Sonic (SSBU)

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.

As in Smash 4, Roger Craig Smith's portrayal of Sonic from various Sonic games and Jun'ichi Kanemaru’s portrayal of Sonic from Brawl was repurposed for the English and Japanese versions of Ultimate respectively. Alexandre Gillet, Jonathan López, Marc Stachel and Renato Novara's portrayals of Sonic from various Sonic games used in Smash 4 were also repurposed for the French, Spanish, German, and Italian versions respectively.

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.

Sonic must then be defeated on Green Hill Zone for all three methods.

Attributes

Sonic is a lightweight who, staying true to his home series, has very fast mobility. He possesses the fastest dash speed in the game, the seventh-fastest walk speed, the 12th fastest air speed (tied with Mario, Donkey Kong, Little Mac and Inkling), and the highest traction. Combined with his above-average falling speed, Sonic can move across the stage at blinding speeds despite his slow air acceleration. In addition, he can also wall jump.

Sonic's special moves are quite useful. Spin Dash and Spin Charge allow him to not only move across stages at varying speed, but also do damage on contact, and can both follow up into an aerial attack, or uncharged Homing Attack. Despite their very similar looking appearance in functions, they both have different strengths and uses for various different situations.

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

While Spin Dash is a one-hit move that mostly knocks opponents into the air, Spin Charge on the other hand hits multiple times, carrying the opponent, and moves a little faster, making it a good alternative for dashing. Jumping out of Spin Charge also has Sonic hop while spinning, making him a jumping hitbox. Also, due to charging up by pushing the Special Move button repeatedly, it can be charged up to full power faster than Spin Dash. Spin Charge can also perform a "spinshot", although it can only be done while airborne.

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

Homing Attack deals a varying amount of damage, homes in on the nearest opponent and is good for punishing laggy moves and edge-guard breaking. Its uncharged state also has potential to combo and its charged state has K.O. potential at higher percents. Spring Jump is a useful recovery that grants intangibility at the start, goes very high, and is one of few recovery moves that do not cause a helpless state, enabling Sonic to attack and dodge during his descent and even extend his recovery with a directional air dodge. The spring that is dropped can be useful both on-stage and off-stage by allowing him to pressure and gimp opponents, respectively.

Sonic also has a powerful air game. Neutral aerial is a great combo starter when SHFF'd, as a result of its long-lasting hitbox, low landing lag, and launching angle. Forward aerial is useful for edge-guarding and, in certain instances, can combo into itself on-stage at low percentages, thanks to its auto-canceling window and Sonic's fast air speed. Up aerial possesses KO potential near the upper blast line and is great for combos, while its auto-canceling window makes it deceptively safe. Back aerial's clean hitbox is powerful, making it one of his few reliable KOing options like his up aerial, and coupled with its strength within Sonic's kit, also makes it his best aerial finisher. Lastly, down aerial is a stall-then-fall; although it is Sonic's least effective aerial, it has noticeably less ending lag compared to other stall-then-falls, and its initial hitbox meteor smashes aerial opponents.

Sonic's neutral attack, tilts, and throws have decent damage outputs and good speed, making them hard to punish. His grab game is decent overall: While none of Sonic's grabs excel in speed and each of them have average ranges, they are still fairly easy to land thanks to his outstanding speed. Sonic's pummel is also quick and has an average damage output, allowing him to rack up a fair amount of damage before throwing an opponent. Down throw is a semi-spike that has high base knockback, which makes it excellent for setting up edge-guards and tech-chases. Back throw also has high base knockback and KOs much earlier than his other throws, especially if it is used while near the edge. It also moves Sonic backward, which makes it useful for setting up an immediate edge-guard attempt. Up tilt can be reversed on startup, and hit opponents through platforms above Sonic, and his Forward Smash has a bit of a deceptively large range due to him stepping forward during the punch.

Up throw is a reliable combo starter, having decently damaging combos beginning at 0%, as well as Spring Jump-assisted aerial combos beginning at medium percentages. It also has KO potential, although it only KOs reliably at very high percentages when used on high platforms, such as Battlefield's top platform, as well as stages with low upper blast zones. Lastly, forward throw is his least useful throw, as its primary utility is for forcing the opponent away from him. Like up throw, it can also function as a KOing option, albeit only when used on the edge at very high percentages.

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 can be extremely useful for mind games 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 opponents. This allows the player to avoid damage, not be as easily punished, have more control over their actions, and be able to punish their opponent's attacks. Dash-dance pivots (consisting of fox-trotting away from the opponent, then quickly dash-dancing backwards) are particularly effective for this, as they can cause almost immediate turnarounds and then grabs can then be used to punish opponents.

Sonic has some weaknesses, the most noticeable of which is his KO potential. His KO potential is held back by his most reliable KOing options (smash attacks, and clean back aerial) requiring good positioning and having noticeable start-up and ending lag. His forward and up smashes are also burdened with low base knockback, which forces them to be used for KO attempts later instead of earlier and down smash, while having decent start up, has high ending lag, making it easy to punish if missed. Despite his outstanding mobility, Sonic may struggle to land due to his very slow air acceleration, leaving him susceptible to juggling.

Sonic can also have difficulty dealing with camping, since any ground-level projectile can severely limit his movement options. While Homing Attack and Spin Dash are his best options in getting through said projectiles, they can be reacted to and even predicted. Some of his attacks are also very punishable should they miss, and thus allow openings for opponents to punish him. His recovery is also predictable with Spring Jump as his only vertical recovery option, as its linearity makes him susceptible to gimps even at relatively low percentages. Finally, Sonic can be susceptible to early KOs due to his light weight.

Much like in Brawl, Sonic's matchups are difficult to define, as they vary greatly from player to player, possibly moreso than for any other character. 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.

In all, Sonic has a great offensive play, has a strong neutral game, a good off-stage presence, and can very rapidly damage his opponents, but can have some trouble KOing.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Likely due to his top-tier status in SSB4, Sonic has received a mix of buffs in his transition to Ultimate, but has been nerfed overall.

Several of Sonic's key strengths and moves from SSB4 have been toned down considerably. Arguably his biggest nerf was towards his Spin Dash: The move can no longer be shield canceled and can no longer go through shields unless it is fully charged; this noticeably hinders Sonic's infamous camping ability and mind games from SSB4, and now requires Sonic to rely more on his pure speed due to play defensively. Up aerial, known for its status as a strong KO option off of moves like Spring Jump and Spin Dash, has received angle and knockback adjustments to the first hit that worsen its ability to connect into the second hit as reliably, hindering its effectiveness and consistency for combos. This is further compounded by up throw's nerf; known for being a potential finisher due to it's ability to combo into Spring Jump-assisted setups, it now has increased endlag, effectively removing all of Sonic's Spring Jump-assisted combos off of it. Lastly, Spring Jump's spring now sends opponents at a more horizontal angle, toning down its once powerful edge guarding potency, and has much less intangibility frames, making it easier to intercept Sonic during his recovery.

However, Sonic has been granted notable buffs as well, particularly towards his less impressive attacks. Homing Attack has been significantly buffed, now having less start-up lag, less endlag upon hitting an opponent, better homing capabilities, and increased damage output; this has lead to the move becoming a much more viable combo tool as well as a potential option to break neutral. Down tilt now launches opponents at a higher angle, granting the move combo potential, down smash and up smash have increased KO potential, giving Sonic a slightly easier time KOing with them. Additionally, some of Sonic's already stronger moves have been buffed in various ways: Despite having been worsened overall, Spin Dash now has the ability to be jump canceled, granted Sonic mix-up, albeit less effective ones than previously. Spring Jump now grants Sonic slightly more distance and due to Ultimate's mechanic changes regarding air dodges, allows Sonic to directionally air dodge out of it to gain a little extra height, buffing his already impressive recovery. Lastly, several of Sonic multi-hitting attacks now link into each other more reliably, including Spin Charge, up smash, up tilt, forward aerial, and forward tilt.

Lastly, Sonic has received improvements as a result of Ultimate's universal mechanic changes. Known for having above average landing lag on his attacks in SSB4, Sonic now possesses much less landing lag on all of his aerials; this grants neutral aerial increased combo potential, improves back aerial's safety as a spacing option, and makes down aerials a slightly safer (albeit still unsafe) landing option. Sonic's already unmatchable ground mobility has been improved even further, with his initial dash now being among the fastest in the game, heightening his camping abilities via running. Lastly, the ability to run cancel allows Sonic to take advantage of his phenomenal ground movement far more than any other character in Ultimate, granting him powerful mix-up options he didn't have access to in SSB4.

Overall, while Sonic still retains his powerful attributes and combo game, several of Sonic's most powerful tools from SSB4 have either been worsened or have been removed altogether. As a result, Sonic must take advantage of Ultimate's reworked mechanics and gear towards a more offensive playstyle than in the previous game. This has lead to a notably less effective character between games, as Sonic is forced to make greater use of his below average moveset compared to his previous incarnation, who mainly relied on Spin Dash to compensate for his generally underwhelming attacks.

Due to these nerfs, worse tournament results, and lower representation as a result of previous SSB4 Sonic players (including Jakal, kuma and Seagull Joe) either relegating him to a secondary or dropping him altogether, Sonic's overall perception has been mixed: While some players such as ZeRo, Samsora, and Mew2King view him as an upper mid tier character, other players such as ESAM and Dabuz claim that he is either a lower mid tier or a low tier character, with VoiD in particular highlighting him as a bottom 10 character. However, Sonic has achieved fairly strong results competitively thanks to the efforts of players including Wrath, Sonix, Sonido, and KEN, with notable placements including Sonido placing 5th at Come to Papa 3 and 17th at CEO 2019, Wrath placing 17th at MomoCon 2019, and KEN placing 3rd at Umebura SP 3 and 1st at EGS Cup and Sumabato SP 6; KEN in particular has notable wins over several high-level players, including Tea, MKLeo, T, and ProtoBanham. As a result, Sonic's true viability currently remains up for debate.

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 some of his attacks.
• Sonic's head quills bounce and move around more, resembling how their movement was in Brawl.
• Sonic now grins during his running victory pose instead of smirking, like in Brawl.
• Sonic's Chaos Emerald victory animation now has him running up to the Emerald before grabbing it.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Sonic's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Sonic walks faster (1.375 → 1.444).
• Sonic runs faster (3.5 → 3.85).
  • Sonic's initial dash is significantly faster (1.5 → 2.31).
• Sonic's traction has been massively increased (0.06 → 0.138), now being the highest in the entire game. This makes it much easier for him to punish out of shield.
• 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). This improves his air mobility and makes him less susceptible to juggles.
• 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.
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-15 → 4-14) and has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 29).
• Back roll has more ending lag (FAF 28 → 34).
• Spot dodge has more startup (frame 2 → 3).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 2-25 → 2-26).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 31 → 51).
• The reintroduction of directional air dodges improves Sonic's recovery more than other characters', as due to Spring Jump not causing helplessness, he can get additional distance with a directional air dodge after using it.
• Sonic now takes a slight amount of damage per second when swimming. He shares this trait with Charizard, Inkling, and Incineroar.
  • His swimming animation is also changed, showing him constantly in a panicked state (as opposed to only being in one when drowning).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first and second hits have different angles to keep opponents closer to Sonic (hit 1: 92°/60°/361° → 361°/180°, hit 2: 80°/60°/48° → 361°), akin to other neutral attacks, and deal less knockback (18 set/100 scaling → 20 base/20/15 scaling (hit 1), 20/15 base/20 scaling (hit 2)), but inflict additional frames of hitstun (0 → 8 (hit 1), 4 (hit 2)). This allows them to connect more reliably, and the second hit to lock opponents.
  • Consecutive uses of the first hit are faster (13 → 10 frames).
  • The first hit transitions faster into the second hit (frame 9 → 7), which transitions faster into the third hit (frame 8 → 6).
  • The third hit launches at a lower angle (50° → 361°), allowing it to force opponents offstage more effectively and set up tech-chases.
  • All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.6× (hit 1), 1.2× (hit 2), 2× (hit 3)), giving opponents more time to SDI each hit and DI the last hit.
  • The first hit has had its three large hitboxes replaced with four smaller ones (3u/3.5u/4u → 1.4u/1.4u/1.6u/1.6u). The second and third hits have smaller hitboxes as well (4.0u/3.4u/3.0u → 2.3u/2.3u/2.8u (hit 2), 3.0u/3.5u/5.0u → 2.6u/2.6u/3.6u (hit 3)).
  • The second hit deals less damage (2% → 1.5%).
  • The third hit has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 4-6 → 4-5).
  • The third hit has a slightly different animation.
• Forward tilt:
  • The first hit has drastically reduced knockback scaling, but increased base knockback (60 (base)/70 (scaling) → 80/3) and has been moved farther from Sonic (Z offset: -1.6u → -0.7), allowing it to connect into the second hit more reliably.
• Up tilt
  • Both hits of up tilt have less startup lag (frame 7 → 6 (hit 1), frame 18 → 13 (hit 2)).
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag. This removes its combo potential.
  • The first hit's late portion no longer uses the autolink angle (365° → 95°).
  • The first active hitbox is slightly smaller (5.5u → 5.2u).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt launches at a more upward angle (361° → 73°) and deals much more knockback (30 base/80 scaling → 40/100), improving its combo potential.
  • It returns Sonic to his original position after kicking, rather than moving him forward, making it safer to use for spacing.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has been changed to only consist of a lunge kick, with the Spin Attack portion beforehand being removed. As a result, it no longer hits multiple times, although its total damage remains intact (1% (hits 1-3), 3% (hit 4) → 6% (clean), 4% (late)).
  • It has much less ending lag (FAF 62 → 50).
  • The late hit has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.57×. Combined with its reduced ending lag and the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes it safer on shield.
  • It launches at a lower angle (70° → 60°) and deals less knockback (80 base/125 scaling → 88/80 (clean), 93/80 (late)), reducing its KO ability.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has less startup lag (frame 19 → 18).
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • The first hit launches opponents towards Sonic (90° → 95°), while the looping hits have a lower SDI multiplier (0.6× → 0.5×), and both use weight-independent knockback, allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The last hit has increased knockback scaling (165 → 170), improving its KO potential.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's front hit deals much more knockback (55 base/63 scaling → 50/80), matching the strength of the back hit.

Aerial attacks

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

Throws and other attacks

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

Special moves

• Homing Attack:
  • Homing Attack can be charged for much longer, with Sonic ascending much higher during the charge (frames 22-34 → frames 15-82).
    • It has less startup when uncharged (frame 22 → 15), allowing it to be comboed into from other moves.
  • It deals more damage especially when charged (5%-12% → 7%-20%), with knockback not fully compensated (45 base/90 scaling → 55/65), improving its KO potential at high charge levels.
  • It has improved accuracy.
  • It incurs less ending lag upon hitting an opponent (FAF 32 → 27), allowing it to combo into other moves at certain percentages.
  • It has larger hitboxes (3.5u/3.5u → 5.0u/5.0u).
  • It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 0.5×, thus dealing less shieldstun than in Smash 4, despite it being increased for moves other than smash attacks and aerials. This makes it relatively less safe on shield.
  • Homing Attack 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.
  • It launches at a slightly lower angle (55° → 53°).
• Spin Dash:
  • A grounded charged Spin Dash can be released in the air while keeping its charge.
  • The first jump hit deals slightly more damage (4% → 5%) and has a bigger hitbox (2.0u → 3.0u).
  • Its charge can no longer be canceled by shielding, removing its usefulness for faking out approaches.
  • It can no longer be held indefinitely, now being unleashed automatically if charged for more than two seconds.
  • The move stops upon hitting an opponent's shield, and cannot cross up unless it is charged enough, reducing its safety.
  • The trail changes from purple to yellow when fully charged.
  • Sonic no longer loses his double jump after landing with an aerial Spin Dash or Spin Charge.
• Spring Jump:
  • Sonic gains slightly more vertical height from Spring Jump.
  • The aerial version's Spring launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°), hindering its edgeguarding ability.
  • It grants significantly less intangibility (frames 5-13 → 5-7), leaving Sonic more vulnerable to edgeguards.
  • Using the move incurs 10 frames of landing lag.
  • Grabbing onto a ladder no longer causes Sonic to become helpless whenever he lets go or falls after climbing to the top.
• Spin Charge:
  • Spin Charge's hits launch at a more horizontal angle (60° → 9°), and have more base knockback (40 → 70), but drastically less knockback scaling (60 → 15), as well as lower hitlag and SDI multipliers (1× → 0.5×). This allows them to connect much more reliably.
  • Spin Charge changes the color of the trail to indicate charge strength, going from blue, to cyan, to yellow.
• Super Sonic:
  • Super Sonic's functionality has been changed. Instead of being fully controllable, he moves automatically across the horizontal axis at a drastically increased speed, and only his vertical position can be controlled.
  • When reverting from Super Sonic, Sonic deals damage and knockback if he makes contact with opponents while flying back to his starting point.
  • Super Sonic's damage output is significantly weaker than its previous iterations, and it lasts for a much shorter time period. The more limited controls also make it less possible for him to secure an early KO.

Update History

Sonic has been buffed via game updates. Sonic's forward tilt connects more reliably and back aerial has less landing lag, making him less vulnerable upon landing with it should it not be autocanceled. Super Sonic has also received multiple buffs.

1.1.0

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

2.0.0

• Forward tilt connects more reliably.
• Forward aerial's looping hits have a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.7×), making them harder to SDI out of.
• Back aerial has less landing lag (18 frames → 15).
• Super Sonic via FS meter has a higher knockback multiplier (0.62× → 0.71×).
• The instant KO glitch involving Ridley has been fixed.

3.0.0

• Sonic no longer loses his double jump after performing Spin Dash or Spin Charge on a platform.
• Super Sonic has a larger hitbox.
• Super Sonic via the FS meter has more range and deals more knockback.
• Climbing a ladder after using Spring Jump no longer causes Sonic to become helpless once he lets go or climbs to the top.

Moveset

• Sonic can wall jump.
• Sonic takes continuous damage when swimming. This also applies to Charizard, Incineroar, and Inkling.

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 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% (clean), 4% (late)	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.
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. However, it lasts for only 1 frame, and has considerable ending lag.
Neutral aerial			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			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 even its fairly low 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 always connect very reliably however.
Down aerial		Shooting Star Kick	8% (clean), 7%/5% (late)	A diagonal flying kick. It is a stall-then-fall, but unlike the majority of other stall-then-falls, it is relatively safe to use off-stage thanks to it having noticeably less ending lag in comparison. Its clean hit also meteor smashes aerial opponents 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[1] (a Judo throw). It is Sonic's only throw with consistent KO potential.
Up throw			1% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	Heaves the opponent upward and sharpens his quills to stab them. It can be followed up with a neutral aerial, up aerial and inputted Homing Attack at low 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.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Spin Dashes around in a circular motion while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a legsweep while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			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, albeit dealing less damage. It can be comboed into from various moves if executed early.
Side special		Spin Dash	7%-10.9% (dash), 5% (initial jump), 3% (jump)	Curls up into a ball, performs a short jump, and then starts rolling toward the opponent 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	1.5%-2.3% (loop), 4% (last hit)	A Spin Dash that hits multiple times and has more momentum. It also has slightly different aesthetics, and requires button mashing in order to charge. However, it lacks the short jump 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	12% (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

File:Sonic on-screen appearance.gif

Sonic's 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.

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  Sonic's up taunt.

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  Sonic's side taunt.

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  Sonic's down taunt.

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.

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  Sonic's first idle pose

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  Sonic's second idle pose

Victory poses

• 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!)
• Runs up to and 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!)
• 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!)

Ripped directly from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), which itself is an orchestrated remix of the tune that plays when a character has passed an Act in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, although the ending is slightly abridged.

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In competitive play

Notable players

•  6WX - One of the best Sonic players in the United States. Placed 9th at The Scarlet Classic V, 33rd at Glitch 6 and 49th at Pound 2019.
•  Craftis - The best Sonic player in New England. Placed 5th at Return to Subspace 2, 17th at both Overclocked Ultimate and Overclocked Ultimate II. Ranked 9th on the New England Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  KEN - The best Sonic player in the world. Placed 1st at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate and EGS Cup, 3rd at Umebura SP 3 and 17th at Umebura SP.
•  PowPow - The best Sonic player in Wisconsin. Placed 13th at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate and 17th at Combo Breaker 2019.
•  Sonido - One of the best Sonic players in the world. Placed 5th at Come to Papa 3, 7th at Just Roll With It! 11, 49th at Frostbite 2019, and 65th at GENESIS 6.
•  Sonix - The best Sonic player in the Dominican Republic and one of the best ones in the world. He is PR'd #1 in the Dominican Republic and was the highest placing Sonic at GENESIS 6 with 25th. He also placed 5th at Pre-Genesix
•  SuperGirlKels - The best Sonic player in Canada. Placed 5th at LAN ETS 2019 and 7th at ICARUS V. Ranked 4th on the Montreal Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Wrath - Placed 9th at Ultimate Gamer Miami and 17th at MomoCon 2019.

Classic Mode: At the Speed of Sound

Sonic's congratulations screen.

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	Notes
1	Fox	Green Hill Zone	Green Hill Zone	Fox represents Sonic’s sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower.
2	Captain Falcon	Figure-8 Circuit	Super Sonic Racing	The stage, music, and opponent all reference Sonic R, a racing game.
3	Giant Metal Sonic	Fourside Ω	Open Your Heart	The music and city setting, as well as its chronological placement, likely reference the battle against Perfect Chaos at the end of Sonic Adventure; the stage and opponent could also reference the Metal Sonic boss fight at the end of Stardust Speedway Zone in Sonic CD.
4	Kirby (x3)	Halberd	Sonic Heroes	The Kirbys represent the three character types from Sonic Heroes: Speed (Blue), Flight (Yellow), and Power (Red). The stage choice likely references Final Fortress, the final level of said game.
5	Sheik	Mushroomy Kingdom	Seven Rings in Hand	The stage, music, and opponent all reference Sonic and the Secret Rings, which has an Arabian setting.
6	Giant Incineroar	Windy Hill Zone	Wonder World	Incineroar represents Zavok, the leader of The Deadly Six from Sonic Lost World.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

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

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

Role in World of Light

Finding Sonic in World of Light

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

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

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

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

Fighter Battle

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

Spirits

Sonic's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Sonic in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Sonic makes an appearance in a few Primary Spirits in other forms.

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  775. Sonic the Hedgehog

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  778. Super Sonic

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  796. Sonic the Werehog

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
778		Super Sonic	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Gold Sonic		13,700	Windy Hill Zone	•Sudden Final Smash	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash	Live & Learn
780		Metal Sonic	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Metal Sonic		4,600	Windy Hill Zone	N/A	•Timed Stamina battle •The enemy is metal •The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt	Sonic Heroes
782	File:Chaotix Spirit.png	Chaotix	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Sonic •Pichu •King K. Rool		1,600	Windy Hill Zone	•Invisibility	•The enemy is invisible	Sonic Heroes
788		Shadow the Hedgehog	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Sonic		9,100	New Pork City (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Shadow) •Item: Timer	•The enemy's dash attacks have increased power •Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Live & Learn
795		Silver the Hedgehog	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Sonic		3,600	Green Hill Zone	•Item: Throwing Types	•The enemy starts the battle with a Black Hole •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Rooftop Run
797	File:Infinite Spirit.png	Infinite	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Metal Sonic		4,400	Big Blue	•Hazard: Screen Flip	•The screen will suddenly flip after a little while •Stamina battle •The enemy is metal	Fist Bump
848	File:Ablesisters.png	Able Sisters	Animal Crossing series	•Sonic (x3) ()		9,100	Town and City	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Drill	Outdoors at 7 p.m. (Sunny) / Main Street - Animal Crossing: New Leaf
1,262	File:Dillon.png	Dillon	Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers	•Sonic		9,800	Midgar (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Dillon)	•The enemy's special moves have increased power •Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy favors special moves	Frontier Battle
1,285		Rayman	Rayman series	•Sonic		9,100	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Sukapon)	•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power •Stamina battle •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Sunset Heights

As a minion

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

Alternate Costumes

Gallery

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

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  Sonic's fighter card.

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  Sonic idling on Wrecking Crew.

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  Running on Mushroomy Kingdom.

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

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

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  Attacking Shulk with Spin Charge on Mario Galaxy.

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  With one of Bayonetta's butterflies on Skyworld.

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  Running with Falco on Prism Tower.

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

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

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

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  Sonic and Knuckles posing on Palutena's Temple.

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  Sonic and Knuckles posing on Garden of Hope.

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  Idling on Distant Planet.

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.
• 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.
• The references to his games in Sonic's Classic Mode 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 Green Hill Zone and Figure-8 Circuit in Classic Mode.
• Prior to version 2.0.0, there was a glitch that allowed Ridley to instantly KO Sonic. On 2D stages, if Ridley grabbed Sonic with his Space Pirate Rush while Sonic is recovering from a Homing Attack near the ledge, Sonic would be instantly sent into the horizontal blast line.
• As is the case with Smash 4, Sonic's snoring and surfacing voice clips are taken directly from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which he was voiced by Jason Griffith, despite otherwise being voiced by Roger Craig Smith.
  • Also, like in Smash 4, Jason Griffith is uncredited in the credits.
• Sonic is the only third-party veteran to have his victory theme changed in some way, being slightly sped up and abridged at the end.
• Ultimate is the first game since Brawl that Sonic is in a CG cutscene.

Notes

1.^ translates to "Circle Throw"