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Series | Ice Climber | ||||
Debut | Ice Climber (1985) | ||||
Weight | Light | ||||
Size | Small | ||||
Smash Status | Veteran | ||||
Availability | Default | ||||
Final Smash (default) | Mega Blizzard | ||||
Final Smash (custom) | Condor Ride |
Popo and Nana, together known as the Ice Climbers, are a pair of default characters in Super Smash Bros. Zenith, and are two of the more well-known characters of the NES era, with thanks to their Smash debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
What makes these fighters unique is that they are always fighting as a pair, without one piggybacking on the other, but actually standing next to each other and controlling like any other character.
History[]
The Ice Climbers debuted in the 1985 game Ice Climber for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was a bit Arcade-like and had about 32 mountains to climb. In this game, the player had to control Popo, who has to scale each mountain and get to the Condor flying above the summit. This pterodactyl-like Condor has stolen vegetables from Popo and his sister Nana. These vegetables (including the Eggplant, the series icon) can be retrieved during the Bonus Levels of each mountain, and each deliver extra bonus points when the player managed to reach the Condor in time. Ice Climber can be played with a second player, who controls Nana.
An arcade remake known as Vs. Ice Climber has also been released, which had a few more features not present in the original version, such as blizzards and wind effects.
After the NES era, Ice Climber became obscure until in 2001, which featured Popo and Nana as a pair of fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
A lot of the Ice Climbers' moves are based on elements in Ice Climber, and remain the same as in Brawl, but they gained a completely new Final Smash based on one of their moves, as well as a Custom Final Smash featuring the Condor.
Gimmick[]
As the very first duo characters, the Ice Climbers can each be controlled at the same time. However, the Ice Climber in front (usually Popo) is the one the player has full control of, while the Ice Climber in the back is controlled by a CPU that follows the player character and mimics all Special Moves, but may sometimes attack on its own. When they somehow get separated, the player can use Belay to reunite the two.
The Ice Climbers need each other, because if the CPU-controlled Ice Climber has been knocked off the stage, the player Ice Climber's powers cannot be backed up, and are thus weaker. In contrast to Melee or Brawl, however, this only leaves the first Ice Climber defenseless but temporarily, as the second one will simply respawn after ten seconds, similar to Rosalina & Luma, a different type of duo character.
For the first time, the player can decide whether they want to have Popo or Nana in the lead, no matter what Alternate Costume is being used.
The DLC-exclusive Squid Sisters makes similar use of the same gimmick as the Ice Climbers, even to the point that the player can have either Callie or Marie in the lead like Popo or Nana. Another similar set of characters is Pikmin & Olimar, in which up to three Pikmin are controlled by CPU players and follow either Olimar or Alph around. Unlike the Ice Climber or Squid Sisters, however, the Pikmin are used as weapons of Olimar, and only attack by themselves when latched onto an opponent.
Movesets[]
Standard/Tilted Attacks[]
Smash Attacks[]
Aerial Attacks[]
Floor/Edge Attack[]
Grabs[]
Special Moves[]
Move | Name | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Neutral Special Move | Default | Ice Shot | Popo and Nana will each launch a small chunk of ice that slides along the floor and hits the opponent with a bit of damage each. Best to use close-range as the chunks of ice slowly shrink as they slide. |
Custom 1 | Iceberg Shot | Only the Ice Climber in front will launch a huge chunk of ice that slowly slides along the floor, but immediately freezes the opponent when shot. The Ice Climber in the back can provide close-range damage with a hammer swing. | |
Custom 2 | Ice Bullet | Popo and Nana will each launch a tiny piece of ice that slides along the floor. This piece of ice doesn't shrink and goes incredibly fast, but ultimately does less damage. | |
Custom 3 | Ice Ball Shot | Popo and Nana will launch a chunk of ice, throwing it upwards in a small arc. It does more damage than a regular Ice Shot but doesn't slide along the floor. | |
Side Special Move | Default | Squall Hammer | Popo and Nana reunite and spin around with their hammers extended. This move can now be charged for extra damage. This move is useless when there's only one Ice Climber. |
Custom 1 | Flip Hammer | Popo and Nana will each spin around with their hammers, but instead of doing damage, it reflects attacks and flips opponents around. | |
Custom 2 | Freezing Squall Hammer | Same as regular Squall Hammer, but it's a bit slower, but adds a freezing effect to a fully-charged attack in trade. | |
Custom 3 | Drill Hammer | When fully charged, Popo and Nana are able to burrow opponents they hit instead of launching them. | |
Up Special Move | Default | Belay | The first Ice Climber throws the other one upwards, who will then pull the first one up with a rubber cord. The second Ice Climber can hit opponents when thrown. The rubber chord can be used for Tether Recovery when climbing on an edge. This move is useless when alone. |
Custom 1 | Catapult | Both Ice Climbers launch themselves in the air, allowing for double damage and recovery for when alone. However, it won't reach as far as a regular Belay. | |
Custom 2 | Grapple Belay | Exclusively Tether Recovery, which cannot be used for a third jump. The Ice Climbers can use it to grab or hit opponents. | |
Custom 3 | Double Belay | The first Ice Climber will throw the other Ice Climber, who then uses a rubber chord to pull the first one towards them, only to throw the first ice climber again and repeat the attack a second time. This can be used to attack opponents twice in a row or change directions mid-attack. | |
Down Special Move | Default | Blizzard | Both Popo and Nana will blow freezing wind that is able to freeze opponents briefly. |
Custom 1 | Heat Wave | Popo and Nana will blow fiery air that burns opponents. | |
Custom 2 | Electric Blizzard | Popo and Nana will blow an electrifying cold wind that shocks opponents and/or launches them. | |
Custom 3 | Counter Blizzard | This move does nothing normally, but when attacked while executing this, both Popo and Nana will blow a fierce icy wind that freezes opponents immediately. | |
Final Smash | Default | Mega Blizzard | Both Popo and Nana reunite, then awake a fierce snowstorm on each side that not only does massive damage but also freezes opponents when coming too close. |
Custom | Condor Ride | Popo and Nana reunite and mount the claws of the Condor, who can move around freely and drill int opponents. |
Miscellaneous[]
Subject | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|
On-screen Appearance | Popo and Nana arrive at the scene with a Condor, who deposits the duo. | ||
Taunts | Up Taunt | Popo and Nana lay their hammers down and jump up and down repeatedly. | |
Side Taunt | Popo and Nana point their hammers up in the air while shouting "Yup". | ||
Down Taunt | Popo and Nana dance around in a circle. | ||
Victory Poses | Pose #1 | The Ice Climbers jump up and down in glee. | |
Pose #2 | The Ice Climbers look each other in the eyes, then high five. | ||
Pose #3 | Nana is hanging onto Popo, peeking over his shoulder while both are smiling, then they move around so Nana peeks over Popo's other shoulder. | ||
Boxing Ring Title (US) | Veggie Mountaineers | ||
Boxing Ring Title (UK) | A Bond That Cannot Be Thawed | ||
Victory Fanfare | Victory! Ice Climber | Remix of the Stage Clear fanfare from Ice Climber. The Brawl version is used. | |
Credits Theme in All-Star | Ice Climber (Brawl Ver.) | ||
Home Stage | Mountain's Foot |
Palutena's Guidance Codec[]
Trophies[]
Smash Trophies[]
Name | Image | Description | Appears In | How to Unlock | |
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Ice Climbers | Ever heard of children who like vegetables? These ones sure look like kids, and they sure do love veggies a lot! And they also climb mountains in order to collect those. Popo (the one in blue) and Nana (the one in pink) aren't your run-off-the-mill ice climbers in any way, and whatever they do, they never betray each other and always put each other in front of everything. And all because they crave veggies so much they climb mountains for it. Oh, and are pretty skilled with those hammers too. | NES | Ice Climber (1985) | Clear Straight Classic as the Ice Climbers | |
Ice Climbers (Alt) | When you play as Popo, don't ever lose Nana off sight! Both Ice Climbers need each other to advance in the battlefield, and while the opposition doesn't get a point for defeating Nana, two of Popo's most important moves, Squall Hammer and Belay, become pretty much moot before Nana respawns... and the opposition DOES get points for beating him! By the way, you can play as Nana too, in which case, you have to keep Popo in check instead. | NES | Ice Climber (1985) | Clear Multipath Classic as Ice Climbers | |
Mega Blizzard | This Final Smash allows the two Ice Climbers to create a Blizzard like never before. Two enormous snowstorms, packing with such huge power that it hurts opponents from afar, and freezes them from up close... and then get launched when they have gathered a lot of damage. This Mega Blizzard can also be slightly rotated. But use it wisely, as it only lasts for a short while. | Wii U | Super Smash Bros. Zenith (-) | Clear Regular All-Star as Ice Climbers | |
Condor Ride | It seems that Popo and Nana have finally tamed that pesky Condor for their Custom Final Smash. Now this guy carries them around while being able to drill into opponents. But this Condor doesn't like being hurt and will release the Ice Climbers as soon he's got enough of it. So hitting the Condor is key for the opponents, in which case this Final Smash can get pretty risky. | Wii U | Super Smash Bros. Zenith (-) | Clear Random All-Star as Ice Climbers | |
Other[]
Alternate Costumes[]
Color | Image | Description | Notes |
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Blue/Pink (Default) |
Popo wears an indigo-blue parka and Nana wears a light pink parka. Both wear brown mitts. | The default outfits used in Ice Climber. | |
Cyan/Red | Popo wears a sky blue parka, Nana wears a red parka. Both wear peach-colored mitts. | Nana's red parka is based on the US boxart of Ice Climber, depicting one of the Ice Climbers with a red parka instead of pink. | |
Green/Yellow | Popo wears a lime green parka and Nana wears a yellow parka. Both wear purple mitts. | ||
Black/White | Popo wears a black parka and Nana wears a white parka. Both wear gray mitts. | ||
Gray | Both Popo and Nana wear gray parkas. Popo has blue mitts and Nana has pink mitts. | ||
Teal/Orange | Popo wears a teal parka and Nana wears an orange parka. Both wear beige mitts. | ||
Brown/Taupe | Popo wears a light brwon parka and Nana wears a dark brown parka. Both wear black mitts. | These parka colors resemble those of more realistic parkas. | |
Red/Green | Popo wears a crimson parka and Nana wears a dark green parka. Both wear blue mitts. | Colorscheme is based on that of Mario and Luigi. | |
Purple/Magenta | Popo wears a purple parka and Nana wears a magenta parka. Both wear green mitts. | ||
Pink/Blue | Popo wears a bubblegum pink parka and Nana wears a blue parka. Both wear taupe mitts. | This costume has Popo's and Nana's main colors switched around. |