Sonic (SSB4)

Sonic in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Sonic the Hedgehog
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Super Sonic

Sonic (ソニック, Sonic) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return from Brawl was announced during the Nintendo Direct on October 1st, 2013, in celebration of Sonic Lost World being released in the same month. Sonic is one of the four third-party characters in the game, along with Capcom's Mega Man and Ryu and Bandai Namco's Pac-Man, was the second third-party character to be revealed in the game, and is the first non-Nintendo veteran in the series.

In the English version, Sonic uses Roger Craig Smith's voice clips from games such as Sonic Generations, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, reflecting his voice actor change in 2010 from Jason Griffith, who had previously voiced Sonic since 2005. Sonic also has alternate voices for the French, Spanish, German, and Italian languages, as Sonic games from Sonic Generations onward were dubbed into those languages. The Japanese game simply reuses Jun'ichi Kanemaru's recordings from Brawl.

Attributes

Sonic, true to his name, is the fastest character in SSB4. He possesses the fastest dashing speed, among some of the fastest walking and aerial speeds, and very fast rolls. Like Greninja and Sheik, Sonic fits the "hit-and-run" archetype, but focuses more closely on close-range combat due to lacking a campable projectile unlike the two. As a result of his blindingly fast speed, Sonic can enable quick pressure on an opponent in order for him to dash in at the correct time and punish them accordingly through his amazing poking tools, throw-initiated combos, strong aerial finishers, and/or slow gimps through the use of his effective special moves.

Sonic's KOing power has significantly improved from Brawl, with most of his attacks dealing much more knockback, especially his throws and smash attacks (although his back throw was significantly nerfed in update 1.0.6 and his up smash also underwent a major nerf in update 1.0.8). His back and up air attacks are also rather deadly KOing moves, and can be used directly after an up throw for a powerful KO string. In addition to their improved knockback, Sonic's throws also have utility for different situations. His down throw is capable of tech-chasing into his dash attack, Spin Dash or Spin Charge, his up throw sets-up into aerial juggles and KO finishers, and his back and forward throw (and to a lesser degree his u-throw) are viable KO'ing options at high percents. His grab game is further complimented by his speed, which allows him to tech-chase into follow-ups with ease.

Sonic is one of the hardest characters in the game to gimp and punish. This is courtesy of many of his attacks being lagless, his ability to wall jump, and the considerable benefits that Spring Jump provides (tremendous vertical recovery, invincibility during the jump's ascent and the ability to attack out of his recovery). His Spin Dash and Spin Charge can also function as potential recovery options when combined with his Spin Shot technique to safely return to the stage's edge while bypassing the effects of projectile campers. As a result, these traits grant Sonic a decent level survivability despite his status as a middleweight.

Sonic's defense is also capable due to him having one of the best shield games in SSB4 due to the multiple ways he can go into it, which also grants him good mind reading and punishment options. Spin Dash can be shield cancelled from the ground and Sonic can still jump while charging it. These techniques set up for potential mix-ups and allow Sonic to trick his opponents, causing them to make hasty moves, something Sonic can capitalize on.

Sonic also has many beneficial custom moves. Stomp can meteor smash opponents, which further helps his edge-guarding game. Hammer Spin Dash can bury opponents that are too close upon initiation, allowing follow-ups Spin Dash would not permit. Burning Spin Dash deals almost twice the damage, and the shorter hops leave Sonic less vulnerable after landing a hit. Auto-Spin Charge, other than having a more convenient charging method, has a deceptive charging animation that does not reveal when the move actually starts losing power. Lastly, Gravitational Charge has a suction effect in front of Sonic, enabling him to hit opponents easier than before. It also pushes them away if they end up behind Sonic, preventing immediate follow-ups against him.

Despite excelling in many ways, Sonic still has his flaws. One weakness is a vulnerability to camping due to Spring Jump, his only projectile, being completely ineffective offensively outside of edge-guarding. Furthermore, despite having among the best frame data in SSB4, some of his KOing options are rather laggy, such as his forward smash and back aerial. This results in Sonic having some trouble KOing small and/or other fast characters such as Pikachu without said KOing option being the last hit of a combo. Also, while Sonic has among the longest distance recoveries in SSB4, his options outside of Spring Jump are somewhat predictable and punishable. Despite this, Sonic's strengths are considered to be more than enough to compensate for his weaknesses. This has been shown in the competitive scene, as his representation and results in tournaments have both been significantly impressive, with one of his most notable success stories being Seagull Joe's victory over ZeRo at The Big House 5.

Changes from Brawl

Sonic has been buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. His KO’ing power (a major issue he had in Brawl) has drastically improved, with several of his attacks have been given increased knockback (most notably to his smashes and throws). Many of his less effective and situational moves (which, outside of his special moves, were most of his attacks) have been buffed to posses more utility by either being capable of comboing into other attacks or KO'ing outright. Sonic’s grab game has also been buffed, as the increased knockback to his throws allows him to string together his already outstanding combo ability even more reliably, as well as KO. Sonic also benefits from the removal of DACUS, as it allows him to land his smashes easier at opponents. As in SSBB, Sonic remains a close-range fighter who punishes his opponents by racking up damage and executing amazing aerial combos.

On the other hand, Sonic received minor nerfs; for example, his Spring Jump travels less vertical distance and the Homing Attack can no longer be used multiple times without standing on the ground again, weakening one of his great recovery options. The endlag for his KO moves have been drastically increased, resulting in Sonic having some trouble KOing small and/or other fast characters without said KOing options being the last hit of a combo. Additionally, Sonic has also been nerfed in several game patches, most notably to his KO game, but so far none of these nerfs have significantly affected his viability.

Overall, Sonic has achieved impressive tournament representation and great results and is considered by the competitive community to be a solid high-teir. Although, he is not as common or as dominant as other top-tier characters such as Sheik, Luigi, or Rosalina & Luma, he nonetheless has a dedicated playerbase and is one of the most frequently used characters in low and mid-level play.

Aesthetics

• Sonic's appearance has been slightly altered to match his appearances in recent Sonic the Hedgehog games that use the Hedgehog Engine, such as Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Generations, and the Wii U version of Sonic Lost World. This includes his facial expressions now showing his mouth being placed more to the side of his muzzle rather than right below his nose, although its placement reverting to being under his nose can be seen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U during his losing animation and in one of his winning animations.
• Sonic's front now faces the foreground more on either side.
• Attacks which involve spinning emit a lower-pitched sound effect, similar to that heard in Sonic Lost World.
• Some of Sonic's attacks produce more visualized lighting effects.

Attributes

• Sonic's walks slower (1.4 → 1.375).
• Sonic's air speed is faster (1.1092 → 1.15).
• Sonic's traction is lower (0.07 → 0.06).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack deals 1% more damage (7% → 8%).
• Dash attack is now a multiple hit attack that ends with a rolling flying kick, giving it better utility overall.
• Forward tilt has increased base knockback (10 → 30).
• Up tilt deals 6% less damage (14% → 8%).
• Down tilt launches opponents forward instead of upward, which reduces its follow-up options.
• Forward smash has increased knockback growth (98 → 101).
• Forward smash has increased ending lag.
• Up smash's last hit has increased knockback (70 base/153 growth → 80 base/165 growth) and it is also much more difficult to SDI out of.
• The removal of DACUS makes his up smash easier to land on opponents.
• Sonic has a new down smash. A split kick.
• Down smash is much faster and is also a semi-spike.
• Down smash's front hit has decreased knockback (40 base/100 growth → 55 base/63 growth).
• Down smash's back hit has increased base knockback but decreased knockback growth, giving it around the same strength (40 base/90 growth → 50 base/80 growth).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial deals 1% more damage (11% → 12%).
• Neutral aerial launches opponents at 75°, which gives it more combo potential.
• Neutral aerial now emits bluish aura around Sonic's body for the duration of the move, similar to the Insta-Shield from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
• Forward aerial's last hit has increased knockback growth (120 → 135).
• Forward aerial deals 7% less damage (14% → 7%) and has increased ending lag.
• {{buff|Back aerial deals 1% more damage (13% �