News 'Sonic Frontiers' Trademarked by SEGA

[KingMario05]

8 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I'm expecting something akin to Tikal, Merlina, or Shahra but with the power ups of the Champions from BOTW.

Makes sense, especially with the BOTW influence being touted. Do we know when a trailer is coming?

[phobs]

My biggest hope is that the designers learned from their Sonic 06 experience and that the ghost girl's design is similar to Disney/Pixar designs. Elise's realistic looking design looked so jarring next to cartoon looking Sonic and it definitely one of the major reasons why she is so disliked.

[Razule]

Huh. If true, it'll be an interesting time when she's revealed. I hope the "very sexualized" thing is an exaggeration. How realistic will her design even be?

And the romance thing.. are they actively trying to be reminiscient of 06?

[CertifiedNobody]

39 minutes ago, Razule said:

Huh. If true, it'll be an interesting time when she's revealed. I hope the "very sexualized" thing is an exaggeration. How realistic will her design even be?

And the romance thing.. are they actively trying to be reminiscient of 06?

They only said that she likes him, not that he likes her back.

41 minutes ago, phobs said:

My biggest hope is that the designers learned from their Sonic 06 experience and that the ghost girl's design is similar to Disney/Pixar designs. Elise's realistic looking design looked so jarring next to cartoon looking Sonic and it definitely one of the major reasons why she is so disliked.

I'd prefer they go with semi-cartoony humans from the Adventure games and Archie comics. The majority of the "Pixar humans" in Unleashed looked really unappealing.

The Super Emeralds returning seems really unlikely, but we currently have two separate leaks that support this, and if Super Sonic is only the halfway point in the game, then the big tree boss from the original leaks makes more sense. It would also make sense for there to be 14  boost special stages rather than 7.

[Razule]

7 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

They only said that she likes him, not that he likes her back.

Like 06.

[CertifiedNobody]

5 minutes ago, Razule said:

Like 06.

I'm pretty sure Sonic canonically likes Elise due to the Trial Of Love quest where he picks Elise over Amy.

[Razule]

17 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I'm pretty sure Sonic canonically likes Elise due to the Trial Of Love quest where he picks Elise over Amy.

I'd say it's low-key enough to be debateable. They could lightly hint at Sonic possibly, maybe, also having feelings for the ghost girl, too.

[phobs]

1 hour ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I'd prefer they go with semi-cartoony humans from the Adventure games and Archie comics. The majority of the "Pixar humans" in Unleashed looked really unappealing.

I never said that I was talking about Unleashed's style specifically. I literally was talking about this style: 1 , 2 , 3 and 4

I also just remembered that Marza worked on 3D Lupin movie and I think that THIS kind of design for humanoid characters would be 10/10 for me

1 hour ago, Razule said:

And the romance thing.. are they actively trying to be reminiscient of 06?

Honestly, I wouldn't be happy if SEGA tries to make humanoid character be Sonic’s romantic interest again. I don’t think that Sonic as a character needs romance at all. The only ship that I could see working is SonAmy because of their recent depictions in official media, but let's not begin shipping wars in this thread

My preferred route for the ghost girl character would be a twist villain who would manipulate Sonic in similar way to Merlina. The big reveal could be that all the monsters and obstacles that Sonic fought in the game were created to contain the ghost girl in the fake reality in the first place. She could become the final boss or maybe even potential antagonist for future games. Thank you for reading my fan fic :3

On the side note, Zippo mentioned that he thinks that the game will be revealed at this year's Game Awards. It was stated by the organizers of the event that there will be a lot of 2022 AND 2023 releases showcased so even if the game is postponed until 2023 that's possible that it will show up at The Game Awards.

[Enesephus]

I know many of us have been operating under the assumption that we wouldn't be seeing any kind of reveal for this new game until next year (I've been leaning towards March, so they'd have a trailer to put in front of the movie sequel), but I'm really starting to think that there might actually be a possibility we get a first look this year at the Game Awards. 

I know SEGA's never done that with Sonic before, but my thinking stems from Sonic Origins, which, according to the Sonic Central event, we are supposed to be getting an update of some kind before the year is over. We are at the point that there's not a lot of year left, and the closer we get to December without a reveal, the more likely I think it is that maybe SEGA wants to take advantage of the event's large audience to put this collection, supposedly a definitive version, of these beloved classics in front of a ton of people. 

Then there's the recent trademark of Sonic Frontiers (by the way, epic name, imo, and very fitting if the leaks/rumors are indeed true). As others have pointed out, Sonic game reveals in the past normally come very soon after their respective trademark has been approved, something I didn't know until I read the recent Sonic Stadium article on Frontiers. In the case of Unleashed, the reveal was about a month later, and a month from now is the Game Awards.

I really wish we knew when Sonic Forces was trademarked so we could compare with that, since that's the game Frontiers is currently most similar to in terms of promotion so far, but going by these earlier cases maybe we are in for a reveal sooner than we think, and unlike Origins, which maybe SEGA would just drop the trailer whenever, I definitely don't think they're gonna just drop the trailer for Frontiers. They're gonna want to treat its reveal as a special thing, and with it being confirmed that there isn't going to be another Sonic Central for the rest of the year, that really just leaves the VGA, where I'm thinking we could be in for a one-two punch of Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers, the former being the main event with a full reveal, and the latter being basically an extended tease with a title reveal.

I just find it very interesting that the timing of events for these two games seems to be lining up so nicely at the moment. Of course I feel the need to acknowledge that all this is probably just me way overthinking this shit, and even if we do get Origins at the VGA instead of a random drop they'll still make us wait on Frontiers for a few more months, but I just wanted to get this thought out there, because the opportunity for Sonic here just seems way too perfect, to the point that I could actually kind of see it happening. 

[Sega DogTagz]

5 hours ago, KingMario05 said:

 Her spin cycle sounds far worse than a homing attack,

I could see how the SpinCycle could get repetitive as a combat tactic, but by god its got so much potential as a puzzle mechanic that I am completely in love with the concept.

Shift the camera and you could use it to draw on the terrain (aka Okami) and use different rune symbols for different effects. Or use it to complete circuits connect the dots style, which you could integrate with platforming to increase the challenge, or you could use it to lay a trail for something to follow you.

I hope they use it for more than, run in a circle - inflict damage. There is a lot of potential there.

 

 

and if we are back about talking about a Ghost Girl thats into Sonic - then I'll go back to pounding the table for Lah. No need to worry about Elise connotations there.

[PickleBrows]

Do we know what game had the longest time gap between trademark filings being discovered and an official announcement being made? I feel like Lost World and Generations weren't that long.

I'm still not too convinced on a Game Awards reveal but it would be fantastic for SEGA to push Sonic that hard and it would be quite a good indicator of scope and ambition for the new game.

[CertifiedNobody]

It's funny how "the ghost girl is sexy" leak is seemingly more important and controversial than "The Super Emeralds are returning" leak.

Regardless of whether it's legit, it's funny that this was more interesting to talk about.

Here's the full article, by the way.

Quote

Sega have trademarked Sonic Frontiers, allegedly the new name for the 2022 Sonic the Hedgehog game Sonic Rangers. 

As previously reported, a new Sonic the Hedgehog game was teased for 2022, with only a brief shot of Sonic running and a cryptic logo shown. An early iteration of that press release mentioned “Sonic Rangers“ along with data from a leaked version of the trailer. Sega stated at the time the the older press release was shared in error, and there was no further information on Sonic Rangers.

This in turn re-contextualized claims made on 4Chan; one many months prior, and the other mere moments before the teaser trailer’s reveal. The anonymous leakers (allegedly having played a demo) claimed Sonic Rangers was an open world game akin to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It also features a skill tree, platforming and puzzle challenges, and gathering Chaos Emeralds to open up more parts of the map.

 

Now, Renka Schedule discovered the trademark of Sonic Frontiers via Chizai Watch, a website dedicated to monitoring new trademarks in Japan. It should be noted this may also be the game’s Japanese name. For example Sonic Unleashed was known as Sonic World Adventure in Japan.

This is also combined with an alleged 4Chan post from October 17th (as discovered on Reddit and reported by VGC), claiming the game’s name had been changed to Frontiers. Once again, the open world Breath of the Wild comparisons were made, along with comparisons to Sonic Generations.

The subReddit also shared other 4Chan posts– one predating other leaks. It should be noted the anonymous post made after the original leak proved true could be lying or speculating based off that information. Not to mention the screenshots could have been edited.

 

Even so, what is proposed is not radical when the initial leaks are considered. The first post (dated May 11th- before the official reveal but after the January 6th post) claims game stages are long, with the second having a more scary tone (night time rain and thunder). Sonic enters some form of “combat mode” when he looks at foes.

The “ghost girl” from prior leaks is supposedly from cyberspace (an area Sonic enters at times), and it can help Sonic with emergency rings, combat, and grant an “absurd” boost of speed. It even cries when Sonic is defeated. 

The open world is divided into seven areas (or worlds), and players can freely explore. They can also find colored rings (fluctuating through a spectrum akin to Hyper Sonic) that can be exchanged for cosmetics and special abilities. Speaking of Hyper Sonic, the game’s plot revolves around the Super Emeralds, last seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.

 

While in that game they were a powered-up version of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic Frontiers will supposedly feature a villain trying to obtain them; all while Sonic mistakenly gathers the Chaos Emeralds. Concept art also suggested Hyper Sonic would be in the game. Gaining each of the Chaos Emeralds also grants an elemental power; red granting fire and so forth.

At that stage of development (again, pre-dating even a teaser reveal), the game had issues with frame-rate drops in the cyberspace area, and wide open areas with nothing to do. However, many stages were incomplete, as expected for a work in progress. The game was also being played on Xbox One, while the official teaser stated the game was for Xbox Series X|S among others.

The poster also claims there is somewhat of a romantic mood between Sonic and the ghost girl, and that the girl is even “very sexualized and attractive.” The second post (dated November 6th) claims the Ghost Girl knows more than she lets on, but is keeping it a secret and is not revealing why she is so invested in not seeing Sonic hurt.

While she is to embarrassed to reveal how she feels, she wants to be freed from cyberspace and that the villain (who can turn invisible) can turn her into a real female hedgehog; rather than a human or humanoid as a ghost. After the infamous kiss scene in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), we have to wonder if these elements will remain, or if it is genuine at all.

 

Sonic Rangers launches 2022 for Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

 

[Postmodern Sonic]

but how sexy will the super emeralds be?

[CertifiedNobody]

2 hours ago, Postmodern Sonic said:

but how sexy will the super emeralds be?

Too sexy. Why do you think they were so hesitant to bring them back?

[charmsb]

Here's my take:

I'm not hopeful for this game much at all. I have no trust in whatever Sonic Team is anymore, and Sonic hasn't been Sonic for decades. If they want to impress me with this, I at the very least want true Sonic gameplay back. But we probably won't get that. I'm waiting for the 'pleasant surprise' but we probably won't get it. Iizuka's been struggling to pull together bad devs and oppressive corpo's and it shows.

[CertifiedNobody]

38 minutes ago, charmsb said:

Here's my take:

I'm not hopeful for this game much at all. I have no trust in whatever Sonic Team is anymore, and Sonic hasn't been Sonic for decades. If they want to impress me with this, I at the very least want true Sonic gameplay back. But we probably won't get that. I'm waiting for the 'pleasant surprise' but we probably won't get it. Iizuka's been struggling to pull together bad devs and oppressive corpo's and it shows.

I have the complete opposite perspective. Maybe it's just because I'm just as invested in the multimedia content as I am the main games, but I don't think things are even close to as bad as you do, and Sonic Team's changed a lot since Forces;

[KingMario05]

5 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

Sonic Team's changed a lot since Forces;

Have they really? With all due respect, I fail to see how they've changed since their 2017 disappointment.

[phobs]

Honestly, I have no expectations at all at the moment. But considering the current state of the franchise with Sonic Movie and the fact that they are using Sonic Prime to bring more attention to the gaming franchise, that likely indicates that they are actually ambitious about new game and the future of the  franchise. The team probably understand how important it is to create high-quality game this time. I am just really curious about whether they are going to be able to accomplish this and I am genuinely wishing them all the best in this endeavor

[MetKey]

I'd personally just wait to see a gameplay trailer to judge what they have in store for this game, but i wouldn't consider myself hopeful either.

Even with all the stuff like the movie sequel and Sonic Prime coming soon I dont feel like Sonic Team would understand how ambitious things are getting and would rather just do whatever and deliver a product that's either underwhelming or an unpolished mess.

[CertifiedNobody]

1 hour ago, KingMario05 said:

Have they really? With all due respect, I fail to see how they've changed since their 2017 disappointment.

They merged with CS3 in 2018, the division that made a lot of Sega's RPGs and various other games. So yeah, they actually are different.

[Wraith]

I don't think the sexy ghost thing is real, but I guess it's the out of left field thing that this game was missing so far, like when OCs were in forces.

I don't really know how to feel about it until I see her.  It fits with their apparent initiative to make the series more popular with Japan, but it might rub some fans in the US the wrong way. I'd consider it refreshing after how americanized the series's lore/characterization got in the 2010s, though. I like Sonic Team cringe more than a bland imitation of AOSTH

....I also just like cute anime girls. Sue me

Like someone said above though none of this has any bearing on the actual game, which still kind of sounds like a misstep. We'll see. I think there's a good chance they'll say something in December now but it won't be a whole lot.
 

 

 

[Rabbitearsblog]

I'll remain cautious about this new game until we get some actual footage of the game.  My problem with Sonic Team right now is that they don't seem to give enough care to this franchise at the moment.  Now, I'm not sure if it's because they are in some kind of slump where they are not feeling creative with this franchise or they were trying too hard to make the fans happy, without focusing on improving the gameplay and the stories.  But, the games felt very lifeless for the past decade and I'm worried that Sonic Team still hasn't learned their lesson in regards to running this franchise.  And with the way that they handled Sonic Colors Ultimate, has me really worried about how they will handle the franchise in the near future.  But with the huge success of the movie, Sonic Prime coming up and how they are trying to make this series more popular in Japan, I'm hoping that they actually take the time to improve the gameplay and the stories for the games.

By the way, are they still called Sonic Team?  I've been hearing rumors that they are going to call themselves Sonic Studios from this point forward and change a few things in the team.

[Wraith]

16 minutes ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

I'll remain cautious about this new game until we get some actual footage of the game.  My problem with Sonic Team right now is that they don't seem to give enough care to this franchise at the moment.  Now, I'm not sure if it's because they are in some kind of slump where they are not feeling creative with this franchise or they were trying too hard to make the fans happy, without focusing on improving the gameplay and the stories.  But, the games felt very lifeless for the past decade and I'm worried that Sonic Team still hasn't learned their lesson in regards to running this franchise.  And with the way that they handled Sonic Colors Ultimate, has me really worried about how they will handle the franchise in the near future.  But with the huge success of the movie, Sonic Prime coming up and how they are trying to make this series more popular in Japan, I'm hoping that they actually take the time to improve the gameplay and the stories for the games.

By the way, are they still called Sonic Team?  I've been hearing rumors that they are going to call themselves Sonic Studios from this point forward and change a few things in the team.

They are still sonic team.

[azoo]

They really should just reveal this thing already.

I know I know, they should clearly take their time. But also do me a solid and just get it over with, mates.

[Rabbitearsblog]

2 minutes ago, azoo said:

They really should just reveal this thing already.

I know I know, they should clearly take their time. But also do me a solid and just get it over with, mates.

Or they could just alert the fans that they are still working on the game.  No need to keep something like that a secret.