Smash Ultimate’s Sakurai tried to make stages within Minecraft to port

Super Smash Bros Ultimate creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed that his team tried to make a stage within Minecraft and then port it to Smash when they were designing Steve’s level.

In a leaked Famitsu column translated by PushDustIn, the Smash Director claimed that he and Nintendo were presented the idea of Minecraft in Smash to Microsoft.

As it turns out, Microsoft was very happy with the concept, which may be a good sign for anyone wanting more of their characters in Smash one day, such as the Xbox mascot Master Chief.

Perhaps the most interesting element, however, is that Sakurai wanted Steve’s stage to be built from the ground up in a completely different game.

“Sakurai and the team tried to make a stage within Minecraft itself to port over to Smash,” PushDustIn translated. Unfortunately, this proved to be a very complex project. As fellow translator Sephazon wrote, the concept would have been expanded to allow players to import their own Minecraft stages.

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“Originally, Sakurai had an idea to create a level editor that would have allowed players to create a stage in Minecraft and import it into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but gave up on the idea pretty early, simply because it was ‘impossible,’ as Sakurai puts it,” translated Sephazon.

Due to its difficulty, the Minecraft-made stage was unfortunately scrapped, but it does prove that Sakurai was willing to try some very unorthodox ideas for the Steve DLC.

This could be a good indication that for future DLC fighters with games featuring a creator element, Sakurai may try to design a stage within that title. Furthermore, Sakurai also discussed more about using Minecraft’s music in Smash.

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“Using Minecraft music in Smash was very difficult. For various reasons, they couldn’t use the original pieces of music,” he said, probably due to copyright issues or the calm vibes that don’t mix well with Smash’s fast pace.

“There were a few arrangements that were cut. The musicians did their best to provide arrangements that would fit Smash’s atmosphere,” he added.

Steve coming to Smash was a dream come true for fans of both franchises and judging by this column, it’s clear that Sakurai really wanted to go above and beyond.

With four slots remaining in Fighters Pass Volume 2, hopefully, the remaining newcomers receive the same love and attention.