Sonic’s a franchise that’s all about speed, and the fantasy of running through levels and areas at a breakneck pace is what gives Sonic its charm. Part of this high-speed fantasy is the Boost mechanic, but according to Sonic Frontiers director Morio Kishimoto, boosting may be removed in a future game.

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Kishimoto mentioned in a tweet that, for Sonic Frontiers, he was unsure about whether or not he wanted to keep the mechanic in the game, and decided to do so in the end. However, Kishimoto does state that he’s looking to make a Sonic game that doesn’t feature boosting as part of its core gameplay.

ブーストは、このゲームの制作を開始する時に、ありかなしか、すごく悩んで採用を決めました。次回作では、ブーストを使わないソニックゲームにチャレンジしたいと、今でも考えています。
お気に入りの巨大ボスは、最初と2番目のヤツです。

— Morio Kishimoto (@moq_46) January 23, 2023

Here’s a translated version of the tweet via DeepL:

When I started working on this game, I was very worried about whether boost was possible or not, and decided to adopt it. I am still thinking that for the next game, I would like to try a Sonic game without boost.

My favorite giant bosses are the first and second ones.

This is an interesting decision to say the least, as boosting is a classic element of the Sonic games, and removing it may upset players who’ve enjoyed boosting through levels as Sonic for so many years. Of course, the removal of Boost doesn’t necessarily mean that the next Sonic game will be bad automatically, so we’ll have to see if Kishimoto follows through with this idea and implements it in a way that satisfies the fanbase.