Sonic's Spin Dashes

[Tenniel]

Hi, first time poster.

I was just wondering, what's the point of Sonic's Side+B and Down+B? Anytime I try using them, my opponent just shields to block the attack, leaving these two moves as nigh worthless.

With a FFA it's a bit easier, since I might hit one or two people with a Spin Dash, but I almost never pull it off during a 1v1.

Some thoughts:

-Side+B I view as more difficult to use than Down+B, since it has that little hop at the beginning that just signals to the opponent what I'm about to do. I don't get the point of holding down Side+B until it's the right time to release it, since the hop's trajectory is annoying. With Down+B I at least get the benefit of enough speed to maybe thrown them off.

-What's the point of the different spins for Down+B? The first one does absolutely nothing, the second spin is a "meh", and only the last one is anything useful. I always Down+BBBBBB to get the Spin Dash going.

And don't even get me started on how all of the Spin Dashes just fail against a sword user, anybody with a disjointed hitbox, or, most annoying of all, Snake's forward smash. -_-

Any advice on how to better utilize Sonic's Spin Dashes?

 

[pirateguru]

you can always jump out of it and homing attack. If they always let go of their shield after you go through them just turn it around and get a hit but don't be too predictable with this.

As For side-B I like to use it at the last moment to catch them off guard. The jump in this move has invincibility frames somewhere in the beginning of it. I also don't really charge it.

I guess I could say I use the down-b for long distance and side-b for close range don't forget to aerial after these moves.

 

[Dragonbreath]

Well, for starters, don't charge them up when your opponent is looking at you. Secondly, they're meant to combo, so jump with them when you hit for extra damage. And follow that **** up with some air attacks.

And most importantly, don't fight without thinking. Sonic has to outsmart his opponent, not outpower them. Approach in different ways, make your enemy chase you, and gimp, gimp, gimp.

 

[Umby]

Step 1: Side/Down B
Step 2: Jump out of it and immediately do an aerial
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit

 

[Tenki]

Forgive me if you already know this, but if you get knocked off stage, and you have NOT used your double jump, you can use Side-B to hop towards the stage and then cancel it with your double jump when you get close enough, and, if need be, use the spring.

-Learning to use Side B for recovery is amazing. You can go from the right edge of Melee's Temple to the bottom platform, or even trick your opponent and go in a whole semi circle under Final Destination (!!) if you practice it enough (without using homing attack!) xD

-Also, the upward hop of the Side-B cancels out most projectiles, so you can go through smaller beams, explosives, and other... flying objects with it.

-In battle, while you're charging Side-B, you can cancel it with a shield and then grab/roll. Someone mentioned in another thread that you can trick your opponent into thinking you're doing your dash attack by running>Side-B>Roll behind opponent.

-As for the Down-B spindash, it's much faster, and if you do it while in midair, you travel at a downwards angle, so it seems geared toward ground attacks, while Side-B seems better for aerial fights.

-Both spindashes can be cancelled while they're charging if you press A (normal atk) during the charge. He'll jump straight up, and if you DI from a spindash, you can feint it and make it look like you're doing a side-B, but come out with normal attacks instead.

If your opponent is blocking you alot, you're probably being a bit too predictable, so stick with normal attacks, and when he gets accustomed to tilts/aerials, do a quick down-B spindash and go for a combo :D

=======
also, to your 2nd question:
Spindash: More B's, more speed. If you're close and you do a quick 2-3spin charge, then you can get in at a decent speed and combo. If you jump right away, it connects into the combo.

 

[Browny]

side b has almost infinite priority during the hop. its great when your at close range and something like an aura sphere, nikita or waddle dee is coming at you, it goes through everything. i havent found a single normal attack that has higher priority (this goes through mach tornado, warios bike and 182% aura sphere) also works to deter edgeguarders like marth if you use it for recovery...

 

[ithrowthings]

The longer you charge side B the higher priority it has later on in the attack (after the first hop). Also, the side b will hit even if your opponent is shielding if their shield is at about 75% strength. I use this move a LOT depending on the player i'm facing.

Another little known fact is that with side B, usually both hits of the u-air will hit whereas with down b only the first of the two u-airs tends to hit. However, you can use your second jump much faster if you use down b first instead of side b.

Another tip, don't listen to people that say you can kill by using side B to u-air to up b to another u-air. It WILL NOT WORK in tournaments. I've played sonic in several tournaments and can tell you from experience that when money is on the line no one will die to that combo.

 

[sonic boy]

i bet this has been menioned before but...the spin dashes can open fierce aerial combos....i rarley use them for the hit twice method very very rarely...when i do it its for laughs...so always fallow up with an aerial if u can...the if u did it all correctly fallow up with a fast homing attack and u can rack up damage very quikly to finish up with one of sonic killing moves....so yea they have there uses

 

[Umby]

Hitting twice is a part of Sonic mixing his game up.
Most opponents will get savvy towards you using spin dash -> aerial, and will shield it most times. So if you zoom past them, then turn around for the second hit and lead into an aerial, you can probably catch the opponent off guard.