When most gamers hear the words Ice Climbers, the first thing that probably pops into their heads is the best-selling GameCube hit Super Smash Brothers Melee - I was once a fool as well.
Being from the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) era, I knew I had to research this title, which I surprisingly had never encountered (you currently can pick up a port of the original Ice Climbers for the Game Boy Advance via Nintendo's line of NES Classic Series titles). Having grown attached to the game, questions arose: Why hasn't Nintendo molded this title into a money-making dynasty like it's other NES titles, now considered the most popular franchises in the video game industry, and how could an Ice Climbers sequel translate to take advantage today's consoles? I decided to answer the latter:
I feel that some of you are probably thinking, "No one even knows about the Ice Climbers franchise anymore, why bother? Why not just create an entirely new franchise?" But, my super pals, need I remind you? Super Smash Brothers Melee - there's at least 3 million people right there.
Now, let's cut to the chase scene - my ideal concept is this: Ice Climbers 2 will be a platformer, like it's original, but it needs a catch. Something that'll separate it from the plumbers, and ratchets, and racoons, and princes of modern day third-world countries, amoung dozens of other platformers, while still staying true to the original.
Besides the obvious snow-themed mountain levels, and the game focusing on vertical platforming (which would be neat in it's own right), that's still not enough to give it it's own face. Just look at the original Ice Climbers and the answer is obvious - there's two of the lil' buggers.
For single-player, you could switch between the stars of Ice Climbers, Nana and Popo, ala The Lost Vikings for the Super Nintendo, each with their own unique abilities from their other half. They could also be used to work together as a single vessel, to help each other as a fail-safe for scaling walls (ala the Mario Party 4 minigame), to gain extra height, and even some tag team moves ala Super Smash Brothers when fighting baddies along the way to the top. But, move over Four Swords Adventures, this game should be all about an incredible co-op adventure between you and a friend.
The game should also be about pure unspoiled platforming, and beautiful snowy atmospheres. Refer to my concept picture - It's a little small for a single level, but pretty much gives you the basic idea:
As you can see, the basic idea is to reach the top and raise the flag, and then snatch onto the talons of the giant bird who'll take you back down to safety. Simply give the player a few missions or objectives along the way to increase replayability (incase co-op isn't enough, pssh), and thusly also increase the game's length. Unlike my drawing, the mountains should be littered with baddies and minigames, plus some platforming inside the mountain by caves - where it'll get truely old school, with breakable ice floors that you need to climb to reach higher ground. You'll also notice the off-colored areas against the mountain. Those would be areas in which you actually smack yourself against the side of the mountain and start climbing hand over foot.
The game would, like the original, also have a high score for each level, and for each player, thusly making you have to co-operate while in constant competition. You would recieve points for the amount of breakable ice smashed along the way, the amount of baddies you took down, the double team attacks you used to take them down, and the amount of time it took to complete the mountain range itself. And, also like the original, the trademark polar bear in pink shorts will knock you off the ledge should you stay in the same area for too long, so no one player will be able to hoard points while the other tries to complete the level.
