Steve In Smash

About

Steve In Smash refers to the news that Steve from the video game Minecraft will be a purchasable DLC character for the video game Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. This resulted in mixed reactions from fans, as some had been calling for his inclusion in the game for a while, while others were less excited about the news.

Origin

On October 1st, 2020, the lead developer for Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai, announced during a livestream that Steve from Minecraft, as well as Alex, a zombie and an Enderman, were coming to the game as paid DLC fighters (shown below).

Spread

The news was met with mixed responses from Smash fans. Some were thrilled that Steve from Minecraft had finally gotten included, particularly after years of the idea of his inclusion being a minor meme among the Smash community. A clip of streamer Shokio saying people excited for the inclusion were "mentally ill" was criticized on Twitter, as people noted that the inclusion was likely exciting to kids and players who wanted to see Minecraft in Smash (shown below).

Others made memes about Steve's ultimate inclusion in the game after years of calls for it. Twitter user @RaptorLordJr^[1] joked that Freddy from Five Nights at Freddy's would be the next added character considering other surprising Smash inclusions (shown below, left). Fan art posted by @kicdon_smash^[2] showing Pac-man and Steve in a Minecraft house gained over 650 retweets and 2,400 likes (shown below, right).

YouTuber Largetrap posted a parody of the Steve reveal trailer, showing Steve with a gun, gaining over 14,000 views (shown below).

Competitive Smash Controversy

Throughout 2021, the competitive Smash Ultimate community regarded Steve with increasing concern, as some felt that, when played at a high level, Steve could be potentially game-breaking, a la Bayonetta in Smash 4 and Meta Knight in Brawl. This is due to the simplicity of Steve's combos to execute and high high damage output. The feeling was exacerbated on December 13th, 2021, when Tweek, generally considered one of the top three players in the world, was upset by a Steve player named DDog at a local tournament (shown below).

On December 14th, LaffySmash, an esports organization in Lafayette, Louisiana, announced that they would ban Steve from their tournaments for two weeks.^[4] In a video interview with competitive Smash player LarryLur, a representative from the Lafayette region stated that they knew there were no top Steve players in their region, and that the ban was more to "get a conversation going" about whether the character should be banned on a broader scale.

Their ploy ultimately worked, as for several days, the competitive Smash community argued about the merits of banning Steve from the game. Those in the pro-ban camp argued that Steve's simplicity helped less-skilled players win games they shouldn't, saying Steve "carried" the player (example from @speedybluedude^[5] shown below, left). Those in the anti-ban argued that Steve was nowhere near as "game-breaking" as Smash 4 Bayonetta and Brawl Meta Knight, as the character had representation among top players and a Steve player had yet to achieve a respectable placement at a major tournament (example by @ddee_ssbu^[6] shown below, right).

Bans Of Steve

On February 25th, 2023, Twitter user @connorcarried and other Steve players posted videos explaining a new tech called "Phantom MLG," which allows Steve to cancel hit stun from most attacks and act immediately after getting hit, potentially leading to a kill move or a combo that leads to a kill. This proved to be the final straw for many top players and tournament organizers, and several organizations announced that Steve would be banned from their events moving forward.

Related Memes

Steveposting

Grotesque Steve, Steveposting or Creepy Steve refers to an eerie 3D model of the character Steve from the video game Minecraft. The image originated on the /v/ board on 4chan as a way to advocate the character's inclusion as a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, with Steve often featured injuring playable Smash Bros. characters.^[3]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References