Spin Dash

Sonic the Hedgehog performing a Spin Dash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The Spin Dash, first mentioned as the Super Dash Attack in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) instruction manual, and known as a Turbo in Sonic the Comic, refers to the ability of Sonic and other playable characters to dash off from a standstill. Sonic rolls into a ball form, spins to rev up and gain momentum, and takes off at great speed. As on any other occasion, if an enemy (e.g. a badnik or Dr. Eggman is hit while Sonic is in ball form, they take damage. The Spin Dash is faster and can be more useful than the spin roll.

In its most famous form, the move was first introduced in Sonic 2 and has appeared in most Sonic games released since. In 2D side-scrolling games the move is performed by pressing and a jump button. Most 3D titles have the spin dash assigned to a single button.

In most 2D Games

Knuckles the Echidna about to demonstrate the technique on a helpless Sparkle in Sonic 3's Carnival Night Zone.

The classic Spin Dash debuted in Sonic 2, works almost identically in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, and is usable in all subsequent 2D games. Holding and pressing Jump (, or ) will charge up a Spin Dash; releasing will send the character zooming forwards at high speed. By repeatedly tapping the button, the launch speed increases.

Diagonal Blast: This is a trick that takes expert timing. Charge up the Spin Dash then, a split second after releasing , press and tap Jump. If timed correctly, the character will rapidly blast off at an upward angle, which is useful in areas with varied terrain.

Implementations

Sonic Jam

When Sonic the Hedgehog 1 was ported to the Sega Saturn as part of the Sonic games compilation Sonic Jam, the Spin Dash was added as an optional feature. This allowed the player to finish levels in much quicker time, but created a potential problem in Green Hill Zone by slightly increasing the chance of triggering the S-tunnel scrolling bug, in which the screen does not scroll quickly enough to keep up with Sonic and he dies on hitting the bottom as if it were a pit.

Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis

The Spin Dash is present in Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis and works much the same as in Sonic 2, though when charging up Sonic is vulnerable to damage.

Sonic CD

Sonic the Hedgehog CD was released before Sonic 2, and so technically marks the Spin Dash's debut, but here the move functions differently to that in the latter game and subsequent 2D titles. Revving up does not confer invulnerability to attack, and must be completed by holding Jump for a sufficient time, otherwise Sonic will stand up instead of blasting off--which, in any case, he always does at the same speed, as the launch speed is not scalable.

This version has been implemented in some Sonic 1 hacks. Conversely, the hack Sonic CD Plus Plus replaces it with the more famous Sonic 2 version.

3D games

Since Sonic 3D Blast, the Spin Dash is performed by pressing a single dedicated button (usually from a standstill) rather than pressing and Jump, because the directions are used to move Sonic around the floor.

ROM hacks

Originally, adding the Spin Dash to a ROM hack of Sonic 1 was considered technically impressive. In chronological order:

• Esrael ported its code from Sonic 2 Beta.
• drx wrote his own code.
• Hivebrain ported its code from Sonic 2 (final version), as part of his Sonic 1 Plus ROM hack.
• Stealth ported the move (along with the entire Knuckles the Echidna object) from Knuckles in Sonic 2, as part of his hack Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog. This implementation was also included in Sonic the Hedgehog Megamix.
• Cinossu wrote his own code, in the style of Sonic CD (see below), for his hack Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition.

Nowadays, due to widespread assembly language usage and the existence of a Spin Dash porting guide, most recent Sonic 1 hacks feature a Sonic 2-style Spin Dash.