With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (EU), we're going to provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. We start off with Balloon Fight.

It's an interesting turn of events that the addictive simplicity so readily associated with viral / successful mobile games was a key attraction of games in the early NES era. While the 8-bit machine was also host to ambitious and impressive games unlike anything played before on a home console, it also received ports of coin-guzzling arcade titles. Balloon Fight began life in the arcades (for the Nintendo VS. System) before becoming an iconic part of the NES landscape; nowadays it's still fondly remembered and often played, for various reasons.
First of all, some key facts around this game.
- First release was as an arcade in 1985.
- Famicom release date (Japan) - 22nd January 1985
- NES release date - August 1986 (NA) / March 1987 (EU)
The gameplay is extremely simple, yet also deceptively challenging - those one-more-go arcade roots are at the heart of the experience. There's a core mode in both single and two-player in which you manoeuvre around single screen stages, trying to pop the balloons of rivals before hitting them again to finish them off. Not an original idea in itself, even at the time, but the gameplay's compulsive hook arguably comes through the controls. You flap your character's arms with the A or B button, and each stage becomes a strategic battle for momentum and the high ground.
It's the necessity of being above your opponent to pop their balloons that's key, and considering the fact that going left or right off the edge of the screen brings you out on the other side, the increasingly complex and crowded stage designs call for careful control and space management. It's tricky, the sort of 'old school hard' that recalls the arcade origins of games like this. Every three stages gives some respite with a special challenge in which you collect balloons for even more points.
It's those extra stages that play host to the memorable and wonderful music track for which this game is so well known. That track is also heard in the Balloon Trip mode, a tricky but addictive side-scrolling stage full of obstacles and balloons to collect. The precision required is exacting, typical of the demands that NES titles of this ilk place on a gamer's abilities and speed of thought. As for the music, enjoy a listen of it below.
The concept and characters have been revived and referenced a number of times; there's even a Game & Watch edition, of sorts. Intriguingly, as the original came at arcades and also at a time when Nintendo was still cautious about the prospects of the Famicom / NES, it was actually ported to the Sharp X1 and NEC PC-8801. Hudson Soft handled these ports, with some footage of the X1 version below; sadly we couldn't find footage of the oddest version of all, for the Sharp Zaurus PDA in 2001...
Moving on to more solid ground, there was a sequel on Game Boy (not exactly critically acclaimed) called Balloon Kid, and the original has been referenced in multiple titles, including examples such as the Smash Bros. and WarioWare franchises. A relatively recent - and excellent - example can be found in Nintendo Land. Balloon Trip Breeze is a modern take on the similarly named mode in the original, this time with short stages represented as parts of the day. It adopts a craft-like aesthetic and utilises the GamePad touchscreen for controlling the breeze with swipes. You can also used the zoomed in view on the controller screen to tap on dangerous objects to destroy them.

The inclusion of this minigame in Nintendo Land is certainly welcome. It's a charming part of the package, especially for solo players, often luring gamers in for multiple attempts. It was perhaps pushed forward by former company President Satoru Iwata, who was the main programmer on the NES original - these were times when development teams were very small. The designer for the NES game was Yoshio Sakamoto, too, the man who many associate as the key creative force behind the Metroid series (albeit not the Prime series), and with credits on a host of other IPs.
The original title has also been released in its original form on multiple versions of the Virtual Console - on Wii, Wii U and 3DS. Notably, it was also one of 20 free games given to '3DS Ambassadors' following a major price cut to the portable in Fall 2011.
Whether looking for a quick solo challenge or a bit of 2-player gaming, this'll be a fun option on the Mini NES. Its simple but compulsive gameplay hook is representative not only of its arcade origins, but also has similarities to some of the quickfire experiences that are so easily found online or as affordable downloads on smart devices in the current day.
It's simple, it's timeless, and it'll also evoke memories of Iwata-san as we play it.
Comments 42
Uh... why did this game take 1.5 to 2 years to be localized? There's not that much dialogue!
I like the idea of articles for all of the NES Mini games. Balloon Fight was always a fun game to play and I especially enjoyed the Balloon Trip Breeze variant in Nintendo Land. I'm hoping they make a 3DS or NX eShop successor to it.
I love the Nintendoland version. Still play it.
RIP Iwata-dono.
Looking forward to the next 29 articles (seriously). Good feature.
Can't wait for the system to release. I have many of the games on the VC already, but there's just something about playing it on unique hardware and with original controllers. The emulation looks way better as well.
I bought this game on Wii U Virtual Console after Iwata-San passed away, as a small way of paying my respects.
I looove this game! and the music is so good ahah it's so catchy! I love some remixes of it on YouTube and playing it on my 3DS!
I'm on the other side.
I could not stand this game. The physics are so frustrating. I "mastered" all of its levels on NES Remix with Rainbow star times... and still didn't have any fun. lol Kinda like Ice Climbers.
That's the NES Mini problem for me. Some games are like "yeah that's awesome! oh I still own it" others are like "man I hate that game and don't want to own it." and the rest aren't worth the pricetag. but I do love this article series idea.
Wish there was package just with 'Balloon Trip Breeze' games - updated NES classics.
If NL is going to do 30 articles on NES Classic Mini games, plus all the articles on stock shortages and prices on eBay we know are coming, shouldn't it get it's own "Systems" section? I know it has it's own "tag", but not it's own "topic".
https://www.nintendolife.com/tags/nes-mini
Just asking, my kid is going to want to read all of these.
One of my all time Famicom favourites, I was very happy to see it "HD Remaster" when I bought the Wii U with "Nintendo Land". Plus it has also gave the world one of my all time favourite episodes of Game Center CX, a special that aired only on the Wii Channel in Japan.
I truly miss Iwata.
Balloon Fight is ok >.>
I'm looking forward to all 30 of these articles. I am certain that through these pieces, I'll learn something about a few of the games included - a few of these games I am actually pretty unfamiliar with as far as it's history goes. Plus, a nice walk down memory lane is never a bad thing.
@rjejr Yeah, not a bad idea. I'll see what the bosses say.
I really like the idea of this article series (or whatever the proper term would be)!
Balloon fight itself is a fun distraction from time to time, especially with my wife.
Kudos for the tribute to Iwata-san. I loved playing the VS. Version with a friend on a red tent. The good ole days!
My favorite as a kid!
@LegendOfPokemon
It wasn't necessarily being localized during that time. The NES came out in the states two years after Japan got it.
Not to mention, when the NES was released, we were still coming out of the video game crash. Nintendo had to be selective of the launch titles they would include with it. It pretty much is the same game in both territories, and no localization was ever done to it. But in the end, they decided it would be better to have it fill in another release spot at a different time.
@ThomasBW84 @Antdickens

What happened?! It keeps happening, even when I refresh the page.
Animal Crossing, import version on GCN. The memories
I remember playing this a lot in animal crossing back then.
A really entertaining game.
Would have liked this if it got a re-release as the NES classic for the GBA.
I always prefered Joust.
Well, IF I can get my mitts on an nes mini, I'll definitely give it a try.
I'm more of a Pitfall! kind of guy. May try it on the mini when it gets released.
@LegendOfPokemon It was Nintendo in the 80s. I'm pretty sure the US got Super Mario World before Europe got Super Mario Bros 3
Ah... Balloon Fight.
One of my childhood NES game.
@ThomasBW84 I thought you were the boss. Though that does explain you responding to "Contact" emails rather than having unpaid interns do it.
@rjejr I'm the 'boss' on editorial matters (though that's a team effort with Damien), but the Triforce of directors hold the real power!
@123akis Can you let us know what browser and device that's happening on? I'm sure with those details we can look into it.
This game is great. And I remember playing it with my brother for hours when we would rent it from a video store.
Club Nintendo in Japan got a free DS spinoff of this game featuring Tingle from the Zelda series.
I'm hoping it'll eventually be a MyNintendo reward for 3ds, I'd like to play it.
@ThomasBW84 @123akis It's just some random glitch that happens on certain websites sometime. Nothing important. If refreshing doesn't work, try to close the tab and loaf Nlife in another. If that doesn't work either, clear cache and wait a couple minutes.
I gatta say, I love Balloon Fight, it's a very underrated game. It's like "Joust," but much better. I love seeing how long I can last, and how high a score I can get. I kinda miss endless retro arcade-like games like that. But unlike those, this one I can last a loooong time in before getting a Game Over.
I don't get the complaints about the "physics," they're pretty well done, and surprisingly precise for an early NES game. You have to know when to flap, and when to tap the directions.
It feels like you have more freedom of movement in this game.
they did a great job with nintendo land, short but good
@Shiryu Thank you for sharing that. .
@ThomasBW84 That's happening on google chrome on windows 10 and the device is my laptop.
@NintendoVideoGa Ok I'll try that next time I turn on my laptop tomorrow.
I didn't really try this game until I learned that Iwata-San died. And I can say, I do not regret picking it up. It is some of the most fun I've had on an NES game.
RIP Satoru Iwata.
I always found funny how Iwata wanted to push this game whenever it was possible. it was never a HUGE hit (it was merely a clone of Joust), but he really insisted that everybody will have this game, either they played it or not.
@Gridatttack I'm pretty sure that if it had not been for Animal Crossing on the GCN having playable NES games, I wouldn't have known about it until Nintendo Land.
@cfgk24 Mandatory really.
Some of the highlights of Balloon Fight were the physics, enemy AI, music and co-op.
Also, it was one of the easiest games to get a 999.990 score on.
Never really liked Balloon Fight on NES, but I have wasted way too much time with the Nintendoland version. Nintendoland did such a good job of showing the potential of the Wii U, and then nothing really ever lived up to it.
Shame as porting the GBA Cable games to Wii U should have been a no-brainer.
My favorite game of all time! I would love to know more about the development of this game and the others in the NES action series.
When I first played it, it reminded me too much of "Joust". However, it's become one of my favorites in the NES Ambassador games for 3DS.
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