As the latest game in the Sonic franchise, Sonic Frontiers sports modern graphics with high polygon counts. But thanks to a mod released yesterday, PC players can insert the creamy 3D graphics of the Saturn into it for a more low-poly feel.
The “Sega Saturn model pack” mod swaps Sonic’s model for one ripped from Sonic Jam’s Sonic World mode. You can change Sonic’s model to one ripped from Sonic R or Christmas Nights, too, by applying the game’s Soap Shoes or Holiday Cheer DLC, respectively. There’s even a swapped Super Sonic model.
The mod was made by a person named “sonicjason255” with help from Kwasior (fixing Sage’s materials), Skyth (model converter developer) and WistfulHopes (model importing and animation tools). You can download it here. To apply it, you’ll need to use the fan-made HedgeMod Manager.
Sonic isn’t the only character whose model has changed. Knuckles and Tails have been replaced by their Sonic 3D Blast incarnations, and the top half of Amy comes from Sonic R — she drove in a car in that game, so her bottom half wasn’t modeled, requiring sonicjason255 to reconstruct that part of her.
The modder also replaced new Frontiers character Sage with a low-poly model made completely from scratch.
Even the animations for walking, jogging, running and boosting have been customized to resemble the ones from Sonic Jam. It’s all truly a love letter to Sonic’s 3D origins.
Sonicjason255 appears to have been dabbling in Saturnifying Frontiers since shortly after it launched last November. Two months ago, he released a mod that swaps Sonic’s model for the Sonic R one. Before that, he worked with a team to remake 2D Nintendo DS platformer Sonic Rush in 3D, although that project went on hiatus last year.
Danthrax is a contributor to the Shiro Media Group, writing stories for the website when Saturn news breaks. While he was a Sega Genesis kid in the ’90s, he didn’t get a Saturn until 2018. It didn’t take him long to fall in love with the console’s library as well as the fan translation and homebrew scene. He contributed heavily to the Bulk Slash and Stellar Assault SS fan localizations, and has helped as an editor on several other Saturn and Dreamcast fan projects such as Cotton 2, Rainbow Cotton and Sakura Wars Columns 2.
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