I've been through the Meta Era of Sonic, and let me tell you, that era was easily the worst of the franchise for me. Sure, you can argue that the Dark Era had arguably worse games, and I wouldn't even necessarily disagree with you. What has always kept me attached with this series, through it's ups and downs, was it's sincerity. Want a to have a secret government weapon be a black hedgehog? Give him a backstory where is friend gets shot! Wanna turn Sonic to turn into a werehog? Sure, make the whole game a globe trotting adventure too! Wanna give him a sword? Gotta make sure he's got a kick ass suit of armor at the end!
This is what draws me to Sonic. In an era where Weaton style humor and constant self deprecating humor has infested nearly every franchise, having a series that wears it's heart on it's sleeves is really refreshing.
Sonic Frontiers, after years of constant meta humor and making fun of itself, felt like Sonic Team's first real attempt at being sincere again for me. Sure, the game isn't perfect; pop in is insane, the cyperspace levels are rehashed assets, and the cutscenes are some of the worst in the series, but what kept me going was just how much the game was unashamed to let Sonic be COOL again. Sonic and the cast FEEL like characters, instead of one-note jokes, the music is a perfect blend of cheesy metal tracks and some of the best techno I've heard in a video game since the 2000s. And the updates (for the most part) genuinely tried to fix a large part of the issues people had with the controls, which I admire a lot.
The game is far from perfect, but I don't want to just call it a step in the right direction. I think this game is just pretty good on it's own. And it did the one thing I find most important in a Sonic game; It isn't ashamed of being a Sonic game.
This is what draws me to Sonic. In an era where Weaton style humor and constant self deprecating humor has infested nearly every franchise, having a series that wears it's heart on it's sleeves is really refreshing.
Sonic Frontiers, after years of constant meta humor and making fun of itself, felt like Sonic Team's first real attempt at being sincere again for me. Sure, the game isn't perfect; pop in is insane, the cyperspace levels are rehashed assets, and the cutscenes are some of the worst in the series, but what kept me going was just how much the game was unashamed to let Sonic be COOL again. Sonic and the cast FEEL like characters, instead of one-note jokes, the music is a perfect blend of cheesy metal tracks and some of the best techno I've heard in a video game since the 2000s. And the updates (for the most part) genuinely tried to fix a large part of the issues people had with the controls, which I admire a lot.
The game is far from perfect, but I don't want to just call it a step in the right direction. I think this game is just pretty good on it's own. And it did the one thing I find most important in a Sonic game; It isn't ashamed of being a Sonic game.