Snow Bros.
From Sega Retro
| Snow Bros. | |||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | |||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Tengen | |||||||||||||||
| Developer: Toaplan | |||||||||||||||
| Distributor: Samsung (KR) | |||||||||||||||
| Licensor: Toaplan | |||||||||||||||
| Original system(s): Arcade boards | |||||||||||||||
| Sound driver: Cube/Noriyuki Iwadare | |||||||||||||||
| Genre: Action[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1-2 | |||||||||||||||
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Snow Bros.: Nick & Tom (スノーブラザーズ) is a 1990 arcade game which was ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1993. It was released exclusively in Japan and Korea.
Contents
Story
The twin princesses Puripuri (プリプリ) and Puchipuchi (プチプチ) have been abducted by the evil King Atchichi (アッチッチ), which is causing Snow Land to melt. The snowmen Nick and Tom must rescue them before it is too late.
Gameplay
The game is a single-screen platformer resembling Bubble Bobble. Players control the snowmen Nick (player one) and Tom (player two), who must defeat every enemy on each stage by turning them into giant snowballs. There are 50 stages played as the snowmen, with a boss at every tenth stage that must be fought before progressing any further. After rescuing the princesses, Nick and Tom are captured, and they must in turn be rescued by the princesses Puripuri and Puchipuchi in 20 additional stages (again with a boss on every tenth stage). The princesses play the same as the snowmen. There is a two-player mode where two players cooperate and play simultaneously, which can be started from the title screen or by pressing START on a second control pad during a game.
The snowmen move with 
and 
and jump with 
. They throw snow shots with 
or 
, which fly in an arc. Throwing snow shots at an enemy stops it from moving and renders it harmless, though it shakes off the snow and frees itself if left alone. Continuing to pelt an enemy with snow shots covers it in snow until it turns into a giant snowball. Once an enemy has been turned into a snowball, the snowman can push the snowball by pressing or again when next to it, which causes it to roll down the platforms and rebound off the walls of the stage until eventually breaking apart against a wall (defeating the enemy inside). Any enemies the snowball rolls into are eliminated, and other stationary snowballs start rolling when the rolling snowball touches them. When players bowl an enemy over, it may drop a bonus item. The value of the items increases when more enemies are defeated by pushing one snowball (including enemies defeated by other snowballs that start rolling because of the first snowball). Snow shots can also put out fires. The snowmen can jump on top of giant snowballs like a platform to reach higher areas. Stages loop vertically (but not horizontally), so the snowmen fall through to the top of the stage if they jump through the bottom.
The stage ends when all of the enemies are defeated. If the player takes too much time to complete a level, a jack-o-lantern appears to try to kill the snowmen. It is invincible but can be stunned with snow shots or snowballs. The jack-o-lantern can spawn ghosts that travel freely through the level and seek the snowmen. These ghosts cannot be killed or stunned and must avoided.
A snowman loses a life when he touches an enemy. He immediately respawns at the starting location of the stage, losing any power-up effects acquired. If the player has no extra lives remaining, the game ends but can be continued at the cost of a credit. If a snowman is run over by a rolling snowball, he is dragged along with it but does not lose a life. There are two difficulty levels (Easy and Hard), and players can choose the number of starting lives (between 1 and 4, with a default of 3) from the options before starting the game.
Items
Potions
These items appear when an enemy is defeated by a rolling snowball. They provide a boost to the snowman until the player loses a life.
| Red | |
|---|---|
| Increases the movement speed of the snowman. | |
| Blue | |
| Increases the size and power of the snowman's snow shots. | |
| Yellow | |
| Increases the range of the snowman's snow shots. | |
| Green | |
| Inflates the snowman for a duration, making him invincible and letting him hover around like a ghost. Enemies that touch him are defeated. The snowman can be moved in any direction using the D-Pad while in this state. |
Bonus points
| Awards 100 bonus points. | |
| Awards 200 bonus points. | |
| Awards 300 bonus points. | |
| Awards 400 bonus points. | |
| Awards 600 bonus points. | |
| Awards 800 bonus points. | |
| Awards 1,000 bonus points. | |
| Awards 1,200 bonus points. | |
| Awards 1,500 bonus points. | |
| Awards 2,000 bonus points. | |
| Awards 10,000 bonus points. Some difficult-to-reach enemies drop this item when defeated. If the players manage to take out every enemy in the stage by pushing one snowball (including enemies defeated by other snowballs that are set into motion by this first snowball), several of these items fall from the ceiling as a bonus. |
Other
| After collecting this item, the screen darkens and four blue slimeballs appear and roll down the platforms. Defeating one collects one of the letters in the word "SNOW." The player gains an extra life after collecting every letter. |
Stages
- Main article: Snow Bros./Maps.
Passwords
- Main article: Snow Bros./Passwords.
Versions
The Mega Drive version adds cutscenes to the game, as well as some more background music and 20 additional stages played as the princesses.
History
Legacy
The game was included on the Japanese and Asian versions of the Mega Drive Mini in 2019.
Digital manuals
Mega Drive Mini JP manual
Magazine articles
- Main article: Snow Bros./Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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70 |
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| Based on 15 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, JP |
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 Cover
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  Cart  Manual |
| Mega Drive, KR |
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 Cover
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Technical information
- Main article: Snow Bros./Technical information.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-08), page 11
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 211
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-08), page 23
- ↑ Dengeki Mega Drive, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-xx), page 31
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 358
- ↑ Famitsu, "1993-06-04" (JP; 1993-05-21), page 38
- ↑ Game Power, "Settembre 1993" (IT; 1993-0x-xx), page 78
- ↑ Hippon Super, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-01), page 39
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "September 1993" (UK; 1993-07-29), page 38
- ↑ MegaTech, "July 1993" (UK; 1993-06-19), page 72
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-06-30), page 82
- ↑ Sega Pro, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-08), page 54
- ↑ Sega Zone, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-22), page 62
- ↑ Sega Force Mega, "September 1993" (UK; 1993-07-22), page 42
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
- ↑ Video Games, "9/93" (DE; 1993-08-25), page 101
| Snow Bros. | |
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Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Passwords | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs | |
