Sonic Frontiers has been officially unveiled, and players have a ton of details \to think on until Sonic Team is ready to reveal more. From the mystery of the glyph shown in the Sonic Central teaser trailer, to the fact that Frontiers is Sonic's first open-world adventure, there's a lot for Sonic fans to be excited about. With Frontiers, a second live-action movie, and another TV show with Netflix on the horizon for Sonic for next year, the future of the blue blur has never seemed brighter.
When it comes to Sonic the Hedgehog, what many fans get excited for also gives other fans hesitation and reluctance. The series has a track record of taking missteps on the way to trying something new. With Frontiers, things seem to be different. There's a sense of confidence as Sega's been pushing what Frontiers is bringing to the table as the next evolution of the franchise.
Sega's Mandates and Brand Control
Over five years ago, a few lawsuits regarding the Archie Sonic comics and Sega's intellectual properties led the company to be more strict with what it allows people to do, especially with portrayals of the Sonic cast. While many brands have certain guidebooks and rules for consistency, the mandates on what people could and couldn't do with the main Sonic cast were rather all over the place. These rules consisted of things dealing with Sonic and friends not being allowed to show excessive emotion, not giving the main cast parents, and other things. The mandates were what lead to a soft reboot just before the Archie comics were canceled.
As the Archie comics rebooted, Sonic Lost World came out the same year. The game tried to take the franchise in a new direction but was judged harshly. Sonic Forces was the series' attempt afterward to try and return to playstyles like that seen in Sonic Generations, but some fans felt it was "too safe" when Sonic games had a tendency to be ambitious with its projects. It seems with nowhere to go, Sonic Team was left to try and invent something new, and that led it to Frontiers. In order to keep the brand consistent, it has brought in Ian Flynn - the head writer of the Sonic comics.
What Ian Flynn on Sonic Frontiers Means
Flynn has been a long-time Sonic fan, even before he began writing for the Archie comics with issue #160. He had been writing for the series long before Sega grew more strict with its mandates, and had been praised by many fans for his work. There had even begun a fan movement, "Flynn4Sonic," writing to Sega about how much they desired Flynn to write for the games. He had dealt with Sega's mandates and brand control as it got tighter, and managed to write strong stories around them.
When it comes to establishing Sonic as a strong brand again, hiring Flynn to portray the characters is a great move. He's become consistent at making sure Sonic stories play out in a way Sega can approve of, while also making sure it portrays the characters faithfully. Ian and the rest of the comics team even made several cases against mandates that ended up going against the characters in question as they moved to work with IDW Publishing, but Sega listened. This not only proves that Flynn can work with Sega on what the Sonic brand represents, but hiring him also shows Sega is listening to what fans want.
Sonic Team's Confidence in Going 'Open-Zone'
Stacked against what a success Sonic Generations was, and how unsuccessful Sonic Forces was, Sonic Team went back to the drawing board and set out to re-invent Sonic from the ground up. It seems what it came up with was Sonic Frontiers, a game that it's calling "open-zone." What this means will need Sega to say more, but the most striking thing from what's been revealed so far is the company's confidence.
After teasing the game during Sonic Central, Sega ended the year by revealing the title and what the game would be like at the Game Awards. Every description talks about how it's the future of Sonic, even saying that this is just the first open-zone game. Outside of the marketing, the trailer is without a doubt alluring. It's left an impression on many fans, leaving them to ponder what's next.
All of this together leads to a Sonic that Sega and Sonic Team are confident in. With Flynn at the helm story-wise, fans can trust the implications of the game's plot leaning to darker themes may be realized fully, and Sega can trust that he will follow its mandates to keep the brand consistent. Flynn can also take what he's learned from Frontiers and bring it to the IDW comics, making the brand stronger all around. The biggest sign that Flynn is key to what Sonic will bring going forward is that Sega trusted him to write the latest Sonic "Encylo-speed-ia," which is a book that promises to be an up-to-date index of every Sonic video game up to Frontiers.
If Frontiers performs as well as Sega thinks it will, then no doubt more open-zone games will follow, since it's already implying more down the road. Flynn is only confirmed to be writing Sonic Frontiers, but there may be a chance of him writing more games if this sells well. The latest Sonic game is set to be the turning point for the franchise as a whole, and confidence in the game suggests a lot about it. If this confidence from Sonic's parent company holds true, Sonic Frontiers is about to re-define Sonic as even the oldest fans know it, and it may do so in the best way possible - with a good game to kick things off.
Sonic Frontiers is set to release holiday 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.