Sonic fans everywhere are currently sinking their teeth into Sonic Frontiers. The new open zone game has brought a breath of fresh air into the aging 3D Sonic formula, even if some rough patches still remain. Freedom to explore and experience Sonic's full speed in an open environment strikes a chord with many players, and serves as the basis for the charm of Sonic Frontiers. It's not the only thing Frontiers gets right either; the writing in Sonic Frontiers is also a noticeable step up from past entries. Old characters are finding new developments, and the strong vocal performances of the cast see them executed with grace.
While the dialogue and narrative are both exciting upgrades, so is the connectivity Sonic Frontiers has to its own series. In the past decade, Sonic games have become especially self-referential, reusing old environments like Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone across multiple entries. Sonic Frontiers falls into this as well, but also includes nitty-gritty details from many old games, even going as far as to include the Genesis titles in the action. This, combined with Sega's recent call for an official Sonic lore master, has some fans wondering what part of the Sonic timeline is occupied by Sonic Frontiers, and what that timeline is.
Where Sonic Frontiers Sits on the Timeline
Fortunately, the first question is easy to answer. Sonic Frontiers is, like most Sonic games, the most recent game in the franchise, and thus the most recent game in the chronology. Sonic is rather like Kirby and Mario in this way, as most entries don't care about what happened in previous games aside from the fact that they came out. Unless something is specifically excluded from canon, it's free game to be referenced in the newest entry. Sonic has done this before with Generations and Mania, but Sonic Frontiers is the first time past games' stories, rather than their aesthetics, have mattered.
In Sonic Frontiers, the origins of the Chaos Emeralds and the planet on which most of the Sonic series takes place are explored. Out of the blue, Sonic Frontiers became one of the most important titles in Sonic history from an overarching story standpoint, joining the Adventure games it references so heavily. As the Knuckles prologue Divergence hinted at, there's more going on with the Chaos Emeralds, Chaos itself, and the adorable Chao than players knew. There are also plenty of call-backs while developing characters, such as references to both Tails’ past heroics and his more recent non-action roles. New players can still safely jump on Sonic Frontiers and enjoy the ride, but veteran fans are going to get so much more out of it.
Sonic’s Timeline Could Use a Bit of Cleanup
That brings the discussion back to Sonic's official timeline. Some assume that the games’ release order is the chronology, but it doesn’t always work out. It would be nice if Sega could a Hyrule Historia for Sonic and detail which specific entries and spin-offs are out of order. It isn't necessarily important for mainline Sonic games to adhere to it, but with Frontiers potentially starting a new era of revisiting old plot points, fans will appreciate a guide to keep track of them.
Not many parts need cleaning, but there are a few titles that fit worse than others. For instance, most pure 2D games are assumed to be near the beginning of Sonic's playable story. However, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 uses modern Sonic's art style, which Generations uses to mark recent entries in the timeline. Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces’ Classic Sonic also isn’t Generations’ Classic Sonic, but instead from an alternate reality that may not fit into the timeline at all. All of this isn't even getting into how Silver the Hedgehog keeps appearing after his debut game's time-travel plot erased itself.
There's also some contention as to when the many spin-offs take place, as not all fit the release order chronology theory. Sonic Battle has what seems to be a post-amnesia Shadow despite coming out before Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog. Furthermore, Sonic Advance 3, which also predates Shadow the Hedgehog’s release, has Gemerl as a recurring boss built using Sonic Battle’s Emerl. The relevance of Sonic Chronicles and Sonic Unleashed’s lore is also now in question thanks to Frontiers’ Ancients. Some clarification on these many little details would help legitimize Sonic Frontiers’ approach to storytelling, and could set the stage for many more callbacks and follow-ups in the future.
Sonic Frontiers is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.