Sonic the Hedgehogis enjoying a strong run, which could be a sign that it’s time to return to a genre the series has barely touched. After three successful movies and multiple well-received titles in recent years, it would be good to keep an eye on the franchise’s next move. WithSonic Racing: CrossWorldsset to be the nextSonic the Hedgehogspinoff, Sonic’s universe is looking as healthy as ever. More spin-offs are likely to come in the near future. In particular, this positive momentum could lead sonic back to a genre that he’s only explored once previously.
The amount ofcontent revealed forSonic Racing: CrossWorldsalready looks ambitious, and the game was only recently announced. While there is already a precedent forSonicracing spin-offs, such as theSonic Ridersseries, this could be a good sign for more experimentation in the series. After all, it was less than two years ago thatThe Murder of Sonic the Hedgehogwas released, and that’s easily one of the quirkiest entries in the franchise’s history. The team behind Sonic is clearly open to experimenting, and while platforming is still the series' bread and butter, it also has plenty more to offer.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Doesn’t Have to Be Sonic’s Only RPG Entry
Sonic Chronicles Was Sonic’s First and Only RPG
2008 saw the release of theRPG spin-offSonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Despite speed being Sonic’s forte, he proved to be surprisingly viable for turn-based combat. In addition, the selection of party members, as well as team-up moves among them, offered several strategic options. Unfortunately, the game had a few notable flaws, such as a lackluster soundtrack and a few odd gameplay decisions. It also didn’t help that former Archie Comics writer Ken Penders would file a lawsuit against the game shortly after release. These combined issues ensured thatSonic Chronicleswould not get a sequel despite ending on a cliffhanger.
While primarily an action game,Sonic Frontiersfeatured RPG elements in the form of a skill tree and upgradeable stats.
Sonic’s World Has No Shortage of RPG Potential
DespiteSonic Chronicles' struggles, anotherSonicRPG isn’t unthinkable. The environment forSonic the Hedgehogspin-offsis hopeful at the moment, after all. Plus,Sonic Frontiersdid a good job of showing that Sonic can be thrown into an adventure of epic scale and perform admirably. Not to mention, adding some characters that missed out on the first game, such as Silver, Blaze, or Vector, would give players a lot of solid options, especially if something like Team POW Moves is implemented again. TheSonicseries has a toolbox full of elements that could make for a great RPG title.
Sonic’s IDW Comics Would Be an Amazing Inspiration For an RPG
TheSoniccomics from IDW could be another strong asset in an RPG’s favor. Themobile spin-offSonic Dashhas included a few comic-original characters, andSonic Frontiersmentioned Tangle the Lemur in an offhand line, so the IDW universe is not completely off-limits. Plus, story arcs such as the Metal Virus saga and Impostor Syndrome showed how much the writers are willing to dial up the intensity of a story. To date, Sega has not fully opened the door to IDW having a major impact in a game. However, aSonicRPG could be the perfect time to make full use of that influence.
Thesuccess ofSonic X Shadow Generationshas kept the franchise’s positive momentum, and returning to the RPG realm while Sonic’s still on top could be a good move. Sonic’s world has a lot of interesting characters and settings, and the comics have provided it with so much more room to expand in the future.Sonic Chroniclesmay not have been one of the hedgehog’s best, but it shouldn’t be the end of his RPG ambitions.
