"An ice block, yeah! That's what you need to reach that treasure. Now, how are we going to get one around here?"
— Eustace the Penguin moments before being frozen, Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Sometimes in video games, there'll be rows or columns of enemies that float back and forth in huge, otherwise empty areas, and you just KNOW there's something past them. However, with a little bit of ingenuity, you have a way to make use of them! Just turn them to ice or rock, probably with a handy Elemental Weapon, and you can stand on them like normal Floating Platforms!
Note that this trope normally assumes that enemies frozen in midair stay there, though even if the enemy drops to the floor, it can still provide a height boost!
This trope is especially pervasive in the Metroidvania genre, as it's the reason a Freeze Ray is often among your tools.
Subtrope of Helpful Mook, though in this case, the mook has to be coerced into being helpful and Improvised Platform, and a sister trope of Cranium Ride and Goomba Springboard. If the freezing can wear off, then this trope does double duty as a Temporary Platform.
Examples:
- Back To Stone: Your basic attacks turn the enemies into stone blocks after defeating them. These can be used as platforms or for weighing down switches.
- Bug Fables: When Leif's ice magic is used on small enemies in the overworld, it temporarily freezes them inside an ice cube. This creates a usable platform, but only for the short time it takes until the enemy thaws out and breaks free.
- Castlevania: Circle of the Moon: Brain Floats can be frozen with the ice whip, and you can jump between them if you're careful.
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time: Dr Cortex's Ray Gun doesn't involve any ice, but any enemies hit with it will be temporarily turned into either solid platforms to stand on or jelly platforms to bounce on.
- Mega Man franchise:
- Mega Man Powered Up: Ice Man can use the Ice Slasher to hold enemies in place momentarily, and unlike Mega Man, he can stand on them while they're frozen.
- Mega Man X2: Crystal Snail's weapon, Crystal Hunter, allows X to freeze enemies in crystal blocks and use them as platforms.
- Metroid franchise:
- The Ice Beam is the Trope Maker, appearing in the first game, Metroid. Many areas can only be accessed by freezing enemies, such as the first game's Rippers, and making use of them as platforms before they thaw. It appears in most games.
- Metroid Fusion: Samus uses Ice Missiles to freeze enemies, and needs to do so to progress at all after she gets the missiles.
- Metroid Dread: Samus can freeze enemies with Ice Missiles, and only certain enemies can be used as platforms when frozen, like Sunnaps, instead of dealing Collision Damage.
- The Legend of Zelda franchise:
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Enemies frozen by the Ice Arrow can be used as platforms. This is required in parts of the Great Bay Temple and to reach Ikana Canyon.
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: Hostile Gorons can't be killed, instead they roll up into a ball that can be climbed on, and they get back up with enough force to send Link flying vertically to gain access to ledges. Once the Gorons stop being hostile, they still allow Link to climb on their backs to send him on his way up, but now they do so willingly.
- Overwatch: Enterprising players can jump up on top of Mei whenever she freezes herself into an ice block with her Cryostasis ability.
- Snoopys Grand Adventure: Snoopy's Joe Cool costume can be unlocked in "Dripping Ducts", the second part of Parisian Underground. When Snoopy is wearing his Joe Cool costume, he can freeze enemies in blocks of ice when he gets near them. When they are in their frozen state, he can jump on them to reach higher places.
- Spyro the Dragon series:
- Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!: The Cloud Temple area has a puzzle in which Spyro must use an ice breath power-up to freeze trolls into ice cubes, then use the ice cubes as platforms to traverse a series of bell towers.
- Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly: There are side-quests that involve retrieving kites stuck in trees. You reach the kites by using your ice breath to freeze the baby dragons standing underneath the trees and using them as Improvised Platforms.
- Spyro: Year of the Dragon: In the Frozen Altars level, Spyro acquires ice breath that he can use to freeze enemies and NPCs. One secret area requires Spyro to freeze an NPC and then jump on him to reach a higher place.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: There are fast-moving platforms that can only be force frozen in place in order to be used, later, this can be used on enemy units to bypass them.
- New Super Mario Bros.: The Ice Flower powerup allows its user to throw ice balls that can freeze some enemies into platforms, in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U.
- Timespinner: One of the first abilities you get is to stop time for a limited duration. While time is stopped, enemies and some projectiles can be used as platforms.
- An Untitled Story: You get an ability to charge up ice shots which turn most enemies into blocks of ice that can be used as floating stepping stones.
Non-Video Game:
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, minor villain Sale has the power to freeze small objects in position relative to other objects. One of his many uses for this power is to throw a handful of gravel and freeze it in midair, creating a 'ladder' that allows him to climb a sheer cliff face.
