Reviewing the American release, Computer Entertainer magazine called it "addictive" for fans of climbing games. Former President of Finland Mauno Koivisto was reportedly keen on Nintendo games and his son-in-law has reported that Ice Climber was his favorite game. Ice Climbers on their Apissue as being the eight most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Following this game the team would develop Super Mario Bros. Toshihiko Nakago and Shigeru Miyamoto worked on this project together after Excitebike was completed.
Players may prefer to play cooperatively on the way up, but during the bonus round, they must compete for the top. The latter places Popo and Nana against each other in a race to the summit. The game can be played in one- or two-player mode. The game keeps track of the high score, although there is no way to save it on the NES version. 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. Points are rewarded for every brick of ice destroyed, every Topi-pushed icicle smashed, every Nitpicker killed and every vegetable collected.
In addition, a purple bee with a spear flying in a horizontal pattern is included as a somewhat rare fourth enemy.Īfter the bonus stage, the players' scores are tallied. Ice Climber, with some new mechanics such as cloud platforms that move diagonal or strong gusts of wind. Stage setups are generally trickier in Vs. Approximately 30 of the 48 level designs are borrowed from the NES game. The game keeps track of whether the mountain was claimed by an Ice Climber or if it remains Topi territory-once all the stages are completed, the counter resets. After the next eight stages are cleared and the Super Bonus is over, the player resumes the cycle from the original mountain set. Afterwards, the player must choose from the second set of 24 mountains, in which the Condor is replaced by a giant butterfly. After eight are cleared, a Super Bonus stage occurs in which the player must reach a high platform. The player must pick from an initial set of 24 mountains to conquer. Ice Climber has a few more gameplay differences. After a few successful mountains climbed, all enemies' speeds increase. These can form on the bottom of any type of platform. Other obstacles include deadly falling icicles. If an Eskimo is forced off the screen, the player loses a life. Pounding the ice, the Polar Bear forces the screen to move up. This enemy, wearing sunglasses and pink speedo, appears on screen only when Popo and Nana take too long to advance. Taking them into account along with moving platforms and sliding ice, timing jumps can be more difficult. Unlike the Topi, which is confined to one floor of the mountain, Nitpickers can cross over multiple ice layers. The Nitpicker is a small, mountain-dwelling bird that swoops down from icy caves on the levels' edges. This process repeats until no more openings on their layer of ice exist. 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. Topis have the ability to fill in holes in the floor with ice. Topis come in two varieties: the blue seal featured in the Japanese Famicom Ice Climber release, and the short yeti seen in Western versions and Vs. At the top of the peak, the Condor flies overhead.Įnemies encountered on the way up the mountains include the Topi, Nitpicker, and White Bear. Collecting just one piece of corn from the fifth bonus stage is the only way to gain an extra life. The peak is also the only place to recover stolen vegetables, most notably eggplants. Within a 40-second time limit and no enemies, the Ice Climbers often face trickier jumps and multiple moving platforms. Finally, many mountains include unbreakable moving platforms resembling clouds. Hatched ice acts as a conveyor belt sliding the Eskimo either left or right. Square ice blocks with higher detail are indestructible, forcing the player to take another path. Standard, dull ice blocks pose no threat other than an easily disposed-of barrier and platform. Each mountain level consists of eight layers of colorful ice and a bonus stage. The only tool they carry is a wooden mallet to carve openings in the ice above and to club enemies. The first player controls Popo, a boy wearing a blue Eskimo parka, while the second player controls Nana, a girl wearing a pink one.
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