How to Play Sonic Smackdown

Fighting games are incredibly hard to play, and Sonic Smackdown is no exception. Here's a quick rundown on how to play the game. Do note that the vast majority of people play with a gamepad and this guide will continue as if you're using a gamepad. You can still apply many of the concepts and mechanics you learn from this guide if you play on keyboard, however.

1. Basic controls

This is applicable to every single character in the game. 

• You use the D-pad to move. Pressing left and right will make your character move left and right. Pressing up will make your character jump, and pressing up and right or left at the same time will have your character jumping diagonally. Pressing down will have your character crouch. Double tapping left or right will dash your character in that direction, but it's not recommended.
• You also have four attack buttons, each mapped to your facepad buttons. This is Light (L), Medium (M), Heavy (H), and Special (S). Each character has a unique moveset that all have different speed, reach, and power.
  
• You can press the Right trigger to auto dash. This is very useful as it leaves your dpad free to prepare complex inputs.
• You can press the Right Bumper to use your burst meter. This will knock your opponent back and is incredibly useful for breaking out of combos as it cannot be interrupted and can be used during hitstun.

2. Basic Mechanics

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when playing this, or any other fighting game.

1. Blocking. To block, you need to hold the dpad away from the opponent. However, blocking while standing will only block attacks from the air or high attacks, and be vulnerable to crouching attacks. Blocking while crouching will leave you vulnerable to air or high attacks. Blocking is also vulnerable to grabs, which we'll go over later. Blocking is the most important part of your defense and is the first step to finding an opening in your opponent. An easy way of approaching this is to crouch block until your opponent jumps in the air or uses a high attack and then quickly stand up.

2. Grabs vs Heavy Attacks

The Heavy attack button is a little special. Depending on how far away you are when you push the DPad at the enemy and press Heavy attack, your character will do one of two things. If you use it at a distance, your character will use their usual forward heavy attack. If you use it while pressed up against them, however, your character will grab them and throw them. The direction in which you throw your opponent will depend on what direction you have the DPad held. The grab is very useful to break guards, but it has a very high windup time and can ruin your combo if your spacing is bad.

3. Each character's moveset

Here is where you're going to have to do no matter who you play as - there's no way a guide can cover every character. Thus, it's incredibly important that you go on the pause menu and check out the moveset. Each character's moveset is unique, especially as you scroll down and see each character's unique moveset.

These moves are what defines each character. You'll need to get really comfortable with weaving these into your combos as they're what makes your character stand out. Some characters will have some ranged moves to control space while others are just a straight up rush in your face beatdown character.

We hope that helps you play Sonic Smackdown, or at least get started with it.