Sonic's special moveset includes both Spin Dash and Spin Charge, two takes on his ability to curl up into a ball and roll. Spin Dash is a short jump into a roll that hits once, while Spin Charge lacks the jump but hits multiple times. Both of them can be charged up, with Spin Dash having a traditional "hold the button charge" while Spin Charge instead charges up by mashing the Special button just like the 2D Sonic games. The thing is that they're kind of redundant together, no? Like, the differences between them are the kind of thing you would expect from a Fox/Falco pair, or with one being a customized version of the other. I don't feel they should be on the same character.
If one of Spin Dash or Spin Charge is replaced in the next Smash Bros. game, which action should Sonic have instead? Sonic games have had plenty of secondary and tertiary actions for the Blue Blur to use where jumping, rolling, and Spin Dashing don't suffice. Which of them would you make a new special move? I also included a poll including most of these actions, excluding a couple which are "double jumpy" in nature and are probably out of the running by nature of the options being a new side special move or a new down special move. They're in chronological order, save for Drop Dash being placed early on to match Sonic Mania being a "what if Sonic had a Sega Saturn game"?
Personally, Spin Charge's input method is too cute to drop, so I would zero in on replacing Spin Dash with a new side special. I would pick one of Blue Tornado, Humming Top, or Cyan Laser, all of which have movement capabilities to some extent.
For Blue Tornado, Sonic would spin in a circle to create a multihitting tornado that launches opponents upward at the end. It would have a longish recovery period, but Sonic is displaced forward when he finishes forming the tornado so it can assist in recovery. My first Sonic game was Sonic Heroes, so there's nostalgia factoring into this, but I think Blue Tornado has a neat look to it. It would have a niche as being a more concentrated hit to a location than Spin Charge while Spin Charge can remain focused on covering distance. (In theory, Cyloop and Quick Cyloop could be used in place of Blue Tornado, or maybe as custom variants.)
Humming Top is an iconic visual from the Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush games. In its source games, it is a series of spinning kicks that propels Sonic forward while resetting his vertical momentum. (Sonic Rush made it a single kick, but I prefer to ignore it.) In Smash Bros, on the ground it would be a shorter version of Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. In the air, it would take after its original game behavior. This would make it last longer than Tatsumaki Senpukyaku but not provide as much of a hover.
Cyan Laser is the Color Power corresponding to Cyan Wisps. Despite Wisps being a major part of 2010s Sonic (and beyond), none of them have appeared in Super Smash Bros. in any capacity. Cyan Laser is the first of the Color Powers and therefore the most iconic of them. With Cyan Laser, Sonic would enter the laser state and perform a forward dash a medium distance before returning to normal. Cyan Laser is angable up to 45 degrees, ignores gravity, and bounces off terrain. I think this would allow for fun trick shots that feel distinct from jumping out of Spin Charge. Moreover, Cyan Laser would be an electric attack, which helps get more elemental attacks in the roster so that mechanics like enemies having elemental weaknesses are easier for the player to use. (There's an argument for making Cyan Laser an energy attack, better matching the existing Smash Bros. lasers, but nothing is weak to energy attacks so it would defeat the point.)
If one of Spin Dash or Spin Charge is replaced in the next Smash Bros. game, which action should Sonic have instead? Sonic games have had plenty of secondary and tertiary actions for the Blue Blur to use where jumping, rolling, and Spin Dashing don't suffice. Which of them would you make a new special move? I also included a poll including most of these actions, excluding a couple which are "double jumpy" in nature and are probably out of the running by nature of the options being a new side special move or a new down special move. They're in chronological order, save for Drop Dash being placed early on to match Sonic Mania being a "what if Sonic had a Sega Saturn game"?
Personally, Spin Charge's input method is too cute to drop, so I would zero in on replacing Spin Dash with a new side special. I would pick one of Blue Tornado, Humming Top, or Cyan Laser, all of which have movement capabilities to some extent.
For Blue Tornado, Sonic would spin in a circle to create a multihitting tornado that launches opponents upward at the end. It would have a longish recovery period, but Sonic is displaced forward when he finishes forming the tornado so it can assist in recovery. My first Sonic game was Sonic Heroes, so there's nostalgia factoring into this, but I think Blue Tornado has a neat look to it. It would have a niche as being a more concentrated hit to a location than Spin Charge while Spin Charge can remain focused on covering distance. (In theory, Cyloop and Quick Cyloop could be used in place of Blue Tornado, or maybe as custom variants.)
Humming Top is an iconic visual from the Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush games. In its source games, it is a series of spinning kicks that propels Sonic forward while resetting his vertical momentum. (Sonic Rush made it a single kick, but I prefer to ignore it.) In Smash Bros, on the ground it would be a shorter version of Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. In the air, it would take after its original game behavior. This would make it last longer than Tatsumaki Senpukyaku but not provide as much of a hover.
Cyan Laser is the Color Power corresponding to Cyan Wisps. Despite Wisps being a major part of 2010s Sonic (and beyond), none of them have appeared in Super Smash Bros. in any capacity. Cyan Laser is the first of the Color Powers and therefore the most iconic of them. With Cyan Laser, Sonic would enter the laser state and perform a forward dash a medium distance before returning to normal. Cyan Laser is angable up to 45 degrees, ignores gravity, and bounces off terrain. I think this would allow for fun trick shots that feel distinct from jumping out of Spin Charge. Moreover, Cyan Laser would be an electric attack, which helps get more elemental attacks in the roster so that mechanics like enemies having elemental weaknesses are easier for the player to use. (There's an argument for making Cyan Laser an energy attack, better matching the existing Smash Bros. lasers, but nothing is weak to energy attacks so it would defeat the point.)
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