Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's next addition, Steve from Minecraft, already appears to be one of the most intriguing and different characters in the game so far. Indeed, the work needed to implement the character into the game sounds like quite the challenge as a result of his potential moveset and universe.
Speaking shortly after today's fighter reveal, series director Masahiro Sakurai spoke briefly about the character's development process. He describes the programming involved as "a massive challenge", revealing that every pre-existing stage in the game has had to reworked for his inclusion.
"The plan for the fighter is easy to create. The graphics should also be straightforward. The motion is relatively simple, and the sound is comparable to other fighters. There are plenty of things to consider, but we don't need to implement any voices.
What's difficult, however, is the programming work required to bring the character to life. It's a massive challenge. Plus, we have to rework all our existing stages so that blocks can be placed in them. What about biomes? We also need to consider things like those. And most importantly, how do we adjust the game balance to accommodate the new fighter? Who knows what'll happen?
Making everything work well together in the game including the fighter's physical attacks and their short reach, will be extremely hard."
He also spoke about the decision to include Steve in the game and, in particular, Nintendo's input, albeit in his usual lighthearted tone.
"...Someone from Nintendo will come to my workplace and say... 'Mr. Sakurai... Surely you can put Minecraft in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?' while peering at me over their glasses. They make it sound easy. I guess they think this all happens by magic or something. Don't they know what kind of game Minecraft is? The wizardry required to make it work in this game... It's impossible!
So, I laid it out straight for them. I said, 'Yes, I can do it.'"
Whether it really happened like that will forever remain a mystery, but it's easy to imagine Sakurai taking on an impossible-seeming task.
Are you happy with the new character choice? Do you think Steve will be an interesting fit? Tell us below.
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[source youtube.com]
Comments 62
God bless this man
This man deserves a parade and a vacation.
This is why Sakurai is a legend, and noone will ever be able to pick up his mantle when he retires.
And he didn't even seem that enthused about this particular character, imagine what he might do with one he loves!
I may be coming from a place of bias since I grew up when Minecraft was starting to get extremely popular and played it a lot with friends during like third or fourth grade, but this inclusion is monumental and really speaks to just how much of an ode to gaming as a medium Smash has truly become. I doubt any fighting game in history, crossover or otherwise will ever top how amazing the picks in this roster were. It's like a MUGEN that you can actually play officially at this point.
Sakurai has worked his ass off just to bring all these characters who seem so out of place when paired next to each other together in a single game with their best traits and characterisitics intact, and the amazing thing is, he actually makes it work. Steve looks SO GOOD.
Sakurai you mad man, anyone else would have just canned the character but you said "Bring it on". XD
He’s not my cup of tea, but I can understand the reasoning behind his inclusion. I got Banjo so I have no reason to complain.
Is he actually getting tired of Nintendo calling the shots?
It sure felt like it for me when I was watching the stream.
@Friendly Considering Nintendo actually suggested Joker and Steve I'm all for it at this point. They're doing god's work with this roster
Sakurai seems kinda miffed about Steve, but he did an amazing job. Hopefully I'll find him fun enough to main
This man deserves a rest.
@clvr I don't have to. When he revealed Terry Bogard, you can clearly noticed how much fun he had with it, because he is a KOF fan since his childhood
Minecraft literally became popular again in 2019, especially as a request for Smash. Why are people acting like no one asked for this?
Hes worked so hard that if they made a new kirby game I'd want him to take a step back and just be with his family and friends. At the same time this is his passion and smash and kirby are obviously hugely important to him but still.
Anyone else would just add the character to the roster and be done with it. Sakurai wanted to fold Minecraft into the whole game.
@TheFrenchiestFry totally only a few big names left that would make sense lol. I'd say crash/spyro, geno, and phoenix wright would be cool.
This isn't a character I was asking for but I am excited nonetheless. I know there were a lot of people asking for this so I'm glad that they get to have that same joy I had when Banjo & Kazooie were added. I've been enjoying Minecraft content again over this past year after a long break from it, so it's great to see even more love for this game. Now obviously the next step will be watching the members of the Hermitcraft server play some Smash Bros once Steve is released.
My nephew grew up with Minecraft. He's over the moon. I never played the game myself, but Smash has something for everyone and it shouldn't be everything for 1 type of person. The more the merrier!
This man this some how still looks young man is the legend the hero that brought together mario link kirby samus all in one place, now he is allowing isabell to fight hero hero to fight link joker vs bayonetta and now banjo vs steve steve vs mr. video game himself My prayers are going to you Sakurai.
Meh. Work that could have gone into something else as far as I'm concerned! I couldn't care less about Steve or anything Minecraft related in Smash and I don't like how a roster spot went to this character.
But it's whatever, I'll still have my own favourites who are already in, and Steve being in doesn't change that. Just a shame that they put this much work into making this character work when it could have gone into other things that non-Minecraft folks would have enjoyed too.
@Yosher sure you dont cae for the character, but be happy for the thousands of fans who finally got their dream character in the game! thats what i think it isnt a wasted spot, imo. besides you dont have to buy him if you dont want to!
@Shiro28 ah yes, he clearly was very passionate about him!
It's one of the DLC characters I have the least interest in (I've never played KOF/FF, I'm not a fighing game buff, I think fighting game characters are boring), but I'n really glad he got to make a character he loves. That's just cool and incredibly well-deserved.
A great set of quotes. Shows a snippet of the consideration of what rally goes into game development (or the development of any large scale software). There’s no such thing as a “lazy” developer.
@Yosher um do you hear yourself? I get the disappointment but most people are so excited about this character at least as excited as with banjo. I mean saying that they should have not wasted their resources on it is a bit dull. This will get a ton of kids eith switches that only play minecraft to buy the game and minecraft is a fantastic game worthy of the spot. I'm not a huge dragon quest 11 guy but I'm happy hes in because I recognize a good game. The fortnite guy isnt it in because just because its popular hes from a kinda sucky game. Steve is from a fantastic game that still is great today.
@Donnerkebab IMO chrom and Lucina shouldn't exist everyone else is alright though. Their movesets are copies of others so just why put then in wii u at all? But for everyone is here it makes sense to bring then back. Up till then they did it like pokemon in smash (fan favorites and to promote new games) and they all had very different movesets that set them apart. Then they threw that out the window and put 3 reps from on fe game. WHY?! I get its popular but teo are clones and Robin would be a great rep by himself. I think if they had just included Robin this wouldn't be an issue. Byleth really should get it but since they did this everyone doesn't view it like pokemon but as they are all the same and that sucks. Byleth is fairly unique but since they have two clones it's like oh more... fire emblem three houses needed a rep and it got it so that is good but not much else there. Would have liked if they made the sword of the creator more of a whip and the other weapons just weapons not bone weapons lol. It would be like Simon and robin combined. Although I like how she or he turned out.
I'm not big into Minecraft, but I do like this addition a lot.
Absolutely insane and amazing
@Ghostchip Not saying the character himself is a waste of time, just the way they had to reward every stage to work for this character. As it was a 'massive challenge', they could have put the time it took them to implement this into making something else worth while.
Kids will love this. Played very little of Minecraft recently and I couldn't understand the deal at all but its what's "in" now. I'm very indifferent. Sakurai and the developers do not half ass it.
@bluemujika completely unrelated, but is that Ivo Robotnick in your profile pic? Damn, respect
This feels like a breath of fresh air after the months of milktoast reveals. Especially since the first Fighter's Pass was pretty boring (I feel like Banjo was exciting only to those old enough to remember those two games, because otherwise he's pretty obscure).
@GilbertXI Close but no cigar, Mammoth Mogul
Or then maybe it was, I did use Dr Eggman briefly, perhaps it is still that one showing?
@bluemujika Ah yes that was the person. I loved the comics when I was younger, but for the life of me I forgot the dude's name. Google was no help, so I said someone in the hope of getting it right. There is a surprising amount of elephant characters.
"I guess they think this all happens by magic or something." Is Sakurai telling us he is NOT a wizard?
Also I guess that's what he meant when he said he didn't know what would happen to Smash after Ultimate. There is no after, this game will be getting DLCs until the end of time
@ArmenianJedi13 something being older doesn't mean its obscure. Banjo was a big deal in the 64 era. Its knowledable to anyone interested in gaming past whether they lived through it or not. Something being niche or obscure would apply to something that has always consisted of a smaller audience since conception. Underground fame only.
@Yosher no offense to sakurai but I'm pretty sure it didn't take an insane amount of work. I mean the man deserves a break but this did not take away from anything else in the fighter pack over at nintendo. Also this was all done ahead of time so it was more of Sakurai wanting to do the extra work. (He wanted to get him in for nintendo like they asked)
We do not deserve Sakurai. Gamers are cretinous, ungrateful malcontents when they don't get exactly what they want. And yet, Sakurai is here all the same, giving us his life and wellbeing. Bless him.
@PikaPhantom I dunno. His "miffedness" mostly came out across as "pince sans rire"("pinch without laughing", the closest in english might be "deadpan humor") where he might actually have looked forward for a challenge like this.
Like there's details about the way he thinks of stuff that make me suspect he himself might personally enjoy Minecraft enough to relish that project, if not outright play the game himself as he mention he might happen to do on the 3rd when doing the more in depth presentation of the character.
Not interested in Minecraft whatsoever and I don't intend on using the character, but I respect this man's worth ethic.
Mr. Sakurai- It's impossible.
Also Mr. Sakurai- yes, I can do it.
Sakurai thought it was impossible to implement a Minecraft character in Smash, and found it a miracle that we're actually getting Steve as a fighter.
From what I saw, this fighter seems to work really uniquely compared to the rest of the roster. Congratulations to the team for such an accomplishment
Not a Minecraft fan but I recognize the love and detail put into this game i really hope they can use this game as base for future installments
Game developers:
Sakurai: "This was haaard wooork. Pity meeee!"
Fans: "Sakurai is such a legend!"
"...Someone from Nintendo will come to my workplace and say... 'Mr. Sakurai... Surely you can put Minecraft in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?' while peering at me over their glasses. They make it sound easy. I guess they think this all happens by magic or something. Don't they know what kind of game Minecraft is? The wizardry required to make it work in this game... It's impossible!
So, I laid it out straight for them. I said, 'Yes, I can do it.'"
Yeah, that didn't happen.
I haven’t played a button press of Minecraft but I’m actually going to buy the this character. It will be my second purchase of the character packs (first was Banjo.)
I feel like I have to support the effort that must have went in, and will go in, to get this all working.
I wasn’t too enthused when the reveal was made and it’s just because I’ve never played the game, as I noted. But he looks different enough to be massive fun so I’m totally down. Who knows, maybe I’ll start playing my Minecraft now too (always been a Terraria fan.)
Clearly gonna be monster hunter next or disgaea since its becoming switch exclusive
@ChromaticDracula I'm glad to see other fans being supportive, too. A lot of hard work went into making these characters so instead of complaining, I wish people would either just appreciate or support it instead.
What about custom stages?
Not a huge fan of Minecraft but not from lack of trying. I’ve bought the game twice and gotten DLC for it but still can’t get into it. I’m incredibly excited about Steve’s inclusion though! Excellent choice and much better than another FE or Pokemon character. As a software engineer it kinda irks me that everyone is like “Bless this man” etc.. yes Sakurai is awesome BUT he has a team of developers that deserve just as much credit. Now...where is my Monster Hunter fighter?!!
If he wants to do it, mans gonna do it. Jesus, anime and the minecraft community gave sakurai the determination to put steve in instead of geno or crash or paper mario
the way he described it was amazing
"its impossible to do! and i said yes i can do it"
I had an unusual feeling of schadenfreude as I glanced at extremely and over-the-top negative reactions to the reveal. We all have our vices, I admit!
I was never what you’d consider a pro at Minecraft (ah, who am I kiddin’, I’m forever a casual), but I’ve played on and off with others, mainly relatives. I smiled at the reveal, and now I’m truly amazed by how much work is going into this. I commend Sakurai and the whole Smash team!
@bluemujika Same here, Sonic is in so I can`t complain. Also MineCraft does represent how games usually start off as tile or block layouts. He also represents Indie games.
@Yosher yep a waste. My 5yr old and 10yr old both said lame.
@Kainbrightside that be cool!
@Sourcecode yep waayy more people than him.
@NikHogan Aren't you forced to have him if you bought the Fighters Pass?
Me, personally, I don't mind who gets in.
I really love the massive roster.
@Flashvinnig QED
@Alundra-1998 me too. but considering the fighters pass itself is optional, it doesnt really matter. im so hyped, tho!
@TheFrenchiestFry "I grew up when Minecraft was starting to get extremely popular and played it a lot with friends during like third or fourth grade"
I still think of Pokemon as "a new thing for kids" Something tells me if you weren't a kid when Minecraft came out, you're never going to particularly think much of it. it seems to be something designed around a kiddom centric brain, and apparently latches in based on fond memories.
@NEStalgia I don't really think of Minecraft as strictly a game for people with childish mindsets. Its open sandbox format has limitless possibilities for creation and game design as well. Its simplistic and relaxed tone, coupled with its very easy to understand objectives also do a good job of appealing to people who don't play video games often, as well as people looking to take advantage of what they can do in the sandbox
I don't see myself as someone who wouldn't understand Minecraft's appeal if I was like over 35 or something. That'd be like if I didn't understand Final Fantasy VII's appeal just because it wasn't my first exposure to RPGs. It's very easy to see why Minecraft would be a no brainer to represent in a game of this scale regardless of your personal sentiment towards the game or even Steve as a character
@TheFrenchiestFry Objectives? The objective is "do stuff" - there's not really an objective that exists without youtube telling you there's an endgame....
But I do think between its visuals and the fact that it's really just a box of legos, it's the kind of thing you have to approach when you're a kid to really attach to.
"Someone from Nintendo will come to my workplace and say... 'Mr. Sakurai... Surely you can put Minecraft in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?' while peering at me over their glasses."
Really sounds like Nintendo were harassing Sakurai; prodding until he gave in.
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