For fighter info, seeSonic (SSBB),Sonic (SSB4), andSonic (SSBU).

For the universe, seeSonic the Hedgehog (universe). For the smasher, seeSmasher:Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Official artwork of Sonic fromSonic Forces.
Universe	Sonic the Hedgehog
Debut	Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)[1]
Smash Bros. appearances	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Wuthering Waves (2025, cameo via update)
Console/platform of origin	Sega Genesis
Species	Hedgehog
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Christmas Island[2]
Created by	Naoto Ōshima[3][4]
Designed by	Naoto Ōshima[3] (Classic artwork) Yuji Uekawa[5] (Modern artwork)
Englishvoice actor	Jason Griffith (Brawl) Roger Craig Smith (SSB4/Ultimate)
Japanesevoice actor	Jun'ichi Kanemaru
Frenchvoice actor	Alexandre Gillet
Germanvoice actor	Marc Stachel
Spanishvoice actor	Jonatán López
Italianvoice actor	Renato Novara
Article on Wikipedia	Sonic the Hedgehog (character)

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ,Sonic the Hedgehog) is the titular protagonist of theSonic the Hedgehog franchise and the mascot ofSega. After making a cameo in 1990’sRad Mobile,^[6] Sonic debuted a few months later inhis eponymous game. In addition to succeedingAlex Kidd as Sega's mascot, Sonic was also the company's attempt at rivalingNintendo's mascot,Mario, during thefourth and earlysixth generations of video games.^[7]

Sonic made hisSuper Smash Bros. debut inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, in which he andSolid Snake notably became the first third-party characters to appear in theSuper Smash Bros. series. Sonic has since reappeared as a fighter inSuper Smash Bros. 4 andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Origin[edit]

Sonic is a 15-year-old anthropomorphic hedgehog who, as his name suggests, is capable of running at supersonic speeds. He is 3 ft, 3 in (1 m) tall, weighs 77 lbs (35 kg), and has large quills, blue fur and green eyes. For attire, Sonic wears a pair of Power Sneakers^[8] alongside a pair of white gloves.

Before the originalSonic the Hedgehog, Sonic debuted in the arcade racing gameRad Mobile as an ornament hanging on the driver's rearview mirror. Self-described as "The Fastest Thing Alive", Sonic is confident, quick-witted, carefree and virtuous, yet he can also be impulsive, hot-headed, snarky and cocky. He is also adventurous to the point that he hates being constrained. On a related note, Sonic's love of freedom is a primary reason behind his campaigns to stop subjugation of any kind, most notably the nefarious schemes concocted by his arch-nemesis, mad scientist Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (who also curiously debuted before his own series, inPuzzle Construction for the Sega TeraDrive in 1991).

TheSonic the Hedgehog Technical Files written during development of the originalSonic the Hedgehog game state that Sonic's birthplace is Christmas Island — formally known asKiritimati, one of the numerous atolls that comprise the real world sovereign state ofKiribati. This is affirmed by later interviews with Sonic Team staff.^[2] While Japanese profiles would follow suit with this statement, early western profiles stated that Sonic was an inhabitant of the fictional planet "Mobius". With the consolidation of the series' Japanese and western continuity starting inSonic Adventure, the concept of Mobius was mostly abandoned, and Sonic is currently considered an inhabitant of planet Earth. He lives a nomadic lifestyle and does not have a home.^[9]

Sonic's most defining feature is his speed, as it was his main gimmick and driving force during his inception. Sonic is constantly seen outrunning traditionally fast objects like cars and trucks, rockets, fighter jets and even time and space itself. This even applies to gameplay, with players often finding ways to glitch and sequence break several games by simply going fast enough. Aside from his speed, his main ability is to curl up into a ball and effectively make himself a projectile that can damage enemies. His most iconic method of achieving this state is theSpin Dash, where Sonic curls up into a ball and spins around in place enough times to launch forward at high speeds. A variant of this technique called the Super Peel-Out exists, which has a similar effect except without curling into a ball. While Sonic initially could only jump and land on the heads of enemies, later games introduced theHoming Attack, where Sonic will lock on to the closest enemy for a near guaranteed hit. Later games also introduced a boosting technique, where Sonic can further increase his speed by using a resource that varies depending on the game.

Sonic gathers golden rings for his primary source of health and energy. If he takes damage, the rings will fly out of him, the amount fluctuating depending on the game, and he has a few seconds to get them back before they disappear. Sonic also collects power-ups such as Power Sneakers that increase his speed further, various elemental shields that let him interact with the level in unique ways and allow him to take a hit without losing rings, invincible boxes that temporarily turn him invincible, several permanent power-ups that let him perform new techniques and access new areas, and wisps that temporarily change Sonic's abilities.

Sonic's most iconic power-ups are the sevenChaos Emeralds, which appear in most games as either collectibles or plot devices. Sonic has been shown to know how to perform Chaos Control, which is using the energy of at least one emerald to warp the fabric of reality, usually resulting in time slowing to a crawl or stopping entirely. If Sonic collects all seven emeralds, he can transform intoSuper Sonic, which grants him flight and invincibility so long as he has a sufficient number of rings.

InSuper Smash Bros.[edit]

Although Sonic does not make any sort of appearance inSuper Smash Bros., the game's Japanese website included his results from a poll to gauge interest for potential playable characters in a sequel.^[10]

InSuper Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

With the untimely demise of theSega Dreamcast in early 2001, Sega was slated to become a strong supporter of theNintendo GameCube by the time of its release. Because of this, Yuji Naka stated that Sonic was strongly considered to be playable inMelee, but was ultimately not added due to time constraints.^[11] It was later revealed that bothShigeru Miyamoto andMasahiro Sakurai would have approved the idea of adding Sonic toMelee if there were no time constraints.^[12]

An infamous hoax claimed that Sonic and Tails were unlockable inMelee. Despite it being confirmed that the rumor wasn't true, the hoax still became well-known in both theSuper Smash Bros. community and the wider world of gaming anyway. This rumor got to such notoriety that the US website forMelee had to notify players in its FAQ that Sonic andKnuckles (who was not the subject of a major rumor) do not appear in the game.^[13]

InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

As a playable character[edit]

Sonic, as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.

Sonic makes his debut in theSuper Smash Bros. series as a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, and was confirmed on October 10th, 2007.^[14] According toSuper Smash Bros. series creatorMasahiro Sakurai, Sonic's inclusion was not guaranteed; as a result of his last-minute inclusion, the delay ofBrawl's release date was announced alongside his confirmation.^[15]

According to Sakurai, he played a number of both classic and modernSonic the Hedgehog games in order to develop a basis for Sonic's appearance inBrawl. He was primarily focused on the classic games and based him on their gameplay style as one-button games.^[15] Aesthetically, Sonic's design is fromSonic the Hedgehog (2006) andSonic and the Secret Rings (the latter being the origin of the model), and hisdashing animation is his Super Peel Out fromSonic the Hedgehog CD.^[15] Mechanically, his moveset largely consists of his attacks fromSonic the Fighters,^[15] although two of hisspecial moves are theHoming Attack fromSonic Adventure and theSpin Dash fromSonic the Hedgehog 2.^[14]

Sonic'sFinal Smash,Super Sonic, functions almost identically to its appearances in his home series: he is rendered invincible and can fly, yet his transformation has a fairly short duration.^[14] Possibly as a result of his last-minute inclusion, Sonic also appears very late inBrawl'sThe Subspace Emissary. Ultimately, he plays a pivotal role in the defeat of the mastermind behind theSubspace Army,Tabuu, during the final battle.

Sonic fittingly possesses the fastestdashing speed in the game, as well as among the fastestwalking andair speeds. His blisteringly fast mobility is further accentuated by Spin Dash andSpin Charge, which enable him to blitz an opponent and are integral to his solid combo game. Sonic also possesses an excellent recovery, courtesy of his aforementioned air speed and the considerable distance granted bySpring Jump. However, Sonic's strengths are almost completely offset by his severely unimpressive KO potential, and most of his moveset generally has minimal utility.

Despite his flaws and the general consensus that he lacks truly advantageous and disadvantageous matchups, Sonic has nevertheless managed to achieve decent tournament results, even at the national level. As a result, he is currently ranked 22nd out of 38 on thetier list; this places him in the D tier, and posits him as a mid tier character.

Trophy[edit]

Sonic The Hedgehog's trophy inBrawl

Sonic The Hedgehog

The world's fastest hedgehog, who can run at supersonic speeds. Generally speaking, he loves being able to do what he wants and loathes being constrained. Holding still is something he would never consider. He's got a bit of an attitude but can't pass by someone in trouble. When he collects the seven Chaos Emeralds, he transforms into the mighty, gold Super Sonic.

The world's fastest hedgehog, who can run at supersonic speeds. Generally speaking, he loves being able to do what he wants and loathes being constrained. Holding still is something he would never consider. He's got a bit of an attitude but can't pass by someone in trouble. When he collects the seven Chaos Emeralds, he transforms into the mighty, golden Super Sonic.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (1991)

:Sonic and the Secret Rings

Stickers[edit]

Name	Game	Effect	Fighter(s)
Classic Sonic	Sonic The Hedgehog JP Ver.	AttackArm+021 Attack +21	Sonic
Classic Sonic	Sonic The Hedgehog US Ver.	AttackThrowing+020 Attack +20	Sonic
Sonic The Hedgehog	Sonic The Hedgehog	AttackBodySpin+032 Attack +32	Sonic
Super Sonic	Sonic The Hedgehog 2	DefenseElectric+027 Resistance +27	SonicSonic

Classic Sonic (Sonic The Hedgehog JP Ver.)

Classic Sonic (Sonic The Hedgehog US Ver.)

Sonic The Hedgehog (Sonic The Hedgehog)

Super Sonic (Sonic The Hedgehog 2)

InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]

As a playable character[edit]

Sonic, as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. 4.

Sonic appears as a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. 4, with his return being confirmed during aNintendo Direct on October 1st, 2013.^[16] Unlike inBrawl, he is now a starter character, and his design is now based on his appearance as ofSonic Unleashed, which in turn was based on the CGI models fromShadow the Hedgehog andSonic the Hedgehog (2006). This is further reflected by him now being voiced by Roger Craig Smith, who succeeded Jason Griffith in 2010. On a related note, Sonic is now fully voiced in Spanish, French, Italian, and German.

Sonic has been heavily buffed in the transition fromBrawl toSSB4. Sonic's previously abysmal KO potential has noticeably improved, and a number of his moves have improved utility. Outside of this, Sonic's outstanding speed and mobility have improved even further, thanks to his air and fast falling speeds becoming noticeably faster. Although Sonic's recovery was slightly weakened and some of his moves, particularly his KOing options, had theirlag increased, these nerfs are largely outweighed by his aforementioned buffs.

Thanks to his improvements and consistent tournament success at all levels of play, Sonic is ranked 7th out of 55. This places him in the A tier, which ties him withFox and posits him as a top tier character.

Trophies[edit]

Sonic the Hedgehog's trophy inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Sonic the Hedgehog's trophy inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic

The main star of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He's an easygoing hedgehog who blows past the competition with his speed. Seriously, on the ground he's faster than anyone else in Smash Bros. Use this to your advantage, avoiding blows while landing lightning-fast attacks.

The star of the Sonic The Hedgehog series. He's an easygoing hedgehog who blows past the competition with his speed. Seriously, on the ground he's faster than anyone else in Smash Bros. Use this to your advantage, avoiding blows while landing lightning-fast attacks.

A certain hedgehog from a certain series you just might have heard of. Unlike most hedgehogs, he's incredibly fast. Like most hedgehogs, however, he can't swim. He's by far the fastest runner of all the fighters, so take advantage of that by making sure no one gets the chance to hit him. (Just try not to end up in the water.)

Sonic The Hedgehog (06/1991)

:Sonic Lost World (10/2013)

Sonic (Alt.)'s trophy inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Sonic (Alt.)'s trophy inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U

Sonic (Alt.)

Sonic's up special Spring Jump lets him reach great heights by jumping on a spring, becoming invincible for a moment. He can't use any other specials during the jump, but he can attack or dodge. This move's great for returning from a long launch. Other fighters can use the spring, though!

Sonic's Spring Jump up special lets you bounce to great heights and briefly makes you invincible at the start. You can't use other specials while in the air, but you can use normal attacks, dodge and so on. It's great for getting both back to the stage and out of tough spots, but just remember that everyone else can use the spring too!

Sonic The Hedgehog (06/1991)

:Sonic Lost World (10/2013)

InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

As a playable character[edit]

Sonic, as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Sonic appears as a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, with his return being confirmed during Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation on June 12.^[17] Due to being the first character inMario'sClassic Mode character unlock tree, Sonic can potentially be the first character unlocked in the game.

Sonic was nerfed slightly overall in the transition fromSSB4, with the changes he received demanding a more aggressive playstyle. Most notably,Spin Dash andSpin Charge can no longercross-up shields or be charged indefinitely, with Spin Dash also losing its ability to be shield-canceled. As a result, both moves have become noticeably less effective as both neutral and camping options. Up aerial's angle and knockback adjustments have worsened its hits' consistency when Sonic is ascending, as well as its KO potential. However, it remains a useful combo starter whenSHFF'd, thanks to its noticeably lower landing lag and the retention of its excellent auto-cancel window.

Despite these nerfs, Sonic received some noticeable buffs.Homing Attack is faster and more controllable, giving it greater combo potential and neutral utility. Adjustments to Spin Charge's angles, knockback, hitlag and SDI have improved its consistency significantly, whileSpring Jump is even more useful for recovering thanks to it regaining the vertical height it had inBrawl. Most of Sonic's standard attacks have also been strengthened or boast greater utility. Sonic has also been indirectly buffed by gameplay changes: he benefits from the expansion ofdash-canceling's utility more so than the rest of the cast because of his unrivaled dashing speed, and the reintroduction of directional air dodging allows him to extend his already impressive recovery.

Spirits[edit]

Fighter spirit[edit]

Primary spirit[edit]

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
778		Super Sonic		★★★★	3	3970	9927	2215	5537	1603	4009	Speed ↑	Sonic The Hedgehog Series

Support spirit[edit]

No.	Image	Name	Class	Cost	Ability	Series
796		Sonic the Werehog	★★	1	Physical Attack ↑	Sonic The Hedgehog Series

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name
Japanese	ソニック,Sonic
English	Sonic
French	Sonic
German	Sonic
Spanish	Sonic
Italian	Sonic
Chinese	索尼克,Sonic
Korean	소닉,Sonic
Dutch	Sonic
Russian	Соник
Portuguese	Sonic

Trivia[edit]

• Sonic has made the mostSuper Smash Bros. appearances out of any third-party fighter that has been playable in the series, having appeared in all games since his debut inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Sonic is the only third-party fighter to undergo a redesign between games. He uses a modified version of his model fromSonic and the Secret Rings, with much more detailed textures that have the colored shading of Yuji Uekawa's artwork, inBrawl. FromSSB4 onwards, his design is his standard look as ofSonic Unleashed (previously used in pre-rendered cutscenes and promotional renders from otherSonic games) with elements from the Classic and Uekawa designs.Wii U uses a new model designed to fit theBrawl model's animation rig, while3DS reuses theBrawl model with some modifications to better resemble theWii U model.Ultimate uses a heavily remodeled version of theWii U model. The3DS model oddly enough retains the Uekawa-esque shading of theBrawl model that is gone from the models inWii U andUltimate.
  • Additionally, he is the only third-party fighter to have their voice actor changed between installments, switching from Jason Griffith to Roger Craig Smith inSSB4. However a few of Griffith's voice clips, such as Sonic's snoring and water surfacing sound, are still used inSSB4 andUltimate.
• Sonic is unable toswim in his own series, due to Yuji Naka (one of his creators) mistakenly believing that hedgehogs in real life cannot. Sonic typically sinks to the bottom when in water; inSonic Colors, he can jump indefinitely but not properly "swim", and swimming events inMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games show him using water wings to stay afloat. This is often, though inconsistently, depicted as Sonic having some form of thalassophobia. Because swimming is a universal game mechanic in theSuper Smash Bros. series, Sonic is able to swim. However, to reflect his adverse mobility in water in his home series, his very frantic swimming style makes him among the slowest swimmers in the series. InUltimate, this trait is further accentuated: Sonic's swimming animation is closer to his drowning animation, and he receives damage while swimming.
• Sonic is the only fighter who debuted on aSega console.
• Sonic,Mewtwo,Joker andTerry Bogard are the only fighters to have more than one reveal trailer.
  • Of those four, he is the only one who was not DLC at the time, and whose trailers contained actual gameplay (the latter three only had gameplay in their second trailer), were for two separate installments (beingBrawl andSSB4), and did not have splash art.
  • Both trailers feature the ending segment of the song that is not included in-game for theSuper Smash Bros. series.
  • Furthermore, in the case ofSSB4, he was the first veteran in the series to have a dedicated reveal trailer, followed byMewtwo,Lucas andRoy. Of those four, he is the only one who is not DLC and whose trailer lacked both splash art and a tagline.
• Sonic andWii Fit Trainer are the only two non-Pokémon fighters to have a voice actor for the French, Spanish, German, and Italian versions ofSSB4 andUltimate.
  • On a related note, he was only voiced in English and Japanese inBrawl, making him the only fighter to start out voiced in two languages for their firstSuper Smash Bros. appearance, and then be voiced in more languages in their subsequent appearance.

References[edit]

v • d • e Sonic the Hedgehog universe
Fighter	Sonic (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU)
Assist Trophies	Shadow ·Knuckles
Stages	Green Hill Zone ·Windy Hill Zone
Enemy	Eggrobo
Other Characters	Tails
Trophies,Stickers andSpirits	Trophies (SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate

• Characters
• Sonic the Hedgehog universe
• Sonic
• Third-party characters
• Sega
• Trophies (SSBB)
• Trophies (SSB4-3DS)
• Trophies (SSB4-Wii U)
• Stickers
• Spirits