One of my earliest long-form reviews on Lords of Gaming was Sonic Frontiers, a strong title in the series. It had its issues, but overall, it was one of the series best releases since Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania.
So while we all wait for a potential sequel on the horizon, it appears that Sonic’s adventures on the Starfall Islands will return in a Definitive Edition, according to recent rumors.
Sonic Frontiers Definitive Edition Rated in Korea
Originally reported by Gematsu, Sonic Frontiers Definitive Edition was rated by the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea. Sonic games have leaked from them before (Sonic Mania Plus and Sonic Origins Plus).
Those were definitive versions of Sonic Mania and Origins, adding minor pieces of additional content to titles. So it’s clear that this Sonic Frontiers Definitive Edition will offer new content when it potentially releases in 2026.
What is Sonic Frontiers?
But before going over what could be in the updated release, let’s reflect on what Sonic Frontiers is as a game. Following up on 2017’s Sonic Forces, SEGA and Sonic Team took the blue blur in a new direction, combining the best elements of open world titles like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, atompshere that wouldn’t feel out of place in NieR Automata, and the iconic speedy platforming Sonic is known for.
When I reviewed Sonic’s most ambitious adventure, I said the following:
Sonic Frontiers takes lessons from games across the industry and puts its own spin on them. For the first time in many, many years Sonic Team united varied elements into a cohesive package. Breathtaking soundtrack, bold steps forward on a core formula, and spectacular boss fights dash past pop-in and difficulty issues to create the best Sonic game in many years. With this new foundation, a good future only awaits the Blue Blur.
Needless to say, I greatly enjoyed my experience with Sonic’s open-zone adventure. But what could a new release add to the core experience?
My Most Wanted Features
There are a few things I would like to see in a definitive edition, but the core ones are the following:
- Improved Visuals/Performance on all platforms
- Better Parry/Block Ability
- Improved Draw Distance for floating platforms
- Better animation work for cut-scenes
- Additional Cyber Space Levels & Themes
This doesn’t sound like too much work, all things considered. But what if Sonic Team really wanted to be ambitious with this new release of Frontiers?
I Am All of Me – Shadow Campaign
In Shadow Generations, the ultimate lifeform visits Chaos Island from Sonic Frontiers. It was a strange inclusion, on a story level, since Shadow never set foot on the Starfall Islands. When talking to Gerald Robotnik in the White Space, he alludes to these locations being important to Shadow’s future.
Considering he was also alluding to Sonic Forces Sunset Heights level (which Shadow does appear in in that game), he clearly was on the Starfall Islands while Sonic was on his adventure. Being able to revisit a remixed Chaos Island with Shadow’s moveset from Shadow Generations would be awesome.
And on a development workload level, a lot of the work done on Shadow Generations (which runs on the same engine as Frontiers) could be carried over. I doubt this will happen, but I would love to see this.
Finding Your Flame – The Significance of a Sonic Frontiers Definitive Edition
It is interesting to see Sonic Frontiers get the remaster treatment, as other Sonic titles are in far dire need of that. Games from the PS2/GC era (Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, Sonic Heroes) are not playable on modern platforms; meanwhile, games like Sonic Unleashed are so in demand for a remaster, fans took matters into their own hands by bringing the game to PC via Decomplation.
But going back to Frontiers with a Definitive Edition implies one of two things.
A True Definitive Release of Frontiers
While I loved Frontiers, it was a game that clearly was rushed. So much so, Sonic Team added a free five to seven-hour-long adventure to properly conclude the game’s story a year later. Not to mention plenty left on the cutting room floor, including but not limited to:
- Larger Kronos Island
- Cut Final Space Biome
- Higher Quality Visuals/Visual Effects
- Enemy Variations
Adding those back to the experience, or adding significant amounts of content to the base game, on Sonic’s birthday of all days, would cement Sonic Frontiers as one of the greatest 3D Sonic games out there. It means a lot that when SEGA could do so much to celebrate the blue blur’s birthday, his latest 3D adventure gets love that not even the Adventure games got.
A Small Part of a Far Larger 35th Anniversary
But… if this is a small re-release similar to Sonic Origins Plus or Sonic Mania Plus, it’s clearly part of a larger celebration. Many other things have been released already to celebrate the Blue Blur’s birthday, including major updates to Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and the fantastic audio-podcast Sonic Presents: The Chaotix Casefiles.
So, having a small re-release of Frontiers, alongside a bigger mainline release this holiday to celebrate Sonic’s landmark anniversary, is a great call.
