The rabid, vocal fans of the Smash Bros series have strong opinions on which licensed characters should be appearing there next. Prior to this morning’s reveal, I heard Dante from Devil May Cry thrown around as a desire. Crash Bandicoot was discussed as an inevitability. But I heard no one say Minecraft, because the very notion was absurd. Though that game has some light battle elements, getting those boxy, blocky characters to function in a fighter sounds like a real chore.
And it sounds like Sakurai shared those sentiments. “When thinking about new fighters for this game, we don’t just pick my favorites or draw from a hat. More often than not, these discussions start by Nintendo approaching me with an idea. Of course, if I can’t do that idea justice, I’ll tell them no.” He implied what he was showing the world wasn’t his first choice. “Even I didn’t think this day would come.”
And yet here it is, Minecraft in Smash.
The only part of this not surprising is the suggestion that Nintendo actively pursued this tie-in as a company. Thanks to the Banjo agreement, Microsoft was already on the phone list, and Minecraft has sold well on Nintendo platforms. Why not nurture that relationship? Makes business sense, though we’re not sure it makes any other kind of sense.
The Minecraft fighter will be four fighters in one — you’ll use skin swaps to choose between Steve, Alex, Zombie or Enderman. All have the ability to harvest their own weapons from the ground, meaning all the stages in the game have to be reprogrammed to allow for such a thing (another reason this wasn’t Sakurai’s choice). There will also be a Minecraft-themed stage that shifts between areas.
More details about Minecraft in Smash will be revealed in two days — Mojang is holding a “Minecraft Live” event on the morning of October 3 and Sakurai promises more information there.
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