Ice Climbers cut from Smash Bros. 3DS due to lack of hardware power
Meaning no Wii U appearance either.
NES fighting duo Ice Climbers were cut from the character roster of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U due to the 3DS' lack of hardware power, series boss Masahiro Sakurai has revealed.
The Ice Climbers duo, Popo and Nana, were collectively playable in both Smash Bros. Melee on GameCube and Smash Bros. Brawl on Wii and were expected to return for the latest versions.
Speaking in the latest issue of Famitsu (thanks, Esuteru) Sakurai confirmed that the Ice Climbers were originally playable in an early version of the Wii U build, but then had to be removed.
The 3DS and Wii U entries share the same character list, meaning that the Ice Climbers will also not be playable in the upcoming home console version.
The fact that no new Ice Climbers games are currently on the horizon made the decision to cut the characters more simple, Sakurai concluded.
Smash Bros. 3DS and Wii U feature 51 playable characters - the largest roster by far of any title in the series to date. The full list lies below (warning: spoilers!)
Included are: Bowser Jr., Captain Falcon, Charizard, Dark Pit, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, Duck Hunt Dog, Falco, Fox, Ganondorf, Greninja, Ike, Jigglypuff, King Dedede, Kirby, Link, Little Mac, Lucario, Lucina, Luigi, Mario, Marth, Mega Man, Meta Knight, Mii Brawler/Gunner/Swordfighter, Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Pac-Man, Peach, Palutena, Pikachu, Pikmin & Olimar, Pit, R.O.B., Robin, Rosalina & Luma, Samus, Sheik, Shulk, Sonic, Toon Link, Villager, Wario, Wii Fit Trainer, Yoshi, Zelda and Zero Suit Samus.