Sonic Frontiers is a Disappointing Mess
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- There’s a new 3D Sonic game in town, and I NEED to talk about it… Good thing I beat every 3D Sonic game in a week in preparation.
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Big thanks to Onua for the Sonic thumbnail pose!
Music:
Infinite’s End - Sonic Forces
Theme of Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic 06
Cyberspace 3-4 - Sonic Frontiers
Sound Test - Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Metallic Madness Zone (Act 1) - Sonic Mania
Cyberspace 4-2 - Sonic Frontiers
Amalgam - Undertale
Cyberspace 3-5 - Sonic Frontiers
Egg Fleet - Sonic Heroes
In Broad Daylight - Chibi-Robo
Cyberspace 4-4 - Sonic Frontiers
Ares Island - Sonic Frontiers
Final Boss - Sonic Frontiers
Gallery - Danganronpa V3
Werehog Battle Theme - Sonic Unleashed
Dark Rebirth - JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Chaos Island - Sonic Frontiers
Undefeatable - Sonic Frontiers
Kronos Island - Sonic Frontiers
The Last Scene - Sonic Adventure 2
It is playable so that is already a win for Sonic fans
you're real for this one eduardo
@@yakkocmn he so is real for that one
Despite Forces being playable and yet despised? Your logic doesn’t make sense
@@theminecraft2516 Forces was playable? Come on that game played itself 90% of the time, despite it working well it was literally NOT playable
@@theminecraft2516 the forces problem it's playing itself. It have playing illusion. It's fake. I even not talking about plot. The Frontiers made only for fans. Yes for other nonsonicfans this game will seem boring with old graphic and somewhere bugged.
Tbh, if I had to suffer thro ALL 3d Sonic games in a week....
A Sonic game would have to straight up cook my dinner to impress me.
LOL 🤣
SegaSonic Popcorn Shop?
@@MIMI88571
Hey, so I did the thing you said and all I ended up with is a Burnt House, all I wanted was some Crispy KFC Chicken. 😢
Lmao you are capping hard if not any Sonic game didn't straight up cooked your dinner
I'm sad he didnt enjoy frontiers
Not because he doesn't share my opinion of the game
But because the man went through 13 sonic games in 7 days only to be rewarded with disappointment.
Well then that's on him. Majority rules and the metacritic reviews don't lie. This guy just hates everything.
@@Valstrax420 A majority of his videos are positive. What're you talking about?
But theirs a DLC roadmap
@@Valstrax420 fucking fanboy
@@spaceace9103 Exactly!^^
yakko lore is getting intense, we've gone from "behold! childlike wonder!" to "i can no longer put my faith into the video game industry"
He'll come back to that when an original, not Green Hill using, 2D or 3D Sonic game approaches.
@@metalsonic3044 so basically never?
@@kneesurgeryenthusiast6915 listen i am an sa3 believer ,and there is nothing you could do to stop me.
@@metalsonic3044 well, your loss.
@@metalsonic3044superstars amirite
the atmosphere being bleak and everyone seeming sad kinda fits what's happening imo and Flynn isn't foreign to sumber tones with Sonic characters(IDW metal virus arc)
+ even if it's tone down Sonic still shows confidence and smile to every situation
@@grantchampaign Now, Sega just sucks.
Sega wanted this came to come out in 2021.
Sonic team had a rough development with this game.
First basically making Forces 2, deciding to scrap this idea, remake everything else, and call Ian, they wanted more time to make the new, they only got 1 year instead of 2 as they wanted.
IDW sonic 's metal virus arc is 🗑
@@grantchampaign you mean IDW?
I don't really get what you criticizing?
My point is that bleak tones aren't foreign to Sonic in general and that it can work/ it has worked in the past
They have Free Updates for frontiers now.
@@grantchampaign ehh, they are middle of the pack between the big japanese developers. They were definiteely lacking in the 2010's, but them showing the ability to actually delay a game, listen to fan feedback over design, and actually utilize their extremely talented fandom for real games in the past 4 years show they are slowly coming around.
Capcom and Bamco does it better, but they are still way ahead of Square, Koei Tecmo, and especially Nintendo and Konami in that regard.
They should've utilized the climbable mountain mechanic more. Lots of the pathways led to nowhere not even collectibles. Especially disappointing on the one on the 4th island that spanned across an entire side of the mountain over a bottomless pit and literally just ending at the edge of the map and pushes you off. Like no way was that the way it was intended to end
My favourite areas in the game were those where you could climb with no restrictions. That huge cave formation in island 5 and the basalt columns in island 3 come to mind, they're just so fun to wall run on. Really wish this mechanic gets expanded on in the next game
While I really really liked this game I can see why you didn't. To me, I never felt hamstrung or forced, I felt like I was playing in one big Sonic level with tons of paths. Exploring wasn't a focus for me, but mastering the island's layout was. The combat was simple but I strung together cool combos with timing and finesse, even if it wasn't needed. The story and its characters felt natural to me, and the callbacks felt as though they rewarded me for staying with this franchise by finally treating all of the games as if they're part of the same universe for once.
So with all of those feelings it makes me sad that a game I really like landed with a thud for you. I respect your opinions so I get where you're coming from. For me this isn't just a "promising first step", because the idea of playing something that could one day be good holds no appeal, but rather just a game that held my interest and attention till the end. Hopefully there comes a day where everyone who plays a Sonic game feels this way instead of just half of the players.
This is how I feel about it too, I’ve played better games, but I’ve played many, many worse
I ended up trying the demo but when the first turn in green hill came round i realised that sonic turned for himself, felt weird to say the least. -first time playing a sonic game idk if it's normal-
why would you need to care about the island's layout? you spend remarkably little time on the ground, just using rails to basically fast-travel from one set piece to the next. there's not much to figure out
@@frozenfeet4534 because it feels so good to be able to get across the whole island off memory
I like you, you are perfect. So much respect to you
I actually have to say I've had a great time with this game. Probably top three Sonic game for me. I love the open zones and little paths that reward with memories, and it was always fun to run around but stop to do them. It's like "curated speed," it's fast and feels fun to play as it bounces you around a ton.
That’s my thoughts as well. It was super fun, but just not enough to be the best of the best.
of course you like it cause its copied from good games lol
jokes aside, i hated those levels cause sonic controls and handles so badly
@@السراقالمجهول i actually love how sonic controls in this game. as soon as i let loose of the stick he is instantly stopping? He is not sliding over the ground anymore wheen i try to stop??
@@callmesnowboo So you actually HATE momentum. You're supposed to PUSH THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO BRAKE in those older games. How is that not intuitive? Or are you just lazy or afraid of slipping some other direction? Like, EXPERIMENT IN SAFE SPACES for once. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE FOR.
Sonic isn't supposed to be that much about stop-and-go, though.
I respect your opinion, I personally think it’s the best sonic game to come out since Generations
Which I think speaks more about the franchise that both this and the video are correct.
I don't believe it means you think it actually is a good game.
Exactly right??
I actually agree but frankly, kinda speaks volumes of the quality of Sonic games lol.
It is the best game since generations but that is a very low bar to clear
I actually really enjoyed Frontiers. I am one of the people who liked Cyberspace levels. I like the level design and hopefully we get more original zones. The Titan boss fights are the best part in my opinion.
I'm looking forward to what Sonic Team are going to make in the future.
Me too, they should keep this formula going forward.
Jiggling car keys in front of you might be fun to you too.
I liked cyberspace a lot, but I didn't really like the titans
@@christiangraulau8107 didn’t like the titans? Wtf is wrong with you. That shit is the hypeest boss fight maybe ever
@@tehCostHD they’re basically glorified cutscenes and have very little strategy or challenge to them, which I 100% can appreciate. For example, I really like the shark mini boss which is also basically a glorified cutscene. But I would prefer the bosses at the end of each island to be more challenging. But I also can acknowledge it could be my fault, for example I could make it more challenging for myself by going in with less rings, so I might come to appreciate them more whenever I replay the game
The height of my disappointment was when Sonic got corrupted, the way Tails talked made me think I was going to play as the other characters, but then they started holding hands around Sonic and undid everything we just did to get them out.
edit: OMG I can't believe they did a 180 and with the recent announcement. I'm eager for the update.
I mean, the developers did say only Sonic was playable in multiple interviews
I didn't know that because I avoided all spoilers.
yeah that was disappointing, the way you were looking so tired and beat up prior to that made me expect the cyber corruption was actually going to lead to something interesting. Some new gameplay mode or boss, just anything special or novel. Instead they did absolutely nothing with it? Makes it seem like they were planning something but had to cut it for lack of time.
Sounds about right. I don't think Sega would let other characters have their fun.
In the same dire situation in Black Knight you got to play as the other characters in Last Story tradition so that could have been nice.
As a Brazilian, I've been seeing many a Sonic being launched through the sky and landing near my home.
It's very unsettling.
Your smile at the end while looking at that Sonic hoodie actually stole me a tear, I kinda felt the same as you especially after finishing the game... You can see Iizuka and his team somehow actually tried to move things forward this time, the whole "One Way Dream" ending song openly being a message from them tells it alone, it's in the end a somewhat cool tech demo that might lead to something really good in the coming years, yet it sadly feels and clearly is an half-baked one, too much hit and miss on too many fronts, and I'm saying this considering the fact that I actually managed to appreciate the game as a whole even with all the problems it has, playing it I've been able to mentally go back when I was a little 6 y.o. girl playing Sonic Heroes for the first time, or when I was 11, playing the Megadrive classics and the Adventure games.
I can only rise my hopes up and pray SEGA that our beloved blue blur can finally, completely escape this dumpster he's been thrown in almost 12 years ago with his next game...
What I meant to say is that, as janky and unfinished it turned out to be, you can definitely see this game has heart, that they managed to make, putting aside its countless slips and falls, feel Sonic like Sonic again after all this time.
On a side note, still talking about how much the game can be utter crap sometimes now, I don't know if you knew, but that final boss fight (a really lackluster one at that) with THE END is... exclusive... to hard mode... Yes, if you play the game at normal difficulty you'll get SUPREME (the t-shirt branding) as a final boss (the whole Super Sonic space purple Moon destroying thing plays out AS A CUTSCENE), and with it being literally the worst of all the four titans... WELL... well uhh....
a tech demo sold at 60 dollars, eh? so noble.
Can’t even acknowledge the fruits Sonic Teams efforts that show can ya, or at least give them points for trying to make an effort in showing improvement.
Wait till he gets to the Pokemon scarlet review..
For real, why does every critique essay about this game sound so contradictory, like because blue hedgehog is not even an argument.
Kinda wish Sonic's movement felt more like the game Spark The Electric Jester. Specifically the 3rd one. That game is like almost everything I would want from a Sonic game.
more people need to play that game
Spark sucks
@@TheDaidai05 I've been meaning to play it
@@Therealones745 well you must be bad at it lol
@@Omen_Rocks123🤣
I hope people get the one message in this video. . .
PLAY SOLAR ASH ITS BASICALLY A BETTER SONIC FRONTIERS
I have no idea why I enjoy your Sonic videos an uncanny amount, but they're all very well made
Thank you for that ending bit Yakko. It was fittingly somber, yet cautiously optimistic, and really sold the point in a way that words can't, well as your closing was written.
I personally was hooked on the game when it first came out I believe the music was fitting having a natural orchestral genre to represent the ancients and their old but extremely advanced technologies and sonic discovering it all and I really enjoy how the characters interact with one another and how they aren't making bad jokes and people like knuckles have their main roles back and they are there own characters like when Amy actually argues with sonic and questions his decisions at one point
I disagree with your statement about the sliders. Sonic 3D got always criticize for its controls and finally having the ability to tweak your movement I find resolved the issue for a lot of folks
Isn't the point that it shouldn't be up to the player to get Sonic to feel right? Sure you can customize it to how you like it, but that's because they couldn't figure it out themselves. You shouldn't have to tweak the game values to get it to feel right. If many other studios can get their movement to feel good within their own games, then so should Sonic Team. It's just a band aid solution to a larger problem for Sonic games.
@@kiramaticc This, so damn much. Giving the player the wheel in something they could never, never know is pathetic. The player didn't make the physics, the player didn't design the levels. It is IMPOSSIBLE for the player to " get Sonic to feel right ", because not even the designers know what that means.
@@kiramaticc but sonic has been proven multiple times to be different from other games: one thing is having a common middle of the road speed like in the other platformers and then give some sort of power up or upgrade to make the movement feel faster compare to tge average speed; sonic on the other hand is always fast and have some sort rhytim to it, and what can feel easy to manage to some, its not the same for others. Its the reason why they gave a run button in Lost World, its because they got so many complaints about the movement. Besides, to have tge sliders to work, they need the base movement to also work, xnd frontiers controls very good to most people. The sliders help in case someone wants to tweak some of the movement or make it more comfortable, its not a sign of not trusting the controls
@@Peroshy Yeah I feel like a lot of people don't understand how even the simplest decisions can affect the design of a game as a whole.
Letting the player tweak Sonic's movement may sound good on paper, but overall is very restrictive in terms of the entire game's scope. If Sonic Team decides to bring this idea forward into future Sonic games, that means they have to design around the fact that players can have different movement values. This will most likely lead to more simpler levels and challenges designed around movement because it's essentially impossible to design anything remotely complex for hundreds of different configurations for Sonic's movement, which effectively limits the potential of the game as a whole.
@@lupinthenerd439 True he has, but remember that it's devs's job to make your character move nice and to make sure the controls and movement is so smooth, Sonic is no exception to this.
"then why call it a COMPASS??!!" That one hit home
"Sonic Boom was canon??!" was my legitimate reaction to that line, too.
It's not canon, Sticks was just "reincarnated" into the main universe.
The whole universe isnt canon, its just sticks being in the mainline canon now, thats not enough to call the whole other universe canon
As a person who has watched the Sonic Boom cartoon, I am OK with this. It generally had better writing than probably all of the games
@@RariettyC Not a fair comparison.
@@Cruddy129 No it's just a throw away reference.
that outro was so well done, very cinematic! i could just feel how he put his hope and passion away into the closet while thinking back to all the good times he had with it. kinda gave me disney/pixar-esque vibes
17:29 Man, I'd take everything Ian Flynn says with a grain of salt. He's been blaming shit on mandates since the dawn of his career, to shift any criticism he gets onto Sega. Apparently one at one point Sega had to make an public statement saying that they do not have hard rules for their IPs when third parties are handling them. They're are more like suggestions. Look, I'm not denying there were any mandates for Frontiers, but I wouldn't take anything Ian says as gospel. Besides, if Ian had is way with Frontiers' story, I'm sure it'd be a lot more darker than it was.
Finally! Someone else who agrees with my take.
Generations + unleashed day levels+sonic colors levels = peak sonic gameplay
Sonic colors had good level themes but trash level design
I think the bulk of the issues really do just come down to needing more structure in some places and more freedom in others. Frontiers makes a lot of progress, but it's all just thrown into the pot and needs time now to really get cooking. More structured and real areas over these big empty fields while maintaining the control they've started to give and easing up on the rails is the balance they have to strike. And the story could use more shakeups and dynamics through not always just being two characters talking. Have them do stuff and really get some dynamic craziness in there.
In other words, use Frontiers as a base and make Sonic Adventure 3. Give them all the time and resources they need to expand where this story let off with everyone going off and doing their own thing in new places.
Make the rails, like cyber-esque, or made out of the world around them. Hell Sonic Adventure 2 the game that introduced rails, did that, and we had like interstate highways with loopyloops in them for some reason, but they stayed in the visual theme of the enviroment even if they are absolutely absurdist acts of civil engineering. Random ass loopyloops is just part of the sonic universe, we can accept that, as long as it looks like it's part of the temple or landscape or whatever. These things can work mostly as is, just gotta season them a little and add some flavour.
@@TheJadeFist A good example is final rush, in final rush of SA2, the rails looked different to fit the environment
@@SeleDreams or City Escape, in which they were hand rails for the stairs. The two jungle levels they were vines.
I'm gonna add one more comparison:
The End looks like they came out of The End of a Kirby game
This reminds me a lot of the sonic adventure era. There were the people who called them the best in the series and others who said it's where sonic started going downhill. Opinions are very mixed.
Then you obviously have never played them in the first place. And no, at release they were universally praised. Frontiers is just a confused overcorrection. Wasting time with tedious chores or mediocre Boost to win stages is not exactly an improvement.
@@yrooxrksvi7142 well I have played the adventure games. When they came out it was rather acclaimed, but now I see more mixed opinions. On the topic of frontiers though, idk. I think it has a functional core gameplay loop. It just needs more solid and consistent physics for some. And while you could consider the challenges "chores" you don't have to do them which doesn't excuse them, but at least puts them out of the way so they're never really overbearing or feel like an imposition.
Bro Zineth, an indie game from like 2012 developed by a studio that vanished off the face of the fucking Earth, does an infinitely better job of mixing its parkour elements into the world in a way that actually feels like natural design instead of thrown about at random
Sorry for comparing ahead of time. Spear me if you must. I don't play games like Sonic for a hard challenge. I have other games for that. It's like how I don't need Pokémon to be tough either. The difference is that Sonic Frontiers actually works. It's got enough style and substance for me to want to buy it soon, and most of my friends who got it have good stuff to say about it. As long as it's engaging enough, I can see myself pouring a lot of time into this, and unlike a certain OTHER game, it has all the basics from a AAA dev team!... I'm sorry. Gen 9 just gets me viscerally upset.
I don't mind the past references that much, but that's mostly because the way it is used, while frequent, is much better than the failed execution done in Sonic Forces, and I understand why it can be somewhat annoying. Really, it'll depend on if they keep relying on this technique in future Sonic games.
Tbh bro I think there was way too many references. Think about it: was mentioning sticks, tangle, deadly six, zavok, omega, and dark gaia really neccesary?
@@TheComemnterAnd whats wrong with that sonic generations did the same thing.
@@bedstevesuper1936 Generations didn't have 1000 references in the writing. The references were in the stages and bosses itself.
Nailed my thoughts on the game. I still haven't gotten over the absolute disappointment that was the final boss, could only think "That was it?"
How IS THAT disappointing?!
@@rickyrackey7930 The final boss felt like sega didn’t have enough time to fully finish the final boss, and the secret final boss felt like they had absolutely no time to make a actual boss fight out of it so they put a mini game. Not saying the whole game was bad, I actually enjoyed the game unlike the guy In the video, but that final boss was underwhelming compared to the first 3 fights.
At least we are getting free dlc so that’s nice.
I think it's a good game, though it's pretty clear that this is moreso a test for a future 3D open area sonic game. though my main issue is mostly just... the movement. moving sonic doesn't feel right
Yeah idk why they nerfed his gameplay..and made him slower in this game like you have to boost to go fast but then again that wasn't really a problem it still has that fast paced gameplay but the fact they nerfed his speed gameplay in frontiers was Abit disappointing
I don’t really understand the sliders debate, like it’s just customizable controls. Freedom to the player.
I knew we were going to have a difference of opinions when you said that "the fourth island was a welcome to change of pace"
I actually enjoyed Frontiers, the gameplay is fun, a mix of 2d platformer and 3d 'open world', the soundtrack is amazing, the graphics are not THAT bad and overall pretty solid game i liked it.
I just beat it today this morning. I think the end fight was too hard probably because of how huge the ramp in difficulty was. I still loved it.
My only complaint is the boss on the final island. They definitely rushed that. But i loved this game all around, just needs a QoL update
Thanks for commenting on the art design! It's a detail a lot of people cross over (or excuse).
Personally I loved this game, I loved the touhou style fight for the final boss as well as the total banger theme songs for the titan fights. And I just couldn't get enough of trying to draw stuff with the cyloop function. The stages in this aren't as challenging as unleashed stages so that's a minus for me but I still enjoyed them a lot. This is definitely one of the better sonic games, it's nice to see a change up of the formula that while not perfectly executed still worked well. Looking for forward to obtaining the platinum for this game. I really loved the change up they have had for sonic's character in this game as well. He sounds a lot more mature than in other games, that really stuck out for me.
i understand all these critiques even if i disagree, but i think context is extremely important here. factual criticism is important, but the fact sonic team is severely understaffed and below budget to make good games from sega NEEDS to be mentioned. i don't want to dismiss just talking about raw problems with the game, but this fundamental problem i feel is being ignored too much and more people with influence need to start pointing fingers at sega themselves for giving sonic team the most basic of ingredients so this literally the best they can do.
How are people failing the rails? HOW!? Just flick the stick left or right, GOD DAMNIT!!!
Lol skill issue
The blast to the past you gave me with that Line Rider joke was uncalled for
I’ve been dodging this video for nearly a year, because I loved Frontiers.
And now, I’m finding myself agreeing with everything you’ve said.
I just… I like this game. It’s just okay, and I’m content with that. Maybe it’s just that I was going in with low expectations and was surprised that I had fun with it, but in spite of all its problems, I like it.
And all of your points are valid reasoning for being disappointed!
What the hell, I’m a Sonic fan, I’m supposed to be a dick!
Great video.
I think the weird disconnect between the way Sonic looks and the way the environment both looks and sounds kind of fits with how Sonic is an outsider on these islands. This is Sonic in a world not his own, and the crazy rock kicking in during these boss fights where the environment tries is kick out the outsider is Sonic metaphorically pushing back against the environment that's trying to kick him out. Even with the themes of Cyberspace leaking into the real world, it explains why the weirdly out of place rails and other obstacles keep popping up only after Sonic interacts with the cyberspace since it seems to pull from his memories. Idk if any of these supposed thematic choices are intentional but that's the way I look at it anyway. I enjoyed this game probably more than I should have being realistic, but the inner sonic fan in me was just glad to have a new game he could have fun playing since he hadn't gotten one since 2013
Wait so people hate the game now.
No cities or enterable buildings were you can see inside or outside from inside. Just empty landmass of course its gonna be boring
First off, WHY would there be buildings in an ancient island? Secondly, the world is filled with puzzles, loops, dashes, and other things to do. You would literally have to go out of your way to avoid those things
@@fohb7291 u sound angry, its a boring empty world lacking immersion
@@fruityice1873it definitely isn’t boring
@@fohb7291it looks and plays like a mod
@@arthurtrajano2994 you're just bad
The amount of copium in this comment section is unbelievable
That's how you know this is fan base is really desperate for a Sonic game. It doesn't matter even if it's mid, fans will defend anything.
@@marcusmayo Including Unleashed, which at best, is mediocre
@@thefastcommenter7774excuse mua?
@@_TRB_ It is though
With The updates and the biggest one coming soon, that comment didn’t age well
fuck hahaha, comparing this to Solar Ash was unexpected but BRUTAL
If frontiers is a disappointing mess, I'd love to see how he'd name a video about the new pokemon games lmao
Pokemon game was awesome
Dog shit. lmfao
I am grateful towards Sonic Frontiers for making me want to play Solar Ash instead
I 100 percent ed this game as well and I personally loved the game except for the 3rd world and I thought the super sonic fights were amazing and it’s probably my favorite game of the year although I do recognize it’s many manny and I mean large amount of flaws
I’m really hoping newer Sonic games will take the right lessons from this game because it’s a right step for the franchise in decades
Sonic frontier was one of the games ever
More like a "Sega hire this man" for me it was a "Sega you hired the WRONG man".
They should hire the guy that made *_Sonic Utopia._* A MOMENTUM driven "open zone" to play around and do Sonic stuff (with loops and more things being PART of the design and not random obstacle courses because, I guess the civilization of Jell-O People really liked their rails or something.
Hardly a sonic game when I honestly feel I can run faster in real life. The bosses in the game boy sonics were more interesting.
Bitch what u goin on about?
@@quinnnewman2618 he says frontiers is garbage. what didn't you get, bitch?
“I can run faster” - 🧓🏻
Haven't watched yet, but I'll give my two cents. Edits made, here's my final thoughts.
I wouldn't call it a disappointment. All things considered, the game did what it did very well, and I all things considered came out of my experience with the game having enjoyed it. I enjoyed navigating the open world with Sonic's speed, racing over the hills of Kronos, the Mountains of Chaos, and the dunes of Ares. I loved fighting most of the guardians. I loved going through the mini obstacle courses scattered throughout the world, which almost seamlessly lead into one another in many cases. The characterization and story in this game is stellar, and at least in the characterization sense, is some of the best we've seen in two decades.
I will say that Cyberspace was extremes. It was either really good, or terrible. Some stages were good and fun, some were actual torture, and it always came down to the source material for the stages. The best stages, imo, was the handful of original stages and the Adventure stages. For some reason, Sonic just felt like he handled better there than he did anywhere else in Cyberspace, and it was fun to play through those stages.
The bad, however, comes in the game's cut content. There's not much to see, but it's very clear as you play through that some stuff just didn't make it. Kronos Island was cut up into Ouranos and Rhea, and some dialogue triggers on Ouranos indicate this without a single doubt that yes, it was originally Kronos (in case the antagonist talking to you normally during this island after the events that happened prior wasn't clear enough). There's also some things that just feel wrong. Giganto has a handful of unused attacks. Every battle after Giganto requires the game to enter some weird cutscene mode for the QTEs instead of it being real time, which slightly takes you out of the experience due to the loading. Knight for some reason lacks its laser beams that shoot from its shoulder in phase 2. Supreme pulls out its rifle in the intro and goes into a sniper stance only to use the thing a total of once in the entire fight while recycling Giganto's moveset, but now with projectiles. Not to mention the fact its Evangelion wings just vanish after the phase transition.
And then, there's The End. Everything around this fight, from the intro monologue, to the tutorial text saying "Titans", plural, and just the general vibe of the fight reeks not of laziness, but of an unfinished battle that HAD to have something out the door for release.
I also totally agree about Sage's interactions with Sonic. For as much as I love Sage as a character, the constant "there would be no point in telling you" was a really stupid story choice. But other than that, I definitely feel the character interactions were the high point of the story. The main story itself was neat, with the ancients and all, but the thing that really got me was the individual character interactions. Amy is no longer a lovestruck stalker, and is now a kindhearted but stern girl who believes in doing the right thing no matter what. Knuckles is back to being a friendly rival, who's outwardly abrasive and somewhat aggressive towards Sonic, but has a soft spot for him. Tails has been turned from this mockery of himself that the last decade has painted him as to a kid with serious self-confidence issues, who begins taking the steps towards fixing his issues his writing has had in the last 10 years. Eggman has had some of the best characterization he's ever had. We got insights into his private thoughts, we saw his classic super ego that lead him to believe he could control The End, but we also got to see a side of him that we never saw, which is the softer side of him that came out thanks to Sage. Sage is probably my favorite part of this game's story. She's certainly not perfect, and a lot of her writing is a bit scuffed, but my love of her is more focused on what she'll do moving forward in the story, and how she'll affect Eggman's character. Not to mention, she was just a fun character in general, once she dropped the "Emotionless, Calculating AI" act.
Ian Flynn's goal with Frontiers felt like it was less about telling a complete story that stuck 1:1 with what Sega intended for the script, and more like a grand attempt at finally bringing sonic's world back into one coherent piece for the first time in two decades, with a myriad of references. This is also seen in Tailstube. Frontiers clearly had the goal of just giving Sonic a world again, instead of the string of disconnected plots we've had since the fallout of 06.
But despite the negatives, I enjoyed the game. It has its flaws, but it also has a large wealth of genuinely good things about the game that gave it the mass acclaim among fans and to an extent, critics, that its gained thus far. I feel like too many people these days have gotten locked into the mindset that "Flawed = Bad" when these things exist on a spectrum. A game can be flawed, but its merits and the game's design and gameplay can make it good. A game can be flawless, but if the game itself isn't inspired or entertaining, being flawless won't stop it from being bad. I'd never call Frontiers a masterpiece, but I'd happily call it a good first step. And clearly, Sega agrees. As a result of Frontiers' success and acclaim, they've allocated more funds and manpower to Sonic Team.
I don't want to look at this game as a missed shot, because I don't think it missed at all. Rather, I see it as the beginning of something amazing to come. After all, as Sonic Team said in their message to the fans that was the second credits theme.
We're only at the beginning of this One Way Dream.
This essay gets a A*
Couldn't have said it better myself.
@@jaysolo8256 Correction, an S Rank
19:50 This entire segment has such massive "Hey Lois remember the time" energy and that being in a Sonic game is fucking bizarre.
Yeah I didn’t find frontiers that interesting & just very lazy in somethings.
If they do another world zone game, I hope the levels looks way more creative & not lot of random platforms everywhere in bland places.
Ye
Sonic Generations was like 5 hours long, barely... and I enjoyed every second of it. Sonic Frontiers is what 30 hours? I got sick of it in less than 5. What's wrong with quality over quantity devs? It's clear that sonic frontiers is trying to tick certain boxes but forgetting to tick the important boxes as a result and actually try to make a good, high quality game. Man it was so disappointing.
frontiers is 13 hours, a perfect amount but the content wasnt there to fill it up. generations is so damn short, to the point of making the game arguably bad.
Man, Sonic Frontiers could learn a thing or two from Family Guy about obscure references and cutaway scenes. I hardly understood any of the references, but it was usually funny! I just didn't care about the old game references in this game.
You know what would be my favorite new Sonic game? A Sonic Adventure collection. (I could even argue for a collection going through Heroes and Shadow game, but I won't.) It doesn’t even need to be remastered! Just put them on Switch. We already have 3 different remasters of every game's starter stages.
i know many would disagree w this review considering how they feel abt the game itself, but it should be reiterated that one of the main criticisms is that the game is still fundamentally flawed; it's a fantastic sonic game but it is not a fantastic game per say. praising the game for being a step in the right direction is fine but a step in the right direction does that mean that fans should be satisfied w the overall quality of the game. it's fine to enjoy the game like i did, but sega still needs to step up their game.
Also, all the praise is at best a backhanded compliment. We are basically thanking Sonic Team for coming to their senses and correctly dismissing Forces at best, 12 years of games on average, and 24-27 years worth of games at worst. Frontiers is not a jewel - its the mineral that deserved to be underground and never admired before it becomes a jewel at best.
Sorry man, can't dislike this one even if I tried. I LOVE it. I really don't know what you mean by "Sonic doesn't look like he fits in this world"
What do you mean? It's pretty obvious.
@@nerodoesart5886 I sure he understands where he’s coming from, he just doesn’t share that same sentiment.
Though I enjoyed the game, it doesn’t really have much replay value once it’s over, until the dlc comes out.
It’s probably my favourite 3D sonic game, that’s honestly not saying much, since most of the 3D games aren’t very good.
Glad I got it on the Xmas sales definitely not worth full price.
"Being a Sonic fan is like eating dogshit for a decade and then being fed a piece of burnt toast for a treat" lmao true
While I respect this guy’s opinion. What I don’t respect is people not buying the game because TH-camr says it was bad
no one is like that (at least no one), If they want a good game, they will search for a review (if it's not IGN). If they will buy it or not, it's to the consumer's choice.
I'm not about to pay 60 bucks for a mediocre game
@@precieux6303it’s not mediocre tho
It's definitely a big step in the right direction, from what I've played. I never got to experience the past decade of sonic but from what I've researched and and saw, this game is a flawed masterpiece and I can't wait to see what sonic team can come up with next
I literally just bought the game Avoided all spoilers Been playing it for 2 days now And my honest opinion of it I want to love the game so bad And enjoy it But something Is just off in it and it's like my body just won't let me enjoy the game I it's like im playing but im afc i don't know why any one else had that feeling?
I know right? It is missing like a bunch of polish, everything feels rough and it is so distracting
I hope whatever the next sonic game will be, I hope it really defines what frontiers gameplay should of been, make it this extremely fast fun open world experience to explore with addictive combat, not like the finale version they chose to release
‼️ This is what many Sonic fans are afraid to say. As a coping mechanism, they try to enjoy the game even though it falls flat!
@@nazomius7033or it's the opposite. They're afraid to unironically enjoy a Sonic game because the Internet has deemed that sort of thing as embarrassing. It's actually a "defense mechanism" that they've developed after being brutalized by the Internet for years.
For once, it's a lot more playable than Scarlet and Violet, but I think that says more about Pokemon Company
still can't believe the bar for a $60 game in 2022 is "playable"
How is that surprising?
Most game releases nowadays never make it that far until several patches down the road
@@yakkocmn All you need to turn your Balan Wonderworld into an 8/10 IGN review is to add a recognisable mascot character from people's childhoods. (sonic) BOOM! It's not a worthless piece of shit, it's Pokémon Worthless and Pokémon Piece of Shit, coming out for $70 each just in time for the holiday season!
@@MAMAJUGO Shoutout to every person that bought No Man's Sky at ANY point for completely normalizing broken launches and completely lying in marketing.
@@Peroshy I think people hope that it becomes good after a while like no man’s sky
But it's not Sonic Forces! It's not Sonic Forces! We have to like it!
Jebtube’s cock must taste really good
I love Sonic Frontiers and think it's a good game, but I understand why you don't like it.
I think if Sonic Team were to make a Sonic Frontiers 2, they could take some the Criticisms from the first and fix and or get rid of them. Such as the rails in the air abound the Horizon. Make islands more harder the further you progress and keep things interesting instead of a making about collecting a bunch of memory tokens. Fix cyperspace controls since it was my least favorite part in the entire game.
Make sure the islands are Restrict in certain parts of the map like going up mountains.
He already did reach what I think to be peak sonic, and that was day time sonic unleashed. The level design, the speed, the music. Everything.. Fit..
I really like it. I find it hard to put down. In the overworld Sonic controls great and I love the combat. I never knew I wanted combat in a Sonic game but here I am hoping it never goes away. Ian Flynn is the star of the show though. He deserves a standing ovation. Everyone is written perfectly. I get the sense Sonic and friends aren't kids anymore. They're maturing. Everyone is getting much needed development. It's good to see. My few gripes are things that can definitely be improved. Firstly, that pop-in. I'm not exactly a stickler for presentation. I'm not a snob about FPS or graphics or anything like that. I'm easy to please is what I'm trying to say. But that pop-in makes it mighty difficult to see the obstacles in the overworld. I can't see the start of the obstacle to do it until it decides to finally load in. And the cyber stages are a great idea. I always look forward to the next. That's some classic Sonic gameplay. But it's visually tiring seeing only four aesthetics for every single one of them. I like Green Hill, Chemical Plant and Sky Sanctuary as much as the next guy but I think it's time to retire these zones. They're beyond overused at this point. And I think the cutscenes could use a bit more animation. They can be pretty stiff at times. But that's it really. I have no huge problems overall. It does far more right than wrong. If I were a reviewer I would have given it an 8. An easy 9 if it had just a bit more polish. But this is a much needed win for Sonic Team. I hope they're proud and I eagerly anticipate their next adventure. I love this direction.
Super happy for the shoutout for Solar Ash. The “Open zones” are sized appropriately and are very memorable aesthetically. They’ve found the fun in the platforming with its movement and inertia, intentionally making combat simple, so that bosses and the various conflicts would be designed around making the most of that movement.
Sonic doesn’t need combat mechanics. The fun is found with his movement options, so I feel they should double down on that. I just want my guy to be able to drift in the over world.😢
He just sold me on Solar Ash. Added it to my wish list on my PS5. I’ve seen thumbnails of the game but never saw gameplay. Looks like a lot of fun and I really like the art style. I grew up as a Sonic fan playing many Sonic games, but man, Frontiers still isn’t it. I’m not going to buy that game. Maybe if it ends up on PS+ one day, I’ll try it out. But paying $60 for it? I’m good. Hoping for a Sonic Utopia style game to eventually launch.
Frontiers looks uninspired and bland. I tried to like it. I really did. But I’ve seen enough to know that I don’t want to pay money for it and find it to be a mediocre experience. I just came off of GoW Ragnarok and was incredibly satisfied. Going to do the post-story quests, play more Elden Ring, and pick up indie games like Solar Ash and Tunic while I wait for Marvel’s Spider Man 2 and Zelda TotK.
@@waynelewis9110 Nice! And Solar Ash is relatively cheap, too. It's length is shorter, but it's paced incredibly well to incentivize replayability. I was able to get Frontiers for like $35, and that was about what I was willing to pay for it. I'm having a good time with it, but I wouldn't consider it a $60 experience. I feel with one more iteration to better flesh out their ideas, it can be.
This is why the franchise NEEDS the adventure style gameplay back. From its rigidity of its gameplay, from its restrictions of movement to its overly cartoonish aesthetics, recycled levels etc etc etc, Frontiers is a game that’s just as lazy as the other games made after 06. An 06 remaster with its original direction fulfilled is what the franchise needs; that’s what’ll take the large majority of sonic fans out of what they’ve conditioned to believe is good; they just need to play one modern adventure game!
People like you defend 06 and then wonders why they get shit like Forces.
Just stfu
@MandoGamer I'm not casual, I'm die hard Sonic fan, and you'll be suprised Sonic Forces is my second favorite Sonic game.
@@os9077 forces & 06 have two very different playing styles. The only difference was that 06 was forcibly rushed by the greedy higher ups in management who only cared for profits over passion for the character & game. I mean, have you even played Choas X’s Sonic P-06?? That’s what Sonic 06 was meant to be. Also, less that dirty language, you’re not hard
@@prvg7851 I played P-06 and it was still trash.
Even if 06 was in development for 10 years the game will still come out bad because the game is fundemntally.
And I played the original 06 so I know what I'm saying and I don't base my opinions from Sonic Tubers like you.
You got that, gangster?
@MandoGamer bro go outside talk to a woman
Nice to see someone who is (or was) a fan of Sonic actually living in reality and accurately recognizing the mediocrity that is Frontiers on every level ranging from gameplay to aesthetic. I mourn for this series if this is what Sonic is going to be for the next decade.
Well Now that there is a DLC roadmap I think that Statement might Age like milk.
@@jonahabenhaim1223 I don't see the correlation. A game flawed at its core isn't going to be fixed by adding new DLC content over it.
@@KirbyGotenksabsorbed It has a chance to be fixed.
@@jonahabenhaim1223 You either get to pay for a broken game to be fixed, or you wait with baited breath to be disappointed again. That's not a good situation to be in as a consumer.
So far this is the only sonic fan who i found to say this game is shit, heck even fans like cybershell or LS mark which are more critical said they liked it, this guy is just biased
Is it bad to say I genuinely enjoyed this game?
Nah. It had some decent aspects.
Yes, you're a terrible human being for having an opinion on a video game and should feel ashamed of yourself.
Nope it's definitely not a bad game, I'd pin it with pokemon SnS (albeit a bit higher) as okay games
I have yet to play this game but the amount of gameplay footage I've watched makes me think that this might be a genuinely fun experience, regardless of this guy's opinion. Looking forward to it.
No LMAO. Most people enjoyed the game and he was just being honest about how he felt. This game makes most people excited for what the next sonic game will be. Nobody’s opinion should change how you feel about this game. Its got flaws like most games. Ending battle was the only disappointment I had. I just hope they try harder next time.
I really feel like the current situation with Sonic is super comparable to the current situation with Pokémon games. These are titles that when held next to their contemporaries in similar genres, heck even in their own series', can and would be laughed out of the room by anyone who isn’t a die-hard fan who's expectations have been horribly warped by the recent titles' decreasingly quality.
It really feels like fan games are the future of Sonic now if you want something put together with any kind of attention to the mechanics that made Sonic compelling in the first place. As well as being made with actual polish.
No it's not it's a great game don't listen to the stupid critics
@MandoGamer You can't like your own comment 4 times.
@Baked Beans He's just dumb and a hater sonic frontiers is a great game
@MandoGamer Sonic frontiers is not a bad game it's a good game the problem is you're just a hater you and the critics are the problem the critics hate sonic for no reason sonic frontiers is a good game because legendary sonic comic writer Ian flynn wrote the story sonic fans have been begging sega to get flynn to write the plot for their games for years A plus this game is mostly positively received this game is a 1000 times better than sonic forces ( 2017) sonic lost world ( 2012 ) and sonic colors ultimate ( 2021
@@smithandsuperdeadeyeofthew823 dude, pls, stfu, you are VERY likely a child. If you don't want to hear criticism, they just don't watch the video. If you want to call me a sonic hater even tho I really want sega and frontiers to succeed AND actually liked frontiers, go ahead, but it won't change the truth. Almost everything in this video is valid criticism and if you want to shut your eyes and ignore any valid reviews, them be my guess (also, if you liked frontiers, all power to ya, but to say people are wrong for saying anything bad about the game is just silly).
@MandoGamer You deleted your previous comment.
This guy is really complaining about the accessibility slider, it's YOUR preference. Do you want him fast or slower? You tweak it to your liking because you can't please everyone with sonic (clearly)
this game is weird because from what it shows it should feel like forza horizons meets mario odyssey, but somehow ends up being sonic meets a vague description of botw
That ending summarized the video really well and was super well written
I disagree with almost every criticism you made, but at the end of the day, Sonic fans, both old and newcomers have a game that is mostly enjoyable. I don’t really give a damn if this game is a glorified tech demo; it works for me, and it’s a breath of fresh air from the constrictive linearity of the boost formula games.
EDIT: Plus, the story and songs are kickass!
EDIT 2: I’m sorry that you love corruption-money more than you do video game experiences, you could have made a great Sonic fan.
These two sonic videos feels like a descent into madness from the perspective of a Sonic fan
*From a perspective of someone Growin up in the Dark age of sonic
5:33 BRAZIL MENTIONED!
Mfer seriously expected a GAME OF THE YEAR after 10 years of shitty games. This is an ok game but an amazing sonic game. Also aside from Vandalize which u cherry picked. Every other song is extremely good.
I have now realized, this game gives me official roblox sonic game vibes
Without the momentum
@@NemXui pft
Your videos are always so, so good. This is probably the most interesting approach to a review I’ve ever seen, and that closing shot really hit. Please keep doing what you do, it’s absolutely one of a kind.
Man I...was not expecting to feel my heart break as I watched the hope fade from Yakko's eyes.
After watching your 1 hour and 16 min video on playing every 3D sonic game in a week, I felt this video was goons be you saying, “yes they did it! Finally a good sonic game again.” But that wasn’t the case. Either way, I’m still excited to play this game, and I’m always looking forward to sonic adventure 3, even tho that’s obviously never gonna happen. 😂
No a Sonic game with adventure-like gameplay
I’ve always heard about how bad sonic fans are, but holy shit I never realized it was true until I looked through this comment section. I don’t know what other franchise gets this mad at criticism that they don’t have details to argue against. The point of criticism is to hold works to a high standard and improve what comes next. No wonder the franchise has been dog shit if this is the attitude towards people who want to see it become something better.
I think its the best Sonic game I ever played.
Yikes
@@Mr_Mistah Think of it like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Marvel's Spider-Man
This video is just littered with bad faith and hyperbole. The mere presence of QTEs in the bosses is somehow equivalent to "barely playing the game". The sliders are at worst a harmless feature yet you tore into it excessively for no reason. My theory is that the landscape of the 2010s internet has made some people embarrassed to be a Sonic fan, so ones like you will go scorched earth to criticize Sonic games, and only "ironically" enjoy some of them as a defense mechanism. Thank God there are Sonictubers nowadays who aren't afraid to give Frontiers credit like Bickuribox and Cybershell. They had their share of criticisms too, but they didn't blow it out of proportion like you did.
And some fans are like you who are sonic boot lickers
why is putting away a sonic onsie so emotional man
as a fellow sonic fan, I do respect your opinion, even if I have a different one however. prepare yourself for sonic the hedgehog purists... its going to get ugly...
You mean the Unleashed fanboys. I swear I can’t have an opinion in this fanbase without the Unleashed fanboys, Adventure Fanboys, are nostalgic classic mania fanboys going after me. Im pretty sure you would to anyways
@@thefastcommenter7774 not entirely. i mean i do have opinions, but like i said, I'm not a purist
It’s one of the best sonic games I’ve ever played. How could you not like the game?????
Idk
I can't understand how you can think Sonic Frontiers is such a mess but then show Mario Odyssey as a great game. I understand it was hyped to all hell in 2017, but Odyssey really is as simple, kiddy and unchallenging design wise. It controls better I guess but how long can you go around aimlessly jumping around.
I don’t even trust the guys review after his criticism on other sonic games.
"No....I don't wanna fuck Sonic!"
LOL! Are you sure?! :P
19:17 why is his shoe clipping into the floor in a pre-rendered cut scene lol
Speaking of disappointing mess, will you make a video about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?