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Sonic (SSBU)

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This article is about Sonic's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Sonic SSBU.png
SonicSymbol.svg
Universe Sonic the Hedgehog
Other playable appearances in Brawl
in SSB4

Availability Unlockable
Final Smash Super Sonic
Tier S+ (2)
SonicHeadSSBU.png

Sonic (ソニック, Sonic) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His return to the series was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. As in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic is an unlockable character instead of being a starter character. Sonic is classified as Fighter #38.

As in Super Smash Bros. 4, Sonic's voice clips from Brawl were repurposed for the Japanese version of Ultimate, while his voice clips from Sonic Generations and the Mario & Sonic series were repurposed for other versions of Ultimate.

All of the voice actors' portrayals of Sonic are as follows:

  • Roger Craig Smith in English.
  • Jun'ichi Kanemaru in Japanese.
  • Alexandre Gillet in French.
  • Renato Novara in Italian.
  • Marc Stachel in German.
  • Jonatán López in Spanish, in place of his current Spanish voice actor Ángel De Gracia. Ultimate is López's last game as Sonic's Spanish voice actor prior to his death in February 2020.

Sonic is currently ranked 2nd out of 82 on the Ultimate tier list, sharing the S+ tier alongside Steve. This is a slight improvement from his 7th/8th out of 54 placement in Smash 4 (where he was tied with Fox), makes him the highest ranking base-game character, and marks his best placement in the series. Sonic's biggest strength is his speed, which allows him to utilize a hit-and-run playstyle. Complementing this speed is his massive array of burst options with a wide window of unreactable range thanks to moves like Spin Charge and Spin Dash, which are regarded as some of the best neutral options in the game. This grants Sonic unparalleled exertion over the stage as he is able to weave around enemy defenses, bait out approaches, and control the overall pace of the game. In addition, Sonic can also play offensively, as his speed allows him to chase opponents across the entire stage while his great recovery also allows him to place pressure on the opponents offstage. All of this allows Sonic to rack up damage fast while keeping damage done towards him at a minimum.

However, Sonic has some noteworthy flaws, most notably his KO potential. Many of his best KO moves either require proper positioning to be most effective or have noticeable starting and ending lag; this can lead to opponents surviving up to high percents if Sonic is unable to secure an early KO. In addition, some of Sonic's moves, such as Spin Charge and his up aerial, also have occasionally unreliable hit detection, which can render situations where the opponent may inadvertently escape one of his combos.

Overall, Sonic is a character that can rack up damage fast and pressure opponents with his speed, however he himself could have some trouble KOing. Although initial impressions on Sonic were rather lukewarm, it has since improved dramatically due to the efforts of players such as KEN and Sonix, and he is widely considered to be one of the best characters in the game, if not the best.

How to unlock[edit]

Complete one of the following:

  • Play VS. matches, with Sonic being the 17th character to be unlocked.
  • Clear Classic Mode with Mario or anyone in his unlock tree, being the 1st character unlocked.
  • Have Sonic join the player's party in World of Light.

Sonic must then be defeated on Green Hill Zone (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes[edit]

Sonic is a lightweight who, staying true to his home series, has outstanding mobility. He unsurprisingly possesses the fastest dashing speed in the game by default (which is surpassed only by Hero while using Acceleratle), the 7th fastest walking speed, the 12th fastest air speed (which tied with Mario, Donkey Kong, Little Mac, and Inkling), and the highest traction in the game (surpassed only by Winged Form Sephiroth). When combined with his above-average falling speed and jump heights, these attributes allow Sonic to move across the stage at a blisteringly quick pace, even in spite of his average gravity and low air acceleration. To round out his attributes, Sonic is also capable of wall jumping.

Sonic's special moves are quite useful. Spin Dash and Spin Charge allow him to travel across stages at varying speeds, inflict damage on contact, and follow up into an aerial attack or uncharged Homing Attack. Despite appearing very similar aesthetically and mechanically, they both have different strengths and uses for various different situations.

Spin Dash allows Sonic to jump around the stage while charging or holding the charge of the move and can be released in the air, and the hop at the start of the move allows Sonic to "spin shot" on ground as well as in the air, with it being the side special making it more ideal for aiming the spin shot to recover. The initial jump can also help Sonic avoid certain things like projectiles by hopping over them, it, however, loses this initial hop if fully charged. Spin Dash also has a moment of intangibility on startup, which can bypass even Wonderwing. The intangible fully charged version can pass through most grounded attacks but will clank with projectiles and aerial attacks.

The non-fully charged version with the hop though can bypass if not beat out almost anything due to being aerial. The fully charged version of Spin Dash will also be intangible whenever Sonic turns the move around. Due to the number of branching choices Sonic has when starting Spin Dash, it is his most reliable attack in neutral and one of his best approach options overall. From jumping into cancellation, charging it to alter its timing, switching directions after releasing, and utilizing the spin shot, Spin Dash plays an extremely important role when attempting to play mind games versus Sonic's opponent.

While Spin Dash is a one-hit move that mostly knocks opponents into the air, Spin Charge, on the other hand, hits multiple times, carrying the opponent, and moves a little faster, making it a good alternative for dashing. Jumping out of Spin Charge also has Sonic hop while spinning, making him a jumping hitbox. Also, due to charging up by pushing the Special Move button repeatedly, it can be charged up to full power faster than Spin Dash. Spin Charge can also perform a "spin shot", although it can only be done while airborne and can't be reversed.

Both give Sonic additional protection when recovering and combo into other moves. The mobility of both in tandem with Sonic's already impressive speed makes him capable of quickly adding on damage to unprepared opponents from anywhere on the stage, and they can clank and cancel out the effects of certain moves (such as C4 or Egg Roll). Both moves also have Sonic's hurtbox extend beyond the attack's hitbox. Both moves can be blocked by shield, making them a bit unsafe and committal or predictable, as Spin Dash can only be canceled with a jump and Spin Charge can only be canceled by jumping or stopping pressing the Special Move button. However, they can bypass shields if fully-charged and jump over them on initial contact.

Homing Attack deals a varying amount of damage, homes in on the nearest opponent and is good for punishing laggy moves and edge-guard breaking. Its uncharged state also has the potential to combo and its charged state has a small amount of KO potential at higher percentages. Spring Jump is a useful recovery that grants intangibility at the start, goes very high, and is one of few recovery moves that do not cause a helpless state, enabling Sonic to attack and dodge during his descent and even extend his recovery with a directional air dodge. 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 powerful air game. Neutral aerial is a great combo starter when SHFF'd, as a result of its long-lasting hitbox, low landing lag, and launching angle. Forward aerial is useful for edge-guarding and, in certain instances, it can combo into itself on-stage at low percentages thanks to its generous auto-cancel window and Sonic's fast air speed. Up aerial's auto-canceling window makes it a useful and deceptively safe combo starter when SHFF'd. Back aerial's clean hitbox is very powerful, to the point that it is one of Sonic's most reliable KO options. Lastly, down aerial is a stall-then-fall that has noticeably less ending lag compared to other stall-then-falls. When coupled with its initial hitbox's ability to meteor smash airborne opponents, down aerial can potentially gimp an opponent, if not KO them outright, and yet still allow Sonic to recover immediately afterward, even if he misses.

Sonic's neutral attack, tilt attacks, and throws have mediocre damage outputs, yet their quick speed can make them difficult to punish. His grab game is decent overall: while none of Sonic's grabs excel in speed and each of them have average ranges, they are still fairly easy to land thanks to his outstanding mobility. Sonic's pummel is also quick and has an average damage output, allowing 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 makes it excellent for setting up edge-guards and tech-chases. Back throw also has high base knockback and 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 tilt can be reversed on startup and hit opponents through platforms above Sonic, and his forward smash has a bit of a deceptively large range due to him stepping forward during the punch.

Up throw is a reliable combo starter, having 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, as well as stages with low upper blast zones. Lastly, forward throw is his least useful throw, as its primary utility is for forcing the opponent away from him and setting up an edge-guard.

Mastering Sonic's running game is crucial to Sonic's ability to perform at high-level play; thanks to Sonic having the fastest dashing speed, Sonic mains can take advantage of a variety of dash or dash-related techniques. Dash-dancing is extremely useful for mindgames, such as by running in one direction and then quickly turning the other way around to bait an opponent or catch them off-guard. The ability to use any attack out of a dash further compliments this strategy, as Sonic can retaliate almost immediately to an opponent's attack after dash-dancing. As such, it is often regarded by Sonic players that it is better to run away from the opponent and run back than to use rolls to avoid opponents.

This allows the player to avoid damage, not be as easily punished, have more control over their actions, and be able to punish their opponent's attacks. Dash-dance pivots (consisting of fox-trotting away from the opponent, then quickly dash-dancing backward) are particularly effective for this, as they can cause almost immediate turnarounds and allow for easy grabs. In general, Sonic arguably has the easiest time winning the neutral game due to his unmatched speed and maneuverability on-stage, and attacks that not only come out fast but can also be used to approach with.

Despite the plethora of strengths, Sonic has some weaknesses however, the most noticeable being his KO potential. It is held back by his best KO moves (his smash attacks and clean back aerial) requiring good positioning and having noticeable startup 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, and his down smash, although it has decent startup, has high ending lag, making it easy to punish if missed. While Sonic's damage-racking ability is formidable, his ability to reliably close out stocks is among the worst in the game, which oftentimes results in his opponents surviving beyond 150% and even 200% if he is unable to score an early kill, forcing him to rely on hard reads in order to reliably take stocks at high percents. Despite his outstanding mobility, Sonic may struggle to land due to his very low 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. While Homing Attack and Spin Dash are his best options in getting through said projectiles, they can be reacted to and even predicted. Some of his attacks are also very punishable should they miss, and thus allow openings for opponents to punish him. Homing Attack can miss if his opponent is moving too fast or is in the middle of an attack when Sonic releases the move. His recovery is also predictable with Spring Jump as his only vertical recovery option, as its linearity makes him susceptible to gimps even at relatively low percentages. Finally, Sonic can be susceptible to early KOs due to being a lightweight.

In all, Sonic has a great offensive play, a strong neutral game, a good off-stage presence, and can very rapidly damage his opponents. However, like other characters of his archetype, he has some trouble KOing and can be difficult to keep track of, even for the player using him, which sometimes leads to accidentally putting him at a disadvantage or even inadvertently self-destructing. Although Sonic's attributes make him a hit-and-run character most of the time, his prowess for using mindgames and switching up tactics encourage multiple playstyles to succeed, which give him a higher learning curve but allows him to match up well against nearly every character in the cast.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]

Like most other top tier characters, Sonic was often regarded as one of the most potent characters in SSB4 (tying with Fox for 7th out of 55 characters); this was due to a combination of an outstanding ground movement and Spin Dash granting him a powerful neutral game, and encouraged a borderline oppressive hit-and-run playstyle that benefitted from time out strategies after gaining a stock/percentage lead. Likely as a result of this, Sonic was given a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to Ultimate, though while initially considered to be nerfed overall, universal gameplay changes, metagame shifts and game updates have allowed Sonic to keep up with the rest of the cast. All in all, Sonic has been slightly buffed overall.

Several of Sonic's key strengths and moves from SSB4 have been toned down considerably. Arguably his biggest nerf was towards his Spin Dash, as it can no longer be shield canceled and can no longer go through shields unless it is fully charged; this noticeably hinders Sonic's infamous camping ability and mindgames from SSB4, forcing Sonic to rely more on his pure speed to play defensively. Up aerial, known for its status as a strong KO option off of moves like Spring Jump and Spin Dash, has received angle and knockback adjustments to the first hit that worsen its ability to connect into the second hit as reliably, no longer managing to follow Sonic's momentum when he jumps and hindering its effectiveness and consistency for combos. Up throw, previously able to combo into Spring Jump-assisted setups, now has increased ending lag, effectively removing most of Sonic's Spring Jump-assisted combos off of it. Lastly, Spring Jump's spring now sends opponents at a more horizontal angle, toning down its edge-guarding potency, and has much less intangibility frames, making it easier to intercept Sonic during his recovery. His much lighter weight also worsens his endurance, and combined with his faster falling speed, he is more vulnerable to combos and KOs if the opponent is able to catch up to him.

However, Sonic has been granted notable buffs as well, particularly towards his less impressive attacks. In particular, Homing Attack has been buffed significantly, with faster startup, less ending lag upon hitting an opponent, better accuracy, and the ability to be charged for longer; this has lead to the move becoming a much more viable combo tool as well as a potential option in the neutral game. His down tilt launches opponents at a higher angle now, granting it combo potential. All of his smash attacks were improved, with forward smash gaining more range, and up and down smash having better KO potential. The changes to forward smash in particular have increased its range and made it more disjointed, making it more effective at canceling out other attacks, including projectiles, as Sonic still lacks hurtboxes that cover his hands. Despite their nerfs, some of Sonic's better moves have been compensated for in various ways. Spin Dash now has the ability to be jump canceled, alleviating some of Sonic's lost potential mix-up options and granting him new ones. Spring Jump now grants Sonic slightly more distance, buffing his already impressive recovery. Several of Sonic multi-hitting attacks (sans up aerial) now link into each other more reliably, including Spin Charge, up smash, forward aerial, and forward tilt.

Sonic also enormously benefits from Ultimate's universal mechanic changes, moreso than any other returning veteran. His already unmatched mobility has been improved even further, with an even faster initial dash and run speed as well as more serviceable aerial and falling speeds; this notably heightens his camping abilities via simply running away, which nearly fully compensates for the nerfs to Spin Dash. The introduction of dash-canceling also allows Sonic to take advantage of his phenomenal ground movement to mix-up his approach. Known for having high landing lag on his attacks in SSB4, Sonic now possesses much less landing lag on all of his aerials (although still above average relative to the cast); notably, this grants neutral aerial increased combo potential. Finally, the changes to air dodge mechanics improve Sonic's edge-guarding game while not compromising him much thanks to his great recovery, while the reintroduction of directional air dodges allows Sonic to gain a little extra distance after using Spring Jump.

Overall, Sonic still retains many of his powerful attributes and combo game, though several of his most powerful tools from SSB4 have either been worsened or removed altogether and his worse endurance has given him a newly defined weakness. This has lead to a less oppressive and polarized character, his playstyle shifting into a more offensive and creative one than before where Sonic now makes greater use of his standard moveset and newly buffed Homing Attack instead of relying on Spin Dash and Spin Charge to compensate for his underwhelming attacks, and must now take advantage of Ultimate's reworked mechanics, which have proven to be extremely benefitial to him. In the end, Sonic has retained his viability in competitive play, and given the nerfs to the previous game's top tiers and in spite of the introduction of powerful DLC characters in game updates, he performs better relative to the cast than he did in SSB4.

Aesthetics[edit]

  • Change Sonic's design is largely the same as it was in SSB4, although his model features a more subdued color scheme due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate. His fur is now lightly detailed, similar to his appearance in the Sonic Boom animated series and Sonic Forces artwork, his gloves have more detailed fabric, and his shoes appear more polished.
  • Change Like most other returning characters, Sonic is slightly more expressive than in Smash 4. He now has a sly grin while dashing and frowns during his up tilt, forward smash, forward throw, and when shielding. His eyes are also slightly more emotive. However, he still isn't as expressive as in Brawl, as he doesn’t grow impatient during his foot-tapping idle pose and doesn’t grin during his finger-wiggle idle pose.
  • Change Sonic's head quills have greater independent physics, resembling how their movement was in Brawl.
  • Change Two of Sonic's victory poses have been tweaked:
    • His left-inputted victory pose now has the camera appears fixed on where he appears, showing him sprinting off-screen twice before appearing. He also grins when he gives a thumbs up instead of smirking, akin to Brawl.
    • His up-inputted victory pose now has him running up to the Chaos Emerald before grabbing it.
  • Change Although Sonic still has an animated mouth in his victory poses, the ending poses switch back to the standard model so that its movement appears more natural.
  • Change Sonic’s seventh and eighth alternate costumes have swapped placements.

Attributes[edit]

  • Buff Like all characters, Sonic's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
  • Buff Sonic walks faster (1.375 → 1.444).
  • Buff Sonic dashes faster (3.5 → 3.85).
    • Buff His initial dash is significantly faster (1.5 → 2.31), now being the fourth fastest in the game.
  • Buff Sonic's traction has been massively increased (0.06 → 0.138), now being the highest in the entire game. This makes it much easier for him to punish out of shield.
  • Buff Sonic's air speed is faster (1.15 → 1.208).
  • Change Sonic falls faster (1.45 → 1.65), his falling speed now being above average instead of below average.
    • Buff His fast falling speed is faster as well (2.32 → 2.64), which improves his air mobility and leaves him less susceptible to juggling.
  • Nerf Sonic is considerably lighter (94 → 86), now making him a lightweight instead of a middleweight, weighing slightly more than Zelda and being lighter than Little Mac, worsening his endurance. While this change would also make him less susceptible to combos, this is prevented by his faster fall speed.
  • Nerf Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-15 → 4-14) and has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 29).
  • Nerf Back roll has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 34).
  • Nerf Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3).
  • Buff Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-25 → 2-26).
  • Nerf Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 31 → 51).
  • Buff The reintroduction of directional air dodges improves Sonic's recovery more than other characters', as due to Spring Jump not causing helplessness, he can get additional distance with a directional air dodge after using it.
  • Nerf Sonic takes a slight amount of damage per second when swimming. He shares this trait with Charizard, Inkling, and Incineroar.
    • Change His swimming animation is also changed, showing him constantly in a panicked state (as opposed to only being in one when drowning).

Ground attacks[edit]

  • Neutral attack:
    • Buff The first and second hits have different angles to keep opponents closer to Sonic (hit 1: 92°/60°/361° → 361°/180°, hit 2: 80°/60°/48° → 361°), akin to other neutral attacks, and deal less knockback (18 set/100 scaling → 20 base/20/15 scaling (hit 1), 20/15 base/20 scaling (hit 2)), but have gained hitstun modifiers (0 → 8 (hit 1), 4 (hit 2)). This allows them to connect more reliably, and the second hit to lock opponents.
    • Buff Consecutive uses of the first hit are faster (13 → 10 frames).
    • Buff The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 9 → 7), which transitions faster into the third hit (frame 8 → 6).
    • Buff The third hit launches at a lower angle (50° → 361°), allowing it to force opponents offstage more effectively and set up tech-chases.
    • Nerf All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.6× (hit 1), 1.2× (hit 2), 2× (hit 3)), giving opponents more time to SDI each hit and DI the last hit.
    • Nerf The first hit has had its three large hitboxes replaced with four smaller ones (3u/3.5u/4u → 1.4u/1.4u/1.6u/1.6u). The second and third hits have smaller hitboxes as well (4u/3.4u/3u → 2.3u/2.3u/2.8u (hit 2), 3u/3.5u/5u → 2.6u/2.6u/3.6u (hit 3)).
    • Nerf The second hit deals less damage (2% → 1.5%).
    • Nerf The third hit has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 4-6 → 4-5).
    • Change The third hit has a slightly different animation.
  • Forward tilt:
    • Buff The first hit has drastically reduced knockback scaling, but increased base knockback (60 (base)/70 (scaling) → 80/3) and has been moved farther from Sonic (Z offset: -1.6u → -0.7), allowing it to connect into the second hit more reliably.
    • Buff The second hit's outermost hitbox has been moved further outwards (X offset: 4.9 → 6) improving its range.
  • Up tilt:
    • Buff Both hits have less startup lag (frame 7 → 6 (hit 1), 18 → 13 (hit 2)).
      • Nerf However, the move's total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 40 → 36), giving it one more frame of ending lag.
    • Change The first hit's late portion no longer uses the autolink angle (365° → 95°).
    • Nerf The first active hitbox is slightly smaller (5.5u → 5.2u).
  • Down tilt:
    • Buff Down tilt launches at a more upward angle (361° → 73°) and deals more knockback (30 base/80 scaling → 40/100), improving its combo potential.
    • Buff Sonic no longer slides forward after using the move, making it safer to use for spacing.
      • Nerf However, this completely removes its ability to be used as a pseudo crawl.
  • Dash attack:
    • Change Dash attack has been changed to only consist of a lunge kick, with the Spin Attack portion beforehand being removed. As a result, it no longer hits multiple times.
    • Buff It has much less ending lag (FAF 62 → 46).
    • Buff It deals more damage (6% → 8% (clean), 4% → 6% late)).
      • Change The knockback on the now lone hit has altered knockback to compensate for its increased damage (80 (base)/125 (scaling) → 91/63 (clean), 96/60 (late)). The clean hit deals slightly more knockback overall, while the late hit deals less.
    • Buff It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 0.75× for the clean hit, and 1.05× for the late hit. Combined with its reduced ending lag, higher damage, and the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes both safer on shield, despite the clean hit having a below-average multiplier.
    • Nerf It launches at a lower angle (70° → 60°), hindering its KO potential.
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff Sonic's arm stretches out further during the punch, improving its range.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff Up smash has less startup (frame 19 → 14). While its total duration is one frame longer by comparison (FAF 66 → 62), it retains the same ending lag due to the first hit being separated one more frame from the subsequent hits.
    • Buff It grants more intangibility frames (frames 18-20 → 14-18).
    • Buff The first hit launches opponents towards Sonic (90° → 110°) with more set knockback (70 → 120), while the looping hits have a lower SDI multiplier (0.6× → 0.5×), and both use weight-independent knockback, allowing them to connect more reliably.
    • Buff The looping hits are larger (4u/4u/4u/4u → 4.2u/4.2u/4u/4u), slightly improving its range.
    • Buff The last hit has increased knockback scaling (165 → 170), improving its KO potential.
  • Down smash:
    • Buff Down smash's front hit deals much more knockback (55 base/63 scaling → 50/80), matching the strength of the back hit.
    • Nerf It has a new animation where Sonic's feet extend greatly. As its hitboxes were not adjusted, this results in the move no longer being disjointed, with it now failing to fully cover Sonic's feet.

Aerial attacks[edit]

  • Buff All aerials have less landing lag (16 frames → 10 (neutral), 26 → 16 (forward), 30 → 15 (back), 21 → 13 (up), 38 → 21 (down)).
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial's multi-hits consist of one large hitbox instead of four smaller ones (2u → 5.5u), which uses the autolink angle (130°/60°/200°/340° → 367°) and has more set knockback (30 → 40), allowing them to connect more reliably. They also have a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.7×), making them harder to SDI out of.
  • Back aerial:
    • Nerf Back aerial's late hit has much less knockback scaling (100 → 76), significantly hindering its KO potential.
  • Up aerial:
    • Nerf Up aerial's first hit has much less knockback scaling (100 → 50) and launches at different angles (100°/118° → 110°/123°). As a result, its knockback fails to follow Sonic's vertical momentum when used in a jump, worsening its linking ability into the second hit.
    • Buff The second hit deals more damage (6% → 8%), with knockback scaling compensated (82 → 68).
    • Buff The second hit has an additional hitbox below Sonic, mitigating some of the linking issues caused by the aforementioned changes to the first hit.
  • Down aerial:
    • Change Down aerial only possesses a clean hit and late hit, with the early hit being removed (frames 17-18/19-22/23-32 → 17-19/20-32).
      • Buff Its meteor smash hitbox is slightly larger (3.5u → 3.6u).
      • Buff This allows for the aerial meteor smash to be landed much more easily.
      • Nerf However, this reduces the clean hit's duration against grounded opponents.
    • Buff The late hit deals more knockback (80 base/70 scaling → 75/80).
    • Nerf The late hit has gained a sourspot that deals less damage (7% → 5%) without compensation on knockback.

Throws and other attacks[edit]

  • Grabs:
    • Nerf All grabs have more ending lag (FAF 31 → 38 (standing), 38 → 48 (dash), 37 → 40 (pivot)).
    • Nerf Standing and pivot grab have slightly more startup lag (frame 6 → 7 (standing), frame 10 → 11 (pivot)).
    • Nerf Standing and dash grab have less range (Z2 offset: 9.7u → 8.7u (standing), 11.1u → 10.4u (dash)).
  • Pummel:
    • Nerf It deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
    • Change It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 4 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
    • Change It has a slightly different animation.
  • Forward throw:
    • Buff Forward throw sends opponents at a more horizontal angle that is desirable for edgeguarding (70° → 45°).
    • Nerf It releases opponents faster (frame 12 → 11), but with its total duration unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
    • Nerf It has more knockback scaling (70 → 75), but significantly less base knockback (100 → 70), no longer KOing at high percents.
  • Up throw:
    • Nerf Up throw releases opponents faster (frame 28 → 23), but with its total duration unchanged, increasing its ending lag. This reduces its combo potential, despite Sonic's faster jumpsquat and jump speed, and in combination with the faster knockback physics, it severely worsens Spring Jump-assisted followups, no longer being guaranteed.
  • Down throw:
    • Buff Down throw's release deals more damage (4% → 5%), with its base knockback compensated (80 → 75).
  • Edge attack:
    • Buff Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves[edit]

  • Homing Attack:
    • Buff Homing Attack can be charged for much longer, with Sonic ascending much higher during the charge (frames 22-34 → frames 15-82).
      • Buff It has less startup when uncharged (frame 22 → 15), allowing it to be comboed into from other moves.
    • Buff It deals more damage especially when charged (5%-12% → 7%-20%), with knockback not fully compensated (45 base/90 scaling → 55/65), improving its KO potential at high charge levels.
    • Buff It launches Sonic at a straighter trajectory towards opponents, improving its accuracy.
    • Buff It incurs less ending lag upon hitting an opponent (FAF 34 → 27), allowing it to combo into other moves at certain percentages.
    • Buff It has larger hitboxes (3.5u/3.5u → 5u/5u).
    • Nerf It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 0.5×, thus dealing less shieldstun than in Smash 4, despite it being increased for moves other than smash attacks and aerials. This makes it relatively less safe on shields.
    • Change It launches at a slightly lower angle (55° → 53°).
    • Change The move shows a reticle on the opponent right before Sonic is about to strike, as in games from Sonic and the Secret Rings onward. The reticle resembles its design in the Nintendo 3DS Version of Sonic Generations.
  • Change Colliding with a wall while moving on the ground with Spin Dash or Spin Charge now has Sonic bounce off it, using the same animation when rebounding off the ground with Homing Attack.
  • Spin Dash:
    • Buff A grounded charged Spin Dash can be released in the air while keeping its charge.
    • Buff The first jump hit deals slightly more damage (4% → 5%) and has a bigger hitbox (2u → 3u).
    • Nerf Its charge can no longer be canceled by shielding, removing its usefulness for faking out approaches.
    • Nerf It can no longer be held indefinitely, instead being unleashed automatically if charged for more than two seconds. However, this can be somewhat circumvented by starting the move on the ground, then jumping out of it and charging it in the air, in which case the automatic release does not happen until Sonic lands.
    • Nerf The move stops upon hitting an opponent's shield, and cannot cross up unless it is charged enough, reducing its safety.
    • Change The trail changes from purple to yellow when fully charged.
    • Change Sonic does not hop if the move is released at full charge.
    • Bug fix Sonic no longer loses his double jump after landing with an aerial Spin Dash or Spin Charge.
  • Spring Jump:
    • Buff Sonic gains slightly more height from Spring Jump, matching the move's height from Brawl.
    • Nerf The aerial version's Spring launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°), hindering its edgeguarding ability.
    • Nerf It grants significantly less intangibility (frames 5-13 → 5-7), leaving Sonic more vulnerable to edgeguards.
    • Nerf Using the move incurs 10 frames of landing lag.
    • Bug fix Grabbing onto a ladder no longer causes Sonic to become helpless whenever he lets go or falls after climbing to the top.
  • Spin Charge:
    • Buff Spin Charge's hits launch at a more horizontal angle (60° → 9°), and have more base knockback (40 → 70), but drastically less knockback scaling (60 → 15), as well as lower hitlag and SDI multipliers (1× → 0.5×). This allows them to connect much more reliably.
    • Nerf It can no longer be held indefinitely, instead being unleashed automatically if charged for more than three seconds.
    • Nerf Like the Spin Dash, it stops upon hitting an opponent's shield, and cannot cross up unless it is charged enough, reducing its safety.
    • Change It changes the color of the trail to indicate charge strength, going from blue, to cyan, to yellow.
  • Super Sonic:
    • Change Super Sonic's functionality has been changed. Instead of being fully controllable, he moves automatically across the horizontal axis at a drastically increased speed, and only his vertical position can be controlled.
    • Buff When reverting from Super Sonic, Sonic deals damage and knockback if he makes contact with opponents while flying back to his starting point.
    • Nerf Super Sonic's damage output is significantly weaker than its previous iterations, and it lasts for a much shorter time period. The more limited controls also make it less possible for him to secure an early KO.

Update history[edit]

Aside from glitch fixes, Sonic was buffed via game updates. Update 2.0.0 improved his forward tilt's consistency and decreased his back aerial's landing lag, while update 3.0.0 ensured that Sonic retains his double jump upon using Spin Dash or Spin Charge on a platform. Update 7.0.0 enlarged Sonic's shield as part of a near-universal buff, and significantly improved his up smash's reliability against an opponent standing on a platform, the latter of which was shared with Roy and Chrom's up smashes.

However, update 9.0.0 brought about Sonic's most significant buffs. His up tilt and dash attack had their ending lag decreased, while the latter's poor damage output was also increased. As a result, both moves are safer on shield. Up smash gained more intangibility, its overall lag was decreased, and its first hit's angle and knockback were adjusted; altogether, these changes improved its consistency and safety. Lastly, up aerial's second hit received another hitbox below Sonic, which improved the move's somewhat infamous inconsistency.

Overall, Sonic fares better than he did at the launch of Ultimate, and he continues to achieve excellent results in both offline and online tournaments.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 1.1.0

  • Change The animation for crouching when holding an item has been adjusted.
  • Change The animation for swinging with a battering weapon has been adjusted.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0

  • Buff Forward tilt's first hit connects more reliably in the second (60 (base knockback)/70 (scaling) → 80/3).
  • Change Forward aerial's firt 5 hits have less hitlag, making the hits connect faster (1× → 0.7×).
  • Buff Back aerial has less landing lag (18 frames → 15).
  • Buff Super Sonic has a higher knockback multipler when used via FS meter (x0.62 → x0.71).
  • Bug fix The instant KO glitch involving Ridley has been fixed.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.0.0

  • Buff Sonic no longer loses his double jump after performing Spin Dash or Spin Charge on a platform.
  • Buff Super Sonic has more range and deals more knockback if used via FS Meter (0.71× → 1×).
  • Bug fix Climbing a ladder after using Spring Jump no longer causes Sonic to become helpless once he lets go or climbs to the top.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 4.0.0

  • Change Down aerial no longer has its downward movement disabled when used out from of hitstun.
  • Bug introduced A glitch created where upon recovering with Spring Jump then landing, the landing lag animation would play more slowly.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 7.0.0

  • Buff Overall shield size has been increased by 1.1×.
  • Buff Up smash's meteor smashing hitboxes have received a -100% trip chance, preventing them from tripping opponents on platforms and causing the last hit to miss due to the trip's intangibility.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 8.0.0

  • Buff Super Sonic has more range and slows opponents more during startup.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 9.0.0

  • Buff Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 36).
  • Dash attack:
    • Buff Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
    • Buff It deals more damage (6% → 8% (clean), 4% → 6% (late)), with knockback compensated (88 base/80 scaling → 91/63 (clean), 93/80 → 96/60 (late)).
    • Change It has lower shieldstun multipliers (1× → 0.75× (clean), 1.57× → 1.05× (late)). However, it is still safer on shield due to its increased damage and lower ending lag.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff Up smash has less startup (frame 18 → 14), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 66 → 62).
    • Buff It grants longer intangibility (frames 18-20 → 14-18).
    • Buff It modifies Sonic's jostle area on frame 13, making it less likely for opponents to get pushed out of the move's range.
    • Buff The first hit's lower hitbox launches more inward (95° → 110°) with higher set knockback (70 → 120), allowing it to lead into the looping hits more effectively.
  • Buff Up aerial's second hit has an additional hitbox below Sonic, allowing it to connect more reliably from the first hit.

Moveset[edit]

  • Sonic can wall jump.
  • Sonic continuously receives damage while swimming. This trait is shared with Charizard, Inkling, and Incineroar. This is a reference to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games where Sonic is unable to swim, and needs to constantly collect air bubbles or else he drowns and die instantly.

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

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack P / PP / PPK 2% Sonic's Punch and Punch-Kick from Sonic the Fighters. Its first and second hits are capable of jab locking. Holding the attack button will have Sonic perform the first hit repeatedly.
1.5%
4%
Forward tilt Horse Kick (馬キック) 4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2 feet), 5% (hit 2 legs) Sonic's 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, and as an out of shield option.
Up tilt Double Air Kick (ダブルエアキック) 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 resembles Sonic's Skip Kick from Sonic the Fighters.
Down tilt Leg Hitter (レッグヒッター) 6% A legsweep. Unlike in Smash 4, it launches opponents diagonally, which enables it to start combos at low percentages. Its most reliable follow-ups are forward aerial and up aerial. It resembles Sonic's Leg Throw from Sonic the Fighters, and his Foot Sweep from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Unleashed.
Dash attack Dash Kick (ダッシュキック) 8% (clean), 6% (late) A flying kick. A decent follow-up from a down throw, although this requires a read. While its very minimal start-up lag can allow it to pressure unwary opponents, its considerable ending lag makes it quite punishable.
Forward smash Wind-Up Punch (ぐるぐるパンチ) 14% The Wind-Up Punch, one of Sonic's attacks from Sonic the Fighters. It has high knockback growth and deceptive range, and it can be angled. It's also disjointed and beats several hitboxes because Sonic doesn't have a hurtbox on his hands. Altogether, these traits make it one of Sonic's best KO moves, if not his absolute best one. However, it has low base knockback, and thus should be used for KO attempts later instead of earlier. It also has noticeable start-up (frame 18) and ending lag (28 frames), making it risky if used unwisely.
Up smash Short Spin Attack (ショートスピンアタック) 5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-7), 3% (hit 8) A jumping Spin Dash. It has moderate start-up (frame 14) and noticeable ending lag, making it risky if used unwisely. It hits multiple times, with the last hit having extremely high knockback scaling but merely average base knockback. As a result, it should be used for KO attempts later instead of earlier. It is also excellent at shield poking, thanks to its somewhat large hitboxes.
Down smash Split Kick (スプリットキック) 12% A split kick, similar to Fox and Falco's down smashes. It has the lowest amount of start-up lag (frame 12) out of Sonic's smash attacks and hits both in front of and behind himself simultaneously, which make it useful for punishing rolls. It is also a semi-spike, which makes it very useful for edge-guarding. However, it lasts for only 2 frames and, like his other smash attacks, it has considerable ending lag.
Neutral aerial Air Spin (エアスピン) 12% (clean), 8% (late), 5% (latest) Sonic's Air Spin from Sonic the Fighters. In addition to being a reliable follow-up from Spin Dash, Spin Charge, and Spring Jump-assisted combos, its launch angle makes its clean and late hitboxes useful combo starters at low to medium percentages when SHFF'd.
Forward aerial Sonic Turn (ソニックターン) 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, coming out on frame 5. When coupled with the last hit's very high knockback growth, it is quite useful for spacing and edge-guarding. It can also combo into itself in certain instances, thanks to Sonic's very fast air speed and the move's fairly large auto-cancel window. It resembles Sonic's Emerald Dive from Sonic the Fighters.
Back aerial Back Spin Kick (バックスピンキック) 14% (clean), 10% (late) A hook kick. Its clean hitbox's impressive damage output and high knockback growth make it one of Sonic's best KO moves, especially while edge-guarding. The move is also one of the more powerful of its type when hit clean and has low ending lag. However, it does have moderately high start-up lag (frame 13) for a back aerial, which can make it somewhat challenging to hit with.
Up aerial Air Scissors (エアシザース) 3% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2) A scissor kick. Its very generous auto-cancel window and fairly low landing lag make it deceptively safe, as it autocancels as soon as the hitboxes cease, which is actually due to a coding error that wasn't fixed from the previous games. In addition to being a reliable follow-up from Spin Dash and Spin Charge, it is a useful combo starter when SHFF'd. Due to its first hit's adjusted launching angles and much lower knockback growth, it is noticeably less effective than it was in Smash 4 as both a follow-up from Spring Jump and as a KO option.
Down aerial Shooting Star Kick (流星キック) 8% (clean), 7%/5% (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 its noticeably lower ending lag in comparison. Its clean hit also meteor smashes aerial opponents at the beginning of the attack, but not grounded opponents. It resembles Sonic's Stomp Dive from Sonic the Fighters, and his Sonic Rocket from Sonic Battle.
Grab Grab (つかみ) Clinches the opponent.
Pummel Grab Kneebutt (つかみニーバット) 1.3% A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw Close Kick (クローズキック) 1% (hit 1), 6% (throw) A stretch kick. Due to its launching angle and overall knockback being noticeably lower than in Smash 4, it now functions as a serviceable edge-guard set-up at the very negligible cost of its almost nonexistent KO potential. It resembles Sonic's Top Kick from Sonic Battle.
Back throw Spin Throw (スピンスルー) 7% Quickly backflips repeatedly with the opponent in tow before performing the tomoe nage,[1] a judo throw. Sonic's strongest throw by far, and his only one that KOs at reasonable percentages.
Up throw Hedgehog Needle (ヘッジホッグニードル) 1% (hit 1), 5% (throw) Heaves the opponent overhead and then stabs them with his quills to launch them upwards. It can combo into neutral aerial, up aerial and inputted Homing Attack at low percentages. Due to its ending lag being increased since Smash 4, its Spring Jump-assisted follow-ups less consistent. It also has KO potential, albeit only at very high percentages and when used on highly positioned platforms, such as Battlefield's top platform.
Down throw Spinning Gear (スピニングギア) 1% (hits 1-3), 5% (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 Sonic's Double Spin from Sonic the Fighters.
Floor attack (front) 6% Spin Dashes in a circle before getting up.
Floor attack (back) 7% Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) 5% Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Edge attack 9% Spin Dashes forward while climbing up. It resembles the Cliffhanger Flip from Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball.
Neutral special Homing Attack 7%-20% 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 at the cost of it inflicting less damage. It can be used as a follow-up from various moves if executed early.
Side special Spin Dash 7%-10.9% (dash), 5% (initial jump), 3% (jump) Curls up into a ball, performs a short jump, and then starts rolling toward the opponent quickly. Holding the special button charges it up and increases its speed. In addition to granting 5 frames of intangibility after the charge is released, it boasts impressive combo potential, thanks to its ability to be followed up with any aerial attack. However, if uncharged, it stops when it hits a shield, making it very unsafe if shielded. When it is charged, however, the move is very safe on shield. 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. Sonic can only hold the charge for two seconds when his Spin Dash is fully charged, but as the move can be jump-canceled, he can still charge it on the ground, cancel the charge with a jump and release it in the air while still keeping its charge.
Up special Spring Jump — (jump), 4% (spring) Bounces off of a Spring. When used on the ground, it remains in place for a few seconds, allowing Sonic and any other character to keep bouncing off of it until it vanishes. Although Spring Jump is used primarily for recovering, it is also useful for partaking in combos. It grants intangibility at the start, while the Spring itself can also be used to gimp recovering opponents underneath Sonic.
Down special Spin Charge 1.5%-2.4% (loop), 4% (last), 6% (jump) A Spin Dash that hits multiple times and has more momentum. It also has slightly different aesthetics compared to Spin Dash, and requires button mashing in order to charge. However, it lacks a short jump at its beginning, cannot be canceled in any way, and it can only become a "Spin Shot" when used in the air. Its charge can only be held for three seconds after Spin Charge is fully charged.
Final Smash Super Sonic 12% (Chaos Emeralds), 6% (ram), 10% (launch) 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 flies around rapidly horizontally and can change his vertical position. Any opponents that are near Sonic when he returns to normal will be damaged.

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 86 2.31 – Initial dash
3.85 – Run
1.444 0.138 0.01 1.208 0.01 – Base
0.04 – Additional
0.09 1.65 – Base
2.64Fast-fall
3 35 - Base
16.89 - Short hop
35

Announcer call[edit]

Sound.png This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files.
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.

Taunts[edit]

  • Up taunt: Somersaults and then crosses his arms with his index finger pointing out, one of his signature poses (most notably from Sonic Adventure), while making a "tsk" sound three times.
  • Side taunt: Performs the Super Peel Out, a technique that debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, while grinning and saying "Sonic Speed!" ("遅すぎだぜ!", You're too slow!)
  • Down taunt: Performs the windmill, a breakdancing move, while saying "Come on!"

Sonic also uses his English lines if the language is set to Dutch or Russian, and uses his Japanese lines if the language is set to Chinese or Korean. His taunt voice lines in other languages are as follows:

Side Down
French "Vitesse Sonic !"
(Sonic Speed!)
"Allez !"
(Come on!, lit. Go!)
Italian "Velocità supersonica!"
(Super Sonic Speed!)
"Andiamo!"
German "Lichtgeschwindigkeit!" "Los geht's!"
Spanish "¡Velocidad sónica!"
(Sonic Speed!)
"¡Vamos!"
(Let's go!)

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.
  • Looks at the camera and wiggles his finger in a patronizing manner while smirking. It resembles the animation he performs after clearing an Act or defeating a boss in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Mania or his introduction in many 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games and in the three American DIC Entertainment cartoons as well as the animation he does before jumping offscreen in Sonic CD if the game is left idle for three minutes.

Crowd cheer[edit]

Cheer (English) Cheer (Japanese/Chinese) Cheer (Italian) Cheer (Dutch) Cheer (French)
Cheer
Custom combination of the flags of Canada, the USA, and Mexico.

Source, tweaked to fix rendering issues
Description So - nic! Go! Go! So - nic! Sooooooo - nic! Gooooo - Sonic! Allez So - nic!
Cheer (German) Cheer (Spanish) Cheer (Russian) Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Custom combination of the flags of Canada, the USA, and Mexico.

Source, tweaked to fix rendering issues
Description Sooooooo - nic! Sooooooo - nic! Sooooooo - nic! Custom combination of the flags of Canada, the USA, and Mexico.
Este Sonic! Este Sonic! E! E! Source, tweaked to fix rendering issues
So - nic! *claps 3 times* So - nic!

Victory poses[edit]

  • Left: Sprints off-screen and then sprints back on-screen before giving a thumbs up while saying "That was almost too easy!" ("モタモタしてると置いてくぜ!", Lag behind and get left behind!). It is possibly a reference to the Sega logo at the opening of the 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
  • Up: Runs up to the camera and grabs the blue Chaos Emerald, then poses with it while saying "Piece of cake!" ("A piece of cake! 楽勝だぜ!", A piece of cake! An easy win!). His Japanese line comes from Sonic Heroes after battles.
  • Right: Performs a break dance move that resembles his Sonic Flare from Sonic Battle, then strikes a pose and says "Let's do that again sometime!" ("Hey guys! また遊んでやるぜ!", Hey guys! I'll play again next time!). His Japanese line comes from Sonic Adventure after defeating a boss.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)'s orchestrated remix of the tune that plays when a character has passed an Act in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, entitled "Mission Clear", albeit with a slightly abridged ending.

Sonic also uses his English lines if the language is set to Dutch or Russian, and his Japanese lines if the language is set to Chinese or Korean. His victory quotes in other languages are as follows:

Left Up Right
French "C'était presque trop facile !"
(That was almost too easy!)
"Du gâteau !"
(Piece of cake!, lit. Some cake!)
"Faudra se refaire ça un jour !"
([We] need to do that again sometime!)
Spanish "¡Pero que fácil!" "¡Chupado!" "¡A ver si lo repetimos!"
Italian "Persino troppo semplice!" "Un gioco da ragazzi!" "Rifacciamolo presto!"

In competitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also: Category:Sonic players (SSBU)

  • Japan KEN - The second-best Sonic player of all-time, and the definitive best from 2019 to 2021. He was the first Sonic player to win a major, doing so at Sumabato SP 6.
  • UK Peli - The best Sonic player in Europe. He was the first European player to eliminate Glutonny at a national-level European tournament, doing so at the superregional VCA 2021 and winning the event in the process. He has also seen several strong results at majors, including 5th at e-Caribana and 7th at VCA 2022.
  • USA Sonido - One of the best Sonic players in the United States. Placing well at several events, including 5th at Come to Papa 3 defeating Samsora, 9th at the major DreamHack Atlanta 2019, and 17th at the supermajor CEO 2019.
  • Dominican Republic Sonix - One of the Four Horsemen and is the best Sonic player of all-time, and one of the best players in 2023. He won the major CEO 2022 and the supermajors Get On My Level 2023 and Port Priority 8, making him the only Sonic player to ever win a supermajor.
  • Japan Taikei - The second-best Sonic player in Japan who consistently places highly at Japanese events, including 5th at the major Seibugeki 12 and 7th at the major KOWLOON 5.
  • USA Wrath - The best Sonic player in the United States. Although his activity is lower compared to other top Sonic players, he has placed highly at most events he attended, including 5th at the supermajor Frostbite 2020, 7th at the major DreamHack Atlanta 2019, and 7th at the superregional Wavedash 2023.

Tier placement and history[edit]

Upon the release of Ultimate, Sonic was initially seen as a far less viable fighter than he was in Smash 4 due to a number of changes to his moveset, particularly to Spin Dash and Spin Charge, that nerfed his biggest strengths from the previous game. On the other hand, Sonic retained his superb mobility and long-distanced recovery, while his combo game remained mostly useful. As a result, despite being weaker compared to his previous iteration, Sonic's "hit-and-run" playstyle still remained viable, allowing multiple top players to resort to time out strategies. Although early opinions placed him as a mid-tier, as a result of retaining his notorious playstyle as well as results from players such as Sonido, Wrath, and especially KEN, opinions on the character have shifted towards being a high-tier by the time of the online metagame.

The community's perception on Sonic began shifting even further during the online metagame due to the meteoric rise of Sonix, who became one of the metagame's best players. Sonic also received buffs to his moveset, most notably an additional hitbox to his up air that made the move more consistent, improving his KO power. These positive changes to Sonic's representation were brought into the offline metagame, as Sonix and KEN saw strong performances at many majors and supermajors. These players often utilized Sonic's hit-and-run playstyle to its fullest, with their sets often going to or close to a time-out. On the other hand, Sonix has also showcased Sonic's more oppressive nature, such as overwhelming his opponent or utilizing Sonic's speed and strong recovery to relentlessly edgeguard opponents. Due to all of this, the general consensus has since reassessed Sonic as a top tier character, with several players believing he could be the best character in the game. This was reflected in his placement on the first tier list, where he is ranked 4th, with eleven panelists ranking Sonic as 1st.

Opinions on Sonic only further improved following the first tier list as Sonix established himself as one of Ultimate's Four Horsemen. In addition, players began realizing that Sonic was likely one of the best counters to Steve, the best character in the game, as Sonic's ability to overwhelm opponents exploits Steve's poor mobility. This became more evident with Sonix's track record against Steve players, which includes dominantly defeating acola at Port Priority 8 and Watch The Throne. Finally, the metagame began heavily favoring a campier, more patient playstyle that was perfect for Sonic players. As a result, many players now consider Sonic to be the second-best character in the game, which led to Sonic's rise to 2nd, ranking alongside Steve in the S+ tier.

Classic Mode: At the Speed of Sound[edit]

Sonic's congratulations screen.

Sonic's opponents reference characters from a variety of Sonic the Hedgehog games. Each Round also proceeds in the chronological order of each console generation to feature Sonic, starting from the 4th generation (Sega Genesis) to the 8th generation (Wii U), complete with Rounds 1 through 6 playing music from the Sonic the Hedgehog series (regardless of what universe the stage originates from). The title of Sonic's Classic Mode route also references a portion of the lyrics of "Escape from the City" from Sonic Adventure 2.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 FoxHeadSSBU.png Fox Green Hill Zone Green Hill Zone Fox references Miles "Tails" Prower, a fox who is Sonic's best friend and sidekick.
2 CaptainFalconHeadSSBU.png Captain Falcon Figure-8 Circuit Super Sonic Racing Captain Falcon, the stage, and the music all reference Sonic R, a racing game.
3 Giant Metal SonicHeadSSBU.png Sonic Fourside (Ω form) Open Your Heart The stage and the music likely reference the boss battles against Chaos in Sonic Adventure, particularly the one against Chaos 0. Giant metal Sonic and the stage could also reference the Metal Sonic boss fight at the end of Stardust Speedway Zone in Sonic CD. Giant metal Sonic will also use Sonic's default appearance, albeit while clad in metal, even if the player is also using Sonic's default appearance.
4 KirbyHeadYellowSSBU.pngKirbyHeadBlueSSBU.pngKirbyHeadRedSSBU.png Kirby (×3) Halberd Sonic Heroes The Kirbys represent the character types in Sonic Heroes: Speed (Blue), Flight (Yellow), and Power (Red). The stage likely references Final Fortress, the final level of said game.
5 SheikHeadSSBU.png Sheik Mushroomy Kingdom Seven Rings in Hand Sheik, the stage, and the music all reference Sonic and the Secret Rings, which has an Arabian setting.
6 Giant IncineroarHeadSSBU.png Incineroar Windy Hill Zone Wonder World Giant Incineroar references Zavok, the leader of The Deadly Six, who debuted in Sonic Lost World.
Bonus Stage
Final Master Hand Final Destination Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity)
Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)
On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Sonic has Live & Learn accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light[edit]

Sonic's location in World of Light.
Finding Sonic in World of Light

Sonic was among the fighters summoned to the cliffside to assist in defeating an army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Sonic was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. While attempting to run away, Sonic noticed Pikachu doing the same and reached his hand out to Pikachu in an attempt to save it. However, he and Pikachu were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment.

Sonic was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He appears in the Sacred Land sub-area as one of the fighters that block the Master Sword, making him one of the obligatory unlocks.

Sonic is later seen standing next to Mario as the other heroes prepare their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon.

Fighter Battle[edit]

No. Image Name Type Power Stage Music
38
Sonic SSBU.png
Sonic
Attack
Attack
9,800 Green Hill Zone (Ω form) Green Hill Zone

Spirits[edit]

Sonic's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Sonic has been unlocked. Unlocking Sonic in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Sonic makes an appearance in a few primary spirits in other forms.

In Spirit Battles[edit]

As the main opponent[edit]

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
778
SSBU spirit Super Sonic.png
Super Sonic Sonic The Hedgehog Series •Gold Sonic SonicHeadGreenSSBU.png
Grab
13,700 Windy Hill Zone •Sudden Final Smash •The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash Live & Learn
780
SSBU spirit Metal Sonic.png
Metal Sonic Sonic The Hedgehog Series •Metal Sonic SonicHeadGreenSSBU.png (100 HP)
Shield
4,600 Windy Hill Zone N/A •Timed stamina battle (2:00)
•The enemy is metal
•The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt
Sonic Heroes
782
SSBU spirit Chaotix.png
Chaotix Sonic The Hedgehog Series Sonic SonicHeadPurpleSSBU.png
Pichu PichuHeadCyanSSBU.png
King K. Rool KingKRoolHeadBlueSSBU.png
Grab
1,600 Windy Hill Zone •Invisibility •The enemy is invisible Sonic Heroes Espio the Chameleon
788
SSBU spirit Shadow the Hedgehog.png
Shadow the Hedgehog Sonic The Hedgehog Series Sonic SonicHeadCyanSSBU.png
Attack
9,100 New Pork City (Battlefield form) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Shadow)
•Item: Timer
•The enemy's dash attacks have increased power
•Hostile assist trophies will appear
•The enemy is easily distracted by items
Live & Learn Sonic the Hedgehog
795
SSBU spirit Silver the Hedgehog.png
Silver the Hedgehog Sonic The Hedgehog Series Sonic SonicHeadWhiteSSBU.png
Attack
3,600 Green Hill Zone •Item: Throwing Types •The enemy starts the battle with a Black Hole
•The enemy is easily distracted by items
Rooftop Run
797
SSBU spirit Infinite.png
Infinite Sonic The Hedgehog Series •Metal Sonic SonicHeadBlackSSBU.png (140 HP)
Attack
4,400 Big Blue •Hazard: Screen Flip •The screen will suddenly flip after a little while
Stamina battle
•The enemy is metal
Fist Bump
848
ablesisiters
Able Sisters Animal Crossing Series Sonic SonicHeadGreenSSBU.pngSonicHeadOrangeSSBU.pngSonicHeadPurpleSSBU.png
Attack
9,100 Town and City N/A •The enemy starts the battle with a Drill Outdoors at 7 p.m. (Sunny) / Main Street - Animal Crossing: New Leaf Labelle, Mabel, and Sabel
1,262
dillon
Dillon Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers Sonic SonicHeadBlackSSBU.png
Attack
9,800 Midgar (hazards off) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Dillon) •The enemy's special moves have increased power
•Hostile assist trophies will appear
•The enemy favors special moves
Frontier Battle
1,285
SSBU spirit Rayman.png
Rayman Rayman Series Sonic SonicHeadBlackSSBU.png (160 HP)
Neutral
9,100 The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Sukapon) •The enemy's physical attacks have increased power
Stamina battle
•Hostile assist trophies will appear
Sunset Heights

As a minion[edit]

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
776
SSBU spirit Dr. Eggman.png
Dr. Eggman Sonic The Hedgehog Series Roy BowserJrHeadRoySSBU.png
•Metal Sonic SonicHeadGreenSSBU.png
Grab
13,200 Green Hill Zone Bob-omb Festival
•Item: Shooting Types
•Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while
•The enemy's shooting items have increased power
•Items will be pulled toward the enemy
Green Hill Zone Metal Sonic
1,087
SSBU spirit Nico Fire.png
Nico Fire North America
Nico Flame PAL
StreetPass Mii Plaza Series Ness NessHeadGreenSSBU.png
Fox FoxHeadBlackSSBU.png
Sonic SonicHeadPurpleSSBU.png
Attack
1,500 Big Blue •Uncontrollable Speed •All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly Wii Sports Resort StreetPass Cats

Alternate Costumes[edit]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPK2K78Evow
SonicHeadSSBU.png SonicHeadPurpleSSBU.png SonicHeadCyanSSBU.png SonicHeadWhiteSSBU.png SonicHeadBlackSSBU.png SonicHeadYellowSSBU.png SonicHeadOrangeSSBU.png SonicHeadGreenSSBU.png

Gallery[edit]

Fighter Showcase Video[edit]

Trivia[edit]

Sonic replicating his Ultimate render pose in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
Sonic recreating his Ultimate render pose in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog film.
  • One of the in-game tips for Sonic states that using his down aerial after a jump and Spring Jump in succession can allow for "no landing delay". However, this is incorrect, as Spring Jump actually incurs 10 frames of landing lag, which persists even if Sonic auto-cancels his down aerial by using it from high enough as stated by the tip.
    • This tip is recycled from Super Smash Bros. 4, where it is correct, as Spring Jump in said game does not incur additional landing lag.
      • It could, however, mean that no landing lag persists from the aerial move itself, and only occurs from Spring Jump, which was possibly added due to the universal landing lag reductions in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • Sonic's stock icon in Ultimate bears a striking resemblance to several logos and icons in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, namely:
  • Sonic is one of three third-party fighters in Ultimate with more than one home stage representing their series, the others being Cloud and Sephiroth.
    • Sonic is the only sole third-party fighter with this distinction.
  • Sonic and Mega Man are the only third-party fighters whose respective series features more than one assist trophy.
  • Sonic's shoes and cuffs in his Player 7 and Player 8 alternate costumes were swapped in the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate, but his fur color was not.
  • Unlike other installments in the Super Smash Bros. series, Sonic slowly receives damage if he falls in any body of water, which is a nod to his inability to swim in his own series.
    • This makes Sonic the only third-party fighter to have this trait.
  • Ultimate is the first game where Sonic was the first third-party character announced. Snake was announced before him in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mega Man was announced before him in Smash 4.
  • Sonic is one of only four fighters to face a metal opponent in Classic Mode, facing a giant metal version of himself. The others are Bowser (who faces Metal Mario upon normal Mario's defeat in the Final Round), Kazuya (who faces a metal version of himself upon defeating his normal self in the Final Round), and Sora (who faces a metal version of himself in the Round 6).
  • Interestingly, Little Mac is absent from Sonic's Classic Mode route despite possessing the 3rd fastest dashing speed in the game.
  • Sonic is the only fighter who travels to Green Hill Zone and Figure-8 Circuit in Classic Mode.
  • Prior to update 2.0.0, there was a glitch that allowed Ridley to instantly KO Sonic. On 2D stages, if Ridley grabbed Sonic with his Space Pirate Rush while Sonic was recovering from a Homing Attack near the edge, Sonic would be instantly sent into the horizontal blast line.[1]
  • As is the case with Smash 4, Sonic's snoring and surfacing voice clips are taken directly from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which he was voiced by Jason Griffith, despite otherwise being voiced by Roger Craig Smith.
    • Also, like in Smash 4, Jason Griffith is uncredited in the credits.
    • These voice clips are also used in the French, Italian, German, and Spanish versions of the game, as Sonic was not voiced in these languages in Brawl.
  • Sonic is the only third-party veteran to have his victory theme changed in some way, being slightly sped up and abridged at the end.
  • The Chaos Emerald that appears in Sonic's victory pose is oddly more solid and less crystalline than the models used for his Final Smash and the one used by Shadow the Hedgehog as an Assist Trophy.
  • Sonic's pose in his official Ultimate render has been referenced in at least three later sources of media:
    • In the 2020 film, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic avoids one of Dr. Robotnik's attacks while striking a very similar pose to his official Ultimate render. According to Sonic's voice actor in the film, Ben Schwartz, this was an intentional reference.[2]
      • This pose is additionally referenced in the 2022 sequel film, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in a dance scene.
    • In a promotional image of the collaboration between the Sonic the Hedgehog series and the 2020 action game Ninjala, Berecca (who wears a Sonic costume) strikes a pose identical to Sonic's official Ultimate render.[3]
  • In World of Light, Sonic is the only fighter unlocked in The Dark Realm with a power level lower than 10,000.
  • When Sonic gets KO'd in Stamina Mode, his downed pose is similar to the pose he strikes in his 3D games when he is hit by an enemy while lacking Rings.
  • When fighting off the fifty puppet fighter army as Master Hand in World of Light, Sonic is one of the eight fighters fought there, being affiliated with Dharkon.
  • If Sonic's size changes due to a Super Mushroom, Poison Mushroom, or something else while charging Homing Attack, Sonic will no longer gain height.
  • In Steve's reveal trailer, Sonic's forward smash launches Mario through blocks into a Minecraft cave (transitioning to a cinematic), which led to many jokes and memes about Sonic being able to "punch people into Minecraft". The official Sonic Twitter page referenced this meme when an official Minecraft collaboration with the Sonic the Hedgehog series occurred.

Notes[edit]

1.^ translates to "Circle Throw"

References[edit]