Sora (SSBU)


 * Sora Is Finally Here!

Sora (, Sora) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially announced during The Final Mr. Sakurai Presents on October 5th, 2021 as the sixth and final downloadable character from, and was released on October 18th, 2021 (October 19th in time zones east of the Americas) as part of Challenger Pack 11. During the presentation, Masahiro Sakurai confirmed that Sora was the actual winner of the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot, aligning with the statement that was the winner among "negotiable and realizable characters." Sora is the fourth fighter from a Square Enix published/developed series (after, , and respectively), as well as the first and only fighter from Disney. Sora is classified as Fighter #82, the last fighter number of the newcomers and the overall roster.

and, Sora's main English and Japanese voice actors as of the original Kingdom Hearts, reprise their roles in the English and Japanese releases of Ultimate respectively, with their portrayals being re-purposed from ' and '.

Sora is ranked 31st out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the upper end of the A- tier. Sora possesses a highly dominant aerial game, characterized by an extremely long-distanced double jump that allows him to chase opponents above him, and a number of aerial attacks that sport great power and hitbox coverage. Most distinct among Sora's combat prowess is his possession of an array of natural combos that, when used in conjunction with his unique double jump, allow Sora to perform extensively damaging combo loops via the instant double jump and SHFF techniques. Sora can initiate these combo loops reliably thanks to a host of great combo starters both in the air and on the ground, and many of them also have routes that lead into KOs. A prevalent trait among all of Sora's attacks is their high amount of active frames, granting him considerable leniency in regard to being precise while performing attacks in advantageous situations, and also allows him to tech-chase and cover edge options with relative ease. His special moves grant him a considerable amount of utility; Magic cycles through multiple projectiles that offer him pressure tools in the neutral game, allows Sora to interrupt any melee attack, and Aerial Sweep functions as a potent high-rising KO option. He sports an immaculate recovery that complements his flexible off-stage presence, and can mix up his approaches through the use of Sonic Blade. In contrast to the majority of his fellow swordfighters, Sora also possesses a great grab game: each of his grabs are fast, while his down throw and back throw are reliable for starting combos and KOing outright, respectively.

However, Sora is not without flaws. His biggest weakness is his range; while swordsmen are typically characterized by sacrificing frame data in favor of having more range, Sora possesses one of the shortest effective ranges for a swordsman in the roster while still maintaining typical swordsman flaws, which makes spacing much harder for him than other characters of his archetype. This is compounded by his suboptimal air speed, floatiness, and slow double jump, making it challenging for him to weave in and out of enemy threat range while throwing out attacks, as well as escaping disadvantage. Sora is also a lightweight, and thus susceptible to being KO'd at early percentages by stronger characters. His special attacks, despite their well-rounded traits, have a few inconvenient quirks that the player has to circumvent; these include Magic needing to cycle through each of its spells instead being able to be used freely (with Thundaga in particular being a weaker move to use in neutral), Counterattack not being able to be B-reversed or detect attacks behind Sora (outside of an incoming hitbox overshooting and thus activating it) and its reflector being situational, and Sonic Blade losing range when it is shielded.

Although Sora's early representation was sporadic, he saw a rise in results courtesy of significant placements by top players, such as. Overall, Sora is considered a respectable fighter at a competitive level who must exercise care in his defensive play to reap the rewards of his high overall damage output, extensive combo potential, and potent KO potential.

Attributes
Sora is a swordsman whose mobility attributes reference his movement in the Kingdom Hearts series. Although he is a lightweight that weighs the same as, his aerial mobility is notable: he has a below-average fall speed, extremely low gravity (on par with ), and a very poor initial jump, yet has a very high and delayed double jump. Sora's air speed is lackluster due to it being the 24th slowest, but he has the 15th highest air acceleration. Comparatively, Sora's grounded mobility is poor: he has the 10th slowest walking speed, the 24th slowest dashing speed, and the 11th lowest traction.

Thanks to his aerial attributes, Sora can stay in the air for a long time to inflict damage but has trouble closing in or escaping ground pressure through his mobility alone. Conversely, Sora has among the longest recoveries in the game thanks to his aforementioned double jump, Sonic Blade (his side special move) granting up to three additional bursts of movement, and Aerial Sweep (his up special move) granting both extra vertical height and the ability to transition into Sonic Blade. Overall, especially compared to his fellow swordfighters, Sora struggles to apply and escape pressure on the ground given his lackluster mobility and laggy attacks, but fares much better in the air, where the combination of his floatiness and his attacks' lingering hitboxes allows him to perform combos and create havoc while staying airborne.

The centerpiece of Sora's game plan is his aerial game, in large part due to his aforementioned jumping abilities. Neutral and forward aerials are natural combos, similar to 's forward aerial. Holding or repeatedly tapping the attack button for each move completes the full combo, whereas tapping the button once initiates only one hit. However, of note is that the first hit of his forward aerial during a fast fall negates his upward momentum, allowing for KO confirms upon landing well past mid percentages. Back aerial is strong enough to KO reliably, and it even has relatively low landing lag (at 11 frames), which makes it relatively safe on shield. Sora's down aerial, Hurricane Blast, works well as an edge-guarding tool due to its long duration, low ending lag, and Sora's aforementioned double jump. However, where Sora's air game shines is his up aerial: its respectable power enables it to carry opponents closer to the upper blast line or even KO them outright, while its lengthy active frames and decent landing lag (at 10 frames) make it a potent combo tool in the air or when SHFF'd.

Sora has several tools that make for a respectable ground game. Neutral attack and forward tilt are similar to his neutral aerial in that they are natural combos that either initiate only one hit on a single button press, or the full combo if the attack button is held or repeatedly tapped. In particular, his neutral attack comes out on frame 5, making it a good tool for close-range pressure, and its high vertical hitbox gives it minor anti air properties. His forward tilt has somewhat slow startup, but compensates with more versatility than his other moves; when tapped once, its first hit has enough power to KO reliably while near the edge despite its fairly unimpressive damage output, and when held or tapped repeatedly, it deals much more damage while sacrificing some of its KO potential.

Up tilt functions much like 's equivalent move, as it is a useful anti-air attack that hits multiple times and has overall decent range. Unlike hers, however, Sora's is also useful for setting up combos at low percentages. Down tilt is one of Sora's go-to combo starters, being able to combo into his aerial moves at low to medium percentages. In particular, its combo into up aerial combo can KO quite early if the opponent does not react correctly. Lastly, dash attack's very large area of effect makes it useful as both a burst option and a 2 frame punish. Although situational, its clean hitbox is nevertheless capable of KOing at very high percentages while near the edge.

Sora's smash attacks are serviceable in their own right. Forward smash is the least reliable of his smash attacks due to its startup and ending lag leaving him vulnerable, but it is also the most powerful and can even negate other projectiles. Up smash has deceptively good range in front of him, and likewise has strong KO power, being one of the strongest up smashes in the game. Lastly, down smash functions like, and 's equivalent moves, as it involves him hopping before striking the ground. In doing so, he can vault over low profiling attacks, but unlike other moves, the move is also well suited for 2 frame punishing, since the move's hitbox goes well below him.

While most swordfighters are traditionally burdened with ineffective grab games, Sora's grab game is atypically strong for his archetype. His standing grab is among the fastest in the game with only 7 frames of startup and his throws have good utility. Forward throw is unable to KO at realistic percentages, even near ledges, and thus it is mainly used for launching foes offstage and setting up edge trap situations. Up throw is also decently powerful and can set opponents up for juggles if they do not DI or react correctly but does not KO until over 180% for middleweights. In comparison, Sora's back and down throws are much more useful. Back throw is a useful KO option, thanks to it being able to KO middleweights at around 120% near the edge. Down throw is a useful combo starter due to neutral, forward and up aerials being reliable follow-ups, and it can position opponents for juggles and other aerial situations like up throw.

Sora has a useful kit of special moves. His neutral special, Magic, cycles between three attacking spells (Firaga, Thundaga and then Blizzaga), each cycling after the previous one has been utilized. Firaga functions similarly to Breegull Blaster, being able to launch fireballs by repeatedly pressing the attack button, and can confirm into moves like his dash attack. After finishing, Firaga transitions to Thundaga, which drops several bolts of lightning that combo into each other. Notably, the last bolt has very strong KO power, making it the only spell that can outright KO reliably. Lastly, Thundaga transitions to Blizzaga, which sports decent range, does a lot of shield damage, and freezes opponents starting at mid to high percentages, allowing him to deal additional uncontested damage. While not a reliable KO option, Sora is able to convert the attack into a KO if he reads the opponent's escape with one of his attacks sporting a lingering hitbox. Casting each spell in the air stalls Sora's vertical momentum, allowing him to apply offensive pressure offstage, though Thundaga's lag causes him to fall comparatively faster than the other spells.

Sora's side special, Sonic Blade, functions similarly to Quick Attack: when it is initiated near an opponent, Sora faces them and performs a dashing thrust; otherwise, he continues to move in the direction the Control Stick is held in. If the special attack button is tapped, Sora dashes forward once, but if directions are continuously inputted, Sora strikes up to three times instead. Pressing the special attack button during the input phase will cause Sora to automatically aim at the nearest opponent. While lacking in KO power, the lock-on version of the attack sports decently strong knockback and can set up an advantage situation if connected.

His up special, Aerial Sweep, functions very similarly to Spin Attack, and is a multi-hitting attack with strong KO power and decently fast startup (frame 9), giving Sora a decent out of shield option. A key difference with the aforementioned Spin Attack is that Aerial Sweep propels Sora upward, regardless of whether it is used on the ground or in the air. It can also transition into Sonic Blade if the move input is performed near the jump's apex, which grants Sora a noticeably long-distanced recovery in the process.

Sora's down special,, works as both a counterattack and a reflector, similarly to Counter / Reflect Barrier, Gut Check, and Tetrakarn / Makarakarn. Uniquely among said moves is that projectiles get reflected behind Sora rather than in front of him. While this makes the move ineffective as a direct reflector, it grants him some defense against characters with both reflectors and projectiles (such as, , and ). Unlike other counterattacks in the game, Sora's counterattack interrupts any direct attack of the opponent by putting them in a rebound state, which gives it the ability to prevent even invincible attacks like Wonderwing, however one downside with the counterattack is that it will only register attacks from the front. Although Sora's counter special has fewer active frames and slightly more startup than other swordfighters like, Sora can interrupt the ending lag at frame 52, much quicker than most other counterattacks, making it less punishable.

One of Sora's most defining traits across his moveset are the presence of lingering hitboxes. Almost all of Sora's grounded moves and aerials, as well as select specials like Blizzaga, feature an extensive number of active frames, granting Sora a fair degree of safety when it comes to throwing out attacks and intercepting opponents. Many of these attacks also cover a plethora of angles, though these are perhaps most notable in his aerials as a result of Sora's aforementioned ability to negate his upward momentum through fast falling. Because of this, Sora has a deadly juggling game and can keep opponents above him trapped in disadvantage for extended periods of time.

When combining the fixed knockback of several of his single hit natural combo strings with the unique traits of his jump, these traits open up potent combo loops through the usage of the instant double jump technique, allowing Sora the ability to cancel his attacks and hit confirm into longer combos, stronger attacks, and even KOs. As a result of these factors, Sora has a number of ways to cover tech chases, air dodges, and multiple committal ground and aerial recovery options when he is pushing advantage, in particular sporting a strong edge trapping game, and in many cases they may be the difference maker between an opponent's survival and them being KO'd.

However, for as many strengths as Sora has, he also has several flaws. His low weight and below-average falling speed make him very susceptible to vertical KOs. Despite his high amount of active attack frames, he has below-average frame data on his moveset, making it hard for him to escape from combos. With all of these factors considered, he is particularly susceptible to wall of pain combos, as he has no realistic ways of defending himself.

Sora's range is arguably his biggest weakness. Despite being a swordsman, the 's range is among the shortest of any weapon in Ultimate. This leaves Sora at a disadvantage against other fighters who sport disjointed ranges, such as and  (especially given their respective sword attacks). When combined with his aforementioned frame data, he is unable to keep maximum distance from other characters as effectively as other spacing-oriented characters (such as Marth and ) and can result in opponents being able to chase him down more easily.

Despite his grabs being quick, they also suffer from abysmal range like many other swordfighters, but to an even larger extent; Sora's standing grab, in particular, is tied with 's for one of the worst grab ranges among the entire cast. This means Sora needs to rely on a lot of defensive play to convert into his advantage state, spacing aerial attacks and using Magic attacks like Firaga as neutral coverage. His lackluster range and mobility also limit his disadvantage somewhat, forcing him to rely on certain momentum-stalling moves like Magic attacks and down aerial to maneuver his way back into neutral.

Lastly, Sora's special moves all have certain unique flaws that force him to maintain a patient playstyle. Magic cannot freely swap between its spells (unlike other multi-weapon attacks, such as 's forward smash), forcing him to repeatedly use his spells to cycle through the most optimal one for a given situation. Transitioning also leaves Sora vulnerable since he cannot move on the ground until his current spell concludes, making him whiff punishable unless the player mitigates it through aerial usage. Since all three spells are projectiles they can also be reflected, though this is suboptimal against Thundaga. Sonic Blade slows down slightly upon hitting a shield (although given the short amount of time it takes to transition between hits, punishing the move can prove to be difficult), while Sora cannot input any actions if the move concludes in the air, making him very vulnerable. Aerial Sweep does not hit behind Sora on startup, and Sora is vulnerable to meteor smashes since the move does not hit directly above him. Counterattack's aforementioned ineffectiveness against projectiles makes it infeasible for reflected projectiles to KO opponents. Like Scintilla and Gut Check, it also leaves the area directly behind Sora unprotected.

Overall, Sora's playstyle is reminiscent of where his light weight and somewhat lackluster direct range force him to play very patiently in order to get the most out of his combos and strong air game. His ability to reliably edge-guard the majority of the cast alongside his wide array of combo routes give him the potential to KO at very early percentages. However, he must be very careful to not overextend or whiff too much as he has the potential to be KO'd at very early percentages.

Update history
Sora received no major changes in game updates by virtue of being the final DLC fighter and the development team not having enough time to properly observe player behavior and apply any necessary tweaks before sunsetting active development. The only change he received was in update 13.0.1, where his jab reset animation was adjusted to match the rest of the cast.

 

Moveset
For a gallery of Sora's hitboxes, see here.
 * Sora can crawl.
 * Sora has a special double jump that propels him in a floatier, curved trajectory with significantly more height. This trait is shared with, , , and.
 * The Kingdom Key's hits generate a cartoony star effect and a unique hit sound, emulating the 's hit effects from the Kingdom Hearts series. The cartoony star effects are carried over for when Sora uses bladed battering items, such as Death's Scythe's neutral and dash attacks, as well as all attacks that use the Beam Sword and Killing Edge.
 * Upon Sora landing the final hit in Stamina Mode, a slow-motion zoom effect occurs that fades the screen to white before the Announcer says "Game!" This is a callback to the visual effects seen when landing the finishing blow against a major enemy in the Kingdom Hearts games. If Sora KOs more than one opponent with the final blow, the Announcer will instead say "Game!" first while the slowdown takes place after. If both Sora and his opponent are offscreen when the slowdown is supposed to occur, Finish Zoom will happen instead.

On-screen appearance

 * s in from the background, lands, and hops happily while hoisting the Kingdom Key in the air before assuming his battle stance.

Taunts

 * Up taunt: Casts, , or , which cycle similarly to Magic. However, these spells are merely aesthetic and do not have any effect on gameplay. Sora calls out "Time!" (, O' Time!), "Wind!" (, O' Wind!), and "Heal!" (, O' Healing!) for each respective spell.
 * Side taunt: Faces the screen and twirls his Kingdom Key in front of himself while grunting. This resembles one of his victory animations in the.
 * Down taunt: Hops while raising his fist in the air and saying "Here we go!" (, Let's go!). This resembles his animation after successfully hitting star-marked notes in .

Idle poses

 * Twirls the Kingdom Key around, adjusting his hands as necessary to hold it again.
 * Looks around, referencing how he looks around when engaged in combat in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Crowd cheer
 

Victory poses

 * Left: Hops while raising his fist in the air, similarly to his down taunt. Upon landing, he spins the Kingdom Key around, and then rests it on his shoulder while saying "Yes." (, Alright.) This is similar to one of his victory animations when he wins a round in one of the cups from the area in the original Kingdom Hearts, which in turn resembles Cloud Strife's victory animation in Final Fantasy VII. The pose at the end is similar to the one he assumes in Tetsuya Nomura's artwork from Kingdom Hearts and, by extension, his P1/P5 fighter renders. Uniquely, if Sora uses his Timeless River costume, he'll briefly close his eyes after resting his Kingdom Key on his shoulder.
 * Up: Swings the Kingdom Key forward once, then twirls it while turning around before resting it on his shoulder while showing his back toward the screen. This is also another one of his victory animations in the Coliseum, which in turn references 's victory pose in Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Right: Thrusts the Kingdom Key forward and turns it (as if locking/unlocking something), then quickly spins it around and points it upward while holding it with both hands. This slightly resembles the summoning animations in Kingdom Hearts.



Most historically significant players
See also: Category:Sora players (SSBU)
 * - The best Sora player of all-time who has came closest to winning a major, most notably placing 2nd at both and  and 3rd at.
 * - The second-best Sora player in Japan, though his tournament activity remains largely in Kansai due to his studies. He has a string of strong superregionals, including 3rd at, 4th at , and 5th at.
 * - The best Sora player in Europe, co-maining the character alongside . He notably won after double-eliminating, and has also placed 9th at.
 * - Although having only played Sora for a few weeks after the character's release, he is currently the only Sora player to win a major, doing so at.

Tier placement and history
Initial perceptions towards Sora were rather positive, with many top players pointing out his potent combo potential from his neutral and forward aerials, as well as his versatile recovery. Initial results matched these perceptions thanks to the efforts of, who notably won two weeks after the character was released. As a result, many players were confident that Sora had the potential to be a high-tier fighter.

However, no other Sora player has yet to match Zackray's achievement. In fact, most of Zackray's other results with Sora were more mixed, while a couple of other players who tried to main Sora, including, saw limited success; both players have since dropped Sora. In North America, despite confidence from players such as and, Sora garnered a reputation for being pulled out and used unsuccessfully in last-ditch efforts at majors, and both players have since saw little success when using the character.

On the other hand, despite Zackray dropping the character, Sora saw continued success in Japan thanks to the efforts of, who by mid-2022 had achieved multiple top 8 placements with the character, and , who has achieved respectable placements regionally despite being semi-active. kameme especially was able to travel to North America for several tournaments and placed top 8 at almost all of them. kameme's success with the character helped improve Sora's reputation in North America: currently, the general perception of Sora is that he is a viable, yet unpopular character in the metagame with and kameme both ranking him in top tier, though time will tell how he fares in the long run. Regardless, he is ranked 31st on the first and current tier list.

: The Light That Clears the Darkness
In reference to the series, Sora's opponents are analogous to various antagonists featured in his home series. This theme is further reinforced by Rounds 1 through 6 being Stamina Mode battles (in reference to the Kingdom Hearts series' hit points system) and each Round playing a song from the Kingdom Hearts series (regardless of what universe the stage originates from).

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Sora has  accompany the credits, in reference to the Gummi Ship sections in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Role in World of Light
Due to his status as downloadable content, Sora does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, he is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing ten fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition before downloading Sora, he is immediately unlocked.

Spirits
Sora's default fighter spirit can be obtained by completing. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Sora has been downloaded. Unlocking Sora 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 Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts III, and Timeless River outfits have fighter spirits of their own, available through the shop. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

As a minion
Conditions in italic are not listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.

Trivia

 * Sora's fighter tagline, "Sora Is Finally Here!", is a reference to both his massive and long-term popularity as a fighter candidate, and his status as the final fighter of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's roster.
 * Sora is referred to within the game files with the codename "trail".
 * Sora's moveset was designed primarily to emphasize the aerial combat and tightly timed combos within the Kingdom Hearts series.
 * Several of Sora's promotional images contain references to the Kingdom Hearts series:
 * Sora appearing on Tortimer Island is a reference to his birthplace, the.
 * Sora attacking Metal Face references the, a recurring boss.
 * Sora fighting on Coliseum references their encounter at the . However, Sora is wearing his Kingdom Hearts II outfit in the picture despite only fighting Sephiroth at the Olympus Coliseum in the original Kingdom Hearts.
 * Sora standing next to references his allies  and, who are also a dog and duck duo.
 * Sora waking up next to is a reference to, a balloon-like monster known as a  that features the characteristics of both a cat and a dog. Meow Wow was Sora's first companion in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and even returned as a  in Kingdom Hearts III, being the first one that he obtains.
 * Sora's various animations hold references to the Kingdom Hearts series as well:
 * He hovers above the ground while dashing, which is similar to his ability; in the original Kingdom Hearts, his glide stops upon reaching the ground, but later titles allow him to glide across the ground for faster movement.
 * While holding crates, he holds them above his head, as he does when carrying crates and barrels in the original Kingdom Hearts.
 * His swimming and ladder climbing animations are effectively carried over from the original Kingdom Hearts.
 * When holding one-handed items, his stance changes so that he holds the Kingdom Key with his raised right arm and the item in his left, while tapping his left foot, resembling his 's battle stance. Both his tiptoeing and walking animations are altered to match.
 * If the item is a battering item, Sora's animations for his neutral attack, forward tilt, dash attack, and forward smash will also change to resemble Valor Form's various dual-wielding attacks.
 * When teching on a wall, Sora performs a similar animation to when performing a wall bounce while utilizing in Dream Drop Distance.
 * Sora's jumping animation replicates his jumping animation from the original Kingdom Hearts, and his backwards double jump animation replicates his animation from Kingdom Hearts II.
 * tossing the to summon Sora and both of them shaking hands at the end of his reveal trailer are references to them being the first and last numbered fighters on Ultimate's roster, respectively.
 * The connection between both characters is also much more intricate beyond this. According to Tetsuya Nomura, the director of the Kingdom Hearts series, the 3D graphics and sandbox-style gameplay of  inspired him to create a game similar to it. Upon being told that the only characters that could rival Mario in regard to popularity would have to be from a company like Disney, Nomura took this to heart and sought to implement Disney characters into his game after Disney approved Squaresoft's usage of their characters for such a project. Ultimately, this turn of events led to the groundwork of the Kingdom Hearts series' gameplay and story.
 * Sora's reveal trailer has different lip syncing between the English and Japanese versions. When he flies by the camera to chuckle in the Japanese version, his mouth is already open. In the English version, he grins before chuckling. This goes along with the lip-syncing changes in most English versions of Kingdom Hearts.
 * Each of Sora's official renders resemble his official artworks from each respective iteration of Kingdom Hearts. Said renders are also used for his fighter spirits.
 * Unlike in the Kingdom Hearts series, Sora's P1 and P5 renders have him hold the so that the teeth face upward, in contrast to how the teeth face downward in his other renders and his P1 fighter spirit. This is to reflect his 2D artwork from the original Kingdom Hearts, in which he holds the Kingdom Key similarly.
 * Despite having his proportions from the original Kingdom Hearts, Sora's stance and crouch height resemble his battle pose from Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts III.
 * Sora is the third DLC character in Ultimate whose voice clips are repurposed from another game, following and.
 * When fighting both Master Hand and Crazy Hand in Classic Mode, Sora will start on the far-left side of the stage instead of in the center. This also occurs with Sephiroth, Pyra and Mythra in their respective routes.
 * When facing to the left, Sora's up and side taunts feature him smoothly turning towards the screen for the animation; when facing to the right, he instead snaps into position.