| Ice Climber | |
|---|---|
North American cover for the NES version |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo R&D1 |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Kenji Miki |
| Composer(s) | Akito Nakatsuka[1] |
| Platform(s) | Famicom/NES, PC-88, Sharp X1, Arcade, FDS, Game Boy Advance, e-Reader, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Two-player simultaneously |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) (Wii) |
| System requirements
Nintendo Entertainment Software |
|
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | VS. UniSystem |
| Display | Horizontal Raster, standard resolution (Used: 256 x 240) |
Ice Climber (アイスクライマー Aisu Kuraimā) is a vertical platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for release on the Nintendo Famicom in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1985. In Ice Climber, the characters Popo (ポポ) and Nana (ナナ), collectively known as the Ice Climbers, venture up 32 ice-covered mountains to recover stolen vegetables from a giant condor.
In 1984, a slightly different and lesser known version was released as part of the arcade Vs. Series called Vs. Ice Climber. In some European countries, the NES console was sold bundled with the game, increasing Ice Climber's familiarity outside Japan.
Contents |
The first player controls Popo, a boy wearing a blue Eskimo parka, while the second player controls Nana, a girl wearing a pink Eskimo parka. The only tool they carry is a wooden mallet to carve openings in the ice above and to club enemies. Each mountain level consists of eight layers of colorful ice and a bonus stage. Standard, dull ice blocks pose no threat other than an easily disposed of barrier and platform. Square ice blocks with higher detail are indestructible, forcing the player to take another path. Hatched ice acts as a conveyor belt sliding the Eskimo either left or right. Finally, many mountains include unbreakable moving platforms resembling clouds. The bonus stage takes place at the peak. Within a 40 second time limit and no enemies, the Ice Climbers often face trickier jumps and multiple moving platforms. The peak is also the only place to recover stolen vegetables, most notably eggplants. Collecting just one piece of corn from the fifth bonus stage is the only way to gain an extra life.[2] At the top of the peak, the condor flies overhead.
Enemies encountered on the way up the mountains include the Topi, Nitpicker, and polar bear. Toppies come in two varieties: the seal featured in the Japanese release of Ice Climber and the small beaked yeti seen in the Western version. However, later Japanese versions of the game released on the GBA also used the white yeti appearances. Toppies have the ability to fill in holes in the floor with ice. To do this, a Topi scouts out opening in the floor, runs back to its cave, and reemerges pushing an icicle to fill in two blocks. This process repeats until no more openings on their layer of ice exist. The Nitpicker is a small, mountain-dwelling bird that swoops down from icy caves on the levels' edges. Unlike the Topi, which is confined to one floor of the mountain, Nitpickers can cross over multiple ice layers. Taking them into account along with moving platforms and sliding ice, timing jumps can be more difficult. The final enemy is the bipedal polar bear. This enemy, wearing sunglasses and pink shorts, appears on screen only when Popo and Nana take too long to advance. Pounding the ice, the polar bear forces the screen to move up. If an Eskimo is forced off the screen, the player loses a life. Other obstacles include deadly falling icicles. These can form on the bottom of any type of platform. The arcade game Vs. Ice Climber includes a purple bee with a spear as a rare fourth enemy. After a few successful mountains climbed, all enemies' speeds increase.
After the bonus stage, the player(s)' score is tallied. Points are rewarded for every brick of ice destroyed, every Topi-pushed icicle smashed, every Nitpicker killed and every vegetable collected. Finally, a bonus score is rewarded if a player manages to climb to the top of the bonus stage and jump up and grab the condor. The game keeps track of the high score, although there is no way to save it on the NES version.
The game can be played in one or two-player mode. The latter places Popo and Nana against each other in a race to the summit. Players may prefer to play cooperatively on the way up, but during the bonus round, they must compete for the top.
Ice Climber, along with NES Open Tournament Golf, is one of two games directed by longtime Nintendo producer Kenji Miki.[3] It is also the first video game programmed by Kazuaki Morita. He considered his work on Ice Climber to be a "warm-up" before becoming a main programmer on Super Mario Bros.[4] Morita was later credited with central programming roles in numerous titles within the Super Mario Bros. series, The Legend of Zelda series, and in Star Fox 64.[5]
Ice Climber, a launch title for the NES in North America, has been re-released for a number of Nintendo's major gaming consoles. Note that Vs. Ice Climber is not a true port, since it includes elements not found in the original game, such as an animated title screen, stage select menu, blizzard and wind effects, new enemies, and bonus multiplier items. For the release on the PC-8801, the game changes to a different and more limited color palette along with a reworked HUD.[6] Including the releases listed below, the entire NES game is found within the 2002 GameCube release of Animal Crossing.[7]
| Name | Date | Platform | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vs. Ice Climber | 1984 | Arcade | Nintendo Vs. Series | [8] |
| Ice Climber | 1985 | NES/Famicom | [9] | |
| Ice Climber | 1985 | NEC PC-8801 | Published by Hudson Soft | |
| Ice Climber | 1988 | Famicom Disk System | Port of Vs. Ice Climber | [10] |
| Ice Climber-e | 2002 | e-Reader | Barcoded cards, readable with e-Reader and Game Boy Advance. | [11] |
| Ice Climber | 2004 | Game Boy Advance | Classic NES Series | [12] |
| Ice Climber | 2007 | Wii | Virtual Console | [13] |
| Ice Climber | 2011 | 3DS | Virtual Console |
The Ice Climbers, voiced by Sanae Kobayashi, appear as playable fighters in the Super Smash Bros. series. Their symbol is an eggplant, the first vegetable rescued from the original game. Although they are collectively the same fighter, players only control Popo while Nana mimics his every move, and vice-versa if the player switches the costume and the character.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Ice Climbers appear alongside polar bears and Toppies in Adventure Mode. The seal and yeti Topi respectively appear in the Japanese and Western version of the game. Popo and Nana's stage is "Icicle Mountain," a level partially influenced by the mountains of Ice Climber. However, their target test stage is a direct, 2.5D representation of NES-style graphics. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Ice Climbers return with a different stage. "The Summit" recreates the bonus level mountain peak right down to the original vegetables.[14] Enemies from the NES title appearing in Brawl include the polar bear and condor. Along with these new Ice Climber elements, a demo of the original 1985 game appears along with other Virtual Console titles as a part of the "Masterpieces" collection.[15]
Themes and imagery from Ice Climber regularly appear in the WarioWare series' classic Nintendo microgames. In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land & Kirby Air Ride, when Kirby gets the Freeze ability, he dons Popo's parka in the same manner it is worn in the Super Smash Bros. series.[16] In Tetris DS, an Ice Climber backdrop makes an appearance among other classic Nintendo games. Topi seals remain, even outside of Japan.[17] Daigasso! Band Brothers, a DJ music game for the Nintendo DS, includes the bonus stage music theme.[18]