Sonic Frontiersis rolling out onto storefronts, and fans everywhere can’t wait to experience the hedgehog’s newest adventure. Set on the mysterious Starfall Islands, Sonic is tasked with saving his friends and foiling Eggman’s latest plot. It seems like a simple setup for a straightforward game, but players will quickly find that there’s more to it.Sonic Frontiersis touted as an open-zone game, featuring giant fields filled with collectibles, bosses, and puzzles, with several regular BoostSoniclevels dotting each zone. It’s a major shift toSonic the Hedgehog’s formula, and time will tell if it pays off.

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Sonic Frontiers Key Art

Convergence’s First Half is Pure Sonic Fan Service

The eight-page comic opens with an action scene, with Sonic and Tails arriving at an unspecified island via their plane, the Tornado. Amy Rose is already there fighting off several Crabmeat and Shellcracker Badniks. Dr. Eggman is also seemingly present, appearing in silhouette within the cockpit of a giant Shellcracker-like mech. The first half ofSonic Frontiers Prologue: Convergencedepicts this fight in its entirety, showing Sonic and his closest allies at their best.Amy’s skills with her Pico Pico Hammerare a highlight, especially considering how rare it is forSonicfans to see her in action nowadays.

With the small fry already dispatched, attention turns to Eggman’s robot. Tails gets the chance to show his mechanical skills and even smashes through one of the giant crabs' legs with a tail swipe. He hasn’t done something like that in years, and anySonicveteran able to recognize the maneuver will already be aware that Eggman is acting off. All the doctor’s lines arememetic battle quotes fromSonic AdventureandSonic Generations. As it turns out, this Eggman is just a robotic decoy and was meant to give the real deal time to set up defenses and begin his research on the Starfall Islands.

Sonic Frontiers Sage

Analyzing Eggman’s Scene in Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Convergence

Part two of the comic begins to foreshadowSonic Frontiersin earnest. While recapping the situation, Tails notes that the Chaos Emeralds have mysteriously gathered on the Starfall Islands, which was once the home of an ancient civilization. Some time after the trio has taken off to Kronos Island, Eggman himself is shown deploying supply caches across the Starfall Islands. After a cameo fromEggman’s sometimes-henchmen Orbot and Cubot, the doctor makes it clear that he wants the Ancients’ hyper-advanced technology for himself. As part of his plan, he has developed an AI speaking in familiar black and red text boxes to hijack the Islands' cybersecurity, and the comic ends with Eggman about to plug it into a Cyber Space portal.

A glimpse atSonic Frontiers’ plot seems to be forming here. With the AI warning that it is untested, it’s likely that the Ancient security hijacks it and turns it intothe mysterious red-and-black Sage. This will coincide with the activation of the robotic defenses across the Starfall Islands, though whether they’ll be earnestly defending Eggman or holding him captive is another matter entirely. Having Eggman appear as a captive character later on would be a big twist, and would deepen the mystery of what Sage, the Titans, and the other robots are protecting. Combined withSonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergenceteasing the Ancients' involvement with the Chaos Emeralds,Sonic Frontierscould be a must-play entry for long-time Sonic fans.

Sonic Frontierswill launch on November 8 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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