Super Smash Bros. Fighters – Ice Climber series – 01 Ice Climbers

Debut

In the Ice Climber series: Ice Climber (1985)
In the Super Smash Bros. series: Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)

Boxing Ring Title: Bone-Chilling Duo

Theme Song: Ice Climber (Brawl)

The Ice Climbers are the main protagonists of the classic NES game, “Ice Climber”. Popo is the one in blue, and Nana is the one in pink.

In "Ice Climber", Popo and Nana are scaling to the top of various mountains to reclaim their vegetables that were stolen by a pesky Condor. All the while, Polar Bears, Topis, Birds, and Falling Icicles constantly get in the duo's way. However, the two can use their hammers to at least knock away the Polar Bears, Topis, and Birds.

Once Popo and Nana near the top of the mountain, the two will enter a Bonus Stage, where they have to quickly climb to the top of the mountain and grab the Condor! Along the way, the two can nab the scattered vegetables for bonus points. If one of them manages to grab the Condor at the top, that Ice Climber gets Bonus Points! Otherwise, if they fail to grab the Condor in time, or if both of them fall into the pits below, neither of them are awarded Bonus Points. Regardless, the level is considered cleared and they head off to the next mountain.

Players can either try and work together to get to the top and see how far they can go, or compete against each other to see who can get the most points.

Beyond that, the Ice Climbers have also made cameo appearances in the WarioWare series, mostly in one of 9-Volt's various microgames.

Not much is known about them personality-wise, though they appear to be cheerful individuals who love vegetables and scaling mountains. The exact relationship between the Ice Climbers have never been stated. A scene in Super Smash Bros. Melee’s opening, as well as the Japanese title of “Event 21: Ice Breaker”, which roughly translates to “Event 21: Those Who Interfere in People’s Romance”, implies they are in a romantic relationship. However, Masahiro Sakurai has stated that the two are the “more than friends, but less than lovers” kind, with Snake’s Codec Conversation – where Mei Ling describes the two as having a “Blood Bond” – further supporting this notion.

In Super Smash Bros., Popo leads the team while Nana tags along behind. The two work together in tandem to defeat their foes with their mallets and newly acquired ice powers! If Nana is the first to get defeated, then it’ll be up to Popo to pick up the slack, and he’s not as strong by himself. If Popo falls, it’s considered an immediate loss for both of them, even if Nana is still okay.

Special Moves 

Neutral Special: Ice Shot

Popo and Nana whack some ice blocks forward. The ice slides forwards quite a bit, and is affected by gravity/slopes.

This move is quite damaging up-close, since the opponent will get hit by both their hammers and the ice!

This move is loosely inspired by the Topi in “Ice Climber”. Whenever it happens to come across a gap in its path, it’ll rush off-screen to nab an Icicle to “fix” the gap. If the one of Ice Climbers happens to run into it or the icicle, they’ll instantly be defeated. 

Side Special: Squall Hammer

Popo and Nana twirl around together while swinging their mallets.  They can also move left or right while they're spinning. Anyone that gets in the way will get slightly whacked away. Chase after your foes to deliver multiple hits!

If you rapidly tap the Special Button, the Ice Climbers will rise upwards, giving the move a secondary use as a recovery move.

If Nana is too far away from Popo when you use the move, or if Nana is defeated, Popo will simply spin by himself. Not only is the move slightly weaker, he also can’t rise as high.

This move is original to Super Smash Bros. 

Up Special: Belay

Popo throws Nana upwards, and once Nana reaches the apex of the toss, Nana tosses Popo above her.

If Nana happens to hit an opponent after being tossed, she’ll attack them! However, she won’t throw Popo very high.

If there’s a ledge nearby and Nana grabs it, she’ll pull Popo up to her.

If Nana is too far away from Popo when you use the move, or if Nana is defeated, Popo will do the “tossing” animation, but he won’t be throwing anyone or anything. He does do a very small hop if it's used in the air, but it’s probably not gonna help. Best to use Squall Hammer instead in this situation.

This move is original to Super Smash Bros., though it could be inspired by how the Ice Climbers can jump off each others heads in “Ice Climber”. 

Down Special: Blizzard

Popo and Nana fire a blizzard from their hands. This move does rapid damage to the foe, and if the opponent is badly damaged, Blizzard will encase them in ice! The Ice Climbers can then freely wail on the foe to do extra damage to their frozen foe, or even try to push them off the stage where the foe may not be able to break free in time!

This move is original to Super Smash Bros. 

Final Smash: Iceberg

Popo and Nana summon a massive twirling iceberg that emerges in the middle of the battlefield! Anyone that touches it will take damage and get flung! You can move the Iceberg around by pressing left or right, though that will also move the Ice Climbers, so be careful where you’re going! Don’t want to accidentally have the Iceberg push them off the stage now, do you?

A Condor will also fly onto the scene above the stage when the Iceberg emerges. Popo and Nana can grab onto it, allowing you to safely focus on moving the Iceberg into your foes! Anyone else who tries to grab onto the Condor will get flung away.

A Polar Bear can also be seen on the Iceberg, teetering near one of its edges. He doesn’t really do anything, but it’s kind of funny to see him trying to keep his balance on the twirling Iceberg.

This move is original to Super Smash Bros., though it may be inspired by the various mountains the duo climb.

The Condor is the main antagonist of “Ice Climber”. He’s responsible for stealing Popo and Nana’s vegetables, and the two are climbing various mountains to reclaim them. The Condor shows up in the Bonus Stage sections, and if one of them catches the Condor in time, they are awarded Bonus Points!

Polar Bears are enemies that occasionally appear in “Ice Climber”. If one is taking too long climbing to the top, one of them would appear and then stomp the ground, which would rise the screen up a level. If Popo or Nana are near the bottom of the stage when this happens, they’ll lose a life.

Additional Notes 

If Popo grabs an enemy, Nana will stand aside and watch Popo pummel them, as well as cheer when he throws them away. This was done to get rid of the Ice Climbers notorious “chain grabbing” move in “Super Smash Bros. Melee” and “Super Smash Bros. Brawl”, which involved grabbing the foe, tossing them in a certain direction, and the immediately having Nana grab them. Once she threw them, the player would quickly grab the foe and repeat the cycle in an endless loop until the player is ready to deliver the KOing move.

Half of their alternate costumes have Nana take the lead while Popo takes on the partner role!

The Ice Climbers where intended to return as playable characters in “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U” but were dropped due to the Nintendo 3DS version not being able to handle them very well. They still got in as collectible Trophies, though.

Before the Ice Climbers were chosen, Masahiro Sakurai considered adding the Balloon Fighter from “Balloon Fight”, the main protagonist of “Urban Champion”, Bubble from “Clu Clu Land”, or the Excite Bike Racer from “Excite Bike” instead. While those character have yet to make the jump into playable characters, their series have been involved in Super Smash Bros. in some way, whether it be music, trophies, stickers, spirits, or – in the Excite Biker’s case – an Assist Trophy. As an aside note, the fish from “Balloon Fight” makes an appearance in the Ice Climber stage “Summit” as a hazard the fighters must try to avoid.