Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Adds Minecraft's Steve And Alex To The Bout
Super Smash Bros. initially started out as the ultimate crossover battle royale for Nintendo's many franchises but eventually became a fertile ground for tie-ins with other gaming company's iconic characters. You know what other game has become a similar fertile ground for franchise tie-ins? Yes, Minecraft. It's not exactly surprising, then, that these two worlds will collide, though on Nintendo's turf. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's developers, however, may have bitten more than they could chew when trying to make these blocky characters fit into the fast-paced action of the game.
How difficult would it be to put characters that look like just a next step above stick figures in a 3D fighting game? While the character models themselves are simplistic, the real challenge for the developers who have been working at for the past months is to integrate Minecraft's key features in a game that wasn't designed for crafting. After all, what makes Steve and Alex interesting isn't the way they look (which you barely see anyway) but in what they can make.
The developers had to redesign Super Smash Bros. Ultimate itself to allow for the two's unconventional skills. Those include being able to mine, create blocks, and craft tools and weapons. And, yes, there will be stages taken straight from Minecraft, including its destructible environments.
Beyond the direct gameplay, this Minecraft addition also stays true to the spirit of the game in more ways than one. You can, for example, choose how Alex and Steve look like to some extent, including Zombie and Enderman skins. There's also a selection of music from Minecraft's more action-oriented incarnations like Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons.
These Minecraft elements are available from the Fighters Pass Vol. 2, which retails for $29.99 and also includes ARMS' Min Min and four upcoming Challenger Packs. Alternatively, gamers can also purchase Steve and Alex in a standalone Challenger Pack 7 for $5.99.