Sonic the Hedgehog has never been known for customization. In recent years, Sonic Forces and Sonic Colors: Ultimate showed signs of that changing. Forces allowed players to make their own Sonic character, and Ultimate gave players different colored gloves and shoes for the titular hedgehog to wear. Sonic Frontiers expands upon this customization, allowing fans to change how Sonic plays for the first time. Being able to adjust how Sonic’s speed works is great for each player’s specific tastes.

RELATED: Sonic Frontiers File Size Revealed

Why Customizing Sonic’s Speed in Sonic Frontiers is a Good Thing

The gameplay of Sonic the Hedgehog may seem simplistic. The player goes fast, jumps over obstacles, and makes it to the end. However, there has always been more to it than that. The head of Sonic Team has stated that speed isn’t what makes Sonic fun, but rather it’s the sense of accomplishment one gets from achieving things that can only be done by mastering that speed. What pace they do it at, though, depends on the fan, as the series has enabled numerous gameplay styles.

Of course, each of those play styles has their fans. Some loyalists like to build up momentum yet keep the top speed low for the sake of control like in Sonic Adventure or Sonic Lost World. Others prefer the break-neck pace of “boost” games like Sonic Unleashed. While Sonic Frontiers doesn’t allow fans to change the game too drastically, it has sliders that can at least keep the speed at the level they like best with settings for starting speed, turning speed, boost turning speed, and more.

Sonic Frontiers’ Long Overdue Cosmetics

Speed isn’t the only thing fans can adjust in Sonic Frontiers. It isn’t a series first, but players can customize Sonic’s shoes and gloves, and maybe more to explore the Starfall Islands in style. While the majority of accessories for the hedgehog deal with his shoes and gloves, the free Monster Hunter DLC coming after launch gives fans two full suits of Rathalos dragon armor to put Sonic in. This may be a sign that other DLC or other options in the game may offer full outfits as well.

The progression of customization in Sonic games has finally reached a point that many fans have waited for. The first time players could give Sonic characters costumes was in Sonic Adventure 2, but only in multiplayer. This would continue to be the case in titles like Sonic Heroes, Rivals, and Shadow the Hedgehog. Even as players had their own character to customize in Forces, some fans still wished for a chance to change Sonic’s look in-game.

Over the last decade, it could be argued that the Sonic franchise got tangled up in trying to make its fans happy as much as possible. Sonic Team learned that trying to make certain groups of fans happy would only upset other players who were left out, and the games made from these mindsets didn’t perform as well as Sega hoped.

Now, hand-in-hand with 2D releases like Sonic Mania and Origins, Sonic Frontiers may let the developers present new ideas in a way that plenty of series loyalists can enjoy without compromising the franchise’s vision. Sonic Team has already defended lukewarm previews of Sonic Frontiers by saying players “didn’t understand” the gameplay if they were worried about its progress back in June. This confidence says a lot about the project, and the customization options may be important to its success. As long as the settings are executed well, Sonic Frontiers may just be the foundation for the future of Sonic Sega is hoping for.

Sonic Frontiers is launching on November 8 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Panic Porcupine is a Sonic Parody Platformer With Super Meat Boy’s Edge