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 & Alex from the Minecraft™ game are coming to the Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate game as a new playable fighter! This iconic fighter is the second fighter in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass Vol 2 DLC. Use Steve and Alex’s various tools to mine and craft your way to victory!
DLC Page, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Steve (スティーブ, Steve) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and was 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 also appear as alternate costumes. He was released on October 13th, 2020, and is classified as fighter #77.

Moveset

An icon for denoting incomplete things.
  • Steve can crawl.
  • Steve possesses an ability to tilt his head up and down by tilting the Control Stick in said direction when he is walking, jumping and creating blocks. This mechanic is purely aesthetic and reflects how the player's head moves.
  • 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 dirt, wood, stone, iron, gold, diamond and redstone, all of which can be obtained through mining (detailed further below). Depending on the stage, dirt may be substituted with sand (such as on Tortimer Island), ice (such as on Summit), or wool (such as on Magicant). All resources (except for 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.
    • Gold and diamond are only shown when avaliable by the right of the gauge, while iron, which occupies the right of the gauge, always displays its exact quantity. Cheaper materials are displayed proportionally and make up the left of the gauge.
    • Five tool materials exist: wood, stone, iron, gold and diamond. Except for gold, each material mentioned is incrementally more powerful and durable than the last. Gold weapons are weak and fragile, but attacks with them are faster than those with weapons made from other materials, making them ideal for combos.
  • 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. The durability varies between tools made of different materials, with wood and gold being the least durable while diamond is the most durable.
    • As each tool has its own durability, Steve is able to have different levels of each tool during a stock (eg. crafting a diamond set, using up a diamond pickaxe, then crafting a gold pickaxe while retaining his other diamond tools).
  • Steve's tools reset to wood when he is KO'd, though he keeps any resources throughout stocks.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   Steve quickly swings his sword in front of himself with short reach. He can repeat this attack by holding down the attack button, and can walk forward and backward, as well as jump, while doing this, making it functionally similar to Mega Man's Mega Buster and Min Min's Punch.
Forward tilt   Same as neutral attack and neutral aerial.
Up tilt rowspan="1" rowspan="1"|Steve quickly swings his axe above himself. Similarly to his neutral attack/forward tilt/neutral aerial, Steve is able to repeat the attack by holding down the attack button, and can jump or walk forward or backward while he is doing this. Both moves have low upward knockback, making them useful as juggling tools.
Down tilt Flint and Steel 0.8% (hits 1-4), 6.4% (hit 5), 9.6% (total) Steve uses flint and steel to create a flame with a lingering hitbox in front of himself. 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. It is also able to absorb projectiles. This move does not use up durability points, but it has very high ending lag (as long as the flame's duration), making it punishable if used incorrectly.
Dash attack A quick running strike with his pickaxe with high knockback.
Forward smash   A slower but strong inward swing with his sword with a short reach, originating from Minecraft Java Edition. It can be jump-canceled into a neutral aerial.
Up smash 1% (hit 1), 0.4% (hits 2-8), 14% (hit 9), 17.8% (total) Steve places a magma block above himself before breaking it with his pickaxe. 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 0.6% (hits 1-2), 14% (hit 3), 15.2% (total) 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, which can be used efficiently for edge guarding. This move does not use up durability points.
Neutral aerial rowspan="1" rowspan="1"|Same as neutral attack and forward tilt.
Forward aerial   A pickaxe swing in front of himself. It is very powerful, and can meteor smash if the opponent is hit near the end of the swing.
Back aerial A pickaxe swing behind himself with powerful horizontal knockback.
Up aerial Same as up tilt. Can combo into forward or back aerials.
Down aerial Anvil 18% A powerful stall-then-fall in which Steve drops an anvil directly below himself while standing on it. The move can be canceled, a first for a stall-then-fall; if it is canceled, then Steve will jump off of the anvil, but it will continue falling. After landing, the anvil remains on the stage for a brief amount of time before disappearing. This move uses up one piece of iron and does nothing at all if Steve does not have any iron. If an anvil has been dropped recently, Steve cannot drop another until it disappears on its own, or after a short time if it is dropped offstage.
Grab Fishing Rod A tether grab using a fishing rod with a wide range. Unlike Isabelle's similar-looking Fishing Rod, it functions as an actual extended grab, as it can grab shielding opponents, though it is not a tether grab since it does not have a grab aerial which can grab ledges. Grabbed opponents are trapped within a fence while Steve holds them. This move does not use up durability points.
Pummel 1.5% Punches the opponent while they are trapped in the fence.
Forward throw 3%(hit 1), 6% (throw) Steve uses a piston to launch the opponent forward. It is a semi-spike. This move does not use up durability points.
Back throw 10% Steve throws the opponent backward with the fishing rod. This move does not use up durability points.
Up throw 3% (hit 1), 8% (throw) Steve uses a piston to launch the opponent upward. This move does not use up durability points.
Down throw Steve drops an anvil on the opponent, launching them forward. Without sufficient iron, no anvil will appear, and Steve will simply throw the opponent onto the ground, making it weaker overall. Both versions of the throw are good for use in combos.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
Uses his sword.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
Uses his sword.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
Uses his sword.
Edge attack
Edge getups
Uses his sword.
Neutral special Mine / Craft / Create Block Mine (ground): Steve mines the ground or wall in front of himself 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. The weapon used and the speed of mining are determined by the type of terrain being mined, and the longer it is mined, the higher the quality of materials collected, such as diamond. If Steve has no tools available, he will use his bare hands instead; however, this causes him to mine more slowly. Steve can mine wood, sand, dirt, stone, iron, gold, diamonds and redstone. Similarly to Olimar's Pikmin Pluck in Brawl, the resources that Steve obtains most often with this move are dependent on the type of terrain being mined, though there is a set order to the materials mined from each terrain. However, on Battlefield form and Ω form stages, materials will appear at a pre-determined rate regardless of the type of terrain. This was done in order 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), restoring their durability. Steve starts the battle with wooden tools, with a crafting table appearing at his starting point. The most valuable resources are prioritized when performing this move; for example, if Steve has both iron and stone, then his tools will be upgraded to iron. A Minecraft-styled progression bar appears above Steve while he is crafting, and Steve will flourish a new weapon after crafting completes, though he is vulnerable to attacks throughout the entire animation. The crafting table itself can be damaged and destroyed by Steve or his opponents, but it will respawn at Steve's location following a few seconds. Steve can also summon the crafting table to his location by pressing the special move button while shielding. If multiple Steves are present, then they can use each other's crafting tables as well as their own.

Create Block (midair): Steve places a block directly beneath himself, which functions as a platform. If the special move button is held down while Steve is walking on a block or jumping, he can continie placing blocks directly beneath himself as he moves. He can only place blocks a certain distance around the stage, signified by a pink barrier that appears while placing blocks adjacent to the limit. The blocks break slowly over time, but touching them or hitting them (including hitting the block on the underside while jumping) speeds this process up. Blocks placed either near the build limit or after Steve was knocked into the air and yet to recover flash like a helpless character and break faster than they would otherwise. Placed blocks can absorb incoming attacks, including projectiles, and can also be used to aid Steve's recovery or to edgeguard opponents. Blocks can be made using dirt, wood, stone, or iron, and will break more slowly the more valuable the material they are made of is. Unlike Craft, the least valuable resources are prioritized when performing this move.

Side special Minecart Steve hops into a minecart and rides around the stage, placing rails as he does so. If Steve has redstone and gold, he can use it in order to lay down powered rails (powered via a redstone torch), making the minecart faster more powerful. Steve can jump out of the minecart at any time, but it still moves forward a short distance afterwards, trapping other fighters within it should they make contact; a trapped fighter will be stuck in the minecart for longer the more damage they have, but can escape by button mashing. Steve needs sufficient iron to place the minecart, and sufficient materials to place rails. Each rail placed uses 1 unit of dirt/stone/wood/iron. If Steve has little/no wood or stone, he will still bring out the minecart, but will stop moving almost immediately. During Steve's showcase, Masahiro Sakurai is shown making a track in an enclosed space and driving forwards and back, which appears to confirm that the rails last for some time.
Up special Elytra Steve dons an elytra and propels himself forward, upward, or downward with a firework rocket. During his initial burst, Steve has a damaging hitbox. The mechanics of this move appear similar to Brawl's gliding mechanic, with Steve being able to control his trajectory while gliding, though he travels a larger horizontal distance than vertical. He is also able to turn around during the startup of the move. The elytra falls off after a short while or if Steve hits a solid object in mid-glide, leaving Steve helpless. This move does not use up durability points.
Down special TNT Steve lays a TNT block on the ground; this uses up less valuable resources such as sand, dirt, and stone. The TNT 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), but also detonates after enough time passes. Its explosion is extremely powerful and can KO very early. If Steve holds down the special button after placing the TNT, he can place a trial of redstone, then a pressure plate upon letting go of the special button, which will manually detonate the TNT if stepped on. The TNT affects both Steve and his opponents; however, if the TNT is triggered via a pressure plate, then the fighter who triggered the TNT takes reduced knockback from the explosion, allowing for creative traps. If the TNT hits someone after it is triggered by the pressure plate, Special Zoom occurs.
Final Smash House of Boom Steve places a giant piston in front of himself, which extends to catch his opponents in the attack. A cinematic plays where the affected fighter is launched into a dark building in a forest, resembling a Jungle Temple, filled with TNT, where they are attacked by Creepers and Zombies, resulting in the entire building exploding as Steve comically eats a steak. The piston can hit multiple fighters, but only the first one hit will appear in the cinematic. This attack does not use up durability points.

On-screen appearance

Breaks blocks in front and around them with their pickaxe.

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Jumps in the air while punching the air twice.
  • Side taunt: Eats a Steak.
  • Down taunt: Crouches repeatedly.

Idle Poses

Victory poses

  • Left: A Creeper blows up and then Steve falls in its place.
  • Up: Eats a Steak and then burps.
  • Right: Builds a house similar to ones found in villages and stands outside of it, then closes the door.
The sound that plays when completing a challenge advancement in the Minecraft: Java Edition.

In competitve play

Since offline tournaments are not possible due to COVID-19, it's unknown how Steve proceeds on offline tournaments.

Classic Mode: Journey to the Far Lands

Steve faces off against fighters who represent enemy mobs in Minecraft. With the exceptions of Rounds 2 and 6, all rounds are stamina battles. The title is a reference to the Far Lands, a phenomenon in versions of Minecraft prior to Beta 1.8 where land outside the playable region of a world formed large, fold-like cliffs. The final battle is against a giant Ridley and two Enderman.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 Zombie (×8) Minecraft World (Birch Forest, Night) Glide Represent a Zombie Horde.
2 Wario Wario (SSBU) (×4) Minecraft World (Plains, Day) The Arch-Illager Represent Pillagers. Villager Villager (SSBU) and R.O.B. R.O.B. (SSBU) appear as CPU allies, representing a Villager and an Iron Golem.
3 Link Link (SSBU) (×3) Minecraft World (Plains, Night) Clockwork Crafter Represent Skeletons.
4 Pit Pit (SSBU) (×3), Robin Robin (SSBU) Luigi's Mansion Dragon Battle Represent an Evoker and Vexes. Luigi's Mansion represents a Woodland Mansion.
5 Giant Kirby Kirby (SSBU) (×2), Tiny King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU) (×2) Norfair The Keeper of the Lake Represent Ghasts and Piglins. Norfair represents the Nether.
6 Giant Enderman (×2) Find Mii Clockwork Crafter Represent regular Endermen.
Bonus Stage
Final Giant Ridley Ridley (SSBU), Enderman (×2) Final Destination The Arch-Illager Represents the Ender Dragon. Final Destination represents the End.

Note: With the exceptions of Rounds 4 and 5, a song from the Minecraft universe is played regardless of the stage.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Steve has Earth accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Steve's availability in World of Light

Due to his status as downloadable content, Steve does not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, he is unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition before downloading Steve, he is immediately unlocked.

Spirits

Steve's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is only available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 coins, but only after Steve has been downloaded. Unlocking Steve in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic. Alex has a Fighter Spirit of her own, available through the shop. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with its artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, the Zombie and Enderman have an attack primary and neutral primary spirits, respectively.

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

As a minion

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
None.png
Ender Dragon Minecraft Series Ridley Ridley (SSBU)
Enderman Steve (SSBU) (×2)
Neutral
12,700 Find Mii •Health Recovery •Defeat the main fighter to win
Stamina battle
•The enemy is healed significantly when the enemy's at high damage
The Arch-Illager Enderman

Alternate costumes

Palette swap (SSBU)

Gallery

Reveal trailer

Trivia

  • Steve is referred within the game files with the codename "pickel", a transliteration of "ピッケル" ("pikkeru"), which is what a Pickaxe is referred to as in the Japanese version of Minecraft.
  • 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 is the third fighter to have one of their victory animations shown in their reveal trailer, the first two being Joker and Terry.
  • 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 and Alex are the first human characters in Smash that do not have a gender, though they are characterized as male and female in their Mr. Sakurai Presents.
  • 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).
  • Several of Steve's abilities were slightly modified for gameplay purposes compared to his original game:
    • TNT blocks are crafted with low-rarity blocks (dirt/stone/ice/wool) and stone instead of sand and gunpowder, as Smash considers sand interchangeable with these materials (for gameplay purposes) and does not include gunpowder (it is normally obtained from hunting Creepers).
    • None of Steve's melee weapons are affected by the swing speed meter (introduced in Java 1.9, which penalizes spamming attacks in the original game), nor feature a "critical hit" system when the user is falling.
      • The swing speed meter's move is instead used as Steve's side smash. This is presumably due to these mechanics making combat inconsistent in a fast-paced brawling game.
    • The Pistons in Steve's moveset activate automatically without the need for a switch or button.
    • While a fishing rod can be used to reel in entities towards the player, it is impossible to fling entities behind the player like in Steve's back throw.
  • Many of Steve's animations are directly taken from existing Minecraft games and media:
    • He 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. This also applies when he is star KO'd.
    • He falls to the side when his HP is depleted in Stamina Mode or when drowning, referencing the death animations of said game.
    • His swimming animation is simply his walk animation slowed down, much like how water in Minecraft slows players down to a slow walking pace.
    • While asleep, Steve will place a red 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's crouching and crawling animations resemble Minecraft's sneaking mechanic.
    • When falling from a sufficient distance, the "fall damage crack" sound from Minecraft plays when Steve lands. This makes Steve the only character who has a unique long-distance fall sound. Unlike in said game, this is simply aesthetic and does not make Steve take actual damage.
    • When eating, the eating sound effects from Minecraft, including the burp, play. This makes Steve the second character to make a unique sound when eating, following fellow third-party character Snake.
    • Steve's clapping animation resembles the "simple clap" emote only present in the "Bedrock" Edition of Minecraft, looped and with Steve's head facing to the camera while his body faces away.
    • Steve and Alex's eyes can blink, which was previously only present in the "Bedrock" Edition of Minecraft and in Minecraft Dungeons. Otherwise, their facial expressions never change, even while asleep. The Zombie and Enderman do not blink.
  • Steve is the first playable third party character in the Super Smash Bros. series to have originated from an indie game. In this case, Minecraft started off as a game developed by one person during its inception.
    • Prior to this, indie characters were often relegated to being Trophies, Spirits, Assist Trophies or Mii Costumes.
  • Steve is the fifth character whose victory theme is directly recycled from their home games, the first four being Sonic, Bayonetta, Joker, and Hero.
    • This is the second instance where the victory is directly recycled without any modifications (like speeding up or mashups), the first being Sonic in Brawl and Smash 4.
  • Steve, Byleth, Hero, Terry, and Ryu are the only characters who have stamina battles for their Classic Mode routes.
  • Steve, Jigglypuff, Bayonetta and Terry are the only characters who do not have a designated boss in their Classic Mode.

References