There is a lot of history attached to Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega and Sonic Team’s series has been running since 1991, leaving it only a little younger than some of the headlining franchises at Nintendo. The speedy platformers have gone through a lot, introducing all sorts of characters and gameplay changes to try and expand its audience. Many successes and failures have occurred along the way, but the full scope of Sonic the Hedgehog definitely makes for an interesting tale to tell.
Sonic has already had several entries specifically made to celebrate his past. The 2011 Sonic Generations was meant to coincide with Sonic's 20th anniversary, while Sonic Mania also served as a major celebration of Sonic's first few outings. Attempts at recapturing the past and pushing games forward have been alternating for a long time, and Sonic Frontiers looks to be another attempt at trying something new. Even so, it can't resist adding callbacks to classic stages like Green Hill Zone or Sonic Unleashed’s Windmill Isle. A series so obsessed with its history should take cues from other long-running franchises, and The Legend of Zelda shows one type of historical celebration Sonic hasn't tried yet.
Hyrule Warriors Was a Great Idea For The Legend of Zelda
Fans weren't sure what to make of Hyrule Warriors when it was first announced for the Wii U. It was a radical departure from everything that made up The Legend of Zelda franchise to that point. Most of the exploration and puzzle solving that had been endemic to even the strangest Zelda spin-offs had been replaced by pure combat in the vein of Dynasty Warriors. As more information was revealed, it gradually became apparent that the game was collecting characters, enemies, items, and other miscellaneous things from throughout the Zelda franchise, and blending them together to create a fan service filled romp through several Hyrule’s.
Despite initial trepidation, the game turned out to be a roaring success. Hyrule Warriors had an enormous amount of DLC, multiple re-releases across several platforms, a pseudo-sequel called Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity focusing on Breath of the Wild’s cast, and a sister series in Fire Emblem Warriors. The two Hyrule Warriors titles are considered some of the best games in the extended Musou family, featuring complex play styles and excellent character rosters. Fans have since wondered if the Warriors treatment could be extended to Nintendo franchises other than The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem. Some calls for a Super Mario Warriors title have been made, and Sonic the Hedgehog could work just as well.
Sonic Could Thrive In A Warriors Environment
Sometime in the future, perhaps for another anniversary celebration, Sega would benefit from partnering with Koei Tecmo to produce a Sonic the Hedgehog Warriors game. This would be the perfect use for Sonic's extended cast, with many of them being available as playable characters. Different stages and enemy rosters that Sonic has challenged over the years can appear, and some new threat could be partnered with Dr. Eggman as the cause of it all.
The specifics from there get a little fuzzy, as the Dynasty Warriors team has limited experience adapting platformer gameplay. Sonic is also even faster than some of the mounted units found in the Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors titles, so that will be another challenge to overcome. However, once that is worked out, then the rest of the combat-capable cast will fall into place. Complete with Sonic’s rocking music tracks and possibly some cameos by other Sega icons, Sonic the Hedgehog Warriors could be a big win for the Blue Blur.
