Ice Climbers

The Ice Climbers are a pair consisting of a little boy named Popo and a little girl named Nana, who climb ice mountains. They are from the game Ice Climber, which was also mentioned in Game & Watch Gallery 3. One of these two may also be the playable character in the Game & Watch game Climber in Game & Watch Gallery 4. Despite being very young, they are very good mountain climbers. Popo was seen in WarioWare: Twisted! and WarioWare: Touched!, in one of the microgames. The Ice Climbers are very rarely linked to the Mario series. They first appeared alongside Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as Super Smash Bros. Brawl. They also appear in the crossover game Tetris DS.

Super Smash Bros. Melee


The Ice Climbers appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee, as one of the new characters. On top of being new, they were also default. The two are unique, as they fight as a team, but ironically act as two separate characters. Thus, they act as a literal 2-in-1 player.

They can be very hard to avoid, as they are a team, but once one is gone, the other is a cake walk. In the same sense, if Popo is defeated, then the two will lose a life even without Nana being defeated. Their attacks are not incredibly powerful, but they can use two attacks at once, as well as use two items at once, and hold and throw two people at once. However, their reach is very short, making their grab game difficult to master.

Overall, they can be very difficult for beginners to use, but powerful, and tricky if used right. Both Popo and Nana are voiced by Sanae Kobayashi.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The Ice Climbers return to the series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with an updated appearance. Their appearance now adds detailed fur to their parkas. Their Hammers also have a more detailed appearance, actually showing the wood rings on their hammers. The Ice Climber stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is called Summit, which matches the Ice Climber style completely. Interestingly, the fish from Balloon Fight can be found on this stage. Their battle entrance features them holding on to a Condor, with them jumping off to land on the stage. Their Final Smash is Iceberg, in which they create a large iceberg in the middle of the stage.

Solid Snake Codec Conversation

 * Snake: So those two are the Ice Climbers, huh?
 * Mei Ling: Snake, have you ever heard of a "blood bond"?
 * Snake: Sure.
 * Mei Ling: It refers to a bond between two people that's so strong they'd die for each other. The Ice Climbers have conquered frozen glaciers and dangerous mountaintops together. I think they've formed a bond that we can't even fathom.
 * Snake: I dunno. Seems to me they'd get in each other's way fighting to see who gets to the top first.
 * Mei Ling: Snake, in China they say, "Though brothers may quarrel at home, outside they defend each other from slight."
 * Snake: Is that really a Chinese proverb?
 * Mei Ling: Even though they may get in each other's way occasionally, they'll pull together in times of need. They're an inseparable team, Snake. Don't underestimate them!

The Subspace Emissary
The Ice Climbers were first seen climbing up the Glacial Peak, completely oblivious to the shootout between the Great Fox and the Battleship Halberd. However, they do see Meta Knight climbing past them, trying to get to the Halberd. The Ice Climbers see this as a challenge, and race him to the top, managing to reach it first. However, they discover the Aura Pokémon Lucario up there, who challenges Meta Knight. Popo and Nana could only watch. Just after the battle, the Halberd rams the Great Fox into the mountain. While Meta Knight and Lucario take this chance to get inside the Halberd, the Ice Climbers fall into the Canyon, where they find themselves with Marth, Lucas, the Pokémon Trainer and Ike. The Subspace Army attacks them all, but they are saved by Mario, Link, Yoshi, Kirby, and Pit. The Ice Climbers eventually go to Subspace with all of the heroes, where they all get turned into trophies by Tabuu. Fortunately, Kirby is then revived by a badge created by King Dedede so he saves Popo and Nana along with some other characters. The entire team then goes after Tabuu.

Ice Shot


Ice Shot is a move executed by the Ice Climbers in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. To use it, the player has to simply press. Two small chunks of ice will appear will appear out of nowhere, and the Ice Climbers will hit it along the ground, hurting anyone it happens to hit. It deals about 5 to 8 damage. In the case of Popo/Nana being the only Ice Climber active, only one small chunk of ice will appear. Ice Shot is a long-range move, which acts as an advantage for the Ice Climbers. If the Ice Climbers' powers are copied by Kirby, he will be able to use Ice Shot.

Squall Hammer


Squall Hammer is a move used by the Ice Climbers in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is performed by pressing and pushing  to the side. It will make both Nana and Popo spin around with their hammers held far out. They would proceed to spin forward in the direction the Control Stick was tilted. It usually deals about 7-19 damage. The attack is less effective if only one Ice Climber is in battle, but it still works alone. Squall Hammer is very useful in barging through a big crowd of opponents. In Melee Popo and Nana use their left hands to swing the mallets.

Belay


Belay is an attack performed by the Ice Climbers in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was done by pressing Up+. Popo/Nana would then throw Nana/Popo up into the air, allowing Nana/Popo to use a belay to pull Popo/Nana upwards. It is also able to damage anyone who gets in the way of the attack. However, the attack is worthless if only Popo/Nana is in the battle. This makes it a hard move to master, but it can be useful for getting out of many bad situations. The attack is inspired from the belay that real ice climbers use when climbing a mountain as a team.

Blizzard


Blizzard is the name of an attack that the Ice Climbers perform in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is executed by pressing Down+. It will make a small blizzard come out of both of the Ice Climbers's hands. It will usually deal around 5%-13% damage. It is an effective move to use when surrounded, as the two will blast snow in both directions. However, if Nana/Popo has been defeated, leaving Popo/Nana left to fight by himself, he/she will only be able to shoot snow in one direction. So, the attack is best used when the two are together. Sometimes, the attack can briefly freeze an opponent.

Iceberg


Iceberg is the name of a Final Smash attributed to the Ice Climbers in the game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Once the duo break open the Smash Ball, the two high-five each other. Once this is done, a giant iceberg falls onto the stage, taking up almost all of the stage's space. This not only freezes any platform in the surrounding area, but also damages any opposing player who touches the iceberg, doing a heavy amount of damage, if not KO them. The Ice Climbers, however, are not affected by the Iceberg, and are able to add to the amount of damage by attacking the players that get frozen. The attack can also be done with only one Ice Climber.

Trivia

 * Super Smash Bros. Melee was the Ice Climbers' second appearance, sixteen years after their first.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, when playing a battle with one or more Ice Climbers in the field, the character and environment animations are done in slow motion. This happens most likely of the "constriction" of the physics engine in the game.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Melee, the Ice Climbers, being that they wear cleats, have regular traction on ice; unlike other characters, they do not slip and can travel across frosty landscapes with ease.
 * Despite this however, the Ice Climbers are still prone to tripping in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Along with the Pokémon Trainer, the Ice Climbers are the only fighter that consist of more than one character.
 * In the German version, Popo has been renamed "Pepe", because in German "Popo" means "buttocks".