Balloon Fight

Balloon Fight
Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System Gameboy Advance, e-Reader, Virtual Console, 3DS Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console
Release Date	Arcade JP 1984 US 1984 Nintendo Entertainment System JP January 22, 1985 US July 1986 EU March 12, 1987 e-Reader US September 16, 2002 Gameboy Advance JP March 21, 2004 Wii Virtual Console EU June 8, 2007 AU June 8, 2007 US July 16, 2007 JP November 13, 2007 3DS Virtual Console August 31, 2011 (Ambassador) JP August 22, 2012 US/EU May 2, 2013 Wii U Virtual Console January 23, 2013
Rating	ESRB: E

Balloon Fight is an arcade game developed by Nintendo. It is inspired by the arcade game Joust.

Gameplay

In Balloon Fight, the player controls a man floating around tied to balloons. He must try to pop his enemies' balloons and knock them out before they pop his balloons.

In Mode A, the player is pitted against the computer while Mode B lets the player battle against a friend. Mode C, Balloon Trip, has no enemies. The player must simply dodge obstacles for as long as they can.

Legacy

Homages/Excerpts

A game based on Balloon Fight was made for the Game & Watch in 1986. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, both the Balloon Fighter and the bumper from Balloon Fight appear as trophies. The bumper is an item that can be used in battle. Also, the music from Balloon Fight is the hidden music for the Icicle Mountain level. There are further Balloon Fight homages in the later Smash games. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, one of the Villager's special moves is based on Balloon Fight, and there is also a Balloon Fight stage in the 3DS version.

Several of 9-Volt's microgames in the WarioWare series are based on Balloon Fight. In Smooth Moves, a full Balloon Fight minigame is featured where the player plays from behind the Balloon Fighter and uses the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to control either hand, allowing for more maneuverability. Many of the classic enemies appear in these levels.

There is also a minigame in Yoshi Touch & Go called Balloon Trip. In fact, the game's tech demo was called Yoshi's Balloon Trip. In Tetris DS, Balloon Fightis a theme for Touch Mode. Balloon Fight is also amongst the games featured in NES Remix and UItimate NES Remix, games which present excepts from classic Nintendo games with unique challenges as well as mixing elements of the different games. In Nintendo Land, one of the attractions was "Balloon Trip Breeze", which seemed to be based on the "Balloon Trip" mode.

Sequels

In 1990, Balloon Kid for the Game Boy was released. In Japan, this game wasn't released in favor of Hello Kitty World for the NES. However, they eventually released a colorized version of Balloon Kid named Balloon Fight GB for the Game Boy Color in Japan.

Ports and Remakes

• Balloon Fight was ported to the NES in 1985.
• An e-Reader version of Balloon Fight was released in 2002.
• In 2004, Balloon Fight was rereleased for the Gameboy Advance as part of the Famicom Mini series.
• In 2004, Balloon Fight was among of the playable NES games featured in Animal Crossing.
• In 2007, an exclusive remake was made available to Japan's Club Nintendo. Tingle's Balloon Fight DS was the same game, but featured Tingle instead.
• The NES version of Balloon Fight was also released for download over the Virtual Console in 2007.
• The NES version of Balloon Fight was among the games released for free download on the 3DS as part of the Ambassador Program in August 2011. It did not receive a normal eShop release until a year later in Japan and in 2013 for America and Europe.
• In 2013, Balloon Fight was released for download over the Wii U as part of the Wii U Virtual Console. It was actually released worldwide months prior to the Wii U Virtual Console being released and a temporary reduced price. It was the first Wii U Virtual Console to be made available, as part of the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign and in general, as a way of celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Famicom.
• In 2018, it was among the NES games made available to play as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service. It was part of the first wave of games that were made available with the launch of the service in September 2018. This version included cooperative and competitive online multiplayer options.