Snow Bros

Developer: Toaplan    Publisher: Capcom    Release: 1991   Genre: Action

For as much as I like to think I have an open mind with video games I must confess, I’ve made my share of bad assumptions.  When I saw Snow Bros in the store I thought it looked like the dumbest game in the world.  Mind you I didn’t even bother looking at the back of the box.  Had I known it was Bubble Bobble in a different setting I would have jumped on it immediately.  In my defense I was coming off the double whammy of Marvel’s X-Men and 8 Eyes.  Can you blame me for being cautious?  Snow Bros is an excellent arcade port and platformer that deserves a higher profile.

The Evil King Scorch has his sights set on the kingdom of Whiteland and turns its two princes into Snowmen.  Without the princes the princesses Teri and Tina are easily captured.  His plan backfires however as the princes use their newfound frost abilities to put an end to his reign.

There is no getting around it; Snow Bros was obviously “inspire” by Bubble Bobble.  Replace bubble spitting lizards with snowmen and a new series is born.  While their basic premise is the same there are differences.  Your snowballs don’t immediately imprison enemies.  You must completely cover them in frost at which they become a snowball.  Once frozen they can be used as a platform to reach greater heights, pushed around to smother enemies, or kicked at which point the snowball will rebound around the screen.  Its all very similar to Taito’s game but far more intuitive in my opinion.

Snow Bros does not have the number of power-ups of Bubble Bobble but the ones present are just as impactful.  Killing multiple enemies in a row drops different colored potions in addition to food.  These potions grant super speed, instant snowballs, and increased throwing range.  Its hard to line up enemies consistently to earn one of these but at least they last until death.

Although I’ve made frequent references to Bubble Bobble I like the pacing and level design of Snow Bros better. The stages are smaller which forces confrontation with the enemies more frequently. Each individual floor is carefully designed and often features a mechanic to eliminate every enemy in one shot. Its up to you to actually figure it out. The addition of sloped surfaces, while quaint, adds a whole other dynamic to each stage as well. Each set of ten stages has a consistent visual aesthetic which adds to the game’s variety. Speaking of variety, at least one new enemy is introduced after each boss fight. The way the game slowly adds new wrinkles and situations during each set of floors reminds me of Mendel Palace, one of my favorite puzzle games for the NES. That is good company to be in.

Just like Bubble Bobble take too long on a given floor and an unstoppable enemy will hound you. In this case Pumpkin Head is the literal grim reaper of Snow Bros. At first he will not immediately pursue you. His presence alone should be enough to light a fire under your ass. Tarry too long and he will spit out ghosts that aggressively zero in on your position. Every floor has a different time limit with some shorter than others. I would imagine it is because they are designed to be cleared as fast as possible. It can be frustrating as some rooms seem to give less than twenty seconds before he appears but it never becomes unfair.

Snow Bros is shorter than Bubble Bobble at just fifty floors. However, that works in its favor in my opinion. There is enough variety that it stays fresh right up until its conclusion. Every tenth floor ends in a pretty cool boss battle that surprisingly works. Their size and unpredictability should make these encounters a nightmare but the challenge of working in an enclosed space makes them fun. The second boss randomly teleports between the top and bottom of the screen, forcing you to plan ahead to actually hit it. The twin phoenixes of floor thirty are incredibly fast making it the best encounter in the game. And most important of all, you don’t have to finish the game in coop to see the ending.

In Closing

Snow Bros succeeds by using its winter theme to improve gameplay and give it its own identity. This could have coasted by being a Bubble Bobble clone but is better than that. I highly recommend it, too bad it is rare and expensive.