Crazy Climber

Crazy Climber
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Nihon Bussan
Publisher(s)Arcade Ports
Atari, Inc. (2600)
Designer(s)Shigeki Fujiwara
Composer(s)Kenji Yoshida (Famicom)
Platform(s)Arcade, Arcadia 2001, Atari 2600, Famicom, X68000
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: October 1980
  • EU: Late 1980
  • NA: December 1980
Atari 2600
Famicom
  • JP: December 26, 1986
X68000
  • JP: August 27, 1993
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemCrazy Climber

Crazy Climber is a 1980 vertically scrolling video game developed by Nihon Bussan and published by Nichibutsu for arcades. In North America, the game was also released by Taito. Ports for the Arcadia 2001 and Atari 2600 were published in 1982, followed by the Famicom in 1986 and X68000 in 1993.

With the goal of scaling a series of skyscrapers using two joysticks (one controlling the left side of the character's body, the other the right) Crazy Climber was the first in a "climbing games" genre which includes Nintendo's 1981 Donkey Kong. The genre eventually became better known as platform games and is defined by jumping and traversal between platforms, neither of which are found in Crazy Climber.

Crazy Climber was the third highest-earning arcade game of 1980 in Japan while also being a commercial success in North America. A lesser-known sequel, Crazy Climber 2, was released for arcades in 1988.