SNOW BROS. classic for iPhone

Free remake of a classic arcade game

SNOW BROS. classic is a free enhanced remake mobile port of the 1990 platform arcade video game, Snow Bros. Originally developed by Toaplan and now published by MOBIRIX, SNOW BROS. classic brings back the original version’s good old snowball mania adventure and lets you experience it right on your phone or tablet. Old ported arcade games such as this tend to have the usual problems, however—like the touch controls not fully optimized for smooth gaming and the screen sometimes looking stretched. If you’re interested in becoming a new fan, though, this game can tide you over well enough.

Be cool

Snow Bros. is a 1990 platform arcade game originally released by Toaplan for coin-operated arcade cabinets. It had a simple plot similar to the old Mario games: you have to save the twin princesses from the evil clutches of a corrupt king. Instead of a plumber, however, you play as a cursed snowman named either Nick or Tom. The snowman brothers have the ability to throw snow at enemy monsters and turn them into giant snowballs that can be rolled and launched as additional weapons. 

The levels are all multi-layered platforms cleverly designed to allow snowballs to fall down like dangerous pinballs, so this gives you a way to strategize and even use just one snowball to take out all enemies—and win bonus money and sushi loot. You can also get potions from defeated enemies, all in different colors pertaining to different power-ups. 

In this mobile version, most of the original features return, such as the Pumpkin Ghost appearing when you take too long on a level. You can start the game with full power by choosing “Power Up Start”, get bonus points by collecting the S, N, O, and W letters, and even compete in the leaderboards. The graphics have been polished a bit but they didn’t upgrade it much. SNOW BROS. classic is fun enough, as long as you don’t make comparisons between versions.