As 2021 falls away and 2022 begins, Sonic Frontiers' release grows closer and closer. Despite how little the proper announcement trailer at the Game Awards showed, more details about the game keep trickling in bit by bit. In an interview with NME, Jun Senoue has spoken about the history of Sonic, the impact the series has and what his current projects are. Among them, Jun Senoue has confirmed he's working on Sonic Frontiers.
Jun Senoue has been composing for the Sonic the Hedgehog series for almost 30 years, starting with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He's most known for his work on the Sonic Adventure titles, teaming up with Tony Harnell to create the famous "Escape from the City" track, and composing and performing many vocal themes for the series as part of his band, Crush 40.
In more recent titles, Jun Senoue has seemed to take a step back on the composing side of things. While he hasn't left Sonic, the number of tracks he's provided has shrunk in number compared to games such as Sonic Generations. When asked what he's been working on lately in an interview with NME, he answered that Sonic Frontiers has kept him busy.
As part of the reveal, Jun Senoue was also quick to say he was "excited" for 2022, saying that Frontiers "is going to broaden how we view Sonic games." This matches rather well with how Sonic Team has compared Frontiers to Sonic Adventure in terms of its scope and foundation for Sonic's future. While the exact role Jun Senoue will play in terms of what he provides to the game isn't stated, it's still rather promising.
Jun Senoue's involvement may differ depending on where Frontiers' direction goes but could range from anywhere between him overseeing composing and providing a number of tracks, or it could even involve Crush 40 providing the first cover song for a flagship Sonic game since Sonic 06. Fans will just have to wait and see.
However, Senoue's inclusion on the sound team leads to some confusion as to what the direction of Frontiers' music will take, as the introductory trailers aim for something mysterious rather than full of attitude like most Sonic games he composes for tend to provide. Tomoya Ohtani is confirmed to be on the sound team as well, and it has yet to be revealed just who is spearheading the soundtrack. Regardless, Sonic Frontiers continues to shape itself as a rather interesting game for the future of Sonic.
Sonic Frontiers is currently scheduled to be released in holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: NME