I think I've changed my mind about Ice Climber

I don't know how you spent your weekend, but I spent a good chunk of mine playing Ice Climber. Why? Well, mostly because I wanted to make sure I didn't completely waste my hard-earned money when I bought a copy of the Famicom version of this Eskimo-centric platformer the week before.

So, what's the verdict? Given my previously expressed opinions of the game, you could be forgiven for supposing my answer would be something along the lines of, "What have I done?" In fact, though, I'm feeling pretty darn good about my purchase.

I don't know what changed, but after years of dismiss- ing this Kenji Miki-designed title as a difficult-to-control turd I'm starting to think it's actually a difficult-to-control treasure.

OK, so treasure is likely too strong a word to use in regards to Ice Climber, but so is turd. Yes, the stiff, Mario Bros.-esque jumping mechanism can make things mighty frustrating (to put it mildly), but after you accept and get a hang of that fact the game becomes a lot more attractive.

After all, said jumping mechanism, while a smidge maddening, is, in my mind, the only negative aspect of this rather ancient release (it hit store shelves all the way back in 1985). Its title and end-of-stage tunes, composed by Akito Nakatsuka, are surprisingly and appealingly jazzy, for instance, while its graphics--its parka-wearing protagonists, Popo and Nana, and the cross-eyed vegetables they're tasked with rescuing, especially--are undeniably cute.

All that said, I won't hold it against anyone who refuses, for whatever reason, to join me in standing behind this strange little game.

See also: 'Second chances: The New Zealand Story' and 'Why I'm not yeti a fan of Ice Climber (har har)'