Being a Sonic fan for 20 years of my life definitely means a lot to me. Sonic Team finally delivered something that is promising for the future of the blue blur. Sonic Frontiers holds up decently well with what it wanted to accomplish. While it did miss a few steps, it's not so much the game you should be focused on, but rather the formula Sonic Team is implementing here. And in that regard, Sonic Frontiers shines.

Sonic Frontiers is the very first Open World Sonic game and the first 3D Sonic game in a while that is somewhat reminiscent of the Sonic Adventure titles, giving you free roam far from just the side scrolling/boosting limited movement of the games past Sonic Unleashed. The open world itself, while it can be a bit bland, is filled with activities and secrets to keep the blue blur busy in his quest to solve the mystery of the Starfall Islands and save his friends. Most of the puzzles you can solve to help uncover more areas of your map are quite simple, not pressuring you to go super brain mode. In order to progress in the story, you must gather various different collectibles like keys, tokens, and memory fragments you can find scattered throughout the islands.

Speaking of the story, Ian Flynn did a tremendous job with what he was given to work with. I kinda wish there was a few more cutscenes with context and character interaction to really help build up the story better than just some flashbacks of the past here and there. The character development of all of Sonic's friends was fantastic, some of the best characterization for them in years. Each of them have a small side story that they need help with and you slowly progress through them both and Sonic has some great moments with them. Great story overall, I just wish there was a bit more time for the storyTELLING.

Cyberspace by far is my biggest disappointment with this game. They CAN be fun and they CAN be well designed, but some of them don't feel quite play tested. I would sometimes fall off or miss a spring for no reason, and if I ever messed up, I would have to restart the whole level since the timer doesn't reset if you ever die. Additionally, almost all of the Cyberspace levels are either in Green Hill Zone or Sky Sanctuary with a dash of Chemical Plant and the new highway space. I wish SEGA would stop reusing Green Hill so much.

Bosses are fantastic, even if the game sometimes doesn't register my parry. They all have a unique way to take them than just a simple homing attack. And the combat tree, while simple, was super fun to mess with and fight all sorts of enemies in the game. I had an absolute blast fighting everything that stood in my way. The final bosses that caps each island were INSANE to fight. I wont spoil it, but if you're a fan of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance or even Dragon Ball then you will LOVE the final fight for each island.

Music was basically sex for my ears. I don't think I need to explain it any further. Sonic never misses with its music.

Overall, I was very happy and very emotional when I finally completed the game. The first Sonic game I played on launch day since Colors. While it isn't a perfect game, it's the game I needed as a Sonic fan since the franchise has had a rocky history. The entire cast of the characters did absolutely fantastic and it was amazing to hear Roger take on a more serious toned Sonic. I miss my favorite childhood blue blur and I'm super glad to see that he's back and on a fresh, new direction for his future. Good luck, Sonic. I've missed you

Being a Sonic fan for 20 years of my life definitely means a lot to me. Sonic Team finally delivered something that is promising for the future of the blue blur. Sonic Frontiers holds up decently well with what it wanted to accomplish. While it did miss a few steps, it's not so much the game you should be focused on, but rather the formula Sonic Team is implementing here. And in that regard, Sonic Frontiers shines. Sonic Frontiers is the very first Open World Sonic game and the first 3D Sonic game in a while that is somewhat reminiscent of the Sonic Adventure titles, giving you free roam far from just the side scrolling/boosting limited movement of the games past Sonic Unleashed. The open world itself, while it can be a bit bland, is filled with activities and secrets to keep the blue blur busy in his quest to solve the mystery of the Starfall Islands and save his friends. Most of the puzzles you can solve to help uncover more areas of your map are quite simple, not pressuring you to go super brain mode. In order to progress in the story, you must gather various different collectibles like keys, tokens, and memory fragments you can find scattered throughout the islands. Speaking of the story, Ian Flynn did a tremendous job with what he was given to work with. I kinda wish there was a few more cutscenes with context and character interaction to really help build up the story better than just some flashbacks of the past here and there. The character development of all of Sonic's friends was fantastic, some of the best characterization for them in years. Each of them have a small side story that they need help with and you slowly progress through them both and Sonic has some great moments with them. Great story overall, I just wish there was a bit more time for the storyTELLING. Cyberspace by far is my biggest disappointment with this game. They CAN be fun and they CAN be well designed, but some of them don't feel quite play tested. I would sometimes fall off or miss a spring for no reason, and if I ever messed up, I would have to restart the whole level since the timer doesn't reset if you ever die. Additionally, almost all of the Cyberspace levels are either in Green Hill Zone or Sky Sanctuary with a dash of Chemical Plant and the new highway space. I wish SEGA would stop reusing Green Hill so much. Bosses are fantastic, even if the game sometimes doesn't register my parry. They all have a unique way to take them than just a simple homing attack. And the combat tree, while simple, was super fun to mess with and fight all sorts of enemies in the game. I had an absolute blast fighting everything that stood in my way. The final bosses that caps each island were INSANE to fight. I wont spoil it, but if you're a fan of [spoiler]Metal Gear Rising Revengeance or even Dragon Ball[/spoiler] then you will LOVE the final fight for each island. Music was basically sex for my ears. I don't think I need to explain it any further. Sonic never misses with its music. Overall, I was very happy and very emotional when I finally completed the game. The first Sonic game I played on launch day since Colors. While it isn't a perfect game, it's the game I needed as a Sonic fan since the franchise has had a rocky history. The entire cast of the characters did absolutely fantastic and it was amazing to hear Roger take on a more serious toned Sonic. I miss my favorite childhood blue blur and I'm super glad to see that he's back and on a fresh, new direction for his future. Good luck, Sonic. I've missed you