Smash Bros.’ Minecraft fighters can mine levels and level up weapons
Sakurai confirms October 13 release date for Microsoft crossover
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Minecraft fighters, Steve and Alex, will release on Tuesday, October 13.
The Minecraft fighters will be available as part of the game’s Fighters Pass 2 or individually for $5.99 USD / £5.39, Nintendo confirmed on Saturday.
A new Mii Fighter Costume pack will release on the same day featuring Creeper (Brawler), Pig (Brawler), Diamond Armour (Sword Fighter), Gil (Swordfighter), Bomberman (Brawler) and Travis (Sword Fighter).
In a live stream presentation on Saturday (viewable in full via the embed on this page), Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai detailed the unique features of the fighters and confirmed the addition of seven new music tracks based on mini-games and spin-offs from the Minecraft series.
Steve and Alex’s default ability allows them to mine material from around arenas. Pressing B will automatically mine the floor ahead of the character, with materials mined dynamically changing based on the location.
Players can then use collected material at a crafting table to automatically craft the highest level tool they have enough material for. Players can summon the crafting table using the block move.
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The fighters’ neutral attacks have them swinging a sword, axe or pickaxe, which players can level up to five times.
Material is also used to fuel various moves, including an ability to summon and ride a minecart. If players run out of iron material, the move will end. For balance, materials will appear at a predetermined rate on competitive stages, to avoid random elements.
Steve and Alex’s other abilities allow them to summon a magma block, drop an anvil or pull opponents toward them and automatically place them inside a pen.
The characters can also spawn temporary block platforms when in the air, or spawn wings and glide. Steve and Alex’s Final Smash move summons a piston used to knock opponents into the House of Boom.
The DLC’s new arena, Minecraft World, consists of multiple areas with their own biome, which randomly change with each match and feature plenty of blocks for players to destroy.
