Ice Climbers

For fighter info, see Ice Climbers (SSBM) and Ice Climbers (SSBB).

Ice Climbers
File:Popo.jpg Artwork of Popo and Nana, from Ice Climber.
Universe	Ice Climber
Debut	Ice Climber (1985)
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Humans
Gender	Male (Popo) and female (Nana)
Designed by	Tadashi Sugiyama
Japanese voice actor	Sanae Kobayashi

The Ice Climbers, known in Japan as Ice Climber, (アイスクライミング) are the pair of playable protagonists from the game Ice Climber, released in the pre-Super Mario Bros. era of NES games. When playing one player, the player plays as Popo. When playing two player in Ice Climber, player one plays as Popo, while player two plays as Nana. In both Melee and Brawl, color changes allow you to control Nana. Despite not being displayed, the cpu-controlled Climber in the Smash Bros. series does indeed have his or her own separate percentage or stamina counter. This factor alone results in the Ice Climbers' extremely high learning curve for all the games they have appeared in, as players must ensure the safety of not one, but two characters at the same time.

Character description

Both of the Ice Climbers are young children, and small in size. They both wield wooden mallets, which they used to whack enemies and break icecubes. Both of them wear parkas; Popo's parka is blue while Nana's is pink. They can also be identified by the patch of hair exposed from their hoods. Relationship-wise, several fans believed them to be siblings, or even spouses, despite their young appearance, but according to Nintendo, the nature of their relationship is up to the player's imagination (although it was said that Sakurai wanted them to be lovers during Melee's development).

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Main article: Ice Climbers (SSBM)

File:Iceclimbermelee.jpg

Nana and Popo, as they appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee

The Ice Climbers made their debut appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series as a dual-controlled pair of fighters. They (as a singular entity) are one of the 14 default characters available from the start.

They were selected over Balloon Fighter and Pit, among others, to be representatives of the Famicom/NES period in Nintendo's history.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Main article: Ice Climbers (SSBB)

File:Iceclimbersbrawl.jpg

Nana and Popo, as they appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Ice Climbers consist of Popo and Nana. They still fight as a pair with Nana following along. With Nana by your side, special moves are better than just being Popo. Both Ice Climbers can now hang on a ledge at the same time and their Down-Special in the air is no longer an auto-freeze. The Ice Climbers Final Smash consists of a large iceberg taking up a large portion of the screen. It deals damage to, and eventually freezes, those on or near it. The character can switch between Popo or Nana as the leader of the duo based on which color of costume is chosen.

Trophy Info

The one in blue is Popo, and the one in pink is Nana. They use their incredible jumping powers and hammers to break blocks and climb to the summit. They grab veggies, and if they can catch the condor at the end, they conquer the mountain. Other than breaking blocks, their hammers are good for sending foes flying, climbing down from blocks, and destroying icicles.

• Ice Climber (1985)

Trivia

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, the Ice Climbers appear to be left-handed, since they carry their hammers with their left hand and hold items in their right hand (Just like Link in the Zelda series).
• The CPU Ice Climber can attack an opponent that is being held by the human controlled Ice Climber.
• Their jump looks just like it did in Ice Climber, and their Forward Smash seems to be based on their only canon attack.
• In the early development stages of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, shortly after it's official announcement, there was a rumor that the Ice Climbers, along with Mr. Game & Watch and Young Link, would not return. However, this turned out not to be true, as the Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch were, in fact, playable characters. Young Link, on the other hand, was the only one out of the three to be excluded, and was seemingly replaced more or less by Toon Link, as the rumor had stated.