I'm sad he didnt enjoy frontiers Not because he doesn't share my opinion of the game But because the man went through 13 sonic games in 7 days only to be rewarded with disappointment.

It is playable so that is already a win for Sonic fans

yakko lore is getting intense, we've gone from "behold! childlike wonder!" to "i can no longer put my faith into the video game industry"

"being a sonic fan is getting fed dog food for a decade and then getting a piece of burnt toast as a treat" brutal but so true 😆

Tbh, if I had to suffer thro ALL 3d Sonic games in a week.... A Sonic game would have to straight up cook my dinner to impress me.

I actually like when Yakko makes comparisons, because it's likely to be a better game I've never heard of and can now try out.

Frontiers felt like a proof of concept, and I think that is exactly what it is

Honestly I think a year later and a completed update cycle, I really think Sonic Frontiers for its flaws, authentically remedies the storytelling and characterization of the franchise and brings it back to an Adventure style world. He has his attitude again but also is way more serious again and subdued the ridiculous jokes and puns. While acknowledging his history with these characters. And Eggman and his relationship with Sage was also very endearing. I get it's flaws. I really do. But I think this is what Sonic has been in the past in a more successful manner. I do agree that corporations do not deserve our leeway, but I think a step in the right direction is more impactful than you're giving credit to. That said I did think the same exact way when the game dropped. I think we are so ready when a sonic game drops to just bash and shit on it that we can't genuinely appreciate what's actually successful in a modern 3D Sonic game

Now, the most important question: Where does the soundtrack rank on your tier list?

I don't know, i really didn't ever have a problem with the story when it came to the characters that mattered. it was really fun to see the characters interact in a way they normally don't. It was the koco stuff that did not really hit.

Thank you for that ending bit Yakko. It was fittingly somber, yet cautiously optimistic, and really sold the point in a way that words can't, well as your closing was written.

I have no idea why I enjoy your Sonic videos an uncanny amount, but they're all very well made

the atmosphere being bleak and everyone seeming sad kinda fits what's happening imo and Flynn isn't foreign to sumber tones with Sonic characters(IDW metal virus arc) + even if it's tone down Sonic still shows confidence and smile to every situation

While I really really liked this game I can see why you didn't. To me, I never felt hamstrung or forced, I felt like I was playing in one big Sonic level with tons of paths. Exploring wasn't a focus for me, but mastering the island's layout was. The combat was simple but I strung together cool combos with timing and finesse, even if it wasn't needed. The story and its characters felt natural to me, and the callbacks felt as though they rewarded me for staying with this franchise by finally treating all of the games as if they're part of the same universe for once. So with all of those feelings it makes me sad that a game I really like landed with a thud for you. I respect your opinions so I get where you're coming from. For me this isn't just a "promising first step", because the idea of playing something that could one day be good holds no appeal, but rather just a game that held my interest and attention till the end. Hopefully there comes a day where everyone who plays a Sonic game feels this way instead of just half of the players.

I actually really enjoyed Frontiers. I am one of the people who liked Cyberspace levels. I like the level design and hopefully we get more original zones. The Titan boss fights are the best part in my opinion. I'm looking forward to what Sonic Team are going to make in the future.

Bro Zineth, an indie game from like 2012 developed by a studio that vanished off the face of the fucking Earth, does an infinitely better job of mixing its parkour elements into the world in a way that actually feels like natural design instead of thrown about at random

I actually have to say I've had a great time with this game. Probably top three Sonic game for me. I love the open zones and little paths that reward with memories, and it was always fun to run around but stop to do them. It's like "curated speed," it's fast and feels fun to play as it bounces you around a ton.

Thanks for commenting on the art design! It's a detail a lot of people cross over (or excuse).

The amount of copium in this comment section is unbelievable

They should've utilized the climbable mountain mechanic more. Lots of the pathways led to nowhere not even collectibles. Especially disappointing on the one on the 4th island that spanned across an entire side of the mountain over a bottomless pit and literally just ending at the edge of the map and pushes you off. Like no way was that the way it was intended to end

It’s a step in the right direction, literally a new frontier. I had a blast with this game, calling it disappointing feels like the antithesis to how I feel about it. Those fights, the atmosphere, the writing, I haven’t seen a sonic game pull at my strings quite like this in over a decade. I can only hope they refine this further someday into a game that’ll put sonic next to Mario in the heights of videogame history.

I’ve been dodging this video for nearly a year, because I loved Frontiers. And now, I’m finding myself agreeing with everything you’ve said. I just… I like this game. It’s just okay, and I’m content with that. Maybe it’s just that I was going in with low expectations and was surprised that I had fun with it, but in spite of all its problems, I like it. And all of your points are valid reasoning for being disappointed! What the hell, I’m a Sonic fan, I’m supposed to be a dick! Great video.

That's the worst part, Sonic Frontiers just sort of...happened. Regular gamers have already forgotten about it. Not to mention, it comes out after Sonic Forces, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Colors. AKA, the game that went to space, the game that went through time, and the game that did a world War. This game felt like a small sidestory, and after the end of the game, it felt like you could ignore this story entirely.

Solar Ash is a game that I just fell in love with. The movement, art, and character design were all brilliant. It just speaks to heart machine's pure skill and talent they have behind them. I hope that someday Sega is able to make a Sonic game flow as well as Solar Ash.

I respect your opinion, I personally think it’s the best sonic game to come out since Generations

Awesome video. I really like what Frontiers is doing, but I think the game could use some some serious improvements if the dev team wants their newest game to be amazing. I will say this, for all the issues this game has, this game feels like a very good foundation for a future Sonic game that could improve on it and be a much better experience. And I really like your perspective on the game even if we have some different views on it.

More like a "Sega hire this man" for me it was a "Sega you hired the WRONG man". They should hire the guy that made *_Sonic Utopia._* A MOMENTUM driven "open zone" to play around and do Sonic stuff (with loops and more things being PART of the design and not random obstacle courses because, I guess the civilization of Jell-O People really liked their rails or something.

The height of my disappointment was when Sonic got corrupted, the way Tails talked made me think I was going to play as the other characters, but then they started holding hands around Sonic and undid everything we just did to get them out. edit: OMG I can't believe they did a 180 and with the recent announcement. I'm eager for the update.

12:15 Correction, it isn't a 2nd version of the first island, it is the same first island, and 4th island, they share a map and you can out of bounds and go explore the other 2 islands without any objects loaded in. Honestly they could have done themselves a favour and make it clearly the same island that you just return to and a barrier drops or something, such as after shutting down the towers on the "Rhea" or NW of same island.

I personally was hooked on the game when it first came out I believe the music was fitting having a natural orchestral genre to represent the ancients and their old but extremely advanced technologies and sonic discovering it all and I really enjoy how the characters interact with one another and how they aren't making bad jokes and people like knuckles have their main roles back and they are there own characters like when Amy actually argues with sonic and questions his decisions at one point

Idk man, this game has some really great bones. Here’s to hoping sonic team sees this as a solid win like so many of us and use this title as foundation for future entries in the series. I think I’ll look back on this game very fondly for its ingenuity of the sonic franchise. ❤

At 16:13, that minigame is not referencing Nier Automata, but yes Ikaruga. The reason for this, is because of the Light/Dark shot mechanic (or polarity mechanic) which is the main attraction of Ikaruga. Worth checking out, as it is an extremely hard shoot em up!

While I think there's criticisms to be had about a story that isn't easily accessible for new players, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for it to be one where hardcore fans are the only ones to get the most out of it due to references/call backs. As a hardcore Sonic fan who has been with this franchise since the early 2000s and have experienced majority of Sonic's adventures right down to the most obscure stuff, it felt great to see these characters bring up past adventures. It felt GREAT to see the lore actually freaking acknowledged after so long of being ignored. When was the last time Knuckles brought up the Echidna race and his internal feelings on why he guards the Master Emerald in a 3D Sonic game? Oh... Sonic Adventure... back in 1998. I never felt that it was too much since the characters always tried to reference back to specific moments that made sense to reference such as SA1 Tikal flashbacks and the memories Knuckles had while imprisoned in Frontiers, or Sage bringing up Neo Metal as a reason for Sonic and Eggman to work together now. But anyways, I'm not expecting the constant references to be the norm moving forward in games, though, I could be wrong seeing how SEGA has created a team dedicated to Sonic lore internally. If we get more lore acknowledgment and stuff similar to the Ancients that expands the story of Sonic more, than I'm all for it.

I feel this game should have adaptive music that changes based on speed and also better speed mechanics that involve building and retainging momentum

I think you're my favourite content creator right now. You're almost at 400k buddy, keep it up!

"The End" didn't start talking to you at the very end. This disembodied voice was heard as the first thing when Sonic woke up on the Island. And it kept directing him to destroy the Titans, and the Towers. In fact, Sonic was tricked into saving his friends by doing actions that released it from it's prison. That was the whole point that he realized only in the end. And then he said that even knowing that, he'd still do it. Just pointing out The End was in the story earlier. But I would like it better if it had a different form than a Moon. And if we could actually see it in the flashbacks. Sega's insistence on "creating mystery" by hiding appearance of antagonists is stupid. The Deadly Six were first shown as silhouettes, despite they were plastered all over the marketing material. And their physical reveal meant nothing. Infinite's face without the mask was completely hidden in Forces, despite he turned out to be a completely new character who we couldn't have known. And then in the prequel comic, he reveals his face and it's of course no big deal. And here in Frontiers, we are presented an ominous invisible enemy that can shoot lasers from space... and then it's a Moon. Ok... but I doubt that showing how this enemy looks beforehand would change anything. It's still new enemy we never saw before. How would seeing it few hours earlier take away anything from the mystery? I guess that they didn't show it earlier because if we thought the Moon being the big bad guy was stupid the entire game, we would then assume it's gonna get subverted in the end. And when it would not, then it would feel much worse. Now the disappointment was unexpected, and so it didn't last that long.

Your smile at the end while looking at that Sonic hoodie actually stole me a tear, I kinda felt the same as you especially after finishing the game... You can see Iizuka and his team somehow actually tried to move things forward this time, the whole "One Way Dream" ending song openly being a message from them tells it alone, it's in the end a somewhat cool tech demo that might lead to something really good in the coming years, yet it sadly feels and clearly is an half-baked one, too much hit and miss on too many fronts, and I'm saying this considering the fact that I actually managed to appreciate the game as a whole even with all the problems it has, playing it I've been able to mentally go back when I was a little 6 y.o. girl playing Sonic Heroes for the first time, or when I was 11, playing the Megadrive classics and the Adventure games. I can only rise my hopes up and pray SEGA that our beloved blue blur can finally, completely escape this dumpster he's been thrown in almost 12 years ago with his next game...

You know what this game's world design feels like? GTA V custom races. A beautiful world map with random geometry haphazardly strewn about.

This perfect encapsulated my thoughts about this game. I played the entire game but it wasn’t was I wanted out of a sonic game

Very glad to see someone make the comparison between this and Solar Ash. I initially assumed we were going to be getting something like Solar Ash's bosses, only bigger and better and more Sonic-like, but that really wasn't what wound up happening here. If anything, it just makes me appreciate Solar Ash more, and makes me want to go back and replay it again.

That intro with the mirror was very well done. Like a great gag but also just expertly shot and edited.

Remember the time sonic vs mario was an honest debate

I actually enjoyed Frontiers, the gameplay is fun, a mix of 2d platformer and 3d 'open world', the soundtrack is amazing, the graphics are not THAT bad and overall pretty solid game i liked it.

One thing I like about sonic Frontiers is how it presented the name "Open Zone" for level design that resembles Banjo-Kazooie's type of level design, previously I used to refer to it as "Recontextual Level Design" but Open Zone fits better.

I appreciate your perspective and I think that SEGA needs this criticism in order to make better future games. I do think that you were too hard on the story. I actually felt something from this game, and I was genuinely engaged. I do think the writing kinda carried, but thank god we have a capable writer again. I think the callbacks were necessary for us to actually have some sort of continuation in the series for the next game. Ian Flynn was basically doing his best to fix up the terribly presented stories of the past decade, and he succeeded imo. I do think that the story around the endgame fell apart, but it picked itself up right in the final scenes to be excited for the future

Your nitpick over being able to customize Sonic's controls in the open zone gameplay just baffles me. I understand your reasoning in terms of expecting the game developers to set up the controls and mechanics a certain way, but the option is there for the sake of accessibility and allowing the player the option to customize the controls to their liking. That's further why recent games even allow the player to change button mapping of the controls and/or how the camera works. Using your logic, one would be complaining about being able to change button mapping and the speed and angle of the camera because you expect the game developers to have them all set up a certain way without you having to change them. It ends up being ridiculous reasoning to me and once more comes off as you nitpicking and trying to find something to complain about. Same for when you're complaining about the story and not being able to take it seriously because it involves "colorful, oversized, talking animals" and further claim that the characters just feel "sad" when that's not entirely the case if you actually paid attention to the story. There are somber moments, but the story isn't entirely gloomy and depressing. Other than nitpicks like that, you still brought up some interesting critiques here and there about Frontiers.

Fucking hell, is this a Sonic game or an unorganized collection of Hotwheels playsets?

This was a wonderful Review of Solar Ash, definitely need to get on that game. I loved Hyper Light Drifter

21:35 holy heck Yakko, I just adore the delivery of your comic relief mane. Gets me actually chucklin in every single of your videos

that outro was so well done, very cinematic! i could just feel how he put his hope and passion away into the closet while thinking back to all the good times he had with it. kinda gave me disney/pixar-esque vibes

As a Brazilian, I've been seeing many a Sonic being launched through the sky and landing near my home. It's very unsettling.

I disagree with your statement about the sliders. Sonic 3D got always criticize for its controls and finally having the ability to tweak your movement I find resolved the issue for a lot of folks

I can’t thank you enough for this video, I feel so much better knowing that I’m not alone in how I feel about this absolute DISAPPOINTMENT this game was, I’ve been feeling depressed for months ever since I pre ordered it in October 2022 and played it on it’s release day due to the fact that I was so hyped for it and thought it would give me the joy I’ve been wanting from Sonic for years now but instead I literally cried because of how bad it was, I agree with about 98% of your points and am so glad I watched this.

Don’t even get me started on the musical scores. Absolutely goosebump inducing!! I really can’t wait!

I think the bulk of the issues really do just come down to needing more structure in some places and more freedom in others. Frontiers makes a lot of progress, but it's all just thrown into the pot and needs time now to really get cooking. More structured and real areas over these big empty fields while maintaining the control they've started to give and easing up on the rails is the balance they have to strike. And the story could use more shakeups and dynamics through not always just being two characters talking. Have them do stuff and really get some dynamic craziness in there. In other words, use Frontiers as a base and make Sonic Adventure 3. Give them all the time and resources they need to expand where this story let off with everyone going off and doing their own thing in new places.

I hope people get the one message in this video. . . PLAY SOLAR ASH ITS BASICALLY A BETTER SONIC FRONTIERS

The most common opinion of this game I heard is "This feels like a tech demo made in Unity with Sonic plopped into it" Sonic has a very interesting world design, they could've made a 3D stilized world :c Oh you know where they do it? IN ROBLOX, THERE'S A ROBLOX SONIC GAME THAT DOES THAT CORRECTLY :|

Open zone is a great idea, a second game with better exploration and experimentation would be perfect. I love frontiers so much but if they did this and polished a lot of the added features it would be a perfect game

Sorry for comparing ahead of time. Spear me if you must. I don't play games like Sonic for a hard challenge. I have other games for that. It's like how I don't need Pokémon to be tough either. The difference is that Sonic Frontiers actually works. It's got enough style and substance for me to want to buy it soon, and most of my friends who got it have good stuff to say about it. As long as it's engaging enough, I can see myself pouring a lot of time into this, and unlike a certain OTHER game, it has all the basics from a AAA dev team!... I'm sorry. Gen 9 just gets me viscerally upset.

The blast to the past you gave me with that Line Rider joke was uncalled for

This reminds me a lot of the sonic adventure era. There were the people who called them the best in the series and others who said it's where sonic started going downhill. Opinions are very mixed.

I have enjoyed playing Frontiers so far. It’s not an amazing game by any means and there’s a lot of problems, especially with the art style, level design, and storytelling. I think that in general, however, it’s a lot of fun to blast around a big open zone at high speeds. I just kinda wish there was some more color to it all.

I actually really liked this game, way more than most of the 3D games

As much as I enjoy the game and 100% twice. I think this is the most 7/10 game I’ve ever played

17:29 Man, I'd take everything Ian Flynn says with a grain of salt. He's been blaming shit on mandates since the dawn of his career, to shift any criticism he gets onto Sega. Apparently one at one point Sega had to make an public statement saying that they do not have hard rules for their IPs when third parties are handling them. They're are more like suggestions. Look, I'm not denying there were any mandates for Frontiers, but I wouldn't take anything Ian says as gospel. Besides, if Ian had is way with Frontiers' story, I'm sure it'd be a lot more darker than it was.

Sonic frontiers honest review from a true Sonic fan: Story: 8/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Music: 10/10 (and don’t debate me on this 💀) Character choice and design: 6/10 Location and sites: 6.5-7/10 Overall game: 7.5-8/10

Kinda wish Sonic's movement felt more like the game Spark The Electric Jester. Specifically the 3rd one. That game is like almost everything I would want from a Sonic game.

Oh yeah, while other people praised Tails in Frontiers, I hated that they made his past horrible behavior canon. Flynn thinks he's helping, but he's really breaking Tails. He even had Tails say: "That only means I am inconsistent!" Inconsistent? What's next, will Tails start complaining that he's badly written? Well, why not...

Wait till he gets to the Pokemon scarlet review.. For real, why does every critique essay about this game sound so contradictory, like because blue hedgehog is not even an argument.

Generations + unleashed day levels+sonic colors levels = peak sonic gameplay

Your videos are always so, so good. This is probably the most interesting approach to a review I’ve ever seen, and that closing shot really hit. Please keep doing what you do, it’s absolutely one of a kind.

my first video by you was the sonic 3D challenge you did, ever since that video i’ve watched stuff all the way back to the league vids and original sonic games. you’ve definently become one of my favorite youtubers with the quickness.

I can't understand how you can think Sonic Frontiers is such a mess but then show Mario Odyssey as a great game. I understand it was hyped to all hell in 2017, but Odyssey really is as simple, kiddy and unchallenging design wise. It controls better I guess but how long can you go around aimlessly jumping around.

I'm sad to hear you feel that way. I loved this game a lot and I'm willing to give sonic team a break for a lot of slip ups here because of their situation (60-person dev team for a AAA open world game is already a fuckin crime, with upper management constantly hounding them to get the game out sooner.) But at this point I simply trust Kishimoto and gang to point me towards a good time (from my perspective) and it doesn't have to be the most considered or carefully constructed thing for it to be fun for me. I do hope that Sonic Team will strive for bigger and better things akin to what you and other fans are expecting, because that just means better games for all of us instead of just some of us. I know I'll likely have fun with whatever comes next if they keep going in the open zone direction, but I hope the dev team is listening to those of you that are a bit more critical of the finer points of their work. It would be nice to feel less divided in a fanbase riddled with division.

My god that sonic impression you did was so good, I cant stop replaying it

I have a feeling this game is gonna have the sonic unleased treatment in that people will hate it at first then after some years go by it will become liked by the majority.

I don't mind the past references that much, but that's mostly because the way it is used, while frequent, is much better than the failed execution done in Sonic Forces, and I understand why it can be somewhat annoying. Really, it'll depend on if they keep relying on this technique in future Sonic games.

It’s an unfinished game

I loved Sonic Frontiers, but the DLC felt like dogshit to me. And speaking of! It... canonized that all the ugly platforms and rails are... not actually there. They're cyber space constructs and only Sonic can see them. Which is hilarious

After seeing you beat ALL 13 sonic games, THIS was THE review I was waiting to see as my most interesting take. Im talking more so than Dunkey!

I don’t really understand the sliders debate, like it’s just customizable controls. Freedom to the player.

I honestly just got bored after an hour...and I didn't even pay full price for this damn game. Took it to a pawn shop, and never looked back

I think all sonic fans should get a mental health evaluation because you have to be special to be a sonic fan. I’ve never met anyone normal that was

You have some valid points I agree with, but for me, this was a very good experience. Discovering techs myself, skipping the platforming sections in unique ways that seem ridiculous was an absolute blast. The story and the music was fun and I feel like it was worth it. It has its flaws like the stiffness and stuff, but if the next game is a full open world rather than an open one would be so cool. At least with more speed. The hours I spent in the game was just enjoyable and the exploring new stuff and the cutscenes was actually very fun in the desert zone.

"Sonic Boom was canon??!" was my legitimate reaction to that line, too.

Hardly a sonic game when I honestly feel I can run faster in real life. The bosses in the game boy sonics were more interesting.

I think it's a good game, though it's pretty clear that this is moreso a test for a future 3D open area sonic game. though my main issue is mostly just... the movement. moving sonic doesn't feel right

That ending summarized the video really well and was super well written

Considering the state of Scarlet and Violet, that pokemon bit near the beginning is both hilarious and a bit foreboding in that context.

I don't know man I finished it recently and I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite Sonic game. I loved everything about it.

I'm gonna add one more comparison: The End looks like they came out of The End of a Kirby game

"It sure is a video game" should be on the packaging.

Can’t even acknowledge the fruits Sonic Teams efforts that show can ya, or at least give them points for trying to make an effort in showing improvement.

Considering sonic team have been doing boost formula games for over a decade I feel like they may not be used to letting sonic be free, which is why there are so many restrictive areas that would work better in a more on rails experience.

I played a lot of older sonic games too(90s-late 2000s) many of which I grew up with. Sonic frontiers is definitely a step up, especially after the really spotty games we got in the last decade, yet people seem to treat that as dropping the standard which is something I don't agree with. Frontiers in my respectful opinion needs much more polish, but is FAR from being disappointing and a mess. I enjoyed this game to the end, btw this is the LONGEST comment I will ever make😂

Nailed my thoughts on the game. I still haven't gotten over the absolute disappointment that was the final boss, could only think "That was it?"

For what i've seen, i have to agree with you. This game's ideas have a potential that isn't quite reached, at least they did say that they are listening and taking criticism of this game to heart, so let's hope the next one will be much better.

I think the weird disconnect between the way Sonic looks and the way the environment both looks and sounds kind of fits with how Sonic is an outsider on these islands. This is Sonic in a world not his own, and the crazy rock kicking in during these boss fights where the environment tries is kick out the outsider is Sonic metaphorically pushing back against the environment that's trying to kick him out. Even with the themes of Cyberspace leaking into the real world, it explains why the weirdly out of place rails and other obstacles keep popping up only after Sonic interacts with the cyberspace since it seems to pull from his memories. Idk if any of these supposed thematic choices are intentional but that's the way I look at it anyway. I enjoyed this game probably more than I should have being realistic, but the inner sonic fan in me was just glad to have a new game he could have fun playing since he hadn't gotten one since 2013

i understand all these critiques even if i disagree, but i think context is extremely important here. factual criticism is important, but the fact sonic team is severely understaffed and below budget to make good games from sega NEEDS to be mentioned. i don't want to dismiss just talking about raw problems with the game, but this fundamental problem i feel is being ignored too much and more people with influence need to start pointing fingers at sega themselves for giving sonic team the most basic of ingredients so this literally the best they can do.

the sad part is the new pokemon scarlet and violet that just dropped makes this burnt toast seem like a cupcake.