Balloon Fight

Balloon Fight
Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System Gameboy Advance, e-Reader, Virtual Console (Wii), 3DS, Wii U)
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 Game Boy 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-February 21, 2013 (Trial) US April 26, 2013 JP/EU April 27, 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

Ports and Remakes

• Balloon Fight was ported to the NES in 1985. This is the version that has been ported in almost all instances.
• 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 released for download on the Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as part of different iterations of the Virtual Console: for the Wii Virtual Console in 2007, for the 3DS Virtual Console in 2012/2013 and the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013. For the latter two systems, it was also available earlier as part of limited promotional events: the Ambassador Program in 2011 and the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign earlier in 2013.
• 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.

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.

Homages/Excerpts

• A game based on Balloon Fight was made for the Game & Watch in 1986.
• In the Super Smash Bros. series, there have been various references to Balloon Fight, including a stage based on it in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. The bumper from Balloon Fight has appeared as an item since Super Smash Bros. Melee, and the Villager has a special move based on the Balloon Fighter. There have also been musical tracks, trophies, stickers and Spirits referencing the game.
• 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.