What Players Should Expect From Sonic Frontiers’ Story

After the 2017 disappointing Sonic Forces story, many people were concerned about how the future would unfold. When Sonic Frontiers was first announced, fans were happy to learn that longtime Sonic the Hedgehog comics writer Ian Flynn joined Sonic Team in writing the game. Flynn, who has many credits and was a popular writer for both the Sonic the Hedgehog Comics and IDW Publishing series of Sonic the Hedgehog comics, is well-known. However, joining Sonic Team for a mainline entry is new territory.

Takashi Iizuka from Sonic Team says, “Ian is a veteran comic writer so I am very familiar with his work.” He was a great storyteller, which is why I asked him to help me with the story. His characters are well-known, and he made a significant improvement in the dialogue and emotions of the characters.

Flynn’s longevity with the franchise, having contributed heavily to both comic series and even writing a couple of episodes of the popular Sonic Boom cartoon, impressed Sega, and a few years after IDW picked up the rights to the franchise, he was invited to contribute to the narrative of Sonic Frontiers. Flynn states, “I am a professional Sonic geek so I wanted the story to incorporate some of its legacy.” I wanted to tell the stories of my characters, even if it was just a bit. It was also my goal to connect the games. The content isn’t too complex for first-time fans but easy enough for loyal fans.

I was able to see Flynn at work during my time playing Sonic Frontiers. Sonic may make a few comments as you run through Sonic Frontiers’ open area. Since Sonic Frontiers’ story takes place at the latest point of the Sonic timeline as it exists currently – after the events of Sonic Forces and Team Sonic Racing – all previous titles are fair game. The Blue Blur asks Kronos Island if it would be a suitable location to build a Chao Garden. Although we know that there aren’t any Chao Gardens within Sonic Frontiers, small lines such as this add to the connectivity between Frontiers and the rest of the Sonic the Hedgehog timeline. Iizuka says that those are the things Ian has made available to fans. It is clear from the inclusion of other games that Sonic Frontiers’ story is not an independent world. Instead, it forms part of Sonic’s rich history.

Sonic Forces and Generations referenced several Sonic games. Frontiers, however, is lighter. You shouldn’t be expecting a lot of characters to appear in Frontiers, or the same boss battles that were seen in Generations and Sonic Forces. Although Eggman and a few of Sonic’s closest friends are present, the character roster is significantly smaller than in previous games. Iizuka explains that “The story starts as Sonic and Amy visit Kronos Island undeveloped and they are separated from each other by a mysterious phenomenon.” Sonic is alone in his search to find his lost friends. But, since this undeveloped land has never been explored before, we will not be seeing many characters.

Those familiar faces – Eggman, Amy, Tails, and Big, to name a few – were hand-selected by Sonic Team and then handed over to Flynn to further flesh out the characters and their arcs. Flynn says that Sonic Frontiers may not feature all of your favorite characters. However, he suggests we could get more cuts. He says, “Sonic might say something to you as you run around.” “You may be surprised to hear names drop.”

Flynn had some input in the overall narrative, despite Sonic Team dominating. Director Morio Kishimoto explains that Ian Flynn had some suggestions for how to bring different characters into the story. We had the team of developers think about how the open-zone could be integrated. This prompted Ian Flynn, who presented more ideas, to our development team. Through that collaborative back and forth we finally settled on the characters to appear in the game.

Sonic Team remains a bit mysterious regarding the storyline in Frontiers. Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Amy are brought in by the Chaos Emeralds readings. However, even though I spent more than three hours playing, I am still not sure what the story is about the characters, islands or creatures. It appears that this is a deliberate design. Just before Eggman arrives on the Island, [Sonic, Tails, and Amy]Iizuka claims that the island is uninhabited, and then disappears.” Although the island looks uninhabited, there is a strange lifeform made from stone known as Koco. Sonic’s missing friends, the undeveloped island with ancient ruins, the strange lifeforms – all of these mysteries wait for the player to unravel them as they explore the world of Sonic Frontiers.”

Eggman is a character who has been a mysterious presence in my first playthrough. Sonic’s greatest enemy, Eggman, appears in the very first cutscene. I am absorbed in Cyber Space by him, but I do not see him again until the next cutscene when he is trying to escape the cyber prison. Sonic gets confused by some Eggman tech that I discover out in open space. Sonic Team assures me that the mustachioed mischievous character in Sonic Frontiers plays a significant role.

Kishimoto states that Eggman was a decision we made in the beginning stages. For this story to succeed, Eggman had to be a very important figure. We didn’t want him just to be the bad guy in our good guys against bad guys’ situation. He was to be a real person in the story.

Flynn has an excellent understanding of comic-writing but Sega plays a greater role in Sonic Frontiers story creation than in its own comics. Flynn actually writes when Sega is involved in the creation of Sonic Frontiers. Sonic the Hedgehog He is the comic creator for IDW. Then, once those elements are approved, he goes page-by-page and creates a script. This is usually the last time he views the finished product until it reaches the shelves. Sonic Frontiers is managed by Flynn, who is heavily involved in the project, but it is a completely different process.

Flynn says that Sonic Frontiers provided all the setting and plot beats. My job was to just fill in details. While I could bring some of my ideas to the table this project was much more collaborative. New content was needed and new approaches required as the game progressed. Therefore, I was much more involved than in a comic.

According to director Kishimoto, the storytelling of Sonic Frontiers takes a more serious tone, hoping to transcend that “good guys versus bad guys” scenario he referred to that is present in most games in the genre. According to him, the dramatic tone needed to establish the serious tone of the game and to foreshadow questions to be ponder. Although our story may be easy to enjoy, it is also something we were able to develop a more complex drama. Although this is an uncommon experience within the open-world action-game genre, we decided to include it.

Flynn shares Kishimoto’s view of the story. Flynn said that the story is more serious overall. Flynn says, “It is about self-reflection” and how you choose to go forward. Sonic, as Sonic, provides the necessary positive reinforcement and force for change. We hope you all enjoy what we have put together.”

Sonic Frontiers will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC in the coming months. To learn more about Sonic Frontiers, click the banner below.