Official DLC Speculation Discussion Volume II

[3BitSaurus]

Based on the descriptions and Riot's GIFs, Here's how I think these abilities would be interpreted:

Spoiler: Ahri

• Passive Trait-Essence Theft: If you hit an enemy 9 times with your Special Moves (9 hits, not necessarily 9 attacks), you will be healed a pretty inconsequential amount when you land your 10th hit.
• Neutral Special-Orb of Deception: A straight shooting projectile that goes out a decent distance before boomeranging back in her direction. Similar to Pyra's Blazing End, she can't do anything without the orb, but it will never miss her on the way back unless reflected, and if reflected, won't disable her for very long. Pocket does not completely disable her either.
• Side Special-Charm: A straight shooting projectile with a ton of startup. If it hits, the opponent will walk (not dash) toward her, and take more damage from Ahri's attacks. If this is reflected, the effect will be the same, except victim moves to and takes more damage from whoever owns the projectile.
• Up Special-Spirit Rush: Ahri dashes a short distance in a direction determined by the player. The dash itself won't have a hitbox, but at the end of her dash, she will fire a projectile aimed at the nearest opponent. If the player starts and ends the move on the ground, they will have less end lag, allowing the move to be a mixup movement tool.
• Down Special-Fox Fire: Ahri spins around, creating three projectiles around her that quickly start to fire off in the direction of nearby opponents, prioritizing the ones that have been charmed (even if they aren't nearby). The projectiles fire off one by one, and Ahri gets a boost to her mobility while they're out.

...I promise the rest of these won't just be repeating you.

Spoiler: Annie

• Passive-Pyromania: I actually think there's a decent chance that this ability will be ignored, as stuns are super powerful, and there has yet to be a stun ability that's as easy to land as a normal attack. If they did implement it, I'd say they'd make it so that you'd have to consecutively land 5 moves within a time limit to get the stun on the 5th hit.

As for the specials, they could probably go a few ways. This is how I would probably do it:

• Neutral Special-Molten Shield: Annie places a shield on herself that causes opponents to take minor damage when they hit her with normal moves. This does not effect Smash Attacks or Final Smashes, and both remove the barrier. While the barrier is active, Annie also gets a minor buff to her mobility. With Tibbers, or any other allies (includes team members in team matches and attackable items) on the field, she has the option to hold the button to get a wheel of allies similar to the Monado Art wheel. She can use this wheel to chose the recipiant of the Molten Shield. Only one entity can have the shield at a time.
• Side Special-Disintegrate: A fireball projectile that fires straight forward, though you can aim it slightly up or down.
• Up Special-Incinerate: Annie fires a cone of fire that propels her upward. At point blank, this is a meteor smash. When used on the ground, Annie fires the cone upward, allowing her to cover platforms above her.
• Down Special-Summon: Tibbers: Annie summons the giant bear Tibbers a bit in front of her, and is able to control him as a puppet a-la Rosalina & Luma. The main difference here is that while Tibbers is much more powerful than Luma, he's attached to a meter, and can't always be out regardless of how well you protect him. This meter may also double as his HP, or simply go down a bit if he or Annie are hit while he's active. Something like that. His proximity spike will likely only happen if players are touching him.

Spoiler: Ashe

• Passive-Frost Shot: Essentially, she has Inkling's Ink mechanic where enemies take more damage from her after she hits them with a Special Move. Her Smash Attacks don't do more damage, but instead lower her opponent's mobility.
• Neutral Special-Ranger's Focus: Normally, this is extremely similar to Link's Bow and Arrows (though it has a bit less range without charge). However, if she hits with an arrow 4 times, using this move again improves her frame data across the board for a few seconds. While Ashe is in this state, she fires a volley of arrows with this move.
• Side Special-Volley: Ashe aims her bow at the sky and fires a volley of arrows. The arrows will harshly arc downward after a bit, and pelt anyone in a small radius underneath where they're shot. This move can be done with a Smash Input to have the arrows rain down at a further distance.
• Up Special-Hawkshot: Ashe jumps up with her Hawk Spirit, then fires it at a downward angle, dealing very minor damage. If a character hit by this attack is invisible, or behind a foreground element like a Smoke Ball or the grass on the Duck Hunt stage, they will be given an outline until they are visible again.
• Down Special-Enchanted Crystal Arrow: A straight shooting projectile that explodes on impact. This move deals more damage the more it has traveled before hitting anything, and at max range, it stuns the opponent. If a character hit by this attack is invisible, or behind a foreground element like a Smoke Ball or the grass on the Duck Hunt stage, they will be given an outline until they are visible again.

Nice! Regarding stuns and slows, we kind of already have the former in Smash (like ZSS' Paralyzer or Corrin's... dragon projectile thing). It's a matter of balancing.

I think the Ahri charms would be really hard to balance in Smash. Being able to pretty much control your opponents movement would be extremely strong in a platform fighting game, especially in a game like Smash where you can charge your Smash attacks while your opponents is just walking slowly towards you.

To be fair, even in League, Charm is a skillshot projectile and the effect barely lasts a second. In a platform fighter, you could perhaps make it have some endlag to add more risk to it so you can't just try to zone someone out with it at the risk of getting punished.

If not, it could be more like a stun since charm in other games paralyze foes. Well, in certain other games like Pokemon for example.

Or that, too.

It would probably either last half a second or be percent based and do basically nothing until high percents. It would also be semi-difficult to land in most scenarios.

Yup. Charm is more of a utility move than anything else - it's meant to draw someone closer and render them vulnerable for you to use your other skills, rather than being a standalone poking tool in itself.

Steve's cool but what's with the meat

What meat? It was nerfed, remember?

Riku tho

Isn't his whole arc (and technically Terra's too) about conquering the darkness inside him with help from his friends? Still sounds pretty JRPG-esque to me.

 

[Þe 1 → Way]

Minecraft was basically my personality when I was growing up. I played other games (Smash Brawl and Kirbys Return to Dreamland come to mind) but I probably put half of my 4 hours of game time into the funny block game on the 360.

That said, I actually wasn’t a very big Steve supporter. I just didn’t think Minecrafts aesthetic and mechanics would lend itself well to a fighter, so instead I always hoped for an Overworld stage and/or Mii Costume.

It didn’t help that whenever Minecraft was brought up Banjo was too, during CP 1-3 it was for competition and from CP 4-7 it was thought he was deconfirmed because of them.

So I was completely caught off guard when I saw the Thumbnail for the trailer because it wouldn’t load for like a half hour because of my wifi LYING and saying it was connected and yes I’m still angry about that I don’t care how long ago it was I want to enjoy the funny block man damnit!

Also gameplay is cool but annoying if the player decides they don’t like fun.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

I never actually played Minecraft, though it's cool to see. I'm just used to regular LEGO games in comparison. You'd think I'd be more interested in it, oddly enough.

I didn't much play on the stage, though. But I barely played any of the DLC stages, so.

 

[Deleted member]

Steve is hilarious. Whoever came up with the idea for the Zombie and Enderman skins is my hero. He just feels so smooth to play when you get the hang of him. Would be a perfect character if Minecart wasn’t such a dumb move.

 

[GilTheGreat19]

I’ll talk about Steve in a bit in full length but just get this

Remember that time Twitter crashed around the same time he was revealed?

 

[SNEKeater]

I personally feel quite indifferent towards Steve.

I wasn't against him before his inclusion, he just didn't excite me or at least, the idea of having him in Smash. I respect the choice and while unfortunately his moveset isn't for me, the work behind him is undeniable. I do enjoy the music and the stage, though.

 

[Gengar84]

Steve was actually my least wanted character for Smash along with my friend’s and brother’s. Despite that I know how many people love him and Minecraft so I was happy for his fans. His moveset is also really unique and interesting with the whole crafting mechanic. I’ve been trying to bring my brother and friend around to this way of thinking since then. It helps that the very next character was one of my most wanted.

 

[Lamperouge]

I've enjoyed Minecraft relatively well and I've been playing it off and on for years ever since 2013, but Steve's reveal was a fairly mild one for me personally. Never had much of an attachment to the visual style of the game so he looks a bit ugly and out of place for my liking, although I suppose it does give him an odd bit of charm in Smash. His kit doesn't really jive well with my play style and what I personally look for in a character, but he can still be fun... just not when you're fighting against him. I'm okay with his inclusion.

Steve made sense.

 

[warubyun]

Probably my favourite thing about Steve is how he's animated just as he is in his original game. Moves just as static, he doesn't tumble when launched, his dodge is literally just a straight-bodied 360 degree spin... in that regard I genuinely think they might have chosen the best way to represent him.

Regrettably, his inclusion came with clear references to the wretched land of "Sweden" and its people. Truly the worst decision Sakurai and Co. took during the lifespan of this video game.

 

[zumaddy]

Speaking about stages I hate how generic the ARMS stage is. Going for your average stadium with people over any of the fun and creative locales in ARMS was lame.

 

[MattX20]

I was mixed on Steve's reveal at first, but I do appreciate how much work was put into his moveset

 

[MagnesD3]

I'm ok with Steve he's pretty funny to look at (despite being an avatar not a character) and has an interesting moveset but part of me despises the fact he got in and Master Chief will likely be ignored though, that to me is insane and disappointing.

 

[GilTheGreat19]

Ok and here goes my write up on Steve.

To start things off and to give y’all a good idea on my views on him:

So far , he is the only Fighters Pass character across both passes that I knew, had an attachment to, and actively wanted. And today, a year ago, I got that sweet sweet sensation of him and knowing how it feels to get a character you want. I'm curious to see if CP11 will be someone that I also want.

One of my closest IRL friends isn't even a Smash fan but got hype when I told him Steve got in.

Minecraft is one of my favorite games. I love the simple aspect of being able to explore, fight, and build that is being combined with weird polygonal shapes from simple grass and wood blocks and ore blocks to the complex design of the Ender Dragon. I enjoy the challenge that Survival Mode in particular brings, with you only having so much health, and you must find a good place to settle, get enough wood, make yourself a crafting table, a house, food, some armor, and finally, a farm. And let's not forget the monsters that lurk at night (some of which can still lurk in the day lol). And finally, I just enjoy playing the game with friends. We tend to trade items a lot, as some of us don't always get lucky. One of my friends had a few too many creepers in his home, and given how he built his home on top of lava (he was unaware of this), you can probably guess where all his loot went.

Now.. in regards to Smash: I will actually admit that I do not enjoy playing his playstyle as much as some other FP characters (e.g Terry and Sephiroth).
Steve's mechanics are a bit too complicated for my liking, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy playing as him
I just love how true to his game he is. He feels stiff himself, but that makes him feel right at the same time..

I love his reveal trailer as the hints that it's him are so subtle compared to some other hints throughout other trailers. The myriad of 3rd parties fighting on the Smash stages subtly hinted at CP7 being 3rd party, followed by Mario crashing through the blocks, and him being surrounded by spiders and endermen (whose eye patterns were noticed by many (not me tho LOL)), and finally, the stone wall.. and then: He rocked the block.
While it is a shame none of the songs from Minecraft itself are in Smash, e.g. Sweden, I still love the 7 songs that come with Steve. Halland/Dalarma is always a pleasure banger to listen to, but as a piano player (and drummer lol), Dance of the Blocks is SUCH a masterpiece in my eyes.

His spirit board is very interesting to me because while I love Minecraft, I DID take a hiatus from it. So, enemies such as the Piglin were new to me and unfamiliar. Additionally, one of Steve's rounds in his classic mode references an Evoker (basically a spell-casting illager) and Vexes (the Evoker's minions). But a pleasant surprise!

And don't even get me started on his stage... 6 BIOMES.. DETAILS INSIDE THE HOUSES YOU CANT SEE WITH A NORMAL CAMERA!? chef's kiss

Ah Steve... You were an early birthday gift to me last year. He released close to my birthday, which was awesome.
And I just adored seeing fan art of him, such as him getting his letter, him, Alex, Zombie, and Enderman, with Sakurai and Cube Kirby, and even Steve and Banjo fan art of them together as our Microsoft duo. Sony, get in on the fun for Pete's sake

I sincerely look forward to seeing his amiibo design.
And I heavily appreciate his inclusion.

Credit: @ArchdanMiiverse on Twitter

P.S. I may say a thing or two on Sephiroth tomorrow as well.

 

[CapitaineCrash]

General opinion on Steve... Well he was one of my most wanted so of course I was happy. I was glad they keep his artstyle and animations from the original game because that's something important for Minecraft. I also like that he has a pretty complex moveset. The stage looks really gorgeous and the fact that a Enderman is a skin is just the cherry on top. Honestly the only negative I have to say about Steve is the music. While the music we got are pretty good and I would say they're some of the best remixes Ultimate have, the lack of Sweden music is pretty sad. But honestly I'm just so glad he's in the game at all after years of debate and being laughed at for being a Steve fan.

I’ll talk about Steve in a bit in full length but just get this

Remember that time Twitter crashed around the same time he was revealed?

Even Sakurai acknowledge it and made a tweet soon after asking "Did I just crash twitter?"

 

[GilTheGreat19]

General opinion on Steve... Well he was one of my most wanted so of course I was happy. I was glad they keep his artstyle and animations from the original game because that's something important for Minecraft. I also like that he has a pretty complex moveset. The stage looks really gorgeous and the fact that a Enderman is a skin is just the cherry on top. Honestly the only negative I have to say about Steve is the music. While the music we got are pretty good and I would say they're some of the best remixes Ultimate have, the lack of Sweden music is pretty sad. But honestly I'm just so glad he's in the game at all after years of debate and being laughed at for being a Steve fan.



Even Sakurai acknowledge it and made a tweet soon after asking "Did I just crash twitter?"

Haha yep
Sakurai's tweet on that got around 90K likes LOL

Though to be exact, again, Twitter crashed by itself; it just so happened that Steve was also trending worldwide
Ah, what a day.

 

[Momotsuki]

Steve? What an amazing character. I absolutely love how they play, the development hell 100% paid off. You'd think such a complicated fighter would feel janky... but nope! They're extremely comfortable to use once you get the hang of them.

I also really appreciate the tastefulness in how Minecraft was represented in Smash. It feels very pure! You can say they don't fit in or whatever if you want, but they'd only look more uncanny if they had tried to "fix" that.

Absolutely my third-favorite DLC after Kazuya and Terry. Banger fighter through and through.

 

[Among Waddle Dees]

Tell me I'm not the only one here who pointed out Steve is being reviewed on Steve's reveal anniversary.

 

[GalacticPetey]

STEVE:
I'll be honest, I could never get into Minecraft. It, and most sandbox/simulation style games are just too overwhelming for me. I start them and there's just too many options I don't know where to begin so I just never start. The only one I've been able to get into was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and even that I haven't touched in like a year outside of a few sporadic play sessions. Steve was a character I was always just kinda indifferent towards. I preferred Banjo, but I would have been fine with Steve, mostly because haha funny memes. I was watching the reveal with two friends and they both realized it was Minecraft earlier than I did because of the mob noises and eyes. You know, because they actually played the game. I was completely floored by the reveal since I just did not expect him.

Unfortunately I don't really find Steve fun to play. His moveset's a little too janky and just doesn't feel satisfying to play with. I do admire just how creative it is though and the amount of work the team put into realizing the character. His stage is fun and I like the different biomes, and I do really enjoy the music too. All in all I appreciate he's here because he absolutely deserves it and I know he made a lot of people happy. He may not be my cup of tea but that's okay, the game has almost 90 characters and I already have so many characters I love to play.

Speaking of which, I am very much looking forward to tomorrow's character, who is much more my speed.

REUNION

 

[MasterCheef]

Steve deserves to be in. even if I detest how they play

 

[Theguy123]

Steve is the exact type of character I’ve always wanted in smash which is why I love his inclusion. He’s soo unique in terms of moveset and how he plays. it still shocks me to this day.

I’m actually surprised it took this long to get Steve in smash with it being the biggest selling game in the world.

I love minecraft as well, it’s probably one of the very few 3rd party games/series I actually play outside of 1st party mario games and Luigi games. It’s just a shame I get motion sickness most of the time from it.

 

[SKX31]

Probably my favourite thing about Steve is how he's animated just as he is in his original game. Moves just as static, he doesn't tumble when launched, his dodge is literally just a straight-bodied 360 degree spin... in that regard I genuinely think they might have chosen the best way to represent him.

Regrettably, his inclusion came with clear references to the wretched land of "Sweden" and its people. Truly the worst decision Sakurai and Co. took during the lifespan of this video game.

Recalls that you're from Norway.

Oh, now it's on. If you're gonna truly try such an insult... remind me when a Norweigian character gets into Smash Bros. Then I'll challenge you to a first to 10.

(Just to make sure this is properly defused, yes, there's quite a bit of friendly rivalry going on between the Nordic countries. Mostly Sweden and its neighbors because of history and how those relationships have been shaped. But the same also happens when two of Norway, Denmark and Finland face each other in a sports game.)

Tell me I'm not the only one here who pointed out Steve is being reviewed on Steve's reveal anniversary.

That did not go unnoticed, no.

Also:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

For one thing I did not expect FF13 to (somehow) make a comeback in this game.

 

[Jondolio]

Tell me I'm not the only one here who pointed out Steve is being reviewed on Steve's reveal anniversary.

You are not.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Also:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

For one thing I did not expect FF13 to (somehow) make a comeback in this game.

Oh boy, more reasons for me to dread it.

 

[Dukefire]

4 days remaining

Steve/Alex/Zombie/Enderman: the one that broke the internet with the endless creativity

Minecraft was considered a joke for a long while until the fateful day summer 2020. Pretty much the whole world was in shock and Twitter was unavaviable during the first hour or two.

 

[Will]

No way Steve reveal was 1 year ago today, I refuse to believe you, time is not going that fast.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

No way Steve reveal was 1 year ago today, I refuse to believe you, time is not going that fast.

It's a little hard to believe but you gotta remember that time got fixed just about the end of 2020 so the previous year felt like three of them.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

It's a funny coincidence it exactly marks not just one year Steve was revealed but also the day we talk about his lookback of when he was revealed.

That said though only four days to go.

Day 9: Sephiroth
Day 10: Pyra/Mythra
Day 11: Kazuya
Day 12: CP11

Definitely looking forward to tomorrow on Sephiroth's lookback. No one would have actually expected him of all characters. A character I didn't realize that I wanted until he got announced.

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

Discussing Steve today are we? Well I'll be honest. I vividly remember back in the days of early Smash speculation on this very board that I LOATHED the idea of Minecraft getting represented in Smash Bros. Steve was amongst one of my least wanted characters for Ultimate for a few different reasons. To sum up, it was a mix of me wanting Banjo-Kazooie first and foremost, but also not helped at all by the horrible grotesque Steve memes... Shudders... Part of that really didn't help me like Steve at all in speculation.

Once Banjo finally made it in and we got the Sans Mii costume, I think I started to have a change of heart towards Minecraft, more along the lines of "You know, maybe a Mii Costume of Steve wouldn't be bad at all..." Also I think my change of heart got prompted even further in late 2019 when I got introduced to hololive since I was playing Azur Lane at the time they did their crossover, since the whole event was based on Minecraft shenanigans.

Seeing the hololive girls play Minecraft and their silly antics in their servers actually made me warm up to Minecraft and think "Hey, you know what? Minecraft is actually a fun looking and creative game. Maybe I was being a bit too harsh on this game." Eventually I ended up getting Minecraft on Switch for a bit of fun while falling down the inescapable rabbit hole. (it's been two years, don't send help)

Also has it really been one year since Steve's reveal? (Screams in terror at the progression of time)

Two years ago, the old me would have been seething in rage, fury and disbelief. But the me of 2020's reaction? I just had the biggest and dumbest grin on my face at being proven wrong in the most amazing way possible. They made Steve happen. But what really amazed me wasn't just Steve, but the alternate characters in Alex, Zombie and my personal favourite the Enderman.

It's late for me on this mini-essay of sorts, but Steve is easily one of the most bizarre fighters Smash has seen. Having to redo all the stages to fit the block-placing mechanic and mining of materials, and the durability/crafting system too... From time to time I still enjoy playing Steve or Enderman and have fun with them, but man... Steve being in Smash is still hard to believe... Even though we're now a full year on from that day.

 

[Will]

I'll still smack the goofy out of anyone who thought Steve as a Mii Fighter would've ever worked when Miis have, yknow, joints.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

I'll still smack the goofy out of anyone who thought Steve as a Mii Fighter would've ever worked when Miis have, yknow, joints.

If Steve wouldn't have worked as a mii costume then how does this exist?

 

[Rie Sonomura]

It's a funny coincidence it exactly marks not just one year Steve was revealed but also the day we talk about his lookback of when he was revealed.

That said though only four days to go.

Day 9: Sephiroth
Day 10: Pyra/Mythra
Day 11: Kazuya
Day 12: CP11

Definitely looking forward to tomorrow on Sephiroth's lookback. No one would have actually expected him of all characters. A character I didn't realize that I wanted until he got announced.

I feel like another character nobody expected was Kazuya, primarily cuz 1. The Heihachi Mii came out a year before him, many thought that ruled out Tekken, let alone another Namco rep in general, and 2. If it couldn’t be Heihachi, people sooner expected Jin Kazama to rep Tekken

 

[Michael the Spikester]

I feel like another character nobody expected was Kazuya, primarily cuz 1. The Heihachi Mii came out a year before him, many thought that ruled out Tekken, let alone another Namco rep in general, and 2. If it couldn’t be Heihachi, people sooner expected Jin Kazama to rep Tekken

Yep very true but when you really get down to it, it does make sense why Kazuya was chosen, he was the original Tekken protagonist debuting in the first game.

 

[Deleted member]

Oh, it's Steve day? Boy.

Spoiler: turn back if you love steve.

I love Minecraft, or, maybe more accurately, I love high stakes raiding/griefing allowed multiplayer servers. Playing the game by myself would get boring after several hours, but the thrill of coming across abandoned bases and looting them like some kind of ancient tomb mixed in with the constant threat that today might be your own base's last is unmatched. I guess that may be stressful for some people, but playing peacefully just means eventually you end up sitting on an unlimited pile of resources and at that point, you may as well have been playing creative. I wish Minecraft were tracked in Steam just so I could accurately say how many hours I have clocked into the game. Over 720 hours on the server I'm currently playing on alone, and that's not counting the last ten years. Minecraft has genuinely been some of the most fun I've ever had while staying at home and it's been the perfect multiplayer game for myself, my friends and my wife since life went to hell back in March 2020.

I wanted to preface my post with that to dispel any misconception that typically comes with people disliking a character, like "you've never played the game" or "you just don't like the game".

I hate Steve. There's probably a post here from 2019 or so that outlines how he and Sora are my top 2 most dreaded characters for this or any Smash game, and the position for number 1 honestly varied depending on my mood, and my distaste for Steve didn't even come from any of the absurd amounts of trolling surrounding him back before Banjo's reveal. I honestly think "Grotesque Steve" is some of the best ****posting to have been born from Smash in years, topped only by the Ridleyposting in Brawl/Pre-Smash 4 days. For as many times as the subject matter truly lived up to its name and was overly grotesque, there were more that I found myself heartily laughing at.

No, my distaste for Steve comes purely from the fact that Minecraft is poorly represented by this guy. Playing singleplayer, you never see him and playing multiplayer, you're far more likely to see custom skins. Are those people Steve? I don't think so. Generally, I hate the idea of avatar characters in Smash. Robin and Corrin are at least their own characters even though you can pick certain aspects of their appearance, but Steve is just as bad as the Miis... Somehow worse, even. And I mean, look at him. It's been a full year and I still feel like I'm looking at poorly photoshopped images trying to fool someone into believing he's in the game, even while I'm actively playing it. They didn't even have the decency to make him fit in on the banner, he's just there looking like absolute **** among the rest of these lovingly drawn and stylized gaming icons. An eyesore.

Then we have his gameplay, which is probably trashier than I could have ever predicted even if I had given him the time of day as a possibility in Smash. All jank, zero substance. No one likes to play against him, few people seem to enjoy playing as him, and he feels very poorly balanced, the minecart especially. And tragically it's the era of "bone crack" Steve and not "gruh" Steve, so I can't even get the enjoyment of hearing the old damage sound effects when he gets hit or dies.

Every time I hear that ****ing bone crack noise when he falls from some great height, I just wish he would die right there on the spot or at least add on some percent. It would be true to the game! Everyone rushes to the defense of Robin's books evaporating because "iTs TrUe To ThE gAmE!" but Steve being punished for going too high would be a bridge too far?

Minecraft would have been better represented as just a stage, and maybe with a Creeper assist trophy, which I would say is the single character that is truly emblematic of Minecraft. Everyone knows the Creeper, they know what it does, what it sounds like, the damn thing's face is in the Minecraft logo and I think that would quite literally make it the face of Minecraft. The fact that Steve was shoehorned in just feels like needless "look what we got" instead of a choice based on how fun or iconic the character could be. In fact, when I speak to more casual Smash fans, they tend to agree with and even share these sentiments vs the more hardcore players or speculators like I assume the majority of users here are, who go out of their way to defend Steve around every corner. I dunno, man...

All of this said, I do have nice things to say about Steve. I like how he pulls out a bed when he gets put to sleep and how you can get Sand, Wool, and Ice blocks instead of dirt depending on the stage you're playing on, it's a very nice touch... Even if Sand shouldn't work like that. I'm a big fan of the Enderman skin, he's far and away the best one. It's a shame there was no Herobrine skin, they really missed out. Even while making it super obvious that Nintendo twisted his arm all the way behind his back and that it was more work than it could ever be worth, Sakurai and team did find a way to put just as much detail and love into this 72-tris mistake as they did the entire rest of the cast.

I'll still smack the goofy out of anyone who thought Steve as a Mii Fighter would've ever worked when Miis have, yknow, joints.

You know they added Creeper and Pig as a mii fighter in all of their blocky "glory" right? Like, did everyone forget about those hideous things?

 

[Rie Sonomura]

Also have any leaks or hints surfaced or are we still on the (most likely intentionally fabricated) Sora “leak” and the mystery leak mentioned by the MC thread that nobody else still knows a freakin thing about?

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

Yep very true but when you really get down to it, it does make sense why Kazuya was chosen, he was the original Tekken protagonist debuting in the first game.

Except Sakurai has never mentionned his protagonistic role in Tekken 1 and explicitly stated that he was chosen over Heihachi due to the Devil Gene abilities.

But I don't know why I even bother correcting you; every time someone spits out facts towards your direction, you just ignore it and go on your merry way.

 

[GilTheGreat19]

Oh look
It’s past 10
It’s now been a year

 

[Sucumbio]

So has Sakurai or anyone ever explained why they had to rework all the stages to make Steve work? I know he said it had something to do with blocks but I haven't found anything yet examining what it was about blocks that broke the stages. And in what way the stages were reworked...

 

[Dukefire]

Well, these last 4 days are getting tense. Which is making people focus on the last invite speculation and leaks a little too much.

 

[osby]

So has Sakurai or anyone ever explained why they had to rework all the stages to make Steve work? I know he said it had something to do with blocks but I haven't found anything yet examining what it was about blocks that broke the stages. And in what way the stages were reworked...

You can't place blocks everywhere. Basically, all stages have a grid programmed on them that determines whether or not Steve can place a block where he's on a certain spot and how quickly that block will break. They didn't change on the surface but now they all can properly interact with the block placements to prevent stuff like building walls at the blast zones or inside hard platforms.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and also they needed every single platform and wall to be mineable.

 

[The Stoopid Unikorn]

So has Sakurai or anyone ever explained why they had to rework all the stages to make Steve work? I know he said it had something to do with blocks but I haven't found anything yet examining what it was about blocks that broke the stages. And in what way the stages were reworked...

He hasn't, but I think we don't need his word to figure out that it's to code in what materials spawn at which frequency based on what surface Steve is standing on and the limits of how far he can place his blocks.

EDIT: Looks like osby and I are on the same wavelength