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4[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_ice_climber.png]]
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6''Ice Climber'' is a vertical scrolling PlatformGame originally released by Creator/{{Nintendo}} in 1985 for the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] in Japan, and was later converted into an arcade title in the "Vs." series (as with many early Famicom/NES titles). It was released in North America a year later as a launch title for the NES. ''Vs. Ice Climber'' was ported to the Famicom Disk System in 1988.
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8Players control characters dressed in stereotypical eskimo gear: player one is the blue-clad Popo, while player two is the pink-clad Nana. The general goal of each level is to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin climb up several layers of ice to reach the top of a mountain]]. Each player carries a wooden mallet which they use to hit enemies, club openings in the levels, and collect power-ups. Like eggplants... Just roll with it.
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10Enemies include sunglasses-wearing Polar Bears, Topis ([[ValuesDissonance depicted as seals in Japan and yetis anywhere where seal clubbing isn't considered politically correct]]), the bird-like Nitpickers, falling icicles, and the condor at the top of each mountain.
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12The game would likely be largely forgotten without the [[ColbertBump huge boost of publicity]] generated when Nana and Popo were {{unexpected| character}} inclusions in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, starting with the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee second game]].
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14Other media to reference ''Ice Climber'' includes the ''VideoGame/{{WarioWare}}'' series (where it is the basis of several micro-games) and later iterations of the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series (where Kirby's ice power-up gives him a parka exactly the same as Popo's). They also tend to appear in fan-works related to ''Smash'' such as ''WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl''.
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16Oh, and to be clear, while the game's title is the singular "Ice Climber", the characters are referred to as the plural "Ice Climber'''s'''", commonly mistaken for the actual title of the game, even by Nintendo press releases.
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18!!This work shows examples of the following tropes (put all references to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' [[Characters/SuperSmashBros here]]):
19* AdaptationExpansion: ''VS. Ice Climber'' increases the number of mountains from 32 to 48, has a new bee enemy, some levels feature wind, and players can select any mountain they want.
20* AirborneMook: Pink birds that dive bomb the players.
21* AnimateInanimateObject: All of the vegetables (except for the corn) all have eyes.
22* BigBad: The Condor that keeps stealing their vegetables. In ''VS.'', there's also a large butterfly flying on top of the second set of mountains.
23* {{Bowdlerize}}: In the American and European versions, the Topi enemies are changed from seals to yetis. This change was made to ''Vs. Ice Climber'' in all regions, and eventually carried over to the Famicom Disk System release (which is based on ''Vs. Ice climber'').
24* BearsAreBadNews: Waiting too long to get to climb to a higher layer will cause a polar bear to appear and stomp the screen upward, which risks you of losing a life should you be near the bottom of the screen.
25* BrutalBonusLevel: Clearing eight mountains perfectly in a row in ''VS.'' gives access to the "Super Bonus Stage" where the platforms are much smaller and gaps are plenty.
26* CollisionDamage: What every enemy is limited to except for the polar bears and the condor. The condor doesn't hurt you at all and must be collided with to get your bonus.
27* ColorCodedCharacters: Blue for Popo (player 1) and pink for Nana (player 2).
28* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The 48 mountains in "VS." are split into two sets. The first 24 have a blue mountain peak while the latter 24 have a red peak.
29* DeathThrows: Nana and Popo's death animations involve them getting thrown offscreen.
30* EdibleCollectible: Four stolen vegetables are dropped in the BonusStage top part of each level, and can be recovered for points.
31* EndlessGame: Played with, as the stage layouts don't actually repeat until mountain 32 is cleared. In ''VS.'', a player is given re-access to previous mountains once all 48 of them are cleared.
32* ExcusePlot: Something about the condor stealing all the vegetables.
33* TheGoomba: The Yeti/Topi will not actively try to attack you. The most they are concerned with is repairing the stages.
34* HitboxDissonance: In most platformers, you have to be right on top of a platform when you're trying to land on it. In this game, to get to higher levels, you typically have to slightly overlap a higher platform as you're jumping up in order to land on it.
35* InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt: Takes a form of surfaces of diagonal lines. The speed of the conveyor belt surafaces varies.
36* InformedSpecies: The condor looks more like a red pterodactyl.
37* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: Each level involves scaling a mountain, one floor at a time. If a floor has scrolled off the bottom of the screen, it cannot be re-visited; dropping down to it causes the player to lose a life.
38* JumpPhysics: Besides the HitboxDissonance, the Ice Climber can't control their direction of jumping so well once they're in the air. It's tricky, but you can also harm Nitpickers this way by having their mallets hit them as they jump.
39* NintendoHard: The game has a terrible jumping mechanic which makes missing platforms and falling down fairly easy. ''VS.'' increases the difficulty by adding a new enemy type and a wind mechanic in certain mountains.
40* OneHitPointWonder: One hit from a falling icicle or an enemy and Popo and Nana are down another life.
41* OnlyOneName: Popo and Nana. Much like several other Creator/{{Nintendo}} protagonists.
42* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Nana is female and wears a pink parka, Popo is male and wears a blue parka.
43* RatchetScrolling: Don't expect to descend much, as you'll want to steer clear of the [[BottomlessPit lower boundary]] whenever possible. Polar Bears have the ability to force the screen to scroll up no matter where you are so you'll have to hurry whenever one's around.
44* RiseToTheChallenge: As you climbed up a mountain, the screen scrolls up to follow you. No matter what is currently at the bottom, you will die if you fall off the screen.
45* ScalingTheSummit: The purpose of the game is to reach the top of a mountain to reclaim the Ice Climber's stolen vegetables.
46* ScoringPoints: Points are rewarded for every block, icicle, and the enemy destroyed, as well as for every vegetable collected. In 2-Player Mode, Popo and Nana can compete for the higher score.
47* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The entirety of the game, though only the higher layers of each level have icy floors that lower your traction, which can lead to you falling down to the previous layer if you're not careful.
48%% Icicles fall automatically * StalactiteSpite: To the point clouds are raining them on you. You do get points for breaking them at least.
49* SolidClouds: The climbers can jump on moving clouds.
50* SunglassesAtNight: The Polar Bears.
51* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The main theme is similar to that ''WesternAnimation/BenAndHollysLittleKingdom'' episode, "The Very Important Person," where the elves and fairies tried to perform a band from the [=VIPs=].
52* TimedMission: The vegetable-collecting bonus round must be completed within 40 seconds.
53* WrapAround: Horizontally. Don't try to do this in the ''Smash Bros.'' stages!

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