Sonic Frontiers was a reminder that, in their heart, every gamer loves to take the fast, blue hedgehog way too seriously, and discussion about one’s favorite character can quickly devolve into speculations about Chaos’ chao origins and the genesis of the world. But there’s a reason why the first result for “Sonic Lore Analysis” brings up a parody YouTube video from 2016: many of those who love Sonic also love to trash-talk Sonic games.
Still, sometimes the Sonic series really can’t decide if it is taking its own plot seriously or not, and Sonic Frontiers is a prime example. This addition to the series puts the classic video game hero in front of a new kind of challenge. Right when you think Sonic and friends might have to wrestle with their own beliefs, everything is resolved by some unexplained miracle or a new rule of the setting that was just revealed.
6 Amy Shouldn’t Understand The Kocos
There might be a super-secret reason hidden somewhere in the files for why Amy can talk to the Kocos, the small creature that inhabits the islands. Even if there is, it’s certainly weird for the main story to completely ignore this fact, especially when so much of the plot hinges on not understanding the Kocos.
The game does give one explanation for Amy’s knowledge, or rather her intuition, although it feels more like an excuse not to have to mention this plot beat in the rest of the game. As Sonic puts it, she “always had a knack for weird insight.” When, Sonic? When did Amy become an empath?
5 Crane Games And “Divine Intervention”
A few times through Sonic’s adventure, the players will notice the landscape undergo some changes from scene to scene. Those changes can be small and forgettable or not so much, entering the realm of inconsistency. In one particularly bad case, Sonic himself calls this inexplicable transformation “divine intervention.”
This story beat is stilted and unnatural thanks to Sonic’s acknowledgment as well as to what happens afterward. A few color-coded “sphere stones” (which really look like metal) have just appeared where Sonic and Knuckles just passed through. Next to them, the two find a crane. Sonic must, as he says, “play this crane game” with a claw machine powered by magnets and the (clearly metallic) spheres stones.
4 One Of The Ancient Machines Is Pinball
Sonic has a long and healthy relationship with pinball machines, from the Game Gear’s 1993 Sonic Pinball to minigames scattered in the various mainline titles to physical pinball machines. Unlike the one present in Sonic Frontiers, all those machines are either standalone games or are integrated in a more reasonable way, like the one in the casino from Sonic Adventure.
Sonic Frontiers catapults our heroes into time-forgotten islands separated between the physical and cyberspace realms. It populates the land with an array of ancient machines, far older than anything the characters have ever seen. One of the machines is a pinball table, and Sonic is the ball.
3 The Groups Of Kocos On The Three Islands Represent The Characters
While it might make for strongly thematic writing, there is no reason for the first three islands of the game to be themed around Sonic’s digitized friends. Amy lands where a group of Kocos civilians lives, two of which are lovers that got separated and whom she must reunite, while Knuckles sees their military defending from an incoming attack.
This isn’t a bad choice by any means, as it helps differentiate the different islands and makes the characters feel like they had an impact on their surroundings. At the same time, it sure is an incredible coincidence that Tails, a pilot and mechanic, finds complex machines on his island that he immediately likens to something he saw before.
2 A Hug Brings Sonic Back
Towards the end of the game, Sonic finally fulfills his quest to shut down all the towers in the islands and free everyone trapped in cyberspace. While his actions let his friends trapped in cyberspace come back to reality, Sonic is overwhelmed by digital corruption and disappears.
Sonic’s absorption into cyberspace would benefit from a bit more context; the way he comes back stretches thin what little plot there was. In the course of a single, short cutscene, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails come back from cyberspace, see Sonic disappear, and renounce to their physical forms in an attempt to revive him. On top of making no sense, this is a surprisingly weak scene since Sonic and his friends gain and lose their bodies in such a short time.
1 Are We Ignoring That The Ancients Look Like Chaos?
Chaos is the second most common nemesis of Sonic, right behind Dr. Eggman, but it is an entity far older than the scientist and the blue hedgehog. Chaos is a mutant Chao, the animal-like creatures introduced in Sonic Adventures, and is composed entirely of energy. Because of this, it often has a peculiar look, appearing like a semi-liquid, semi-transparent humanoid.
The same fluid form of Chaos can be observed in the ancients of Sonic Frontiers. They also have a deep relation to the Kocos, cute statues that almost look like pet animals, which can be seen as mirroring that between Chaos and the Chao.
Sonic Frontiers is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.