Sora (SSBU)

Sora; in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Kingdom Hearts
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Sealing the Keyhole

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This article is about Sora's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Sora.

“	Sora Is Finally Here!	”
—Introduction tagline

Sora (ソラ, Sora) is an upcoming Fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was officially announced during a Mr. Sakurai Presents on October 5th, 2021 as the sixth and final downloadable character from Fighters Pass Vol. 2 and is set to release on October 18, 2021 as part of Challenger Pack 11. He is the fourth fighter from a Square Enix developed series (after Cloud, Hero, and Sephiroth), and the only fighter from Disney. Sora is classified as Fighter #82, the last newcomer and final fighter as a whole.

Haley Joel Osment and Miyu Irino, Sora's main voice actors in English and Japanese respectively since the first Kingdom Hearts game, reprise their roles in the English and Japanese versions of Ultimate, at least partially using re-purposed voice clips from Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

Moveset

Sora possesses a special midair jump. When jumping in midair, Sora will ascend in a floatier, curved trajectory with significantly more height, similar to the midair jumps of Ness, Mewtwo, Lucas, and Kazuya.
Each of Sora's Keyblade hits generate a cartoony star effect and a unique hit sound, emulating the hit effects from the Kingdom Hearts games (and specifically, when hitting enemies with the Kingdom Key, Sora's main weapon of choice).
Upon Sora landing the final hit in a stamina battle, a special slow motion zoom will play that fades the screen to white before the Announcer says "Game!". This is reminiscent of the visual effects of landing the killing blow against a major enemy in the Kingdom Hearts games.
Sora is a lightweight, being at most the weight of Little Mac. Currently, he is confirmed to be lighter than Isabelle, Greninja, and Young Link. As Sakurai explained in his reveal presentation, the reasoning behind Sora's light weight is due to his floaty airborne characteristics in combat, and not his mass, similarly to Mewtwo.

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

	Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			An overhead strike, a forward thrust, and a spinning, horizontal strike. It is fast but very weak. Resembles the standard attack combo in the original Kingdom Hearts.


Forward tilt			A side-to-side swipe. If tapped or held, he will do a forward thrust and an overhead strike. A bit slower than his neutral attack, but much stronger. Uniquely for a natural combo, the first hit knocks away opponents if cancelled, but continuing with the second hit will allow the rest of the hits to connect. Partially based on the Slapshot ability.
Up tilt			Spins his Keyblade above his head before catching it with a swipe. Acts somewhat like Palutena's up tilt. Deals multiple hits and lacks vertical range, though the first hit has a scooping hitbox that can connect against nearby opponents. Resembles one of Sora's actions when performing the "Reflect" Reaction Command against Final Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II, as well as the Chain Rave Deck Command from Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded.
Down tilt			A vertical swipe while crouching. Launches an opponent in a diagonal trajectory towards Sora, allowing him to combo into multiple moves like up tilt, up smash or an aerial.
Dash attack			A slide kick, similar to the down tilts of Cloud and Sephiroth. Resembles the Sliding Dash ability, as it first appeared in the original Kingdom Hearts.
Forward smash			A powerful, horizontal swing. Compared to the rest of Sora's moveset, it is very powerful, thus making it a go-to finisher.
Up smash			Lifts his Keyblade upwards, emitting a brief flash of light. The hitbox is quite large, though it does not appear to reach too far beside him. It has a sweetspot at the end of the Keyblade that deals more damage and knockback. Resembles Magic Flash.
Down smash			Does a small hop and stabs his Keyblade to the ground, emitting a shockwave. Like King K. Rool and Ridley's down smashes, Sora's hurtbox shifts upwards during his hop, allowing him to evade attacks with low hitboxes. Resembles Finishing Leap.
Neutral aerial			Spins vertically with his Keyblade. Part of a three-hit combo: if tapped or held, he will do an upward strike and a downward strike. Each hit causes him to float slightly, similar to Bayonetta's forward aerial. The first hitbox has a wide, lasting hitbox, allowing it to be used out of a short hop to initiate aerial combos. Resembles Air Spiral.
Forward aerial			A downward strike. Part of a three-hit combo: if tapped or held, he will do an upward strike and a spinning attack. Each hit causes him to float slightly, similar to Bayonetta's forward aerial.
Back aerial			Turns around to perform a horizontal swing.
Up aerial			Slashes upwards in an overhead motion while doing a backward flip.
Down aerial	Hurricane Blast (ハリケーンピリオド, Hurricane Period)		Moonsaults downwards with the Keyblade multiple times. Upon landing, Sora poses with the Keyblade against his shoulder. Based on an ability introduced in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix.
Grab		—	Reaches out with one hand.
Pummel
Forward throw			Swings his Keyblade downwards.
Back throw			Spins twice to throw his opponent backwards, similar to Mario's. Resembles Blow-off, a Flowmotion-based ability in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. It also could resemble the "Merge" Reaction Command from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
Up throw			Lifts the opponent upwards.
Down throw			Tosses the opponent to the ground. Somewhat resembles the "Fail-Safe" Reaction Command in Kingdom Hearts II.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge	—	—
Techs	—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)
Edge attack Edge getups
Neutral special	Magic		Sora casts one of three different spells: Firaga, Thundaga and Blizzaga, with each use cycling through the spells in the list. He starts with Firaga by default, then switches to Thundaga, then Blizzaga, and then back to Firaga again according to the command icon above his mugshot. Firaga is a fireball that moves straight, which can be tapped to fire continuously, and acts as a conventional projectile. Thundaga generates three vertical thunderbolts in front of Sora one at a time, which can combo into each other; they cover less distance in the air but are very effective for edgeguarding due to their vertical coverage. Blizzaga fires a stream of short-ranged ice crystals similar to Blizzard which can freeze opponents and grant an opening. All three moves are counted as energy projectiles and can thus be absorbed, Pocketed and reflected, though all versions are difficult to use if Pocketed since they are either weak or possess vertical hitboxes. (Firaga and Blizzaga are based on their use and Sora's animations from Kingdom Hearts 1, while Thundaga is based on Sora's animation from Kingdom Hearts 1 but the straight line shots of lightning are based on using the spell as Sora in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.)
Side special	Sonic Blade		Performs a high-speed thrusting attack. Like Quick Attack, Sora can change directions multiple times during use to increase travel distance, with a maximum of three thrusts. Each thrust travels less distance, though its combined distance grants Sora a good recovery. However, it is rather slow, making it interruptible by opponents. Sora becomes helpless at the end of the move (and when the opponent is hit with this move, a "Lock-On" target appears on them).
Up special	Aerial Sweep		A series of spinning, inward slashes while jumping, similar to Spin Attack. Unlike similar moves, Sora will still jump and leave the ground if it is initiated while standing. It can be also be canceled into Sonic Blade to maximize recovery distance if done right before Sora goes into special freefall, though it causes Sora to become helpless otherwise.
Down special	Counterattack	1.4x (reflection)	A normal counterattack in which Sora retaliates with an upward swing. Like Counter Throw, the opponent will momentarily be thrown off balance in their grab release animation before they are hit by the counterattack (which references to gaining a 'Tech Point' when guarding in KH1). The counter does not cover his back effectively, meaning attacks behind him may end up connecting. He can also counter projectiles and reflect them with a 1.4x damage multiplier, though the projectile will be deflected behind him, meaning it cannot be used as a conventional reflector.
Final Smash	Sealing the Keyhole		Sora fires a beam that summons a huge keyhole. Anyone trapped inside will be locked behind by a Smash variant of the Door to Darkness, and Sora seals the keyhole with the same beam, causing an explosion.

Taunts

Up taunt: Casts Stopga, Aeroga or Curaga, which cycle similarly to Magic. However, these spells are only aesthetic and do not have any effect on gameplay.

Victory poses

Jumps in the air ceremoniously, spins his Keyblade around, and then rests it on his shoulder while saying "Yes." This is similar to one of his victory animations when he wins a round in one of the cups from the Olympus Coliseum area in the original Kingdom Hearts, which, in turn, was meant to reference Cloud's victory animation in Final Fantasy VII. The pose at the end is similar to his P1/P5 render pose.
Thrusts his Keyblade forwards, then spins it around, and points it upwards while holding it both hands.

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 10 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 Classic Mode. 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.

1,500. Sora
1,501. Sora (KINGDOM HEARTS II)
1,502. Sora (KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance])
1,503. Sora (KINGDOM HEARTS III)
1,504. Sora (Timeless River)

Alternate costumes

Reveal trailer

Gallery

Sora's splash art.
Sora shaking hands with Mario in front of the fire art Smash symbol.
Sora at a readied stance at Hollow Bastion.
Sora using Aerial Sweep on Tortimer Island.
Sora using Blizzaga on Popo.
Sora using Sonic Blade towards Metal Face of Gaur Plain.
Sora fighting Sephiroth on Coliseum.
Sora using a powerful strike on Bowser.
Sora with Kirby, Mr. Game & Watch, and Link in PictoChat 2.
Sora with Cloud, and Sephiroth in Midgar.
Sora combating Mario, Cloud, and Sephiroth at Hallow Bastion.
Sora interacting with Duck Hunt.
Sora using Firaga.
Sora using Thundaga on Pit.
Sora using his counterattack against Charizard.
Sora reflecting Samus’s Charge Shot.
Sora using his Final Smash Sealing the Keyhole.
Sora finishing his final smash.
Sora and Mario at Hollow Bastion.
Sora, Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby, and Pikachu traveling together through Mushroom Kingdom U.
Sora fighting Sephiroth at Venom.

Trivia

According to Sakurai, Sora was the actual winner of the Smash Ballot, aligning with the statement that Bayonetta was the winner among "realizable and negotiable characters".
Sora's reveal trailer contains multiple references to the Kingdom Hearts series:
- Mario's overall role (acting like the "big good" among the fighters, briefly wielding the Keyblade, summoning Sora to help rescue the other fighters from darkness, and befriending Sora at the end) is a homage to King Mickey Mouse's role in the Kingdom Hearts series, as Mario is Nintendo's company mascot much as Mickey is for Disney.
- Sora's ability to fly around magically during his reveal trailer coincides with his 'fly' ability from the original Kingdom Hearts game, an ability he learned from Peter Pan while in Neverland.
- The scene of Sora and the female Villager sitting next to each other on Jungle Japes references both Kairi, Sora's friend, and the Destiny Islands, the homeworld of Sora. It specifically references the talk Sora and Kairi have in the first game about their upcoming journey to venture to new worlds with Riku on their newly-made raft.
- Sora meeting up with Cloud references their team-up and Cloud's involvement during multiple Kingdom Hearts games.
- Sora dueling Sephiroth references their fights in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.
- Sora feeding the three Kirbys references the Dream Eaters (specifically, the "Spirit" variants) in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, where Sora can feed collectible Spirit items to make them stronger. The fact that there are three Kirbys references the maximum number of Spirits that can be present in the party at once.
- Sora standing in front of Wailord on Kalos Pokémon League references Monstro, the giant whale from Pinocchio who serves as a world in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
- Sora standing next to a Yoshi egg that cracks to reveal two Pichu is a reference to the cooking mini-games in Kingdom Hearts III. In one of those mini-games, if Sora cracks an egg with an "excellent" rating, the egg will reveal two yolks instead of one.
- Sora fighting Shulk on New Donk City is a reference to the Yozora boss fight at the end Kingdom Hearts III's Re Mind DLC
Several of Sora's promotional images also contain references:
- Sora on Tortimer Island is another reference to his birthplace, Destiny Islands.
- Sora attacking Metal Face references the Guard Armor, a recurring Heartless boss.
- Sora fighting Sephiroth in Coliseum references their encounter in the Olympus Coliseum area in Kingdom Hearts.
- Sora standing next to Duck Hunt references his allies Goofy and Donald Duck from the Kingdom Hearts series (who are also a dog and duck duo).
- Mario and Sora together is a reference to both being the first and last fighters on the roster respectively and Mario being a major inspiration for the Kingdom Hearts series as a whole.
His 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 iteration of Kingdom Hearts. Said renders are also used for his fighter spirits.
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 Ultimate fighter on the roster.
Coincidentally, the update Sora releases in, version 13.0.0, releases 13 days after his reveal, which includes 13 new spirits, and Sora is the 13th DLC fighter added in Ultimate (counting Pyra and Mythra as separate fighters). The "Mr. Sakurai Presents" that revealed Sora was itself announced in a Nintendo Direct 13 days before the presentation. The Kingdom Hearts series itself holds a strong connection to the number 13, primarily in the form of the recurring antagonist group Organization XIII.
- Furthermore, Sora is the 7th fighter in the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 (again, counting Pyra and Mythra as separate fighters). A pivotal plot point established in Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts III is Xehanort's goal of uniting 7 "lights" and 13 "darknesses" to forge the legendary χ-blade.
If one counts Bowser Jr and the Koopalings as separate characters, Sora has the most Fighter Spirits in the game, with five.
Despite having his proportions from the original Kingdom Hearts, Sora's stance and crouch height resemble his battle pose from Kingdom Hearts II and III.
Unlike in the Kingdom Hearts series, Sora's P1 and P5 renders have him hold the Keyblade such 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 artwork from the original Kingdom Hearts, in which he holds the Keyblade in a similar manner.