This article contains a list of glitches from Sonic Frontiers. Unless otherwise noted, all glitch and exploit names are conjectural. Many of them have not been confirmed by Sega.

List of glitches[]

Unpatched glitches[]

Hedgehog Space Program[]

The player must have the Stomp Attack unlocked in order to perform the glitch. If the player has unlocked the Skill, they need to lock-on to an enemy. They then have to dodge and follow with a Stomp Attack.

While the animation starts playing for the attack, the player must press/hold the Boost button before they attack. If done correctly, Sonic will get launched into the sky. The height Sonic is launched at depends on the timing.^[1] This glitch was first discovered by user Darkspinessonic.

Since they were the first one who found it, the glitch itself was called "Darkspinessonic Shuffle", which is named DSS Shuffle for short. A day later, it was given its other name; "Hedgehog-Space-Program", or HSP for short. This glitch, though, is difficult to pull off, since the player can miss the timing. Doing it too late will cause Sonic to attack the enemy. Doing it too soon will cause Sonic to air boost normally.

Hyper Bounce[]

This glitch is similar to the "Hedgehog Space Program"; it launches the player extremely high. This glitch, while not as useful and as optimal as the "Hedgehog Space Program" glitch in speedruns, is simpler to perform. In order for the glitch to work, the player must use any floating platform, used in similar challenges like Challenge M-022, that remains not floating in the air.

The player must then be above one of them, with the target being locked on it. Once there, the player must stomp on it, while the target is still locked. Once the platform is stomped, the player must immediately Spin Jump as soon as possible. If done correctly, Sonic will get launched very quickly vertically. While the glitch has not been given an official name by Sega, it has been given the name "Hyper Bounce" by speedrunners.

Hit and Run[]

This glitch requires the Spin Slash to be unlocked. The player must lock-on to a Cyclone. They then need to do a Double Jump, then dodge to any direction. Once that's done, they need to use the Spin Slash at the enemy.

Once the animation of Sonic spinning midair starts and goes straight towards the enemy, they must Air Boost at the same time Sonic hits the enemy. If done correctly, the player will get launched forward at incredible speed. Amongst speedrunners, this glitch is known as the "Hit and Run". This glitch may be possible on other enemies, but Cyclone is the most consistent.

Slingshot[]

Slingshot is a variant of the HSP glitch. It could also be considered as a "revamped and easier" version of "Hit and Run". By locking on to an enemy and performing a Homing Dash away, Sonic is able to maintain a lock-on much further away than intended.

If the player then performs the inputs for the HSP at this distance, Sonic will be catapulted across the map. The further away from the enemy, the further Sonic will go, hence the reason why it's called the "Slingshot".^[2]

Slingdash[]

The player must not unlock Sonic Boom in order to do it. Unlocking it will simply make Sonic attack the foe via that skill instead of performing a Spin Dash only. To perform it, the player must do the same thing as the "Slingshot". However, at the end, instead of pressing the Boost, the player must press/hold the Spin Dash button instead.

Once performed, depending on the timing, the player will either get launched up high in the air or forward. Although no official names were given to it, it was given a name by speedrunners as "Slingdash". The name itself is essentially a portmanteau of "Slingshot" and "Spin Dash".

Spam Dash[]

In order to perform this simple glitch, the player must Spin Dash. They also need to set the deceleration rate below 100. As soon as the sound of the move starts playing, the player must Boost afterwards. If done correctly, the speed of the Spin Dash will not deplete itself, thus keeping it at the same speed as the start up.

Move around is slightly tricky, as the player is only able to move via this glitch by slightly moving the control stick at any direction when the sound starts playing. If the player moves too much, the glitch will be cancelled. Additionally, when performing the glitch midair, the Spin Dash will instead give a forward boost to the player instead of dropping them downwards quickly.^[3]

This glitch was first discovered and used by user "cocoa".^[4] Although no official names were given to it, it was given a name by speedrunners as "Spam Dash". The meaning of the name is how it constantly "spams" the Spin Dash at the beginning. Unlike other glitches in the game, this one can performed by not only Sonic, but also Amy, Knuckles and Tails since Spin Dash is also usable for them.

Initially, in version 1.3.0, the player had to hold Boost for the glitch to work. As of version 1.4.0, the ability to hold Boost to perform the glitch was patched. However, the player is still capable of performing it by tapping Boost instead. As a result, the meaning of the name has expanded to the player "spamming" to Spin Dash. Additionally, the player can now simply roll, by pressing/holding // simply, then moving, off a floating platform and then tapping the Boost while they are in ball form.

Wyvern Escape Skip[]

This section requires an expansion.

Previously, as of version 1.1.0, a bug about object deloading was fixed, leading to the player no longer needing to quit to the main menu after dying. However, as of version 1.3.0, the glitch itself was patched, which let the players to find an alternative route to skip the first Wyvern encounter cutscene only.^[5]

Shield Escape Skip[]

This section requires an expansion.

This exploit was discovered by user DPadGamer.^[6]

Tutorial Skip[]

This section requires an expansion.

This exploit was first discovered by user ASinisterTaco.

Early Access to Boss Fights[]

Giganto[]

There are many methods of entering the area where Giganto is located, to trigger its boss fight, such as "Hedgehog Space Program", "Hyper Bounce" and "Slingshot" glitches. While the first glitch is the most well-known, the third glitch is the most used. Once they pass over the invisible barrier, they will then land on an invisible platform.

Once on the platform, they then need to go towards a hole, which will lead the player to enter the area Giganto is usually located. After they have entered the area, the player needs to go to the spot that triggers the boss battle.^[7] If the player does all the quests in Kronos Island and enter the area via the intentional way, the cutscene where Sonic encounters Giganto will still play. But upon entering the area, Giganto isn't found anywhere.

If this glitch is done in the demo version of the game, the boss will still load as normal but will crash when the player gets the Chaos Emerald. This is because Super Sonic is not in the game's files and is chucked from the final game. Since the game does not know what to do upon this action, the game will forcefully close on the player and go back to the home screen.

Wyvern[]

This glitch is relatively simple to perform. The player needs to reach to the place where the battle against Wyvern takes place. They then need to be walk to activate the trigger for the boss battle to happen. If the boss music starts playing, it means that the player has successfully done the glitch.^[8]

Knight[]

This exploit was first discovered by user Kabalie. In order for this exploit to work, which goes by the name "Pinball Skip" amongst speedrunners, the player must break a box or stand aside the cliff to the crater before talking to Tails to progress to the Pinball section of the game. This will allow them to spawn at that specific spot when they open the auto-save state. Once they enter the mission, they must then return to the title, then choose the auto-save state. Once they have opened the file, they must run towards the crater before the pinball cutscene starts.

Once they're on their way down the crater, the cutscene will play. The player must pause as quickly as possible, then skip the cutscene, leading to Sonic falling to his doom while the minigame loads. Once Sonic comes back, the player must go into the hole again, leading to Sonic dying once more.

After coming back for a second time and falling in the hole a third time, the player will have successfully skipped the Pinball section, thus allowing them to fight Knight early. This glitch is slightly tricky. If the player dies too quickly, the Pinball section will still occur, albeit empty. If the player dies during the minigame, they will respawn back to the Open-Zone, close to the entrance of the section.

Out of Bounds[]

Kronos Island[]

Due to the possibility of the invisible barrier ruining the glitch, the player must only press instead of holding the button for Air Boost. Similar to the Giganto skip, the player can land on an invisible platform. However, if they decide to go towards the unreachable part of the island, they'll end up out of bounds. The unreachable part of the island is in fact Rhea Island itself.

There are some obstacles the player can climb up, like towers and climbable walls. However, they will be stuck at the other side of the island due to the invisible barrier. The only way to return back to the other side of Kronos Island is to fast travel to anywhere on the island.^[9]

Boundless Super Sonic[]

This section requires an expansion.

Rhea Island[]

To be able to access the other half of Rhea Island (which is Kronos Island), the player needs to go towards the tower where enemies are located. Once at the top, the player must lock-on to the Cyclone. Unlike the Kronos Island Out of Bounds glitch, where the invisible wall was very close, the invisible wall in Rhea Island is far away, thus the player must hold the button for Air Boost to reach further. While it's possible to reach to the spot while a well timed Super Launch by only pressing once, it's recommended to boost in the air for a bit longer to guarantee their success.

They then need to go to the spot closest to the waterfall. Once succeeded, the player will now be in the other half. While the other islands allow you to fast travel, Rhea Island is the only one to not have any, thus the player cannot return to the other side unless if they change islands, then return.^[10]

Out-of-Bounds Photo Mode[]

The players need to have unlocked the Spin Dash in order to perform it. The player then needs to either to perform the move mid-air or the classic way at any wall from huge objects, like mountains or underground areas. As soon as they start charging, they then need to use Photo Mode. Once there, they will be able to move the camera a bit from collision and will successfully have placed Photo Mode out of bounds. The player is free to move the camera around.^[11]

BGM muted in Cyber Space[]

If the player resets a Cyber Space stage as soon as they touch the Goal, via good timing, the game's background music will be muted. The music will not come back even if the player restarts from the pause menu. However, if the player finishes the level and restarts it, the music will come back.^[12]

Auto-Section Blast Off[]

Kronos Island[]

In Kronos Island, at the start of the floating tower after the rails, the player must be on the second platform. Then, they must hold the button in order to bounce twice. The player's first bounce must reach the third platform where the Springs are located. Once they arrive on the platform, the player's second bounce must reach further to the Springs.

Once at a certain distance to the Springs, the player must Air Boost to pass over the Springs. Once they have landed on the ground, the player will now be floating upwards and forward at a high speed infinitely, unable to get back to the ground. They can go so far, that they can even pass over an invisible barrier, thus putting the player out of bounds.

Doing a Spin Jump has some weird effects. While floating upwards, then doing a Spin Jump, it will cause the player to stay at a certain level of height, but will slowly descent downwards. This can cause the player to float forward away from the island, to a point that they reach the "end of the geometry".^[13]

The reason why this glitch occurs is unknown, but one possible reason is that the springs are the automation ending trigger, so when the player skips them, the game never ends the automation and keeps them going along the closest point in the automated path. This glitch can also be done by rolling (holding the Spin Dash button while standing still) and double-jumping the direction opposite the springs.

Ares Island[]

In Ares Island, at the floating section with five Springs, the player must go through at either Dash Rings, except the Rainbow Ring at the middle. Once entered, the player must perform a Spin Jump midair. Once landed, they must perform a Double Jump, with a few milliseconds separating the two jumps. If successful, the player will be launched at high speed.

The speed the player gets launched is so fast that they can exit the skybox and the world, as well as making Sonic become degraded. After some time, the player will eventually die for unknown reasons. Upon dying, most of the times, the "Try Again" prompt will appear very slowly as if the game was lagging.^[14]

Text Storage[]

This section requires an expansion.

The Side Effects of the Void[]

During Battle Rush, on Kronos Island, if the player does a Cyloop against a Banger immediately after and while the player themself does a Cyloop against the previous Banger, Sonic will perform instead a glitchy Quick Cyloop that will not be performed, but will instead make him clip through the ground, causing the screen to go black, leaving only the HUD visible.

The player does not die from it, they can still restart and pause the game. However, upon performing this glitch, two temporary strange side effects with the audio will occur; the music being muted and the sound effects will be extremely muffled. If the player waits long enough, however, the side effects will disappear.^[15]

Knuckles Combo Attack Ascendance[]

To perform this exploit, the player must unlock Knuckles' Combo Attack. This exploit is relatively simple to perform. After the uppercut, the player must either spam the Glide or Parry to remain in the air. From there, all they have to do is repeat these steps over and over and Knuckles will ascend upwards in the air.

Additionally, if the player were to Boost/Drill Spin Boost or Spin Dash as soon as Knuckles is performing an uppercut, they can get launched upwards very quickly, though Spin Dash launches the player higher than Boost. However, as of version 1.4.1, consecutive usage of aerial Combo Attack now stalls Knuckles less often, which makes this exploit less effective. Additionally, because the start-up animation for the Glide was removed, it is less efficient to stay airborne via the Glide when performing this exploit.

Infinite Cyclone Boost[]

An exploit is present in the game which allows the player to fly indefinitely on the Cyclone without touching the ground. While holding down the Boost button to perform the Cyclone Boost maneuver, the player can also hold down the Quick Step button to cause the craft to constantly move to one direction.

Then, the player can let go of the Boost button, and the craft will still be flying, albeit constantly stepping in one direction. This allows for the player to replenish their Boost Gauge while still in the Cyclone. The player can return to flying normally with their replenished gauge by holding down the boost button, then letting go of the Quick Step bumper.

Knuckles' "Hitbox of Doom"[]

To perform this glitch, the player must unlock Knuckles' Drill Spin Attack. This glitch has two methods.

To perform the first method, the player has to charge up Drill Spin Attack at the chosen target, then release the move to unleash the attack. Right as the first hitbox connects with the target, the player should Boost immediately.

The second method requires Knuckles to get hit by an enemy's hitbox but significantly difficult to execute. However, this method will work consistently with certain objects and enemies, such as the Silver Hammer. The player needs to use the attack to hit it while being hit by the foe's spiky ring at the same time. It's recommended that the tower needs to be short enough for the glitch to work easily.^[16]

If done successfully for either both methods, Knuckles' hitbox will hit enemies by simply touching them, without needing to attack. Additionally, it increases the player's combo count (which a fully charged Drill Spin Attack can potentially deal 101-hit combo while sticking towards an enemy). However, this glitched state is temporary, and does not last long.

Dash Panel clip[]

If Sonic's punching propels him towards a Dash Panel, he will get inside of it instead of getting launched.

"Invisible" Grand Slam[]

In the second phase of the revamped fight against The End, it is possible for the player to perform an invisible Grand Slam. To perform it, the player must perform the Skill via cord instead of the head, with the prompt present. Normally, when reaching for the cord, the prompt will not appear as it is exclusive to the head. However, if the player manages to reach for the cord with the prompt, they will perform the Grand Slam. Although, Super Sonic 2 is nowhere to be seen.

The variation of the Grand Slam used in this glitch is not the one used for the boss itself. The one used instead is for Giganto and Supreme, in its original battle where it is possible to perform a Grand Slam at it. Because the game never intended for the player to use this variation of Grand Slam, "Supreme" nor Super Sonic 2 are animated. Instead, the boss simply does its idle animation, whereas Super Sonic 2 is at the other side of the boss. It is only the camera panning and the sound effects that are used. While the player can perform it, it is practically useless as it deals no damage towards the boss.^[17]

Accessible the Pinball cutscene area[]

During the fight against Knight in either Battle Rush or Master King Koco's Trial, the player must climb on top of the foe's head. They need to perform a Spin Dash in order to reach for the edges. Once succeeded, they now need to go towards the long platform close to the bridge. Upon reaching on the very top at the long part, they need to perform a "Spam Dash".

Upon performing it towards down, the player will pass through the death barrier and find a black box they need to reach toward. Once that's done, the player will now be inside the box, with collision they can stand on. Inside that box contains assets that are used for the cutscene when Sonic entered the Pinball mission for the first time. This glitch does not work in the original game because the death barrier is still present.

Tails' Distortion Glitch[]

This visual and animation glitch causes Tails' torso to incorrectly distort his hips. To perform this glitch, the player must unlock Tails' Wrench Attack. This glitch has three body distortion variations. The first glitch begins by having Tails hold a Wrench without throwing, then begin flying. After reaching full flight, Tails would remain stuck in a standing posture with a distorted hip until he releases the wrench.

To perform the opposite glitch, the player should begin flying. While achieving full flight, have Tails hold a wrench without throwing it. Then, wait until he tires out and lands on a ground. After landing, Tails would remain stuck in a flying posture with a distorted hip until he releases the wrench.

To perform the last method, the player should continuously boost underwater while holding the wrench, regardless of the order. As a result, Tails remains stuck on a standing posture, despite Tails' other half-body in a swimming animation.^[18]

Although the first two animation glitches have been fixed in 1.41, the last method remains unpatched, likely due to Tails lacking a holding animation while swimming underwater.

Patched glitches[]

Ares Island's "Out-of-Place" Camera[]

In Ares Island's underground section, if the player uses Photo Mode, the camera will glitch and appear out of bounds instead of being in the room, for some reason.^[19] As of version 1.30, the glitch itself was patched, leaving the player able to take pictures in underground sections of Ares Island.

No Audio Through Sub-Events[]

Sometimes, when interacting with other characters or encountering guardians, certain dialogue or music background would not play correctly. This issue has been fixed in version 1.41.^[20]

References[]