The most powerful character in Smash Bros is Steve from Minecraft. The tournament organizers are now taking action and banning the “hero” directly.
Super Smash Bros. is arguably one of the most well-known fighting game franchises and has been captivating players for generations. Here, absurd combinations of opponents clash – as Link from the Zelda universe fights various Pokémon or Ganondorf gives Bowser a good hit on the shell. However, there are also some unusual characters found in “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”, such as the Minecraft character “Steve”.
However, it has now turned out that he is so overpowering that he is banned from tournaments.
Hitstun Canceling becomes Steve’s downfall
Why is Steve so overpowered? The blocky Steve from the Minecraft universe has been controversially discussed since his introduction. In the eyes of many, he has long been considered “overpowered” because he can unleash absurdly long combos from which there is practically no escape. Once hit, most players have no choice but to endure the misery that unfolds.
A second point is that Steve hardly has any true “counters”. Therefore, there are only a few other characters that inherently took a solid position against him.
However, the worst part is that Steve is capable of performing what is known as “hitstun canceling”. He can escape from many stuns much earlier than other characters – and thus can retaliate before the original attacker even had a chance to react. Even supposed lethal blows can be easily survived by Steve, allowing him to unleash his own combos.
What has been decided now? More and more tournament organizers have decided to exclude Steve from tournaments. He is therefore no longer allowed to be chosen in such events, and players must switch to other characters.
Is this even “official”? No, at least not in the stricter sense. Because the entire tournament scene around Super Smash Bros. has nothing to do with Nintendo and is organized by other organizers. Therefore, the tournament organizers are faced with a dilemma and must agree on one of two scenarios:
- Steve is banned from all tournaments and may no longer be used because he is too overpowered.
- Steve may continue to be used, but this “overpowered” trick of canceling the animation must not be used.
Particularly the second scenario would mean a very large additional effort, as each game in online tournaments would have to be checked individually to ensure that the corresponding trick was not used.
Why is Nintendo not doing anything about it? The reason why nothing is being done from Nintendo’s side against the overpowered Steve is quite simple: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is no longer being supplied with updates and patches.
The game is therefore “finished”, and all remaining balance issues within the game will likely remain forever.
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