Summary
Super Smash Bros. Ultimatereceived its last update in 2021, but its competitive scene is still highly active. This isn’t uncommon in fighting game communities.Super Smash Bros. Melee, released in 2001, is still active, as are the scenes for many other older games. Because Nintendo has moved on from the title, it is now up to players to run their events and foster a community around it. This includes maintaining game balance. Over time, players will uncover new techniques for characters, and with no developer to patch and balance the game, it’s up to the players to decide what is fair. For much of this year, theSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatecommunity has been debating how to handle Steve, theMinecraftDLC character.
Detractors ofMinecraft’s Steveclaim he is problematic for numerous reasons and potentially even game-breaking. Most of the time, fighting games reward players for engaging with the opponent. Steve is controversial, partially because his mining ability encourages avoidance. He is actively rewarded for not fighting and has mechanics that make it easy for him to do so. Steve can buff himself and use his vast array of powerful moves to win in ways that feel unfair to many. These abilities alone make the character one of the game’s most formidable fighters, but the PMLG glitch makes him potentially game-breaking.
Common Complaints About Steve
Steve Could Break Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Near the start of 2023, a technique, often called PMLG, was discovered. With this technique,Steve can cancel hit-stun inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Doing this allows the player to begin attacking almost immediately as if they were punishing a whiffed attack, even though the opponent successfully connected.
The ability to cancel hit-stun gives Steve an unparalleled advantage, and its inclusion in the game is assumed to be unintentional. The discovery of this technique led to the banning of the character in multiple tournaments. Some tournament organizers tried to ban just the use of PMLG, but this is hard to enforce unless a referee watches or records every match.
Many in theSmash Bros.communityhave celebrated the decision to ban Steve. Even before the discovery of the PMLG technique, many considered the character grossly overpowered, and now there is a more concrete reason to restrict his use. Those who defend the ban say that disallowing the character protects the game’s integrity and allows competitors to play on an even footing.
This follows the logic that the developers did not intend for Steve to be this powerful and have the ability to cancel hit-stun. With this view, removing the character allows competitors to enjoy the game as intended by its creators. While the decision to ban Steve has received plenty of support, many advocates are taking the opposite stance.
The Case to Keep Steve Legal in Competitive Smash
Another vocal segment of the community feels that theSuper Smash Bros. UltimateSteve banis unnecessary and compromises the spirit of competition. Rather than prohibiting Steve, they believe players should find a way to beat the character or embrace that he is broken and exploit it themselves.
Game-breaking characters are a part of the fighting game genre’s history, so many believe that any combatant should be allowed unless they make matches literally unplayable. For players with this mindset, since anyone can select Steve and learn to use his potentially overpowered abilities, he is fair to choose, and those who aren’t playing as him are voluntarily electing to be at a disadvantage.
Banning Steve Isn’t a Universal Decision
The grassroots nature of the fighting game community is one of the things that makes it unique. Whether or not one believes that Steve is among themost broken characters in the fighting game genre, they will be able to find people to play against and events to attend that agree with their viewpoint.
Some tournaments have banned Steve, but others have declared that he is totally legal to play or have only prohibited specific techniques. The lack of an organizing body or overarching league means that players can find competitive events that follow the rules they are comfortable with, so ultimately both sides can have their way.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
WHERE TO PLAY
Gaming icons clash in the ultimate brawl you may play anytime, anywhere! Smash rivals off the stage as new characters Simon Belmont and King K. Rool join Inkling, Ridley, and every fighter in Super Smash Bros. history. Enjoy enhanced speed and combat at new stages based on the Castlevania series, Super Mario Odyssey, and more!Having trouble choosing a stage? Then select the Stage Morph option to transform one stage into another while battling—a series first! Plus, new echo fighters Dark Samus, Richter Belmont, and Chrom join the battle. Whether you play locally or online, savor the faster combat, new attacks, and new defensive options, like a perfect shield. Jam out to 900 different music compositions and go 1-on-1 with a friend, hold a 4-player free-for-all, kick it up to 8-player battles and more!
