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Snow Bros.: Nick & Tom

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Two snowmen, Nick and Tom, battle cute Japanese critters over 50 platform based screens. Turn the enemy critters into snowballs and then boot them around the platforms knocking down everything in their path. Pick up Sushi for exra points. When a screen is cleared of monsters you move on to the ne...

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Developer
ToaPlan

Released on
1990

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Platform

Publisher
Romstar

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Cooperative
Yes

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Description

Two snowmen, Nick and Tom, battle cute Japanese critters over 50 platform based screens. Turn the enemy critters into snowballs and then boot them around the platforms knocking down everything in their path. Pick up Sushi for exra points. When a screen is cleared of monsters you move on to the next level.

Shoot snow at monsters to turn them into snowballs. Press the fire button next to a snowball to kick it around the screen. Any monsters hit by a snowball are killed. If another snowball is hit, it too bounces around the screen. Collect potions for power ups.
Yellow = Long shot
Red = Speed up
Blue = “Big” snow encases monsters quicker
Green = Inflates you like a ballon and lets you fly around the screen killing any monsters you touch. May only appear at certain times.

Killing all the monsters on a level with a single snowball causes money bonuses, worth 10,000 points, to fall down, but sometimes a glowing cake bonus will appear instead. When the cake is collected, the game stops and four blue snowball creatures appear for a short time. If these enemies are killed, they each provide a letter: “S”,”N”,”O” or “W”. Collect all four of these letters for an extra life. The glowing cake can also appear at other times during the game.

Very cute cartoon-like characters and animation and a nice sound track. Although a 1990 game it really has a feel of the earlier abstract games along the lines of Mr. Do!, etc.. Very similar in style to Bubble Bobble.

Snow Bros.: Nick & Tom

Overview & History

Released by Toaplan in 1990, Snow Bros.: Nick & Tom is a charming fixed-screen arcade platformer heavily inspired by Taito's Bubble Bobble. The storyline follows twin royal princes of Snow Land—Nick and Tom—who must rescue their kidnapped princesses (Puripuri and Puchipuri) from the clutches of the evil King Scorch. Spanning 50 action-packed stages, players traverse ascending platforms while turning hostile monsters into giant snowballs. Despite sharing genre DNA with its contemporaries, Toaplan infused the title with high-energy pacing, vibrant sprite work, and frantic boss encounters that cemented its cult classic status in arcades worldwide, later inspiring various console ports and modern spiritual successors.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard platformers where jumping on enemies is fatal, Nick and Tom weaponize their heritage by rapidly hurling magical snowballs at foes. Continuously hitting an enemy fills their sprite with snow until they are completely encapsulated and immobilized. Players can then push these rolling snowballs to obliterate other enemies in a satisfying bowling-pin chain reaction, which clears the screen quickly and triggers lucrative bonus money bags. If an enemy remains trapped too long, they break free in an enraged, faster state. Defeating all enemies advances the stage, but lingering too long summons a malevolent red pumpkin ghost that hunts the player. Gathering specific potion bottles grants game-altering power-ups: red potions increase movement speed, blue potions enhance snow volume and shooting distance, yellow potions lengthen throwing range, and green potions transform the brothers into giant, charging snowmen capable of sweeping through entire levels.