Sonic

"Sonic Rushes Into The Fray!"

Sonic is the eponymous protagonist of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, making his debut appearance in Rad Mobile one year prior to the first Sonic game.

He is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
Sonic was created as a result of Sega looking for a new mascot for the company to replace then-mascot Alex Kidd. The aim was to create a character that would rival Mario, the mascot of Nintendo, with the game featuring them featuring high-speed gameplay to mirror the slow-paced nature of the Super Mario franchise.

After a number of designs were pitched (one of which was reworked into Dr. Eggman, the antagonist of the Sonic series), a hedgehog was decided upon as designed by Naoto Ohshima, Yuji Naka, and Hirokazu Yasuhara. This character would take inspiration from a number of sources, such as a blue color scheme designed to match Sega's logo, Michael Jackson-like boots with the color scheme of Santa Claus, and a "get it done" personality inspired by future United States president Bill Clinton. Originally dubbed "Mister Hedgehog" and "Mister Needlemouse", the name "Sonic" was ultimately chosen due to its representation of speed.

After the release of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, Sonic would go on to become a major figure of 90's culture and gaming culture at large, spawning a long-running media franchise and making Sega a true contender in the industry. He would later be redesigned for Sonic Adventure, giving him a taller, lankier appearance and green eyes. This design, dubbed "Modern Sonic", would become the main design for Sonic in most media, with the older design, dubbed "Classic Sonic", being used for purposes as merchandise and content focused on pre-Adventure games.

Gameplay Information
"He’s been up, down, and all around, but nothing’s stopped this high-speed hedgehog for over thirty years. Sonic is as free as the wind, and while he does have issues with patience, his sense of justice keeps him going through the toughest of situations. Blazing through Badniks and foiling Dr. Eggman’s evil schemes is the name of Sonic’s game, and he has no intention of retiring any time soon!

Sonic’s always been one to show off, and is always seeking his next adventure. It’s no surprise, then, that he headed off to the Nexus Tournament as soon as he heard of it, ready to show the competition the meaning of Sonic speed!"

Sonic is a rushdown fighter at his core, having one of the highest running speeds in the game and lots of combo potential. All of his specials are approaching tools of some kind, whether they're design to surprise the opponent with a quick attack or gain forward momentum. While his attacks do lack damage output on their own, they can be easily stringed together to allow for multi-hit combos to rack up damage. Overall, Sonic is designed to be able to overwhelm opponents with his speed, closing gaps quickly and delivering potent attack strings.

Sonic is not without his downsides, however. He is a fairly lightweight character, meaning that he can be KO'd fairly quickly. In addition, he does not have ranged attacks of any kind, making it difficult for him to approach zoners. Finally, his aforementioned lack of damage output makes it difficult for Sonic to get KOs as quickly as the average fighter.

Moveset

 * Wall Jump: Sonic can jump off of walls.
 * Hydrophobia: Sonic takes damage while swimming.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Sonic throws a punch.
 * Dash Attack: Sonic performs a sliding kick.
 * Forward Light: Sonic throws a side kick.
 * Up Light: Sonic throws two high kicks resembling the Top Kick from Sonic Battle.
 * Down Light: Sonic performs the Somersault from Sonic Adventure 2, propelling himself forwards.
 * Forward Strong: Sonic throws a horse kick.
 * Up Strong: Sonic throws a backflip kick resembling the Sonic Up Draft from Sonic Battle. This is his best kill move.
 * Down Strong: Sonic throws a breakdance kick resembling the Sonic Flare from Sonic Battle.
 * Counter: Sonic roundhouse kicks the opponent.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Sonic sweeps his foot around himself, resembling the Windmill from Sonic Battle.
 * Forward Air: Sonic throws an axe kick resembling the Sonic Eagle from Sonic Battle. Opponents hit in the early frames of the move can be spiked.
 * Back Air: Sonic throws a kick behind himself.
 * Up Air: Sonic throws a scissor kick above himself.
 * Down Air: Sonic drops downwards with a flying kick, acting as a stall-and-fall which resembles the Sonic Rocket from Sonic Battle. Opponents hit in the early frames of the move can be spiked.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Sonic grabs the opponent with both hands.
 * Pummel: Sonic knees the opponent’s gut.
 * Forward Throw: Sonic releases the foe and Homing Attacks into them, launching them forward. This throw also leaves Sonic airborne, making it his best combo throw.
 * Back Throw: Sonic dashes behind the foe and horse kicks them backwards. This is his best kill throw.
 * Up Throw: Sonic runs a circle around the opponent, creating an updraft which sends them upwards. This takes elements of the Blue Tornado from Sonic Heroes and the Cyloop from Sonic Frontiers.
 * Down Throw: Sonic tosses the opponent to the ground and Spin Dashes into them, repeatedly damaging them before launching them forwards.

Stage Intro
Sonic runs onto the stage, screeching to a halt before entering his battle stance.

Taunts

 * Sonic does a backflip before landing with his arms crossed.
 * Sonic runs in place, resembling the Super Peel-Out from Sonic CD, while saying “You’re too slow!”
 * Sonic wags his finger at the camera, resembling a pose he makes in various Sonic the Hedgehog media, originating from the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
 * Sonic twirls in place while saying “Bring it on!” before posing, resembling a victory animation from Sonic Advance 2.

Victory Animations
Sonic's victory theme is the Level Clear jingle from Sonic Adventure 2, which is a recomposition of the Act Clear jingle from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
 * Sonic dashes onto the screen, stopping and posing with a Chaos Emerald while saying “Piece of cake!” This animation originates from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Sonic does a breakdance before posing while saying “That was almost too easy!”
 * Sonic runs through a Goal Ring before skidding to a stop and giving the camera a thumbs-up with his back turned. While doing this, he says “I’ll play with you some other time!”, a quote originating from Sonic Adventure. This combines his victory animations from Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2, with some inspiration from 2006’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

Colors / Costumes
  Sonic's Race Suit costume originates from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, being unlocked once the player clears all of Sonic's missions with an A ranking. With the costume equipped, Sonic can use Sonic Wind every twenty rings as opposed to the usual forty.

As an alternate costume for Sonic, the Race Suit brings no gameplay-related changes.

Trivia

 * Sonic's tagline references the Sonic Rush duology released for the Nintendo DS.
 * Sonic's title was originally "The Fastest Thing Alive", being a reference to the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon's theme song. This was later given to Classic Sonic, with Modern Sonic's title now being "The Blur Blur", a moniker more associated with Modern Sonic.
 * The line "He’s been up, down, and all around" in Sonic's gameplay blurb references Run Through the Speed Highway from Sonic Adventure, which has "Up, down, and all around" as one of its lyrics.
 * Sonic's Level 2 Nexus Attack was originally the Sonic Overdrive from Sonic Heroes. This was changed to the Phantom Rush after the release of Sonic Frontiers, as Faz felt that better suited the attack's original purpose.
 * A color inspired by Sonic's 2-player appearance in Sonic the Fighters was considered, but was scrapped. It was later given to Classic Sonic.

Gameplay-Related

 * Upon being KO’d via blast zone, rings will fly out from Sonic’s direction.
 * If Sonic is the last fighter to lose their final stock in a Stamina match, he will be launched upwards a short distance before falling through the bottom of the screen, resembling his death animation in many Sonic games.

Credits

 * Project+ Team: Render of Race Suit Sonic.