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 last demo in that he lost the ability to use glide, he can no longer use his neutral aerial to stall in the air which hindered his recovery options and he lost some combo potential. However, Sora has gained buffs in that he has 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 potential, good reach in most of his attacks thanks to his disjointed hitbox, 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 good air speed, long reach in his attacks and that most of his aerial attacks have little start up and ending lag. 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, Firaga for horizontal recovery and Finishing Leap for vertical recovery. He is one of the best edge guarders in the game so breaking his guard will be tough.

However, due to Sora being a light and floaty character;this makes him easy to be KO'ed both 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 which makes it easy to cancel, which leaves him open for a few seconds and has short range. He has hard time KO'ing his opponents due to the having three reliable KO moves and needs to keep them fresh in order to kill.

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

Attributes
Sora is a air focused character. Sora has fast, low-lag aerials with good reach in them. His strongest aspect is his air game where his combo ability shines the most. He is 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 helps him with horizontal recovery, Thundaga helps stall him the air, a canceled strike raid also helps stall him in the air and finishing leap is his main means of vertical recovery. Sora has a good edgeguarding game and opponents may have trouble breaking through the guard. He has a grab in the current demo. Sora has decent ground mobility with having the seventh fastest walking speed and the tenth fastest dashing speed (tied with ).

However, due to Sora's weight and falling speed makes him easy to KO vertically and horizontally. He has a poor projectile in strike raid in that it has low priority, short ranged, reflect able and when canceled out by the opponent leaves Sora vulnerable for a few seconds. This gives 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 camping. Sora has few reliable KO moves which makes him need to keep the few KO moves he has fresh which also might 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 are easy to gimp; he also might 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 with his throws, outside of his down throw, providing little follow up ability or kill potential.

Ground Attacks

 * Standard Attack 1: Sora hits 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 does not set up for Sora's air game, so it should be used sparingly. 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.
 * Forward 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 the key 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.
 * Upward 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%.
 * Upward Smash: Sora thrusts the Kingdom Key upwards in the air, summoning a powerful wind around the blade. Nearby characters are blown in the opposite direction Sora is facing. 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. 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. 8%.
 * Backward Aerial: Sora slashes behind himself twice. Sora's most damaging aerial. One of his better kill moves, though Fire can be used to a similar effect. Two hits, 4% first hit, 8% second hit. 12% total.
 * Upward Aerial: Sora thrusts the Kingdom Key up in the air creating an uppercut. 6%.
 * Downward 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. 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.
 * Backward Throw: Sora throw the enemy backwards and uses Blizzard to freeze them. 6%. Possible to use F-smash/Attack after this.
 * Upward Throw: Sora knocks the enemy into the air with the Kingdom Key. 4% Best kill throw.
 * Downward Throw: Sora teleports behind the opponent yelling Take..., then flips backwards slamming the Keyblade into the ground yelling 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%
 * Wakeup attack: Stands up and hit both ways with the Kingdom Key. 5%

Misc.

 * Entrance: Sora exits out out 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 says '+1'


 * Revival platform: A miniature version of the Gummi Ship.
 * Fanfare: Short version of Olympus Coliseum BGM from "Kingdom Hearts".
 * Win: Sora twirls his Keyblade and poses with the Kingdom Key on his shoulder.
 * 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. In 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 lists 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 once again seen as a top tier character.

Trivia

 * Sora along with, , , , and  are the only characters who do not go into a helpless state under normal circumstances.