Sonic (SSBU)

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Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Sonic the Hedgehog
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Super Sonic

“	This speedy fighter has a lot of rush-type attacks. His final smash, Super Sonic, lets him fly around the stage at an incredible speed!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Sonic (ソニック, Sonic) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed as a playable character on June 12th, 2018. Sonic is classified as fighter #38.

Sonic is once again voiced by Roger Craig Smith in the English version, albeit with recycled voice clips from various Sonic games, as was the case in Super Smash Bros. 4. In the Japanese version, Jun'ichi Kanemaru reprises his role via recycled voice clips from Brawl and Smash 4. He is also voiced in French by Alexandre Gillet, in Spanish by Jonathan López, in German by Marc Stachel and in Italian by Renato Novera.

How to unlock

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 first character unlocked.
• Have Sonic join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Sonic must then be defeated on Green Hill Zone.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from Smash 4, Sonic's model features a more subdued color scheme. His fur is now lightly detailed similar to other furry characters.
• Like most of the cast, Sonic is more expressive, as he now grins while dashing and now has an angry expression when using his up tilt, forward smash, and holding his shield.
• Sonic now grins during his victory pose where he smiles instead of smirking, like in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
• Sonic's head quills bounce and move around more, resembling how their movement was in Brawl.
• Sonic's victory animation where he grabs a Chaos Emerald now has him running up to it.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Sonic's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
• Sonic walks faster (1.375 → 1.444).
• Sonic dashes faster (3.5 → 3.85).
• Sonic's initial dash is significantly faster (1.5 → 2.31).
• Sonic's air speed is faster (1.15 → 1.208).
• Sonic falls faster (1.45 → 1.65)
• Sonic's fast-fall is faster (2.32 → 2.64)
• Sonic is considerably lighter (94 → 86) and now only weighs slightly more than Zelda, making his survivability much worse but also makes him less prone to combos.
• Sonic now takes a slight amount of damage per second when he's swimming. He shares this with Charizard, Inkling, and Incineroar.
  • His swimming animation is also changed, as he is now constantly in a panicked state (as opposed to only being in one when drowning).

Ground Attacks

• Due to Ultimate's reworked run mechanics, Sonic can easily surprise opponents with any ground attacks, including neutral, tilt and smash attacks, due to his incredibly fast dash speed.
• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's second hit can now lock.
    • It does slightly less damage (2% → 1.5%).
  • Neutral attack's third hit has a slightly different animation.
  • Neutral attack has slightly more endlag.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt launches at a more upward angle, improving its combo potential.
  • Down tilt now sends Sonic forward then back to where he started.
    • This makes the move slightly more safe in terms of positioning.
    • This means down tilt can no longer make him pseudo-crawl.
• Dash attack:
  • Sonic's previous dash attack now has its Spin Attack portion removed, with only the lunge kick being intact.
    • Due to this change, his dash attack is no longer a multi-hit.
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (frame 62 → 50).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has slightly less start up lag (frame 19 → 18).
  • Up smash has more knockback.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's front hit has much more knockback.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (Neutral: frame 16 → 10, Forward: 26 → 17, Back: 30 → 19, Up: 21 → 14, Down: 38 → 22).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial connects more reliably.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial connects into each hit less reliably.
  • Up aerial's second hit deals more damage (6% → 8%).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial now meteors at the initial hit, making it easier to meteor smash opponents.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing grab and dash grab have increased ending lag.
• Pummel has a slightly different animation.
  • It does slightly less damage (2% → 1.3%).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw now sends opponents at a more horizontal angle.
• Up throw and forward throw deal less knockback. This improves their combo and tech chase abilities, but weakens their KO and edgeguarding abilities.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw's last hit deals slightly more damage (4% → 5%).
  • Sonic hops a bit higher after performing his down throw.
• Floor attack:
  • Front floor attack deals slightly more damage (6% → 7%).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special Moves

• Homing Attack:
  • Homing Attack now 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 most closely resembles its design in Sonic Colors.
  • Homing Attack can be charged for much longer, with Sonic ascending much higher than before. The attack deals more damage (uncharged: 5% → 7%, charged: 12% → 20%) and has improved accuracy.
  • Homing Attack comes out much quicker than in previous titles when the attack button is pressed. This uncharged state of the attack allows for combo potential.
• Spin Dash:
  • Spin Dash's charge can no longer be canceled by pressing shield.
  • Spin Dash now stops upon hitting an opponent's shield, reducing its safety.
  • A grounded charged Spin Dash can now be released in the air while keeping its charge.
  • Sonic no longer loses his double jump after landing with an aerial Spin Dash or Spin Charge.
• Spring Jump:
  • Spring Jump has less ending lag, making it chain into aerial attacks easier.
  • Aerial Spring Jump's Spring has lowered knockback, making it harder to chain and to KO opponents as easily.
  • Spring Jump provides significantly less intangibility to Sonic, making it easier to edgeguard him.
  • Sonic gains slightly more vertical height from Spring Jump.
• Spin Charge:
  • Spin Charge now changes the color of the trail to indicate charge strength, going from blue, to cyan, to yellow.
  • Its uncharged hits deal slightly less damage (2% → 1.8%).
• Final Smash:
  • Sonic's Final Smash has been changed. He still transforms into Super Sonic and launches foes on contact; however, his speed has been drastically increased, and he now moves automatically on the horizontal axis, so only his vertical position can be controlled.
  • It now deals damage and knockback when Sonic turns normal.

Moveset

• Sonic can wall jump.

The following damage values were calculated without the 1.2× damage multiplier that is active during one-on-one fights.

For aerial attacks, full hop damage values are shown. Hovering over them shows the short hop damage values (aerial attacks performed during a short hop have a 0.85× damage multiplier).

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	The Punch + Punch + Kick combo from Sonic the Fighters. Its first and second hit are capable of jab locking.
			1.5%
			4%
Forward tilt			4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2 feet), 5% (hit 2 legs)	The Horse Kick from Sonic the Fighters. It hits twice, has minimal start-up lag, and can be angled. Altogether, these traits make it useful for spacing, starting tech-chases, or as an out of shield option.
Up tilt			2% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	A 540 kick, similar to Captain Falcon's up smash. Its decent vertical range makes it a fairly useful anti-air attack, although it has poor horizontal range. It can also combo into a short hopped forward aerial at 0%-40%, and into a Spring Jump-assisted forward aerial at 80%-90%. However, the former is reliable only against heavyweights and fast-fallers; the latter is consistently reliable only against middleweights; and both are heavily reliant on DI. It resembles the Skip Kick from Sonic the Fighters.
Down tilt		rowspan="1"	6%	A legsweep. Its diagonal angle can lead to combos at lower percents. It resembles the Leg Throw from Sonic the Fighters.
Dash attack			6% (early hit), 4% (late hit)	A flying kick similar to Fox's. It is a reliable follow-up from a down throw. While its very minimal start-up lag can allow it to pressure unwary opponents, it is very punishable because of its considerable ending lag.
Forward smash			14%	The Wind-Up Punch from Sonic the Fighters. It has high knockback growth, deceptive range, and can be angled, all of which make it one of Sonic's most viable KOing options. However, its very low base knockback makes it better suited for KO attempts later instead of earlier. It also has noticeable start-up and ending lag, making it risky if used unwisely. It KOs middleweights at 102%/92% (3DS/Wii U) while near the edge of Final Destination.
Up smash			5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-7), 3% (hit 8)	A jumping Spin Dash. It hits multiple times, with its last hit having extremely high knockback growth. However, its last hit has average base knockback, which makes it better suited for KO attempts later instead of earlier.
Down smash			12%	A split kick, similar to Fox and Falco's down smashes. It has the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Sonic's smash attacks and hits on both sides, which make it useful for punishing rolls. It is also a semi-spike, which makes it very useful for edge-guarding, especially when landing its back hit. However, it lasts for only 1 frame, and has considerable ending lag.
Neutral aerial		rowspan="1"	12% (clean), 8% (late), 5% (latest)	Curls up into a ball and spins while slightly undulating up and down. In addition to being a reliable follow-up from Spin Dash, Spin Charge, and Spring Jump-assisted combos, its launching angle makes its clean and late hitboxes into useful combo starters at low to medium percentages when SHFF'd. It resembles the Air Spin from Sonic the Fighters and the Insta-Shield, an attack that debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Forward aerial		rowspan="1"	0.8% (hits 1-5), 3% (hit 6)	A corkscrew battering ram, similar to Pikachu's forward aerial. It is tied with up aerial for the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Sonic's aerials. When coupled with its last hit's very high knockback growth, it is useful for spacing and edge-guarding. It can also combo into itself in certain instances, thanks to Sonic's fast air speed and its fairly large auto-canceling window. It resembles the Emerald Dive from Sonic the Fighters.
Back aerial			14% (clean), 10% (late)	A hook kick. Its clean hitbox's impressive damage output and high knockback growth make it one of Sonic's most viable KOing options, especially when used for edge-guarding. However, it has moderate start-up.
Up aerial			3% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2)	A scissor kick. Its very large auto-cancel window makes it deceptively safe and easy to avoid its fairly high landing lag. In addition to being a reliable follow-up from Spin Dash, Spin Charge, and Spring Jump-assisted combos, it is a viable KOing option near the upper blast line, especially as a follow-up from Spring Jump. Both hits don't alwaya connect very reliably however.
Down aerial			8% (clean), 7% (late)	A diagonal flying kick. It is a stall-then-fall, but unlike the majority of other stall-then-falls, it is relatively safe to use off-stage thanks to it having noticeably less ending lag in comparison. Its clean hit also meteor smashes aerial opponents on frames at the beginning of the attack, but not grounded opponents. It resembles the Stomp Dive from Sonic the Fighters and the Sonic Rocket from Sonic Battle.
Grab			—	Clinches the opponent.
Pummel			1.3%	A knee strike. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw			1% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	A stretch kick. Due to its average damage output, very high base knockback, and average knockback growth, it is mainly used to force the opponent off-stage. It also has KO potential, albeit only on edges and at very high percents. It resembles the Top Kick from Sonic Battle.
Back throw			7%	Quickly backflips repeatedly with the opponent in tow before performing the tomoe nage, a Judo throw. It is Sonic's only throw with consistent KO potential.
Up throw			1% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2)	Heaves the opponent upward and sharpens his quills to stab them. It can be followed up with an up aerial and inputted Homing Attack at 0%-20%, and Spring Jump-assisted neutral, forward, back, and up aerials beginning at medium percentages. Like forward throw, it has KO potential, albeit only on with stages with highly positioned platforms, such as Battlefield's top platform.
Down throw			1% (hits 1-3), 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 the Double Spin from Sonic the Fighters.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Spin Dashes around in a circular motion while getting up.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Edge attack			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.
Side special		Spin Dash	6%/7% (dash), 5% (initial jump), 3% (jump)	Curls up into a ball, performs a short hop, and then starts rolling toward the opponent at a fast speed. Holding the special button charges it up and increases its speed. In addition to granting intangibility at the start, 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. 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.
Up special		Spring Jump	— (jump), 4% (spring)	Pulls out a spring and uses it to springboard into the air. Although it is primarily used for recovering, it is also useful for partaking in combos. It grants intangibility at the start, while the spring itself can also be used to gimp recovering opponents underneath Sonic.
Down special		Spin Charge	1.8% (per hit)	A Spin Dash that hits multiple times and has more momentum. It also has slightly different aesthetics, requires button mashing in order to charge, and can become a "Spin Shot" like Spin Dash. However, it lacks a short hop at the beginning, cannot be canceled in any way, and it can only become a "Spin Shot" when used in the air.
Final Smash		Super Sonic	7% (Chaos Emeralds), 6% (each ram), 10% (detransformation)	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 horizontal position. Sonic turning normal again also deals damage to opponents is near him.

On-screen appearance

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

Taunts

• Up taunt: Somersaults and then crosses his arms with his index finger pointing out, one of his signature poses, while making three tsking sounds.
• Side taunt: Performs the Super Peel Out, a technique that debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, while saying "Sonic Speed!" (遅すぎだぜ！, You're too slow!).
• Down taunt: Performs the windmill, a breakdancing move, while saying "C'mon!" both in English and Japanese.

Idle poses

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

Victory poses

• Collects the blue Chaos Emerald and then poses with it before saying "Piece of cake!" In Japanese, he says "A piece of cake! 楽勝だぜ!" (A piece of cake! An easy win!)
• Sprints off-screen and then sprints back on-screen before giving a thumbs up and saying "That was almost too easy!" In Japanese, he says "モタモタしてると置いてくぜ!" (Leaving behind to be dawdling!)
• Performs the pike, a breakdancing move, and then strikes a pose while saying "Let's do that again sometime!" In Japanese, he says "Hey guys! また遊んでやるぜ!" (Hey guys! I'll play again next time!)

Classic Mode: At the Speed of Sound

Sonic's opponents are a mix between the game's fastest characters as well as references to characters in other Sonic titles.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Fox	Green Hill Zone	Green Hill Zone
2	Captain Falcon	Figure-8 Circuit	Super Sonic Racing
3	Giant Metal Sonic	Fourside (Ω form)	Open Your Heart
4	3 Kirbys	Halberd	Sonic Heroes
5	Sheik	Mushroomy Kingdom	Seven Rings in Hand
6	Giant Incineroar	Windy Hill Zone	Wonder World
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand and Crazy Hand	Final Destination	?

Note: Every stage plays a track from the Sonic universe, no matter what universe the stage originated from.

Role 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 towards Pikachu in an attempt to save it, but both he and Pikachu were vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment.

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

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Sonic artwork, as posted on the official Japanese Sega Twitter account.

• 

  Sonic's fighter card.

• 

  Sonic idling on Wrecking Crew.

• 

  Running on Mushroomy Kingdom.

• 

  Attacking R.O.B. with his up tilt on Skyworld.

• 

  Coming to a halt before a Shy Guy on Figure-8 Circuit.

• 

  Attacking Shulk with Spin Charge on Mario Galaxy.

• 

  With one of Bayonetta's butterflies on Skyworld.

• 

  Running with Falco on Prism Tower.

• 

  With Olimar, Pac-Man, and Mario on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Sonic and Villager getting hit by Robin's down smash on Wily Castle.

• 

  Sonic holding Death's Scythe on the Bridge of Eldin.

• 

  Sonic and Knuckles posing on Palutena's Temple.

• 

  Sonic and Knuckles posing on Garden of Hope.

• 

  Idling on Distant Planet.

• Sonic on-screen appearance.gif

  Sonic's on-screen appearance.

• Sonic 3rd victory pose.gif

  One of Sonic's victory poses.

Character Showcase Video

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Trivia

• Sonic's stock icon in Ultimate bears a striking resemblance to several logos and icons in the Sonic series, namely:
  • The logo for Sonic Team.
  • Sonic's character icon in some Sonic spin-off games.
  • The life icon and 1-ups in Sonic Unleashed (when Sonic is not in his Werehog form), as well as the 1-ups from Sonic Colors.
    • It is also one of four to show the character's eyes, the others being R.O.B., Kirby, and Meta Knight.
• So far, Sonic is the only third-party character in Ultimate with more than one home stage representing his series.
• Unlike other installments in the Super Smash Bros. series, Sonic slowly takes damage if he falls in any body of water, which is a nod to his inability to swim in his own series.
• While Sonic has appeared in three installments, Ultimate marks the first time Sonic is the first third-party character announced, as Snake was announced before him in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, while Mega Man was announced before him in Super Smash Bros. 4.
• Sonic being unlocked by clearing Classic Mode as Mario is a reference to the bitter rivalry between the two of them in the '90s through 2001, while Sega was still a console manufacturer.
• Sonic's Classic Mode has numerous references to his franchise:
  • Stage 1 has Fox on Green Hill Zone, which is likely a reference to Sonic's sidekick, Tails, who debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Genesis.
  • Stage 2 has multiple racing references to homage Sonic R for the Sega Saturn.
  • Stage 3 is a reference to Chaos, the antagonist of Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast, of which has its theme. The stage being a city at night is likely a reference to their final battle in the game.
  • Stage 4 has three Kirby's while playing the Sonic Heroes theme. The Kirby's are colored in reference to the color coding of Sonic Heroes's three roles/abilities: Blue (Speed), Red (Power), and Yellow (Flight). The stage is Halberd, which references the Egg Fleet from the same game and the setting of the final levels.
  • Stage 5 references Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii.
  • Stage 6 is a reference to Zavok from Sonic Lost World for the Wii U.
• The games Sonic's Classic Mode references also go in chronological order from each console generation starting from the 4th (Sega Genesis) to the 8th (Wii U).
• Sonic is the only character who travels to Figure-8 Circuit and Green Hill Zone in Classic Mode.