Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: the analysis of Sora, the ultimate fighter
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Whether or not you are happy for Sora's arrival in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster (and many gamers have proved without a doubt that he is), it is undeniable that he is a highly anticipated and significant character, who has the merit to close Sakurai's extraordinary parable at the reins of the series. And although underneath Sora is yet another warrior armed with a sword to join the group (and no, it does not matter that it is a Keyblade) it is now impossible to doubt the care of its transposition, even with all the limitations deriving from direct connections with Disney.Eager to see its potential in the game we studied it thoroughly during day one: clearly it is too early to draw actual conclusions about its strength, since such considerations only make sense after a long time time (and even in that case they are often far from flawless), however the good Sakurai still managed to give us a new fighter full of peculiarities, which allow him to stand out from a good part of the cast, while using tools that remember moves already seen in the past. Let's see.
The normal: wake up, and float
Smash Bros Ultimate: Sora in the middle of two who has already beaten in the past Sora is, as mentioned, a "swordie", or a character whose hitbox is considered as a separate part from the body (since, in fact, they use a weapon) and therefore hits at a good distance without excessive risk. This is usually counterbalanced by some other factor and in Sora's case it is a slight "latency" of the starting animation of normal attacks (the so-called "tilt") that makes him vulnerable to the speed of certain characters. That said, Sora's normals are still great and have some unique features that make them particularly dangerous both on the ground and in the air.Sora can easily perform three-hit combos with tilts or normal air simply by holding down the button (or the analog stick if you have them set there). The three hit combos have a slight "magnetic" effect that reposition the opponent facilitating the placement of the second and third attack. This sort of magnetism, however, also seems to be part of a good part of the character's aerial moves, which reposition the enemy practically always to facilitate the execution of basic combos, especially at low percentages of damage. Due to this effect, Sora is particularly dangerous in flight, since his normal neutral air has a respectable range - and also hits from behind - and his frontal air usually leads to a lot of damage, so much so that it can often be confirmed directly. with a quick smash for a sudden kill.
The rest of his tilts and normal airs don't seem quite as dangerous, but overall they are worthy moves; especially the bass in the air is a rather rapid descending blow that can be used both to take the enemy by surprise, and to do edgeguard without undue risk - due to a special move that we will discuss in the next paragraph.
Overall, Sora has only one real problem: he is a "floating" character, so his moves tend to keep him in the air more than normal and many of his attacks require performing the quick fall (or make him a moving target if you discovers excessively jumping). A sensible downside for a character who performs combos with this ease in flight, yet we imagine that experts won't take long to get used to.
The Special: The Flying Boy
Super Smash Bros Ultimate: Thundaga Things get even more interesting when it comes to special moves and we think it is appropriate to immediately talk about those that allow Sora to return to the field after being thrown out of the arena. Here, remember when we told you that his low air can be abused because despite being a falling shot it does not condemn him to certain death outside the ring? The reason is to be found precisely in Sora's impressive recovery skills, linked both to his high special (the classic "recovery move") and to his side special. The latter, in fact, is an aerial shot in three phases that can be directed at will, or able to automatically aim the opponent if it is not forcibly turned.Unlike many other specials, it can be immediately linked to the high special - a kind of tornado similar to Link's circular sword - and this guarantees Sora to return to the pitch from positions where normal recovery would never be was enough to save him. So be careful: in the hands of someone very skilled in the management of movement, you can never be sure of the departure of a Sora who has not yet used the double jump ... you risk finding a key in your face suddenly. Ah, clearly they are also fantastic moves for performing complex combos.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate: the Firaga is a very useful bullet Sora's bullet and his counter-move are also very curious. The first is the neutral special and is an unselectable three-part spell that rotates between Firaga, Thundaga, and Blizzaga. Firaga is a fiery bullet that can be fired in bursts up to three times (however, it can only be fired once to make interesting feints). Immediately after its use, Thundaga is activated, a big electric area hit with three lightning bolts in series, and finally Blizzaga, which can freeze, but has the narrowest range of the three spells. Firaga is a fairly basic projectile (albeit rather fast) and Blizzaga is mainly useful for its freezing properties that can lead to an unexpected kill if used with cunning, but Thundaga is the star of the group. In fact, while leaving Sora quite open, the three lightning bolts are capable of killing at high percentages, have a really large hitbox and are not easy to avoid. For heaven's sake, you have to keep in mind which magic Sora has "in the barrel", but we are still talking about rather varied tools with which to put pressure on the opponent.
The counter move, on the other hand, is a little more unique: it is a counterattack that stuns the enemy for a few moments and does a lot of damage if parrying a particularly powerful melee hit. However, he does not send the bullets back to the sender, merely hurling them behind the boy (which, however, can hit those behind you in games with multiple players). One more useful tool, but we don't think it will be used a lot in the game.
Overall? Sora is once again a well-kept character, who, while presenting not particularly atypical moves, boasts some winning characteristics. The "magnetism" of some of its normals is fantastic for those who want to easily perform rather simple combos (and makes it very dangerous in the hands of those who know how to perfectly manage the positioning), and its remarkable recovery combined with the tendency to "float" transform it into a real danger in the air. That said, his normals as good as they are aren't "extraordinary", his damage isn't huge, and he's certainly not lightning-fast when it comes to normal attacks when compared to the faster characters in the game. Difficult at the moment to assess its potential, but it is undoubtedly a lot of fun to use, and it seems anything but weak to us. A nice closure, in short.
