Ice Climber

The first player controls Popo, a boy wearing a blue parka , while the second player controls Nana, a girl wearing a pink one. 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 Popo or Nana 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 especially eggplants. Collecting just one piece of corn from the fifth bonus stage is the only way to gain an extra life . At the top of the peak, the Condor flies overhead.

Enemies encountered on the way up the mountains include the Topi, Nitpicker, and White Bear . Topis come in two varieties: the blue seal featured in the Japanese Famicom Ice Climber release and the short Yeti -like creatures seen in Western versions and VS. Ice Climber . Topis have the ability to fill in holes in the floor with ice.

To do this, a Topi scouts out an 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 White Bear. This enemy, wearing sunglasses and pink speedo, 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 Nana or Popo are 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. After a few successful mountains climbed, all enemies' speeds increase.

The arcade edition, VS. Ice Climber , has a few more gameplay differences. The player must pick from an initial set of 24 mountains to conquer. After eight are cleared, a Super Bonus Stage occurs in which the player must reach a high platform.

Afterwards, the player must choose from the second set of 24 mountains (which feature different coloration schemes), in which the Condor is replaced by a giant butterfly. After the next eight stages are cleared and the Super Bonus is over, the player resumes the cycle from the original mountain set. 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. Approximately 30 of the 48 level designs are borrowed from the NES game.

Stage setups are generally trickier in VS. Ice Climber , with some new mechanics such as cloud platforms that move diagonally or strong gusts of wind. A purple bee with a spear flying in a horizontal pattern is included as a somewhat rare fourth enemy. After the bonus stage, the players' scores are tallied.

Points are rewarded for every brick of ice destroyed, every Topi-pushed icicle smashed, every Nitpicker knocked out 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.