After much anticipation, Nintendo has finally revealed that the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter is…Steve…from Minecraft.
cough
Well, it feels fair to say that we didn’t hear many fans begging for Steve (from Minecraft) to be added to the game. Leading up to the reveal, some of the top requests we heard were Crash Bandicoot, Geno from Super Mario RPG, and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. Steve (whose domain largely includes, but is no longer limited to, the realm of Minecraft) wasn’t exactly a chart-topper. As such, there are currently man Smash fans voicing their displeasure across the internet.
We should also mention that Steve (who was first introduced in the hit 2009 PC game, Minecraft) will be joined by his friends Alex, Zombie, and Enderman when this update is released at a currently unknown time. It sounds like those extra characters will actually just be mirrors of Steve (whose previous work includes Minecraft), but that information alone doesn’t really leave us much to work with considering that Steve’s full abilities haven’t been detailed at the time of this writing (beyond the visual hints offered by the character’s trailer). However, it does seem that most of his skills will involve crafting weapons and items.
What we do know is that the usual array of Minecraft-themed levels and music will be added to the game alongside these new characters. Actually, it sounds like the process of adding these new characters was surprisingly difficult. Smash creator Masahiro Sakurai explained that the game’s existing levels needed to be reworked in order to incorporate the visual identities of these characters and their abilities.
It’s been noted that this reveal comes shortly before this year’s Minecon event (renamed Minecraft Live for the 2020 digital show). Of course, it’s also been noted that Minecraft is the best-selling games of all-time, so while some Smash Bros. fans may not necessarily have had this update high on their wishlists, there’s almost certainly a large number of fans out there who are happy to hear that some of those franchise’s most notable characters are joining the game’s roster.
For what it’s worth, the Smash Bros. team has confirmed that four more characters are currently scheduled to be added to the game as part of the existing DLC pack. In other words, if you’re not happy that Steve (the lord and master of all he surveys in the infinite universe of Minecraft) is the big reveal this time around, there’s still a chance that the next updates will include Master Chief, Waluigi, or any of the other most requested Smash Bros. characters will finally be added to the game.
