Afterwards, the player must choose from the second set of 24 mountains, in which the Condor is replaced by a giant butterfly. After eight are cleared, a Super Bonus stage occurs in which the player must reach a high platform. The player must pick from an initial set of 24 mountains to conquer. Ice Climber has a few more gameplay differences. After a few successful mountains climbed, all enemies' speeds increase. These can form on the bottom of any type of platform. Other obstacles include deadly falling icicles. If an Eskimo is forced off the screen, the player loses a life. Pounding the ice, the Polar Bear forces the screen to move up. This enemy, wearing sunglasses and pink speedo, appears on screen only when Popo and Nana take too long to advance. The final enemy is the bipedal White Bear. Taking them into account along with moving platforms and sliding ice, timing jumps can be more difficult. Unlike the Topi, which is confined to one floor of the mountain, Nitpickers can cross over multiple ice layers. The Nitpicker is a small, mountain-dwelling bird that swoops down from icy caves on the levels' edges.

This process repeats until no more openings on their layer of ice exist. To do this, a Topi scouts out opening in the floor, runs back to its cave, and reemerges pushing an icicle to fill in two blocks. Topis have the ability to fill in holes in the floor with ice. Topis come in two varieties: the blue seal featured in the Japanese Famicom Ice Climber release, and the short yeti seen in Western versions and Vs. At the top of the peak, the Condor flies overhead.Įnemies encountered on the way up the mountains include the Topi, Nitpicker, and White Bear. Collecting just one piece of corn from the fifth bonus stage is the only way to gain an extra life. The peak is also the only place to recover stolen vegetables, most notably eggplants. Within a 40-second time limit and no enemies, the Ice Climbers often face trickier jumps and multiple moving platforms. Finally, many mountains include unbreakable moving platforms resembling clouds. Hatched ice acts as a conveyor belt sliding the Eskimo either left or right.

Square ice blocks with higher detail are indestructible, forcing the player to take another path. Standard, dull ice blocks pose no threat other than an easily disposed-of barrier and platform. Each mountain level consists of eight layers of colorful ice and a bonus stage. The only tool they carry is a wooden mallet to carve openings in the ice above and to club enemies. The first player controls Popo, a boy wearing a blue Eskimo parka, while the second player controls Nana, a girl wearing a pink one.

Popo scales Mountain 1 surrounded by Topis and a Nitpicker.

Nintendo ice climber