The Ultimate Sonic Frontiers Pre-Release Guide and Summary

Here’s everything you need to know before the release of this highly anticipated video game!

Written by

Syn

2 November 2022

Information surrounding Sonic Frontiers can be overwhelming, especially when some of us want to stick to the official stuff. Here’s an ultimate guide to what you need to know about Frontiers.

Know the story

Sonic Frontiers‘ story is penned by longtime series veteran Ian Flynn, who is best known for his work on the comic book series. The game’s director, Morio Kishimoto, handled most of the Japanese localization for the game.

Confirmed characters for the story are Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Big, Sage, and Eggman. These characters have been mentioned in various publications, shown by SEGA themselves, or advertised in retail promotions.

Synopsis

Story synopsis: The story begins as Sonic, Amy, and Tails visit undeveloped Kronos Island and are separated by a mysterious phenomenon.

A Tails Tube video gave a bit of background: Tails talked to Sonic about doing research on the Chaos Emeralds, and their signal lead to islands they’ve never seen before. Tails suggested that Amy should tag along, which effectively aligned with the synopsis of Frontiers.

The Starfall Islands

Kronos Island

Kronos is an island filled with vast fields, mountains, forests, ruins, and more to represent its green nature. The inhabitants of the Starfall Islands make their first appearance here, the Koco. Kocos can be collected around the island and brought back to the mother or elder Koco for upgrades.

Kronos introduces many of the main mechanics you’ll be seeing throughout your journeys, such as puzzles, cyberspace, guardian bosses, Big’s fishing spots, and paths that’ll bring you to different collectibles. There is also an Eggman ship parked somewhere in Kronos. Who knows what that is about?

One of the side quests on this island is to save Amy by collecting her memory tokens around the island. After saving her, she will give you intel on the island and will be there for story progression and support. Saving Amy unlocks the Grand Slam skill.

Ares Island

Ares is the second island you make your way to. It’s one big desert with little plant life, with canyons and ruins spread across. This island has its own set of enemies and challenges varying from Kronos. This will play out for all of the islands.

Knuckles will be saved on this island. You will also be working with him on occasional quests to progress the story. Rescuing Knuckles unlocks the Cyclone Kick skill.

Chaos Island

Chaos Island appears to have silent colors and an ashy air to it. There are floating land masses and a prominent volcano on this island.

Tails be rescued here as well. Working with him on quests can help you progress through the story and unlock more of the island. Rescuing Tails unlocks the Cross Slash skill.

Entering Cyberspace

Kronos Island introduces one of the main mechanics in Sonic Frontiers, that being Cyberspace. When starting the game, the first experience will be going through the first stage, Green Hill 1-1. After escaping Cyberspace, you’ll finally arrive on Kronos Island. Completing Cyberspace grants you vault keys to collect in order to obtain the Chaos Emeralds.

Opening a Cyberspace portal requires some work though. You can collect portal gears by defeating guardians throughout the island to open Cyberspace portals.

Once entering Cyberspace, you’ll be playing through the traditional linear Sonic stages similar to the rest of the boost titles. Cyberspace stages remix level theming and design from Sonic’s past adventures. Each stage is either entirely 2D or 3D. Cyberspace stages have multiple objectives to help emphasize their replayability. Red Rings also make a return.

Guardians

The bosses spread around the Starfall Islands are called Guardians, each with their own distinct names that complement their appearance and abilities. As mentioned before, defeating a guardian grants you a portal gear.

Ninja can be found in an area withered by nature, looking to be like ruins of the ancient civilization of the Starfall Islands. Ninja attacks using its arms like blades. Defeating Ninja will open a door leading out of the area, allowing you to explore more of Kronos.

Asura is a massive robot that slaps its arms onto the ground, then unleashes patterns of rings that you dash through, or send you backward. Going through the blues will send you on top of Asura, where you can attack the weak spots. Attacking on the ground level is vital. Performing a Cyloop around one of Asura’s feet will cause it to go back up. There, you attack the bottom of the foot to collect a portal gear.

Tower is a tall and pointy figure that towers over Sonic. Attacking the main part of it will gradually chip away each layer. It can attack by slamming down its body or throwing Sonic away. It will also throw its scales around Sonic to deal damage.

The last known guardian is Squid. Squid travels around the island leaving a trail behind it, hopping aboard that trail initiates the battle. On the said trail, you race towards the head while dodging the barrage of attacks it will release by quick stepping. Once you attack the head, the trail will form an area platform where you’ll battle the Squid head-on in hand-to-hand combat. After a bit of time, it will go back to traveling the island, and you go back for it till it’s defeated.

Sumo is one of the guardians you face on Ares Island. Once the fight is initiated, you both will be contained in an arena. Sumo will slam its arms on the ground, or send them toward you. It may put up a shield that will deflect. One useful way to make Sumo vulnerable is to send it into the arena’s sides in where it will get electrocuted and stunned for a period of time.

At the time of writing this article, there are multiple unnamed guardians that have yet to have their names and locations revealed. Stay updated by following Tails’ Channel on social media.

Let’s play Sonic

Sonic finally gets to show off his moves this time around with a fleshed-out combat system. Using Sonic’s melee, dodge, and parries are essential to surviving in the Starfall Islands.

Initiating a battle with an enemy starts off with a homing attack, and this time around you shoot from the ground, unlike past Sonic entries. You can tell when an enemy is going to attack by analyzing their animation and timing. Successfully performing a parry can destroy an enemy, or make everything around slow down. Taking advantage of this can take out enemies quicker. Some enemies require you to use the Cyloop ability to get an opening, which can stun them and deal damage.

Skill tree

Sonic has many new abilities this time around, thanks to a skill tree. Collecting skill points after defeating an enemy or breaking items can help you unlock those skills. Cylooping around some areas on the ground, completing challenges, or breaking items can give you the blue seeds of defense, or red seeds of power.

All of these collectibles help level up Sonic to take on enemies that get stronger as the game progresses. Collecting the max amount of rings will unlock the power boost, allowing Sonic to speed across the islands much faster.

You’re not limited in how you want Sonic to control. Sonic Frontiers introduces a High-Speed style that emphasizes Sonic’s speed, and Action style that makes Sonic a little heavier to control, giving an easier time for precise platforming. For more advanced toggling for the controls, you can have a deeper dive at changing Sonic’s controls in the game settings. You can also change the game’s difficulty here as well.

Here is all the skill point requires and commands for the skills:

• Cyloop: Hold Y while running. – Unlocked at the beginning of the game.
• Phantom Rush: Activates once the combo meter is maxed out till drained. Increases damage by 1.2. – 3 Skill points
• Sonic Boom: Hold the left trigger while in a combo or in the air. – 5 Skill points
• Air Trick: Move the Left Stick around while in the air and sparkles surround Sonic. – 5 Skill points
• Wild Rush: Press LB or RB → X. – 10 Skill points
• Stomp Attack: Press B while in a combo. – 10 Skill points
• Auto Combo: Can be toggled on or off in the options menu. – 20 Skill points
• Quick Cyloop: Press Y while in a combo. – 20 Skill points
• Homing Shot: Press RT → X while in the air. – 30 Skill points
• Loop Kick: While in the air press RT → B. – 30 Skill points
• Spin Slash: Press A while in a combo. – 40 Skill points
• Spin Slam: Press A when thrown off by an enemy and prompted to do so on-screen. – 50 Skill points

Downloadable content

Even before the game’s release, there have been multiple DLC announced for Sonic Frontiers. Here are all the known DLC for the title.

“Soap shoes”

Signing up for the Sonic Frontiers newsletter on the official website will give you a DLC code to equip 2G Hi-Speed shoes.

Digital Deluxe

The Digital Deluxe edition of Sonic Frontiers gives you multiple bonuses.

This edition includes:

• A digital artbook
• Mini soundtrack
• Amy’s memory tokens
• Chaos Emerald vault keys
• A portal gear
• Additional gloves and shoes for Sonic

External media

A two-part prologue comic Sonic Frontiers: Convergence has a release on social media platforms. You can check out the comic on the Tails’ Channel website.

Syn

October 18, 2022

Sonic Frontiers: Convergence – Full comic

SEGA also released a prologue short before the release of Frontiers, featuring Knuckles the Echidna.

Music to your ears

Sonic official and Japanese media accounts have released several tracks from Sonic Frontiers. This includes:

• I’m Here – Main theme
• Vandalize – Ending theme
• Theme of Starfall Islands

Thank you for coming this far into the article. This is where it ends. This serves to be a guide and tool for keeping up to date on Sonic Frontiers before you set off on your journey to the Starfall Islands. As well as using this to help you progress through the game.

This will be updated as more information comes regarding the game and beyond the release. Keep an eye out on Tails’ Channel.

Big thank you to our Discord community for helping to document this information.