Ice Climbers (SSBM)

Ice Climbers in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Ice Climber
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	S (8)

“	A mallet-swinging duo from the icy peaks.	”
—Melee's instruction manual

Announced at E3 2001, Ice Climbers, known in Japan as Ice Climber ( アイスクライマー, Aisu Kuraimā), are playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

They rank 8th on the tier list (in the S tier), highly accredited to the usage of Wobbling and Desynching and the fact that the fighter is literally "two-in-one", which helps the climbers rack up damage, combo, and KO opponents; this gives the Ice Climbers one of the best grab games in Melee. Additionally, good players can quickly rack up damage with the two, and they have good approach options on the ground, due to disjointed hitboxes and two decent projectiles. The two also have a very long and floaty wavedash, aiding their approach tremendously. The Ice Climbers, however, have a poor air game, and their floatiness causes them to be vulnerable to juggling and combos. Another vulnerability is that many of their benefits are lost if the second Climber is KO'ed.

Attributes

The Ice Climbers have arguably the most unusual fighting style in all of Melee; the player is tasked with controlling two characters at once, and their fighting potential becomes considerably worse should Nana be KOed. Outside of this, their unique physics make them difficult to use; they boast an above average jumping height alongside low air and falling speed, and their traction is also among the worst in the game.

As a result of their unusual gimmick, the Ice Climbers have among the most powerful ground-based approaches in the game. Disjointed hitboxes, a variety of useful tilts and smashes, and a long, floaty wavedash give the Ice Climbers a wide variety of options on the ground, especially in approaching. Arguably their most powerful tool on the ground is their grab; despite having a below-average grab range, they boast low knockback throws, giving them significant chain throwing potential. They can also perform the Wobbling infinite out of a grab, which is arguably the most powerful single technique in the game if players can master it. In addition, the presence of Nana allows players to significantly rack up damage on opponents when they grab them. The presence of Nana also makes grabs and chain throws against Popo difficult to utilize, as she can potentially attack opponents during their grab to break it. Furthermore, the Ice Climbers have among the best projectiles in the game, Ice Shot; it is a ground-based projectile that limits the opponent's approach options, and falls off edges very quickly, allowing it to cover various low recovery options. While short-ranged, Blizzard can also have approaching applications, as Popo and Nana face the same direction when the attack is used during a short-hop; it can also be used as a reliable tool to rack up damage off a grab if Nana uses it while Popo pummels.

The Ice Climbers' desynching techniques also have powerful ground-based applications. Since it essentially allows the control of both Climbers to some degree, experienced players can force Nana to perform certain tasks while Popo is occupied. This includes grabbing opponents immediately after Popo has thrown them (known as a hand-off) and attacking them while Popo keeps them locked in place, amongst other powerful benefits. Desynching, however, requires significant practice to use consistently, making the Ice Climbers one of the most technically demanding characters in the game.

Despite a powerful ground-based approach, the Ice Climbers have a poor air-based approach. A high jumping height, low falling speed, slow, laggy aerials, and the second lowest air speed in the game (behind only Luigi) give the Ice Climbers a poor SHFFL. Their low aerial and falling speeds also make pursuing airborne enemies extremely difficult. Some of the Ice Climbers' aerials have powerful applications; their down aerial keeps the enemy mostly in place due to its set knockback, allowing Popo to regrab if Nana uses it after a throw, and their neutral and back aerials are good spacing tools, with the latter having reliable KOing ability under 150%. However, due to their poor air speed and falling speed, and only one situational meteor (their forward aerial), their air game does not complement their powerful ground game overall. These various traits also give the Ice Climbers a below-average edgeguarding game, and they lack an extremely effective off-stage option. In addition, the Ice Climbers have the second worst traction in the game; similar to Luigi, this makes them highly reliant on wavedashing to approach, and technical errors, such as mistimed air dodges, can set them up for significant punishment. Owing to their light weight and low falling speed, the Ice Climbers are also highly vulnerable to being KOed from the upper blast line.

Players who use the Ice Climbers must also know how to prevent themselves from losing Nana, as when she is KOed, Popo cannot fight nearly as effectively. As the Ice Climbers' attacks were designed to be two-in-one, Popo's attacks alone lack damage racking ability, making it much harder to accumulate percentage on the opponent despite the power of his smash attacks. Popo also cannot perform nearly as many chaingrabs without Nana, and cannot Wobble by himself, greatly reducing the threatening nature of their usual grabs. In return, Popo is left vulnerable to chaingrabs and throw setups himself due to his low air speed and falling speed, and is limited in his recovery options; he is forced to recover with Squall Hammer, which travels only horizontally. Unfortunately, most high-tiered characters have attacks, such as Fox's shine and Peach's forward aerial, that can easily separate Popo from Nana. Their recovery, while long, is prone to endangering Nana, as she can either miss the ledge entirely or be left vulnerable against edgeguarders. All of these flaws force Ice Climbers players to be situationally aware and abuse their powerful ground and grab games to prevent their Climbers from being separated and KOed.

The Ice Climbers also have the ability to perform the Freeze glitch, which prevents their opponent from moving in any capacity when performed. Due to its game-breaking potential, the tactic is banned in tournaments.

Moveset

The Ice Climbers' aerial attacks.

For a gallery of the Ice Climbers' hitboxes, see here.

Note: A majority of the move summaries refer to the combined damage of the two climbers; one of the climber's attack is usually 1% less than the leader's. Total damage refers if both the climber's hammers connect, and they both usually do the moves in sync.

Note: Although both climbers can perform a ledge attack, they cannot perform it at the same time, as only one character is allowed on the ledge at a time.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Pound, Upswing	1-2% (usually adds up to 3%)	A horizontal swipe followed by an upward swing.
			4% (both climbers)
Forward tilt		Hammer Swing	7% and 8%, adds up to 15%	A similar swinging motion in front to their neutral attack, only slightly slower with more knockback and damage. Can Wobble.
Up tilt		Hammer Spin	18-21% damage if most or all hits connect	Twirl their hammers above themselves, being short-ranged, but highly damaging. Consists of many hits.
Down tilt		Shin Attack	4% and 5%, adds up to 9%	A sluggish swing to the floor. One of the climber's less damaging moves even with both their damages combined. Can Wobble.
Dash attack		Scoop	Adds up to 17%	Leap and swing hammers in front. The landing has some ending lag, but both climber's hits add up to an impressive damage output for a dash attack.
Forward smash		Ice Hammer	14% and 12%, adds up to 26% uncharged; 19% and 17%, adds up to 36% fully charged	Somewhat quickly brings their hammers up and brings them down. Great knockback.
Up smash		Icicle Crasher	10% and 11%, adds up to 21% uncharged; 15% and 13%, adds up to 28% fully charged	Swings their hammer in an rapid arc over their heads. Excellent for KOs at higher percentages.
Down smash		Hammer Sweep	12% and 11%, adds up to 23% uncharged; 17% and 14%, adds up to 31% fully charged	Swirl their hammers below them in a 360° style. Fast but somewhat short ranged, good for tight spacing. Good horizontal knockback.
Neutral aerial		Icy Whirlwind	8-15%	Twirl around in the air. Short ranged, but good for aerial spacing and following up with another neutral aerial if predicted right.
Forward aerial		Hammer Slam	10% and 10%, adds up to 20%	Hold their hammers up and bring them down in a similar fashion to their forward smash. Can meteor smash if sweetspotted.
Back aerial		Reverse Swing	12% and 10%, adds up to 22%	Turn around and swing their hammers in a similar fashion to their forward tilt.
Up aerial		Hammer Reach	Both do around 8-9% each, adds up to 17%	Thrust their hammers above themselves like their up tilt, with only one hitbox per climber.
Down aerial		Hammer Ride	Both do 7-9% each, adds up to 17%	Hold their hammers below themselves and fall downwards. Can be angled, has long duration and some landing lag (though L-cancelling helps). This attack has extremely low set knockback and therefore cannot KO grounded opponents at any percentage. Increasing their falling speed, it can help prevent air juggling a bit.
Grab			—
Pummel		Cold Headbutt	1-2% per pummel	The lead climber pummels the opponent, whereas the player has some control over the partner while pummeling. The damage adds up quickly due to desynching.
Forward throw		Hockey Slapshot	11%	Takes the foe and swings their mallets in a Bat-like way, launching the foe forward. Two indiscernible hits.
Back throw		Snow Mt. Throw	7%	Takes opponent and flings them behind with one hand.
Up throw		Icicle Toss	11%	Bash the opponent above themselves. Powerful, though it's power costs them combo follow ups, for a throw. One of the strongest throws in the game. Two hits.
Down throw		Avalanche Crusher	6%	Takes foe and slams them harshly into the ground. Only the lead climber attacks, doing little damage, though the opponent is usually knocked right in front of the climber, leading into many quick combos and chaingrabs.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6% for one climber	Get up and spin their hammers.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6% for one climber	Get up and spin their hammers.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8%	Brings him/herself up and swings him/her hammer in a similar way to their forward smash.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			10%	Slowly gets up and thrusts his/her hammer forwards.
Neutral special		Ice Shot	2% per chunk of ice	The climbers fire blocks of ice that travel along the ground, bouncing off walls. If both climbers are present, two blocks will be fired. If used in mid-air, the Ice Shots fall fast until they hit the ground, and they travel very fast down slopes. If one gets reflected, the other can cancel it out. It is possible for a high-damage opponent to be frozen by Ice Shot, but the chances are slim, and the effect is short lived. Using Ice Shot at very close range can catch enemies with both the ice blocks and the hammers. The projectile can also be absorbed.
Side special		Squall Hammer		The climbers spin around together while moving along the ground, consisting of many hits. It can also be used as a recovery move by mashing the B button - this causes the climbers to rise in the air. It gains more distance when both climbers are present, though with only one climber, it's their only viable recovery option.
Up special		Belay		The lead climber throws the partner up a short distance while the two are attached by a rope, and the partner will then send the leader a long way upward by pulling on the rope. The climbers will become individually helpless after using the move. It grants great recovery distance, but when only one climber is present, it gives next to no distance, meaning Squall Hammer should be used instead.
Down special		Blizzard		The leader stays put on the ground and shoots out a stream of frigid air from the palm of their outstretched hand for about a second to damage opponents in front. This move is mimicked by the partner if both are present, and the partner will shoot out Blizzard in the opposite direction while standing behind the back of the leader. Can rack damage and freeze opponents for a small amount of time. The move can be used to perform Blizzobbling, a variation of Wobbling performed with Blizzard; instead of a tilt, the partner uses Blizzard to damage the opponent while the leader pummels.

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Ice Climbers professionals (SSBM)

Active

•  Boback
•  ChuDat
•  Däumling
•  Fly Amanita
•  HammerTime
•  Nintendude
•  Tomber
•  Trail
•  Wobbles

Tier placement and history

The Ice Climbers were once a middle to low-middle tiered character, as in the beginning of Melee, professionals had not made significant discoveries with the duo. With the discovery of the Ice Climbers' desynching combos, as well as wobbling (which guaranteed a free stock if performed correctly), they started moving up the ranks. The growing dominance of Chu Dat and then Wobbles and Fly Amanita inched them first to the middle tier, then to a tier of their own between the top and high tiers, where they resided for more than two years. Wobbles's second place finish at EVO 2013 with the Ice Climbers, showcasing their power against unprepared Smashers, did not change the Climbers' position but finally pushed them to the S tier, where they are at last recognized as a viable character for tournaments alongside the top tiered characters.

In Single Player Modes

In Classic Mode

Ice Climbers can appear in a one-on-one, as an ally, on a team with Kirby, or as a metal opponent. Ice Climbers are fought on Icicle Mountain except in the metal battle.

In Adventure Mode

Ice Climbers' sole appearance is on Stage 10: Icicle Mountain. The player is initially tasked with navigating the stage for 51 seconds; following this, two pairs of Ice Climbers attack the player. The player must then KO both Ice Climbers to proceed to the next stage.

In All-Star Mode

Ice Climbers and their allies are fought on Icicle Mountain

In Event Matches

Ice Climbers appear in the following Events:

• Event 11: King of the Mountain: The player must survive for 1 minute 2 seconds on Icicle Mountain. Two pairs of Ice Climbers will hinder the player and have unlimited lives.
• Event 21: Ice Breaker: The player must KO two Nanas (the pink Ice Climber) in a 1 stock match. All the Ice Climbers do is jump but can recover. KOing Popo (the blue Ice Climber) anytime results in a failure.
• Event 30: All-Star Match 3: Ice Climbers is the last opponent the player must fight in this series of staged battles. Their character battles them on the Icicle Mountain stage, and the player's character has 2 stock while Ice Climbers has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat them and the other three characters with the overall time and life they have: Kirby, Pikachu and Ness.

Ending images

• Iceclimbersclassic.jpg

  Classic

• Iceclimbersadventure.jpg

  Adventure

• Iceclimbersallstar.jpg

  All-Star

Trophies

Classic Mode

That's Popo in the blue and Nana in the pink. These two stars of the game Ice Climber have scaled many an ice summit in their mountaineering careers. Back in their glory days, they chased eggplants, cucumbers, and other vegetables that inexplicable fell from frosty summits where a condor reigned supreme. They're rarely seen apart.

Game: Ice Climber (10/85)

Adventure Mode

This unique twosome fights together as a team. Your score will not be affected if the CPU-controlled character is KO'd, but a lone Ice Climber won't be able to use teamwork moves, which mini-glaciers out of their hammers, while Squall Hammer is at it's strongest when Nana and Popo combine their strength.

All-Star Mode

The colors of the Ice climbers' parkas denote who's in the lead: Nana's in pink and orange, while Popo's in green or blue. their hairstyles are also slightly different. Belay allows them to cover great distances, but doesn't give foes the chance to target their landing. Blizzard is best used in close quarters; in the fray, Nana and Popo sometimes freeze opponents.

• 

  Classic, #109

• 

  Adventure, #110

• 

  All-Star, #111

Costumes

The Ice Climbers' changeable clothes in SSBM

Trivia

• Changing the language to Japanese on an English copy of Melee changes the Ice Climbers name to "Ice Climber", as the Japanese language does not differentiate words as plural like in English.
• The Ice Climbers are tied with Ganondorf for the world record in the Home-Run Contest, and are the only character other than Ganondorf to have reached the max distance. Unlike Ganondorf, however, the Ice Climbers have to exploit the Freeze glitch in order to be able to reach these distances in the Home-Run Contest.
• The Ice Climbers are the only starter character from a newly represented universe.
• The Ice Climbers and Marth are the only Melee characters who wear their default costume when they're on the blue team.