Sonic (SSB4)

Sonic (, Sonic) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was announced on October 1st, 2013 during a Nintendo Direct.Nintendo Direct - 10/1/2013 Sonic is one of the six third-party characters in the game, alongside fellow Sega fighter ; Capcom's and ; Bandai Namco's ; and Square Enix's . He was the second third-party character to be revealed in the game, and is the first third-party veteran in the series.
In the English version, Sonic is now voiced by , albeit via recycled voice clips from games such as Sonic Generations, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. This reflects his succession of as Sonic's voice actor, who voiced Sonic from 2005 until 2010. reprises his role in the Japanese version, albeit through recycled voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For the first time, Sonic has alternate voices for the French, Spanish, German, and Italian versions, as Sonic the Hedgehog games from Sonic Generations onward were dubbed into those languages; he is voiced by Alexandre Gillet, Jonatán López, Marc Stachel, and Renato Novara respectively.
Sonic is ranked 7th/8th out of 54 on the tier list, placing him in the A tier and tying him with . This is a significant improvement over his mid-tier placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 22nd out of 38. Sonic unsurprisingly boasts the fastest dashing speed in the game; when coupled with his special moves allowing him to attack while in motion with little fear of reprisal, Sonic's approach and neutral game are both impressive. The majority of Sonic's moveset also has improved utility, most notably in regard to his KO potential.
However, Sonic's KOing options are hindered by their high lag, which makes them risky and impairs his ability to KO outside of the neutral game. Despite his mobility, the linearity of Sonic's recovery makes him susceptible to gimping. By extension, he has trouble contending with projectile camping, owing to both his lack of a reliable projectile and an effective way to stop them.
Thanks to his newfound and retained strengths outweighing his flaws, Sonic has attained a large playerbase that has consistently achieved excellent results in high-level play.
==Attributes==
Sonic is a middleweight that, like in his home series, possesses outstanding mobility. He fittingly boasts the fastest dashing speed in the game, yet also possesses the seventh fastest walking speed and ninth fastest air speed, the latter of which is tied with and 's. When coupled with his above average gravity and jumps, he has high omnipresence and can move around the stage at incredible speeds, despite having below average falling speed and one of the worst air accelerations in the game. These traits, in turn, make Sonic able to easily and effectively utilize a hit-and-run playstyle. To round out his outstanding mobility, Sonic is capable of wall jumping.
Sonic possesses very useful special moves. Spin Dash and Spin Charge are perhaps Sonic's best neutral game options, as they allow him to roll across the stage at varying speeds while also dealing damage upon contact. Spin Dash allows Sonic to jump even while charging, and can be canceled with a grab or by shielding, which grants it mindgame potential. Spin Charge, however, hits multiple times and moves even faster, making it a reliable alternative to dashing. Both, however, can give Sonic additional protection when recovering and even chain into other attacks. When coupled with their extremely similar animations, opponents have to tread carefully when dealing with these moves, since a single misstep can result in a very fast chain of attacks that can deal impressive damage.
Homing Attack deals a varying amount of damage, but homes in on the nearest opponent, making it useful for punishing laggy attacks and edge-guard breaking. Spring Jump is a useful recovery move that grants intangibility during start-up and covers an impressive amount of vertical distance. It is also one of the few recovery moves that does not cause helplessness, as Sonic is able to attack and dodge during his descent, while 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 strong air game. Neutral aerial is a great combo starter when SHFF'd, thanks to its long-lasting hitbox, fairly 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. 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 clean hitbox meteor smashes aerial opponents.
Sonic's neutral attack, tilt attacks, and throws have decent damage outputs and minimal lag, which make them hard to punish. Incidentally, his grab game is decent overall. While none of his grabs excel in speed and each of them have average ranges, they are still fairly easy to land thanks to his mobility. Sonic's pummel is quick and has an average damage output, which allows 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 make it excellent for setting up edge-guards and tech-chases. Back throw also possesses high base knockback, but 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 throw is a fairly reliable combo starter: while its combo potential is not as consistent as Spin Dash and Spin Charge's, it still possesses 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 's top platform. Lastly, forward throw is his least useful throw, as its primary utility is for forcing the opponent into the air. Like up throw, it can also function as a KOing option, albeit only when used on high platforms at very high percentages.
However, Sonic has some weaknesses, the most noticeable of which is his KO potential. Despite having improved considerably since Brawl, his KO potential is held back by his most reliable KOing options (forward/up smashes, clean back aerial, and up aerial) requiring good positioning and, aside from up aerial, 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. Despite his outstanding mobility, Sonic also has trouble landing without the use of Homing Attack or Spring Jump, owing to his forward, back, up and down aerials have at least 21 frames of landing lag. This is further exacerbated by 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. Lastly, Sonic can be susceptible to early KOs. Unlike other middleweights, such as Mario and , some of his attacks are very punishable should they miss, and thus allow openings for opponents to punish him. His recovery is also predictable if Spring Jump is his only recovery option, as its linearity makes him susceptible to gimps even at relatively low percentages.
Sonic has many beneficial custom moves at his disposal. Stomp can meteor smash opponents, making it more useful for edge-guarding. Hammer Spin Dash can bury opponents during start-up, allowing for follow-ups that Spin Dash would not permit. In comparison, Burning Spin Dash deals much more damage and its lower jumps leave Sonic less vulnerable after landing a hit. Auto-Spin Charge removes the need for button mashing in order to charge and has a deceptive charging animation that does not reveal when the move starts losing power, the latter of which makes it suitable for mindgames. Lastly, Gravitational Charge has a windbox that pulls opponents in front of Sonic toward him, making it easier for him to hit them. However, it also pushes away opponents behind him, which can make it more difficult for them to punish him directly.
Overall, Sonic is a character with incredible offensive prowess that must force opponents to make a mistake in order to safely rack up damage and use his excellent mobility to avoid heavy punishment.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl==
Sonic has been heavily buffed in his transition from Brawl to Smash 4. The most noticeable improvement he received was to his KO potential, which was his most glaring weakness in Brawl. A decent number of Sonic's attacks have had their knockback increased, most notably his forward smash, up smash, and clean back aerial, all of which are much more viable kill options. His back throw also now possesses KO potential.
Sonic's moveset in general has also been improved in various ways. Notably, two of his moves (dash attack and down smash) have been completely overhauled. Sonic's new dash attack hits multiple times, which is further supplemented by the weakening of SDI, and it possesses very high knockback growth; altogether, these traits make it better than his previous dash attack in regard to punishing and tech-chasing. In comparison, Sonic's new down smash is generally more useful than his previous one, thanks to it being a semi-spike that has a consistent damage output and much less overall lag.
Outside of these two instances, some of Sonic's moves also benefit from both direct changes and modifications to gameplay mechanics. Neutral aerial and up throw's angles have been altered, although the latter move also deals less damage and has compensated knockback which hinders its damage racking potential and does not grant it significantly greater combo potential which it otherwise would have if its knockback were unchanged. When coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling, they, alongside Spin Charge, have improved combo potential. Due to its angle being altered, down aerial's clean hitbox is now a meteor smash against aerial opponents; when coupled with the removal of meteor canceling, clean down aerial is a much more potent edge-guarding option. Lastly, up smash and forward aerial are much more difficult to escape from due to the aforementioned weakening of SDI.
However, Sonic has received some nerfs, mainly to his speed, both in terms of mobility and frame data. A number of his moves have become laggier to varying degrees, with a good example being his back aerial, which incurs drastically more landing lag and has a worse auto-cancel window, which significantly harms its utility despite its increased power. Some moves (such as his forward smash, down smash, up aerial, and down aerial) also have shorter durations. Despite his overall higher KO potential, some of his moves have reduced KO potential, such as up aerial and down smash, and his overall damage output is lower, reducing his damage racking capabilities, although this was the case for most returning veterans.
Sonic's mobility has also taken a hit relative to the cast, although this is mainly due to the changes to Smash 4s mechanics combined with the general increase other characters received to their mobility. While Sonic still has the fastest dashing speed by a huge margin, it is nevertheless lower relative to the cast, as he was one of the few characters whose dashing speed was left unchanged. His walking speed was also slightly decreased. The removal of DACUS also hinders up smash's versatility, as it hinders its approach potential, and to make matters worse, his running up smash covers significantly less distance. The removal of glide tossing also hinders Sonic’s approach with items.
Although remaining very respectable, Sonic's recovery has nevertheless worsened in two particular ways: Spring Jump covers less vertical distance, its intangibility has increased startup lag, and Sonic cannot act as soon out of it, not only making it a worse recovery option, but also making it a less effective combo breaker. Homing Attack can also no longer be used repeatedly without landing on the ground again, removing Sonic's ability to infinitely stall with it. Lastly, Spin Dash's damage racking potential was toned down via update 1.0.6, and it can no longer be used with momentum canceling, which significantly hinders Sonic's endurance. 1.0.6 also notably made his back throw weaker.
Ultimately, Sonic's increased KO potential outweighs his reduced speed and damage output, and the changes to the game's mechanics help him more than they hurt him. As a result, he is a significantly more effective character, and he has seen much more usage in high level play.
===Aesthetics===
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===Attributes===
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===Ground attacks===
*Neutral attack:
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*Forward tilt:
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*Up tilt:
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*Down tilt:
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*Dash attack:
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*Forward smash:
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*Up smash:
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*Down smash:
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===Aerial attacks===
*Neutral aerial:
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*Forward aerial:
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*Back aerial:
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*Up aerial:
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*Down aerial:
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===Throws/other attacks===
*Grabs:
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*Pummel:
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*Forward throw:
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*Back throw:
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*Up throw:
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*Down throw:
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*Floor attacks:
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*Front floor attack:
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*Back floor attack:
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*Edge attack:
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*Trip attack:
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===Special moves===
*Homing Attack:
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*Spin Dash:
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*Spin Dash Hop:
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*Spin Dash roll:
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*Spin Dash roll jump/Spin Charge charging jump:
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*Spring Jump:
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*Spin Charge:
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*Spin Charge Roll Jump:
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*Super Sonic:
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==Update history==
Sonic has been nerfed by game updates. Update 1.0.6 severely hindered his back throw's KO potential by noticeably decreasing its knockback growth, and toned down Spin Dash's damage racking potential by lowering the damage outputs of its rolling and jumping hitboxes. Update 1.0.4 increased forward smash's ending lag, while updates 1.0.8 and 1.1.0 decreased the knockback growth of his up smash and forward smash, respectively.
However, Sonic also received somewhat noticeable buffs. Update 1.0.4 removed the grab release glitch, which enables him to re-use Spring Jump if he is grabbed in midair. Update 1.0.8 reverted down aerial's ending lag to what it was in Brawl; in addition to making it safer when used off-stage, it also made its clean hitbox more reliable for edge-guarding. Lastly, Sonic's multiple hit attacks benefit from the changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1.
Although the nerfs to Sonic's KOing options and damage racking potential have slightly toned down his offensive presence, many professional players have shown that he is still a very viable character regardless.
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== Moveset ==
*Sonic can wall jump.
For a gallery of Sonic's hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
===Announcer call===
Sonic English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
Sonic French Announcer SSBU.wav|French
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===On-screen appearance===
===Taunts===
===Idle poses===
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English) 	Cheer (Japanese) 	Cheer (Spanish)
Cheer 	 	 	
Description	So - nic! 	Go! Go! So - nic!	Sooooooo - nic! Sooooooo - nic! Ese Sonic, ese Sonic! Eh! - Eh!
 	Cheer (French) 	Cheer (German) 	Cheer (Italian)
Cheer 	 	 	
Description	Allez So - nic !	Sooooooo - nic! 	Sooooooo - nic!
===Victory poses===
==In competitive play==
===Official Custom Moveset Project===
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Sonic players (SSB4)
* - One of the best Sonic players of all-time who was North America's definitive best Sonic player in 2015 and 2016 thanks to placements such as 4th at , 7th at , and 9th at both and . He is ranked 34th on the PGR 100.
* - The best Sonic player in Europe, dominating the British scene for most of Smash 4 and placing highly at many large European events, including 1st at and 4th at . Internationally, his best tournament run was at , where he double-eliminated to place 33rd. He is ranked 89th on the PGR 100, only one of three Europeans ranked on the list.
* - Came to prominence towards the end of competitive Smash 4 thanks to his 5th-place finish at defeating and along the way. His other notable results during this period include 4th at and 5th at defeating .
* - The best Sonic player of all-time as well as one of Japan's greatest players. He is the only Sonic player with a major win, doing so at He is ranked 9th on the PGR 100.
* - Uses Sonic as a secondary to his and is considered one of the best Sonic players of all-time. He used solo-Sonic to place 2nd at and has used both Sonic and Cloud to place top 8 at a multitude of majors and supermajors, most notably 2nd at and 3rd at both and . He is ranked 12th on the PGR 100.
* - One of North America's all-time best Sonic players, with his best results being in 2015 thanks to placing 9th at , , and almost back-to-back. Although he was never that consistent since, he still managed to place highly at several majors, most notably 5th at and 9th at . He is ranked 39th on the PGR 100.
* - A prominent Sonic player in the early metagame who was one of the first players to defeat , doing so at and placing 9th. Thanks to other notable placements such as 13th at and 17th at both and , he was ranked 48th on the PGR v1.
* - One of Canada's best players who regularly placed highly at North American events, most notably 5th at , 13th at , and 17th at both and . She is ranked 100th on the PGR 100 as the only female player ranked on the list.
* - A hidden boss from Mexico who was the best Sonic player in the country, as well as the country's second-best player in 2015 who had several wins over and placed highly at many Mexican events, including 2nd at and 5th at . However due to his hidden boss status and his activity being relegated to Mexico, he was never ranked globally.
* - One of the best Sonic players in the United States despite rarely traveling outside his region, with his best results being towards the end of the game's lifespan, where he placed 4th at and 7th at . He is ranked 59th on the PGR 100.
===Tier placement and history===
Sonic was initially perceived as a high-tier character, thanks to his buffs largely mitigating most of the weaknesses he had in Brawl. While his newfound KOing options would be nerfed in game updates, Sonic's playerbase has nevertheless managed to display many different and effective playstyles. In addition to enriching Sonic's metagame, the likes of , , , , and have also resulted in him achieving very strong tournament results leading the general consensus to believe that Sonic is one of the best characters in the game.
Sonic's highly favorable perception and continued success resulted in him being ranked 6th on the first and second iterations of the tier list and then 5th on the third tier list as he continued to perform well at most tournaments with placing 2nd at 2GGC: MkLeo Saga while defeating top players such as , , , , , , , , and as well as , , , , , , and continuing to perform well with him.
Although Sonic dropped to 7th/8th on the fourth and final tier list and is now tied with Fox, his ranking is debatable. Some players, such as , , and , believe that he should be ranked slightly higher. Conversely, and others view Sonic as overrated to the point of not being a top-tier character in spite of his tournament success in the tournament, with a primary argument being his unfavorable matchup with . Regardless, Sonic remains a massive threat in competitive play and continues to gain consistent results.
==In Solo Modes==
===All-Star Mode===
In All-Star Mode, Sonic is fought in Stage 4 in both versions alongside , , , , , and .
===Event Matches===
====Solo Events====
* All-Star Battle: Secret: Sonic is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents have been unlockable characters in previous Super Smash Bros. games.
* The FINAL Final Battle: The player must defeat Sonic, , , and .
* Up to Speed: Sonic must defeat , , and in a high-speed, one stock battle.
====Co-op Events====
* Full Speed Ahead: Sonic and Captain Falcon must defeat another Sonic and Captain Falcon in a high-speed, one stock battle.
* The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
===Congratulations Screens===
====3DS====
SSB4-3DS Congratulations Classic Sonic.png|Classic Mode
SSB4-3DS Congratulations All-Star Sonic.png|All-Star Mode
====Wii U====
SSB4-Wii U Congratulations Classic Sonic.png|Classic Mode
SSB4-Wii U Congratulations All-Star Sonic.png|All-Star Mode
==Trophies==
Sonic's default trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Sonic. His alternate trophy is obtained by clearing All-Star Mode as Sonic in the 3DS version or purchasing it in the Trophy Shop for 1000G in the Wii U version (the latter can only appear after clearing Classic or All-Star as Sonic). The Super Sonic trophy is obtained only in the Wii U version by clearing All-Star Mode as Sonic.
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Reveal trailer==
==Gallery==
Sonic Direct.png|Sonic in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.
Sonic amiibo.png|Sonic's amiibo.
Sonic-daily.jpg|Sonic's confirmation image on the official site.
SSB4WiiU-Sonic1.jpg|Sonic fighting .
SSB4WiiU-Sonic2.jpg|Using his side taunt.
SSB4WiiU-Sonic3.jpg|Sonic preparing to dodge 's attack.
SSB4WiiU-Sonic4.jpg|Using his new dash attack on and .
SSB4WiiU-Sonic5.jpg|Using Homing Attack on and .
SSB4WiiU-Sonic6.jpg|Sonic in mid-air.
SSB4WiiU-Sonic7.jpg|Air dodging ' forward aerial.
SSB4WiiU-Sonic8.jpg|Dashing alongside Link.
SSB4WiiU-Sonic9.jpg|Using Homing Attack on Luigi.
SSB43DS-Sonic1.jpg|Using his up taunt.
SonicForwardAir.jpg|Using his forward aerial alongside Mario while uses his back aerial.
Spin Dash SSB4.png|Using Spin Dash.
Spin Charge.png|Using Spin Charge.
Spring Jump SSB4.png|Using Spring Jump.
Sonic and Mario.jpg|Using his back aerial alongside Mario's neutral aerial.
Sonic and Mega Man Spring Jump and Rush.jpg|Using Spring Jump alongside Mega Man's Rush Coil.
Mario Sonic and Mega Man.jpg|Using his down aerial alongside Mario and Mega Man.
Sonic kicks Bowser SSB4.jpg|Using neutral attack's final hit on .
WindyHillSSB4.png|Using neutral attack against Mario's Fireball.
HomingAttackonBower.jpg|Using Homing Attack against Bowser's up smash.
Sonic Idle SSB4.jpg|One of Sonic's idle poses.
Sonic Forward Tilt SSB4.jpg|Using neutral attack's final hit on Fox and alongside .
Sonic dair SSB4.jpg|Using his down aerial in .
Soccer Ball SSB4.jpg|Sonic and dashing after Header's soccer ball as Mega Man looks on.
SSB4 - Ore Club.jpg|Sonic hitting Pit with an Ore Club.
Sonic meteor smash.gif|Using his down aerial to meteor smash .
==Trivia==
*Sonic's dash is so fast that with enough speed boosts, such as equipping all Speed-increasing equipment while using both a Bunny Hood and Superspicy Curry, he can outrun the Spirit Train.
**Additionally, a Sonic without customizations using Superspicy Curry dashes at the exact same speed as the water slide in the Flood Chamber of Kalos Pokémon League, which causes him to dash in place if he runs against the current.
*Sonic is the only third-party character to be dubbed into languages other than English and Japanese.
*Sonic, , , , , , , , , , , and are the only Brawl veterans whose regular falling speeds were left unchanged.
*Although he has existing 8-bit sprites from the Sonic the Hedgehog games released on the and Game Gear, and 's newcomer posters depict Sonic's more recognizable 16-bit sprite from the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Sonic the Hedgehog.
*In , there is a glitch that results in Sonic having two mouths when rolling forward or backward.
**This is slightly reminiscent of a similar glitch that he had as Super Sonic in Sonic Lost World.
*Despite being having the rest of his voice clips' replaced by ones done by Roger Craig Smith, Sonic retains Jason Griffith's clips of rising from water, sleeping, and one of his attack grunts. However, Jason Griffith is not credited for these voice clips.
**This also makes Sonic the only character in the game to have two different voice actors in the same costume for the English version.
*The European description for Sonic says "Unlike most hedgehogs, he's incredibly fast. Like most hedgehogs, however, he can't swim." The second part of this statement is incorrect; like most mammals, hedgehogs swim reasonably well (it is also established in-universe that Sonic himself lacks in swimming skills).
*On the official Super Smash Bros. Facebook page, there is a picture for every character in SSB4, including Sonic. Sonic's was posted on December 29th, 2014 with the caption "Five gold rings", in reference to the .
*SSB4 marks the only time a third-party character returns as a starter.
*Sonic is the only third-party character with an exclusive piece of equipment, the ring.
==References==
 
Category:Third-party characters
Category:Trophies (SSB4-3DS)
Category:Trophies (SSB4-Wii U)
Category:Sega
es:Sonic (SSB4)