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The Ice Climbers are a pair of mountain climbers consisting of Popo (Blue) and Nana (Pink). They make their debut appearance in Ice Climber as the protagonists. They, later on, appear as playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. Series. Popo also has cameos in some microgames in the WarioWare series.

They are unique for being the first character that consists of two people in the Super Smash Bros. franchise (in other words, the only tandem fighter). In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the leader of the two will always be Popo, but by changing costumes, Nana will appear to be leading as Popo will be in the back. If the front character is defeated, then the follower will automatically lose. Though if the follower is defeated first, then the leader may continue to fight by his or herself, albeit with a distinct disadvantage. Also, with both characters, specials will do twice the damage. Without her, the Belay Move won't be effective, and a properly executed Squall Hammer will be the only recovery option after a double-jump.

The nationality of the Ice Climbers is unknown and may not be one present in the real world. Assuming that their race is present in the real world, however, they are seen wearing parkas and live in a cold country with large icebergs, which can leads to the assumption that the Ice Climbers are of the Inuit race of Greenland, Alaska, and Canada. However, their light skin complexion may also suggest that they are possibly Caucasian Russians, given the cold climate of Russia and the Russian origins of the parka. This does not rule out the possibility of them being Inuit though, as lighter skinned Inuit people do also exist.

Popo[]

Popo is the male Ice Climber who wears a blue parka. He is always Player 1 and has made a few stand-alone appearances (mainly as cameos and in single-player gameplay of Ice Climber). He has a pale face with pink cheeks and long black eyes that are almost always depicted with a white shine. He has brown hair and gloves & usually wields a wooden mallet. Lastly, he wears white boots with spiked wooden soles attached by a blue boot strap.

Nana[]

Nana is the female Ice Climber. She is always Player 2 and is nearly identical in terms of appearance to Popo except for the fact that she wears a pink Parka and pink boot straps, and has longer hair in the her appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. She doesn't have as many cameos as Popo, however, she is seen with him most of the time.

Super Smash Bros. Moveset[]

Special Moves[]

  • Neutral Special: Ice Shot. The Ice Climber(s) creates a mini-glacier and smacks it away as a projectile with their hammers. These glaciers are pulled down by gravity, making them better options for hitting opponents below rather than in the air. There are two glaciers shot only if both Climbers are present, and only one if one of them are present.
  • Side Special: Sister Twister. The Ice Climber(s) spin around each other, moving left of right depending on the directional input. There is plenty of knockback in the last smack, especially if both Ice Climbers are present and together on the move.
  • Up Special: Belay. The leading Ice Climber throws the following Ice Climber upwards. If the follower reaches a ledge, they will then grab hold and pull up the leader. If no ledge is reached, the follower will throw the leader even higher. When not used as a recovery option, the follower can be thrown upwards to attack an airborne opponent by forcefully slamming into them.
  • Down Special: Blizzard. The Ice Climber(s) create a blizzard with outstretched palms. In Melee and Brawl, they would perform this move in opposite directions, giving more coverage yet not freezing the opponent very often. In Ultimate, however, they now perform this move in the same direction, having less coverage but is more likely to freeze the opponent.

Trivia[]

  • They are the only Super Smash Bros. character to appear in more than one game, and then get removed from the next game. This is because they weren't present in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U after appearing in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The exclusion was due to hardware limitations on the Nintendo 3DS. Instead, they appeared as trophies.
  • Popo makes cameos without Nana in WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$, WarioWare: Twisted, and WarioWare: Touched.
  • Both appear as cameos in WarioWare: Get It Together! when playing the Ice Climber microgame with two players.
  • The Ice Climbers are one of the first simultaneous co-op characters in Nintendo history.
  • In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Ice Climbers were 2nd place in the tier list, being beaten by only Meta Knight.
  • As seen in plenty of official art and what can be inferred by which hand they hold their hammers in, the Ice Climbers are left-handed.
  • They childhood friends that are rarely seen apart and share a platonic love, but they were erroneously described as lovers in a Nintendo Power issue. All other official sources indicates otherwise.

Game Appearances[]

Ice Climber series[]

Super Smash Bros. series[]

Cameos[]

  • WarioWare: Get It Together!
  • Super Mario Maker (As a costume)
  • WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (Popo only)
  • WarioWare: Twisted! (Popo only)
  • WarioWare: Touched! (Popo only)
  • Tetris DS
  • WarioWare: D.I.Y. (Popo only)
  • Monkey Ropes: (Dubbed: Climbers)
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