Long Suffering Sonic Fans Prepare for the Worst, Hope for the Best With Sonic Frontiers

Sonic fans are truly a discriminated class. If we could go back in time to the late 1980s and show Yuji Naka the massive cultural impact the blue blur would have on video games … well, he might keel over. From the original 2D platformer titles to 3D adventures and kart-racing games; from the snarky, but silent character to the chili-dog loving rascal voiced by a number of actors — the least of which being Urkel himself, Jaleel White. It’s an iconic franchise, with a truly unfortunate history of blemishes.

But, that could easily change with the launch of Sonic Frontiers. It’s the first mainline entry to the series since Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania in 2017, one of which was poorly received, and the other was Sonic Mania. When Frontiers was first announced, the mob of players looking for any reason to hate it made themselves known. But, it would seem that time has been kind to the iconic mascot’s latest foray.

The Excitement is … Palpable

It makes sense that fans of an archetypical franchise like Sonic the Hedgehog would be excited for a new entry. But, it could be said that this time is different. It’s almost like even the fans are desperate for a win. And it makes sense, because with the exceptions of Sonic Mania in 2017 and Sonic Generations in 2011, the last decade of the series’ Metascores have been middling-to-low (in the case of Sonic Boom).

Ask any fan of Sonic and they’ll — probably — tell you the same thing: Sonic Adventure 2 is the last time they felt optimistic about the franchise. Half of ’em would go on to tell you that the only hope for Sonic is for them to put out an Adventure 3, despite the idea that Sonic ’06 or Sonic Heroes is Adventure 3. Sonic fans are desperate for a win, and while betting on Frontiers is a risky move, it’s a move all the same.

Related: Sonic Frontiers: How to Get Super Sonic

And the Reviews are Coming In …

As of writing, it looks that the gamble is — quite possibly — paying off. Its current Metascore? 73, with 49 critic reviews, 31 of which are positive. It would seem the current consensus is that Frontiers is a return to the level of earlier titles like the original or Adventure 2, which is admittedly a tall order. But, some critics are denigrating the game’s very structure, comparing it to the franchise’s worst offerings. It could honestly go either way at this point, but this writer is optimistic that they’ve finally cracked the code.

Based exclusively on the narrative and gameplay trailers, Frontiers looks to be just what the series needs to reacquire the spark it lost a decade ago. I have every hope that it’ll do to Sonic what Super Mario Odyssey and Bowser’s Fury did to Mario, or what Kirby and the Forgotten Land did for Kirby. And who knows? Perhaps Frontiers will dethrone Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed as my favorite Sonic game? That, too, is a tall order.