Sonic the Hedgehog has taken many forms over the years, the latest being the semi-open world of Sonic Frontiers. The Blue Blur’s games have been in constant flux, experimenting with new core gameplay ideas at even higher rates than some of Nintendo’s larger franchises. It’s not a stretch to call Sonic the Hedgehog one of gaming’s most flexible series, as the mascot platformer flips around between 2D, 3D, and alternative 3D play styles within the same game and sometimes level. There’s been a lot of missteps along the way, but fans have been given a lot of material to sort through and find something to their tastes.
Even Sonic himself has started getting in on the action. Sonic’s had alternate forms since Super Sonic was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but more recent titles have been letting players tweak the hedgehog themselves. Customizing Sonic’s abilities and parameters has been a frequent feature, as the upcoming Sonic Frontiers can attest to. However, something else was introduced to Sonic’s adventures in the Wii U skew of Sonic Lost World several months after its launch. In a DLC The Legend of Zelda level, Sonic could don Link’s iconic green tunic. This, combined with the upcoming Rathalos Armor DLC from Monster Hunter in Sonic Frontiers, could be the basis for an inspired take on Sonic the Hedgehog multiplayer.
Costumes and Multiplayer Are Already Prevalent In Sonic the Hedgehog
Visual customization and multiplayer have existed in different Sonic games over the years. The rarer of the two is a chance to dress Sonic up, with most accessories on his person appearing for mechanical or story reasons out of the player’s control. Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and Sonic Rivals 2 had outfits that could be unlocked through various means, and 2 Battle’s outfits served as slightly altered characters in multiplayer. However, Sonic Forces threw the gates wide open with its custom avatars, and Sonic Colors: Ultimate got Sonic in on the action with the new Customize feature. While Sonic couldn’t wear full costumes, he could purchase new gloves, shoes, boost effects, and auras with collectible Park Tokens.
As alluded to, multiplayer has been a part of Sonic the Hedgehog for a long time. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 introduced cooperative and competitive multiplayer via Tails, and provided the template for multiplayer to come. Many Sonic titles have had racing modes, and some are even built around them. Sonic Colors and Sonic Colors: Ultimate feature the challenge mode Game Land, which one or two players can tackle with Virtual Hedgehogs, featuring unique courses and an unlockable Super Sonic at the end. The different colors that Sonic Colors and Lost World’s Virtual Hedgehogs can come in present another piece of the puzzle, one that a multiplayer-oriented Sonic game may be able to solve.
A New Sonic Multiplayer Title Should Capitalize on Cosmetics
Having the blue hedgehog take on an open world or a host of strangers online are both new experiences for the Sonic franchise, but there’s always room for more experiments. Sonic Forces has demonstrated how much the Sonic fanbase enjoys adding its own visual flair to the games, and showing it off in a space with other people present would be appealing. Sonic’s history with costumes and customization could come to a head in a multiplayer Sonic game that let players personalize their hedgehog.
Whether through progress through in-game ranks like Kirby’s Dream Buffet, progressing through a battle pass, or buying accessories and costumes piecemeal, there are a lot of ways to set up a costume system in a multiplayer game. The heavy customization element of the fangame Sonic Battle R already shows what this could look like in action, and the addition of costumes based on other properties would only make it better. Sega and Sonic Team should keep this in mind as they move forward, and future Sonic the Hedgehog games should keep pushing costumes wherever possible.
Sonic Frontiers will launch on November 8 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.