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Sonic (SSB4)

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This article is about Sonic's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Sonic as he appears in Super Smash Bros. 4.
SonicSymbol.svg
Universe Sonic the Hedgehog
Other playable appearances in Brawl
in Ultimate

Availability Starter
Final Smash Super Sonic
Tier A (7-8)
Sonic's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Sonic (ソニック, Sonic) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was announced on October 1st, 2013 during a Nintendo Direct.[1] Sonic is one of the six third-party characters in the game, alongside fellow Sega fighter Bayonetta; Capcom's Mega Man and Ryu; Bandai Namco's Pac-Man; and Square Enix's Cloud. He was the second third-party character to be revealed in the game, and is the first third-party veteran in the series.

In the English version, Sonic is now voiced by Roger Craig Smith, albeit via recycled voice clips from games such as Sonic Generations, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This reflects his succession of Jason Griffith as Sonic's voice actor, who voiced Sonic from 2005 until 2010. Jun'ichi Kanemaru reprises his role in the Japanese version, albeit through recycled voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For the first time, Sonic has alternate voices for the French, Spanish, German, and Italian versions, as Sonic the Hedgehog games from Sonic Generations onward were dubbed into those languages; he is voiced by Alexandre Gillet, Jonatán López, Marc Stachel, and Renato Novara respectively.

Sonic is ranked 7th/8th out of 54 on the tier list, placing him in the A tier and tying him with Fox. This is a significant improvement over his mid-tier placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 22nd out of 38. Sonic unsurprisingly boasts the fastest dashing speed in the game; when coupled with his special moves allowing him to attack while in motion with little fear of reprisal, Sonic's approach and neutral game are both impressive. The majority of Sonic's moveset also has improved utility, most notably in regard to his KO potential.

However, Sonic's KOing options are hindered by their high lag, which makes them risky and impairs his ability to KO outside of the neutral game. Despite his mobility, the linearity of Sonic's recovery makes him susceptible to gimping. By extension, he has trouble contending with projectile camping, owing to both his lack of a reliable projectile and an effective way to stop them.

Thanks to his newfound and retained strengths outweighing his flaws, Sonic has attained a large playerbase that has consistently achieved excellent results in high-level play.

Attributes[edit]

Sonic is a middleweight that, like in his home series, possesses outstanding mobility. He fittingly boasts the fastest dashing speed in the game, yet also possesses the seventh fastest walking speed and ninth fastest air speed, the latter of which is tied with Mario and Donkey Kong's. When coupled with his above average gravity and jumps, he has high omnipresence and can move around the stage at incredible speeds, despite having below average falling speed and one of the worst air accelerations in the game. These traits, in turn, make Sonic able to easily and effectively utilize a hit-and-run playstyle. To round out his outstanding mobility, Sonic is capable of wall jumping.

Sonic possesses very useful special moves. Spin Dash and Spin Charge are perhaps Sonic's best neutral game options, as they allow him to roll across the stage at varying speeds while also dealing damage upon contact. Spin Dash allows Sonic to jump even while charging, and can be canceled with a grab or by shielding, which grants it mindgame potential. Spin Charge, however, hits multiple times and moves even faster, making it a reliable alternative to dashing. Both, however, can give Sonic additional protection when recovering and even chain into other attacks. When coupled with their extremely similar animations, opponents have to tread carefully when dealing with these moves, since a single misstep can result in a very fast chain of attacks that can deal impressive damage.

Homing Attack deals a varying amount of damage, but homes in on the nearest opponent, making it useful for punishing laggy attacks and edge-guard breaking. Spring Jump is a useful recovery move that grants intangibility during start-up and covers an impressive amount of vertical distance. It is also one of the few recovery moves that does not cause helplessness, as Sonic is able to attack and dodge during his descent, while the spring that is dropped can be useful both on-stage and off-stage by allowing him to pressure and gimp opponents, respectively.

Sonic also has a strong air game. Neutral aerial is a great combo starter when SHFF'd, thanks to its long-lasting hitbox, fairly low landing lag, and launching angle. Forward aerial is useful for edge-guarding and, in certain instances, can combo into itself on-stage at low percentages, thanks to its auto-canceling window and Sonic's fast air speed. Up aerial possesses KO potential near the upper blast line and is great for combos, while its auto-canceling window makes it deceptively safe. Back aerial's clean hitbox is powerful, making it one of his few reliable KOing options like his up aerial. Lastly, down aerial is a stall-then-fall; although it is Sonic's least effective aerial, it has noticeably less ending lag compared to other stall-then-falls, and its clean hitbox meteor smashes aerial opponents.

Sonic's neutral attack, tilt attacks, and throws have decent damage outputs and minimal lag, which make them hard to punish. Incidentally, his grab game is decent overall. While none of his grabs excel in speed and each of them have average ranges, they are still fairly easy to land thanks to his mobility. Sonic's pummel is quick and has an average damage output, which allows him to rack up a fair amount of damage before throwing an opponent. Down throw is a semi-spike that has high base knockback, which make it excellent for setting up edge-guards and tech-chases. Back throw also possesses high base knockback, but KOs much earlier than his other throws, especially if it is used while near the edge. It also moves Sonic backward, which makes it useful for setting up an immediate edge-guard attempt.

Up throw is a fairly reliable combo starter: while its combo potential is not as consistent as Spin Dash and Spin Charge's, it still possesses decently damaging combos beginning at 0%, as well as Spring Jump-assisted aerial combos beginning at medium percentages. It also has KO potential, although it only KOs reliably at very high percentages when used on high platforms, such as Battlefield's top platform. Lastly, forward throw is his least useful throw, as its primary utility is for forcing the opponent into the air. Like up throw, it can also function as a KOing option, albeit only when used on high platforms at very high percentages.

However, Sonic has some weaknesses, the most noticeable of which is his KO potential. Despite having improved considerably since Brawl, his KO potential is held back by his most reliable KOing options (forward/up smashes, clean back aerial, and up aerial) requiring good positioning and, aside from up aerial, having noticeable start-up and ending lag. His forward and up smashes are also burdened with low base knockback, which forces them to be used for KO attempts later instead of earlier. Despite his outstanding mobility, Sonic also has trouble landing without the use of Homing Attack or Spring Jump, owing to his forward, back, up and down aerials have at least 21 frames of landing lag. This is further exacerbated by his very slow air acceleration leaving him susceptible to juggling.

Sonic can also have difficulty dealing with camping, since any ground-level projectile can severely limit his movement options. Lastly, Sonic can be susceptible to early KOs. Unlike other middleweights, such as Mario and Luigi, some of his attacks are very punishable should they miss, and thus allow openings for opponents to punish him. His recovery is also predictable if Spring Jump is his only recovery option, as its linearity makes him susceptible to gimps even at relatively low percentages.

Sonic has many beneficial custom moves at his disposal. Stomp can meteor smash opponents, making it more useful for edge-guarding. Hammer Spin Dash can bury opponents during start-up, allowing for follow-ups that Spin Dash would not permit. In comparison, Burning Spin Dash deals much more damage and its lower jumps leave Sonic less vulnerable after landing a hit. Auto-Spin Charge removes the need for button mashing in order to charge and has a deceptive charging animation that does not reveal when the move starts losing power, the latter of which makes it suitable for mindgames. Lastly, Gravitational Charge has a windbox that pulls opponents in front of Sonic toward him, making it easier for him to hit them. However, it also pushes away opponents behind him, which can make it more difficult for them to punish him directly.

Overall, Sonic is a character with incredible offensive prowess that must force opponents to make a mistake in order to safely rack up damage and use his excellent mobility to avoid heavy punishment.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

Sonic has been heavily buffed in his transition from Brawl to Smash 4. The most noticeable improvement he received was to his KO potential, which was his most glaring weakness in Brawl. A decent number of Sonic's attacks have had their knockback increased, most notably his forward smash, up smash, and clean back aerial, all of which are much more viable kill options. His back throw also now possesses KO potential.

Sonic's moveset in general has also been improved in various ways. Notably, two of his moves (dash attack and down smash) have been completely overhauled. Sonic's new dash attack hits multiple times, which is further supplemented by the weakening of SDI, and it possesses very high knockback growth; altogether, these traits make it better than his previous dash attack in regard to punishing and tech-chasing. In comparison, Sonic's new down smash is generally more useful than his previous one, thanks to it being a semi-spike that has a consistent damage output and much less overall lag.

Outside of these two instances, some of Sonic's moves also benefit from both direct changes and modifications to gameplay mechanics. Neutral aerial and up throw's angles have been altered, although the latter move also deals less damage and has compensated knockback which hinders its damage racking potential and does not grant it significantly greater combo potential which it otherwise would have if its knockback were unchanged. When coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling, they, alongside Spin Charge, have improved combo potential. Due to its angle being altered, down aerial's clean hitbox is now a meteor smash against aerial opponents; when coupled with the removal of meteor canceling, clean down aerial is a much more potent edge-guarding option. Lastly, up smash and forward aerial are much more difficult to escape from due to the aforementioned weakening of SDI.

However, Sonic has received some nerfs, mainly to his speed, both in terms of mobility and frame data. A number of his moves have become laggier to varying degrees, with a good example being his back aerial, which incurs drastically more landing lag and has a worse auto-cancel window, which significantly harms its utility despite its increased power. Some moves (such as his forward smash, down smash, up aerial, and down aerial) also have shorter durations. Despite his overall higher KO potential, some of his moves have reduced KO potential, such as up aerial and down smash, and his overall damage output is lower, reducing his damage racking capabilities, although this was the case for most returning veterans.

Sonic's mobility has also taken a hit relative to the cast, although this is mainly due to the changes to Smash 4's mechanics combined with the general increase other characters received to their mobility. While Sonic still has the fastest dashing speed by a huge margin, it is nevertheless lower relative to the cast, as he was one of the few characters whose dashing speed was left unchanged. His walking speed was also slightly decreased. The removal of DACUS also hinders up smash's versatility, as it hinders its approach potential, and to make matters worse, his running up smash covers significantly less distance. The removal of glide tossing also hinders Sonic’s approach with items.

Although remaining very respectable, Sonic's recovery has nevertheless worsened in two particular ways: Spring Jump covers less vertical distance, its intangibility has increased startup lag, and Sonic cannot act as soon out of it, not only making it a worse recovery option, but also making it a less effective combo breaker. Homing Attack can also no longer be used repeatedly without landing on the ground again, removing Sonic's ability to infinitely stall with it. Lastly, Spin Dash's damage racking potential was toned down via update 1.0.6, and it can no longer be used with momentum canceling, which significantly hinders Sonic's endurance. 1.0.6 also notably made his back throw weaker.

Ultimately, Sonic's increased KO potential outweighs his reduced speed and damage output, and the changes to the game's mechanics help him more than they hurt him. As a result, he is a significantly more effective character, and he has seen much more usage in high level play.

Aesthetics[edit]

  • Change Sonic's design is now based on his appearances in Sonic Unleashed onwards. His quills are slightly shorter and significantly more rigid, his mouth is now positioned on the side of his muzzle by default, and his irises are spread slightly further away from each other. Additionally, Sonic's fur and skin are slightly more vibrant, and his eye color is slightly more subdued. Lastly, his shoes now have a polished finish.
    • Change Sonic's mouth is now a texture by default rather than a modeled part of his body. However, he still uses a modeled animated mouth in his victory poses.
  • Change Sonic has received three new alternate costumes, which brings his total up to eight.
  • Change Sonic's red alternate costume from Brawl has been slightly altered. His cuffs and shoes are now orange instead of red, likely to better differentiate it from his default costume.
  • Change Sonic now faces the foreground regardless of whether he is facing left or right. When he turns around, his mouth will also change sides due to his design change.
  • Change Sonic's eyes now appear half-closed when he is in a downed state instead of appearing completely closed like in Brawl.
  • Change Spin Dash-based attacks emit a lower pitched sound effect similar to the one used in Sonic Lost World. Some attacks also have updated visual effects.
  • Change Idle poses' animations have slightly changed. Sonic's expression now remains unchanged throughout their duration, unlike in Brawl, where he would grow impatient while tapping his foot and grin while wiggling his finger.
  • Change Side taunt's animation has slightly changed. Sonic now grins throughout its entire duration instead of grinning and then assuming a stern expression.
    • Change Because of Sonic’s voice actor change, his side and down taunts also have new lines: he says "Sonic SPEED!" instead of "You're too slo-ow!" during his side taunt, and "Come on!" instead of "C'mon, step it up!" during his down taunt.
  • Change Sonic’s victory pose involving the blue Chaos Emerald has slightly changed. The Chaos Emerald now levitates in Sonic's hand after he grabs it instead of directly making contact with his hand.
  • Change Due to Sonic’s voice actor change, his victory poses use new lines. He says "That was almost too easy!" instead of "Sonic’s the name, speed’s my game!" during his side-to-side sprint victory pose, "Let’s do that again sometime!" instead of "Hey, we should do this again sometime!" during his breakdancing victory pose, and just "Piece of cake!" instead of "Too easy! Piece of cake!" during his victory pose involving the blue Chaos Emerald. The formermost also has him smirking upon striking his final pose instead of grinning.
  • Change In the Japanese language, Sonic's previously unused damage yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when taking high knockback.

Attributes[edit]

  • Nerf Sonic walks slower (1.4 → 1.375).
  • Buff Sonic's air speed is faster (1.1092 → 1.15).
  • Change Sonic's gravity is higher (0.085 → 0.09).
  • Buff Sonic's fast falling speed is faster (2.0 → 2.32) although relative to the cast, it has gone from the 16th highest out of 39 characters to the 37th highest out of 58.
  • Nerf Sonic is slightly lighter (95 → 94).
  • Nerf Sonic's traction is lower (0.07 → 0.06).
  • Buff Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 32 → 28).
  • Nerf Rolls have a shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-15).
  • Buff Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 49 → 31).
  • Nerf Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 2-25).
  • Buff Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 26 → 25).
  • Nerf Spot dodge has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-15).
  • Nerf Sonic's item throw is slower (1 → 0.98). When combined with the removal of glide tossing, this noticeably hinders Sonic's item game.

Ground attacks[edit]

  • Neutral attack:
    • Buff The first two hits of neutral attack have increased set knockback (10 → 18).
    • Change The angles of the first two hits have been altered (361° (both) → 92°/60°/361° (hit 1), 80°/60°/48° (hit 2)). These changes allow neutral attack to connect more reliably and improve its jab canceling potential but removes the second hit's ability to lock and the first hit can only lock when used at close range, making jab locking slightly harder.
    • Buff The first hit's far hit has been moved further away from Sonic (x offset: 4 → 6), giving it more range.
      • Nerf However, the mid and close hits have also been moved further forwards, reducing the move's range behind Sonic.
    • Buff The first hit's mid hitbox is larger (3u → 3.5u).
    • Buff The second hit's far hit has been moved further away from Sonic (x offset: -3 → 6), slightly improving its range.
      • Nerf However, the mid and close hits have also been moved further forwards, reducing the move's range behind Sonic.
    • Buff The second hit's mid hitbox is larger (3u → 3.4u).
    • Buff The third hit deals more damage (3% → 4%) and its knockback was not fully compensated (24 (base), 130 (scaling) → 50/110), improving its KO potential.
    • Nerf The third hit has more ending lag (FAF 31 → 36).
    • Nerf The third hit launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 50°).
  • Forward tilt:
    • Buff Forward tilt's second hit has increased base knockback (10 → 30).
  • Up tilt:
    • Buff Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 40).
    • Nerf Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 7-10 (hit 1)/8-10 (hit 2)/18-20 (hit 3) → 7-9/8-9/18-19).
    • Nerf Up tilt deals much less less damage (3% (hit 1)/4% (hit 2)/7% (hit 3)/14% (total) → 2% (hit 1)/6% (hit 2)/8% (total)), with the second hit only receiving a slight increase to its base knockback (35 → 40), hindering its KO potential.
      • Nerf Additionally, the first kick's hitboxes have a lower part value (1 → 0) meaning that Sonic can no longer connect both the ground hit and the kick hit. This results in the move now only having two hits instead of three.
    • Buff The ground hitbox is positioned slightly further out (z offset: 4 → 4.5), giving it more range.
    • Change The ground hitbox has increased set knockback (80 → 100).
    • Change The first kick's hitboxes have altered angles (70°/80°/270° → 90°/360°) and set knockback (40/30/12 → 60/35/12).
    • Nerf The first hit's upper hitboxes are smaller (5u/7u → 4u/5u) and the foot hitbox is positioned lower (y offset: 8 → x offset: 7), noticeably reducing its range.
    • Buff The second hit launches opponents at a higher angle (70° → 78°). When combined with up tilt's reduced ending lag along with the changes the hitstun canceling and DI, this improves up tilt's combo potential and makes it less susceptible to DI.
    • Buff The second hit's body hitbox is larger (3u → 4u).
    • Nerf The second hit's foot hitbox is positioned lower (y offset: 8 → x offset: 7), reducing its range.
  • Down tilt:
    • Change Down now only has one extended hitbox rather than three normal hitboxes, with this new hitbox functioning like the previous foot hitbox. This gives the move consistent base knockback (40/30 → 30) and it makes the move consistently launch opponents horizontally (80°/70°/361° → 361° (all)).
      • Buff This makes down tilt a more consistent locking and tripping tool.
      • Nerf However, this also removes its combo potential outside of those scenarios.
    • Nerf Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 → 6-7).
    • Nerf Down tilt has a smaller hitbox (3u/4u/5u → 3.4u) with the move having less vertical range, as well as having less range inside of Sonic.
    • Nerf Sonic does not slide as far forward during the move (only doing so after he attacks, with the distance being much shorter), hindering its range and making it less effective as a pseudo crawl.
      • Buff However, this also makes it a safer poking tool.
    • Nerf Down tilt has a lower extra trip chance (40% → 20%).
  • Dash attack:
    • Change Sonic has a new dash attack. He still performs a Spin Attack but it now ends with a flying kick. The move acts as a multi hit, rather than having a clean hit and a late hit (6% (clean)/4% (late) → 1% (hits 1-3)/3% (hit 4)/6% (total)).
    • Buff Dash attack has larger hitboxes (3u (clean)/2.5u (late) → 3u/3u (hits 1-3)/5u/3.5u/3.5u (hit 4)).
    • Buff The final hit deals more knockback compared to the previous clean hit (70 (base), 50 (scaling) → 80/125), greatly improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
    • Nerf Dash attack has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-7 (clean)/8-24 (late) → 5-15 (hits 1-3)/17-20 (hit 4)).
    • Nerf Dash attack has much more ending lag (FAF 44 → 62).
    • Nerf Dash attack covers less distance.
    • Nerf Due to it now being a multi hit, dash attack is overall less reliable, as opponents can fall out of the multi hits before the final hit connects.
    • Nerf The final hit launches opponents at a less favorable angle compared to the previous clean hit (80° → 70°), hindering its KO potential and making it more susceptible to DI.
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff Forward smash has increased knockback scaling (98 → 101), improving its KO potential.
    • Change Sonic now grunts during the move instead of saying "Go!"
    • Nerf Forward smash has a shorter duration (frames 18-21 → 18-20).
    • Nerf Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 44 → 48).
    • Nerf Forward smash has smaller hitboxes (2u/3u/4u/5u → 4.5u/3.5u/2.5u).
    • Nerf Sonic no longer lunges farther when performing a pivoted forward smash, significantly hindering its approach and whiff punishment potential.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff The changes to knockback stacking means that the knockback from the multi-hits now completely cancel out the knockback of the first hit at higher percents. This drastically improves up smash's reliability at higher percents, as the opponent will no longer fly too far away after the first hit to fall out of the move before the final hit can connect.
    • Buff The weakening of SDI makes up smash more difficult to escape from.
    • Nerf Hits 2-7 have smaller hitboxes (4.5u/4.5u/4.5u/4.5u → 4u/4u/4u/4u) and the upper hitboxes are positioned lower (y offset: 26 → 24), reducing their range.
    • Buff The last hit deals more knockback (70 (base), 153 (scaling) → 80/165) and launches opponents at a higher angle (75° → 82°), significantly improving its KO potential.
    • Nerf Up smash does not cover as much distance when performed out of a dash. When combined with the removal of DACUS, this significantly hinders its approach potential.
  • Down smash:
    • Change Sonic has a new down smash, a split kick, similar to Fox and Falco's down smashes.
      • Nerf Due to this new animation, Sonic now stays completely still when performing the move, reducing its range and making it easier to punish Sonic.
    • Buff Down smash has less startup lag (frame 17 → 12).
      • Nerf However, its total duration was unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
    • Buff Down smash is now a semi-spike (361° → 30°).
    • Buff Down smash has larger hitboxes (4u/3u → 5u/5u) which are now extended and they are positioned further away from Sonic (y/z offsets: 4/(0/3) → 2/(13/-11), giving it much more range relative to Sonic.
    • Nerf Down smash has a much shorter duration (frames 17-20 (clean)/21-26 (mid)/27-32 (mid late)/33-41 (late) → 12-13), with the move losing its late hit.
    • Nerf Down smash deals less knockback (40 (base), 100 (scaling) → 55/63 (front), 50/80 (back)), considerably hindering its KO potential, especially when hit from the front.

Aerial attacks[edit]

  • Neutral aerial:
    • Buff Clean neutral aerial deals more damage (11% → 12%).
    • Buff Neutral aerial has a larger hitbox, especially the late hit (4u (clean)/3u (mid)/2u (late) → 5u/4.5u/4u).
    • Change Neutral aerial now launches opponents vertically (361° → 75°). This improves its combo potential, especially when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI however, this also removes its edgeguarding and locking potential.
    • Nerf Neutral aerial has more landing lag (12 frames → 16).
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial has less landing lag (30 frames → 26).
    • Buff The weakening of SDI makes forward aerial more difficult to escape from.
    • Buff The far loop hits are positioned further away from Sonic (z offset: 10 → 12.5), giving them more range.
      • Nerf However, the near loop hits are also positioned much further away from Sonic (z offset: 1 → 7), making them only cover Sonic's head rather than his body, giving the move a large blindspot.
    • Buff The final hit's hitbox has been positioned slightly further away from Sonic (y offset: 4 → x offset: 4.5), giving it slightly more range.
    • Buff The final hit now always launches opponents in the direction Sonic is facing, making it more reliable.
    • Change The loop hits now use a normal effect instead of a slash effect.
    • Nerf Forward aerial deals less damage (1%/2% (hits 1-5)/4% (hit 6)/9%-14% (total) → 0.8%/3%/7%) and the final hit's knockback scaling was not fully compensated (120 → 135), hindering its damage racking and KO potential.
    • Nerf Forward aerial has more ending lag (FAF 36 → 46) and a longer animation (41 frames → 55).
    • Nerf The loop hits have smaller hitboxes (3u → 2u).
    • Nerf The final hit's near hitboxes have been removed, giving it less range inside Sonic.
    • Nerf The final hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.5x), making it easier to DI. As forward aerial cannot be frame canceled, this hinders the move overall.
  • Back aerial:
    • Buff Back aerial's hitboxes have been repositioned, with the move now being slightly disjointed, rather than failing to cover Sonic's foot.
    • Buff The clean hit deals more damage (13% → 14%), improving its KO potential despite its decreased knockback scaling (94 → 90).
    • Buff The clean hit has larger hitboxes (5u/5.5u/6u → 6u/6.5u).
    • Buff The late hit deals more damage (9% → 10%) and has increased knockback scaling (90 → 100).
    • Change Back aerial now always launches opponents in the opposite direction Sonic is facing, as with most back aerials.
    • Change The clean hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.2x).
    • Nerf Back aerial has much more landing lag (9 frames → 30), greatly hindering its safety and removing its followup potential.
    • Nerf Back aerial auto-cancels later (frame 29 → 33).
    • Nerf Back aerial has a longer animation (37 frames → 46), increasing the amount of time Sonic cannot grab ledges after performing the move.
    • Nerf The near hitbox has been removed.
  • Up aerial:
    • Change Up aerial's animation has slightly changed. Sonic no longer twirls while performing the kick, instead, he performs a sharp scissor kick while facing the screen during the entirety.
      • Nerf This new animation is longer (44 frames → 54), increasing the amount of time Sonic cannot grab ledges after performing the move.
    • Buff Up aerial has less landing lag (22 frames → 21).
    • Buff The first hit has altered set knockback (70 (near)/130 (far) → 90/120), making it connect more reliably into the second hit.
    • Buff The second hit launches opponents at a higher angle (80° → 91°).
    • Change The second hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.2x).
    • Nerf The first hit has smaller hitboxes (4u/5u → 3u/4u) which are positioned closer to Sonic, especially the far hit (z offset: 4/9/-4/-9 → 3/7/-3/-7).
    • Nerf The second hit has a shorter duration (frames 14-18 → 14-15).
      • Buff However, this also makes the move auto-cancel earlier (frame 19 → 16). When combined with the increase to shieldstun, this noticeably improves up aerial's safety
    • Nerf The second hit deals less knockback (63 (base), 90 (scaling) → 66/82), hindering its KO potential.
  • Down aerial:
    • Buff Down aerial's late hit has a larger hitbox (5.8u → 7u).
    • Buff The mid hit against aerial opponents is now a meteor smash (32° → 285°). This significantly improves its edgeguarding potential and gives him a better kill confirm option near the edges of stages.
    • Change Down aerial now has a clean hit, a mid hit and a late hit. The new clean hit essentially functions the same as the previous clean hit's grounded hitbox, except it now works against grounded and aerial opponents.
    • Change The mid hit against aerial opponents has less base knockback but more knockback scaling (70 (base), 60 (scaling) → 30/90). This improves its KO potential at higher percents, but this also reduces its knockback at lower percents. As the move is a meteor smash, this hinders the move's edgeguarding potential at lower percents.
    • Change The mid hit against aerial opponents has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 2x).
    • Change The mid hit against aerial opponents now always launches opponents in the direction Sonic is facing.
    • Nerf Down aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 16-22 (clean)/23-37 (late) → 17-18/19-22/23-32).
    • Nerf Down aerial has more ending lag (FAF 44 → 46) and a longer animation (43 frames → 61).
    • Nerf Down aerial has more landing lag (30 frames → 38).
    • Nerf Down aerial auto-cancels later (frame 39 → 41). When combined with its shorter hitbox duration, this makes it much more difficult to land safely with down aerial.
    • Nerf The mid hit against aerial opponents has a much smaller hitbox (6.2u → 3.5u), which is positioned closer to Sonic (y/z offsets: 3/2 → 1.3/2.8). When combined with its shorter duration, this makes it much more difficult to land.

Throws/other attacks[edit]

  • Grabs:
    • Buff Dash grab has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 38).
    • Buff All grabs extend further outwards (z offset: 8 (standing/dash)/-9 (pivot) → z stretch: 9.7/11.1/-14.7), improving their range especially pivot grab.
    • Nerf Standing and pivot grabs have more ending lag (FAF 30 → 31 (standing), FAF 36 → 37 (pivot)).
    • Nerf All grabs are smaller (3.5u → 3.3u (standing/pivot)/2.6 (dash)) and they do not extend as far into Sonic (z offset: 3 (standing)/0 (dash/pivot) → 4 (standing/dash)/-4 (pivot)).
  • Pummel:
    • Buff Pummel has a larger hitbox (3u → 3.5u).
    • Nerf Pummel deals less damage (3% → 2%).
  • Forward throw:
    • Buff Forward throw's hitboxes have a longer duration (frame 10 → 10-11).
    • Buff The hitboxes are larger (2.5u/2u → 4u/3u).
    • Buff The hitboxes deal more knockback (30 (set), 100 (scaling) → 70 (base)/190), improving their effectiveness against bystanders.
    • Buff The hitboxes now launch bystanders horizontally (80° → 361°), allowing them to set up edgeguards against bystanders.
    • Nerf The hitboxes deal less damage (3% (hit)/9% (total) → 1% (hit)/7%).
    • Nerf The hitboxes deal more hitlag (1x → 1.5x), making the throw slower to execute and easier to DI.
    • Change Sonic releases his opponent from forward throw one frame later (frame 11 → 12).
    • Buff The throw deals much more knockback (60 (base), 70 (scaling) → 70/100), now being a viable KO option when used on a platform on tournament legal stages.
  • Back throw:
    • Nerf Back throw deals less damage (8% → 7%).
    • Buff Back throw has increased knockback scaling (60 → 79), improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
  • Up throw:
    • Change Up throw has a slightly altered animation where after the throw, Sonic stays low to the ground for longer before rising up.
    • Nerf Up throw deals less damage (3% (hit)/9% (throw)/12% (total) → 1%/5%/6%). The hitbox's knockback scaling was mostly compensated (120 → 180), slightly hindering its KO potential.
    • Buff The hitbox is larger (4u → 5u).
    • Change The hitbox no longer has a slash effect.
    • Nerf The hitbox has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 21-27 → 22-27).
    • Nerf The hitbox deals more hitlag (1x → 1.5x), making the throw slower to execute and easier to DI.
    • Nerf The throw has increased base knockback (65 → 92), hindering its followup potential at lower percents.
      • Nerf Additionally, while the throw does also have increased knockback scaling (70 → 80), this fails to compensate for the throw's lower damage, hindering its KO potential.
    • Buff The throw launches opponents at a higher angle (100° → 92°). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this noticeably improves its combo potential despite its higher base knockback.
  • Down throw:
    • Nerf Down throw deals less damage (5% (throw)/8% (total) → 4%/7%).
    • Buff Down throw has increased knockback scaling (30 → 35), marginally improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
  • Floor attacks:
    • Buff Floor attacks have less startup lag (frame 18 (front)/19 (back) → 15/16).
    • Buff Floor attacks have less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
    • Buff Floor attacks deal more shield damage (1 → 10 (front)/8 (back)) per hit.
    • Nerf Floor attacks have less intangibility (frames 1-25 (front)/1-23 (back) → 1-21 (both)).
  • Front floor attack:
    • Nerf Front floor attack has a shorter duration (frames 18-25 → 15-21).
  • Back floor attack:
    • Buff Back floor attack deal more damage (6% → 7%) per hit, without full compensation on their knockback scaling (50 → 48).
    • Buff The second hit has less startup lag (frame 22 → 20).
    • Nerf Back floor attack launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°).
    • Nerf Back floor attack now use one extended static hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes attached to Sonic's body, which gives it less range.
  • Edge attack:
    • Buff Edge attack has less startup lag (frame 24 → 19).
      • Nerf However, its total duration was unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
    • Buff As with other edge attacks, edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set), 100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20).
    • Buff Edge attack now uses an extended hitbox, giving it more horizontal range.
      • Nerf However, the hitbox is also smaller (5.5u → 5u).
    • Nerf Edge attack has a shorter duration (frames 24-32 → 19-21).
    • Nerf Edge attack has less intangibility (frames 1-22 → 1-16).
    • Nerf Edge attack deals less damage (6% → 7%).
    • Nerf As with other edge attacks, edge attack now always launches opponents in the direction Sonic is facing, removing its ability to set up edgeguards.
  • Trip attack:
    • Buff Trip attack deals more shield damage (1 → 8) per hit.
    • Buff Trip attack now has one larger extended hitbox (4u → 4.5u) rather than three normal hitboxes.
      • Nerf However, it also has less range inside of Sonic, especially the back hit.
    • Nerf Trip attack has less intangibility (frames 1-8 → 1-7).
    • Nerf Trip attack has more startup lag (frame 18 → 19).

Special moves[edit]

  • Homing Attack:
    • Buff Homing Attack has increased knockback scaling (80 → 90).
    • Buff Homing Attack takes less time to be charged and it can be inputted sooner, reducing its startup lag when uncharged or charged (frame 41 (non-inputted)/frame 25 (inputted) → 34/22).
      • Nerf However, there is now a short delay before Sonic performs the homing attack (frame 1 → 4), giving the homing attack more startup lag if it is inputted between frames 25-30.
    • Buff Homing Attack has less ending lag after hitting an opponent (FAF 50 → 34).
    • Buff Homing attack has a sharper maximum turning curve (20 → 13) and it has stronger homing intensity (45 → 30), improving its homing ability.
      • Change Because of theses changes, Sonic will now hit opponents from the front most of the time. This improves homing attack's reliably against opponents in front of Sonic, but hinders its reliability against opponents behind Sonic.
    • Buff Homing attack has higher acceleration (3 → 4) and its maximum speed is higher (5 → 5.6).
      • Nerf However, this makes Sonic fall much faster after the homing attack has finished, hindering its safety.
    • Change Homing Attack no longer deals consistent damage, with its damage now depending on how much it is charged (8% → 5%-12%). This makes the uncharged version weaker but the fully charged version stronger, especially when combined with its increased knockback scaling.
    • Change Sonic does not bounce as high off of opponents.
    • Nerf Homing Attack can only be used once before landing, considerably hindering its utility and safety.
  • Spin Dash:
    • Buff Spin Dash's charge can now be held while jumping.
      • Nerf However unlike the previous jump, the jump no longer has a hitbox and it can no longer be cancelled (even by released the Spin Dash), hindering its safety.
    • Nerf If Sonic lands on a platform while Spin Dashing and then slides off it, he can no longer cancel the Spin Dash once he lands again by shielding.
    • Nerf If Sonic releases Spin Dash and immediately lands on a slope, he will no longer be intangible during his grounded roll.
  • Spin Dash Hop:
    • Change The hop is significantly faster, with Sonic gaining less height and dropping at a higher speed (falling speed: 1.1 → 2.4, gravity: 0.065 → 0.65). This improves its combo and approach potential, but hinders its anti-air potential, as well as its safety in the air.
    • Nerf The hop has a slightly shorter duration (frames 1-32 → 1-31).
    • Nerf The hop has a smaller hitbox (3.6u → 3u).
  • Spin Dash roll:
    • Buff The roll deals more knockback (50 (base), 46 (scaling) → 67/62).
    • Buff Both variants of the roll and the roll jump now always launch opponents in the direction Sonic is facing, making them more consistent.
    • Nerf The roll deals less damage, especially when charged (7%-10% → 6%-7%).
    • Nerf The roll has a smaller hitbox (3.8u → 3.2u).
    • Nerf The downhill roll's maximum damage is lower (11% → 7.5%).
    • Nerf The downhill roll has a much smaller hitbox (3.8u → 2u).
  • Spin Dash roll jump/Spin Charge charging jump:
    • Buff The roll jump has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 6-34 → 2-33).
    • Buff The roll jump has a larger hitbox (3.4u → 3.8u).
    • Nerf The roll jump deals much less damage (7% → 3%) without full compensation on its knockback (60 (base), 73 (scaling) → 66/112).
  • Spring Jump:
    • Buff Sonic can now perform a double jump or use his specials (including another Spring Jump) after landing on a grounded spring.
    • Buff Sonic can now grab ledges from the front while ascending from his spring jump, starting on frame 8 of the ascent.
    • Buff Sonic is no longer affected by the grab release glitch after performing Spring Jump, allowing Sonic to re-use Spring Jump if he has been grab released in midair.
    • Change Grounded Spring Jump's spring remains on-stage for a shorter amount of time (240 frames → 235).
    • Change The spring no longer disappears after it hits an opponent, although this is purely aesthetic.
    • Change Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DSSonic now scowls while he ascends instead of grinning like in Brawl.
    • Nerf Sonic gains less height from Spring Jump (8.4 → 8.2).
    • Nerf Sonic can no longer reuse Spring Jump if he is hit out of it with Mario's Cape.
  • Spin Charge:
    • Change Rather than sharing Spin Dash's hitboxes, Spin Charge now hits multiple times. The move can hit around four times and each hit deals around 2%-2.5%, with the final hit acting as a weaker version of Spin Dash's downhill hitbox.
      • Buff This allows uncharged Spin Dash to deal more damage (7% → 10%).
      • Nerf However, this also hinders Spin Charge's reliability, as opponents can often fall out of the multi hits.
      • Nerf Additionally if Sonic connects all the hits, he will stop the roll shortly after connecting them, hindering Spin Charge's safety.
    • Buff Spin Charge and both of its jump variants now always launch opponents in the direction Sonic is facing, making them more consistent.
    • Nerf If Sonic lands with aerial Spin Charge, he can no longer cancel it by shielding.
  • Spin Charge Roll Jump:
    • Buff The roll jump has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 6-34 → 3-33).
    • Nerf The roll jump deals less damage (7% → 6%).
    • Nerf The roll jump has a smaller hitbox (3.4u → 3.2u).
  • Super Sonic:
    • Change Sonic now says "Super Sonic style!" upon activating Super Sonic, instead of "Now I'll show you!"
    • Nerf Super Sonic's horizontal (0.5 → 0.4) and vertical (0.03 → 0.02) acceleration have decreased.
    • Nerf Super Sonic's idle deals much less damage (13% → 5%) and knockback (30 (base), 90 (scaling) → 45/72), greatly hindering its KO potential.
    • Buff Super Sonic's ram has a larger hitbox (10u → 11.5u).
    • Nerf Super Sonic's ram's damage now scales depending on how fast Super Sonic is travelling. This results in the move dealing much less damage during a slower ram, while still dealing less damage at maximum speed (18% → 6%-16%).
    • Nerf Super Sonic's ram has decreased knockback scaling (120 → 100) and launches opponents at a lower angle (90° → 70°), greatly hindering its KO potential along with its lower damage.

Update history[edit]

Sonic has been nerfed by game updates. Update 1.0.6 severely hindered his back throw's KO potential by noticeably decreasing its knockback growth, and toned down Spin Dash's damage racking potential by lowering the damage outputs of its rolling and jumping hitboxes. Update 1.0.4 increased forward smash's ending lag, while updates 1.0.8 and 1.1.0 decreased the knockback growth of his up smash and forward smash, respectively.

However, Sonic also received somewhat noticeable buffs. Update 1.0.4 removed the grab release glitch, which enables him to re-use Spring Jump if he is grabbed in midair. Update 1.0.8 reverted down aerial's ending lag to what it was in Brawl; in addition to making it safer when used off-stage, it also made its clean hitbox more reliable for edge-guarding. Lastly, Sonic's multiple hit attacks benefit from the changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1.

Although the nerfs to Sonic's KOing options and damage racking potential have slightly toned down his offensive presence, many professional players have shown that he is still a very viable character regardless.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Buff The removal of the grab release glitch allows Sonic to re-use Spring Jump if he has been grabbed in midair.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Nerf Back throw has lower knockback scaling (90 → 79), significantly hindering its KO potential.
  • Change Homing Attack now only targets characters, instead of also targeting certain projectiles, such as Trick Shot.
  • Nerf Spin Dash's roll and jump deal less damage (7%-10% (roll)/7% (jump) → (6%/7%)/3%), hindering its damage racking potential.
  • Buff Spin Dash and all of its custom variants have less ground friction (1.9 → 1.5), causing them to travel more distance.
  • Nerf Burning Spin Dash's intangibility removed.
  • Buff Spring Jump can no longer be Pocketed.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.8

  • Nerf Up smash's last hit's knockback has lower knockback scaling (177 → 165), significantly hindering its KO potential.
  • Nerf Item toss is slower (0.983333 → 0.98).
  • Nerf Max walk speed while carrying heavy items is slower (1.005 → 0.995).
  • Buff Down aerial has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Nerf Forward smash has less knockback scaling (106 → 101), hindering its KO potential.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.1

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.3

  • Nerf Weight slightly decreased: 95 → 94


Moveset[edit]

For a gallery of Sonic's hitboxes, see here.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   2% The Punch + Punch + Kick combo from Sonic the Fighters. Its first hit can be jab canceled reliably into any tilt attack, and is capable of jab locking. Holding the attack button will have Sonic perform the first hit repeatedly.
2%
4%
Forward tilt   4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2 feet), 5% (hit 2 legs) The Horse Kick from Sonic the Fighters. It hits twice, has minimal start-up lag, and can be angled. Altogether, these traits make it useful for spacing, starting tech-chases, or as an out of shield option.
Up tilt   2% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2) A 540 kick, similar to Captain Falcon's up smash. Its decent vertical range makes it a fairly useful anti-air attack, although it has poor horizontal range. It can also combo into a short hopped forward aerial at 0%-40%, and into a Spring Jump-assisted forward aerial at 80%-90%. However, the former is reliable only against heavyweights and fast-fallers; the latter is consistently reliable only against middleweights; and both are heavily reliant on DI. It resembles the Skip Kick from Sonic the Fighters.
Down tilt   6% A legsweep. It can potentially trip opponents. If used repeatedly in succession, it will slowly move Sonic forward. It resembles the Leg Throw from Sonic the Fighters.
Dash attack   1% (hits 1-3), 3% (hit 4) A Spin Dash followed by a flying kick. It is a reliable follow-up from a down throw. While its very minimal start-up lag can allow it to pressure unwary opponents, it is very punishable because of its considerable ending lag. It resembles the Somersault, an attack that debuted in Sonic Adventure 2.
Forward smash   14% The Wind-Up Punch from Sonic the Fighters. It has high knockback growth, deceptive range, and can be angled, all of which make it one of Sonic's most viable KOing options. However, its very low base knockback makes it better suited for KO attempts later instead of earlier. It also has noticeable start-up and ending lag, making it risky if used unwisely. It KOs middleweights at 102%/92% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up smash   5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-7), 3% (hit 8) A jumping Spin Dash. It hits multiple times, with its last hit having extremely high knockback growth, and grants intangibility on frames 18-20. However, its last hit has average base knockback, which makes it better suited for KO attempts later instead of earlier. Its last hit KOs aerial middleweights at 120%/110% (3DS/Wii U) from anywhere on Final Destination.
Down smash   12% A split kick, similar to Fox and Falco's down smashes. It has the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Sonic's smash attacks and hits on both sides, which make it useful for punishing rolls. It is also a semi-spike, which makes it very useful for edge-guarding, especially when landing its back hit. Its back hit KOs middleweights at 122%/108% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination. However, it lasts for only 1 frame, and has considerable ending lag. Its front hit also KOs later than its back hit because of its below-average base knockback and knockback growth.
Neutral aerial   12% (clean), 8% (late), 5% (latest) Curls up into a ball and spins while slightly undulating up and down. In addition to being a reliable follow-up from Spin Dash, Spin Charge, and Spring Jump-assisted combos, its launching angle makes its clean and late hitboxes into useful combo starters at low to medium percentages when SHFF'd. It resembles the Air Spin from Sonic the Fighters and the Insta-Shield, an attack that debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Forward aerial   0.8% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6) A corkscrew battering ram, similar to Pikachu's forward aerial. It is tied with up aerial for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Sonic's aerials. When coupled with its last hit's very high knockback growth, it is useful for spacing and edge-guarding. It can also combo into itself in certain instances, thanks to Sonic's fast air speed and its fairly large auto-canceling window. It resembles the Emerald Dive from Sonic the Fighters.
Back aerial   14% (clean), 10% (late) A hook kick. Its clean hitbox's impressive damage output and high knockback growth make it one of Sonic's most viable KOing options, especially when used for edge-guarding. Its clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 118%/107% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination. If used while descending, Sonic's descent will be slowed slightly at its start. However, it has moderate start-up and ending lag, as well as high landing lag.
Up aerial   3% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2) A scissor kick. Its very large auto-cancel window makes it deceptively safe and easy to avoid its fairly high landing lag. In addition to being a reliable follow-up from Spin Dash, Spin Charge, and Spring Jump-assisted combos, it is a viable KOing option near the upper blast line, especially as a follow-up from Spring Jump. Its second hit KOs middleweights at 133%/118% (3DS/Wii U) while near the upper blast line of Final Destination.
Down aerial   8% (clean), 7% (late) A diagonal flying kick. It is a stall-then-fall, but unlike the majority of other stall-then-falls, it is relatively safe to use off-stage thanks to it having noticeably less ending lag in comparison. Its clean hit also meteor smashes aerial opponents on frames 19-22, but not grounded opponents. It resembles the Stomp Dive from Sonic the Fighters and the Sonic Rocket from Sonic Battle.
Grab   Clinches the opponent. Sonic's standing grab is the thirteenth shortest ranged in the game. However, thanks to his pivot being tied with Fox, Greninja, and Meta Knight's for the third longest in the game, his pivot grab is useful.
Pummel   2% A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw   1% (hit 1), 6% (throw) A stretch kick. Due to its average damage output, very high base knockback, and average knockback growth, it is mainly used to force the opponent off-stage. It also has KO potential, albeit only on with stages with highly elevated platforms, such as Battlefield's top platform. It resembles the Top Kick from Sonic Battle.
Back throw   7% Quickly backflips repeatedly with the opponent in tow before performing the tomoe nage, a Judo throw. It is Sonic's only throw with consistent KO potential and, prior to update 1.0.6, was one of the strongest back throws in the game. As of update 1.0.6, it KOs middleweights at 173%/165% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up throw   1% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2) Heaves the opponent upward and sharpens his quills to stab them. It can be followed up with an up aerial and inputted Homing Attack at 0%-20%, and Spring Jump-assisted neutral, forward, back, and up aerials beginning at medium percentages. Like forward throw, it has KO potential, albeit only on with stages with highly positioned platforms, such as Battlefield's top platform.
Down throw   1% (hits 1-3), 4% (throw) Pins the opponent to the ground and then Spin Dashes onto them. Due to being a semi-spike, it is reliable for tech-chasing and setting up edge-guards. It resembles the Double Spin from Sonic the Fighters.
Floor attack (front)   6% Spin Dashes around in a circular motion while getting up.
Floor attack (back)   7% Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)   5% Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Edge attack   7% Spin Dashes forward while climbing up. It resembles the Cliffhanger Flip from Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball.
Neutral special Default Homing Attack 5%-12% Curls up into a ball while briefly ascending, homes onto the nearest opponent, and then rams into them. Pressing the special button will execute the move earlier.
Custom 1 Stomp 5% Instead of homing onto an opponent, Sonic plummets straight down. It deals consistent damage and meteor smashes opponents. It resembles the attack of the same name that debuted in Sonic Unleashed.
Custom 2 Surprise Attack 8% A faster variation that deals consistent damage. If it does not home onto an opponent, Sonic will launch himself upward instead of downward, which can enable it to be used for recovering. However, is has less knockback, more ending lag, and shorter range.
Side special Default Spin Dash 6%/7% (dash), 5% (initial jump), 3% (jump) Curls up into a ball, performs a short hop, and then starts rolling toward the opponent at a fast speed. Holding the special button charges it up and increases its speed. In addition to granting intangibility on frames 1-6, it boasts impressive combo and mindgame potential, thanks to its ability to be followed up with any aerial attack, and its ability to be canceled via shielding, respectively. It also boasts horizontal recovery potential when it is jump-canceled immediately upon releasing the special button; this turns the dash into a "Spin Shot", a quick, long-ranged short hop that can be performed either on the ground or in the air.
Custom 1 Hammer Spin Dash 7% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2), 3% (late) The short hop at the beginning is higher, and the descent of the hop's arc is capable of burying opponents. However, it has a late hitbox that deals less damage.
Custom 2 Burning Spin Dash 12% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2) Deals more damage and has a flame effect, but lacks a short hop and any jumps out of the move are considerably lower. It resembles the Fire Somersault from Sonic Adventure 2.
Up special Default Spring Jump — (jump), 4% (spring) Pulls out a spring and uses it to springboard into the air. Although it is primarily used for recovering, it is also useful for partaking in combos. It grants intangibility on frames 5-13, while the spring itself can also be used to gimp recovering opponents underneath Sonic.
Custom 1 Double Spring 2% (per spring) Sonic can pull out two springs, but each spring deals less damage and the move covers much less distance overall.
Custom 2 Springing Headbutt 3% (grounded hit), 1% (early aerial hit), 7% (late aerial hit) Headbutts opponents while ascending. It deals the most damage if Sonic hits the opponent at its ending instead of at its beginning. However, it covers slightly less distance, and the spring does not remain on-stage.
Down special Default Spin Charge 2% (per hit) A Spin Dash that hits multiple times and has more momentum. It also has slightly different aesthetics, requires button mashing in order to charge, and can become a "Spin Shot" like Spin Dash. However, it lacks a short hop at the beginning, cannot be canceled in any way, and it can only become a "Spin Shot" when used in the air.
Custom 1 Auto-Spin Charge 2% (per hit) Functions like Spin Dash by lacking the need to button mash in order to charge. It also has altered aesthetics, which make it more deceptive than Spin Charge, and thus better at mindgames.
Custom 2 Gravitational Charge 2% (per hit) Pulls opponents in front of Sonic toward him, and pushes opponents behind Sonic away from him.
Final Smash Super Sonic 18% (Chaos Emeralds), 5% (idle), 6%-8% (slow ram), 9%-11% (moderate ram), 12%-14%, (fast ram), 16% (fastest ram) Gathers the Chaos Emeralds and uses them to attain his Super Transformation from the Sonic the Hedgehog games. When activated while very close to an opponent, the Chaos Emeralds will damage the opponent. Upon being activated, Sonic is invincible during its duration, and can fly in any chosen direction, depending on where the control stick/circle pad is tilted. The longer the control stick is held in a certain direction, the faster and more damaging his ramming attack will be.

Stats[edit]

Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump Height Double jump Height
Value 94 1.5 – Initial dash
3.5 – Run
1.375 0.06 0.01 1.15 0.01 – Base
0.04 – Additional
0.09 1.45 – Base
2.32Fast-fall
5 35 - Base
16.887465 - Short hop
35

Announcer call[edit]

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The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages.
If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

On-screen appearance[edit]

  • Spin Dashes onto the stage from the foreground and strikes a pose.
SonicOnScreenAppearanceSSB4.gif

Taunts[edit]

  • Up taunt: Somersaults and then crosses his arms with his index finger pointing out, one of his signature poses, while making three tsking sounds.
  • Side taunt: Performs the Super Peel Out, a technique that debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, while saying "Sonic SPEED!" (遅すぎだぜ!, You're too slow!).
  • Down taunt: Performs the windmill, a breakdancing move, while saying "C'mon!", both in English and Japanese. Resembles a victory animation he does when clearing a level in Sonic Advance 3.
Up taunt Side taunt Down taunt
Sonic's up taunt in Smash 4 Sonic's side taunt in Smash 4 Sonic's down taunt in Smash 4

Idle poses[edit]

  • Looks at the camera for a moment while tapping his foot impatiently. It is his idle animation from the Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Sega Genesis.
  • Turns towards the player and waves his finger in a patronizing manner while smiling. It resembles an animation he performs after clearing an Act or defeating a boss in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Sonic's first idle pose in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Sonic's second idle pose in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Crowd cheer[edit]

English Japanese
Cheer
Description So-nic! Go! Go! So-nic!
Pitch Crowd chant Crowd chant

Victory poses[edit]

The Mission Clear jingle from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), which is an orchestrated remix of the Act Clear jingle from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, entitled Mission Clear.
  • Collects the blue Chaos Emerald and then poses with it before saying "Piece of cake!" In Japanese, he says "A piece of cake! 楽勝だぜ!" (A piece of cake! An easy win!)
  • Sprints off-screen and then sprints back on-screen before giving a thumbs up and saying "That was almost too easy!" In Japanese, he says "モタモタしてると置いてくぜ!" (Lag behind and get left behind!) It highly resembles the SEGA start-up from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
  • Performs the pike, a breakdancing move, and then strikes a pose while saying "Let's do that again sometime!" In Japanese, he says "Hey guys! また遊んでやるぜ!" (Hey guys! I'll play again next time!) It resembles his victory animation upon achieving an S-Rank in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Sonic Unleashed, as well as Blaze the Cat's victory animation when she clears a mission in Sonic The Hedgehog (2006).
SonicPose1WiiU.gif SonicPose2WiiU.gif SonicPose3WiiU.gif

In competitive play[edit]

Official Custom Moveset Project[edit]

Character Custom sets available
Sonic's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Sonic 1213 1211 1313 1311 1113
1321 2213 3213 1223 1331

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also: Category:Sonic players (SSB4)

  • USA 6WX - One of the best Sonic players of all-time who was North America's definitive best Sonic player in 2015 and 2016 thanks to placements such as 4th at Apex 2015, 7th at Paragon Los Angeles 2015, and 9th at both The Big House 5 and Super Smash Con 2016. He is ranked 34th on the PGR 100.
  • UK IxisNaugus - The best Sonic player in Europe, dominating the British scene for most of Smash 4 and placing highly at many large European events, including 1st at Tech Republic III and 4th at Albion 2. Internationally, his best tournament run was at EVO 2017, where he double-eliminated ESAM to place 33rd. He is ranked 89th on the PGR 100, only one of three Europeans ranked on the list.
  • USA Jakal - Came to prominence towards the end of competitive Smash 4 thanks to his 5th-place finish at Shine 2018 defeating MkLeo and VoiD along the way. His other notable results during this period include 4th at The Legend of Glentendo and 5th at Port Priority 3 defeating ANTi.
  • Japan KEN - The best Sonic player of all-time as well as one of Japan's greatest players. He is the only Sonic player with a major win, doing so at Umebura S.A.T.. He is ranked 9th on the PGR 100.
  • Japan komorikiri - Uses Sonic as a secondary to his Cloud and is considered one of the best Sonic players of all-time. He used solo-Sonic to place 2nd at Umebura F.A.T. and has used both Sonic and Cloud to place top 8 at a multitude of majors and supermajors, most notably 2nd at 2GGC: GENESIS Saga and 3rd at both 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga and MomoCon 2018. He is ranked 12th on the PGR 100.
  • USA Manny - One of North America's all-time best Sonic players, with his best results being in 2015 thanks to placing 9th at EVO 2015, CEO 2015, and MLG World Finals 2015 almost back-to-back. Although he was never that consistent since, he still managed to place highly at several majors, most notably 5th at 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga and 9th at MomoCon 2018. He is ranked 39th on the PGR 100.
  • USA Seagull Joe - A prominent Sonic player in the early metagame who was one of the first players to defeat ZeRo, doing so at The Big House 5 and placing 9th. Thanks to other notable placements such as 13th at Super Smash Con 2015 and 17th at both CEO 2015 and Pound 2016, he was ranked 48th on the PGR v1.
  • Canada SuperGirlKels - One of Canada's best players who regularly placed highly at North American events, most notably 5th at Royal Flush, 13th at Get On My Level 2016, and 17th at both EGLX 2018 and Shine 2018. She is ranked 100th on the PGR 100 as the only female player ranked on the list.
  • Mexico Wonf - A hidden boss from Mexico who was the best Sonic player in the country, as well as the country's second-best player in 2015 who had several wins over MkLeo and placed highly at many Mexican events, including 2nd at Thunderstruck 2015 and 5th at Smash Factor 4. However due to his hidden boss status and his activity being relegated to Mexico, he was never ranked globally.
  • USA Wrath - One of the best Sonic players in the United States despite rarely traveling outside his region, with his best results being towards the end of the game's lifespan, where he placed 4th at DreamHack Atlanta 2018 and 7th at MomoCon 2018. He is ranked 59th on the PGR 100.

Tier placement and history[edit]

Sonic was initially perceived as a high-tier character, thanks to his buffs largely mitigating most of the weaknesses he had in Brawl. While his newfound KOing options would be nerfed in game updates, Sonic's playerbase has nevertheless managed to display many different and effective playstyles. In addition to enriching Sonic's metagame, the likes of 6WX, KEN, komorikiri, Seagull Joe, and SuperGirlKels have also resulted in him achieving very strong tournament results leading the general consensus to believe that Sonic is one of the best characters in the game.

Sonic's highly favorable perception and continued success resulted in him being ranked 6th on the first and second iterations of the tier list and then 5th on the third tier list as he continued to perform well at most tournaments with KEN placing 2nd at 2GGC: MkLeo Saga while defeating top players such as T, Raito, Elegant, Captain L, Larry Lurr, Lima, Dabuz, Nairo, and MkLeo as well as Manny, Wrath, 6WX, komorikiri, Sonido, SuperGirlKels, and Jakal continuing to perform well with him.

Although Sonic dropped to 7th/8th on the fourth and final tier list and is now tied with Fox, his ranking is debatable. Some players, such as MKLeo ESAM, ANTi, ZeRo and Dabuz, believe that he should be ranked slightly higher. Conversely, Salem and others view Sonic as overrated to the point of not being a top-tier character in spite of his tournament success in the tournament, with a primary argument being his unfavorable matchup with Bayonetta. Regardless, Sonic remains a massive threat in competitive play and continues to gain consistent results.

Reveal trailer[edit]

Trophies[edit]

3DS Classic Mode trophy
Wii U Classic Mode trophy
NtscSonic the Hedgehog
PalSonic
NTSCSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS The main star of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He's an easygoing hedgehog who blows past the competition with his speed. Seriously, on the ground he's faster than anyone else in Smash Bros. Use this to your advantage, avoiding blows while landing lightning-fast attacks.
NTSCSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U The star of the Sonic The Hedgehog series. He's an easygoing hedgehog who blows past the competition with his speed. Seriously, on the ground he's faster than anyone else in Smash Bros. Use this to your advantage, avoiding blows while landing lightning-fast attacks.
PAL A certain hedgehog from a certain series you just might have heard of. Unlike most hedgehogs, he's incredibly fast. Like most hedgehogs, however, he can't swim. He's by far the fastest runner of all the fighters, so take advantage of that by making sure no one gets the chance to hit him. (Just try not to end up in the water.)
Sonic The Hedgehog (06/1991)
Wii U: Sonic Lost World (10/2013)
3DS All-Star Mode trophy
Wii U alternate trophy
Sonic (Alt.)
NTSC Sonic's up special Spring Jump lets him reach great heights by jumping on a spring, becoming invincible for a moment. He can't use any other specials during the jump, but he can attack or dodge. This move's great for returning from a long launch. Other fighters can use the spring, though!
PAL Sonic's Spring Jump up special lets you bounce to great heights and briefly makes you invincible at the start. You can't use other specials while in the air, but you can use normal attacks, dodge and so on. It's great for getting both back to the stage and out of tough spots, but just remember that everyone else can use the spring too!
Sonic The Hedgehog (06/1991)
Wii U: Sonic Lost World (10/2013)
Super Sonic trophy
Super Sonic
NTSC The Chaos Emeralds are said to hold enough power to control the whole world. It's that power that turns Sonic into Super Sonic. He turns a glorious golden color and can fly at nearly the speed of light. In his Final Smash, this high-speed flight damages anyone who gets in its way and can even launch them!
PAL The Chaos Emeralds are said to hold enough power to control the whole world. It's that power that turns Sonic into Super Sonic. He turns a glorious golden colour and can fly almost at the speed of light. In his Final Smash, this high-speed flight damages anyone who gets in its way and can even launch them!

In Event Matches[edit]

Solo Events[edit]

Co-op Events[edit]

  • Full Speed Ahead: Sonic and Captain Falcon must defeat another Sonic and Captain Falcon in a high-speed, one stock battle.
  • The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes[edit]

Sonic Palette (SSB4).png
Sonic's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. SonicHeadPurpleSSB4-U.png SonicHeadCyanSSB4-U.png SonicHeadWhiteSSB4-U.png SonicHeadBlackSSB4-U.png SonicHeadYellowSSB4-U.png SonicHeadGreenSSB4-U.png SonicHeadRedSSB4-U.png

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

Sonic's double mouth glitch.
  • Sonic's dash is so fast that with enough speed boosts, such as equipping all Speed-increasing equipment while using both a Bunny Hood and Superspicy Curry, he can outrun the Spirit Train.
    • Additionally, a Sonic without customizations using Superspicy Curry dashes at the exact same speed as the water slide in the Flood Chamber of Kalos Pokémon League, which causes him to dash in place if he runs against the current.
  • Sonic is the only third-party character to be dubbed into languages other than English and Japanese.
  • Sonic, Bowser, Ike, Ganondorf, Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, Yoshi, Mr. Game & Watch, Lucas, Link, Ness, and King Dedede are the only Brawl veterans whose regular falling speeds were left unchanged.
  • Although he has existing 8-bit sprites from the Sonic the Hedgehog games released on the Master System and Game Gear, Pac-Man and Duck Hunt's newcomer posters depict Sonic's more recognizable 16-bit sprite from the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, there is a glitch that results in Sonic having two mouths when rolling forward or backward.
    • This is slightly reminiscent of a similar glitch that he had as Super Sonic in Sonic Lost World.
  • Despite being having the rest of his voice clips' replaced by ones done by Roger Craig Smith, Sonic retains Jason Griffith's clips of rising from water, sleeping, and one of his attack grunts. However, Jason Griffith is not credited for these voice clips.
    • This also makes Sonic the only character in the game to have two different voice actors in the same costume for the English version.
  • The European description for Sonic says "Unlike most hedgehogs, he's incredibly fast. Like most hedgehogs, however, he can't swim." The second part of this statement is incorrect; like most mammals, hedgehogs swim reasonably well.
  • On the official Super Smash Bros. Facebook page, there is a picture for every character in SSB4, including Sonic. Sonic's was posted on December 29th, 2014 with the caption "Five gold rings", in reference to the Twelve Days of Christmas.
  • SSB4 marks the only time a third-party character returns as a starter.
  • Sonic is the only third-party character with an exclusive piece of equipment, the ring.

References[edit]