Sonic's Historical Pitfalls with 3D (and How Frontiers Can Avoid Them)
There is a lot to like about 3D graphic realism, and cinematic experience that a lot of modern video game licenses have become known for. On the other hand, many prefer the retro graphics and 2D gameplay of fifth generation or earlier consoles. It might sound obvious, but there was a transitory phase in the industry when 2D franchises started receiving 3D titles. After all, Nintendo didn't go from Super Mario Bros. 3 straight to Mario 3D World + Bowser Fury. Mario is a franchise that successfully made its leap to 3D with Super Mario 64. Unfortunately, much like the notorious Bubsy 3D, Sonic has had a fraught history with 3D adaptations.
It's not the case that Sonic hasn't had excellent 3D adaptations. Sonic Adventure had fluid gameplay and a decent story, so it is appreciated even to this day. Sega had a working formula, and all it had to do was to stick to it. The downward spiral of Sonic games after Adventure stems entirely from Sega doing the opposite of that. Instead of simply refining something that works like how Super Mario Galaxy evolved from Super Mario 64, Sega kept reinventing the wheel at every turn. Not only were the constant changes a headache for developers, but numerous catastrophic releases would reduce Sonic to a minor license. If Sega is to restore the franchise's image, it needs to learn from past failures with Sonic Frontiers.
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There were 3D Sonic games before Adventure; theywere just subpar. Sonic Labyrinth, an action-puzzle platformer released in 1995, was Sega's first attempt at rudimentary 3D gameplay with platforms and jump pads. The most notable aspect of Sonic Labyrinth is that Sonic runs slowly. For its part, Sonic 3D Blast released the
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