Snow Bros.

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| label2 = DeveloperTemplate:Pluralize from text | data2 = ToaplanTemplate:Efn

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| label10 = ComposerTemplate:Pluralize from text | data10 = Osamu Ōta

| label11 = Series | data11 = Snow Bros.

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Template:Nihongo foot is a 1990 platform video game developed and published by Toaplan for Japanese arcades; it was distributed by Romstar in North America and Europe. Players control snowman twins Nick and Tom as they travel through 50 stages, using snowballs as weapons while navigating obstacles and battling monsters in order to rescue the princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi.<ref name="CN201">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The game was later ported to multiple platforms, each one by different third-party developers and featuring several changes or additions. Versions for various microcomputers were in development, but were never officially released.

Snow Bros. was met with mostly positive reception from critics and players alike, earning an award from Gamest magazine and gaining a cult following since its initial release. In 1994, a sequel titled Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves was released by Hanafram, serving as the last game by Toaplan prior to their closure. The rights to Snow Bros. are currently owned by Tatsujin, a Japanese company formed by Masahiro Yuge. A modernized version of the game, titled Snow Bros Special, was developed by CRT Games and published by Daewon Media Game Lab and Clear River Games for Nintendo Switch, and was released in May 2022. A third installment in the series, Snow Bros. Wonderland, was released in 2024.

Gameplay

File:Snowbrosscreenshot.png

Arcade version screenshot

Snow Bros. is a platform game reminiscent of Bubble Bobble and Tumblepop, where players assume the role of snowmen twins Nick (wearing blue overalls) and Tom (wearing red overalls) through 50 increasingly difficult stages, each with a boss at every tenth stage that must be fought before progressing any further, in an effort to rescue twin princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi from captivity as the main objective.<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual">Snow Brothers instruction booklet (Game Boy, US)</ref><ref name="SBNESmanual">Snow Brothers instruction manual (Nintendo Entertainment System, US)</ref><ref name="SBSMDmanual">Snow Bros. (スノーブラザーズ): Nick & Tom manual (Sega Mega Drive, JP)</ref> The plot summary of Snow Bros. varies between each region and version.<ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/><ref name="SBflyer">Snow Bros. arcade flyer (Toaplan, JP)</ref> In the NES port, King Scorch cursed princes Nick and Tom by turning them into snowmen, while he also captured the princess twins Teri and Tina, leading the brothers to defeat the king to save their land.

Each player can throw snow at enemies until each one is completely covered and turns into a snowball, but partially covered enemies in snow cannot move until they shake it off.<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> Once an enemy has been turned into a snowball, players can roll or throw the snowball, which will rebound off of walls until eventually shattering against a wall.<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> Any enemies the snowball rolls into are eliminated and other stationary snowballs start rolling when the rolling snowball touches them.<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> If players manage to take out all enemies by kicking one snowball (this one snowball may be used to make others bounce around as well and increase the chances to pull this trick off), bonus money will fall from the sky.<ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> If the player takes too much time to complete a level, an evil pumpkin head will come and try to kill the players. It is invincible but can be stunned and sent to appear elsewhere in the level with snowballs or snow shots.<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> The evil pumpkin head will eventually spawn ghosts that travel freely through the level and seek the player character. These ghosts cannot be killed or stunned and players must avoid them while killing the rest of the enemies.<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/>

When players bowl an enemy over, it may drop a potion item. The color of said potions lets players know what power-up it is:<ref name="CN201"/><ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> the red potion increases speed, blue increases the amount of snow thrown to cover enemies in snow easier, yellow increases the distance that snow can be thrown, while green causes the snowmen to inflate like a balloon while having the ability to fly around the screen and knock out enemies for a limited period of time. The game hosts a number of hidden bonus secrets to be found, which are crucial for reaching high-scores to obtain extra lives.<ref name="SBGBmanual"/><ref name="SBNESmanual"/><ref name="SBSMDmanual"/> If a single player is downed, their character is immediately respawned at the location they start at on every stage. Getting hit by enemy fire will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the characters' firepower and speed to his original state and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless the players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing.

Development

Amiga version

File:Amiga500 system.jpg

Snow Bros. was converted for the Amiga by Ocean France immediately after porting work on Pang was completed in 1990.

Snow Bros. for the Amiga was created by Ocean France, the French division of publisher Ocean Software that previously worked on other conversions such as Pang and Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2, with Marc Djan managing its development.<ref name="G430">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="CVG114">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="AP18">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="CASaiwmd">Template:Cite web</ref> Ocean Software acquired the license after the European Computer Entertainment Show in September 1990 while work on the port immediately began as soon as programmer Pierre Adane finished his task of converting Pang.<ref name="CUAmiga14">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Despite receiving almost no support from Toaplan, the team at Ocean France wanted the Amiga port of Snow Bros. to be as close as possible to the arcade original, playing the coin-op machine from start to finish while using it as reference when taking notes about certain elements such as animations, graphic techniques and enemy AI.<ref name="CUAmiga14"/> Work on the conversion was primarily done on Amiga and Atari ST-based systems, while custom software was written to animate sprites and build stages as a jigsaw puzzle using low memory, which allowed an easier coding process to implement every element from the arcade version like hidden bonus secrets.<ref name="CUAmiga14"/> Artists Philippe and Lionel Dessoly, as well as Francis Fournier adapted the arcade artwork for the conversion, using a ST set-up for maps and sprites, while Pierre Loriaux was responsible for sound design.<ref name="CUAmiga14"/><ref name="JStick13">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The crew also included new additions such as cutscenes between stages, and Adane was also able to replicate the original gameplay speed, though alterations had to be made to make the game more playable.<ref name="CUAmiga14"/><ref name="Z19">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Adane said that co-op play was removed in order to maintain a stable frame rate during gameplay, which was deemed by Djan as "probably the most important factor".<ref name="CUAmiga14"/><ref name="Z19"/><ref name="TO31">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Release

Snow Bros. was first released for arcades in April 1990 in Japan by Toaplan<ref name="B!MD7">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="MBASICM95">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="ATVGL:JaO1971-2005">Template:Cite book</ref> and North America by Romstar,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and later in Europe the same year.<ref>Snow Bros. arcade flyer (Toaplan, EU)</ref>Template:Better source needed The game ran on a proprietary arcade board manufactured by Toaplan, which was notable for its small size.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The soundtrack was composed by Osamu Ōta.<ref name="VGMdb">Template:Cite web</ref> The same year on 21 October, an album containing music from the title and Out Zone was co-published exclusively in Japan by Scitron and Pony Canyon, featuring an arranged soundtrack composed by Ōta.<ref name="VGMdb"/>

Ports

The Game Boy conversion, titled Snow Bros. Jr., was developed by Dual<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and first released in Japan by Naxat Soft on 24 May 1991,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in North America by Capcom in January 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is single-player only and changes the story to compensate for this by having one of the titular snowmen twins be kidnapped while the other sets out to rescue him.<ref name="SBGBmanual"/> Several other aspects of the game were changed due to the technical restrictions of the Game Boy, such as bosses that originally fought in pairs in the arcade version now fight alone and potions are now given different shape due to the lack of color display on the original Game Boy. The Game Boy version also adds an extra set of 10 levels after the 50 levels adapted from the arcade version are cleared.

The Nintendo Entertainment System version, titled Snow Brothers in western regions, was developed by Soft House<ref name="TFf25v9">Template:Cite magazine (Translation by Gamengai. Template:Webarchive).</ref> and first released in North America by Capcom in November 1991,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> then in Japan in December of the same year by Toaplan<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as in Europe.Template:Citation needed It features a new story sequence at the beginning which depicts a unique origin story; Nick and Tom are established to be human princes who were cursed into becoming snowmen by an evil demon named King Scorch.<ref name="SBNESmanual"/>

The Mega Drive version was released only in Japan by Tengen on 28 May 1993,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was the only console version of the game to be developed by Toaplan. It features a new opening story sequence at the start of the game, as well as 20 additional levels set after the original 50 levels, in which the player switches controls from Nick and Tom to the twin princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi after the snowmen twins themselves get kidnapped by a new adversary. The Mega Drive version is included on both the Japanese and Asian versions of the Sega Genesis Mini.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

ISAC Entertainment released an enhanced version of Snow Bros. for iOS and Android mobile devices in 2012.Template:Citation needed Snow Bros. was included as part of the Toaplan Arcade 1 compilation for Evercade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cancelled ports

Ocean France had plans to develop Snow Bros. for various microcomputer and console platforms such as the Amstrad GX4000, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1991 but none of these conversions were officially released by Ocean Software.<ref name="G430"/><ref name="CVG114"/><ref name="AP18"/><ref name="Z19"/> Like the Game Boy port, the Amiga version lacks multiplayer functionality due to gameplay reasons.<ref name="AP18"/><ref name="TO31"/> A ROM image of the Amiga version was leaked online in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A PC Engine Super CD-ROM² version was also planned but never released.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Scores
	GB	NES	AGA	SMD
ACE	800/1000<ref name="ACEGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
ASM	8/12<ref name="ASMGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
AllGame	Template:N/A	Template:Rating<ref name="AGNESsb">Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Beep! Mega Drive	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	23/40<ref name="B!MDSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
CVG	90%<ref name="CVGGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
EGM	Template:N/A	26/40<ref name="EGMNESsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Famitsu	23/40<ref name="FamGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	24/40<ref name="FamNESsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	23/40<ref name="FamSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
GamePro	Template:N/A	19/25<ref name="GProNESsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Génération 4	90%<ref name="G4GBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	91%<ref name="G4AGAsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A
Hippon Super!	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	60/100<ref name="HS!SMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Hobby Consolas	Template:N/A	84/100<ref name="HCNESsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Joypad	93%<ref name="JpadGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Joystick	93%<ref name="JstickGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	92%<ref name="JstickAGAsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A
Mean Machines	79%<ref name="MMGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Mean Machines Sega	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	83/100<ref name="MMSSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
MDAG	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	59%<ref name="MDAGSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
MegaTech	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	86%<ref name="MegaTSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Nintendo Power	Template:N/A	12.8/20<ref name="NPNESsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Play Time	32%<ref name="PTGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Power Unlimited	Template:N/A	72/100<ref name="PUNESsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Sega Force Mega	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	91/100<ref name="SFMSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Sega Pro	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	79%<ref name="SProSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Sega Zone	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	51/100<ref name="SZoneSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Super Game	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	70/100<ref name="SGSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Superjuegos	77,8/100<ref name="SJGBsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
Video Games	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	Template:N/A	75%<ref name="VGSMDsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Awards
Publication(s)		Award(s)
Gamest Mook (1998)		Annual Hit Game 48th<ref name="GM112sb">Template:Cite book</ref>

RePlay reported Snow Bros. to be the eleventh most popular arcade game of June 1990.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Game Machine also listed the title as Japan's eleventh most popular arcade game of June 1990.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Donn Nauert of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment gave a positive outlook on the arcade version.<ref name="VG&CEARCsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the September 1990 issue of Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine, the game was ranked on the number eight spot in popularity.<ref name="MBASICM99">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Den of Geek noted it to be one of the titles from Toaplan in which the company pursued other game genres besides their shoot 'em up endeavors.<ref name="DOGsb">Template:Cite web</ref> The arcade original has gained a cult following since its release.<ref name="AP18"/>

The Game Boy port was met with positive reception from critics and fans. In a poll taken by Family Computer Magazine, it received a score of 19.7 out of 30, indicating a popular following.<ref name="PSMjpGBNESsb">Template:Cite book</ref> The NES conversion was also met with positive reception from reviewers and fans, garnering a score of 19.7 out of 30, indicating a popular following.<ref name="PSMjpGBNESsb"/>

The Amiga version of Snow Bros. was met with positive reception from critics prior to its cancellation.<ref name="AMAGAsb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Legacy

A sequel, titled Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves (known in Japan as Otenki Paradise: Snow Bros. 2), was launched in 1994 and served as the final arcade project developed by Toaplan, as the company filed for bankruptcy during the game's release.<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="DOGsb"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web (Translation by Shmuplations. Template:Webarchive).</ref> A game of a similar style titled Nightmare in the Dark was developed in 2000 by AM Factory and published by Eleven/Gavaking and SNK for the Neo Geo MVS.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2002, a Mexican company known as Syrmex Electronics created a hack of the original Snow Bros. running on similar hardware called Snow Brothers 3: Magical Adventure, replacing Nick and Tom with soccer players who shoot soccer balls instead of snowballs, while featuring levels similar to those of the original despite new graphics and artwork added to the levels' backgrounds. It was the only game developed by Syrmex.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In more recent years, the rights to Snow Bros., its successor and many other IPs from Toaplan are now owned by Tatsujin, a company named after TruxtonTemplate:'s Japanese title that was founded in 2017 by former Toaplan employee Masahiro Yuge, and is part of Embracer Group since 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A revival for Nintendo Switch was developed by CRT Games and released in 2022 by Daewon Media Game Lab (downloads) and Clear River Games (physical copies).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A follow-up to Snow Bros. 2, named Snow Bros. Wonderland, was released in November 2024 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The game was developed by Tatsujin and published by Clear River Games.<ref name="SBW">Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Snow Bros. at GameFAQs
• Snow Bros. at Killer List of Videogames
• Snow Bros. at MobyGames