You don’t have to be a diehard Smash Bros. fan to know the latest news in the FGC; Minecraft Steve & Alex are joining the Smash Brothers roster on October 13 as the second DLC Fighter in fighter pass #2. Steve & Alex were revealed on October 1, with a move-set analysis following shortly after on October 3.  Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai hosted and filmed both events live from his home in Tokyo, Japan.

Steve for Smash Bros. has been a widely speculated concept for years, dating back to a 2019 fan-made YouTube video made by a user named paperkitty, explaining Steve’s possible move set if he was to be added to Smash. Several of paperkitties predictions proved to be a reality on October 3. Moves like Steve’s grab and down-smash were near identical to the real versions in Nintendo’s reveal. Despite this, the community was still taken by surprise when faced with Steve for Smash. The community had largely believed the new fighter would be Crash from Crash Bandicoot. “I don’t think that I’m alone in saying that this came out of nowhere,” says student Xander Catuogno (7). “The rumors were there, but I didn’t think it would really happen.”

Naturally, TwitchTV live streamers, YouTubers, and professional PGR ranked Smash players. They filmed and live-streamed their reactions to the reveal on October 1. Successful Smash Bros. streamers and players such as Hungrybox, the #1 globally ranked Smash Bros. Melee player, and ESAM, the highest-ranked Pikachu player in Smash Ultimate, expressed great excitement for Steve’s reveal. ESAM, Hungrybox, and other big names also state that Steve will be a “busted” and “broken” character in Smash, likely a high-tier fighter. Smash creator Gimr’s Lab has released videos describing and analyzing Steve’s frame data, meaning how fast his moves are and how long they last, measured in frames.  He even describes his theory of a consistent zero-to-death combo that Steve could do against any fighter.

But not only will Steve be an optimal and viable character. Minecraft is the single best selling video game in the entire world, selling hundreds of millions of copies worldwide. Such a legendary title in the gaming community being coupled with the Smash Bros. franchise brings a tremendous surge in representation for both games. For example, Smash streamers and creators were urged to play Minecraft by their communities in celebration of Steve & Alex’s reveal. “Not only is he broken, but he also has a great brand reputation that will go into sales of the character,” says student Simon Gross (7). “Minecraft is the most popular game of all time”.

It’s evident that Steve will forever change Smash Bros., not only as an insane, unexpected crossover but also as an in-game fighter. Steve adds several fighting mechanics that have rarely or never before been seen, like his block placing and weapon crafting mechanics. His jab attack also has similar mechanics to only one other fighter: Mega Man. This character will obviously require lots of labbing, meaning the extensive practice and observation of combos, recovery, and mixups. The community has instantly fallen in love with Steve as a part of the Smash roster, large portions of the community expressing overwhelming positivity. On top of this many also inquire about how interesting and different the character is from the rest of the roster. “I just think he’s really neat,” says student Ryan Flagg (8). Ryan’s positivity about Steve is shared by student Charlie Crain (8), who thinks “He seems really nice,” as an addition to the Smash roster. Student Avery Harwood (8) even goes as far as to say “Steve might be my new main.”