On Oct. 5, 2021, Sora was announced by Masahiro Sakurai as the final fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sora was a character that many older fans of the Super Smash Bros. games anticipated, so much so that by the time of his release some even gave up on the possibility that he would even be added into the game. But, whether expected or not, many fans rejoiced over one of their childhood heroes being added into the roster of another one of their favorite games. Sora is the main character from the popular game series, Kingdom Hearts. 

Sora’s attack style, according to Sakurai, is supposed to heavily reflect Sora’s personality and attacks in the Kingdom Hearts series. His kit involves many attack combinations, some magic attacks and projectiles, and many defensive controls and movements. He is a lightweight fighter, making it easier for him to dodge attacks on the ground or in the air, conduct aerial attacks and have efficient speed. His light weight and combinations also help him return to the stage from almost anywhere on the map. Even though Sora is light, which seems to give him lots of advantages, he is easier to knock out of the map and even has fairly slow attacks. His lack of attack speed, however, is made up for in terms of his large attack range.

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Taking all aspects of Sora’s kit into account, there are many high expectations for his performance against other fighters. The kit itself gives him many advantages against characters weak to offstage and aerial attacks, along with many counter attacks and defensive options. However since his kit is mainly centered around being light and combo driven, he has the potential to choke if countered against properly.

One way to go around his rather flexible kit is to try to out maneuver him. Fox, another character in the game and originally from the Star Fox games, is a great example of countering Sora in this manner. His higher agility along with his rush fighting style help stop Sora’s combos before they even begin.

Another way to counter Sora is through using characters that have many, or rely on ranged attacks. Sephiroth, originally from Final Fantasy VII, is another great counter to Sora. He has a long attack range, along with having projectiles that can interrupt Sora’s movements. He also, similarly to Sora, is a rather lightweight fighter, granting him more movement speed to dodge Sora’s attacks. 

While playing Sora it is ideal to keep all of these strengths and weaknesses in mind. If he is played with enough skill, he can become a hard and dangerous beast to tackle.