Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (大乱闘だいらんとうスマッシュブラ��ーズ SPECIALスペシャル, Dai rantō Sumasshu Burazāzu Supesharu^?) is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. fighting game series, developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo. It was released on 7 December 2018 for the Nintendo Switch.

Sonic the Hedgehog, along with every other character from the previous installments, returned along with a batch of new characters. This game also supports amiibo, including the Sonic amiibo. Among the roster, he is joined by two other Sega-owned fighters; Bayonetta, who returns from the previous entry, and Joker from Persona 5.

Development[]

The first teaser for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate appeared during a Nintendo Direct on 8 March 2018. Back then, it was only known by the title Super Smash Bros.. It was formally announced during Nintendo's Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2018.^[2][3][4][1]

Responsible for the development of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd., who were behind the development of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, with Masahiro Sakurai serving as the director. The intention of Sakurai's for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was to include every possible character from previous Super Smash Bros. games, which he knew would be both a complex problem for both development and licensing.^[5] He also intended to speed up the game by adjusting the characters' abilities. Sakurai knew that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was both a core title for Nintendo, and that it has a dedicated player base that he did not want to disappoint, and believed that he needed to complete these goals to satisfy both groups.^[5]

Controls[]

Button formation			Movement
Pro Controller/Joy-Con (pair)	Joy-Con (single)	GameCube controller
left/right	left/right		Walk/run (if flicked)/swim (if on water)
	Press + ////		Taunt[note 1]
up /	up / // /	up /	Jump/Footstool Jump (if on the opponent)[note 2]/Climb ladder (if in front of ladder; works only with stick)
up / (midair)	up / // / (midair)	up / (midair)	Midair Jump[note 3]
up (towards a wall) > left/right / (towards a wall) > left/right	up (towards a wall) > left/right / // / (towards a wall) > left/right	up (towards a wall) > left/right / (towards a wall) > left/right	Wall Jump[note 4]/Wall Cling (if is towards the wall and not the opposite)[note 5]
Hold /	Hold /	Hold /	Shield[note 6]
Hold / > release (when attacks/projectiles arrive)	Hold / > release (when attacks/projectiles arrive)	Hold / > release (when attacks/projectiles arrive)	Perfect Shield
/ (midair)	/ (midair)	/ (midair)	Air Dodge
down	down		Crouch[note 2]/Descend from platform (if platform is flat)
down (midair)	down (midair)		Fastfall
/ (when tumbling character comes in contact with walls/floors)	/ (when tumbling character comes in contact with walls/floors)	/ (when tumbling character comes in contact with walls/floors)	Standard Teching/Wall Teching
/ / +	/ + /	/ +	Grab/release item
Grab + forward	Grab + forward		Forward Throw
Grab + backwards	Grab + backwards		Back Throw
Grab + up	Grab + up		Up Throw
Grab + down	Grab + down		Down Throw
	/		Neutral Attack/Grab, use or throw item/eat food
Tilt left/right +	Tilt left/right + /	Tilt left/right +	Side Tilt
Tilt up +	Tilt up + /	Tilt up +	Up Tilt
Tilt down +	Tilt down + /	Tilt down +	Down Tilt
(running)	/ (running)	(running)	Dash Attack
(midair)	/ (midair)	(midair)	Neutral Air Attack
forwards + (midair)	forwards + / (midair)	forwards + (midair)	Forward Air Attack
backwards + (midair)	backwards + / (midair)	backwards + (midair)	Back Air Attack
up + (midair)	up + / (midair)	up + (midair)	Up Air Attack
down + (midair)	down + / (midair)	down + (midair)	Down Air Attack
	/		Neutral Special[note 7]
Tilt left/right +	Tilt left/right + /	Tilt left/right +	Side Special[note 7]
Tilt up +	Tilt + /	Tilt +	Up Special[note 7]
Crouch +	Crouch + /	Crouch +	Down Special[note 7]
Flick left/right left/right +	Flick left/right + / + / +	Flick left/right + left/right +	Side Smash Attack
Flick upw up Tilt up > +	Flick up + / Tilt up > + / +	Flick up + up Tilt up > +	Up Smash Attack
Flick down down Tilt down > +	Flick down + / Tilt down > + / +	Flick down + down Tilt down > +	Down Smash Attack
+ (if no more stocks)	+ / + (if no more stocks)	+ (if no more stocks)	Share Stock (only with teammates with more than 2 stocks)
(if Smash Ball is successfully broken)	/ (if Smash Ball is successfully broken)	(if Smash Ball is successfully broken)	Final Smash
	/	START	Pause

Inclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog[]

On 12 June 2018, it was announced on the E3 Nintendo Direct that every single playable character from the past four games would return.^[6] Among them is Sonic the Hedgehog, marking his third appearance as a fighter in the series. Like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic must first be unlocked in order to play as him. There are three methods to unlock Sonic:

• Play VS. matches, Mob Smash, Spirit Board or World of Light. He is the 17th character to be unlocked in order.
• Clear Classic Mode as Mario.
• Have Sonic join the player's party in World of Light.

In addition to Sonic's inclusion as a fighter, Green Hill Zone from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Windy Hill Zone from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U make a return. Shadow the Hedgehog returns as an Assist Trophy, slowing players down using Chaos Control with the green Chaos Emerald. Knuckles the Echidna also makes an appearance as an Assist Trophy and will attack opponents by punching them, using the Homing Attack, or Dig underground and use a powerful uppercut when summoned. Costumes of Knuckles and Miles "Tails" Prower make a return from the previous installments for Mii Fighters to wear. Akira Yuki also appears as an Assist Trophy retaining his polygonal form from Virtua Fighter. Both his and Jacky Bryant's Mii costumes would later return as DLC.

Classic Mode[]

Classic Mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has each fighter go through their own predetermined set of opponents and stages, sometimes with special rules or conditions put in place. Sonic's route is named "At the Speed of Sound", and all of his opponents are a mix between the game's fastest characters and references to other Sonic games in chronological order.

Round no.	Opponent(s)	Stage	Music	References
1	Fox	Green Hill Zone	"Green Hill Zone"	This round references the classic Sonic titles on the Sega Mega Drive. Fox is a representation of Tails.
2	Captain Falcon	Figure-8 Circuit	"Super Sonic Racing"	This round references the many racing games in the Sonic franchise.
3	Giant Metal Sonic	Fourside (Ω form)	"Open Your Heart"	This round either references the final battle against Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog CD or the final battle against Perfect Chaos in Sonic Adventure.
4	Kirby (x3)	Halberd	"Sonic Heroes"	This round references Sonic Heroes. Each Kirby is colored after the three character types (blue for Speed Type, yellow for Fly Type, and red for Power Type). The round takes place on Halberd, which is a reference to Egg Fleet and Final Fortress, the last two stages of Sonic Heroes.
5	Sheik	Mushroomy Kingdom	"Seven Rings In Hand"	This round is in reference to Sonic and the Secret Rings, as the Mushroomy Kingdom is similar in appearance to some of the stages from the game.
6	Giant Incineroar	Windy Hill Zone	"Wonder World"	This round is a reference to Sonic Lost World. Giant Incineroar represents the final battle against Zavok in the game.
Bonus
Final	Master Hand (with Crazy Hand on Intensity 7.0 or higher)	Final Destination	"Master Hand" ("Master Hand / Crazy Hand" on Intensity 7.0 or higher)	N/A

The player will unlock the Sonic Fighter Spirit after beating Classic Mode with Sonic. The player can also unlock Bayonetta if they have not already. During the credits sequence, "Live and Learn" will play.

Sonic the Hedgehog Spirits[]

Various other Sonic characters also make an appearance in the form of Spirits. Spirits are power up characters that can give fighters a boost in battle. They have replaced Trophies in this installment of the Super Smash Bros. series. They are either a Primary Spirit or a Support Spirit, can be one of five types, (Grab, Shield, Attack, Balanced or Neutral) and can come in one of four classes. In order from weakest to strongest class: Novice (★), Advanced (★★), Ace (★★★), and Legend (★★★★). All currently known Sonic Spirits include:

Primary Spirits[]

No.	Character(s)	Type	Class	Support slots	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules	Summonable?
776	Dr. Eggman	Grab	Legend	3	Increased Electric Attack	Roy, Metal Sonic	Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while The enemy's shooting items have increased power Items will be pulled toward the enemy	Green Hill Zone	Hazard: Bob-omb Festival	Yes
778	Super Sonic				Increased Speed	Gold Sonic	The enemy is golden The enemy will occasionally instantly gain a Final Smash	Windy Hill Zone	Sudden Final Smash	No
780	Metal Sonic	Shield	Advanced	1	Increased Speed	Metal Sonic	Timed Stamina battle The enemy is metal The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt		None
781	Knuckles	Grab	Ace	2	Increased Fist Attack	None (unlocked by combining the cores of Gordo, Muddy Mole and a Grab type)				Yes
782	Chaotix		Novice	3	None	Sonic, Pichu, and King K. Rool	The enemy occasionally turns invisible	Windy Hill Zone	None	No
783	Big the Cat	Neutral		2	Increased Weight	Giant Incineroar	The floor is sleep inducing The enemy is giant
784	Gamma	Grab		1	None	R.O.B.	Stamina Battle The enemy's shooting items have increased power The enemy will start the battle with a Ray Gun	Frigate Orpheon
785	Chaos		Advanced		Increased Water Attack	Metal Inkling	The enemy is giant after the enemy's at high damage The enemy is metal	Fourside (Battlefield form)
786	Chao	Shield	Novice	2	Can Be Enhanced at Lv.99	Squirtle (x4)	The enemy becomes more powerful after eating The enemy is easily distracted by items	Windy Hill Zone		Yes
787	Hero Chao		Ace		Fast Final Smash Meter	None (enhanced Chao spirit)				No
788	Shadow the Hedgehog	Attack			Can Be Enhanced at Lv.99	Sonic	The enemy's dash attacks have increased power Hostile assist trophies will appear The enemy is easily distracted by items	New Pork City (Battlefield form)	Assist Trophy Enemies: Shadow Item: Timer
789	Super Shadow		Legend		Increased Undamaged Attack & speed	None (enhanced Shadow the Hedgehog spirit)
792	Omega	Grab	Novice	1	None	Giant R.O.B.	Stamina Battle The enemy starts the battle with a drill The enemy is giant	Green Hill Zone (Battlefield form)	None
797	Infinite	Attack	Advanced	2		Metal Sonic	The enemy is metal Controls are occasionally reversed	Big Blue	Hazard: Screen Flip

Support Spirits[]

No.	Image	Type	Class	Ability	Fighter(s)	Condition(s)	Stage	Rules
777	Tails	Neutral	Ace	Increased Up Special	Fox	Gravity is reduced Hostile assist trophies will appear The enemy starts the battle with an enhanced Ray Gun	Windy Hill Zone	Hazard: Low Gravity Assist Trophy Enemies: Knuckles Item: Ray Gun
779	Amy	Attack		Increased Shield Damage	Inkling	The enemy starts with a Hammer The enemy can swing the Hammer for a long time The enemy has increased move speed		Item: Hammer
790	Rouge the Bat	Grab	Advanced	Increased Air Attack	Fox	The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power The enemy's melee blows will heal them when they hit The enemy has increased jump power	Fourside	None
791	Cream & Cheese			Increased Jump Height	Isabelle, Tiny Squirtle	Gravity is reduced The enemy takes less damage while in the air	Green Hill Zone
793	Blaze the Cat	Shield		Mouthful of Curry	Robin	The floor is lava. The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power. The enemy starts the battle with a Fire Flower.	Green Hill Zone (Battlefield form)	Hazard: Lava Floor
794	Jet the Hawk	Grab		Increased Move Speed	None (unlocked by combining the cores of Pidgey and Akari Hayami)
795	Silver the Hedgehog	Attack		Slightly increases the power of grabbing and throwing attacks.	Sonic	The enemy starts with a Black Hole The enemy is easily distracted by items	Green Hill Zone	Item Battle
796	Sonic the Werehog			Increased Physical Attack	Wolf	The stage is covered in fog The enemy's physical attacks have increased power The enemy has increased attack power	Luigi's Mansion	Decreased Move Speed Increased Attack Power Hazard: Fog

Fighter Spirit[]

No.	Character
775
	Sonic the Hedgehog

Alternate costumes[]

Sonics alternate costumes turn him different shades of blue, along with giving him different colored shoes and different hand cuffs. Many people dislike his costumes due to them changing very little between alts. The reasoning for this is most likely Sega wanting him to stay recognizable by staying blue.

Blue	Based on his current appearance from recent Sonic the Hedgehog games which is first seen in Sonic Adventure.
Purple	Resembles NiGHTS from NiGHTS into Dreams, as well as Blaze the Cat from Sonic Rush. The cuffs and shoes resemble the Purple Chaos Emerald.
Cyan	Potentially based on Classic Sonic from Sonic Generations. Wristbands resemble the Crystal Ring, an upgrade item from Sonic Adventure and also resembles Sonic's handcuffs in Sonic Forces, and the shoes resemble the cyan Chaos Emerald.
White	Resembles Silver the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). His wristbands are based on the blue Ark of the Cosmos from Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, and the shoes resemble the white Chaos Emerald.
Black	The color scheme resembles his 2P costume from Sonic the Fighters and Dark Sonic from the anime series Sonic X. Also resembles Shadow the Hedgehog from Sonic Adventure 2.
Yellow	The cuffs are reminiscent of Silver's bracelets, and the shoes resemble the yellow Chaos Emerald.
Orange	His wristbands resemble the ones attached to the gloves that appear in the special stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Green	His wristbands resemble the ones attached to the gloves that appear in the special stages in Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and the shoes resemble the green Chaos Emerald. His fur color resembles his in game fur in the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

Taunts[]

• Up Taunt: Does a front flip, while putting in his iconic pose from Sonic Adventure.
• Down Taunt: Starts doing a breakdancing move and says, "Come on!"
• Side Taunt: Starts running in place saying, "Sonic speed!"

On-screen appearance[]

Does a homing attack onto the screen, and does his brawl pose.

Idle poses[]

• Taps his right/left shoe, a reference to his iconic idle pose.
• Does his iconic finger wag pose.

Final Smash[]

• English: "Super Sonic style!"
• Japanese: "キメてやる!! はぁぁぁぁぁぁっ!!" (Kimete yaru!!, "キメてやる!! はぁぁぁぁぁぁっ!!"^?)
• French: "Façon Super Sonic!"
• Spanish: "Al estilo Super Sonic!"
• German: "À la Super Sonic!"
• Italian: "In stile Super Sonic!"

Victory poses[]

• Runs off-screen back and forth, then runs back on-screen and does a thumbs up.
  • English: "That was almost too easy!"
  • Japanese: "モタモタしてると置いてくぜ!" (Motamota shiteru to oite ku ze!, "モタモタしてると置いてくぜ!"^?)
  • French: "C'était presque trop facile !"
  • Spanish: "¡Pero que fácil!"
  • German: "Das war fast schon zu leicht!"
  • Italian: "Persino troppo semplice!"
• Runs to get the blue Chaos Emerald.
  • English: "Piece of cake!"
  • Japanese: "A piece of cake! 楽勝だぜ!" (A piece of cake! Rakushō daze!, "A piece of cake! 楽勝だぜ!"^?)
  • French: "Du gâteau !"
  • Spanish: "¡Chupado!"
  • German: "Kinderspiel!"
  • Italian: "Un gioco da ragazzi!"
• Starts doing a breakdancing move, then flips back up, throwing his fist upwards.
  • English: "Let's do that again sometime!"
  • Japanese: "Hey guys! また遊んでやるぜ!" (Hey guys! Mata asonde yaru ze!, "Hey guys! また遊んでやるぜ!"^?)
  • French: "Faudra se refaire ça un jour !"
  • Spanish: "¡A ver si lo repetimos!"
  • German: "Das müssen wir wiederholen!"
  • Italian: "Rifacciamolo presto!"

Victory theme[]

Sonic's victory theme is the mission clear theme from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), which itself is an orchestral remix of the Act clear jingle from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It is slightly sped up in comparison to the other entries of the series.

World of Light[]

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Adventure Mode, "World of Light", Sonic and other fighters prepare to battle against a godlike being named Galeem and his army of Master Hands. Galeem unleashes a devastating array of bright yellow lasers which instantly captures anything they come into contact with. The attack puts the fighters into panic, as they all try to either fight back or run away. Sonic uses his speed to outrun the lasers and attempts to save Pikachu in the process. However, Pikachu is captured with Sonic being captured shortly after. Galeem manages to capture all of the fighters aside from Kirby, who escapes on his Warp Star. After this, Galeem envelops the entire galaxy in a burst of light. Kirby eventually crash-lands in the eponymous World of Light and sets out to free the captured fighters who are strewn throughout the world.

Eventually, the freed fighters manage destroy the shield protecting Galeem and beat him in a battle. With the being's power weakened, however, the world is soon taken over by its arch-nemesis, Dharkon, who envelops the world in darkness, and takes control of the remaining fighters and Spirits. After Dharkon's defeat Galeem returns to wage war. Soon, the fighters manage to defeat both Galeem and Dharkon once and for all.

Gameplay[]

The Adventure Mode has a world map that the character the player has chosen moves around in when not in battle. The player is trying to get to the center of the map, where Galeem is. Throughout the Adventure Mode, the player will find several obstacles.

The most common blockade found are Spirits. To progress, the player will need to fight them. The Spirits take the form of fighters that share common traits with them. After fighting them, the player will free the Spirit and they will be able to use it.

Another common blockade are possessed fighters. Every fighter that was devoured by light was possessed and turned evil. These possessed fighters are usually much more powerful than Spirits. After beating a possessed fighter, the player will be able to play as that fighter. Also, if the player beats a fighter that they have not unlocked in regular gameplay, they will also unlock it there as well. Sonic himself can be found in the Dark Realm, contained in the Legend of Zelda-themed Sacred Land area.

The world map for the mode features a composite of locations from several of the featured games. In the Light Realm, there is a a section with similar checker-patterned land such as Green Hill Zone. The Mysterious Dimension, which features a void absorbing broken pieces of locations, also includes chunks from Green Hill.

Music[]

Following the tradition of earlier Super Smash Bros, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has a number of music tracks from the Sonic series included in it. There are twenty in total, which can be played on both Green Hill Zone and Windy Hill Zone. Starting with the 8.1.0 update, these tracks can also play on Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Small Battlefield, and Final Destination. By using the "My Music" feature, the player can adjust how often they want each available song to play on each stage. All Sonic songs that were in previous games return, with the sole exception of "Right There, Ride On" from Sonic Rush, while three new tracks from Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces were added. Most of the songs are available from the start, while the rest must be unlocked:

Name	Game of origin	Unlocking requirement
"Green Hill Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)	N/A
"Scrap Brain Zone"
"Emerald Hill Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog 2
"Angel Island Zone"	Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Super Smash Bros. Brawl remix composed by Jun Senoue)
"Sonic Boom"	Sonic the Hedgehog CD	Buy from the Shop / Potential Classic Mode reward
"Super Sonic Racing"	Sonic R	Buy from the Shop
"Open Your Heart"	Sonic Adventure	N/A
"Escape from the City"	Sonic Adventure 2
"Live and Learn"
"Sonic Heroes"	Sonic Heroes
"His World" (instrumental - E3 Ver.)	Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
"Seven Rings In Hand"	Sonic and the Secret Rings
"Knight of the Wind"	Sonic and the Black Knight
"Reach for the Stars"	Sonic Colors	Buy from the Shop
"Rooftop Run"	Sonic Generations	N/A
"Wonder World"	Sonic Lost World
"Windy Hill - Zone 1"
"Lights, Camera, Action! (Studiopolis Zone Act 1)"	Sonic Mania
"Fist Bump"	Sonic Forces
"Sunset Heights"		Buy from the Shop

Event Tourneys[]

Introduced in the 2.0.0. update, Event Tourneys are themed online tournaments. Such tournaments usually have restrictions to which characters, items, or stages could be used. Discounting tourneys where every fighter is available, the following is a list of tournaments that featured Sonic and his stages, and how he fits with the theme:

Image	Name	Timespan		Theme	Sonic assets used	Sonic's inclusion
		First run	Re-run
	Heroes Vs. Villans	9 August 2019 - 12 August 2019	26 November 2021 - 29 November 2021	Heroic and villainous fighters.	Sonic	Sonic is the main hero of his home game.
	Hailing from the '90s	21 February 2020 - 24 February 2020	N/A	Characters and stages that made their debut in the 1990s	Sonic and Green Hill Zone	Sonic the Hedgehog debuted in 1991.
	Spiky Vs. Round? The Ultimate Battle	6 March 2020 - 9 March 2020	27 May 2022 - 30 May 2022	Characters that are either spiky or round.	Sonic	Sonic is part of the team of spiky characters, along with Bowser, Cloud Strife, and Ridley (as well as Sora starting with the rerun).
	Brawl Veterans Represent!	10 April 2020 - 13 April 2020	24 June 2022 - 27 June 2022	Characters and stages that debuted in Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Sonic and Green Hill Zone	Sonic was one of the newcomers in Brawl, with Green Hill Zone added alongside him.
	Free Four All	24 July 2020 - 27 July 2020	16 September 2022 - 19 September 2022	Characters and stages that debuted in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U	Windy Hill Zone	Windy Hill Zone was added in Wii U
	Tools of the Trade	23 October 2020 - 26 October 2020	10 June 2022 - 13 June 2022	Characters that use tools	Sonic	Sonic creates and uses a Spring in his up special.
	True Speedsters Only	22 January 2021 - 25 January 2021	N/A	The fastest characters in the game on walk-off stages with no initial gaps.	Sonic and Green Hill Zone	Sonic has the highest run speed out of any character in the game. Green Hill Zone is a walk-off stage with no gaps at the beginning
	Grand Slam	19 February 2021 - 22 February 2021		Characters that use their bodies in special moves.	Sonic	Sonic uses his body to attack for his Homing Attack, Spin Dash, and Spin Charge.
	Fighters of Many Faces	12 March 2021 - 15 March 2021	19 August 2022 - 22 August 2022	Characters with significant alternate costumes that change their model or turn them into a different character.		Sonic's alternate costumes give him differently modeled cuffs on his wrists.
	Born in the 2010s	2 July 2021 - 5 July 2021	N/A	Characters and stages that made their debut in the 2010s.	Windy Hill Zone	Sonic Lost World debuted in 2013
	Tekken Tourney	9 July 2021 - 12 July 2021	30 September 2022 - 3 October 2022	Characters who do not use weapons in their non-special moves.	Sonic	Sonic does not wield any weapons. He fights with standard punches, kicks, and Spin Attacks.

Sonic cast[]

All Sonic character voices consist of archived recordings from other media, namely Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic Generations, and the Mario & Sonic series.

Role	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor	French voice actor	Italian voice actor	German voice actor	Spanish voice actor
Sonic the Hedgehog	Roger Craig Smith	Jun'ichi Kanemaru	Alexandre Gillet	Renato Novara	Marc Stachel	Jonatán López
Shadow the Hedgehog	Kirk Thornton	Kōji Yusa	Benoît DuPac	Riccardo Lombardo	Klaus Lochthove	Manuel Gimeno
Knuckles the Echidna	Travis Willingham	Nobutoshi Canna	Sébastien Desjours	Maurizio Merluzzo	Claus-Peter Damitz	Sergio Mesa

Trivia[]

• As part of the #SmashBrosCountdown collaboration on Twitter, with six days left before the game's release, the official Japanese Sega Twitter posted a Tweet representing Sonic's inclusion in the game with an illustration done by Yuji Uekawa.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game to not feature Trophies since the original Super Smash Bros.
• With Sonic's inclusion in this game, he has made the most Super Smash Bros. appearances out of any playable third-party character in the series, having appeared in all games since his debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Sonic and Knuckles were both featured on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate blog on 2 July 2018.
• Sonic's default head icon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bears a striking resemblance to several logos and icons in the Sonic series, namely the logo for Sonic Team.
• Unlike other installments in the Super Smash Bros. series, Sonic takes a bit of damage if he falls in any body of water, which is a nod to his inability to swim.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. game in which more then one character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series appear as an Assist Trophy.
• Knuckles will not show up as an Assist Trophy when Green Hill Zone is chosen as a stage. This is likely due to the fact that he is a background character in the stage as well.
• This is the first Super Smash Bros. title in which there are three playable characters that are representatives from Sega: Sonic, Bayonetta and Joker.
  • Rodin from the Bayonetta series and Akira from the Virtua Fighter series also make appearances as Assist Trophies.

• One of Incineroar's alternate costumes resembles Big the Cat.
• The Spirit cores used to unlock the Sonic the Hedgehog series Spirits all represent the likeness of the characters they summon:
  • The Knuckles Spirit requires the cores of Gordo and Muddy Mole; Gordo represents Knuckles' spiked gloves and Muddy Mole represents Knuckles' digging ability.
  • The Jet the Hawk Spirit requires the cores of Pidgey and Akari Hayami; Pidgey is an allusion to Jet being a type of bird and Akari represents Jet's proficiency in riding Extreme Gear.
  • The Sonic the Werehog Spirit requires the cores of Togedemaru and Werewolf. Werewolf is obviously an allusion to how the Werehog was a more beastly form that Sonic turned into during the nighttime. Togedemaru, while less immediately obvious, is considered an "Electric Hedgehog" referencing Sonic's base form and species.
• Jun Senoue was requested by Nintendo to pick a song to arrange for the game. As he was allowed to pick any song he wanted, he picked a Mega Man track, specifically a medley of music from Mega Man 4 in the style of a typical Sonic song. He was inspired to do so after seeing graphic novels from Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide and Worlds Unite, specifically Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Collide: The Complete Epic and Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Unite Vol. 1: Deadly Fusion.^[7]
  • On a related note, Tomoya Ohtani also remixed the track "Bomb Rush Blush" from the Splatoon series; the track features the Amen break, a drumbeat that Ohtani typically uses in his Sonic the Hedgehog compositions.
• As is the case with Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Sonic's snoring and surfacing voice clips are taken directly from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which he was voiced by Jason Griffith, despite being voiced by Roger Craig Smith in this game.
• Unlike in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, while Sonic's victory jingle was taken from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), entitled "Mission Clear", his victory jingle was shortened in the final build instead of the full version in the E3 build.
  • This makes it one of three series with a victory jingle that was ripped straight from another game, the others being Persona 5 and Minecraft.
• This game is the last game to feature Travis Willingham as the voice of Knuckles.
• This is the last game where Jonatán López voices Sonic in Spanish before he passed away in 2020.
  • Despite Lopez being succeeded by Ángel de Gracia as Sonic's Spanish voice actor since the Sonic Boom TV series, Lego Dimensions and Sonic Forces, Lopez's voice clips were used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate instead.
• While Sonic is the only playable Sonic character, several other characters in the game share their voice actors with a character in the Sonic series.
  • Takeshi Kusao, the former Japanese voice of Sonic, voices Solo in this game, who is an alternate costume for the Hero.
  • Laura Bailey, the former voice of Blaze and Omochao, and Matthew Mercer, the current voice of Espio, respectively voice Lucina and Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening. Additionally, Mercer also voices Yusuke Kitagawa from Persona 5 (who appears as a background character in the Mementos stage as well as Joker's Final Smash and voice cameo in Joker's victory screen)
  • Keith Silverstein, the current voice of Vector, voices Simon Belmont from the Castlevania series.
  • Kyle Hebert, the current voice of Big and Dodon Pa, voices Ryu, from the Street Fighter series.
  • Lani Minella, the former voice of Rouge and Omochao, voices Lucas from Mother 3, as well as Larry, Wendy O. Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, and Morton Koopa Jr. from the Mario series. She previously voiced Pit from the Kid Icarus series and the Assist Trophy character Lyn from the Fire Emblem series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
  • Takashi Kondō, the Japanese voice of Infinite, voices Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury series.
  • Kate Higgins, the former voice of Tails, voices Pauline from the Mario series (who appears in the New Donk City Hall stage).
  • Jeannie Tirado, the voice of Ariem, voices female Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
  • Ray Chase, the voice of Metal Sonic in Shadow Generations, voices Roy from the Fire Emblem series.
  • Sean Schemmel, the former voice of Black Doom, voices Lucario from the Pokémon franchise.
• In the game's original version, the Sonic spirits were numbered in the order they are listed on the Sonic Channel's bio page (barring the upgrades Chao and Shadow), with Infinite falling after. After the 1.1.0 update, they were re-ordered based on debut (still barring the upgraded Spirits).
• The opening of World of Light marked the first time Sonic appeared in an animated CGI cutscene. He would later appear in Sephiroth's character reveal trailer.
• In celebration of the Sonic series' 30th anniversary, a Spirit event was held dedicated to Sonic spirits.
• In the reveal trailer for DLC fighter Steve from Minecraft, Sonic uses his forward smash on Mario, which launches him into a Minecraft cave (transitioning into a cinematic). This lead to many jokes and memes about Sonic being able to "punch people into Minecraft".
  • The official Sonic Twitter account later referenced this meme when Sonic content was announced to appear in Minecraft, stating "It's Sonic's turn to be yeeted to Minecraft."

• Strangely, the wristbands on Sonic's seventh and eighth costumes have swapped places, while the fur remains the same as in previous games.

Videos[]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website