Sora (Super Smash Flash 2)

Sora is a playable newcomer character in Super Smash Flash 2. He is a starter character. His design is overall based on Kingdom Hearts II.

Sora is currently ranked 5th on the tier list; one drop down from his 4th place position last demo. Sora has received some nerfs from the last demo in that he lost the ability to glide and he can no longer use his neutral aerial to stall in the air, which hinders his recovery options and stops some possible aerial combos. However, Sora has gained more kill power in some of his attacks (most notably, his Back aerial and Forward smash) and he has a new up special move, Finishing Leap which does not put him into a helpless state. Sora has great combo ability, good reach in most of his attacks, solid, speedy aerials and has reliable kill moves in his forward smash, back aerial and a sweet spotted Firaga. He has a great air game with his low falling speed keeping him in the air longer then usual, long reach in his attacks and little start up and ending lag in most of his aerial attacks. He has a projectile in Strike Raid which he is able to control and cancel. He has multiple recovery options to help aid him in returning back to the stage with a canceled Strike Raid in midair and Thundaga to help stall him in the air, Finishing Leap for vertical and horizontal recovery. He is one of the best edgeguarders in the game so breaking his guard will be tough.

However, due to Sora's weight and falling speed makes him easy to KO vertically and horizontally. Some of his recovery options leave him open while he is trying to recover back to the stage and Finishing Leap covers little vertical distance. His projectile has low-priority as well as a short range, which makes it easy to cancel and leave him open for a short lapse of time. He has a hard time KO'ing his opponents due to having three reliable KO moves which are needed to be kept fresh in order to kill.

Sora's inadequacies are overlooked by his pros and that is why he is ranked 5th on the tier list.

Attributes
Sora is an air-focused character. Sora has fast, low-lag aerials with good reach in them. His strongest aspect is his air game and is where his combo ability shines the most. He has reliable KO moves in his forward smash, back aerial and Firaga. He has a controllable projectile in strike raid where he has the ability to cancel it after it gets to a certain distance. Sora has many options to help him recover like Firaga which can aid him with horizontal recovery, Thundaga which helps stall him in the air, a canceled strike raid also helps stall him in the air and finishing leap being his main means of vertical recovery. Sora has a spectacular edgeguarding game and opponents may have trouble breaking through the guard. He has a grab in the current demo. Sora has decent ground mobility, having the seventh fastest walking speed and the tenth fastest dashing speed (tied with ).

However, due to Sora's weight and falling speed, it makes it easy for him to get KO'd vertically and horizontally. He has a poor projectile in strike raid in that it has low priority, is short ranged, is able to be reflected and when canceled out by the opponent, it leaves Sora vulnerable for a few seconds. This prevents Sora from being able to camp the opponent, but he also lacks reliable way to deal with projectiles which gives him trouble breaking through opposing campers. Sora has a few reliable KO moves which make him need to keep the few KO moves he has fresh which may prove problematic with opponents who perform good D.I. and momentum canceling. Sora's recovery is bad as a whole with some of his recovery options leaving him vulnerable and making him susceptible to gimp; he also may have trouble recovering when he is up against a good edge guarder. Finishing leap covers little vertical distance which makes him need to have his midair jump to help him recover. He has a poor grab game considering his throws, outside of his down throw, providing little follow up ability or kill potential.

Ground attacks

 * Standard attack: Sora swipes with the Keyblade vertically downwards. 3%
 * Standard attack 2: Sora stabs forward with the Keyblade. 3%
 * Standard attack 3: Spins and then slashes horizontally. The move is overall quite fast, but does very little knockback and might not set up for Sora's air game, considering it's chance to hit just below a lightweight character. If successfully performed, it may lead to to Sora's dash attack, further leading into a multitude of other aerial combos. It should be used sparingly (or when opponent is above 20%). 4%
 * Down tilt: A sharp jab across the ground with the Kingdom Key. A combo starter. Slower than U-tilt, but viable when approaching/defending. 4%
 * Down smash: Sora stabs the Keyblade into the ground causing motes of electricity to circle him, dragging enemies towards him and hurting them. Deals multiple hits. Not bad disjointed range, so it's possible to surprise people with this move. 18% uncharged, 30% fully charged.
 * Side tilt: Sora attacks forward with the Keyblade in a batting motion. Much slower compared to Sora's other moves, but has a pretty decent amount of kill power. Use sparingly. 8%.
 * Forward smash: Sora holds his keyblade backwards, then he thrusts the Kingdom Key out in front of him. Surprising range on this move, but use sparingly, as combos are Sora's game. 12% uncharged, 17% fully charged.
 * Up tilt: Sora thrusts the Kingdom Key up in the air very quickly. Pops the enemy up into the air, so useful as a combo starter for defense. 8%.
 * Up smash: Sora thrusts the Kingdom Key upwards in the air, summoning a powerful wind around the blade. Nearby characters are blown away, with the key being the center from which they are pushed. Quick and has a good amount of knockback. Use this move to counter aerial approaches. 16% uncharged, 23% fully charged.
 * Dash attack: Sora lunges forward with the Keyblade, leaving an after-image of himself. Can act as an immensely strong aerial combo initiator, considering it can be immediately followed up by Finishing Leap. Surprise enemies with this move sparingly. 9%.

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial: Sora slashes around himself twice can be used to extend combos. Two hits, 4% each hit. 8% total.
 * Forward aerial: Sora spins in a circle while slashing forward. Makes for an excellent Wall of Pain. Great follow-up attack after landing Finishing Leap on an opponent. 8%.
 * Back aerial: Sora slashes behind himself twice. Sora's most damaging aerial. One of his better kill moves, as it's easily comboed into from Uspec. Two hits, 4% first hit, 8% second hit. 12% total.
 * Up aerial: Sora thrusts the Kingdom Key up in the air creating an uppercut. Nice coverage after Uspec for recovering, and when shorthopped becomes a decent juggler. 6%.
 * Down aerial: Sora slashes underneath himself quickly. If the attack connects against an opponent, even if they are shielding or invincible, Sora will rise up a little. Great combo starter, albeit his slowest option in the air. 6%

Grabs & throws

 * Grab: Sora grabs the opponent. Short-ranged.
 * Pummel: Sora hits the combatant with the Kingdom Key. 1% first hit, 1% every subsequent hit. Fast.
 * Forward throw: Sora does three hits with the Keyblade. 13%. A get-off me throw, useful to set up edgeguarding situations.
 * Back throw: Sora throw the enemy backwards and uses Blizzard to freeze them. 6%. Possible to use Forward smash/attack after this.
 * Up throw: Sora knocks the enemy into the air with the Kingdom Key. 4% Best kill throw.
 * Down throw: Sora teleports behind the opponent yelling Take..., then flips backwards slamming the Keyblade into the ground yelling take this! and vaults back into his original position. This move can be used for chaingrabbing slow characters, as it only leaves a few frames for the opponent to escape. 6%

Other

 * Ledge attack: Climbs up while jabbing Kingdom Key forward. 3%.
 * 100% ledge attack: Climbs up and turns around to attack towards the ledge. 11%
 * Floor attack: Stands up and hit both ways with the Kingdom Key. 5%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Sora exits out of the Door to Darkness and summons the Kingdom Key.
 * Taunts:
 * Standard: Sora holds the Kingdom Key behind his head, saying: "Whatever."
 * Side: Spins the Kingdom Key in the air, saying "Back off!"
 * Down: Puts the Kingdom Key on the ground, tip touching it. Jiminy Cricket then jumps out of his pocket and writes in his journal '+1'. This is a reference to how Jimmy keeps track of how many enemies you have defeated in his journal in Kingdom Hearts.
 * Fanfare: Short remix of Hikari from "Kingdom Hearts".
 * Win: Sora twirls his Keyblade and poses with the Kingdom Key on his shoulder. This is a reference to Sora's animation for when he wins a round in the Olympus Coliseum.
 * Lose: Looks at the ground sadly.

Tier placement history
In the tier lists for demo v0.6; Sora ranked 6th of C tier on the first list and ranked 8th of C tier on the second list where he was seen as a mid-low tier character. On the tier lists for demo v0.7; Sora stayed a solid mid tier character due to him staying C tier for both lists. He ranked 9th of C tier on the first list and ranked 8th of C tier on the second list. Sora's tier position jumped in demo v0.8v; Sora ranked 4th of A tier where he was seen as top tier character. In demo v0.9a; Sora ranked 5th of what can be considered A tier where he is still seen as a top tier character.

Trivia

 * Sora, along with, , , and , is one of the few characters to have a different "Defeated/No Contest" pose.
 * Sora has gone through the most moveset changes throughout the development of SSF2