The announcement of Sora from Kingdom Hearts finally joining the battle on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate triggered a frenzy of varying opinions on social media, with the majority expressing immense happiness in the Kingdom Hearts hero being the final new character.
Sora, the protagonist from Disney’s classic Kingdom Hearts series, had been wanted by Smash Bros. fans for years, so his addition was met with much relief, along with even more speculation for possible future characters. Masahiro Sakurai, the head of the Smash Bros. franchise, revealed that the Kingdom Hearts hero came first in a fan poll for ‘desired DLC characters’ six years ago, so it comes as no surprise that fans are more than excited about his inclusion.
“Having a fan-favourite character like Sora join the ranks of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the perfect way to close out the Fighters Pass expansions,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications.
With Kingdom Hearts being a Disney game featuring Disney characters, Sora’s addition poses the question, will there be even more characters from the Disney universe immersed into the Smash Bros. battlefield?
WHEN CAN WE START PLAYING WITH SORA ON SUPER SMASH BROS?
Smash Bros. fans can get their hands on Sora right now, with him coming as part of the Challenger Pack 11 DLC which released on October 18th, along with nine beautiful music tracks from the Kingdom Hearts series.
This Challenger Pack 11 is part of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass Vol. 2, which can be purchased for a suggested retail price of £21.83 ($29.99 USD) and also includes Min Min from the ARMS game, Steve & Alex from Minecraft, Sephiroth from FINAL FANTASY VII, Pyra/Mythra from the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 game and Kazuya from the TEKKEN franchise. Challenger Pack 11 can also be purchased separately for £4.36 ($5.99 USD).
His stage is set to be centred on Hollow Bastion, which is a world from Kingdom Hearts games (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts coded, and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded).
This decision makes lots of sense, with Hollow Bastion being an iconic arena from the Kingdom Hearts series and will be sure to trigger much happiness, mixed with a sprinkle of nostalgia, amongst Kingdom Hearts fans and Smash Bros. fans alike. Nintendo has said that players will travel to a special area when nearing the end of battle. This bonus area is inspired by Drive to the Heart and will feature familiar faces from the franchise.
Sora is set to have costumes from Kingdom Hearts games, going from the very first one to Kingdom Hearts 3D (Dream Drop Design) and Kingdom Hearts III. He will also have 3 other skins from Kingdom Hearts, with one of the 3 being ‘Timeless River’, which is a black and white basic looking Sora.
WHAT WILL HIS MOVESET INCLUDE?
In a YouTube video made by Masahiro Sakurai, we see Sora’s gameplay, being played by Sakurai himself. He demonstrates Sora’s light and floaty feel, explaining that he excels in airborne combat. His ability to recover is sensational, along with his high mid-air jump, making him a must-use for fans of airborne fighting. His lightness is a weakness too, however, with Masahiro pointing out that Sora, due to his lack of weight, can be launched relatively easily.
Sora’s standard three-hit combo translates directly to Smash Bros., down to swinging the Keyblade outward to send Heartless and other fighters flying. The other standard moves for Sora are adjustments of his normal attacks from Kingdom Hearts games, apart from his down smash attack, which is based on a move from later titles that allows Sora to slam down the Keyblade as a combo finisher.
Sora’s normal special is centred on his magical prowess, specifically using his iconic Firaga, Thundaga, and Blizzaga; the highest forms of the magic that players learn from Donald at the start of Kingdom Hearts. The biggest nostalgia injection fans with this system is how the icon over Sora’s damage counter is based on the series’ command menu, specifically designed after the rotating Command Deck seen in KH3D. The moves are also fired differently in accordance with how Sora casts them in-game.
Sonic Blade is a move any Kingdom Hearts fan should be familiar with, as it’s featured in all titles to date. The Smash adaptation also takes inspiration from Dream Drop Distance, as that was the first title to feature an airborne use.
Aerial Sweep is also a familiar Kingdom Hearts move, but the variation of it shown in Smash is inspired by its KH3 variation.
Sora’s Final Smash, “Sealing the Keyhole,” is naturally another Kingdom Hearts reference to one of the final moments in the original Kingdom Hearts where Sora and Ansem stand
before the Door to Kingdom Hearts. In this new version, Sora shuts and locks the special door with a Smash Bros. logo using the Keyblade, not needing the help of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, or Riku.
The only thing left to say now is go and try Sora out yourself!
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