Sonic Frontiers is finally out, and it’s gotten a bit of a buzz. With its new open world gameplay, it may be the best Sonic game since Sonic Mania, and the best 3D one since Sonic Generations. Though whether it’s as good as Generations is another story. Some critics are saying so, while others are saying no. Such divisiveness is to be expected of a Sonic game at this point.
However, the game will still give the Hedgehog’s enthusiasts plenty to talk about. What’s going on with the Starfall Islands? Why is Dr Eggman so interested in them? And what Easter eggs will they reveal? Here are a couple some sharp-eyed fans may notice.
7 Cast To The Past
Once upon a time, players had to choose Big the Cat and fish for frogs to progress. Now they can do it as Sonic by taking the purple portal to his pond, casting their line, and seeing what they can pick up for points. The crayfish aren't worth much, but the red stingrays and golden coelacanths will really rack up the tokens. Still, there are some things people can’t put a price on, like nostalgia.
If Sonic doesn’t catch a fish or two, he can end up grabbing items from the classic games. Like the old check point posts, springs (in both yellow and red varieties), or the end-of-level goal posts. They’ll even have their own entries in the Fish-o-pedia, explaining their origins for anyone who didn’t get Sonic Origins.
6 Easter Egg Memos
It wouldn’t be an open-world game without audio logs to collect. In Sonic Frontiers, they’re called Egg Memos: audio recordings made by Dr Eggman while within Cyber Space. There’s 24 in the whole game, and they each cost 15 tokens from the in-game store, and the best way to earn tokens is from Big’s fishing game. So, there's more to those coelacanths and goal posts than just keeping the giant cat happy.
They’re worth collecting because they contain plenty of lore for Sonic fans to get into. The rotund scientist will bring up all sorts of references to his and Sonic’s past. There’s his time on West Side Island from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, his cousin Maria from Sonic Adventure 2, Jet the Hawk and his bird friends from Sonic Riders, and Planet Donpa from Team Sonic Racing among others.
5 Continuity Chaos
The game involves Dr. Eggman exploring the Starfall Islands to make use of its ancient technology, and Sonic having to stop him while learning the truth about the Islands’ former inhabitants, simply dubbed ‘the Ancients’. They’re blue, translucent beings that may look familiar to veteran players.
Especially if they’ve played the early 3D games more than the 2D ones. Dr Eggman explains it clearly enough in his Egg Memos, but those in the know will recognize their connection on sight. All that can be said without giving the game away to newer fans is that their history ties into Sonic’s past and present too.
4 Where’s the Drowning Music?
This list can give this away though: the classic drowning music isn’t in the game! Well, not in any watery body on the islands anyway. If players stick Sonic under a lake or pool or the like, they’ll just get a countdown, then death if they don’t get out in time. However, they can come across a red blob enemy that’ll absorb Sonic into their mass.
They can get out if they repeatedly stop attack. But if they just leave Sonic in there, they'll get a countdown and that old familiar jingle will start playing. It’s an orchestral version à la Sonic Colors, so it’s not quite as nightmarish as the Genesis’ aggressive synth. But for a generation of players, it's still nerve-wracking.
3 Remember The Time
After 30 years of gaming, Sonic’s gained a long memory. Wherever he goes on the Starfall Islands, there will be something that reminds him of his prior adventures, and not just the critically acclaimed ones. Sure, there’s a waterfall here and there that’ll remind him of the Mystic Ruins in Sonic Adventure, or the Sky Sanctuary from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. But he’ll also find a view that reminds him of Rail Canyon, the janky, pitfall-filled level from Sonic Heroes.
Another will give him a hankering for curry like the ones made in Shamar, the Middle Eastern-themed world from Sonic Unleashed. Most obscurely, at some point he’ll bring up Tangle the Lemur, a character from the IDW Sonic Comics. Sticks the Badger from Sonic Boom gets mentioned too. Either all these sources are canon to the games as well, or Sega's rumored super game is going to be Sonic: Into the Hedgehog-verse.
2 Flashbacks
Sonic’s not the only character to get these flashbacks. When he talks to his friends, they’ll sometimes have literal flashbacks during their conversations. The game will briefly cut to a scene from a past game in some cases, to emphasize their points. It wouldn’t do to give away all their appearances. But one instance has Sonic bring up Sonic Lost World and both Sonic Adventure games to pep a friend back up.
While another scene uses one of the Genesis games, complete with scan lines, when the character sees some familiar, palace-like architecture. One of the more perplexing scenes brings up the final boss from one of Sonic's Gamecube games. In context, it illustrates their point, though the encounter wasn't exactly one of the Blue Blur's best.
1 The Tetris Effect, Pinball Panic, and Sonic's Colors
Sonic Frontiers also shows the developers paying tribute to some other games beyond the hedgehog's oeuvre. For example, there’s a building block puzzle that uses some very Tetris-like shapes. They have to be moved through portals that drop them vertically onto a plinth. It’s legally distinct enough from Alexey Pajitnov’s puzzle classic, but there’s no mistaking the influence. There’s also a pinball mini-game, which has been a staple since the Casino Night Zone level in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
However, the most startling addition is a shoot ‘em up section that looks akin to the Yakuza series’ Boxcellios mini-games. But it doesn’t play like them. It plays like the Dreamcast cult classic Ikaruga, as Sonic has to either dodge enemy fire or change the color of his shield to absorb it instead. It’s not as difficult as Treasure’s classic shooter, but of all the game references to use, that has to be one of the more unlikely ones.
Sonic Frontiers is available now on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.