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

Either climber can assume the role of the leader, as certain color schemes will transfer Popo's typical position of leader to Nana.

The Ice Climbers have the unique property of being a "two in one" character, as Popo and Nana must work together very well in order to be an effective fighter. The follower can be unresponsive at times and KO'd at low damage %s when she is separated from the leader, but he/she can also be somewhat of a shield for some attacks. The Ice Climbers's attacks are generally fairly short-ranged. Even so, advanced players can do massive damage with the Ice Climbers due to their strong ground game. On the down side, the Ice Climbers are awkward when forced to fight in the air. The Ice Climbers's primary Projectile, Ice Shot, is good for edgeguarding and can't be avoided by ducking because it is a ground hugging projectile. Belay travels a great distance, but its use occasionally comes at the cost of the follower. Squall Hammer has fairly large disjointed hitboxes and is another option for recovering when using it while mashing the B button in the air in a similar manner to Mario's Mario Tornado. Blizzard can easily disrupt approaches, especially when short hopped (as both climbers face the same direction when Blizzard is used in the air).

The Ice Climbers have the second lowest traction when they aren't fighting on ice (where they have the highest traction). This makes them have a very long wavedash, but it also makes approaching difficult. The Ice Climbers have good, powerful juggling tactics, but they themselves are vulnerable to air combos and juggling due to being floaty. They have unusually high gravity (same as Donkey Kong's), making them sustain higher vertical knockback (Pikachu survives slightly longer vertically despite being much lighter than the Ice Climbers). They can perform a glitch exclusive to them, known as the freeze glitch, but for obvious reasons, it is a banned tactic in tournaments.

Where the Ice Climbers really shine is grabs. Although their grab range isn't impressive, they have some of the best chaingrabs in the game, including a grab infinite known as Wobbling, which can be performed against any character that is at 20% or more. Paired Ice Climbers are also the only characters that are effectively immune to chaingrabs (and therefore the Wobble), as the climber that isn't grabbed can simply attack back.

The benefits of controlling two characters at the same time are eliminated once the follower is KO'd or otherwise separated from the leader. This is also quite easy to do, as the follower is much lighter than the leader, and strong attacks or certain attacks such as Fox's Reflector can easily separate them by sending both climbers across the stage in different directions. Chaingrabs are impossible to perform past 20%, the leader can now be chaingrabbed himself/herself, damage from all moves is lost, Belay provides no height, and Squall Hammer provides recovery similar to Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong (almost purely horizontal).

Overall, a professional Ice Climbers player should make the most of their grabs and ground game in order to perform well with Popo and Nana.

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		{{{grabname}}}	—	{{{grabdesc}}}
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)

•  Boback
•  Chu Dat
•  Fly Amanita
•  HammerTime
•  Nintendude
•  Tomber
•  Trail
•  Wobbles

Tier placement and history

The Ice Climbers were once a middle/low tier character who many did not think highly of, as in the beginning of Melee, professionals had not discovered everything about them that made them so dangerous. 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, didn't 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.

Special techniques

Desynching

Desynching is a technique that involves separating the two Climbers' animations and controlling them individually, allowing them to do different techniques at the same time.

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. After 51 seconds have passed, two pairs of Ice Climbers appear. The player must 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.