Sonic Frontiers Director Morio Kishimoto Would Like to Revisit Sonic Unleashed

In the fourth entry in his ongoing Sonic Channel Q&A series, Sonic Frontiers director Morio Kishimoto discussed which older Sonic the Hedgehog games he would like to remake, along with cut Frontiers ideas and the powered-up Super Sonic form from The Final Horizon.

There are currently no plans for a Sonic Frontiers Director’s Cut. However, development left behind material he would still like to revisit in future games. This includes concepts that were cut because they didn’t work, ideas the team couldn’t fully realize, additions conceived too late to meet the development schedule, and elements Sonic Team could approach differently with its current experience.

The director also explained the reasoning behind Super Sonic’s powered-up state during The Final Horizon. Since its alternate ending needed Sonic to personally defeat The End, the team determined that regular Super Sonic wouldn’t be enough. Instead of introducing an unrelated transformation, Sonic gains control over the Cyber Corruption affecting him throughout Frontiers and channels it into his Super form.

Despite its distinct appearance and abilities, the transformation has no official name. Kishimoto floated “Cyber Fusion Form” and “Cy-Power Resonance Form” as possible names during the Q&A, but emphasized that he came up with them on the spot and neither is official terminology.

Kishimoto was also asked which previous Sonic games he would remake or reconstruct. Among games he personally developed, he chose Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic and the Black Knight. The two storybook titles were his first Sonic projects after joining Sonic Team, before his directorial debut with Sonic Colors. He believes his additional development experience since those projects would allow him to approach them differently today.

For games he didn’t develop, Kishimoto expressed particular interest in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

One game he wouldn’t want to remake himself is the original Mega Drive Sonic the Hedgehog. Kishimoto said the first game had the greatest influence on his life and inspired him to pursue a career at Sonic Team. That personal importance is also why he considers reconstructing it himself something he wouldn’t want to attempt.

Thanks to Sonic City for sharing this news.