Ice Climber

Gameplay and Mechanics

Ice Climber is a vertical climbing platformer. The player controls Popo in blue or Nana in pink, each armed with a wooden mallet. The primary goal is to ascend 32 ice-covered mountains to recover stolen vegetables from a giant condor at the peak. The mallet is used to break through standard ice blocks above the climber and to defeat enemies. The game features various types of ice, including indestructible blocks that force alternate routes, and hatched ice that acts as a conveyor belt, sliding the character left or right. Unbreakable moving cloud platforms also appear.

Each mountain level consists of eight layers of ice followed by a bonus stage at the summit. The bonus stage has a 40-second time limit, no enemies, and often features trickier jumps and multiple moving platforms. It is here that players can recover the stolen vegetables, particularly eggplants. Collecting a piece of corn from the fifth bonus stage grants an extra life. At the very top, the Condor flies overhead.

Enemies add to the challenge. The Topi, which appears as a blue seal in Japan or a Yeti-like creature elsewhere, can fill holes in the floor by pushing icicles. The Nitpicker is a bird that swoops down from caves and can cross multiple ice layers. If players take too long to advance, a White Bear in sunglasses and a pink speedo appears, pounding the ice to force the screen upward, potentially pushing the climbers off the screen to lose a life. Other hazards include falling icicles, and enemy speeds increase after several mountains are climbed.

The Arcade Expansion: VS. Ice Climber

The arcade version, VS. Ice Climber, introduced significant exclusive content. It featured an animated title screen and a stage select menu. Instead of a linear progression, players choose from an initial set of 24 mountains to conquer. After clearing eight, a Super Bonus Stage tasks the player with reaching a high platform. The player then moves to a second set of 24 mountains with different color schemes, where the Condor is replaced by a giant butterfly. After another eight stages, the cycle resets to the original set.

The game tracks whether a mountain has been claimed by an Ice Climber or remains Topi territory, resetting the counter once all stages are completed. Approximately 30 of the 48 level designs are borrowed from the NES game, but stage setups are generally trickier. New mechanics include cloud platforms that move diagonally and strong gusts of wind. A fourth enemy, a somewhat rare purple bee with a spear flying horizontally, was added. This version also included more enemies and vegetables, bonus multiplier items, and occasional blizzard and wind effects.

Scoring and Multiplayer

Points are awarded for various actions, including every brick of ice destroyed, every Topi-pushed icicle smashed, every Nitpicker knocked out, and every vegetable collected. A bonus score is rewarded if a player reaches the top of the bonus stage and jumps to grab the Condor. The game keeps track of the high score, though the NES version could not save it.

The game supports one or two players. In two-player mode, Popo and Nana race each other to the summit. Players can choose to play cooperatively during the ascent, but they must compete against each other during the bonus round for the top position.

Development and Releases

Ice Climber was directed by longtime Nintendo producer Kenji Miki. It was the first video game programmed by Kazuaki Morita, who considered it a warm-up before his central programming roles on Super Mario Bros. and later games in the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda series.

As a launch game for the NES in North America, Ice Climber has seen numerous re-releases. The PC-8801 version had a more limited color palette. VS. Ice Climber was re-released for the Famicom Disk System, with difficulty settings removed and some graphics changed, such as replacing the bee and butterfly with a Nitpicker and blue Condor. It was also released in the Arcade Archives series on Nintendo Switch, though the bee enemy was removed. The NES game was unlockable in various versions of Animal Crossing, and was released for the Game Boy Advance via the Nintendo e-Reader in 2002.

Reception and Cultural Impact

The Ice Climber franchise has received generally positive reviews. In Japan, Game Machine listed VS. Ice Climber as the eighth most-successful table arcade unit of the month in April 1985. Former President of Finland Mauno Koivisto was reportedly a fan, with his son-in-law stating it was his favorite game. Reviewing the American release, Computer Entertainer magazine called it addictive for climbing game fans, awarding 3.5 out of 4 stars for graphics and gameplay, and noting it provided hours of challenging play. Fans and critics have occasionally suggested a modern sequel, highlighting the series' enduring popularity.

Lasting Legacy in Gaming

The most significant legacy of Ice Climber is the inclusion of Popo and Nana as the duo fighter Ice Climbers in the Super Smash Bros. series. Voiced by Sanae Kobayashi, they debuted in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee and appeared in 2008's Brawl. Their return was planned for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, but technical issues on the 3DS led director Masahiro Sakurai to cut them to maintain parity between versions. He noted their inclusion was low-priority as the Ice Climber series was unlikely to have another installment at the time. They returned in 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Beyond Smash Bros., Ice Climber themes appear in WarioWare microgames. In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby Air Ride, Kirby dons Popo's parka when using the Freeze ability. The game is referenced in Tetris DS with a backdrop, and its bonus stage music is in Daigasso! Band Brothers. The Ice Climbers also appear as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume in Super Mario Maker.