Sonic Frontiers - Teaser Trailer

[Zoomzeta]

1 minute ago, SonicLegends said:

Agree to disagree in comparing them. If wrong then wrong but I find it interesting that they make it such a focus to avoid not showing us Sonic's face up front in the trailer. That whole thing with movie Sonic impacting the games may have a lair of truth to it to an extent and we already see some of it with how they're promoting it over on Colors.

You might be onto something here a bit.

[BlueFlare]

2 minutes ago, Sonikko said:

Am I the only one that thinks this looks like Forces 2? The square effects on his running reminds me of the Phantom Ruby, there's some distortion sound going on, the blue glow is the same they used in the Forces trailer.

If this ends up being true, I (jokingly) predicted this in my mind.

[Zoomzeta]

Just now, Diogenes said:

By making a teaser completely bereft of actual information, fans are free to project whatever they want onto it. A brilliant strategy, right up until they have to reveal what the game actually is and everybody realizes it's nothing like what they imagined.

I mean, yeah. That's certainly a way to throw people on a Green Hill sized loop

[Kuzu]

3 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

By making a teaser completely bereft of actual information, fans are free to project whatever they want onto it. A brilliant strategy, right up until they have to reveal what the game actually is and everybody realizes it's nothing like what they imagined.

Isn't that this franchise in general 

[Whatever the WhoCares]

3 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

By making a teaser completely bereft of actual information, fans are free to project whatever they want onto it. A brilliant strategy, right up until they have to reveal what the game actually is and everybody realizes it's nothing like what they imagined.

I dunno man, that was some good info. Like maybe there’s some mechanic where you write things in the forest with Sonic’s path.

Nah, I’m just fucking with you. 

[Razule]

10 minutes ago, SonicLegends said:

Agree to disagree in comparing them. If wrong then wrong but I find it interesting that they make it such a focus to avoid not showing us Sonic's face up front in the trailer. That whole thing with movie Sonic impacting the games may have a lair of truth to it to an extent and we already see some of it with how they're promoting it over on Colors.

I think if this was supposed to be the first showcasing of a new design based on the movie that'd be clearer here. He doesn't even have the electric effects or blue arms. No way they'd change his eyes before those things. Of all the identifiable traits Movie Sonic has, why would that be the one takeaway?

[Diogenes]

4 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

Isn't that this franchise in general 

Mania and Forces were pretty upfront about themselves in their reveals, so...eh, not so much?

e: I mean reveals and teasers are almost always going to hold some things back to generate hype/speculation, but this one in particular is just nothing, and I feel like people are already rushing to latch onto any scrap of an idea about it, moreso than normal.

[FloweringFox]

That was a disappointing trailer. It told us nothing about the game. 

Sonic still has the same chubby model with the clay textures, which outside of Unleashed, was mostly used in the 2010s comedy era. Lighting's probably going to be the saving grace here for some of this, but still. We're at the PS5 era, and Sonic still looks like clay, using a 2008 model with small changes while Mario, Crash, Ratchet and Clank, etc. have all been updated to reflect the current generation of consoles.

This trailer is giving off the impression we're getting boost gameplay again, which while I can play a boost game, the levels are linear and I can beat the games in a single day. So unless they do something special to prolong the game, like adding characters and reusing assets, adding bonuses, or something, I can't see myself investing $60-70 for me to beat it in a single sitting. 

I don't want another short, rushed, low-effort, low-budget game like Forces and TSR, and that's what it's seeming like we're getting so far with these things in mind. Either they're going to make an effortless attempt at serious Sonic, or they're going to play it safe like with every game after Unleashed. And Colors being such a sudden focus this anniversary makes me think that they're going back to that. I know Pontac and Graff are gone and all, but we still don't know the new writers, meaning they could still bring out more comedy writers that couldn't care less about the franchise they're writing for, or enforce strict mandates on somebody that does care.

I hope they at least go forward instead of continuing into the direction of Colors and Classic Sonic, because while I don't have a problem with those getting rereleased (after all, Adventure 1 and 2 got ports around 2010-2012 or so), SEGA is probably going to lean back on them after the flop of Forces, which had a selling point of a returning to a serious story with city environments and an intimidating villain, without actually understanding why it flopped in the first place. 

Sorry for going on a bit of a tangent, but it just seem like SEGA hasn't learned anything.

[Muscles Maximum]

I really don't think I can handle more boost gameplay after Forces took an already waning formula and made it worse than I ever thought possible. 

[VO.SUPER]

Oh, I feel stupid. It says "Zap" Tyson hesse basically confirmed it. 

 

[Whatever the WhoCares]

Anyone else get kind of an arrogant vibe from that teaser? Like, “You know it’s the next masterpiece in the legendary franchise, so here’s a little something to speculate on. Yeah, you’re welcome. “

No, Sega. The predominant conversation isn’t “Ooh, what is Sonic up to now?” so much as “Will the game be even slightly enjoyable?” You don’t get to advertise your shit as though everyone is waiting with bated breath just to get a glimpse. You haven’t earned it. Not even close. 

[Red Hot Jack]

First reaction to the apparent title...

Sonic (does) Zap(ping)...?

[Stasis]

The only thing I can see from that teaser is that Sonic activates the power just before dodging the tree and then we see him jump over some plants/flowers in his path as he slows down. 

[Dr. Detective]

The effects and the weird symbol at the end is going to be indicitive of what this game is and years down the line we'll look back and get it just fine but... yeah, I've got nothing right now.

It'd be really weird if it were a second Colors or a second Forces because I feel like the teaser would have done something more to indicate that. 

Imagine of it were a Colors 2, down the line when you're looking back at this trailer would you be like, "Oh yeah. It's so obvious now what with the lack of wisps, the weird TV monitor static, and the cryptic symbol at the end."

Unless they're taking it in a super new direction of some kind. Maybe that's Gameland. Who the fuck knows?

[Kuzu]

11 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

Mania and Forces were pretty upfront about themselves in their reveals, so...eh, not so much?

e: I mean reveals and teasers are almost always going to hold some things back to generate hype/speculation, but this one in particular is just nothing, and I feel like people are already rushing to latch onto any scrap of an idea about it, moreso than normal.

Mania sure, but Forces had way more speculation iirc.

 

In any case, there's not much I can say about this new game until we get more info as usual.

[Blue Blood]

10 minutes ago, VisionaryofSUPER said:

Oh, I feel stupid. It says "Zap" Tyson hesse basically confirmed it. 

 

Dude's just playing along wit the fan name.

[VO.SUPER]

Just now, Blue Blood said:

Dude's just playing along wit the fan name.

That seems more improbable than it just being called that. I can imagine it just being some botched graphic design work and not meant to actually be that cryptic. 

[expansivelovestories]

21 minutes ago, Iko said:

We don't have enough details to reach a conclusion yet, but I'm starting to think that it might be an open world Sonic game.

The new alien technoligy theme that the game seems to feature makes me think of Zelda Breath of the Wild, the Sheikah technology. Maybe it's just an artistic choice, but if they really took Zelda Breath of the Wild as their source of inspiration, open world might be likely.

Since the boost games are often criticized for being hallways, and since sega has a track record of addressing criticism with extreme solutions that instead of fixing the problems end up creating new ones, I hope that, if they are really going for an open world structure, they at least put some effort into designing it well and won't make the usual errors.

Again, we know nothing and it might be still all hallways and 2.5D, this is just some speculation of mine.

Yes; most likely Breath of the Wild was very astonishing and inspiring to Sonic Team, especially where Link himself is not particularly fast, and also that it really made a major statement about the potential for interactivity and creativity within games. 

Open world or not, the likelihood that this game will be their successful (whether anyone would believe it is possible as of now or not!) attempt to make the most amazing Sonic game possible is very high!!   

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Well, it's pretty.

[T-Min]

I'm not sure what to make of this, and it felt like a weak note to end on after such a disappointing presentation. What little we can glean leaves me pretty concerned. That blue digital effect when time slowed down looked pretty Wisp-like, and the boosting effect afterwards gives the impression that this will be yet another boostfest. A new boost game might have been exciting eight or nine years ago, but considering that the 2010s basically consisted of Sonic Team continuously learning the wrong things from Colors and Generations' success, I find it hard to have much faith. And like Indigo said, the fact that the trailer coincides with a Colors rerelease raises some eyebrows, too.

I hope that I'm proven wrong and this will turn into something I can get excited about, but Forces really muted a lot of my faith in the series' future. And if SEGA thinks this sort of nothing presentation is enough to get fans hyped for what comes next, it doesn't give me much confidence that they're going to manage the brand any better.

But who knows. Stranger things have happened, I guess.

[Zoomzeta]

2 minutes ago, Sixth-Rate Soma said:

Well, it's pretty.

Ok. That's something we can say (Though that was still likely CG we saw and not a definite indication of what the actual product will look like).

Just now, T-Min said:

I'm not sure what to make of this, and it felt like a weak note to end on after such a disappointing presentation. What little we can glean leaves me pretty concerned. That blue digital effect when time slowed down looked pretty Wisp-like, and the boosting effect afterwards gives the impression that this will be yet another boostfest. A new boost game might have been exciting eight or nine years ago, but considering that the 2010s basically consisted of Sonic Team continuously learning the wrong things from Colors and Generations' success, I find it hard to have much faith. And like Indigo said, the fact that the trailer coincides with a Colors rerelease raises some eyebrows, too.

I hope that I'm proven wrong and this will turn into something I can get excited about, but Forces really muted a lot of my faith in the series' future. And if SEGA thinks this sort of nothing presentation is enough to get fans hyped for what comes next, it doesn't give me much confidence that they're going to manage the brand any better.

But who knows. Stranger things have happened, I guess.

We really won't know either way. We're literally doing what we've done before that event.

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

1 minute ago, T-Min said:

And like Indigo said, the fact that the trailer coincides with a Colors rerelease raises some eyebrows, too.

If it ends up being Colors 2, that would be A. fine, Colors is fine, and B. completely hilarious.

[Scar]

34 minutes ago, FloweringFox said:

That was a disappointing trailer. It told us nothing about the game. 

Sonic still has the same chubby model with the clay textures, which outside of Unleashed, was mostly used in the 2010s comedy era. Lighting's probably going to be the saving grace here for some of this, but still. We're at the PS5 era, and Sonic still looks like clay, using a 2008 model with small changes while Mario, Crash, Ratchet and Clank, etc. have all been updated to reflect the current generation of consoles.

You're drawing way too many conclusions from a teaser that's not even made by Sonic Team.
And it seems like you have an issue with the art style more than the actual technology at play here. I'm sure they could make Sonic furry and spikey like in the film, but they probably don't like the way that looks. I wouldn't mind seeing a soft velvet-like texture for Sonic's fur (rather than the aggressive spines), but honestly in a teaser trailer where you can barely see his face and is less than 30 seconds long in total, they're not gonna bother with making new model with new textures. They'll just copy+paste the model they've been using for CG for years cause its easier.

In-game: sure they might use a spruced up model in cutscenes, but for most gameplay purposes they'll use a pared down LOD model with fewer polygons and flatter textures because it does literally nothing from a visuals point of view and only hurts performance. Unless they go for the movie-style super spikey look (which I personally do not care for) from how far away Sonic will typically be from the screen, in a high-speed game, you wouldn't even be able to see it.

More to the point - we haven't seen what the game actually looks like. Its a CGI trailer. Whilst I doubt Sonic Team will muster something as jaw-dropping as R&C on PS5 (Gods I wish they would), this teaser offers nothing for you to make such make such assertions.

 

Quote

This trailer is giving off the impression we're getting boost gameplay again, which while I can play a boost game, the levels are linear and I can beat the games in a single day. So unless they do something special to prolong the game, like adding characters and reusing assets, adding bonuses, or something, I can't see myself investing $60-70 for me to beat it in a single sitting. 

It probably is boost again, because I doubt Sonic Team have the bollocks to create a brand new gameplay engine at this point. They're gonna milk the Generations Engine for all its worth. I just fucking hope they don't dumb it down to the extent they did for Forces.

Quote

I don't want another short, rushed, low-effort, low-budget game like Forces and TSR, and that's what it's seeming like we're getting so far with these things in mind. Either they're going to make an effortless attempt at serious Sonic, or they're going to play it safe like with every game after Unleashed. And Colors being such a sudden focus this anniversary makes me think that they're going back to that. I know Pontac and Graff are gone and all, but we still don't know the new writers, meaning they could still bring out more comedy writers that couldn't care less about the franchise they're writing for, or enforce strict mandates on somebody that does care.

Too early to comment based on a Teaser trailer. But you're not going to get a game with a mega budget any more. Unleashed took absolutely AGES to make because of how big it was, but if you play the day stages its ultimately very short (hence the need for Werehog). Even if they slow Sonic down compared to Unleashed or even generations - higher speed requires bigger levels. The game will be short regardless of what you do. So the best thing to do is to operate with a medium budget and make a cheap-ish game that is short. They don't have the brand cache to charge top dollar for stupid shit like Nintendo does.

I don't care about the length or scope or whatever else. I just want it to be a good game, both mechanically and in terms of game design. If its short. So be it. I would rather play the game wishing there were more, than having a really long, boring slog.

Quote

 

I hope they at least go forward instead of continuing into the direction of Colors and Classic Sonic, because while I don't have a problem with those getting rereleased (after all, Adventure 1 and 2 got ports around 2010-2012 or so), SEGA is probably going to lean back on them after the flop of Forces, which had a selling point of a returning to a serious story with city environments and an intimidating villain, without actually understanding why it flopped in the first place. 

Sorry for going on a bit of a tangent, but it just seem like SEGA hasn't learned anything.

 

This is the unfortunate reality of Sonic Team. It has been for the better part of a decade. Leaning too heavily on past glories. The one time they tried something new (Lost World) it was not really well received. For good reason mind, it was a mediocre game. I hope they have something new in mind, but I'm not expecting much. As long as whatever it is they do is good, I'll be happy. 

---

As for the teaser itself - its a CGI Teaser. Can't infer anything from a CGI Teaser. Its not been true for Sonic games and it hasn't been true of literally every other video game ever made in the last 25 years. This was just a hype piece with a vague connection to the actual game.

Am I excited? Sort of? I miss the days where we would have intense debates over minutia - those were simpler times. Digital boost? Is it a boost or just an effect? Is Sonic in a digital world? Is it some new power up? Fuck it could just be 4K version of LASER Wisp. Want to see more. That symbol looks pretty cool. I always enjoyed it when Sonic games had some vaguely ancient/ruins type stuff (S3K, Adventure etc.) so I hope they lean on that. 

Also I sure am glad that they didn't deliver some insane hype trailer with a massive battle, teasing a war for the whole planet like they did with Forces. Cause lord only knows how that ended up. A simple teaser like this is so much better, because there's no expectation. There isn't enough for people to start headcanoning shit and ending up disappointed when reality misaligns with expectation. Here we have Sonic running in forest with digital effects around him, tracing a funky logo. 

Not unlike the Sonic Colours reveal with had nothing other than Sonic running along a forest from Planet Wisp. Simple and effective.

[Gotta Go Rational]

I'm not sure if Hesse would casually confirm the title of the next Sonic installment via a Simpsons meme. I think he's doing a little affectionate trolling based off reactions to it.

Definitely getting some Phantom Ruby vibes from that trailer. The pinkish cubes, the digital distortion sound effects, and the whole cyber/virtual aesthetic of the teaser lends towards that too. 

[GentlemanX]

Not to say that the effect on Sonic isn't related to the Phantom Ruby, but brightly colored cubes around Sonic aren't tied to just that concept.