Sonic Frontiers Leak Hints At Knuckles, Minigames, And New Boss Battle

New details about Sonic Frontiers suggest where Knuckles the Echidna can be found, in addition to a new minigame and boss players will come across in the newly-revealed Ares Island. Sonic Frontiers sees Sega’s hedgehog embarking on a new era, with early trailers showing Sonic running across an open-world landscape in contrast to the more linear obstacle courses of past Sonic The Hedgehog games. The Blue Blur will meet several new faces while traversing Starfall Islands, such as the adorable rock-like Kocos and a mysterious child who warns Sonic to leave her home.

Sonic will also encounter plenty of familiar faces in his latest adventure, as Sonic Frontiers dialogue writer Ian Flynn notes that the sinister Doctor Eggman will return to cause trouble for everyone’s favorite hedgehog. Sonic’s longtime love interest Amy Rose was recently confirmed to appear after months of speculation during the Sonic Frontiers Gamescom 2022 trailer last month, with Sonic seemingly rescuing her from some sort of hologram prison. Even Big the Cat, who hasn’t been seen in a mainline Sonic game for over a decade, is coming back in Sonic Frontiers to help Sonic complete a fishing minigame. Now, new information reveals that a certain red-hued guardian of the Master Emerald of Angel Island will also appear – though it seems like he might also need some help from his former rival-turned-friend.

A recent post from Portuguese gaming website The Enemy (translated by Game Rant) shares some new details about Sonic Frontiers’ second open-world environment: the desert-like Ares Island. This sand-covered landscape features ancient ruins and an oasis, and Knuckles is reportedly searching for his and Sonic’s friends after they are separated at the beginning of Sonic Frontiers‘ comic book-inspired story. However, it seems that Knuckles finds himself imprisoned just like Amy, and can only be freed once Sonic finds a certain number of Memory Tokens that are hidden throughout the island. According to these reports, an animated Sonic Frontiers tie-in short will give further insight into how Knuckles ended up on the Starfall Islands.

Players May Have To Rescue Knuckles In Sonic Frontiers

Freeing Knuckles might be easier said than done in Sonic Frontiers, as The Enemy’s post also mentions a boss encounter that takes place during the search for Knuckles’ Memory Tokens. This boss is described as being shaped like a shark, with a tail that Sonic needs to grab onto using a quick-time event. Sonic’s many new combat options in Sonic Frontiers will provide a variety of ways for the Blue Blur to damage this new foe, which rewards players with a portal token upon its defeat. Lastly, Sonic Frontiers will reportedly feature a new minigame called Starfall, which can be played at random times during the game. Sonic has to collect certain meteor fragments before they can change color, which contributes to a slot machine-like mechanic in the corner of the screen. There is still no word on what the reward for completing this mini-game will be, but enemies and collected items will supposedly be restored across the game world.

Knuckles the Echidna has been a regular member of Sonic’s supporting cast ever since his debut Sega’s classic 1994 game, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, so his presence in Sonic Frontiers might not be that surprising. However, it looks like players might need to do some token hunting and take down a massive boss before they are properly reunited with the hot-tempered hero.