I admit that I haven’t played every single Sonic the Hedgehog game in his 30-plus-year career, but I do have some great memories tied to the little blue blur. The original games on the Sega Genesis highlighted that console’s processing power and were fast and fun games that focused on collecting gold rings that doubled as your health bar, all while freeing animals that were turned into robotic enemies. Arguably, the franchise hit its high mark with 1999’s Sonic Adventure. That game was a launch title for the Sega Dreamcast, which again was used to highlight the power of the new console. This particular entry propelled Sonic from his side-scrolling, 2D origins into a 3D open world. This time around, there was a deeper story to enjoy, with lovable little creatures called Chao and a pet-raising mechanic that ran on the Dreamcast’s memory cards, and I absolutely loved it. Now, Sonic and friends are once again dipping their toes into the open world genre — or “open zone” — with Sonic Frontiers, and while it may not be for everyone, I have certainly found a new favorite Sonic game, and am excited about where this franchise can go from here.
Sonic Frontiers has a simple premise: Sonic and co. are en route to the Starfall Islands, hunting for Chaos Emeralds, when Tails’ bi-plane suddenly gets hit with a strange wave and is sucked into a wormhole. Sonic awakens in a massive world full of mysterious ruins, new enemies, and tons of things to collect as he tries to find his missing friends and figure out what happened.