Why Sonic Frontiers Is Brilliant
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- After a long five year wait, Sonic Team's newest revitalization of 3D Sonic has arrived. Was it worth it? And what unexpected depths lie at the heart of its deceptively straightforward story?
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CHAPTER LIST:
00:00 - INTRO
01:50 - PART 1: PROLOGUES & PRELUDES
12:07 - PART 2: FREE TO ROAM
15:47 - PART 3: CYBERSPACE
17:01 - PART 4: COMBAT & PUZZLES
19:58 - PART 5: ODDS & ENDS
23:46 - PART 6: KRONOS ISLAND
32:46 - PART 7: ARES ISLAND
38:33 - PART 8: CHAOS ISLAND
46:29 - PART 9: RHEA ISLAND
55:16 - PART 10: OURANOS ISLAND
1:06:46 - PART 11: THE END - DEATH & REBIRTH
1:12:00 - EPILOGUE: A NEW FRONTIER
#NezumiVA #Sonic #SonicFrontiers
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Pinned comment question: What are _your_ hopes for the future of the Sonic franchise? Realistic or not, share your vision of what you think would be coolest!
I’m hoping that in the coming updates and DLC we will be able to bring Super Sonic into cyberspace and the open world
I hope Frontiers will be the start of a new era for Sonic. I also hope this means that Sonic Team will start allowing Sonic to be serious again. I have this small feeling the Frontiers will be the framework for Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 remakes. Once Sonic Team gets enough confidence to go back to that era maybe we'll get a Sonic Adventure 3. I think it's because 06 was rushed and people didn't like it that Sonic Team lost so much confidence. Now I think they're regaining it.
More Ian Flynn, end of discussion.
Character spin-offs. One example? It's been THIRTEEN YEARS since Batman: Arkham Asylum. There's your Rouge the Bat game, SEGA. GET. ON. THAT.
Really REALLY hoping that Sonic Team will be given the proper respect and management to go through with as much as their ambitions they can. Maybe I'm selfish, but I clocked in a decade of my life w/ the franchise & as a lorehead for it so I will beat Sega suits with a bat if they even think about pulling the shit they did with the games before (legally this is a joke... allegedly)
What really hurts me about the cutscene where Sage sacrifices herself is that the OST piece for it is named "Unheard", implying that Sonic never heard Sage's final plea, and only the player was able to hear. WE are the ones meant to look after her father, not Sonic.
Also here's a crack theory I had:
Considering how Sonic called The End "he", I theorized that Sonic saw Mephiles, the only one to canonically (although that's dubious at best) kill Sonic in the series. Though, considering how 06 retconned itself out of existence, it's a crack theory at best, and flat-out wrong at worst.
@@DJKisikil that is.... very probable, I hope it's true.
Well update 3 will change the last island story so that’s good
If I’m going to be completely honest Dear Father was so utterly heartbreaking, you genuinely feel for both Sage and Eggman. And Sage in her FIRST APPEARANCE had so much of an impact it was really sad and Dear Father hit like a freight Train moving at the Speed of Super Sonic at your Heart. Incredibly emotional moment
I can't help but somehow feel that Dear Father is a parallel to Dear My Friend. Having it so that Sage to Eggman would be really close to how Chip was to Sonic... Unfortunately the ending was a little rushed so I didnt get that impact of the ending too much, but still got some heartstrings tugged.
@@woofn5918 Yeah I also felt it was a parallel to Adventure 2's ending on how Super Sonic had to watch another ally fall in battle. He even was falling back into the planet like Shadow did. I just wish they had better cutscene direction and slowed some scenes down to give it more room and impact.
Sage was like Shadow in the sense that their best appearance is both from their debut game. Let's hope future installment respect Sage and her character development.
@@SonicHedgehog1991 This is literally Sage's only appearance so far though, lol.
@@mechashadow Yeah.. Sonic having absolutely no reaction to Sage's death really took away a lot of the impact they were aiming for (especially considering she asked him to look after Eggman for her, which could've been an interesting jumping off point for Sonic growing more amicable with him, and protecting Eggman in her memory).
i have found amusing that Sonic seems surprised when Tails talks about how he was a mess when Infinite attack, like it implies Sonic never heard about what happen while he was captured by Eggman.
Yeah I thought it was actually kind of heartbreaking. He did miss most of the war, and no one told him what had happened to Tails ( probably because they thought Tails would tell him, and he didn't ). He probably assumed Tails was still going strong and doing his best out there while he was captured. The fact that Sonic didn't think Tails wouldn't be too badly affected by him being presumed dead for 6 months really speaks to his trust in his lil bro's independence ( when meanwhile Tails felt the opposite ). Which in turn makes Sonic encouraging him to do his own thing more believable, he always thought he was well capable of doing well on his own. At least that's how I see it !
Nezumi, I hope you see this: you said in the video you're unsure "THE END" represents death in Sonic's universe literally. The thing is, it actually DOES! Kishimoto (the game's director) said in a CZcams livestream the other day that THE END is seen differently by each person who perceives it, and that to them, it appears as what they conceive death as. We see it as the moon, because the moon is a common representation of death in fiction. Sonic and Sage see something entirely different, as did the Ancients.
I was gonna attach a summary of the livestream but CZcams won't let me post links :(
Yup! I saw this yesterday and I felt _incredibly_ validated by it, lol.
Wait, so does this mean that it's actually the end of an era and the beginning of a new one at that? idk, it just feels like it
@@jose.lfurtado6245 I think it means more than they will come back at some point of time like the Egg Dragoon after Unleashed.
Holy crap, that makes THE END so much cooler as a villain / enemy in concept! As a final boss... eh, I think that's still we could have gotten something a little more engaging.
It was a shame, because in the same interview, Kishimoto also said that they had to do their best in such a limited time for the final boss, meaning that it definitely could've been better
I do appreciate how it manages to get the idea across though, even though the dubs were apparently changed between languages
Something I've noticed is that Tails' character only starts to regress back to before becoming a hero when the literal world breaks apart! (aka, he started to become more cowardly in Sonic Unleashed). I think it's a wonderful message that just because we have strong triumphant moments doesn't mean we are 100% forever changed. We all regress sometimes.
Great video btw!
No.
@@bakedbeans5494 yes
@@riveravelazquezbrandonkevi6087 Two idiots spotted.
Also isn't Tails like...eight or something in canon? I can forgive the moments of weakness a little easier keeping that in mind...a LITTLE haha
@@angie3609 I think he is just a little orange fella' :(
the way i cried when eggman said "that's my girl", sonic games have been one of my guilty pleasures for a very long time and it makes me some happy to feel actual love again from the production of one game, the recent releases have felt so empty but this one particular game makes me happy i never gave up hope on sonic, i hope this is a change for the better
The way you basically nailed what THE END represents SO on point before they revealed it is crazy AND makes me so happy. Cause people are taking Kishimoto's word as a cheap cop out for not having time to finish the game, when in reality its LITERALLY in the monologue. Great video!
Yeah honestly like, I think not liking the moon visual is fine! But it's definitely thematically _there_ from the beginning, like in the literal text of the game - the fact that it represents what it does matters to the story as it's being told. So I don't think anyone arguing he just made that up on the spot are really analyzing it in good faith.
I already got that from The End's Monolouge too. Countless stars, and civilizations, all destroyed by it. The end comes for us all. It's literally an embodiment of death
I think one of my favorite little details about this game is that when you think about it the name "Frontiers" isn't just a reference to how you spend tbe game exploring a big, open-zone lost land, but is also a nod to the character growth everyone experiences as everyone decides to explore new frontiers and come into their own
I think Vandalize- while not made for the game- was chosen due to how it can represent Eggman's new feelings as a father towards Sage. She quite literally vandalized his cold heart, made him feel something, just to die at the end, and leave him all alone. But of course she has seemingly been scraped back together, her dad *is* a genius after all.
I thought that Vandalize could also be about how Sonic impacted Sage. She said in one of the cutscenes that she wished she had never seen the complexities of his relationships, because it showed her what love was capable of. Of course, it also plays into what you were saying, because what Sage learned from Sonic, she applied to her relationship with Eggman.
Now where do the lyrics "fuck the pain away" fit in that equation?
@@WhatISawJuly7th Censored version ahaha
I’m low key glad for the hype this game is getting
🔥🔥🔥🔥
If it weren't for the continous IDW comics, I think I could see Frontiers as the finale of the Sonic series. Every story has to end eventually, but there should be a hell of a finale, and with the themes, I think Frontiers fulfills that
Man, I'm so glad Sonic Team's gotten back on their feet again. It's felt so satisfying sticking around after all these years to finally get a new banger title!
I can't wait to replay this game again with the abundance of mods at The Internet's disposal, especially some of the ones that tweak Sonic's physics. :D
I'm very partial right now to the SA1 style Super Sonic spines mod, myself. Something about it just hits different.
Oh yeah, that combined with the Soap Shoes is such a striking look in HD 030
@@Arson_Hole "Gotten back on their feet again"
WTF are you talking about ? This is yet another example of them fumbling around and chasing trends. It's an overcorrection, a big half-baked apology letter, while still repeating or brushing aside the errors of the Meta Era.
@@Arson_Hole And nah, baby blue Smurf Sonic with tiny quills will never look good even with the Soap Shoes on.
@54:00 about the ancients and how they connect to the Gizoids/Chaos/Chao
That's honestly precisely how I think all this is connected as well (though I am sad Emerl's original origins with the Nocturnus Clan and all were dropped). I've seen some people say there is an inconsistency here with Eggman saying the ancients died out within a generation, yet they are supposed to be ancestors of Chaos, but if the theory that the ancients evolved into the Chao is correct, then both can still work: The ancients like they are seen and how they lived in Frontiers may have died out completely, but their hypothetical (d)evolved forms (the Chao) live on.
Something else I'd like to mention is that strictly speaking, the Chaos Emeralds' origins are still unknown. The ancients used them centuries ago and were the ones to bring them to Earth at one point, but there isn't really any explanation how they got them, is there? For all we know, they could've still originated from Earth or are being brought back to Earth repeatedly, meaning the Gaia circle could work with the power of the Chaos Emerals/temples regardless. Iirc in Sonic X, the Chaos Emeralds scatter across space at one point, once Sonic & co return to their planet. And although Sonic X isn't part of the games' continuity of course, it shows that it could be possible something similar happened in the mainline continuity
For what it's worth, Sage does say that the Emeralds were "native to their planet" in one of the side story scenes on Ouranos, so I think that's fairly telling at least. Though the wording does leave it ambiguous enough to wonder about, even so.
@@NezumiVA Ah my bad I forgot about that part ^^; Especially now that I finished watching the video (had to make a break to write my initial comments and pause for a while)
This all being said, the master emerald is still native to Sonic's earth it seems, atleast for now. Makes me wonder what the connection between them is now that we know they originate from different planets
@@NezumiVA One thing I would like to add to the argument that the Ancients did not create the Chaos Emeralds. On Ares Island towards the end of Knuckles side quests; Sonic and Knuckles sit on top of a man-made shrine and the remains of a broken black gem in the center. Thanks to a piece of unused dialogue, we find out that the Ancients made attempts to recreate the Master Emerald. Whether it was to work as a spare or something the Ancients can use to control the Emeralds without the Master Emerald. Regardless of what they intended, the results ended in failure. If the Ancients truly created the Chaos Emeralds, they would've had a much better understanding of them and recreating the Master Emerald should've been a simple task for them.
I believe the Master Emerald was built first and the Chaos Emeralds second or vice versa, either way, they were meant to be together. At some point, even before the Ancients creation, the Chaos Emeralds ended up on the Ancient's home world. With them spending years studying them but never truly understanding them. This would also imply that the Ancients should've known about the 'miracles' the Emeralds create with all seven gathered. So why did they only rely on four Chaos-fueled titans each with one Emerald instead of four Super formed titans?
There's something special about Sonic still being here after all the highs and lows for 3 decades.
Beautiful video.
This is probably one of the few best analysis in the game’s story. A lot of CZcamsrs either dismissed it for being melodramatic, or got too pedantic with either how much wasn’t explained or how awkward some scenes might’ve been perceived because of references and whatnot.
Very few appreciate the deeper themes it tried to convey so this was a great watch.
Just finished the analysis. God this was so beautiful. As someone who is just starting out on their Sonic journey, this entire video resonated with me. The ending was beautiful and made me cry. Now I wanna go play more Sonic.
I pogged when playing when they had Sonic say "Let's do it to it." That was more of an Archie Sonic reference than I ever thought we'd get.
Well, technically that term was coined in the cartoons first, but ;P
Considering who wrote the dialogue it isn't all that surprising
this video really clearly echoes a lot of my feelings on frontiers- especially where knuckles and the end are concerned. i'm so happy to see sonic letting itself have genuine ambition and emotion after how cynical things have felt for years, and so much of this game resonates in a way that you really clearly put into words here! i really love your work and was super excited to see what you had to say about this game and as always, the video did not disappoint. i'm really looking forward to the future of the franchise in a way that i havent for a long time
Wow. This analysis was a JOY to listen to from start to finish. Humorous and deep both. I love your analysis not just of the End, but also the themes of the game. And an interesting bit of information to support this? Kronos, Rhea, and Ouranos Islands are covered in poppies. Predominantly red ones. The corn poppy is often found on disturbed ground, especially battlefields, hence being a symbol for fallen soldiers. Note that the field where the Koco lovers are reunited is covered in them.
Honestly your usage of Made in Abyss’s OST is damn good in this video. Kevin Penkin’s OST surprisingly works really well the Sonic Franchise, or at least Frontiers
^^^^^
Made in Abyss is a dang fine anime, absolutely LOVE it!
As great as Frontiers is, I feel the biggest enemy of Sonic is SEGA themselves. They actually wanted to release this game a year earlier. Showing they learned nothing from 2006 and that all they care about is money. its really sad but its true
The music, what we're fighting, the stakes, sage's sacrifice, the monologue *broke* me. The fact that literal gods were nothing in comparison to The End-
All of this had me in tears by the time I finished the encounter. It reminds me why I love Sonic.
It won't let me edit so I'm adding on in a reply, I didn't get the memos the first time, but Dear Father hurt me.
The journey to Frontiers was one of confusion, drama, excitement and worry. From the extremely ambiguous marketing to the sudden surge of hype for it, I was extremely wary when booting it up. There was a lot riding on this - the pressure was real. But the second I beat Giganto I thought to myself... I am having the best time I've had with a Sonic game since *Generations*.
From the genuinely emotional story (seriously made my jaw drop when I saw the first flashback of the ancients with Amy and IMMEDIATELY recognized the Chaos anatomy they had going on) to the frankly super fun gameplay loop, it was a blast from start to end, even if it kinda ran out of gas come endgame. I actually... kinda liked The End though - While it's a shame we lost the potentially hilarious and raw image of Super Sonic fist-fighting a planet, I felt sufficiently threatened, much more than the other titans. And Sage's sacrifice and ending made me genuinely cry, something I never thought would be possible from playing a Sonic game.
This analysis speaks to me in a spiritual level, it basically echoes my thoughts about the entirety of this game, and puts into words what I felt while playing and even after it too. Amazing work!
"ARE THOSE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS!?" That got a laugh out of me.
Also yes, I did lots of fishing cause I wanted that tablet ever since I saw it on Facebook, I wanted to see if there was lore in it.
I honestly hope this game is a sign of what's to come. It's flawed but I'm happy to see Sonic succeed like this.
Everyone's favourite sensual superstar, Big the Cat... You get a like for that!
THE END seriously gave me Persona 3 final boss vibes ngl. I guess it makes sense since they convey similar messages.
The game get a W from me just for giving Eggman an actual character arc alone.
As for gameplay, they absolutely made Super Sonic peak. The Wyvern fight is the truest depiction of Super Sonic's speed and power in gameplay to date imo.
I absolutely cannot wait to see what the new story DLC they listed out in their roadmap will be! After finishing this I can definitely say my Sonic hype has been restored
Thank you for going over the Egg memos, in a way they kind feel like something akin to to the secret reports
When I heard the end, call it's self infinite my immediate first thought was "but your not fun"
Great video! I'm glad you went into the concept of passing away and the message of leaving things behind even in death. I did put this together after my playthrough but I've been waiting for someone to go into it in such comprehensive detail. Was very happy with the watch here!
Maybe in the next Sonic game we'll be able to find out more about Sonic himself what I'm talking about is his backstory
In relation to the lore, I like the idea that they may be reintroducing Emerl, especially since they are seeming to place a larger focus on the lore of the series again.
I absolutely love the lore speculation that you made. And honestly, it just makes too sense for Gemerel to not be a creation of the Ancients.
Besides, with the introduction of the Ancients, that makes 4 for 4 on the Ancient Civilizations on Earth from Gerald's Diary.
1. Echidna Clan's ruins
2. The Black Arms Fortress
3. Babylonians
4. Ancients
The Wisps don't count as one, because they were fully living on an entire different planet until Sonic Colors.
Also, since the Ancients seemed to land at the same time as the rumors of the Gaia Temples, it is possible that the temples were created by Ancients for Light Gaia. Chip probably just sent them all to different places on Earth to help the efficiency of fixing the planet.
Along with something interesting. If you remember, the 6th Gaia Temple we go to in Sonic Unleashed, seemed to contain the answers to who Chip is. Containing his memories like Cyberspace. And it is accessed similarly to how Sonic goes to Cyberspace: Simply tap/touch the entrance spot and you get sucked in.
The End has been confirmed to be the concept of Death.. and the Moon the player sees isn't what Sonic or Sage sees.. given by how they refer to the end.. The Player hears the End with a Female voice, while Sonic refers to the end as a He, and Sage Refers to the end as an It.. The Ends form reflects the way the individual perceive death.. ((with the moon being a Symbol of death in alot of cultures)) [Kishimoto Behind the Scenes is my source for this]
Something I think we need to remember is that yes in this modern day video games can be seen as art, but so are movies and music and just because big critics hate a game or people want to hate on it for the sake of it what matters is your personal opinion. What you think and whether or not you had fun. I personally value story first in the game but my second value is fun and I felt very content with this game. I know it wasn't perfect but perfect doesn't always mean a game is fun.
This is the epitome of a glass half full perspective and I mean that in the best way possible. You point out many flaws but choose to focus on the good the game provided for you and that’s really awesome! The energy was infectious. Great work
This was basically first sonic game so Im interested in your take!
I can't believe it's been 5 years since forces it makes me realise just how fast time flies by
made in abyss soundtrack was SUCH a banger choice for this commentary
I’ve never played a sonic game, but I think those who enjoyed the story in Frontiers would enjoy FFXIV Endwalker
Thank you so much for the wonderful analysis and breakdown Nezumi your final elaborations and thoughts regarding Frontiers story was really moving and poignant and you really explored the games great writing and close eye on it’s cast in the best way possible. Ian Flynn really loves this franchise and it shows so much care for it’s continuity and characters that it really is astounding. Eggman’s relationship with Sage being melancholy and poignant was surprising yet beautiful all the same Mike Pollock really shined here. As a long time Sonic fan myself I was very cautiously optimistic regarding Frontiers and while it isn’t without flaws if this is the future that Sonic has in store I’m proud and happy to be as free as the wind with him. Thank you so much for a beautiful and well said overview as always Marcie.
I couldn’t play this one myself so I’m so happy to see someone give this game the analysis it deserved!!!
Whenever I get to the last few minutes of a nezumi video, it feels surreal I don't want that feeling to end and it most certainly won't, I'll keep that memory, that feeling alive, my own way
I like how Frontiers is the first game where me (an unrepentant liker of Generations and Forces as the games where Sonic feels THE best to play) and my friends (likers of the Adventure era who hated those games with a passion) are coming together again. I still think the boost format hasn't seen its peak, but a lot of the flowing platforming of Frontiers gave me some of that vibe of playing the world's fastest rhythm platforming game, and I can appreciate a game that both feels good and has, like... plot content. (As much as I like Generations and Forces, they have premises, not plots). The future does look bright, I think Sonic Team is finding their footing again in a really impressive way. As long as they're not forced to endlessly course-correct, I think they'll be fine. Frontiers certainly shows signs of being allowed to do that already -- many of the most fun platforming sections most strongly resemble the most fun stages from Forces :D
A weird bug I found is that on the Xbox version, the counter for the Phantom Rush achievement is stuck at 0%. I don't know if it's straight up broken or will just jump to 100% when you reach 50, but I don't want to test it for myself.
This is probably the best retrospective video about Sonic Frontiers done to date. So much attention to details and brilliant analysis of the lore.
babe wake up nee NezumiVA upload
I feel as if the design of The End makes sense for what it is,The End is the concept of death not inherently evil but a force of nature and like the moon it constantly hangs above you and when you see the moon it shows that the day has ended
The same is true for The End
SPOILERS:
I think what makes the final fight against The End so disappointing was that it feels like there was supposed to be more.
The tutorial text mentions working with the TITANS, plural, yet you only work with Supreme.
Nobody mentioned this but I feel like they kinda ran out of budget halfway through making Wyvern cause everything else that came after the 2nd island is either smaller and has less to do or just straight-up reused, and in the case of the final island, both. Also both Knight and Supreme lack their laser phase with Supreme straight up just doesn't have his drip wings at all.
IDW, Sonic Movie 2, Frontiers, and now Prime. It feels like the creators of Sonic are finally starting to remember what drew a lot of people in. Snark and comedy are fine but it only goes so far solo.
Not really. IDW is nothing but mediocre melodrama, lazy worldbuilding, character bastardization, plot contrivances and "MEMBER THE OLD GAMES !?!?!?". Frontiers is just a mediocre overcorrection made on a budget. The movies are just serviceable kids movies at best. And Prime is just a generic kids show.
We are a LOOOOOOOOOOONG way from getting Sonic on the right track, and I don't believe any of these suffice or spell a good outcome.
@LuPescaròAUnaMa ok care to explain how you think it can improve? Oh, and just know if you say "stick to 2D forever," then you are immediately not worth the effort to talk to.
@@alphawolf7417 The franchise ? I have no clue, because SEGA has no clue wtf they're doing except branching out into all these mediocre half-baked medias. And fyi, NO, I'm not a Classic fanboy. I want my 3D Sonic games done right, which is why I support fan projects like ChaosX's P-06.
I have some ideas on how Frontiers' open zone gameplay could be improved upon, such as trimming down the number of open zones and making them mostly like the first two. Bringing back momentum physics, getting rid of the double jump and bring back the Air Dash, no pointless 2D sections or recycled stages, make combat less janky, or get a better writer than Ian Flynn.
But it's all a pointless exercise in futility because SEGA/Sonic Team only strip down the formulas they create, never improve them.
Considering the theme of all of the Sonic characters wanting to go off on their own, it makes me kind of think that were going to have a Sonic Adventure 3, or at least hope for one to see how they work alone.
Honestly, Frontiers is exactly what I’ve always wanted from the franchise. The only downside is that there’s not more of it.
OKAY, THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL VIDEO. This is the first essay about Frontiers I've watched that delves into the story and themes THIS much and it was an absolutely wonderful listen. When you started absolutely geeking out about the lore implications with the ancients, the emeralds, chaos... it was so good. AND THEN WHEN YOU ANALISED THE END'S THEMATIC TIES TO EVERYTHING IN AND OUTSIDE OF SONICS UNIVERSE AAHHHHH, it was so so good!!!
Before seeing anyone's opinion on the matter I too felt like this was a game that in many ways was both an end and a new beggining. You can feel that this game has a different direction than the previous few games where theyre allowing themselves to be more confident with their ideas and thats just wonderful. Also I feel liek the constant references throughout the course of this game also set up sonic team's new approach of not letting a single piece of lore that hasn't been written out be left unaknowledged. This game also decided to elaborate on things set up by adventure, much like SA2 did with its predecessor, or adventure itself with sonic 3 & knuckles. This kind of building off of what has been already established hasn't been seen in a good while and it's really cool to see. Another thing that gets me excited is that we are seeing a lot about sonic team being more transparent (with for instance the admittance that the latter half of the game had to be rushed, said very close to the games release) and listening more to common criticism, cant bring up specific instances of this but ive seen that around twitter a few times, which is awesome. Again, Frontiers feels like such a good setup for whats about to come while at the same time being a really good game all on its own. Just. Cngrats sonic team for this W
And bravo for the video, again, really enjoyable watch :)
looking forward to that shadow video im subbing-
I was mostly fine with the cyberspace themes. Sky Sanctuary makes sense cause the prologue, Green Hill because it's Sonic, but Chemical Plant... That's not Eggman's only facility, it's never even been a primary base and I'm tired of it.
It might just be my preference in game difficulty, but I'm glad the easy things you criticized were easy. I do wish the Supreme was more difficult though. It has a gun, but only used it once! And Giganto had legs and might as well be a floating torso with arms. I wish it had a kick attack or two.
When I played Kirby Forgotten Land, the fishing minigame was really stressful. I didn't expect Sonic to do a fishing minigame better than Kirby of all things.
Rhea Island was so tense I tried to boost as little as possible to emphasize Sonic's fatigue. I'm the kind of girl that hyperfixates what visually distinct equipment is canonically used and when in video games. I do wish Rhea Island had it's own theme. The first area is covered in trees, so it'd be thematically appropriate for the whole island to be a dead forest in winter. Maybe the towers were originally built for weather control or something.
As for the True Final Boss, my inner Kirby fan was just floored. It felt like Star Dream but actually unfathomable. Bravo.
One complaint that just won't leave me alone is one line of dialogue in Chaos Island that felt very ableist to me. Needing help is part of being alive, not growing up. Though I am glad they chose to own Tails' previous characterization rather than pretending it never existed.
Part of me wishes Amy, Tails, and Knuckles fought their respective titans instead of Sonic and that the titans and End had more greek names. Maybe the End could've been named Telos(greek for end) or Typhon or something.
I'm fascinated that the Chaos Emeralds are from another planet while the Master Emerald is native to Earth, makes me wonder what that means for the wider universe. We know where they came from, but not the why. I really liked that mysterious vibe.
(And I also think the Black Arms are descendants of the Ancients left behind on the north and south poles of their planet, like the Mondasian Cybermen, but that's just me)
I'm stupid excited for the Wave 3 DLC next year!
Edit: Oh! Also Ares Island has a phosphoresent underground river, which I LOVE!
I just want you to know, I appreciate all the thought put into this comment haha!
You think sonic was being ableist to Tails? It's not like he insulted him for being autistic or something.
Do you hate chemical plant?
@@anonymouslucario285 No, but I'm not a fan of it. The other two have reasons. Green Hill is an iconic location in Sonic, Sky Sanctuary is the most definitive part of Angel Island that isn't underground, but Chemical Plant is just another zone. A fun zone, yeah, but aesthetically I mean.
In Frontiers, I like to think each Cyberspace Zone represents an aspect of Sonic's world.
Green Hill represents the myriad islands and archipelagos Sonic's kind tend to live on.
Sky Sanctuary represents Angel Island, which is very story relevant.
The City could be analogous to human civilization on the continents.
What does Chemical Plant provide? What's so special about this specific factory's aesthetic?
I didn't realize this, but at 1:03:30 The End says "No matter what form I take". With an behind the scenes interview with kishimoto, he said that The End was the symbol of Death, that what the player sees isn't was sonic and sage sees. It also is basically confirmed that The End is gender neutral with sonic calling The End a he, sage calling them an it, and the player hearing a females voice. But if you listen closely, you can hear another voice coming through while they speak, possibly a man's voice, meaning that the player is able to somewhat hear what sonic is hearing from The End, but not fully. It also makes The End more chilling when you take the line "I am infinite, I am nothing". It basically implies that it is immortal and that it can go anywhere it wants to go. So even though The End is defeated, those lines implies that it's only temporarily defeated.
The End also said Sonic didn't stand a chance against it, but got defeated anyway (about as easily as most of the enemies Super Sonic has beaten in the past). I don't see much reason to take what the End says as absolute when it was already proven wrong and fallible. I mean.. It was also confused and caught off guard by the strength of Sonic's unbreakable will.
@@DLxxx I think at that point sonic knows he's not going to completely defeat them, but he doesn't care. He wants to send the message that he'll fight The End as long as he's there, even if he needs help doing so. I also think The End was just mad that sonic and sage (but mainly sonic)won't just give up, since the only other time he face something immortal and just as strong was Dark Gia (I think, correct me if I'm wrong). They believe that there's no hope for him since no matter what he does, no matter how many times he defeats them, The End will consume their world.
Not gender neutral.
Finally someone who shares my thought about Sonic not really reacting to a death of someone he got closer two the last few parts of the game!! Thank you! Awesome video BTW!
Sinced Sega already annouced new Story parts I hope Sega uses the Time to make all the things they couldn't due to deadlines. For example expend the Story more on HOW Amy, Knuckles and Tails actually saved Sonic. Something similar to Sonic 06 would be cool but I guess some people would still hate it for "recycling"
This game has made me cry every time i dive back in and i just adore it, the last time a Sonic game moved me this much was Unleashed. Forces made me cry but, for a different reason. In fact it drove me away from the franchise until the release of the first movie three years later. I was that hurt by it just like so many other people were. This is the complete opposite and reminds me why i still love this franchise. I can't wait to see where it goes in the future
I feel like there's just a tiny bit more to be said about the EVA similarities/references they make, of course this is a sonic video, not an EVA video, but I thought I'd add as well :P
How the moon and Rei represent eachother in a way because we mostly see the moon when it's a Rei scene, plus how Sage, like Rei II, sacrifices herself in a big explosion, in Sage's case WITH the moon.
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Giganto holding Sonic the same way Eva Unit 01 held Kaworu for like a whole minute (just visual reference but still cool).
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Supreme's laser wings 100% are the a visual reference to Lillith's wings of light once she like melts out of the earth or whatever.
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Knight looks like Eva Unit 05 from the Rebuilds.
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Not to mention the Death & Rebirth thing (I'm pretty sure it was intentional on your part but I wanted to mention lmao)
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Both Giganto and Supreme take from the Mass Production series and Jet Alone (The general shape + wings on Supreme and also the cilinders coming out of their bodies, although they all do that.)
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The gun that Supreme has really reminds me of the sniper from episode 06 (where they redirect all the electricity to kill Ramiel) Not really in terms of design I guess but just the concept of big robot with even bigger gun.
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Maybe I'm stretching but the theme of neglect in infancy and all that could also apply? Maybe?
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I'm sure there's more, there's no way there isn't, but it's all I got for now.
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Extra:
Giganto's death scene looks a lot like Son Goku killing Demon King Piccolo.
Either way, incredible video! Sonic Frontiers has absolutely made the list as one of my favourite games I've played. Some parts were frustating and I can't help but feel like they dropped the ball with the last boss. But it was a great experience, a great story and has the best character interactions I've seen from this series.
I'm not a sonic fan at all, didn't know anything but the bare minimum.. I got emotional at the end.. So well told, great video! I'm existed for the future of Sonic for the fans
Imagine a final boss for Rhea island...but when you deactivate the pillars, you lose some of your skills. At the end, you're forced to fight with limited ability to actually demonstrate how weak Sonic was getting. This could be paired with his stats temporarily dropping to base to make it feel that much more impactful.
13:56
Pop in was fixed in the update there is still some however it’s at a longer distance
It was recently anounced that Frontiers shall have dlcs (free ?) next year and the last ones shall be new stories that may take place after frontiers
The whole idea of us leaving traces and impacting the world is such a big statement, but it feels sometimes like it’s ignored a lot. I mean, oftentimes, we don’t know what we’re doing, or what the consequences of our actions will be until it’s too late. I’m sure the Ancients didn’t know their actions would drastically change the future of the planet they found, but considering all you covered here… well, they made a far bigger impact than what they could’ve imagined.
This makes me want to buy this game 1000 times now
I know this is my nth comment now or whatever but I need to get this off my chest lmao
I think there's a poetic sort of irony that back when Ian Flynn took over Archie, one of the first things he did was kill off Robotnik's artificial "children" Mecha and A.D.A.M. (which, fair, Mecha especially was pretty pointless as a character)
And now that he took over the games, what is the first thing he does for a story? Introduce an AI daughter for Eggman (only much better executed than Mecha ever was) :'D
I've been on a sonic frontier review binge and this is one of my favorites. keep up the good work.
There are actually 3 prologues for Frontiers, TailsTube #3 ends with Tails and Sonic finding out about the Starfall Islands and calling Amy to join them as well. So it's Divergence, then TailsTube and then Convergence.
I like how your reaction to the Sonic 3 screenshot was the exact opposite of mine, while yours was beaming; mine was filled with unbridled cynicism. "Oh course they used a Sonic 3 screengrab, couldn't recreate that scene in 3D for one scene. Knuckles talking about ruins? Well too bad this game doesn't have ya know... 3D Assets for ruins that are on Angel Island... ones that are in the sky.. OF A LOCATION THAT YOU USED IN THE PROLOGUE!!"
It's a great thing to hear so much positive energy coming from the sonic franchise for once.
Thanks for treating the material with the respect it deserves, and here's hoping the dark age's of the sonic franchise are behind us for the time being. Here's looking to the future.
Now if the publishers sega could quit rushing there developers that would be peachy
Kind of interesting that the thumbnail art for a video about this game's strengths showcases the red, cyberspace energy infecting Sonic since that aspect is probably the most underwhelming and disappointedly concluded part of the plot. :P
Great video regardless! I'm happy Sonic Team finally got a win in the gaming sphere. It's been... geez, 11 years since Sonic Team's last success story.
Not really a sonic fan but I think I’d enjoy listening to Nezumi explain any plot. Her analysis is always so insightful.
Just finished this game today, and what a hype and beautiful little adventure it has been 😃 loved listening to all your thoughts after playing this gem!
"I'M HANGING ON TO THE OTHER SIIIIDE!"
As an ancient poet so elegantly put to page.
"Death is an evil
That's what the gods think
Or they would die"
Wyvern is a Dragon centipede apparently
Elder Coco is the real Villain that transcends even THE END
Great Video! Resonant words and a truly impeccable choice of background music♪
Gosh, I love you for putting Made In Abyss ost in the background.
The line "I'm a spark that won't go out" is probably the best line for Sonic, for more reasons that I can name, this notion of Sonic being more like a force of nature that won't ever fade away, that he's just way too cool, way too caring, way too strong, way too supportive, it's something that I've had since I read archie while I was still 12-14, since then I always knew but couldn't find a way to put it into words, and those are the exact words, no matter how close to the dirt he is, or how much it betrays my expectations, there's just this thing about Sonic being endless, it's music, side material, characters, rare moments of story, popularity, design, whatever it is, he just is; even though this game wasn't what I was expecting, and I have more bad than good to say about it, every single time I hear these lyrics, it gets me, it feels like a reward for being a fan for a good half of my life so far, it makes me know that he won't fade, that he has this spirit that although many never seem to get it right, it's still there, he truly is a spark that won't go out
58:55 something I particularly like is that eggman resorts back to more inhuman language referring to it as her “function” very robotic, which I see as him being so grief stricken that the only way he can think to deal with his emotions is to try and depersonalize her from him again
i also read "the end" as the embodiment of death, or at least an uncaring universe, and i think the ultimate message of the game is that, nihilism, that sense of nothing mattering, can be defeated through love and sacrifice. i like your interpretation of the common thread of each character leaving their mark on the world. that definitely works and i love it.
yet another great essay! it's really cool how many people are excited about sonic again
22:58 "Owning the same nail polish does not a murderer make"
Just posting this to boost engagement! Only a few mins in and already loving your review style!! High quality CZcams right here
I'm commenting to boost engagement! This video was really cool and so is Marcie!!
OOF i see how you make a full hour edit video and i feel pain just by seen im really impress how you can made this analysis of frontiers the effort put on this is insane keep making good stuff mate
Edit: sorry if i fail a bit with the english im not from USA
Wow I never expected to be emotionally mess up by a analysis video for a sonic game well I guess that just goes to show how amazing you are
i was max level when i fought supreme for the first time. it wasnt until my replay that i realized his song had lyrics
The way you describe the themes of the plot of the game just reminds me of FFXIV’s Endwalker plot themes. I love how these 2 games just have a lot in common from a conceptual/thematic standpoint.
I could go on and on about the similarities of the themes and concepts shared between the two.
(Also: Generations Boost physics > Momentum fite me)
This was a terrific review for someone who missed out on this game. Thank you.
45:19 I completely agree
That mandatory Pinball is a pain in the ass
For one YOU NEED SO MANY POINTS TO EXIT and the bottomless pits that are rng are Bullshit
Second I hate the exit part I swear to need to get it in PERFECTLY CAUSE THERE IS JO ATTRACTION WITH THE PINBALL TO THE EXIT WHICH WTF
Get good.
Sonic Adventure: Compassion
Sonic Adventure 2: Wishes
Sonic '06: Resilience
Sonic Unleashed: Discovery
Sonic & the Black Knight: Ephemerality
Sonic Frontiers: Existentialism
Awesome video, I will be now waiting in anticipation for that Shadow the Hedgehog video
Damn this video is really good for such a small channel
I will even say that is the best video on sonic frontiers yet
It reminds me of the kinds of videos we see on games years after they launched good job
51:43 ??? What was said in the guidebook? You can't leave us hanging..
48:20 Finally! This is what I'm saying, it really does'nt conflict directly with anything about the Gaia Temples. Chaos Emeralds are a power source so they could be substituted for the temples even before the ancients!
I didn't go too into the guidebook stuff here because it was mostly related to Shadow's lore! But I'll definitely be going more in depth about that at a...certain time.