Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Steve (SSBU)

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This article is about Steve's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Steve.
Steve
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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MinecraftSymbol.svg
Universe Minecraft
Availability Downloadable
Final Smash House of Boom
Steve (SSBU)
Steve Rocks the Block!
—Introduction tagline (Steve).
Alex Swaps In!
—Introduction tagline (Alex).
Zombie Spawns In!
—Introduction tagline (Zombie).
Enderman Steps from the Shadows!
—Introduction tagline (Enderman).

Steve (スティーブ, Steve) is an upcoming playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and will be the second third-party fighter from Microsoft after Banjo & Kazooie. He was confirmed as a playable character on October 1st, 2020 as the second downloadable character from Fighters Pass Vol. 2. Alex, a Zombie, and an Enderman will also appear as alternate costumes. Steve is classified as fighter #77, and will be released on October 13th, 2020.

Known Information

  • Steve's model and movement appear nearly identical to that in Minecraft, retaining his same blocky appearance and limited animation that makes him stand out from other fighters.
  • Steve is able to crawl in a manner resembling Minecraft's sneaking mechanic.
  • Steve's weapon stays in his hand momentarily depending on the move he uses.
  • Other alternate costumes are taken from the default selection of skins offered to players on the "Legacy Console" and "Bedrock" Editions of Minecraft, namely "Tennis" Steve and Alex, "Scottish" Steve and "Swedish" Alex.
  • Steve's jump height is extremely low, to the point that it is unable to reach the platforms on Battlefield, but his double jump covers more height, similarly to Snake.
  • If the control stick is tilted upward or downward, Steve will tilt his head up or down, similarly to how the player's model acts while looking around in Minecraft.
  • Steve possesses a unique "resource" mechanic, which allows him to carry resources to build blocks, use certain moves, or upgrade his tools. The resources that Steve can possess are sand, dirt, wood, cobblestone, iron, gold, diamond and redstone, all of which can be obtained through mining (detailed further below). All resources (with the exception of redstone) are displayed above his in-game portrait, with each having a limit: less valuable resources have a larger limit, and iron has a limit of 8 pieces due to its use in multiple moves.
  • With continuous use, Steve's sword, axe, pickaxe and shovel will use up durability points. Once all durability points for a set tool have been used up, it breaks apart and Steve can no longer use that tool. If Steve tries to use an attack that requires a weapon he does not have, he will perform a weak punch with minimal range instead. This prevents him from constantly brawling out at close range with his weapons, and constantly forces him to mine the ground for resources and craft new tools at a crafting table to get a new set of tools. The durability varies between tools made of different materials, with wood and gold being the least durable while diamond is the most durable.
  • Five tool materials exist: wood, stone, iron, gold and diamond. With the exception of gold, each material mentioned is incrementally more powerful than the last, and also more durable as well. Gold weapons are weak and fragile like in the original game, but attacks with golden weapons are faster than those with weapons made from other materials, making them ideal for combos.
  • A crafting table is spawned on the stage at the beginning of the match. Steve can always use his neutral special near crafting tables to craft a complete set of tools (sword, axe, pickaxe and shovel) using his most valuable resources available to him. The crafting table can be destroyed by Steve or opponents, but will respawn after a set amount of time. If the player inputs the special move button while Steve is shielding, the crafting table will transport to Steve's location.

Moveset

Standard Attacks

  • Steve's neutral attack, forward tilt and neutral aerial all involve quickly swinging his sword in front of him. He can walk forward and backward with this attack, and can jump while performing it. Functionally similar to Mega Man's Mega Buster and Min Min's Punch.
  • Up tilt and up aerial both involve quickly swinging his axe above him. His up tilt functions similarly to his neutral attack/forward tilt/neutral aerial, with Steve being able to jump while performing it, and holding down the attack button also causes him to repeat the attack. However, Steve cannot walk forward or backward while performing the move. Both moves have low upward knockback, making them useful as juggling tools.
  • Down tilt - Steve uses flint and steel to create a flame with a lingering hitbox in front of him. The flame is a looping multi-hit attack, with the final hit launching opponents forward, and if Steve uses this move at the end of a platform or near a ledge, the flame travels downward, allowing him to edgeguard and 2-frame opponents. This move does not use up durability points.
  • Dash attack - a quick running strike with his pickaxe.
  • Forward smash - a slower but stronger strike with his sword, as seen in Minecraft Java Edition.
  • Up smash - Steve places a magma block above him before breaking it. The move has a flame effect, possesses great vertical range, and hits multiple times, similarly to Roy's up smash. However, it only hits directly above Steve, and despite its animation, Steve cannot move until the move is complete as he automatically breaks the block afterwards. This move does not use up durability points.
  • Down smash - Steve pulls out a lava-filled bucket and pours lava on both sides of himself. Both hits have lingering hitboxes and are powerful semi-spikes. This move does not use up durability points.
  • Forward aerial - a pickaxe swing in front of him. The move can meteor smash.
  • Back aerial - a pickaxe swing behind him. The move has powerful horizontal knockback.
  • Down aerial - a stall-then-fall where Steve drops an anvil directly below him. The move can be canceled, a first for a stall-and-fall. After Steve lands, the anvil remains on stage for a brief amount of time before disappearing. Without sufficient iron, the move is likely useless.
  • Steve's grab is a tether grab using a fishing rod. Unlike Isabelle's similar-looking Fishing Rod, it functions as an actual tether grab, as it can grab shielding opponents (though it does not appear to have a grab aerial). Grabbed opponents are trapped within a fence. This move does not use up durability points.
    • Forward throw - Uses a piston to launch the opponent forward. It is a semi-spike. This move does not use up durability points.
    • Back throw - Throws the opponent backward with his fishing rod. This move does not use up durability points.
    • Up throw - Uses a piston to launch the opponent upward. This move does not use up any durability points.
    • Down throw - Drops an anvil on the opponent, launching them forward. Without sufficient iron, no anvil will appear, and Steve will simply throw the opponent on the floor, making it weaker overall.
  • Steve's edge attack and floor attacks use his sword.

Special Moves

  • The functionality of Steve's neutral special varies depending on whether he is on the ground, near a crafting table or in the air:
    • Mine (ground): Steve mines the ground to gather resources using an axe, pickaxe, or shovel. As with using a sword, axe, or pickaxe during standard attacks, mining uses up the durability of the weapon used. Mining speed is affected by the type of terrain being mined, and the longer the ground is mined, the higher the quality of materials collected, such as diamond.
      • Steve can mine wood, sand, dirt, cobblestone, iron, gold, diamonds and redstone. Similarly to Olimar's Pikmin Pluck in Brawl, the resources that Steve obtains with this move are dependent on the current terrain, though there's a set order to the materials mined from each terrain.
      • Additionally, on Battlefield form and Ω form stages, materials will appear at a predetermined rate regardless of the type of terrain. This was made to prioritize match quality for more serious players due to the popularity of both forms for competitive battles, and to reduce the factors of randomness.
    • Craft (crafting table): Steve uses his resources to craft a full set of tools (sword, axe, pickaxe and shovel). Players start the battle with wooden tools, with a crafting table appearing at their starting point. The most valuable resources are prioritized when performing this move; for example, if a Steve player has iron, their tools will be upgraded to iron, even if they possessed cobblestone. A Minecraft-styled progression bar appears above Steve while is crafting, and Steve will flourish a new weapon after crafting them, though he is vulnerable to attack throughout the entire animation. The Crafting Table itself can be damaged and destroyed, after which it will respawn at the player's location after a few seconds. Alternatively, players can summon the crafting table to their location by pressing the special button while shielding.
    • Create Block (midair): Steve places a block directly beneath him. He can stand, walk on, and jump off the block, and if the special move button is held down while Steve is standing on top of a placed block, he can walk while placing blocks directly beneath him. He can only place blocks a certain distance around the stage, though this limit is unknown regarding the lower section of the stage. The blocks break slowly over time, but touching them, hitting them (including hitting the block on the underside while jumping) or standing on top of them speeds this process up. Placing them near the build limit will also speed this up. Placed blocks can absorb incoming projectiles and attacks, can be used to aid Steve's recovery, and can be used to edgeguard opponents. Unlike Craft, the least valuable resources are prioritized when performing this move.
  • Steve's side special is the Minecart, where he hops into a Minecart and rides around the stage, placing Rails as he does so. If Steve has Redstone and gold, he can lay down Powered Rails, making him go faster and making a dash with the move more powerful. Steve can jump out of the Minecart at any time; the Minecart itself then rolls forward a short distance, trapping fighters within it should they make contact. If the player holds the special button and a direction, Steve will continually place tracks until he runs out of stone and wood. Each track placed uses 1 unit of stone/wood. During Steve's showcase, Sakurai is shown making a track in an enclosed space and driving forwards and back, which appears to confirm that the tracks last for some time.
  • Steve's up special is the Elytra: he dons an Elytra and propels himself forward with a Firework Rocket. During his initial burst, Steve has a damaging hitbox, and the move does not use up durability points. Elytra's mechanics of this move appear similar to Brawl's gliding mechanic, with Steve being able to travel a larger horizontal distance than vertical.
  • Steve's down special is TNT, in which he lays a TNT block on the ground; this uses up less valuable resources such as sand and dirt. The TNT block acts similarly to a Blast Box: it can be detonated if hit by a sufficiently strong attack, and is more likely to detonate from flame attacks (though not immediately like the Blast Box). Its explosion is extremely powerful, and triggers Special Zoom on hit. If Steve has Redstone, he can place a trail of Redstone Dust, along with a Pressure Plate, in order to manually detonate the TNT block. The TNT block affects both Steve and other opponents; if Steve is too close to the TNT block, he will take heavy damage and knockback. However, the person who triggers the TNT block with a pressure plate takes reduced knockback from the explosion, allowing for creative traps.
  • His Final Smash, House of Boom, begins by placing a giant piston in front of him, which extends to catch enemies in the attack. A cinematic plays where the affected fighter is launched into a dark building in a forest resembling a Jungle Temple and filled with TNT, where they are attacked by Creepers and Zombies, resulting in the entire building exploding as Steve comically eats a steak. This attack does not use up durability points.

Aesthetics

  • One of Steve's victory poses has him build a house similar to ones found in Villages, stand outside of it, then close the door.
  • In one of Steve's taunts, he eats a steak. His other taunts are jumping while punching the air, and repeatedly crouching. These are based on common actions that Minecraft players make while interacting with others online.

Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit Battle parameters
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music
None.png
Zombie Minecraft Series Zombie Team Steve (SSBU) (20 HP) (×10)
Attack
1,700 Minecraft World (Savanna) N/A •The enemy has super armor but moves slower
•Stamina battle
•Defeat an army of fighters
Clockwork Crafter

Alternate costumes

Palette swap (SSBU)

Gallery

Reveal trailer

Trivia

  • According to Masahiro Sakurai, Steve was largely easy to develop conceptually, but the programming work required to "bring the fighter to life" was very difficult.
    • He also revealed that every stage in the game had to be reworked to make use of Steve's mining and block-placing abilities.[1]
    • Sakurai stated that when Nintendo approached him about adding Minecraft content, he was at first skeptical of the idea, before deciding to go through with it. This has been misinterpreted by some to mean that he did not desire to do so.
  • According to former Minecraft production director Daniel Kaplan, it took at least 5 years of negotiating between Nintendo and Mojang for Steve to appear in Smash.[2]
  • Steve was created by Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. This makes him the second third-party fighter that was created outside of Japan.
    • The first were Banjo & Kazooie, created by the UK-based developer Rare, which is coincidentally also owned by Microsoft.
    • Steve is also the first fighter to come from an indie (independent-developed) game. Although Mojang Studios has been a part of Microsoft since 2014, Steve was introduced to the game in 2009, when the company was known as "Mojang Specifications" and was fully independent.
  • Steve's reveal trailer contains multiple references to Minecraft:
    • The trailer features players performing actions such as repeatedly crouching and punching in mid-air while jumping, which are common behavior by Minecraft players interacting with others online.
    • Alex is shown attacking a Cucco with a diamond sword, referencing the need to hunt passive mobs such as chickens or cows to obtain food in Minecraft.
    • Alex is also humorously shown "mining" a Hero for iron while the latter is using Kaclang, playing with the fact that Hero turns metal and could potentially be mined like an iron block.
    • The Enderman picking up the crate references Endermen's affinity for picking up blocks and carrying them around.
    • The Enderman also hides from the rain on Distant Planet, referencing how Endermen receive damage from water in Minecraft.
    • The Enderman watching Snake, with the latter hidden inside his box, references the fact that Endermen's eyes glow in the dark in Minecraft.
    • Wolf using his up throw against the Zombie causes it to drop meat, a reference to Rotten Flesh, which is their most common drop in Minecraft. The character being Wolf also references Minecraft's own Wolf mob, which can be tamed and can help the player in combat.
    • Zombie is revealed breaking down a wooden door, which is an ability that Zombies have in Minecraft when playing on the hardest difficulty.
    • The tiny Zombie that fights alongside two other Zombies after the reveal is a reference to the Baby Zombies that can also spawn.
    • The title of the reveal trailer, "A New Seed!", references the seed mechanism in Minecraft; seeds are strings of integers that the game uses to pseudo-randomly generate its worlds.
  • Steve is the third fighter to have one of their victory animations shown in their reveal trailer, the first two being Joker and Terry.
  • Zombie and Enderman are the second and third playable fighters in the series to be generic enemies, the first being Piranha Plant.
    • However, they are merely alternate costumes, whereas Piranha Plant is a unique fighter.
  • Steve and Byleth are the only characters in Ultimate whose alternate costumes are displayed alongside their default costumes on the official Ultimate site, similarly to Robin's page on the official SSB4 site.
  • Steve is the only character who has two names (in Steve's case, he is listed as "Steve / Alex") displayed on the list of fighters on the official Ultimate website in all languages. Byleth was the first character to display two names in general, though this was only the case in languages where male and female Byleth had different names.
    • Coincidentally, both of them are also the only fighters who have multiple taglines, with Byleth having two and Steve having four.
  • Steve is the first character with other characters as alternate costumes where each character does not have the same amount of costumes. Each character with multiple genders has four costumes for each gender (excluding Pikachu), Bowser Jr. and each Koopaling have one costume, Olimar and Alph each have four costumes, and each Hero has two costumes. In this case, Steve and Alex have three costumes while Zombie and Enderman have only one (their default appearance).
  • Steve, Alex and Mario are the only characters with alternate costumes that explicitly reference real-life nationalities. Mario's stars-and-striped Golf Outfit from Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course references the United States, Steve's third outfit sports a modern Scottish kilt with formal evening wear, and Alex's third outfit sports a Swedish national dress; the latter two of which both originate from Minecraft as "Scottish Steve" and "Swedish Alex".
  • Several of Steve's abilities were slightly modified for gameplay purposes compared to his original game:
    • TNT blocks are crafted with sand and dirt instead of sand and gunpowder, as gunpower is obtained from hunting Creepers.
    • Axes appear to be weaker than swords and have no attack speed penalty, making them function similarly to pre-version 1.9 Java builds of Minecraft. Pickaxes are also shown being stronger than both axes and swords, despite them being extremely weak for combat in the main game.
  • Steve's default design in Ultimate has a beard (often confused for a smile), which was used in early "Classic" builds of Minecraft but removed from his texture in version "0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST," although it has continued to appear in promotional artwork and merchandise since then.
    • This beard can be equipped for the player's texture in the character creator featured in the "Bedrock" version of Minecraft.
  • Steve is the only character to date with a unique tumbling animation where he performs his running animation midair while staying upright, reflecting the same damage animations from Minecraft.
    • He also falls down to the side when his HP is depleted in Stamina Mode, referencing the death animations of said game.
  • When put into a Sleep state, Steve will place a bed on the ground and proceed to lie on it. When waking up, he collects it back in his inventory.
  • If a perfect shield is performed, Steve will use an equippable shield to block the attack, like in Minecraft.
  • Steve and Alex's eyes can blink in the game, which was previously present exclusively in the Bedrock Edition. Otherwise, their facial expressions never change beyond that, in contrast to the other characters' varied expressions. The Zombie and Enderman do not blink.

References