Sonic Frontiers - The Final Horizon, also known as Another Story (アナザーストーリー, Anazā Sutōrī^?) or simply The Final Horizon (超・完全決戦, Chō Kanzen Kessen^?, lit. "Super Complete Battle"), is the third and final major update to Sonic Frontiers. It offers free downloadable content for the game, introducing an alternate story ending, additional playable characters such as Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna and Miles "Tails" Prower, along with new story elements, bosses, level designs and Cyber Space challenges.

The update was released on 28 September 2023.^[1]

List of added content and changes[]

• An extra story campaign for Ouranos Island was added, titled "Another Story". This story is an alternate take on the game's original climax and ending and can be accessed via a Ring Gate placed near the starting point of Ouranos Island.
  • Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna and Miles "Tails" Prower are now playable characters in The Final Horizon story campaign. The viewpoint will switch between the three of them and Sonic as the story progresses. After a certain point, the player will be able to switch between the four freely.
    • Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic now have unique character themes that play when using them.
      • Amy's theme is "Maybe If...", Knuckles' theme is "Blood Flow", Tails' theme is "Another Passage", and Sonic's theme is "Second Wind", which only plays during the first time playing as him, and is replaced by "Ouranos Island - Remix" afterwards.
    • Each character has a different goal to reach when playing with them. For Amy, she must seek out the Elder and Hermit Koco for advice, and later escort groups of Koco to them. For Knuckles, he must seek out Impact Forms and disable them. For Tails, he must seek out Koco Devices and hack into them. For Sonic, he must unlock and climb Trial Towers and complete the Trials set forth by the Master Koco.
  • New Cyber Space stages were added. These stages are remixes of older levels from the game, and feature things such as:
    • Remixed music. Each remix was handled by a different composer than their original one, and one remix features new lyrics.
    • New level design. Each stage now has a new object layout, and in some cases, the stages are almost nothing alike their original stage. Every stage is longer and more difficult than their original versions, and feature no checkpoints.
    • New collectibles. Most stages feature two to four new collectibles in place of Red Star Rings: Number Rings (must be collected in order from five to one), Silver Moon Rings (must be collected within the time limit), and Animals (must be picked up and escorted to a specified spot in the stage. Sonic's movement is limited to running, jumping, and using Dash Panels during this), or a Hidden Goal located somewhere within the stage (indicated by it being colored blue).
    • New missions and mechanics. Several stages feature a unique mechanic that's usually tied to a specific mission, such augments to the Boost like the Rocket Boost or Rev Gauge, a race against a hologram copy of Tails, a mine radar, a timed bomb that floats over Sonic's head, or low gravity.
    • Instead of receiving Vault Keys for completing missions, Sonic is instead rewarded with Lookout Koco, which serve a similar function of unlocking Trial Tower.
  • The overall layout of Ouranos Island was changed drastically to fit the new story. Such changes include:
    • New platforming challenges. These challenges are much more difficult than ones in the original game, and are more focused on specific character abilities. Specific paths are usually marked by different colored platforms (pink for Amy, red for Knuckles, yellow for Tails, and black and green for Sonic).
    • New Open Zone challenges were added. Challenges can be done as any character, but some characters may do better at some than others. Many are similar to ones on the original version of Ouranos Island, but are tweaked to be more difficult. Additionally, Challenges will only fill a portion of the map, the rest must be filled out by finding Map Koco.
    • New Cyber Space Portals in different locations on the island.
    • New character conversations can be found and had between Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Sage, and Dr. Eggman. These conversations will often explain or expand upon things previously unexplored in the original story, as well as allowing characters who wouldn't normally interact to do so, such as Amy and Dr. Eggman having a one-on-one conversation as allies.
    • Badniks can now be found in the Open Zone areas with a new redesign for them, as opposed to being exclusive to Cyber Space. Moto Bugs and Buzzers return from the base game, as well as Spinners and Thunder Spinners being added as well. As a trade off, the guard robots such as Soldiers and Wolf no longer appear on the island.
    • New variants of Guardians were added. Ghost and Caterpillar return, and Master Ninja+, Spider+, and Tank+ are added. Each Guardian is much more difficult and faster than their original variants (such as the platforming challenges for Ghost now being longer and more involved, and Master Ninja+ moving at a far higher speed than Master Ninja), and several play differently than their original incarnations as well (such as Caterpillar skipping the opening grind rail section, and Spider+ no longer being damaged by using Cyloop on its legs and skydiving down towards it).
    • Starfall has been changed to be Starfall+. Instead of star pieces falling to activate the slot machine for Purple Coins, large amounts of Koco, Red Seeds of Power and Blue Seeds of Defense will fall, allowing for Amy, Knuckles, and Tails to catch up to Sonic level wise much easier.
  • New Koco were added, including:
    • Skill Point Koco. These Koco give Amy, Knuckles, or Tails a large amount of Skill Pieces depending on the color they are: pink for Amy, red for Knuckles, and yellow for Tails. They are found about the island, sometimes out in the open, and sometimes after a short platforming challenge.
    • Map Koco. These Koco will unlock a portion of the map when interacted with Amy, Knuckles, or Tails, depending on the color they are: pink for Amy, red for Knuckles, and yellow for Tails. They are often found at the end of more involved platforming challenges.
    • Lookout Koco. These Koco will unlock Trial Tower for Sonic when enough are collected. They can be obtained by being Cyber Space missions or from certain signs the player must Cyloop around.
    • Impact Forms and Koco Devices. These Koco act as goals for Knuckles and Tails, with both of them impeding their progress in collecting the Chaos Emeralds.
    • Master Koco. These Koco are the souls of the pilots of the four Titans: Dragon, Snake, Tiger, and Crane. They will challenge Sonic to a Trial to prove his worth, and are lead by the Master King Koco, the soul of their leader, who challenges Sonic to see if he can handle the power needed to stop The End.
  • During the fifth Trial and during the new boss fight with The End, the Parry will instead become the Perfect Parry. The Perfect Parry has a shorter window of time to work, but can deflect stronger attacks that the regular Parry could not. The timing for the Perfect Parry varies based on difficulty:
    • In Easy Mode, it lasts for 60 frames (1 second) in version 1.4.0, and was buffed in version 1.4.1 to 600 frames (10 seconds).
    • In Normal Mode, it lasts for 12 frames (0.2 seconds) in version 1.4.0, and was buffed in version 1.4.1 to 24 frames (0.4 seconds).
    • In Hard Mode, it lasts for 8 frames (~0.133 seconds) in version 1.4.0, and was buffed in version 1.4.1 to 16 frames (~0.266 seconds).
    • In Extreme Mode, it lasts for 4 frames (~0.067 seconds) in version 1.4.0, and was buffed in version 1.4.1 to 8 frames (~0.133 seconds).^[2]
• The Open Zone speedometer can now be toggled on/off in Cyber Space stages. This affects the unique speedometer that appears during 4-G while using the Rev Gauge.
• The four asterisks for time-saving techniques in Arcade Mode and Cyber Space Challenge was changed into five triangles that form a pentagon, with a fifth purple time-saving technique added; maintaining the Boost during a jump.

Story[]

Shortly after arriving on Ouranos Island, Sonic is stopped by Dr. Eggman and Sage. Sage suggests an alternate, but risky plan wherein Sonic's friends can help collect the Chaos Emeralds while Sonic can undergo the Trials of the Masters to turn his own cyber corruption into a new power. With Sage releasing Amy, Knuckles, and Tails from Cyber Space, Sonic and his friends put Sage's plan into motion.

Amy and Knuckles discover two of the Chaos Emeralds, but only with Tails' help do they recover them, with Tails collecting the third. Meanwhile, Sonic climbs four of the Towers of the Masters, completing each of their trials as given by the deceased pilots of the four Titans, including Supreme. Meanwhile, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails collect three more Chaos Emeralds. For Sonic's fifth and final trial, he is instructed by the Master King to defeat Giganto, Wyvern, and Knight once again in order to temper his cyber corruption. After completing this grueling trial, Sonic is told to use his new powers wisely, as going all out could endanger his life.

With Amy, Knuckles, and Tails having six of the Chaos Emeralds and Dr. Eggman the seventh, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic to confront Supreme. In a battle similar to the original final boss, Sonic defeats Supreme. However, The End attaches itself to Supreme, making its former prison the "avatar" for its campaign of destruction.

Sonic engages the empowered Supreme/The End but is overwhelmed by its newfound power and regenerative ability. Sonic unleashes his new power up, with Super Sonic gaining blue eyes and a red, electric aura. With this new strength, Sonic detatches the tether connecting Supreme to The End and removes its gun, which is caught and used by Dr. Eggman to prepare a final attack. The End launches a barrage of energy blasts to eradicate its enemies, which Sage counters by creating a Cyber Shield. Initially, it is not enough, but with the help of Amy, Knuckles, and Tails, the heroes successfully repels the attack, allowing Sonic to beat The End into submission, launching Supreme into the air. Eggman readies Supreme's sniper rifle, using Sonic as the ammunition. Apologizing to the Master King for going all out after all, Sonic unleashes the full power of his cyber corruption, transforming into a cyber-colored version of Super Sonic, with rings in his eyes and a glitchy palette. Taking aim at Supreme, Dr. Eggman fires at Supreme, with the full-powered Sonic vaporizing the Titan and striking right through The End, finishing the entity for good, albeit with Super Sonic badly injured and nearly unconscious.

Amy, Knuckles and Tails watch the aftermath of The End's defeat, watching as Sonic falls like the meteors in the sky. The Chaos Emeralds scatter, but despite his injuries, Sonic recovers safely and celebrates with his friends. Eggman and Sage watch the starfall from elsewhere. Eggman congratulates Sage and tells his "dear daughter" it's time to go home. Sage agrees, calling him "father".

Later, everyone is preparing to leave as Sonic sarcastically jokes about how fun the adventure was, to the dismay of his friends. Tails claims that Sonic will barely recognize him once they meet each other again; Amy wonders if Cream the Rabbit and Sticks the Badger are free for a road trip; Knuckles says that it'll be good to get back to his island, at least for a while. With their plans for the future set, everyone jumps aboard the Tornado and sets off for home hoping to have fun.

Gameplay[]

Special Elder Koco	Special Hermit Koco	Impact Form	Koco Device	Master Koco	Master King Koco
Skill Piece Koco			Map Koco
Amy Rose	Knuckles the Echidna	Miles "Tails" Prower	Amy Rose	Knuckles the Echidna	Miles "Tails" Prower
Side Story
Sonic the Hedgehog			Doctor Eggman

The Final Horizon is accessed by interacting with the newly added Ring Gate located on Ouranos Island, and plays much the same as it's base game, acting similarly to a sixth island, however The Final Horizon uses it's own save slot, and certain options are not available while playing it, such as the ability to travel to other islands, fishing at Purple Portals (as there are none during The Final Horizon), the Jukebox, costumes for Sonic's friends and the Koco, and the party details.

In addition to playing as Sonic the Hedgehog, who now gets the Spin Dash ability upon starting the campaign if he has not already unlocked it, the player will now be able to play as Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles "Tails" Prower, who each have their own unique abilities and skills and goals during the story. The main goal as Amy, Knuckles, and Tails is to collect the Chaos Emeralds, however, they find the vaults are empty, and must seek assistance from the Koco inhabiting the island, while Sonic must scale the Trial Towers and complete the Trials handed out to him by the Master Koco to stabilize his Cyber Corruption and unlock a new power to defeat The End.

Ouranos Island features new platforming challenges specifically tailored to each character's skillset, as well as new Challenges. Like before, completion of these Challenges will reveal some of the map and create Grind Rails for ease of travel, and completing all of them will unlock the fast travel mechanic (although, due to the lack of Fishing Spots, the player can only fast travel to Cyber Space Portals).

The Final Horizon does not feature a 100% completion screen like the original story does, but it does have a similar mechanic in the form of guidance for the final battle against Supreme and The End given by the Master King Koco. There are 6 battle tips in total, which require the player to:

• Defeat Supreme, and then either defeat or lose against The End. This is required for the Battle Guidance option to appear in Master King Koco's dialogue.
• Achieve max level in Speed, Ring Count, Strength, and Defense, as well as unlock all Skills as Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails.
• Complete all of the Missions in the nine Cyber Space stages.
• Revealed the entire map of Ouranos Island by completing every Challenge and finding all of the Map Koco.
• Defeated every Guardian on Ouranos Island at least once.
• Watched every Side Story cutscene available.

Controls[]

Sonic's controls are the same as the base game, however during Master King's Trial and during the final battle with The End, the Parry will become the Perfect Parry. The Perfect Parry has a significantly shorter window of activation, and the timing is dependent in the difficulty selected.

General[]

Button formation				Movement
Switch	PC	PS4/PS5	Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S
	[W]/[S]/[A]/[D]			Walk/Run
	[SPACE]			Jump
x2		x2	x2	Double Jump
Hold +		Hold +	Hold +	Parry/Perfect Parry
Move > Hold	Move > Hold [SHIFT]	Move > Hold	Move > Hold	Boost
(in midair)		(in midair)	(in midair)	Aerial Boost
				Crouch
/	[Q]/[E]	/	/	Side Step/Cartwheel
/ (in midair/target locked)		/ (in midair/target locked)	/ (in midair/target locked)	Dodge/Evade
(while grinding)		(while grinding)		Grind Step
Hold (in midair)		Hold (in midair)	Hold (in midair)	Skydiving
Hold (while moving)	Hold right mouse button (while moving)	Hold (while moving)	Hold (while moving)	Cyloop
				Spin Dash
				Move camera
Press		Press		Reset camera
Press (target locked)	[C]	Press (target locked)		Lock on
	[P]	OPTIONS		Pause/Menu
	[M]			Map

Character specific[]

• Amy
• Knuckles
• Tails

Unlike every other character, Amy's initial jump is a regular jump. She will only transition into the Spin Jump when performing a Double Jump. Amy's upgraded Parry is the Poison Parry, which drains an enemy's health slowly for set period of time. Amy cannot hold her Parry as long as Sonic can, and the amount of time she can hold it for is dependent on the difficulty selected. Amy is unable to climb red or green walls around Ouranos Island.

Button formation				Movement
Switch	PC	PS4/PS5	Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S
x3		x3	x3	Card Float
(target locked) / Jump >		(target locked) / Jump >	(target locked) / Jump >	Homing Attack
Hold		Hold	Hold	Multi-lock
x2	Left mouse button x2	x2	x2	Card Attack
Card Attack > Hold	Card Attack > Hold Left mouse button	Card Attack > Hold	Card Attack > Hold	Card Spin/Infinite Card Spin (at max Rings)
Jump >		Jump >	Jump >	Card Stomp
Jump > Hold		Jump > Hold	Jump > Hold	High Card Jump
	Right mouse button			Cyhammer
Move > Hold	Move > Hold [SHIFT]	Move > Hold	Move > Hold	Card Spin Boost (at max rings)
Card Spin Boost + Hold +		Card Spin Boost + Hold +	Card Spin Boost + Hold +	Drift

Knuckles' upgraded Parry is the Break Parry, which reduces an enemy's defense for set period of time. Knuckles cannot hold his Parry as long as Sonic can, and the amount of time he can hold it for is dependent on the difficulty selected.

Button formation				Movement
Switch	PC	PS4/PS5	Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S
Double Jump > Hold		Double Jump > Hold	Double Jump > Hold	Glide/Infinite Glide (at max Rings)
(while on a red or green wall)		(while on a red or green wall)		Wall Climb
(target locked) / Jump >		(target locked) / Jump >	(target locked) / Jump >	Homing Attack
x3	Left mouse button x3	x3	x3	Combo Attack
Hold		Hold	Hold	Drill Spin Attack
Jump >		Jump >	Jump >	Heat Stomp
	Right mouse button			Cyknuckle
Move > Hold	Move > Hold [SHIFT]	Move > Hold	Move > Hold	Drill Spin Boost (at max rings)

Tails' upgraded Parry is the Debuff Parry, which reduces an enemy's offense for set period of time. Tails cannot hold his Parry as long as Sonic can, and the amount of time he can hold it for is dependent on the difficulty selected. Unlike every other character, Tails cannot do the Homing Attack and is also unable to climb red or green walls around Ouranos Island.

Button formation				Movement
Switch	PC	PS4/PS5	Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S
Double Jump > Hold		Double Jump > Hold	Double Jump > Hold	Fly
				Wrench Attack
Hold		Hold	Hold	Charged Wrench Attack
Jump >		Jump >	Jump >	Spike Stomp
	Right mouse button			Cyblaster
Move > Hold	Move > Hold [SHIFT]	Move > Hold	Move > Hold	Cyclone Boost (at max rings)
Cyclone Boost >		Cyclone Boost >	Cyclone Boost >	Cyclone Cannon

Levels[]

The Final Horizon features nine new Cyber Space levels, each one a drastic remix on an original level from the base game. Each level often features a unique mechanic such as the Rocket Boost or a race against the Hologram Tails, as well as new missions and collectibles. Only Sonic can access Cyber Space, and instead of Vault Keys for completing missions, he will receive Lookout Koco, which serve a similar function.

Bosses[]

Guardians are significantly different during The Final Horizon, being much stronger and more involved, as well as having different patterns to their attacks. Supreme returns as the Titan of Ouranos Island, but instead of the space battle against The End in the original game, The Final Horizon introduces a boss fight where The End takes control of Supreme and uses it as a vessel. During this boss fight, Sonic will have access to an enhanced version of Super Sonic, called Super Sonic 2, and can power himself up further to become Super Sonic Cyber.

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Sonic Frontiers Expansion Soundtrack Paths Revisited

The soundtrack for The Final Horizon features 46 songs composed for Sonic Frontiers' three major content updates: "Sights, Sound, and Speed", "Sonic's Birthday Bash", and "The Final Horizon", as well as instrumental versions of the Titian boss themes and ending themes.

It was composed and performed primarily by the same crew who worked on the original soundtrack for Sonic Frontiers, such as Tomoya Ohtani, Rintaro Soma, Kenji Mizuno and Kanon Oguni, as well as lyricist Nana Hatori. Vocalists such as Kellin Quinn and YURI also return to do remixes of "I'm Here" and "Dropaholic", respectively, as well as a new vocalist, Gaby Borro, who recorded the new first ending theme for The Final Horizon, a vocal remix of "I'm With You", as well as the character themes for Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles "Tails" Prower.

References[]