[b] The characters Popo and Nana, known as the Ice Climbers, scale 32 vertically scrolling, ice-covered mountains to recover stolen vegetables from a giant condor.

The arcade version, VS. Ice Climber,[c] has an animated title screen, a stage select menu at the start of the game and between levels, 16 more mountains, occasional blizzard and wind effects, more enemy characters, and bonus multiplier items.

Within a 40-second time limit and no enemies, the Ice Climbers often face trickier jumps and multiple moving platforms.

To do this, a Topi scouts out an opening in the floor, runs back to its cave, and reemerges pushing an icicle to fill in two blocks.

This enemy, wearing sunglasses and pink speedo, appears on screen only when Popo and Nana take too long to advance.

The game keeps track of whether the mountain was claimed by an Ice Climber or if it remains Topi territory—once all the stages are completed, the counter resets.

Stage setups are generally trickier in VS. Ice Climber, with some new mechanics such as cloud platforms that move diagonally or strong gusts of wind.

Points are rewarded for every brick of ice destroyed, every Topi-pushed icicle smashed, every Nitpicker killed and every vegetable collected.

Ice Climber and NES Open Tournament Golf were directed by longtime Nintendo producer Kenji Miki.

[12][better source needed] Ice Climber, a launch game for the NES in North America, has been re-released for several of Nintendo's consoles.

In Japan, Game Machine listed VS. Ice Climbers in its April 1, 1985, issue as the eighth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

[19] Reviewing the American release, Computer Entertainer magazine called it "addictive" for fans of climbing games.

The reviewer awarded 3.5 out of 4 stars, for both categories of graphics and gameplay, adding that it provide "hours of challenging play".

[20] Popo and Nana appear in the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting game as a two-in-one playable fighter under the name Ice Climbers, voiced by Sanae Kobayashi.

[24] The Ice Climbers appear in Super Mario Maker as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume.