Super Smash Bros. is one of the most universally enjoyed franchises. With its diverse cast of characters and casual fun, it’s a favorite for game nights and LAN parties. What most players may not know is that the franchise has a storied history of competitive play, with tournaments big and small happening all around the world.
The platform fighter, though originally intended for casual play, has been adopted by the competitive community. This tradition continues in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, the game’s competitive scene has recently been undergoing some controversy regarding one of the franchise’s newest characters, Steve from Minecraft, who has been performing exceedingly well in tournaments.
Players’ issue with Steve, which has resulted in a movement to ban the character from competitive play, didn’t start as soon as he came out. When Steve was released, he wasn’t widely considered the best character in the game as he is now. The movement to ban Steve only picked up after a 15-year-old Japanese Steve player, Acola, came to his first North American tournament ever and won first place over much more established players.
Acola is also the lowest seed player to ever win an Ultimate supermajor tournament. He currently has a winning record on every player he has ever fought in the bracket. Acola’s meteoric rise has many players disgruntled, as they believe that the 15-year-old, and all other Steve mains, are only winning because of their overpowered character. However, other members of the community find it disrespectful that people are minimizing the teenager’s feats by saying his character should be banned.
Still, many top players have expressed distaste for Steve, even saying that the character is killing their motivation to play the game. Though some believe that players just need to learn the matchup, in a game with 89 playable characters, that can be a tall order. The problem with Steve is that he’s unique and requires a wholly new play style to compete with him. It doesn’t help that the character is both very good and extremely frustrating to play against.
Steve has it all: excellent zoning tools, combos on par with the best, good range and great kill power. On top of all that, his unique block placing mechanic can alter the physical stage, meaning that opposing players have to approach the Steve matchup differently than all the rest. Steve can mine while hiding behind his blocks, essentially never having to approach or participate in the neutral game. Camping is always frustrating to deal with, and Steve’s brand of camping is even more difficult to overcome. He also has high rewards for very little risk and a top-tier recovery, essentially showing no weaknesses in his kit.
Many characters find it hard to survive Minecraft Steve and his currently low counter play, and his style of gameplay can be boring to watch for most players. If Steve players begin to dominate tournaments, it could be bad for Ultimate‘s stream viewership. A similar phenomenon has occurred in Smash games before, with Smash Bros. Melee actually banning an ice climbers technique called wobbling, as it was frustrating to play against and boring to watch.
Another similar situation happened near the end of Smash Bros. 4 when Bayonetta was plaguing tournaments. She was so frustrating for players to deal with that stream viewership would go down when she appeared, and people even started quitting the game. Bayonetta was never banned — Ultimate came out soon after she became ubiquitous in tournaments, but with no sequel for Ultimate revealed yet, players will undoubtedly have to deal with Steve for a long time.
Steve’s quick rise to the top of tournaments only recently happened, so it is still up in the air what the community will decide to do with him. It’s possible that in a few months players will have figured out effective counter play and Steve will fall out of the #1 spot, but it’s also possible that his gameplay will only become more oppressive, making talks of a ban more serious.