is an

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

and

HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since establishe ...

and published by Nintendo for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

. It was originally released for arcades as ''VS. Balloon Fight'', with the console version releasing in Japan in 1985 and internationally in 1986. The gameplay is similar to the 1982 game ''

Joust Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

'' from

Williams Electronics WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams ...

. The home Nintendo Entertainment System version was ported to the

NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japane ...

in October 1985, the

Sharp X1 The , sometimes called the Sharp X1 or CZ-800C, is a series of home computers released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It is based on a Zilog Z80 CPU. The RGB display monitor for the X1 had a television tuner, and a computer screen ...

in November 1985, the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

as ''Balloon Fight-e'' for the

e-Reader An e-reader, also called an e reader or e device, is a Mobile computing, mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and Periodical literature, periodicals. Any device that can display text on ...

in the United States on September 16, 2002, and as part of the Famicom Mini Series in Japan on May 21, 2004. It was later rereleased through Nintendo's

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

and

NES Classic Edition NES Classic Edition is a dedicated home video game console by Nintendo, that emulates the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Family Computer (Famicom). Originally launched on November 10, 2016, the console aesthetically is a miniature rep ...

. It was released on the

Nintendo Classics Nintendo Classics is a line of Video game console emulator, emulated retro games distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Nintendo Switch 2. Subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service have access to games for ...

service in 2018.

Gameplay

The player controls an unnamed Balloon Fighter with two

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

s attached to his

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

. Repeatedly pressing the A button or holding down the B button causes the Balloon Fighter to flap his arms and rise into the air. If a balloon is popped, the player's flotation is decreased, making it harder to rise. A life is lost if both balloons are popped by enemy Balloon Fighters, if the player falls in the

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, gets eaten by the large

piranha A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although ...

near the surface of the water, or is hit by lightning. There are two modes of play: the 1-player/2-player game where the goal is to clear the screen of enemies, and Balloon Trip where the goal is to avoid obstacles in a side-scrolling stage. The original arcade game does not include Balloon Trip, but all the level layouts are completely different so as to take advantage of vertical scrolling in addition to some minor gameplay differences.

1-player/2-player game

In this mode, players have to defeat all of the enemies on screen to clear the stage. This mode can be played alone or co-operatively with a second player. Each player starts with three extra lives. The 3DS ''Balloon Fight'' port comes with the Download Play option, that allows player to play along with a friend that has another 3DS system. Enemy Balloon Fighters float around the screen and the player must hit their balloons to defeat them. The enemy can also fall into the water or be eaten by the fish while flying close to the water's surface. If an enemy is defeated or falls into the water, a bubble will rise up the screen which can be hit for extra points. As play progresses through the stages, the number of enemies and platforms increases. In every three stages there is a bonus stage, where the goal is to burst all of the balloons that float up the screen from the chimneys at the bottom.

Balloon Trip

Ballon Trip is a single-player game where the goal is to avoid the lightning sparks and collect the balloons, aiming to move up the ranks and compete for the high score. The player starts with one life.

Release

Similar to other early Nintendo titles, the exact date of the console release is difficult to pinpoint. It was first scheduled for June 1986, was later changed to August, but very likely came out in September. The home

version was ported to the

in October 1985, the

in November 1985, the

as ''Balloon Fight-e'' for the

in the United States on September 16, 2002, and as part of the Famicom Mini Series in Japan on May 21, 2004. It can also be played in the first ''

Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. It was created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. The player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals and can ...

'', both through its

Nintendo Space World formerly named and was an annual video game trade show hosted by Nintendo from 1989 to 2001. Its three days of high-energy party atmosphere was the primary venue for Nintendo and its licensees to announce and demonstrate new consoles, accesso ...

2000 demo and in the final game. Nintendo released a

Game & Watch is a series of handheld electronic games developed by Nintendo. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the first game, ''Ball'' was released in 1980 and the original production run of the devices continued until 1991. The name Game & Watch reflects thei ...

version of the same name, based on the NES version's Balloon Trip mode. The protagonist is "a Balloon Man". Unlike Balloon Fighters, Balloon Men use rocket suits instead of flapping their hands to elevate while holding balloons. A sequel to ''Balloon Fight'' called '' Balloon Kid'' was released in October 1990 in North America and on January 31, 1991, in Europe for the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

, which expands from the game's roots and revamped it into a full platforming adventure. This title was not released in Japan on the Game Boy, but colorized versions titled as '' Hello Kitty World'' (published by ''Character Soft'') for the Famicom and ''Balloon Fight GB'' for the Game Boy Color were later released only in Japan. In September 2001, the game was ported to the

Sharp Zaurus Sharp Zaurus is a series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) made by Sharp Corporation. The Zaurus was the most popular PDA during the 1990s in Japan and was based on a proprietary operating system. The first Sharp PDA to use the Linux operati ...

series of PDAs. Balloon Fighter and Flipper trophies are obtainable in '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'', and the Flipper is also a usable item, replacing the Bumper from the previous game. The Balloon Fighter was considered for a playable role during the development of ''Melee'', but the Ice Climbers were chosen instead. The original background music for the Balloon Trip in ''Balloon Fight'' can be heard in ''Melee''s Icicle Mountain stage as alternate music. The giant fish makes a cameo appearance in ''

Super Smash Bros. Brawl ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 crossover fighting game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series and the successor to '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'', it wa ...

''. It appears on the ''Ice Climber''-based stage, the Summit, where it tries to attack the players from the sea. In addition, a remixed version of the main theme, titled "Balloon Trip" is available for the Summit stage as well. Stickers of the Balloon Fighter and the Balloon Fight Enemy can be collected in ''Brawl''. In addition, the Villager from the ''

'' series uses the Balloon Fighter's helmet as one of his special moves in ''

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and , both commonly referred to together as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'', are 2014 crossover fighting games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game cons ...

''. In the 3DS version of the same game, a stage based on ''Balloon Fight'' appears with the original 8-bit graphics; the same stage returns in ''

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ' ...

'' and Balloon Fighter appears as a Spirit in said game. In the '' WarioWare, Inc.'' series, some of 9-Volt's games are based on ''Balloon Fight''. In '' WarioWare: Smooth Moves'', there is also a minigame functioning as a three-dimensional version of Balloon Trip; players use the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...

only for the microgame version, and also use the

Nunchuk is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately (sticks) and (rope). A person who has pract ...

in the complete 3D Balloon Trip. The original tech demo for ''

Yoshi Touch & Go ''Yoshi Touch & Go'', known in Japan as , is a video game that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It debuted in Japan on January 27, 2005, in North America on March 14, 2005, in Europe on May 6, 2005, and in Australia on ...

'' was called ''Yoshi's Balloon Trip''. ''Balloon Fight'' is the theme for Touch Mode in '' Tetris DS'', although the mode itself has almost nothing to do with the game other than the music and decorative graphics. In April 2007,

Club Nintendo Club Nintendo was a customer loyalty program and magazine that was provided by Nintendo. The loyalty program was free to join and provided rewards in exchange for consumer feedback and loyalty to purchasing official Nintendo products. Members o ...

released ''Tingle's Balloon Fight'' for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

, an exclusive game featuring Tingle, a Nintendo character who originated from ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

'' series. The game is a remake of the home version, featuring the "Balloon Fight" and "Balloon Trip" modes. The levels are expanded slightly to utilize both screens, similar to the arcade game except based entirely around the NES levels. A gallery that contained concept art was also included, where each piece could be unlocked by completing specific in-game tasks. The Balloon Fighter appears in ''

Super Mario Maker is a 2015 platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo. An entry in the ''Super Mario'' series, the game allowed players to create, play, and share courses based on previous ''Super Mario'' titles including ''Sup ...

'' as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume as part of an update. ''Balloon Fight'' has been re-released as part of Nintendo's

. The game was released in Europe on June 8, 2007, followed by a release in North America on July 16, and Japan on November 12. The game was released on Virtual Console for

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

as part of that system's Ambassador Program in September 2011. In ''

Nintendo Land is a party video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Wii U home video game console in 2012. The game was first announced at E3 2012 during Nintendo's press conference. ''Nintendo Land'' features twelve mi ...

'', there is an attraction called Balloon Trip Breeze that is similar to Balloon Trip from the original ''Balloon Fight''. The game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console service on January 23, 2013, in North America until February 23, as part of a promotion celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Nintendo Famicom. ''Balloon Fight'' became the first

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

Virtual Console title to be released. In November 2016, the game (alongside 29 other games) was included in the

(Nintendo Classic Mini in Europe). The NES version of ''Balloon Fight'' was re-released as one of the launch titles for the

service on September 18, 2018. The original arcade version, ''VS. Balloon Fight'', was ported by

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 360 titles are distribut ...

and released on the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

as part of ''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called focuses on re-releasing Neo Geo titles in their original arcade format, unlike many s ...

'' series on December 27, 2019.

Notes

References

External links

IGN's coverage of ''Balloon Fight'' (Famicom Mini Series)
*

on the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

40th Anniversary page {{Authority control 1984 video games Action games Arcade Archives games Arcade video games Game & Watch games Game Boy Color games Hamster Corporation games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games MSX games NEC PC-8801 games Nintendo arcade games Nintendo games Nintendo Research & Development 1 games Nintendo Classics games Nintendo VS. System games PlayChoice-10 games Sharp X1 games Video game clones Video games scored by Hirokazu Tanaka Video games designed by Yoshio Sakamoto Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console games for Wii Virtual Console games for Wii U