Sonic's new moves in smash 4

[Gombukelp]

First E3 gameplay footage with Sonic just emerged! We even get to see him go Super Sonic for the first time! (3:45 - 6:00)

Edit: Added second video. They changed Sonic's Down Smash! It's a split now!

Edit: Added a better quality video of ProJared playing as Sonic (0:40 - 3:00). It showcases the moves allot better because it actually looks like he has some previous experience with Sonic.

The split seems to be very similar to Fox's (2:08)

I'm liking the new Spin Dash mechanics. (2:13 - 2:18) I'm wondering if you can still Spin Shot out of it though.

Note: Spin Dash and Spin Charge have not been merged into a single move.

Edit: Added new HD footage from IGN. The moves are looking good (21:45 - 24:00)

Edit: Added new HD footage from GameSpot. Very nice match (16:30 - 18:40)

What the heck is happening at 16:42 - 16:44? Try replaying it with YouTube's slow-mo option.

Notice how Sonic comes out victorious in all these matches LOL.

Edit: Except for the GameSpot one I added just now. The player SD:s right before the timer goes out and he loses on Sudden Death against ZSS.

Please share your thoughts on these videos.

 

[Jaguar360]

First E3 gameplay footage with Sonic just emerged! We even get to see him go Super Sonic for the first time!

Edit: They changed Sonic's Down Smash! It's a split now!

Shadow's back! :D

 

[Anthinus]

The dash attack seems different. Looks like it hits multiple times now and the last hit got some knockback and hitstun. It seems difficult to follow up after the dash attack because of the lag at the end of the move, but could be possible at higher % when the hitstun is longer (maybe spring+fair or turn arround spring+bair). At least is a move that you can perform without being punished and could be useful if you're being pressured.

 

[Phoenix_Dark]

Yeah, dash attack carries them with you now from what that video has shown. From what I gathered from the tournament yesterday, Rosalina seems quite heavy. So, usmash killing at that percent was kinda impressive. There was so much junk going on that I didn't see a dsmash at all. What time was it at?

Edit: Never mind, I found it. Happens around 1:28 and misses lol.

 

[Johnny Wellens]

Sonic seems so much stronger now. And I'm very happy that he retained his Final Smash.

 

[Gombukelp]

To those who are lucky enough to play as Sonic at one of the selected Best Buy locations, please remember to report back to the thread with your first impressions.

 

[Espy Rose]

Reporting:

-Dash attack is multihit. Decent knockback on the last hit.
-Uair 1 has more landing lag. Uair2 has less cooldown in its animation. The entirety of the move is faster.
-Dsmash is Fox's dsmash. Stronger.
-Usmash way stronger.
-SideB's hop is strange, but still has invincibility like Brawl.
-Fsmash feels the same.
-Tilts the same. Utilt feels faster.
-Spring still feels good.
-Dair has a bit more lag, but can still be auto cancelled.
-Bair has more landing lag, but comes out a tad faster. Weird hitbox though.
-Fair and nair are the same.
-Homing Attack feels faster and better, but still kinda a niche move.
-Throws were all fine. Uthrow got a big damage nerf (12% to 5%).

-Generally feels easier to combo spin dashes.
-Momentum cancelling is useless, so spin dash momentum cancelling is bunk.
-Sonic lost his ability to spin cancel ASC on landing.
-Sonic can still spinshot and cancel sideB.

It was only two minutes, and a few more on the 3DS version, but that's what I walked away with.

 

[shinhed-echi]

Reporting:

It was only two minutes, and a few more on the 3DS version, but that's what I walked away with.

Do the changes make you happy?
Do you think he's overall improved or not?

By the sounds of it, with a little getting used to, he sounds like a bit of a better fighter this time.
Dsmash makes me nervous, but if it's stronger than before, I won't complain. It seems as if it comes out faster.,

 

[Espy Rose]

He's stronger, but I also had little control over him. It's a new game so I have no real scope at the moment, but he still feels better.
I'm ecstatic about the changes though. He still feels like Sonic.

 

[Gombukelp]

Reporting:

-Dash attack is multihit. Decent knockback on the last hit.
-Uair 1 has more landing lag. Uair2 has less cooldown in its animation. The entirety of the move is faster.
-Dsmash is Fox's dsmash. Stronger.
-Usmash way stronger.
-SideB's hop is strange, but still has invincibility like Brawl.
-Fsmash feels the same.
-Tilts the same. Utilt feels faster.
-Spring still feels good.
-Dair has a bit more lag, but can still be auto cancelled.
-Bair has more landing lag, but comes out a tad faster. Weird hitbox though.
-Fair and nair are the same.
-Homing Attack feels faster and better, but still kinda a niche move.
-Throws were all fine. Uthrow got a big damage nerf (12% to 5%).

-Generally feels easier to combo spin dashes.
-Momentum cancelling is useless, so spin dash momentum cancelling is bunk.
-Sonic lost his ability to spin cancel ASC on landing.
-Sonic can still spinshot and cancel sideB.

It was only two minutes, and a few more on the 3DS version, but that's what I walked away with.

Awesome, sounds like he has been improved a lot. Happy to see this.

You said that all the tilts were generally thesame. Do you remember if Sonic still slides forward a bit when using his Dtilt, and if opponents still get knocked horizontally instead of up when hit with the tip of the foot?

It always felt kinda useless when opponents got knocked far back instead of up because tilts are mainly used for setups and combos. Him sliding forward also makes you miss at times when the opponent is up close.

I get what they were trying to do but it just doesn't work that well. I always wanted it to be more similair to Fox's or Falco's.

If they made the opponents get knocked vertically when hit with the tip it would improve the move in general and removing the slide would balance it out.

You also mentioned that the Uthrow had gotten a major damage nerf from 12% to 5%. How is the knockback?

 

[Espy Rose]

Uthrow knockback's a little lower, but that's good for later % setups, theoretically.
I don't think Sonic slides forward in the demo, but I vaguely remember it at all.

 

[Gombukelp]

Uthrow knockback's a little lower, but that's good for later % setups, theoretically.
I don't think Sonic slides forward in the demo, but I vaguely remember it at all.

Ok. Could you take a look at the Gamespot video I linked to in my other post? I'm wondering if you have any idea what Sonic is doing at 16:42 - 16:44. It looks like he is jumping in the air whilst already charging a Spin Dash which is new and the animations are also completely different from what is seen at 16:58 for example.

It's the same animation as the one in the GIF BombKirby linked to on page 2.

 

[Phoenix_Dark]

My brawl info is rusty as hell. Does that make f-throw his strongest throw now? 5% seems super low.. Hoping that goes up a bit by release, unless it is a really good option to combo and ko from. Also, the videos wedge posted showed him doing moves out of unfinished fairs that landed on the ground much faster than I recall from Brawl. He still does the whole magikarp splash animation, but it looks like you can just say f u and do moves during it.

 

[Gombukelp]

Yeah, you are right. The recovery from the Fair hitting the ground does seem a lot faster which is cool.

Who is wedge?

 

[Chis]

Reporting:

-Throws were all fine. Uthrow got a big damage nerf (12% to 5%).

-Sonic lost his ability to spin cancel ASC on landing.

Nice, thanks Sakurai.

 

[Sonic Orochi]

Please share your thoughts on these videos.

I've reposted those videos in the footage thread with timestamps and some insights.

 

[infomon]

I'm most curious about:
- What are the properties of down-B and side-B while they are charging, both in the air and on the ground? Do you have aerial mobility of a down-B while you're charging it in the air?
- If you're down-B charging on the ground, is there any way to get out of it? Can you VSDJ? Can you... shield?
- As your ASC lands, ok you can't shield, but how else can we un-commit it? I wonder if you can VSDJ (rather than just SDJ) out of the landing of an ASC.
- The overall properties of SDJ...

And most importantly:
- Does SDR still "remember" our jump information!!?? Specific test: Double-jump, ASC -> SDR -> SDJ, can you jump out of that SDJ???

 

[Camalange]

Oh ****. It's really now sinking in how much we're going back to the drawing boards with spindash mechanics... I'm getting flashbacks...

I don't think new Sonic mains know what they're getting themselves into.

We will go to Hell and back... Again.

And we will know all of the properties of how we got there and returned.

 

[infomon]

Yeah, I think we're not seeing the big picture yet. "Is this move powerful or not" is not the question. Relative damages will change from the demo. The premise of fighting in smash4 is what's interesting.

We've got to think about what options the characters have. How committed are they? I've heard that smash-DI is not in the demo. Is DI there at all? How safe is jab, is block, is grab? What are the properties of hitlag, hitstun, and knockback?

But as for Sonic.... did anyone try to spindash after a spring?

 

[Sonic Orochi]

- Does SDR still "remember" our jump information!!?? Specific test: Double-jump, ASC -> SDR -> SDJ, can you jump out of that SDJ???

Hopefully someone will be able to test it properly, but from what I've been seeing (lots of Sonics SDing from SDR), I believe that the 2nd jump memory remains intact.

 

[infomon]

nooooooooooooooooooo

10noez

 

[Espy Rose]

I tried doing specials out of spring Infzy. We still can't spin after upB.
And yeah, you new Sonic4 players are gonna love how we do Sonic.

Let's just work together. Spin mechanics are Sonic's lifeblood.

 

[Anthinus]

Im really hoping that SH lagless Fair comes back. I'd love if someone could test it.
It shouldn't be too difficult to test if you are used to it (you know, like thunderstorming with Ganondorf).

 

[ShadowLink84]

*drums his fingers upon his laptop*
This is the only reason Iw ill be getting a Wii U.

 

[Anthinus]

Best decision ever. I bought a Wii U only for Smash4 a few months ago (did the same thing for Brawl). Worth it. I'm playing Mario Kart 8 a lot with my friends online. MK8 is smooth and gorgeous. Now I'm waiting for Hyrule Warriors (must kill it in 2 weeks, because of Smash3DS realease) and Splatoon seems pretty fun. Bought it for Smash4, but Wii U got a lot of sexy games ahead too.

 

[Ryu Myuutsu]

Wait, Sonic can't do ASC anymore after landing with Spin Charge??

Damn... That was one of Sonic's B&B techniques...

 

[Camalange]

It's a shame, but his SideB can still be shield canceled, and he can still spinshot.

It also seems like spindash has been buffed overall in terms of hitstun and ease of combo-ability. I could almost always follow up a hit with an aerial.

 

[mtmaster]

It'd be nice if they applied some more Sonic Battle into his move set maybe a little bit like project M. That heel kick and that break dance down smash are just so good. Everything else Sonic to me is kinda fine the way it is though.