Spin Dash (Sonic)

Spin Dash is a recurring attack in the Super Smash Flash series used by Sonic the Hedgehog.

Overview
When Sonic uses the Spin Dash, he curls into a ball form and then launches himself forward at great speed, normally after charging the attack, striking anything and anyone that gets in his way.

In the original Super Smash Flash, Spin Dash is 's down attack. He is only able to travel a fixed distance, as he is unable to charge it like in his original games, but this also means the Spin Dash comes out sooner than expected, and in order to keep rolling, the player has to keep the attack button pressed.

For the reboot, Super Smash Flash 2, Spin Dash has turned into 's down special move. Now the attack requires Sonic to properly charge the attack, otherwise he cannot lunge himself forward. This is done by mashing the special move button. There are other changes on Sonic's Spin Dash compared to its SSF counterpart; for instance, it can be controlled now, allowing the player to change its direction at will, which is required in order to keep the Spin Dash going, and Sonic can jump out of it.

Spin shot
The Spin Shot is a fast, long-reaching short hop. Sonic gains the momentum from the Spin Dash and jump cancels the move upon releasing the special. The Spin Shot is mostly performed with Sonic's forward aerial. It is performed by charging the Spin Dash and jumping upon releasing the special button while pushing forward and the attack button. It has to be timed right in order to gain the momentum from the spin dash.

Origin
Spin Dash is a technique that was introduced in the SEGA Genesis game, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, that can be performed with both Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower. To use it, the player has to crouch and press the A, B or C button to gather speed; by releasing the button, Sonic or Tails would roll forward at high speed. This move is very convenient to gain speed so shuttle loops can be crossed easily or to take out some Badniks on contact. Since then, the Spin Dash became a regular technique in the Sonic games, so much to the point of becoming synonymous to the series itself.

The conversion for SSF is a more simplified version of the attack from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 onwards, as charging is not possible and the distance travelled is fixed. On the other hand, the conversion for SSF2 is a more faithful recreation of the Spin Dash as it can be charged now, the player has full control of it and it is possible to jump out of it; a subtle difference, though, lies on the fact the player has to mash the button to charge it, something that was not required in the original games.

Trivia

 * Sonic’s Spin Dash in SSF has the longest travelling range in the game.
 * Prior to the Beta version of SSF2, when performing Sonic's down special move in the air, he instead performed a different attack called the Bounce Attack, which was removed for unknown reasons.
 * Also prior the Beta version of SSF2, back when Super Sonic was a Final Form-type Final Smash, his side special move was also originally the Spin Dash, which was more powerful than regular Sonic's variant. It was also easier to control, could do more damage, would last longer, could continuously jump with it and could only go in the direction he faced when he initiated the move. Super Sonic could also move forward while he charged it.