Ice Climber was released for the Famicom in Japan on 30 January 1985 and was an NES launch title in North America later that year. Eskimo climbers Popo and Nana smash through ice floors with hammers to reach the top of each mountain, where a bonus stage awaits. The Famicom game has 32 mountains and then loops with no ending.
The game was directed by Kenji Miki, with music by Akito Nakatsuka, and programmer Kazuaki Morita considered it a warm-up before working on Super Mario Bros. Nintendo released VS. Ice Climber for arcades on 4 February 1985. Hudson Soft made PC-88 and Sharp X1 versions the same year, and in 1988 the arcade version came to the Famicom Disk System.
Popo and Nana later became the two-in-one fighter Ice Climbers in Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), Brawl and Ultimate. Former Finnish president Mauno Koivisto was reportedly fond of Nintendo games, and Ice Climber was said to be his favorite.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | VS. Ice Climber | Arcade | March 1985 | Nintendo | 1 |
| NA | Ice ClimberNES launch title; English Wikipedia gives 18 October, Japanese Wikipedia 19 October | NES | October 1985 | Nintendo | 1 |
| NA | Ice Climber-ee-Reader cards | Game Boy Advance | Nov 11, 2002 | Nintendo | 1 |
| NA | Classic NES Series: Ice Climber | Game Boy Advance | Jun 2, 2004 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | アイスクライマーAisu KuraimāFamicom | NES | Jan 30, 1985 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | VS. Ice ClimberNintendo VS. System | Arcade | Feb 4, 1985 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | Ice ClimberPC-88 (PC-8801); limited palette and reworked HUD | Other | October 1985 | Hudson Soft | 1 |
| JP | Ice ClimberSharp X1 | Other | November 1985 | Hudson Soft | 1 |
| EU | Ice Climberbundled with the NES in some European countries | NES | Sep 1, 1986 | Nintendo | 2 |
| JP | VS. Ice ClimberFamicom Disk System port of the VS. version | Famicom Disk System | Nov 18, 1988 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | アイスクライマーFamicom Mini series | Game Boy Advance | Feb 14, 2004 | Nintendo | 1 |
| EU | Classic NES Series: Ice Climber | Game Boy Advance | Jul 9, 2004 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | Ice ClimberNintendo Switch Online NES library | Switch | Sep 19, 2018 | Nintendo | 3 |
| WW | Arcade Archives ICE CLIMBERVS. System version, Japanese version only | Switch | Feb 22, 2019 | Hamster | 4 |
Also known as: アイスクライマー JP2Aisu Kuraimā JP2VS. Ice Climber WW1Ice Climber-e NA1Classic NES Series: Ice Climber NA1
Box art by region
NA Ice Climber 
EU Ice Climber 
JP アイスクライマー
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentVS. Ice Climber (arcade)
VS. Ice Climber has two sets of 24 mountains, 48 in total and 16 more than the NES game. It adds a super bonus stage every eight stages, blizzards and wind, extra enemies such as a bee, bonus multiplier items, and a giant butterfly instead of the condor in the second set.1
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GraphicsFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)VS.
The enemy Topi is a blue seal in the Japanese Famicom version, but a yeti-like creature in the Western releases and in VS. Ice Climber.1
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CoverNES (EU)
On the back of the European box, the seal-like Topi was painted over.2
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
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Arcade Archives Purchase
Arcade Archives ICE CLIMBER
VS. System version (Japanese version only)
Checked: 2026-10-134nintendo.com
Reception
Game Machine listed VS. Ice Climber as the eighth most successful table arcade unit in April 1985, and Computer Entertainer called the NES game addictive, giving it 3.5 out of 4 for graphics and gameplay.1
In lists
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2ja.wikipedia.org
- 3gameinformer.com
- 4arcadearchives.com
- 5nintendo.com
- 6nintendo.com
- 7ja.wikipedia.org
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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