Sonic Frontiers Beta Content Iceberg Lecture

Introduction

• Sonic Frontiers is a well-received Sonic game but has flaws due to rushed development.
• The lecture dives into the beta and early stages of Sonic Frontiers development.
• Information is organized in an Iceberg chart, with well-known info at the top and obscure info at the bottom.

Tip of the Iceberg

Sonic Rangers

• Original internal name for Sonic Frontiers.
• Mentioned in press releases and demo exe files.
• Many game files still reference 'Rangers'.

Unused Enemy Designs

• Concept images of unused gold variant enemies removed due to memory issues.

Beta Kronos

• Originally larger, included Rhea and Orros.
• Split into three islands due to feedback and time constraints.
• Original version shown in announcement trailer.

More Obscure Information

Leaked Beta Footage

• April 2023: Internal teaser leaked on Twitter showing 2021 footage of Sonic Frontiers.
• Footage reveals the beta version in a playable state, including beta Kronos.

Beta Kronos Outline

• Using glitches/mods, water outline of how Kronos was connected to Orros can be seen.

Unused Cutscenes

• Various unused cutscenes in game files.
• Most were for testing, some fully developed but unused.

Drift Mechanic

• Unused drift mechanic found, mapped to the left trigger but only usable with Supersonic.

Tails's Unused Homing Attack

• Icon for Tails's skill tree for a homing attack found in update 3 files.

Early 4chan Leaks Territory

Ghost Girl

• Play testers mentioned a ghost girl, likely referring to Sage or Amy.

Thick Fog

• Initially surrounded Giganto’s or Supreme's arena in the beta, visible in leaked footage.

Spin Cycle

• Original name for Cycloop mechanic.

Ubisoft Towers

• Originally blocked off sections of Kronos until activated; changed due to feedback.

Infinite Theme Placeholder

• Used as placeholder music for Giganto boss fight.

Sonic’s Amnesia

• Early stories involved Sonic having Amnesia, requiring memory recovery via cyberspace.

Breath of the Wild Story Inspiration

• Likely inspired by Breath of the Wild, resembling elements like Titans/Divine Beasts.

More Specific Beta Details

Unused Achievement

• Called 'Inexhaustible'; purpose unknown but theorized to be power boost related.

Early Titles

• Survey in 2019 showed possible titles like Starfall and Freedom; ‘Frontiers’ and ‘Rangers’ not listed.

Original Coco Behavior

• Initially, players had to lead Koco to Elder Coco instead of just collecting them.

Original Guardian Locations and Moves

• Guardians originally located on Kronos; different gameplay mechanics in beta.

Original Giganto Fights

• Data found for two unused forms of Giganto fights.
• Variants ranged from non-aggressive with more health to highly aggressive with less health.

Original Cyberspace and Chaos Emerald Locations

• Located differently in beta Kronos; all fishing spots were on one island.

Tails on Kronos

• Uninteractable NPC version of Tails scattered throughout original Kronos.

Very Specific Obscure Data

Chaos Island Intro Dialogue

• Unused script involving dialogue between Sonic and The End, setting up Chaos Island.

Chaos Island Factory

• Concept art shows factory building Titans, no work past conceptual stage.

CG Footage Content

• Early CG clips reflect original Kronos, showing Spider Guardian and Amy in a forest.

Ancients' Worldship

• Unused voice lines referencing worldship; theories about it being a fourth island or landmark.
• Floating structure seen in beta footage removed in final game.

Highly Obscure Information

Unfinished Cutscenes

• Digital art book shows screenshots of unfinished intro cutscene.

Aries Island City

• Concept art suggested more to do on Aries Island, including a city.

Chaos Island Scrap Titan Fight

• Concept art and tweets from Kishimoto indicate scrapped Titan fight on Chaos Island.

Knuckles in Intro

• Unused scripts suggest Knuckles was initially part of the opening scene.

Caterpillar on Rhea Island

• Beta footage shows caterpillar Guardian; in final game, broken Guardians in the same area.

Alpha Kronos

• Earliest version of Kronos found without platforming challenges, only basic features.

Game Awards 2021 Build

• Similar to Alpha Kronos but had no object data in certain areas; shows active development splitting Kronos.

Shrunken Aries

• Originally larger; modding reveals water outlines suggesting intended larger scale.

Otani’s Demo Tracks

• Composed many demo tracks, possibly heard in beta footage.

Entrance to the Worldship

• Ruins in the final game may indicate worldship entrance; theories suggest connection to tutorial area.