashed/Generations" styled will probably have the level design of Forces, but I hope to be wrong on that.

[NoKaine]

Just now, Alex2Beta said:

Also no doubt cyberspace being "Unleashed/Generations" styled will probably have the level design of Forces, but I hope to be wrong on that.

All the leaks/rumors I've heard say specifically "Generations" or "Unleashed", not Forces, or even Colors. If they were being general, I'd think they'd just say "boost", but naming the specific games sound like the design and gameplay are explicitly based on those games (along with stuff like ring-based boosting).

[Diogenes]

I don't think the original leak came from someone who was a big fan of the series. I wouldn't expect them to distinguish between the boost games, or worry about not distinguishing between them; they'd just use whichever game came to mind as a point of reference.

[Razule]

There is indeed more nuance between not wanting to see Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and Classic Sonic* (*in a Modern game), while also simultaneously not wanting Sonic in.. ugh, it's been said too many times. There's ways to make realism look Sonic-like, it's been done before, and I don't think this attempts to. On the other hand, this is apparently exactly what a lot of people wanted, so what do I know.

[Zoomzeta]

24 minutes ago, Razule said:

There is indeed more nuance between not wanting to see Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and Classic Sonic* (*in a Modern game), while also simultaneously not wanting Sonic in.. ugh, it's been said too many times. There's waye to make realism look Sonic-like, it's been done before, and I don't think this attempts to. On the other hand, this is apparently this is apparently exactly what a lot of people wanted, so what do I know.

Nobody knows! We're all nuts here!

[Razule]

It isn't even necessarily always different groups of wanting different things. There are Sonic fans who prefer realism, or cartoony, or a mix, saying it doesn't look like a Sonic game because there are certain things about the aesthetic they all have in common this seems to lack.

[Red Hot Jack]

At this point, I don't care if they listen to fans or not, there are too many fractions of fandom with very different opinions to satisfy.

Should I remind you the last time they tried to cater to every side of the fandom we got Classic Sonic, boost, edgy villain and dark story, your own OC, 2D platforming, past villains and all thrown in at the same time.

I feel like they should do whatever they want with their project and pursue it instead of trying to pander to everyone. Maybe it will result in a good game. Otherwise there is no passion in working on games.

They should stop being so afraid of the fandom if that's what their problem is.

They should focus on making a good game first.

[Razule]

 Of course. Focusing on a single vision is a good step in the right direction. It looks more like the BOTW team's vision, but who knows, maybe after a game or two this'll just be another variety of Sonic.

[Kuzu]

2 hours ago, Diogenes said:

I don't think the original leak came from someone who was a big fan of the series. I wouldn't expect them to distinguish between the boost games, or worry about not distinguishing between them; they'd just use whichever game came to mind as a point of reference.

We can't really expect every person who plays these games to really give them in-depth looks like fans do. So it really comes down to who's word has more weight. 

[Jango]

4 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

I'm genuinely surprised that everyone's first thought about the voice calling out to Sonic is that it was Tails. I can't hear Tails at all in there. It definitely sounds like a feminine voice. And since it was said to be Amy in the Xbox trailer and the now-deleted tweet from Kanemaru, I can't unhear Amy's voice. Initially I thought it was an unknown character, specifically the so-called "ghost girl" from the leaks because I didn't hear any likeness to begin with. So it's either Amy or a new character. It just definitely isn't Tails. 

What if: Amy is the ghost girl. She dies before the game even begins and Sonic has to travel to a distant, dangerous unknow land, and fight giant, say, colossus-like creatures, to bring her back to life. 

That would be very original.

[batson]

30 minutes ago, Red Hot Jack said:

I feel like they should do whatever they want with their project and pursue it instead of trying to pander to everyone. Maybe it will result in a good game. Otherwise there is no passion in working on games.

I think that's a huge part of the problem with Sonic Team; a lack of passion. I remember that leak back in like 2006 where someone with inside information revealed that Sonic Team was working on a game where Sonic becomes a werewolf (information which, a few years later, decisively proved that this was in fact not a troll making shit up) where the person also said that a lot of people working at Sonic Team had a complete lack of passion for the series and actually wanted to develop other games but that SEGA dictated that they must keep pumping out Sonic games. This lack of passion really shines through a lot of the time. Sonic Unleashed itself actually seemed to have more creativity behind it than both a lot of what had come before and a lot of what would come after. But then you got games like Lost World which really comes of as a pale imitation of Super Mario Galaxy rather than a genuine creative effort, and Forces which is basically shovelware. Frontiers meanwhile looks, to me at least, like it's trying to ape Breath of the Wild just like Lost World aped Mario Galaxy. In which case it is once again a product born out of a lack of creativity rather than creativity. But granted, it could still be a good game. Being a copy and being bad aren't the same thing after all.

[Piko]

5 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

I'm genuinely surprised that everyone's first thought about the voice calling out to Sonic is that it was Tails. I can't hear Tails at all in there. It definitely sounds like a feminine voice. And since it was said to be Amy in the Xbox trailer and the now-deleted tweet from Kanemaru, I can't unhear Amy's voice. Initially I thought it was an unknown character, specifically the so-called "ghost girl" from the leaks because I didn't hear any likeness to begin with. So it's either Amy or a new character. It just definitely isn't Tails. 

Depending on when the voice lines were recorded, it most likely is Amy. The leaks tell us little about the “ghost girl” other than that she exists. Maybe they mistook Amy for her because they didn’t recognise the (potential) new voice?

[Razule]

20 minutes ago, Jango said:

What if: Amy is the ghost girl. She dies before the game even begins and Sonic has to travel to a distant, dangerous unknow land, and fight giant, say, colossus-like creatures, to bring her back to life. 

That would be very original.

I'll go all the way and say seven of Sonic's friends' spirits were stolen, and each island has one. You find the Chaos Emeralds in Cyber Space to resurrect them at the end of the game. It turns out that Sonic is also dead.

[Cosmos Rogue]

I really think the fractures in the Sonic fandom are overstated, or at least Sonic Team's own creative decisions tend to incite hot takes in an unnecessary way. If Forces had been a fully 3D game, with ball physics and a darker, more serious narrative, I think that's a game that would have had broad appeal to the fandom. Instead we got Classic Sonic for classic fans, the boost for Unleashed-Generations fans, Shadow DLC for Adventure fans, and the avatar to appeal to the OC crowd. It's almost deliberately inflammatory, some real "neither can live while the other survives" shit.

As for the role Sonic's friends might play in Frontiers... I think there's a serious chance they might actually be playable! Sonic Team will likely need some way to gate off Sonic's access to parts of the world until the player clears certain challenges (the open "zone" term makes me think they're not going full go where you want anytime you want). I think Sonic's friends could take the place of all the items Link collects in his games, e.g. instead of Sonic getting bombs to blast through walls he could rescue Knuckles, who could then punch through walls so that Sonic can access new areas.

[Blue Blood]

Wrong thread. Tabs on Chrome for Android are awful. 

[KHCast]

3 hours ago, NoKaine said:

This art style change isn't the result of taking criticism, it's simply just what they chose to do. To what for, has to be seen. They didn't make Lost World cartoony because they thought people hated Generations' relatively realistic art style. 

The leaks claim that the cyberspace levels looks not only like Sonic levels, but specific ones like Green Hill and Chemical Plant. If that's the case, the dissonance may be intentional.

How are you so sure it’s not the result of taking criticism? It’s not like they haven’t frequently done that in the past. Was putting Ian on board also just convenience and not a result of criticism?

[Scar]

3 hours ago, Razule said:

There is indeed more nuance between not wanting to see Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and Classic Sonic* (*in a Modern game), while also simultaneously not wanting Sonic in.. ugh, it's been said too many times. There's ways to make realism look Sonic-like, it's been done before, and I don't think this attempts to. On the other hand, this is apparently exactly what a lot of people wanted, so what do I know.

Unleashed was the way, in terms of aesthetics. Married up with the franchise perfectly.

[NoKaine]

Besides the fact that the art style and world design is based on Breath of the Wild, which is realistic albeit with a cel-shaded design, the art style doesn't really address any distinct criticisms. Regardless if you like or think it's generic, the art direction is clearly very intentional and deliberate and has a purpose, we just don't know what. 

Like I said, do you think Lost World was super cartoony because people criticized Generations' art style? Nah.

[KHCast]

1 minute ago, NoKaine said:

Besides the fact that the art style and world design is based on Breath of the Wild, which is realistic albeit with a cel-shaded design, the art style doesn't really address any distinct criticisms. Regardless if you like or think it's generic, the art direction is clearly very intentional and deliberate and has a purpose, we just don't know what. 

Like I said, do you think Lost World was super cartoony because people criticized Generations' art style? Nah.

A lot of people criticized generations for being too busy and cluttered with its backgrounds and general aesthetic. 
 

Again, Sega has a track record of going from one extreme to the next as a result of criticism when it comes to Sonic. Not sure why this suddenly is some unreasonable take to you, to suggest it was a factor 

[Blue Blood]

Wrong thread. Tabs on Chrome for Android are awful. 

[Scar]

Just now, NoKaine said:

Besides the fact that the art style and world design is based on Breath of the Wild, which is realistic albeit with a cel-shaded design, the art style doesn't really address any distinct criticisms. Regardless if you like or think it's generic, the art direction is clearly very intentional and deliberate and has a purpose, we just don't know what. 

Like I said, do you think Lost World was super cartoony because people criticized Generations' art style? Nah.

They're trying new things, which is fine. I hope the game looks good.

I just think Unleashed nailed the aesthetic I wanted for Sonic to have going forwards, and it only really lasted for 2 and a half games since (Colours, Gens, and Forces). Unleashed with the performance of a PS4/PS5 would look incredible. Especially seeing as you can get really great lighting and shadows in real time using hybrid rendering.

Jungle Joyride, to this day, is the best looking Sonic level I've seen in 3D.

 

[NoKaine]

2 minutes ago, KHCast said:

A lot of people criticized generations for being too busy and cluttered with its backgrounds and general aesthetic. 

Who? Genuinely who? I have never heard of this type of criticism. That people thought Generations was cluttered. I don't think it was a big enough criticism for SEGA to react too.

Also, in general, do you think that Lost World was a response to criticism of Generations, even though Generations was literally one of the best rated Sonic games of all time?

2 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Again, Sega has a track record of going from one extreme to the next as a result of criticism when it comes to Sonic. Not sure why this suddenly is some unreasonable take to you, to suggest it was a factor 

Because it's not addressing anything in particular, that's why.