![Art of Sonic Guide For Ultimate (Completed) [More Updates in the Future]](/data/resource_icons/1/1192.jpg?1548032203){kind=icon}
Art of Sonic Guide for Smash Ultimate
Hello everyone! Welcome to my Sonic guide! I decided to make a sonic guide because someone suggested that I do it haha...anyways, what will this guide focus on? Well, that's a good question! I believe I want to make a sonic guide where it's accessible by everyone regardless of skill level and updated with more new information or changes. Anyways...
First of all, let's talk about SSB4 (3DS/WiiU) Sonic and SSBU (Ultimate) Sonic...so what do I need to know to fully understand Ultimate Sonic and how he's different from SSB4 Sonic?
I'll list pros and cons SSB4 Sonic have...
Pros:
Combo Game
Juggling
Recovery
Mind Games
Patience
Neutral
Spin Dash is EVERYTHING
Con:
Landing
Scoring Kills
Basically, SSB4 Sonic is a heavily bait n' punish character that fishes for his opponent's mistakes with his options mainly SDSC (Spin Dash Shield Cancel) and secure the advantage by juggling with his infamous Spin Dash. At high percent, he sets up mind games to try to score a kill. His metagame revolves around Spin Dash...Sonic just has too many good pros to make him a top tier character obviously (Damn that spin dash) I don't have to say anymore.
I'll list pros and cons SSBU Sonic have...
Pros:
Combo Game
Recovery
Edge guards
Better Disadvantage
Potentially Stronger Advantage
Buffed Damage Output Overall
Cons:
Harder to Score Kills
Weaker Defensive Options
Nerfed Spin Dash
Lighter Weight
The transition from SSB4 Sonic to Ultimate Sonic is a pretty weird one because SSB4 Sonic abuses spin dash a lot however, Ultimate Sonic doesn't because his spin dash isn't that good anymore. It stops right at the shield but charged spin dash can pass through. Basically Ultimate Sonic is more about using a lot of tools rather than relying on the spin dash. He has some mixed buffs and nerfs along with additions to new mechanics in Ultimate.
First of all...Sonic seemingly does better at disadvantage AND advantage. For a disadvantage, he has few options that can help him recover from the disadvantaged state pretty well as long as it's not predictable and abused. Those options included the buffed homing attack (much faster start-up) and DI Dodge. A buffed homing attack is almost impossible to react (human average reaction time is 16 frames and HA earliest version starts at frame 13) and DI Dodge gave players quite a hard time catching Sonic. He still has his spring lol. Thanks to one air dodge rule, Sonic can bait out its air dodge and continue to juggle or throw themselves into a situation where Sonic can follow up to secure the advantage and perhaps score the kill or rack up a huge amount of damage. If the opponent either tries to attack or escape, Sonic can keep shadowing and punish their mistakes. The biggest point of this is that Ultimate Sonic is NOT necessarily the same as SSB4 Sonic which means you have to change your ways completely but still play similarly to SSB4 Sonic. Also, keep in mind Ultimate has some new mechanics so you should not really play Ultimate Sonic exactly like SSB4 Sonic!!! Ultimate Sonic is still a bait n'punish character. I'll continue this later in certain subtopics (I'll probably restate to be sure)
Now that I clarified the differences between SSB4 Sonic and SSBU Sonic and how new mechanics affected Ultimate Sonic...it's time to explore Ultimate Sonic!
Here are the topics I'll include...
Knowing Sonic
Understanding Sonic
Moveset Guide
Ground Game
OOS Options
Aerial Game
Landing
Recovery
Edgeguardings/Ledge Trappings
Mind Games/Baits
Mix-ups
Simple & Advanced Combos
Frame Traps
Dealing With Projectiles
Advanced/Movement Techniques
Art of Spin Dash & Spin Charge
Understanding Sonic
Neutral
Adaptations
Approaches
Conditioning
Advantages/Disadvantages
Stage Control
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Understanding Sonic
Moveset Guide
Ground Game
OOS Options
Aerial Game
Landing
Recovery
Edgeguardings/Ledge Trappings
Mind Games/Baits
Mix-ups
Simple & Advanced Combos
Frame Traps
Dealing With Projectiles
Advanced/Movement Techniques
Art of Spin Dash & Spin Charge
Understanding Sonic
Neutral
Adaptations
Approaches
Conditioning
Advantages/Disadvantages
Stage Control
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Knowing Sonic
As I said above about the differences between Ultimate Sonic and SSB4 Sonic, you do understand that Ultimate Sonic and SSB4 Sonic are not quite the same. New mechanics and changes changed some of Ultimate Sonic's gameplay but he still remains a bait n'punish character. To understand Ultimate Sonic the best, you must know what good tools he has and how & why they are used. You have to know what changes were made in his moveset so you will know which one was buffed or nerfed. Sonic received mixed buffs and nerfs and I'll talk about it in "Moveset Guide". Anyways, the main weapon in his gameplay is his speed in which you can use it to bait out reactions. With the addition to dash dance, Sonic can be harder to react to. Furthermore, a universal mechanic where characters can cancel dash and running animation with any moves and that benefits Sonic. His great speed benefited him in many scenarios still such as chasing opponents, whiffing punishes and going in and out quickly with low risks compared to other characters. The biggest thing you all NEED to know is that his Spin Dash was nerfed to the point it's laughable compared to SSB4 Sonic's Spin Dash that caused everyone to hate Sonic. It cannot pass through the opponent's shield and it stops at the spot unless it's charged. It loses Sonic's very own pressure and safe option, Spin Dash Shield Cancel (SDSC). It means that Ultimate Sonic doesn't have a very reliable threatening option that can pressure/bait out reactions. Fortunately Sonic received some buffs to keep him up. Due to changes, we're forced to play Sonic like an actual fighter not to rely on Spin Dash so much. That means Sonic will require more work and practice AND patience to be good with him.
I will list Ultimate Sonic's moveset with the buffs/nerfs. I'll include the explanation of each move about what they can do and when they should not be used.
Running Speed: [Buff] His running speed is now slightly faster. It increases his window in going in and out for escaping and punishing. In-depth, he can do a lot of things with his great speed such as baiting reactions, getting in for punishes, covering a wide area in a very short time, shadowing his opponent, etc.
Weight: [Nerf] He's now lighter which means he's easier to kill.
Jab: [Nerf] His jab range really really sucks to the point that sometimes when someone is right in front of you, it either does not reach nor combo into another jab which will net opponent a free punish. It's usually used out of OOS if Sonic does not have any options that are fast enough to punish before his opponent can act out.
Dash Attack: [Buff] I believe it's buffed because it has a bigger hitbox and it lingers at the end. It's also only one hit now. Dash Attack sends an opponent at a good angle where Sonic gains advantage for a moment until his opponent lands successfully. That is where Sonic can shadow in and juggle his opponent if done correctly. It's a good burst option but it shouldn't be abused since it still has that awful end lag, unfortunately.
Ftilt: [Nerf?] I don't see any noticeable changes except it sometimes does not link into the second hit at a very high percent. It's better used for when you try to space yourself. It can be a good option against normal get up/attack get up while ledge trapping due to its reach. Ftilt can help set up edge guarding options. Anything else, it's not recommended to use it.
[7.0.0] UPDATE: His ftilt is fixed. It can now connect better at a higher percent in which it's more consistent.
Uptilt: [Buff?] Besides the buffed horizontal reach, there aren't any notable changes. it is a pretty good anti-air move and it starts pretty fast however, it's not used much because Sonic has many other better options to choose from.
Dtilt: [Buff] Sonic dtilt can now send his opponent upward in which it's a potential combo starter now instead of setting up tech chasing/edge guarding options. Sadly due to reduced hit stun, it's hard to combo out of dtilt however it's still possible to combo into fair usually at mid percent. It might be a decent option out of running due to its fast startup and little end lag and also a pretty good shield poking option.
Nair: [Buff] It has a reduced end lag so it's potentially safe on shield especially on cross up. Thanks to its reduced end lag, it combos easier into bair. Surprisingly, it can combo into either fsmash or usmash for the kill however it's harder so nair into bair is a better option to go for. It's also a great combo stopper and a good combo starter that follows into aerials usually.
Uair: [Nerf] The main reason it was nerfed was the fact that it does not link into a second hit well due to his uair first hit knockback so Sonic loses certain options or has weaker options such as juggling, comboing, and OOS option with uair. On the other hand, it does better when falling. You just have to use his uair slightly differently. For example, uair should be used usually while falling. In addition to that, if uair is attempted as a combo ender, its positioning needs to be more precise.
Fair: [Buff] Weaker SDI allows it to chain from multiple hits into the final hit more reliably. it's stronger now meaning it can kill much earlier than sm4sh fair. It's still a good OOS option.
Bair: [Buff] His end lag was reduced when fast-falling so it COULD be a safe option on the shield when landing only when it's maximized spaced out. His bair is still amazing because it's one of his killing options mainly when edge guarding. Thanks to the 1v1 damage mechanic, its damage output was buffed. It's still good at setting up frame traps and a decent option in ledge trapping.
Dair: [Buff] His spike hitbox changed to the very startup of the move so it's easier to spike and it still can combo out of Spin Charge. Also, his dair end lag was reduced a lot.
Fsmash: [Unchanged] It still retains that ridiculous range and is still strong. It is one of Sonic's main killing moves
Usmash: [Buff] It actually now can kill around 100% depends on the rage and the weight. However, it still has that awful lag.
Dsmash: [Buff] His front leg is almost as strong as its back leg and it has a bigger hitbox. However, it still has a lot of end lag.
Neutral B (Homing Attack): [Buff] Oh boy there are a lot of things you need to know about this amazing Homing Attack! It starts up really fast compared to SSB4 Sonic's homing attack. It can be used as a combo ender or extending combos. Before it let goes, you can see the lock-in animation appearing on your opponent if it's in the range which is good because it ensures that homing attack is accurate in where it wants to lock in and zooms in to attack. It has a really long startup but in the end, it inflicts more damage and it can kill if it hits at high percent. Faster version Homing Attack starts up really fast to the point it's harder to react to compared to SSB4 Homing Attack. It can be a safe option as a mixup when the opponent does not expect it. It's a decent edge guarding option because it can connect into bair or set up the frame trap with bair. It's pretty good at catching air dodges, jumps, and few other options that allows the homing attack to lock in and hit with success. Although it's buffed, it still retains low priority so it shouldn't be used often during the disadvantaged state.
Side B (Spin Dash): [Nerf] It's really nerfed to the point we don't want to abuse it otherwise we will get punished really hard. Uncharged Spin Dash stops at the spot where it touches the shield and it nets his opponent a free punish. It lost its own baiting/pressuring option known as Spin Dash Shield Cancel (SDSC). Fortunately, Spin Dash still has some uses but pretty limited. It's usually used for recovering, racking up damage from combos, one of the movement mixups, punishing option, and sometimes edge guarding. Fortunately, Spin Dash gained a new movement option and it is Hop Dash. What is a Hop Dash? It is a spin dash that hops three times higher than normal spin dash's hop. It's similar to its customized move, Hammer Spin Dash except it does not bury. It's a decent option for catching opponents who try to land on platforms. It also could be used to escape opponents' pressure by hop dashing on the platform and get away quickly to reset the neutral. Another good thing about Hop Dash is that thanks to its higher hop, it can hop over and bypass many projectiles EVEN Lucario's max aura sphere (I think it's the biggest projectile). It's a better tool for neutral than Spin Charge because of more options to cancel Spin Dash itself. For example, Spin Dash can Hop Dash, hop around while charging with the new option of releasing it airborne, spin shot, Vertical Spin Jump (VSJ), etc. It means it commits less as an option due to many options that don't cause Spin Dash to interact with the opponent, but rather checks out/baits out the opponent's reaction.
Down B (Spin Charge): [Buff/Nerf] Spin Charge seems to be getting some mixed buffs and nerfs but it might lean toward nerfs. This move's main buff was that it deals with a crazy amount of damage itself. The nerf that most of you might know but Spin Charge could not properly launch opponent. For instance, a lot of times, you will likely see Sonic passing his opponent with Spin Charge after some hits and not launch them or sending opponents on the ground where they can tech. I believe it's due to the high knockback that caused it to not properly connect into Spin Charge Jump (SCJ) that follow up into aerials at high percent. It seems to depend on the character's weight and hurt boxes. At low percent, it most likely won't work on slimy characters that are very light. It also doesn't quite work at high percent for them too. It seems to work more consistently on bigger characters that are mid to heavyweight. Anyways, Spin Charge is a better punishing tool due to its faster startup & roll on initial instead of hopping like Spin Dash, damage output, and combo potential.
Up B (Spring): [Buffs/Nerf]Besides its buffed vertical recovery, it lost a lot of invincibility frames. It only has like 3 frames and at the start-up of the spring. It makes it easier for Sonic to be edge guarded. However, with the aid of DI-dodge and buffed recovery, Sonic doesn't like to make it easy for opponents to catch him offstage. But the only drawback from this is that you're forced to mix up your recovery because you're easier to edge guard when recovering low.
SSBU Sonic Changes
Running Speed: [Buff] His running speed is now slightly faster. It increases his window in going in and out for escaping and punishing. In-depth, he can do a lot of things with his great speed such as baiting reactions, getting in for punishes, covering a wide area in a very short time, shadowing his opponent, etc.
Weight: [Nerf] He's now lighter which means he's easier to kill.
Jab: [Nerf] His jab range really really sucks to the point that sometimes when someone is right in front of you, it either does not reach nor combo into another jab which will net opponent a free punish. It's usually used out of OOS if Sonic does not have any options that are fast enough to punish before his opponent can act out.
Dash Attack: [Buff] I believe it's buffed because it has a bigger hitbox and it lingers at the end. It's also only one hit now. Dash Attack sends an opponent at a good angle where Sonic gains advantage for a moment until his opponent lands successfully. That is where Sonic can shadow in and juggle his opponent if done correctly. It's a good burst option but it shouldn't be abused since it still has that awful end lag, unfortunately.
Ftilt: [Nerf?] I don't see any noticeable changes except it sometimes does not link into the second hit at a very high percent. It's better used for when you try to space yourself. It can be a good option against normal get up/attack get up while ledge trapping due to its reach. Ftilt can help set up edge guarding options. Anything else, it's not recommended to use it.
[7.0.0] UPDATE: His ftilt is fixed. It can now connect better at a higher percent in which it's more consistent.
Uptilt: [Buff?] Besides the buffed horizontal reach, there aren't any notable changes. it is a pretty good anti-air move and it starts pretty fast however, it's not used much because Sonic has many other better options to choose from.
Dtilt: [Buff] Sonic dtilt can now send his opponent upward in which it's a potential combo starter now instead of setting up tech chasing/edge guarding options. Sadly due to reduced hit stun, it's hard to combo out of dtilt however it's still possible to combo into fair usually at mid percent. It might be a decent option out of running due to its fast startup and little end lag and also a pretty good shield poking option.
Nair: [Buff] It has a reduced end lag so it's potentially safe on shield especially on cross up. Thanks to its reduced end lag, it combos easier into bair. Surprisingly, it can combo into either fsmash or usmash for the kill however it's harder so nair into bair is a better option to go for. It's also a great combo stopper and a good combo starter that follows into aerials usually.
Uair: [Nerf] The main reason it was nerfed was the fact that it does not link into a second hit well due to his uair first hit knockback so Sonic loses certain options or has weaker options such as juggling, comboing, and OOS option with uair. On the other hand, it does better when falling. You just have to use his uair slightly differently. For example, uair should be used usually while falling. In addition to that, if uair is attempted as a combo ender, its positioning needs to be more precise.
Fair: [Buff] Weaker SDI allows it to chain from multiple hits into the final hit more reliably. it's stronger now meaning it can kill much earlier than sm4sh fair. It's still a good OOS option.
Bair: [Buff] His end lag was reduced when fast-falling so it COULD be a safe option on the shield when landing only when it's maximized spaced out. His bair is still amazing because it's one of his killing options mainly when edge guarding. Thanks to the 1v1 damage mechanic, its damage output was buffed. It's still good at setting up frame traps and a decent option in ledge trapping.
Dair: [Buff] His spike hitbox changed to the very startup of the move so it's easier to spike and it still can combo out of Spin Charge. Also, his dair end lag was reduced a lot.
Fsmash: [Unchanged] It still retains that ridiculous range and is still strong. It is one of Sonic's main killing moves
Usmash: [Buff] It actually now can kill around 100% depends on the rage and the weight. However, it still has that awful lag.
Dsmash: [Buff] His front leg is almost as strong as its back leg and it has a bigger hitbox. However, it still has a lot of end lag.
Neutral B (Homing Attack): [Buff] Oh boy there are a lot of things you need to know about this amazing Homing Attack! It starts up really fast compared to SSB4 Sonic's homing attack. It can be used as a combo ender or extending combos. Before it let goes, you can see the lock-in animation appearing on your opponent if it's in the range which is good because it ensures that homing attack is accurate in where it wants to lock in and zooms in to attack. It has a really long startup but in the end, it inflicts more damage and it can kill if it hits at high percent. Faster version Homing Attack starts up really fast to the point it's harder to react to compared to SSB4 Homing Attack. It can be a safe option as a mixup when the opponent does not expect it. It's a decent edge guarding option because it can connect into bair or set up the frame trap with bair. It's pretty good at catching air dodges, jumps, and few other options that allows the homing attack to lock in and hit with success. Although it's buffed, it still retains low priority so it shouldn't be used often during the disadvantaged state.
Side B (Spin Dash): [Nerf] It's really nerfed to the point we don't want to abuse it otherwise we will get punished really hard. Uncharged Spin Dash stops at the spot where it touches the shield and it nets his opponent a free punish. It lost its own baiting/pressuring option known as Spin Dash Shield Cancel (SDSC). Fortunately, Spin Dash still has some uses but pretty limited. It's usually used for recovering, racking up damage from combos, one of the movement mixups, punishing option, and sometimes edge guarding. Fortunately, Spin Dash gained a new movement option and it is Hop Dash. What is a Hop Dash? It is a spin dash that hops three times higher than normal spin dash's hop. It's similar to its customized move, Hammer Spin Dash except it does not bury. It's a decent option for catching opponents who try to land on platforms. It also could be used to escape opponents' pressure by hop dashing on the platform and get away quickly to reset the neutral. Another good thing about Hop Dash is that thanks to its higher hop, it can hop over and bypass many projectiles EVEN Lucario's max aura sphere (I think it's the biggest projectile). It's a better tool for neutral than Spin Charge because of more options to cancel Spin Dash itself. For example, Spin Dash can Hop Dash, hop around while charging with the new option of releasing it airborne, spin shot, Vertical Spin Jump (VSJ), etc. It means it commits less as an option due to many options that don't cause Spin Dash to interact with the opponent, but rather checks out/baits out the opponent's reaction.
Down B (Spin Charge): [Buff/Nerf] Spin Charge seems to be getting some mixed buffs and nerfs but it might lean toward nerfs. This move's main buff was that it deals with a crazy amount of damage itself. The nerf that most of you might know but Spin Charge could not properly launch opponent. For instance, a lot of times, you will likely see Sonic passing his opponent with Spin Charge after some hits and not launch them or sending opponents on the ground where they can tech. I believe it's due to the high knockback that caused it to not properly connect into Spin Charge Jump (SCJ) that follow up into aerials at high percent. It seems to depend on the character's weight and hurt boxes. At low percent, it most likely won't work on slimy characters that are very light. It also doesn't quite work at high percent for them too. It seems to work more consistently on bigger characters that are mid to heavyweight. Anyways, Spin Charge is a better punishing tool due to its faster startup & roll on initial instead of hopping like Spin Dash, damage output, and combo potential.
Up B (Spring): [Buffs/Nerf]Besides its buffed vertical recovery, it lost a lot of invincibility frames. It only has like 3 frames and at the start-up of the spring. It makes it easier for Sonic to be edge guarded. However, with the aid of DI-dodge and buffed recovery, Sonic doesn't like to make it easy for opponents to catch him offstage. But the only drawback from this is that you're forced to mix up your recovery because you're easier to edge guard when recovering low.
SSBU Sonic Changes
His ground game primarily consists of abusing his movement to try to bait out openings while looking for openings left by his opponent. With the loss of SDSC in which it weakens his defensive abilities and his pressure game, it makes it more difficult for Sonic to quickly gain the advantage and even harder for Sonic to be able to win the lead back. However, his running speed and some normals being buffed with addition to those new mechanics, it helps Sonic cope with the issues he has against his opponent. Basically, when Sonic is on the ground, his main tools are his speed, dash attack as a mixup, and Spin Dash as a neutral tool. He relies on them to bait out reactions and punish them accordingly that allows him to gain the advantage and rack up more damage as he can while potentially getting kills before his opponent can reset the neutral.
Due to the nerfed shield drop and increased shield hit-stun in Ultimate, some Out-Of-Shield (OOS) options have more risks now compared to SSB4's shield mechanics and its OOS options. for instance, Sonic grab may not be a good idea against moves that are very safe on shield however he can use fair OOS to punish because jump cancels the shield drop while other options do not because you have to wait before your shield drops out completely. It seems like Ultimate's new shield mechanic encourages OOS aerials. Sonic's best OOS options are fair, FFUair, nair (depends), grab, and jab. His bair could work as out-of-shield (OOS) option, but it only works on very tall characters like Rosalina.
To be honest, in my opinion, Sonic aerial game might be better BUT still out classified by characters with aerials that have a disjoint or a big hitbox or higher priority. Sonic bair is strong and is used for catching landings, edge guarding and racking up damage either itself or as a combo ender. His uair still can juggle but bit more difficult to perform. His nair has reduced end lag so Sonic can react out of it faster and do something. His fair is really good because weaker SDI makes it reliable to hit with and it kills earlier.
Sonic landing or in general his disadvantage state might be better because thanks to DI-dodge and few other options that could help him land safely with lower risks compared to SSB4 Sonic, Sonic has more options to choose. Those options included faster version Homing Attack, DI-Dodge, nair, bair, and perhaps uair [aerials on crossup]. The important thing is to mix up how you want to land. It can be either landing on the platform, going toward the ledge, spin charging under the stage and grab the ledge and try to land after, homing attacking, spin dash or charge on the stage, DI-dodging anywhere, or springing, etc. You have many options to choose but keep in mind opponents have some options that can shut down certain options.
With the exception of his spring's nerfed invincibility frames, his recovery is really crazy like, no matter how far he is offstage, he won't die. With the wall jump, DI-Dodge, homing attack, spin dash/charge, and buffed vertical recovery of his spring, he can recover literally ANYWHERE! It's pretty insane...The reason I said the homing attack is because it activates really fast and it charges much longer than SSB4 Homing Attack so it could help recover however it still retains the risks such as homing attack toward the abyss if it does not lock in. Sonic recovery is still amazing even with fewer invincibility frames on his spring. Next, when Sonic grabs the ledge, he still has to get on the stage to be able to reset the neutral and start over again. This is where opponents would want Sonic to be at because Sonic can't run past his opponent so he's forced to find a way to even the stage control or escape the pressure. But, he still has some options with a few possible new options he could use to help him recover safely on stage. Basically, he can jump, attack, normal get up, or roll. But on a higher level, he can mix up with the homing attack, DI-dodge, spring, jump and attack, spin dash facing the opposite way into jump bair, spin shot, and so on. It's possible to combine some options to make it harder for his opponents to either react to or catch Sonic. Keep in mind that his opponents do have certain tools that could shut down his certain options.
Sonic's one of his best ways to kill is to edge guard. Fortunately, Sonic does a better job at killing when edge guarding because of one air dodge rule and other few options he can use to potentially kill. Sonic might be one of the characters who have the best edge guarding game in this game because of his insanely good recovery and some options that are very threatening. His basic options for edge guarding are fair, bair, dair, and spring. But he can take it further with deeper edge guards aided by his spring AND his DI-Dodge. He can add in Spin Dash/Spin Charge or Homing Attack (depends) to spice things up in his edge guarding. The most important thing about edge guarding is to know your opponent's patterns, what kind of character you edge guard, how that character affects their recovery decisions, and predict their most likely recovery. When you have done that, you can figure out the best punish option against those factors in edge guarding vs your opponent's recovery. Next, ledge trapping is still kind of the same except homing attack. Since Sonic lost his SDSC, it's a bit harder to bait out and pressure his opponent's reactions at the ledge. However, they are easily cornered because they can't bypass while running. With his buffed homing attack, it can be a good mix up for catching a lot of things except options that granted his opponent the invincibility for a short time. According to someone, jump and roll options are Sonic's best options to go for when using the homing attack. Before the homing attack is used, it's recommended to stand facing toward the stage in case it missed so you can grab the ledge after springing without going over the ledge a bit before grabbing. It's better to position yourself before using a homing attack so you can catch any possible mistakes easier. Outside of homing attack, his ledge trapping is pretty much the same as SSB4 except with the loss of his SDSC.
Since Ultimate Sonic lost his SDSC, his main way of baiting out reactions is to abuse his movement and try to force his opponent to punish him only to get punished instead thanks to his overwhelming speed. You can also mix up how you play such as using spin dash/charge, creating various movements, positioning yourself in different ways when using certain moves, and so on to catch them off guard.
Here's the video to help you know what mind games are and get the ideas on what you can do with Sonic
Here's the video to help you know what mind games are and get the ideas on what you can do with Sonic
What are mixups? Mixups are basically not repeating your actions over and over again. It offers you various ways to get the same thing you're looking for. For instance, you want to combo this King Dedede. Let's say you went for Spin Dash however he shielded and you got punished instead. Next time you try, you would jump over the shield and face toward Dedede and use spin charge. It works because he did not know it coming. He dropped his shield down and tried to punish you but he got hit by your Spin Charge and then you racked up the damage. Now he knows you might do it again so he took note of it. If you try the same thing like that, he will shield and punish you. Let's try one more scenario. You tried the same thing again but things will be a bit different. You run in and jump over Dedede while he's shielding. Instead of Spin Charge, you would go for a grab and it works. Why? Because he thought you would go for Spin Charge but you went for the grab instead. That is what mixups are. It helps give you a lot of opportunities that can lead to the same thing you want without your opponent being able to punish you because they either make a mistake or drop their guard down.
Here is my google document with a lot of combos with a lot of information included...
Sonic Combos List
Here are a few clips of combos done by my sonic
Lastly, here's the Sonic Montage created by HaX!
Credits go to HaX! for a cool Sonic Montage video!
Sonic Butter n Bread Combo Video by Frenzy Light
Sonic Combos List
Here are a few clips of combos done by my sonic
Lastly, here's the Sonic Montage created by HaX!
Sonic Butter n Bread Combo Video by Frenzy Light
His bair is the best option for setting up a frame traps situation. I'm not sure about other options. Here's the video to help you understand it and visualize how it works. This video should probably still be relevant to Ultimate.
Sonic definitely still struggles against zoners. Fortunately, he has two new options besides Spin Dash with its invincibility frames on the startup that could easily bypass those annoying projectiles. Two options are his faster homing attack and Hop Dash. His homing attack with higher accuracy and his Hop Dash allows Sonic to quickly close the gap between himself and zoners with ease if done correctly. If you're forced to deal with it the old-fashioned way, the best ways to deal with it is to know who you're dealing with, know its projectiles patterns/habits, and how they react after using projectiles.
Sonic lost a lot of his movement techniques due to SDSC being removed however he has few new options, besides few options he still can do, of his own that could potentially be used for movement as a mixup. One more thing, it's still possible to spin shot even with down b but it's harder to perform.
Those advanced/movement techniques included the following:
- Hop Dash
- Dash Dance
- Charging Spin Dash in the air on release that is not possible on SSB4.
- Spinshot
- Vertical Spin Dash Jump
Here are the videos to help you know what some are.
Hop Dash
To perform Hop Dash you do it this way
Side B -> quickly press the jump button
Charging Spin Dash on release in the air
Dash Dance
Spinshot
Here's this video specifically for down b (Spin Charge) spin shot
Vertical Spin Dash Jump
Those advanced/movement techniques included the following:
- Hop Dash
- Dash Dance
- Charging Spin Dash in the air on release that is not possible on SSB4.
- Spinshot
- Vertical Spin Dash Jump
Here are the videos to help you know what some are.
Hop Dash
Side B -> quickly press the jump button
Charging Spin Dash on release in the air
Dash Dance
Spinshot
Here's this video specifically for down b (Spin Charge) spin shot
Vertical Spin Dash Jump
In-depth, there are a lot of ways you can do with spin dash and charge besides using them as combo starters for racking up damage. I'll include the videos to make it easy for you to know what you can do with them.
Edge guard:
Recovery:
Movement:
Edge guard:
Recovery:
Movement:
Understanding Sonic
What is neutral? Neutral is when two players have even advantage and stage control over each other. This is when either players will try to gain an advantage (winning the neutral) by looking for potential openings and punish them. What should Sonic do specifically in the neutral? His best tools in the neutral are obviously his speed and mixups. He would abuse his speed and mixups to force a reaction out of his opponent and punish them with his combos like grab combos or spin dash/charge combos to rack up damage quickly. In the end, he would have to secure the kills with baits or mixups or reads, or any kind of opponent's mistakes. It's simple because Sonic is designed to be a hit-and-run or bait n'punish character.
This skill is very important especially for Sonic because it plays a crucial role in understanding his opponent AND the character he is facing against. Adaptations allow you to take notes and analyze your opponent's gameplay then you can come up with counter-strategies against that. Why is this really important for Sonic? WELL, it's because Sonic struggles with killing and he relies on his opponent making mistakes so adaptations allow Sonic to take notes of which mistakes his opponent does and figure out which mistakes he should fish for and punish while trying to get kills. For instance, you would take note of your opponent jumping a lot so you would either go for bair or fair to punish jumps. However, your opponent takes note of that as well and would shield or wait before he can punish you. But, afterward, you would take note of that as well and go for a different option that either forces them to drop their guard or make a mistake. Get it?
Adaptations benefit Sonic a lot in many ways such as setting up combos/follow-ups, edge guarding, scoring kills, mind games, punishing games, juggling, and so on.
Adaptations benefit Sonic a lot in many ways such as setting up combos/follow-ups, edge guarding, scoring kills, mind games, punishing games, juggling, and so on.
Approaching is still an issue for Sonic because he doesn't have any reliable safe options to approach without getting punished. Another to note is that Ultimate Sonic approaches are pretty much the same as SSB4 Sonic except he lacked safe pressure options to force his opponent to make mistakes, which allows Sonic to approach, going in and punish, due to the loss of SDSC. His main way to approach is to either force reaction with his speed or wait patiently and fish for openings. Once openings are found, he can go in and punish and get out when it's no longer safe to extend his advantage. Mixups are important as well...
Conditioning is when you train your opponent to get used to your patterns but only for them to get punished at the end. It's a good skill for Sonic because it helps Sonic secure the kills. For example, let's say...you trained your opponent to recover high by constantly edge guarding low recoveries. Once your opponent felt forced to recover high hoping that you would still edge guard low recoveries due to the habit of doing so, you tricked your opponent into doing what you want your opponent to do. When your opponent tries to recover high, they would expect your homing attack, Spin Charge jump, fair, or bair, etc. where you can potentially score a kill out of one of those options.
Here's the video to help you understand it better
Here's the video to help you understand it better
Sonic's advantage is pretty strong still in Ultimate. He still can shadow opponent's landing and juggles them, rack up damage quickly with spin dash/charge, sets up follow-ups with his throws that give him an advantage. But, what should he really be doing when in advantage? He should focus on punishing opponent's landing while they are in a bad position and rack up maximum damage with combos. Sonic is really fast so he has no problems with chasing opponent in the air on the ground and beats aerials attempts with Spin Dash or grab OOS or whatever. Fortunately Sonic has various combos to choose from so the follow-ups depend on what combos he has done. How does an advantage begin? It starts when you put your opponent in a pretty bad position by performing true combos or put them into an unfavorable situation for them like getting juggled or edge guarded. That stuff is general advantage stuff. It may vary depending on the character in my opinion but not so much. I think it that way because let's say...you combo'd this Yoshi and should not try to juggle because of Yoshi's down b or nair. Either you wait for Yoshi to land or you adapt to his landing habits and punish while securing the advantage. Another example: You face a Lil mac and throws him offstage because his recovery is linear and predictable. Yes, that is a part of the matchup but wouldn't you consider that one of your advantages because it puts your opponent into a very unfavorable situation?
Ultimate Sonic disadvantage might be better than SSB4 Sonic's because of a few new options and other mechanics that gave Sonic more options to choose. He can choose to spring, nair, bair, homing attack, FFuair, spin dash/charge onstage, DI-dodge in various directions, going toward the ledge, or the combination of few of those options and so on. Those options are based on Sonic's changes (buffs), and new mechanics such as DI-dodge and increased shield hit-stun and nerfed shield drop.
Ultimate Sonic disadvantage might be better than SSB4 Sonic's because of a few new options and other mechanics that gave Sonic more options to choose. He can choose to spring, nair, bair, homing attack, FFuair, spin dash/charge onstage, DI-dodge in various directions, going toward the ledge, or the combination of few of those options and so on. Those options are based on Sonic's changes (buffs), and new mechanics such as DI-dodge and increased shield hit-stun and nerfed shield drop.
Stage Control seems to have similar concepts with Advantages & Disadvantages. Let's say two players are playing in the neutral. Think of it as 50-50. It means that both have even stage controls and they would try to gain an advantage (more stage control) by finding openings and gain the advantage from there. More stage control means more flexible options and less stage control means limited options to try out and it also can mean you're in a disadvantaged state. For example, once Sonic lands a hit on his opponent and rack up damage with his combos, etc. he gains more stage control because he gained the advantage and has more room while his opponent is in an unfavorable situation (disadvantage + loses the stage control). On a different scenario, if your Sonic tries to spring to get away from combos, he will lose his stage control because 1) his aerial game is out classified by characters with better aerial games 2) his landing can be limited by certain options and chased down if done correctly 3) he is in a disadvantaged state. Get it? In simple words, he is in an unfavorable situation which is what his opponent wants and Sonic is forced to recover and reset the neutral and even the stage control out.
This video includes a lot of stuff in those "Understanding Sonic" sub-topics
Now my sonic guide is completed! Yahoo! However it's not over yet...That's because I'll be making more updates after patches and whenever I learned something new. This sonic guide will have some fixes and updates later on so do not worry! I'll make sure to post the update for you guys whenever I make some changes in this guide. Anyways!
I hope you enjoy this sonic guide and I hope it helps you, sonic fellows, out
I believe there's a more official sonic guide made by various sonic players and I want to give you guys more access to wider advanced information than what I included already. Here's the link
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ffie4ind-70ai9cOlBWLK8ZSMdTI4j499TfYvPVdJKw/edit
Credits go to Rucent for a very well done Sonic guide!
EXTRA:
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9BaNnf2xY5JInC1dwKJ-6g?view_as=subscriber
Smash U Discord: https://smashcords.com/smash-5
You can go to Sonic discord server through here
My ID on discord is BlueFlash#6767
BlueFlash is out!
