Sonic had a pretty solid year in 2022. Between Sonic 2 hitting cinemas, Sonic Prime coming to Netflix, and the launch of Sonic Frontiers, there was a lot for fans of the blue blur to celebrate. The hedgehog's creators are already looking to what's next though, and that might well include taking inspiration from the Sonic Adventure games.
Frontiers' director Morio Kishimoto fielded questions from Sonic fans on Twitter this week, revealing some of the things he envisions for the hedgehog's future. In one tweet, Kishimoto reconfirms that Frontiers marks the start of the third generation of Sonic games. Adventure sparked the start of the second generation, so everything from the first game up until that point was gen one.
The key bit of info from that reiteration is the reveal that not all Sonic games moving forward will be third-generation. “I defined Sonic Frontiers as a third generation Sonic game, but not all Sonic games will be third generation in the future,” Kishimoto writes. That certainly makes sense as Sega returned to its first generation of Sonic games during the second generation to create Sonic Mania.
As for what it has planned when it comes to visiting previous Sonic generations moving forward, another tweet from the Frontiers' dev hinted inspiration will be pulled from the well-loved Adventure games. “I also have a feeling that I want to challenge the level design without boosts like the ADV series,” Kishimoto tweeted in response to a fan asking why spindash and boost can't be added at the same time.
While the original series of 2D-sidescrolling Sonic games have been repackaged and re-released numerous times, the Adventure games haven't received the same treatment despite how well-loved they are. There are rumors Sonic Adventure DX will be getting the remaster treatment, and now a strong chance future Sonic games are inspired by the series that kicked off its second generation in the future.