Retronauts Episode 510: Sonic Frontiers

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Diamond Feit here and I want to set the record straight: I have nothing against SEGA. I don't! I sold my NES to get a Genesis, and once I hit adulthood I had the means to own a Saturn and Dreamcast along with other, more popular consoles. So when a certain blue mascot made his debut in 1991, I absolutely played (and finished) Sonic the Hedgehog.

What happened next, though, was perfectly natural and not pre-planned: in 1993 I sold my Genesis to get a Super Nintendo and missed out on all of Sonic's subsequent 2D adventures. By the time he entered the third dimension, I viewed the results with skepticism, and never got around to playing either Sonic Adventure title. And without that lead-in, I likewise sat out the many, many 3D Sonic games that followed, especially as critics and fans seemed to agree that the hedgehog's best days were behind him.

Yet Sonic Frontiers, released just last year, looked different. It grabbed my attention with its use of modern open world, excuse me, open zone gameplay. I picked the game up on my birthday and got myself hooked. I had so much fun, I found myself asking a gigantic question: Have I been missing out on decades of great games?

Thankfully, this is Retronauts, and I happen to know a couple of Sonic mavens, so I got on the horn with Stuart Gipp and Dave Bulmer to talk about Sonic Frontiers, the primary people responsible for the new game, and how this latest AAA epic fits in amongst SEGA's past creations. Two hours later, I learned a lot, and I hope you'll come away feeling the same. If you'd like to know more about the latest (and greatest?) Sonic game, check out these interviews mentioned in the show:

Description: Chaos Emerald novice Diamond Feit seeks the counsel of enlightened echidna experts Stuart Gipp and Dave Bulmer to discuss the recent Sonic Frontiers and its place amongst the hyper hedgehog’s history.

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Artwork for this episode by Leann Hamilton and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.