Sonic Frontiers feels like the game 3D Sonic was always meant to be. The game’s islands have plenty of room to run around in, as well as secrets to uncover. The combat is thoroughly over-the-top, and it can be easy to ignore the main quest entirely to find some more rails to grind on.
As great as Sonic Frontiers can be, many Sonic fans long for a continuation of the Sonic Adventure franchise, which had first premiered on the Sega Dreamcast and was later ported to other systems. Evidence suggests that Sonic Frontiers is a spiritual successor to those titles. With a few mods, Sonic Frontiers can look and play a bit closer to those titles.
How to Add Mods
Many mods in the game can be added through the HedgeModManager, an executable that automatically detects Sonic games on the user’s computer and organizes their load order for games.
To detect the Steam directory of Sonic Frontiers, HedgeModManager’s updates channel must be switched to Development Mode. Sonic Frontiers mods can be added to the HedgeModManager through the one-click install button on their page at GameBanana.com. Alternatively, the files containing the mods (Zip, Rar, or 7Z) can be downloaded from the mod page and dragged to the mod manager. On the other hand, files can be dragged and dropped in the game’s Steam Directory at C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SonicFrontiers on Windows.
7 Beatz’s Improved Physics Mod
The controls for Sonic Frontiers can be a little bit stiff. Running around at normal speed can feel just a little too slow, and it can be difficult to make some landings, just because of how awkward Sonic’s midair movement can feel.
BeatzYT3’s Improved Physics mod makes the experience a little smoother. Running around in circles feels smoother. It captures more of the experience of movement in the Sonic Adventure titles. The only issue is that the tweaks can get players tripped up in the cyberspace challenges peppered throughout the game.
6 Mastaklo’s Shadow The Hedgehog Mod
Sonic Adventure 2 followed up its predecessor by introducing new levels and two separate campaigns, where one could play as the heroes or the villains. The villains campaign features Shadow, the moody foil to Sonic, who sports a set of rocket shoes that allow him to easily keep pace with the Blue Blur.
Mastaklo’s Shadow The Hedgehog mod gives the Sonic model a full Shadow conversion, blending well with the game’s built-in animations of the default Sonic model. The mod also includes custom animations, such as a skating motion when he runs, which leaves long tracks in the sand behind him. However, if Shadow is equipped with a new outfit, it will simply look like Sonic with Shadow’s colors.
5 Alex114’s SA2 Upgrade Items
This mod equips Sonic with the upgrade gear receives from Sonic Adventure 2, including the Light Shoes, Bounce Bracelet, Magic Gloves, and Flame Ring. Players of Sonic Frontiers can pick and choose what combination of gear they would like to put on Sonic. While it does not alter the gameplay, Sonic already has a couple abilities that they grant.
To use this mod, Sonic fans must have two prerequisites. The Sonic Model Tweaks mod from Imaddi must be installed. Also, the Soap Shoes DLC must be equipped. These can only be acquired if Sonic fans signed up for Sega’s newsletter before the end of January 2023.
4 Imaddi’s Adventure Quills Super Sonic
Several times in Sonic Frontiers, Sonic must go up against titanic monsters that will attempt to block his path. He uses the chaos emeralds to transform into Super Sonic, which makes him glow with light and grants him both enhanced abilities and the power of flight.
The Adventure Quills for Super Sonic from Imaddi swaps the model for Sonic Frontiers’ default Super Sonic quills with the ones from the Sonic Adventure titles. This would pair well with “Live and Learn” from Crush 40.
3 Alex114’s SA2 Board
The start of Sonic Adventure 2 sees Sonic skydiving from a military helicopter. He uses a piece of the plane’s body as a makeshift snowboard as he starts sliding down the streets of a city with Crush 40’s iconic track “City Escape” blasting over the action.
This model and texture import brings that board to Sonic Frontiers in one of the game’s cyberspace levels, which can be accessed via the five islands’ numerous “shrines” that populate them. It is a small mod, but it adds that extra touch of nostalgia to the experience.
2 CyclonX’s Chao Over Koco
Sonic Frontiers introduces the Koroks, er, Kocos, which are cute, stone creatures scattered throughout the island. Collecting these Koroks—Kocos—and returning them to the elder Kocos will allow Sonic to gain boosts in speed, strength, and ring capacity.
Chao Over Koco from CyclonX brings back the adorable Chaos from Sonic Adventure. This is a model and voice pack that replaces the default Koco models and audio. Not only are they adorable, but they show up better against the game’s stone ruins, making them easier to locate.
1 Lightspeed Outfit And Lightspeed Outfit DX
The Lightspeed Outfit from Strike11037, Orbyy, Knola, and Imaddi pays tribute to the first entry in the Sonic Adventure games. It includes Sonic’s power up items: the Lightspeed Shoes, which allow Sonic to dash along a line of rings, and the Crystal Ring, which reduces the time Sonic needs to build up the necessary power for a Lightspeed Dash.
This mod comes in two versions: the original and DX variant. The DX model not only includes some additional model tweaks, but it also features custom idle animations inspired by Sonic Adventure.