Steve

"Steve Rocks The Block!"

Steve (also written as Steve?) is one of the two default player skins across all versions of Minecraft, having been in the game since the very first prerelease version released in 2009.

He is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
Steve was added to the 0.0.15a (Multiplayer Test 1) release of Minecraft, which was released in May 2009. Despite his masculine appearance and name (which was an in-joke), creator Markus "Notch" Persson never intended for Steve's gender to be fixed. Instead, Notch wanted to "be a game without a gender element", with Steve's model meant to represent a human being without an assigned gender. However, a Minecraft update released in 2014 would add Alex, a more feminine default skin, with her and Steve beginning to be portrayed as female and male respectively in official media, with some sources stating that the two are a couple.

While Steve has been portrayed in-game as clean-shaven starting with the Java Edition Classic 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST of Minecraft in September 2009, many pieces of official media have retained his beard, with Nexed also retaining the bearded look.

Steve has been very well-recieved by Minecraft players and critics alike, with many considering him to be the closest thing the game has to a main protagonist despite his lack of a backstory or defined personality. As such, Steve has gone on to become one of Minecraft's main mascots, appearing in crossovers such as Super Meat Boy and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (with Alex and the Zombie and Enderman mobs also being playable in the latter).

Gameplay Information
"Steve is… odd, to say the least. Hailing from a world made up of blocks, his story has never quite been told the same way twice; Some hold his explorations in high regard, while others praise his knack for construction. No matter what they heard of him, though, Steve leaves an impression on those who meet him, for better or for worse.

Having investigated every nook and cranny of his world, Steve set out to discover a new world. Now that he has joined the Nexus Tournament, though, he’s found plenty of universes to explore to his heart’s content!"

Steve is a character who can be adapted to multiple playstyles; Despite his average statistics, he has the ability to create tools to respond to nearly any situation and upgrade his base moveset to become even stronger. This, combined with his above average weight, makes him a versatitle character with durability and power which can be respected.

However, Steve does have his limits. His playstyle revolves around gaining resources from attacking opponents, with many of his specials consuming resources in order to function. This makes him a rather gimmicky character not suitable for beginners. Despite this, when properly mastered, he can be a very powerful character.

Moveset

 * Crawling: Steve can crawl.
 * Inventory: Steve's HUD features an inventory of his gathered resources, with three slots resembling a Minecraft hotbar.
 * The first slot displays Steve’s current weapon set (indicated by a sword).
 * The next slot displays Steve’s resources, represented by a Chest and a number.
 * The final slot displays any item Steve may have obtained through his Down Special. He can only have one item at a time.
 * Crafting: By using his Guard Special, Steve can craft four different sets of tools, each increasing in power. He starts each stock with wooden tools, but can upgrade to Stone, Iron, and Diamond with the proper resources.
 * Resources: By attacking opponents or using his itemless Down Special, Steve can acquire resources which he can use for his Neutral, Side, and Guard Specials. Steve can have twenty-four resources at a time, and starts each stock with zero.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Steve throws an empty-handed punch.
 * Dash Attack: Steve jumps into a minecart and rides it forwards for a brief moment. Unlike most dash attacks, this can go off-stage.
 * Forward Light: Steve swings his sword forwards.
 * Up Light: Steve swings his axe diagonally above himself.
 * Down Light: Steve swings his pickaxe toward the ground.
 * Forward Strong: Steve tosses a trident forwards in a short arc. Steve can move after the trident is thrown, with the trident returning to Steve automatically.
 * Up Strong: Steve launches a firework upwards a short distance, which explodes once it reaches its peak. Steve can move after the firework is deployed.
 * Down Strong: Steve uses a Lava Bucket to briefly pour lava on both sides of himself.
 * Counter: Steve performs the sweeping attack found in the Java version of Minecraft with his sword.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Steve throws an empty-handed punch.
 * Forward Air: Steve swings his sword forwards.
 * Back Air: Steve swings his pickaxe behind himself.
 * Up Air: Steve swings his axe diagonally above himself.
 * Down Air: Steve swings his shovel beneath him.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Steve casts a fishing rod forwards, being able to grab opponents from afar. However, this is not a tether grab.
 * Pummel: Steve hits the opponent’s head with his pickaxe.
 * Forward Throw: Steve pushes the opponent forwards with a piston.
 * Back Throw: Steve pushes the opponent backwards with a piston.
 * Up Throw: Steve launches the opponent upwards with a piston.
 * Down Throw: Steve uses flint and steel to light a fire beneath the opponent, rapidly damaging them before launching them.

Stage Intro
Steve suddenly appears on the stage as the words “Steve has joined the game” appear in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Taunts

 * Steve jumps up and down while swinging his fist.
 * Steve eats a random piece of food.
 * Steve pulls out a map and inspects it before putting it away.
 * Steve crouches repeatedly while facing the camera.

Victory Animations
Steve's victory theme is a remixed excerpt of Minecraft from Minecraft.
 * Steve quickly builds a house and then stands in front of it.
 * Steve walks up to a pyramid of emerald blocks and places a beacon onto it, looking up as it illuminates.
 * Steve is seen on screen jumping up and down before he crouches down to greet a wolf which walks into view.

Colors / Costumes
 Unlike most characters, Steve's default costume has a number of model swaps within it as opposed to them being seperate costumes. Every odd numbered costume is a skin for Steve, while every even numbered costume is a skin for Alex, with both being referred to by name. Please refer to the Minecraft Wiki for references.  Unlike most costume packs, the Mob Pack gives Steve a wide variety of appearances based on several Minecraft mobs, with the addition of the fictional Herobrine. Each mob brings a variety of changes, some being exclusive to certain mobs.
 * All mobs are refered to by name by the announcer.
 * All mobs make their respective sounds (with the exception of Herobrine).
 * Some mobs will only eat certain foods with their eating taunt.
 * Zombie, Drowned, Husk, Zombified Piglin, and Zombie Villager will only eat raw meat.
 * Piglin, Villager, and Herobrine will only eat cooked food.
 * Enderman will only eat Chorus Fruit, a food not found with any other costume.
 * All mobs share a victory theme, being a warped version of Steve's regular victory theme.

Trivia

 * Steve was originally going to retain his limited durability system from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but this was cut in order to make him more accessible.
 * The Iron Armor and Eye of Ender were originally going to be Level 2 and Level 3 items respectively, but were swapped.

Gameplay-Related

 * Steve flashes red upon taking a hit.
 * Steve’s tumbling animation has him appear to “run” in the air, resembling the damage animation from Minecraft.
 * Steve is seen using a shield to guard.
 * Upon being KO’d, some of Steve’s items will fall out of him and linger for a few seconds before disappearing. However, this is purely cosmetic.
 * In 1v1 matches, special death messages appear in the bottom left corner whenever Steve is KO’d. For example, if Steve dies to Mario’s fireball, the death message will read “Steve was burnt to a crisp while fighting Mario”.

Credits

 * Muno: Creator of a Rivals of Aether mod which inspired Steve's item mechanic.