The Sonic Series is no stranger to mixing things up. From racing on hoverboards to channeling some spartan rage as a Werehog, the series explored plenty of genres. But one has been elusive for Sonic Team, the RPG.
However, comments made by Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka have expressed interest in creating one.
Sonic Team Head Expresses Interest in Sonic JRPG
Back in July 2024, Sonic Team studio head Takashi Iizuka made the following comment during an interview with Good Vibes Gaming;
“Personally, I really like role-playing games,” Iizuka said. “The RPG game format is a lot of fun, and I’ve even thought to myself, ‘You know, for the past 30 years, we haven’t done a Sonic RPG.’ And I’m questioning myself. ‘Why haven’t we done a Sonic RPG in all this time? How have we gotten to 30 years with no RPGs?!'”
The series has a sole RPG, the lackluster DS Bioware RPG Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, but Sonic Team never tackled such an endeavor. Izuka stated ‘wanting to make one before he retires’, one must ask, what could a Sonic RPG look like?
Experiments with RPG Mechanics & Themes
Before going into what style of JRPG Sonic Team or SEGA themselves could tackle with Sonic, it’s important to discuss the RPG elements the series has explored over its thirty-year history.
Beginning with the original Sonic Adventure, Sonic Team wanted the openness of RPG games of the era in their title, present in the open hub areas Sonic and his friends explore before going to the action stages. This even sparked rumors in the late ’90s of a Sonic and Knuckles RPG before Sonic Adventure properly got revealed.
Decision-making, a critical element of Western RPGs, was considered for Sonic Adventure 2 at one point in development. Originally, the only playable characters were Sonic, Knuckles, and Eggman, with branching paths in levels deciding what stages they went to next. They back-tracked on this concept in the final release, but it came back with the branching narrative elements featured in 2005’s Shadow the Hedgehog.
And who can forget how important elements are to an RPG? Featuring weaknesses and strengths when attacking enemies and the like? 2003’s Sonic Heroes explores minor RPG elements. In the final game, the type mechanic (Speed, Flight, Power) and a level-up mechanic were present but they instead focused on the platforming/combat experience.
The modern-era Sonic games also utilized RPG elements and influences. Mainline releases such as Sonic 06 and Sonic Unleashed are examples of this, with the former having major Final Fantasy inspirations with its realistic art direction while the latter leveraging the light RPG mechanics of games like God of War for unlocking moves for Sonic’s Werehog form.
Going Undefeatable – Combat Design
Taking inspiration from the upcoming Atlus and Studio Zero JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, one idea for a Sonic RPG is melding genres. One of the many striking elements of Metaphor is its light action combat that organically weaves into turn-based battles depending on enemy levels.
For a Sonic RPG, I would love to see an approach similar to this. Imagine this, Sonic is running through a vast rendition of Green Hill Zone, in an open-zone using the format featured in Sonic Frontiers. But along the way, you see some Buzz Bombers (robot bees) and Motorbugs (ladybug-looking robots). You COULD engage in turn-based combat from the jump, but with how easy they are to take down?
Just spin-dash or homing attack through them in real-time combat, not unlike a normal Sonic experience. But when you encounter a cluster of larger robots? Sonic could deal some initial damage and knock them off guard. Then you press a button to engage in a turn-based mode, finishing the fight.
How the turn-based combat presentation looks like, I imagine something melding a stylish UI inspired by Atlus’ work on Persona. In addition, you combine that with the artistic flourish in the Sonic Adventure games to give it that attitude the series is known for. Meaning, bold colors (reds, blues, greens) and expressive character portraits that dynamically react to the battle. So when Sonic is low on health, you see his cocky grin waver. Or if Tails is using one of his tools that requires two turns, he looks more focused than usual.
Regarding the core systems of a Sonic RPG’s combat, I imagine something similar to the Mario & Luigi series. How those games work, involves the iconic brothers timing the A and B buttons depending on the attack, dodge, counter, or using special bros attacks.
For a Sonic RPG, a similar system would be in place. When Sonic does a Homing Attack, you land additional hits through careful button presses. Special Attacks, or ‘Magic’, involve more in-depth button combinations and sudo-quick time events for extra damage.
While a Sonic RPG could be more ‘traditional’ and still work well, not having elements like these would be disappointing. Sonic is a series that thrives on interactivity and a sense of ‘speed’. Giving the player a way to control the pace of a battle would help a lot.
Building Up the Hog – Setting
The world of Sonic is vast, spanning over thirty years of locations for the Blue Blur and friends to explore. From the lush Green Hills, the busy streets of Sonic Adventure 2’s City Escape, and even the mysterious Starfall Islands from Sonic Frontiers. There are many locations for an RPG title to explore, making this aspect of this potential project tricky.
Do you leverage the series history, and already finished assets, to help make a fun but familiar world to explore? Or do you create a new setting, one built-in mind for a Sonic RPG?
Sonic 3&K – The RPG
Going for the ‘familiar lands’ setup could work wonders, with many locations and biomes in Sonic’s world. One possibility is setting an RPG title solely on Angel Island, with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles exploring new places for legendary Sonic 3&K zones, this time in full 3D.
While Sky Sanctuary is a tried and true location in Sonic Generations and Sonic Frontiers, many others have not been adapted into 3D. Imagine exploring the dangerous Lava Reef Zone, breaking through a hidden wall, and discovering a breathtaking rendition of the Hidden Palace Zone. Or Sonic gambling rings away in Carnival Night Zone to get some additional 1-Ups (which could work as Revives)?
The Sol Dimension
A location that the games haven’t explored much is Blaze’s home dimension. This location has been alluded to in many Sonic projects, being the setting for zones playable in Sonic Rush Adventure. But save for a brief appearance in a few panels in the IDW Sonic Comic run, we haven’t seen it again.
Having Sonic team up with Blaze again and exploring new zones, would be quite exciting. It would also justify the ‘genre shift’ to RPG, as Sonic being in a new dimension could affect his abilities on some level.
The Sol Dimension mirrors Sonic’s Dimension so that Sonic Team could explore unique ‘twists’ on iconic zones featured in prior games.
A Failed Chronicle – Bioware’s Efforts
One of my biggest frustrations as a fan of the Sonic series is that we came so close to having a genuinely great RPG game in the series. Bioware, the legends that crafted Mass Effect, and Knights of the Old Republic, among others, crafted Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the Nintendo DS.
It was SEGA’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi games, offering a portable RPG adventure that melded reaction-focused turn-based battles with Bioware’s trademark decision-making. Despite the writing being genuinely great and the interesting lore reveals for Sonic’s world, the presentation was awful, making the biggest sin in gaming; making an awful Sonic soundtrack.
No other game in the series has a score on the level of sheer laziness and lack of passion that Sonic Chronicles offered. Not helping matters was a confused tonal shift from Sonic-like landscapes to exploring space, feeling like a lesser Mass Effect, if I want to be generous.
Ending on a cliffhanger and never getting any resolution did not help.
Closing Thoughts
While I doubt the next project following Sonic X Shadow: Generations will be an RPG title, the fact one is being considered has me excited about the potential for one. With talented developers within SEGA like Atlus and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the modern-day masters of the genre, Sonic Team taking inspiration from their work or collaborating with them could be amazing.
But what about you all? Would you enjoy a Sonic RPG? Or do you think the Blue Blur rolls around to his current sprint as a 3D platformer? Let us know in the comments below!
