Sonic (SSBB)

Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Sonic the Hedgehog
Other playable appearances	in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Super Sonic
Tier	D (22)

Sonic, also referred to by his full name Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Sonic the Hedgehog), is a character from SEGA who appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as one of the two third-party characters (the other being Snake from Konami). Sonic was the first unlockable character to be playable prior to the game's release. He was first playable in Nintendo Media Summit in October 2007, shortly after he was confirmed to be in the game. A swift character, Sonic runs at an extremely fast pace that surpasses even Captain Falcon. Nintendo Power states that since Sonic is not well known for his fighting skills, some of his fighting moves were influenced by SEGA's fighting property, Virtua Fighter. A majority of Sonic's moves are also influenced by SEGA's Sonic the Fighters and (to a much lesser extent) Sonic Battle. Sonic is voiced by Jason Griffith in English, reprising his role from both the Sonic X anime and in the games from Shadow the Hedgehog up to Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in Japanese, reprising his role from Sonic Adventure onward.

Sonic is placed at 22nd on the Brawl tier list in the middle tier, which makes him the lowest ranked unlockable newcomer. Sonic is most known for his incredible movement speed, possessing by far the fastest dashing speed, as well as among the fastest walking and air speeds. His movement is boosted farther by his Spin Dash and Spin Charge moves, which allow him to rip across the stage at incredible speed while simultaneously attacking and/or jumping. The aforementioned Spin moves give Sonic a plethora of options to attack and confound the opponent, which can make it incredibly difficult to hit Sonic, while also aiding Sonic's ability to time out opponents. Additionally, Sonic possesses one of the best recoveries, which contains many options, while gaining great distance and generally making it difficult to edgeguard Sonic. Sonic also possesses an effective grab and throw game, and generally great damage racking abilities from his Spin moves, up throw, and effective combos.

Sonic is nearly crippled regarding his KOing ability, though, being arguably one of the weakest characters and having few finishers, none of which are particularly effective. Sonic possesses what is considered one of the worst movesets, which, outside his special moves, consists almost entirely of weak moves that either possess little utility or are outclassed by similar moves of other characters. While Sonic's forward smash and back air are fairly strong, those moves, along with the character in general, suffer from generally poor reach, which combined with his lack of a proper projectile gives him a rather linear approach. Overall, Sonic has average matchups, and his tournament results have been above average.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play 300 VS. matches.
• Complete Classic Mode with 10 different characters.
• Play 10 hours of VS. matches.
• Have Sonic join the player's party in The Subspace Emissary (The Great Maze).

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

Attributes

Sonic is the fastest character in the game, in regards to movement speed (fastest dash speed by far, third fastest walking speed, sixth fastest air speed, and very fast rolls). However, only about half of his moveset has speed to match, none of them being KO moves. Sonic's relatively small hitboxes and lack of a projectile (excluding his Spring jump which can only be used in the air, travels downward, and can be used by opponents if used on the ground) mean that he must stay close to the opponent in order to attack, but his aforementioned speed mitigates this problem. His ability to spinshot (holding Spin Dash and releasing as one pushes the C-Stick downwards) allows him to quickly bypass the effects of most projectile campers, and his side special can clank and cancel out the effects of certain projectiles, such as Snake's C4. His tremendous running speed, his Spin Charge and Spring Jump and specials, and down air give him excellent follow up ability on practically every character.

Even though Sonic can easily rack up damage, he arguably has the hardest time landing a KO move, as all of his KO moves are unreliable, he has no guaranteed setups to them, and he lacks an early KO move. Sonic has only four ways to reliably KO the opponent (back and up aerial, and forward/down smash), all of which have weaknesses that prevent them from being reliable KO moves. All of Sonic's smash attacks have too much start-up time to be reliable finishers.

Sonic is one of the more difficult characters to gimp in the game, given his tremendous vertical recovery, as well as his theoretically limitless horizontal recovery (Homing Attack) should an opponent be off the stage with him. Sonic has the ability to wall jump, however; should an opponent be in place at all, invincible or not, Sonic will not have enough time to both attack and successfully grab the edge. Sonic also has surprisingly good survivability despite being a middleweight by nature. His down and side specials serve as excellent momentum canceling attacks, which, when coupled with his ability to recover, can allow him to survive until very high percentages, although they are still incomparable to the survivability of characters heavier than him.

Sonic's attacks are primarily offensive in nature, and his air game and air speed are good enough to accommodate attacking in the sky as well. Sonic can remain in the air indefinitely with careful use of his neutral special, Homing Attack, and with proper placement can either stage spike or gimp in this manner. Stage spiking in general is an excellent offensive strategy for Sonic; by running off the edge and immediately using back air, many characters or opponents who focus on ledge-camping (such as Pit) can be caught off guard for either a KO or a tactical advantage. Sonic's speedy and long-lasting dash attack is another move that can catch opponents unexpectedly, and its traveling distance usually prevents significant retaliation, such as shield-grabbing.

Sonic has good punishment options. Many of Sonic's moves use the same spinning ball animation, making him a very difficult character to predict. Unlike some characters however, practice is required to fully unlock Sonic's punishment potential. Sonic has one of the best shields in the game, because of how quickly it pops out and the multiple ways he can go into it. Sonic can cancel any of his Spin Dashes/Charges into a shield, Spin Dash from the ground, and Spin Charge from the air. This allows Sonic to "fake-out" his opponents, causing them to make hasty moves on which Sonic can capitalize on. When an opponent goes into their knock down animation, Sonic's superior punishment comes into play. By moving closer to the opponent then stopping just outside their range, Sonic has the edge. Because of his speed, if they roll towards Sonic, away from Sonic or use their getup attack, Sonic can grab them as they finish their move. Sonic is surprisingly easy to grab out of his attacks, because many of his moves launch him straight at opponents, only to have Sonic finish the move next to the opponent.

Mastering Sonic's running game is crucial to Sonic's ability to perform at higher levels, and is one of the factors that makes him so difficult to play competitively. Sonic users take advantage of a variety of dash or dash-related techniques that are seldom used by other characters. Dash-dancing is much less useful in Brawl than it was in Melee, but it can be extremely useful for mindgames in Sonic's gameplay, such as by running in one direction and then quickly turning the other way around to bait an opponent or catch them off-guard. It is often regarded by Sonic players that it is better to run away from the opponent and run back than to use roll-dodges to avoid opponent. 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 backwards) are particularly effective for this, as they can cause almost immediate turnarounds and then grabs can then be used to punish opponents.

Sonic's matchups are difficult to define, as they vary greatly from player to player, possibly moreso than for any other character. Sonic players to this day find it difficult to agree on which matchups are Sonic's worst. Depending on the play-style of the Sonic, he can have a decent matchup against almost any character in the game, even at competitive levels. Because of his prowess for mindgaming and switching up tactics, as well as the inherent strengths and weaknesses to each style of play, some Sonic mains argue that Sonic has no truly disadvantageous matchups as a character, and that his matchups are much more heavily influenced by playstyle than his actual attributes. However, most Sonic mains will agree that he does not have many, if any, truly advantageous matchups.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Punches twice, followed by a side kick. Known as the PPK (Punch Punch Kick). The attack comes from Sonic the Fighters.
			2%
			3%
Forward tilt			4% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2 feet), 5% (hit 2 legs)	Stands on both his hands and performs a horsekick that hits twice. The Horse Kick from Sonic the Fighters.
Up tilt			3% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2), 7% (hit 3)	Kicks upwards twice, similar to Captain Falcon's up smash. The Skip Kick from Sonic the Fighters.
Down tilt			6%	Sweeps his foot along the ground, similar to the Leg Throw from Sonic the Fighters and the Foot Sweep attack from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). If used repeatedly, it will slowly move Sonic forward.
Dash attack			6% (clean), 4% (late)	Curls into a ball to rush at any opponent in front of him. The attack is similar to the Spin Attack from the Sonic the Hedgehog games.
Forward smash			14%	Winds up his fist, then throws a punch forwards. Can be angled up or down. The Wind-Up Punch from Sonic the Fighters. One of his few KO moves.
Up smash			5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-7), 3% (hit 8)	Jumps and curls up into a spiky ball, hitting multiple times.
Down smash			12% (early), 9% (clean), 7% (mid), 5% (late)	Spin dashes back and forth over a short distance. The Dizzy Spin from Sonic the Fighters.
Neutral aerial			11% (early), 8% (mid), 5% (late)	Curls up into a ball and moves in several circles. The Air Spin from Sonic the Fighters. A fairly standard neutral aerial having decent startup and landing lag, as well as a long duration. It is not very powerful however and it has high ending lag along with a poor auto-cancel window.
Forward aerial			1-2% (hits 1-5), 4% (hit 6)	Spins in a horizontal corkscrew, drilling with his head. The Emerald Dive from Sonic the Fighters. It is a multi hit attack with low startup and ending lag, making it a decent multi hit. It does have high ending lag however and opponents can escape from it, limiting its use at high level play.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 9% (late)	A backwards roundhouse kick. It has high startup lag but it decent range, power and very low landing lag, making it a solid spacing and KO move overall.
Up aerial			3% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	An upwards scissors kick. The first hit deals low knockback which links onto the second hit. The move is not super reliable but it does have a very generous auto-cancel window, which can make it completely safe on shield.
Down aerial			8% (clean), 7% (late)	Sonic stalls for a brief moment, then shoots downwards foot first. A stall-then-fall move with a very generous late auto-cancel window and very low ending lag, making it surprisingly safe for a stall then fall. It is not very strong however. The attack works like the Stomp Dive from Sonic the Fighters, but resembles the Sonic Rocket from Sonic Battle.
Grab			—	Sonic clinches his hands. His standing grab is fast but all of his grabs have short range, with his pivot grab especially having rather poor range for a pivot grab.
Pummel			3%	Knees the opponent. It is decently quick and deals high damage, making it a very solid pummel.
Forward throw			3% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	Attacks the foe with a high kick. The attack resembles the Top Kick from Sonic Battle.
Back throw			8%	Does a back flip while spinning and then slams on the ground, sending the opponent backwards with decent knockback.
Up throw			3% (hit 1), 9% (throw)	Throws the opponent up and sharpens his spikes, which then prick the opponent.
Down throw			1% (hits 1-3), 5% (throw)	Pins the enemy down, then Spin Dashes into them. The Double Spin from Sonic the Fighters.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Does a spinball sweep. It is a rather unique floor attack.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Does a quick foot sweep.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Does a spin kick while getting up.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8%	Gets up onto the stage with a spinball attack. This attack resembles his cliffhanger flip attack from Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			6% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Slowly gets up and kicks twice. The only edge attack move that can hit twice.
Neutral special		Homing Attack	8%	Curls up into a spiky ball while ascending, aims for the nearest target, then crashes into them.
Side special		Spin Dash	7-10% (dash), 5% (initial jump), 7% (jump)	Curls up into a spiky ball, performs a short hop, then starts rolling towards the opponent at high speed. Easily combos into one of Sonic's aerial attacks.
Up special		Spring Jump	4%	Pulls out a spring from the Sonic the Hedgehog games and uses it to leap into the air. The spring acts as a projectile when used in the air.
Down special		Spin Charge	4-11% (dash), 7% (jump)	Works like Spin Dash, except there is no hop, and the player must repeatedly press the B button in order to charge it.
Final Smash		Super Sonic	18% (startup & ram), 13% (idle)	Transforms into Super Sonic, from the Sonic the Hedgehog games. The player can use the control stick or other movement buttons to make him fly in any direction they choose and ram into other foes. The transformation lasts for about 15 seconds.

On-screen appearance

• Sonic enters the stage in ball form from the foreground and gives a thumbs-up.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Does a front flip, then crosses arms with his index finger pointing out while making a teasing clicking tune, which forms into one of his signature poses.
• Side taunt: Does a figure-eight peelout dash, similar to the Super Peel Out technique from Sonic the Hedgehog CD, saying "You're too slo-ow!" (遅すぎだぜ！, You're too slow!) in a teasing manner.
• Down taunt: Says "C'mon, step it up!" while performing a windmill, similar to his victory animation in Sonic Advance 3. In Japanese, he just says "Come on."

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Looks at the camera while tapping his foot impatiently. This is a reference to his idle animation from the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Sega Genesis.
• Turns towards/away from the player, waving his finger in a patronizing manner while grinning. This is the same as the final part of his promotion video on the DOJO website before he takes off. This is similar to an animation he performs after clearing an Act or defeating a boss in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, as well as a similar pose to key art in Sonic the Hedgehog.

Crowd cheer

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

Wii Remote selection sound

• The score tally from most Sonic games since Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic's selection sound

Victory poses

The "Mission Clear" theme from the 2006 game Sonic the Hedgehog. This is the only victory theme in Brawl to be ripped straight from another game.

• He spins once and poses while holding the blue Chaos Emerald in his hand, and says "Too easy! Piece of cake!" A piece of cake! 楽勝だぜ! (A piece of cake! An easy win!)
• Runs off the screen, screeches back, and gives a thumbs-up, and says "Sonic's the name, speed's my game!" モタモタしてると置いてくぜ! (Lag behind and get left behind!) It highly resembles the SEGA start-up from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• He break-dances and then does a pose with his fist, and says "Hey, we should do this again sometime!" Hey guys! また遊んでやるぜ! (Hey guys! I'll play again next time!) Though retranslated, the line is taken from Sonic Adventure, where Sonic says it after defeating certain bosses such as Chaos 0.

Up	Left	Right

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Sonic has average matchups all around. He is countered by 4 characters, soft countered by 12 characters, has 10 even matchups, soft counters 6 characters, and counters 5 characters. Sonic generally does good against characters who have a hard time dealing with his speed, such as Pit and Bowser. However, Sonic struggles against characters who can shut down his approach options, such as Falco with his Blaster or Olimar with his Pikmin. Also, because of his low KO power, this puts him in a disadvantage against Lucario, who is able to make great use of Aura.

Notable players

See also: Category:Sonic professionals (SSBB)

•  6WX - 3rd at Glitch 2
•  BAM - Beat mikeHAZE, Rich Brown, and Falln
•  Canpy - Best Sonic in Japan, placed 49th at Sun Rise Tournament
•  Espy - Best Sonic in the World
•  K.I.D. Goggles - Top Sonic player in New York
•  KC24 - Best Sonic in New England, placed 4th at GUTS 3
•  Kuruado - Beat Captain L, Bladewise, and Alphicans, and ranked 4th in Alberta
•  Meekspeedy - Top Canadian Sonic main. 4th at GOML 2017
•  Pheonix - 17th at Winter Game Fest VII
•  Speed - 17th at KTAR 6
•  StaticManny - Placed top 64 at Apex 2014, beat DEHF
•  Tesh - Beat ALSM, Illmatic, Denti, Xyro, Gnes, X, Razer, and Trela
•  True Blue - Best Sonic in Florida
•  Wonf - Best Mexican Sonic main
•  X - 6th at MLG Dallas
•  SuperGirlKels - Best female Sonic main
•  Zeno - 25th at Winter Game Fest VII

Tier placement and history

Around the beginning of Brawl's competitive life, Sonic was considered a non-viable low tier by the majority of players, due to his terrible KOing power, poor moveset (with his attacks generally having low damage output, mediocre frame data, and having rather small and/or poor hitboxes), and perceived "low priority". At that time, he was ranked as low as 33rd on the first tier list (September 2008), and on the second tier list was viewed hardly any better, being ranked 31st and still in low tier (January 2009). However, dedicated Sonic players at the time were vocal about the community underrating Sonic, as Sonic possessed such an extreme mobility advantage over the rest of the cast, and both Spin Dash and Spin Charge allowed Sonic to control the neutral game against most of the cast, while abuse of those moves made it very difficult to land good hits on Sonic. Additionally, due to how effectively Sonic could run away from opponents and how difficult it was to hit him, Sonic players learned that camping for time out wins was a viable strategy. By abusing these strengths, Sonic players would end up proving the community perception wrong and started placing much more favorably in tournaments; this caused Sonic to jump up eight places to 23rd in mid tier on the third tier list (June 2009), which is the biggest tier list jump in the history of Brawl, tied with Olimar from the first to second lists.

While Sonic would drop mildly to 25th and 24th on the fourth (February 2010) and fifth tier lists (September 2010) respectively, near the end of 2010 Sonic players would achieve their best performance yet, with Espy and X placing 5th and 6th respectively at MLG Dallas 2010, the final MLG Brawl event. Besides being the best placings Sonic achieved at a Brawl major, it was one of the best performances of any player using a mid-tier tier character in Brawl's history. As a result of these performances and other solid results, Sonic would rise to 22nd in solid mid tier on the sixth tier list (July 2011), where Sonic would remain for the rest of Brawl's competitive life. The placings at MLG Dallas would prove to be an anomaly, as no Sonic player would ever again come close to top 8 at a Brawl major (other than X playing 5th at Winter Game Fest VI), with Sonic's aforementioned flaws keeping him from being truly viable at a top level, though a Sonic player or two making it into the top 64 at large majors and top 32 at smaller majors would remain a common sight for the rest of Brawl's competitive life.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Sonic in The Subspace Emissary.

Sonic does not appear in The Subspace Emissary until the final battle with Tabuu, but unlike the secret characters (Wolf, Jigglypuff, and Toon Link), Sonic can be chosen to fight Tabuu after The Great Maze.

When every fighter reaches Tabuu, he prepares his Off Waves, which had already turned every character into a trophy once before. Just as he's about to release the attack, a blue blur rams into both of Tabuu's wings, shattering them. As the blue blur jumps up on a peak, he reveals himself to be Sonic. While he taunts, Tabuu's wings break apart, and then six fighters are selected to fight Tabuu in the final battle.

It is commonly believed that Sonic's minor role in the mode is due to the fact that he was added to Brawl's roster so late in development in 2007.

Exclusive stickers

• Amy Rose: [Leg] Attack +14
• Classic Sonic JP Ver.: [Arm] Attack +21
• Classic Sonic US Ver.: [Throwing] Attack +20
• Dr. Eggman: Launch Resistance +39
• Espio The Chameleon: [Body, Spin] Attack +12
• Jet The Hawk: [Leg] Attack +17
• Knuckles The Echidna: [Electric] Resistance +23
• Shadow The Hedgehog: [Specials: Direct] Attack +20
• Silver The Hedgehog: Launch Power +49
• Sonic The Hedgehog: [Body, Spin] Attack +32
• Super Sonic: [Electric] Resistance +27
• Wave The Swallow: [Arm] Attack +19

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Event 30: Sonic Boom: Sonic must defeat 15 other Sonics on the Green Hill Zone stage.
• Event 39: All-Star Battle x2: Sonic is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with King Dedede, Ike, Lucario, R.O.B., Toon Link, Snake, and Wolf.
• Event 41: The FINAL Final Battle: The player must defeat Sonic along with Snake and a giant Mario on Final Destination.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 17: Sonic and Mario: Sonic and Mario must defeat 3 other Sonics and 3 other Marios on the Green Hill Zone stage.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Two players select a character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trophies

Sonic's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog

The world's fastest hedgehog, who can run at supersonic speeds. Generally speaking, he loves being able to do what he wants and loathes being constrained. Holding still is something he would never consider. He's got a bit of an attitude but can't pass by someone in trouble. When he collects the seven Chaos Emeralds, he transforms into the mighty, gold Super Sonic.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (1991)

: Sonic and the Secret Rings

Super Sonic

Sonic's Final Smash. The Chaos Emeralds give energy to all living things, and Sonic's gathered all seven of them, then used their power to transform into Super Sonic. His abilities in this form far surpass his normal ones, and he's even able to fly. He uses a lot of energy in this form, so he can only remain in it for a short time.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 

  Classic Mode trophy

• 

  Super Sonic

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Sonic posing in Bridge of Eldin.

• 

  Sonic in Shadow Moses Island.

• 

  Sonic using Homing Attack.

• 

  Sonic using Spin Dash in Brawl.

• 

  Spin Dash being used to jump and attack Mario.

• 

  Sonic using Spring Jump in Brawl.

• 

  Mario bouncing on Sonic's Spring.

• 

  The Spin Charge in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

• 

  Super Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Trivia

• Sonic dashes so fast that, when wearing a Bunny Hood, he can outrace both the Big Blue track and the water slope on Distant Planet to the point of self-destructing. Also, if Sonic has a Bunny Hood, Superspicy Curry, and two Super Mushrooms, he can even outrun the iceberg on Summit.
  • He is also the only character that has faster dash speed than Captain Falcon without any moves, as Wario-Man is a Final Smash.
• Along with Zero Suit Samus, Sheik and Squirtle, Sonic is one of the only characters to not be seen in trophy form during The Subspace Emissary, due to his late appearance. Coincidentally, all four of these characters' names begin with the letter 'S' and they all wear blue by default
  • Sonic is the only one of the four who is not part of a transformation gimmick, making Sonic the only standalone character who is not seen as a trophy and the only one who can use his default costume in team battles.
• In the video game convention E for All, Sonic was the only unlockable character to be playable in the demo.
• Sonic is the only unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl who has four, rather than three, unlock methods.
• Sonic and Zero Suit Samus are the only characters not fought in any form in The Subspace Emissary.
• Sonic is the only non-Pokémon character to have less than six palette swaps.
• Sonic is the first character to have his victory theme ripped directly from a non-Smash game. He would later be joined by Joker, Steve, and Sephiroth in Ultimate.
• This is Sonic’s only playable appearance in the series where he does not have Spanish, French, German, or Italian voice acting.

External links

• Sonic's page on the Smash Bros. DOJO!!
• A video demonstration of Sonic against Link
• The Origin of Sonic's Moveset
• Sonic Character Guide on SmashBoards
• Sonic's hitbox size of each of his moves