Homing Attack
The Homing Attack is an attack used by Sonic the Hedgehog and is his most basic attack in many games.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Homing Attack is Sonic's neutral special move. When used, Sonic curls up into a ball, hovers momentarily in place, then shoots towards the opponent closest to him causing 8% damage at its freshest and goes down by 1% as it stales up to 3% at it's stalest when it connects.If there are no characters within range of the attack instead of homing in on the closest target Sonic will simply shoot downwards at a diagonal angle.Wether or not the move hits or misses Sonic will stall after it is used,leaving him open,making it easily punishable in team battles or even in a one on one if it connects on an opponent at low damage percentages. This move can be used an unlimited amount of times in the air, thus making it a good move to use against anybody who tries to edge guard Sonic as well as making a good edgeguarding tool itself. If two Sonics (or Kirby(ies) with Sonic's ability) attack one another with this move, they will slowly jump upwards until they reach the top of the screen, in a manner similar to the Luigi Ladder. It also possesses a unique quality in that it tries to hit the opponent's side facing away from Sonic by traveling over them. This property means that it only hits effectively when the opponent is moving away from him on the ground, or traveling towards him in the air
It should be noted that the Homing Attack can be used to stall indefinitely underneath platform stages by shooting into the underside of the stage.When sonic is about to use Homing Attack, tap the control stick or d-pad left or right, depending on the way the player wants to go, and then press the special button. Sonic will change his direction, and attempt to home on an enemy in that direction, or, if there is no enemy in range, dash downwards at a diagonal angle.
Origins
The Homing Attack made its debut in Sonic Adventure as Sonic's new main method of dealing with enemys and solving puzzles replacing the traditional Spin Dash he had in his sidescrolling days.In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Sonic had an attack similar to the Homing Attack that could be used when Sonic had a Fire Shield,this attack was used in the same manner as the Homing Attack,one would simply have to press the jump button again while in the air and Sonic would curl up and shoot forward surrounded by fire.A similar move was present in Sonic 3 & Knuckles when Sonic turned into Super Sonic after collecting all the Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds Sonic would turn into a new Super Sonic that had shifting collors instead of the yellow collor of regular Super Sonic,this newer Super Sonic was faster and had an attack that was identical to the attack produced by the Fire Shield but without the fire effect.Although these attacks resemble the Homing Attack they did not lock on to the target like the Homing Attack therefor not truly making them "homing" attacks
Trivia
- In Home-run Contest, this attack does not home on the Sandbag because in Brawl it is functionally an item, not a character like in Melee.
- While Sonic is preparing for Homing Attack, pressing the attack button will make him use the attack faster. It will, however, slightly decrease its accuracy.
- In Shadow the Hedgehog's and Sonic Heroes' 2 player mode, if both characters continue to homing attack each other, they will slowly ascend, much in the way that happens with Sonic's own Homing Attack.
- This is Sonic's only attack not to start with an "S".
