Sonic Frontiers’ Sole Playable Character is Sonic; Takashi Iizuka Briefly Comments on Projects Post-Frontiers

October 17, 2022October 17, 2022 Orpheus Joshua

The latest issue of PLAY Magazine featured an interview with Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka, discussing the upcoming Sonic Frontiers. The vast majority of subject matters discussed here have been stated several times prior. However, there are some new clarified tidbits fans can chew on.

Firstly, the magazine issue explicitly states that Sonic is the “sole playable character.” Further, Iizuka describes Sonic’s moveset as being “pure to his character.” He also lacks any notable gimmicks from previous titles, like the Wisps. Many fans have been yearning for additional playable characters, and while it could still potentially happen via DLC, it’s safe to conclude that the base game will be Sonic-only.

Secondly, Iizuka provided the following statement about game projects post-Frontiers:

“As we have one team working on something really big, we do want to make sure we’re working with other teams and other third parties to continue making content.”

Nothing concrete is stated, but it implies that there might be smaller games in the works since Iizuka specifies Frontiers being a bigger project by comparison.

Lastly, and this could simply just be speculation on the magazine’s part, the following statement regarding Sage is shared:

“Perhaps it’s telling that Sage has a similar colour scheme to Sonic’s past antagonists.”

Maybe the narrative is somehow tied to the Phantom Ruby from Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces?

Regardless, thanks to Sonic the Hedgehog fan account, Tails Channel, for sharing these pages from PLAY Magazine’s coverage.

Sonic Frontiers is releasing for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on November 8, 2022.

Throughout Sonic Frontiers, Sonic finds himself stranded on the Starfall Islands after being separated from his friends, Tails, and Amy. A mysterious AI-like voice then begins guiding him to find the Chaos Emeralds and defeat the island’s Titans, which will supposedly save his friends. However, a new character, Sage, is impeding Sonic on his quest to do so.

Sonic Frontiers features an “open-zone” gameplay style, where players will freely explore five distinct islands housing unique biomes, puzzles, enemies, and more. Combat is a direct focus this time, with several enemy types to best and a skill tree to sink resources into. Moreover, the Cyber Space levels provide some familiar speed-centric linearity veteran fans can embrace.