Balloon Fight (universe)

The Balloon Fight universe (, Balloon Fight) refers to the Super Smash Bros. series' collection of properties that hail from the Balloon Fight series of platformers developed and published by Nintendo.

Franchise description
Development began at some point in 1983 when Gunpei Yokoi suggested Yoshio Sakamoto to make a game "focused on giving players a sense of floating through space that also has fighting elements." Two versions were developed around the same time: The arcade version titled ', released in November of 1984, and an NES version simply titled ', released in January of 1985. The game was a critical and financial success, with both the arcade and home console versions each receiving several ports and rereleases to this day.

An official sequel was co-developed by most of the same developers alongside Pax Softnica in 1990 for Game Boy, titled . Aside from the portable aspect, this game stands out from it's predecessor by having more emphasis on story, with a plot and defined characters in its single-player mode. A notable aspect about this game is that the original Game Boy version was never officially released in Japan. However, reskinned the game with the  brand and ported it to Famicom in 1992 titled Hello Kitty World. The game was also fully remade for Game Boy Color and also released exclusively in Japan in 2000 titled Balloon Fight GB.

The brand was resurrected one last time in 2007 with Tingle's Balloon Fight, a slightly modified version of the original Balloon Fight featuring Tingle from franchise, released for the Nintendo DS exclusively to members of Club Nintendo Japan.

The game and brand have been frequently referenced in other Nintendo media, particularly in minigame collections like WarioWare and NES Remix, as well as a full level in Nintendo Land titled "Balloon Trip Breeze."

In Super Smash Bros. Melee
Balloon Fight receives minor recognition in Melee. The anonymous protagonist of the game, the Balloon Fighter, is a collectible trophy in Melee, and the Flipper - an obstacle from Balloon Fight - is a usable item and as well as a trophy. The original background music for Balloon Fight can also be heard in the Icicle Mountain stage as alternate music.

According to Smabura-Ken, the Balloon Fighter was one of several characters considered for inclusion as a playable character to represent the NES era; this role ultimately went to the Ice Climbers.

Item

 * Flipper: An item similar in function to the Bumper that flips around when touched, causing damage and knocking back the target.

Trophies

 * Flipper
 * Made famous as an unpredictable obstacle in Balloon Fight, the Flipper stops and hangs in midair when thrown. Any character who comes in contact with the bumper-balls on its ends will be knocked away as the Flipper spins wildly. Flippers can be a bit irksome: in Balloon Fight they caused accidents to friends and foes alike.


 * Balloon Fighter
 * The goal in Balloon Fight is to break your enemy's two balloons, depriving him of his flotation devices. If you lose one balloon, your buoyancy drops and it becomes harder to rise. As you can pop both friends' and enemies' balloons, you have to stay alert in this two-player fun fest. The balloonist's name is unknown.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
A Balloon Fight reference can be found in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. On the stage Summit, a fish originating from the game appears when the summit of Icicle Mountain slides into the water. The fish is capable of eating any player unfortunate enough to be in the water at the time, dragging them off the screen and taking a life.

Brawl also features a cover of the music, also appearing on Summit, in My Music.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
The Balloon Fight universe sees a substantial boost in representation in Smash 4.

Stage (for Nintendo 3DS only)

 * BalloonFightIconSSB4-3.pngBalloon Fight (Unlockable): A level from the original Balloon Fight recreated as a new stage for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. The stage includes the fish and Flippers as hazards, and like the classic game, players can walk off the stage and appear on the other side.

Original Tracks

 * : A series of tunes taken from Balloon Fight that plays on the Balloon Fight stage in the 3DS version and the Wrecking Crew stage in the Wii U version.
 * : A new remix of the Balloon Trip music that plays as an alternate track on the Balloon Fight stage in the 3DS version and on the stage in the Wii U version.

Misc.

 * The uses the headgear from Balloon Fight in his up special move, . The balloons can be popped individually, and popping both causes the Villager to fall helplessly in a similar fashion to the Balloon Fighter when his own balloons are popped.
 * The title screen appears when the gamepad in Gamer powers on.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Balloon Fight universe returns largely unchanged in Ultimate.

Stage

 * BalloonFightIconSSBU.pngBalloon Fight (Starter): Returns as a retro stage, and remains untouched from Smash for 3DS.

Returning Tracks

 * : A remix of the theme of the Balloon Trip side mode from Balloon Fight. Returns from Brawl.
 * : A medley of tracks from Balloon Fight, including the opening theme from a 1 or 2-Player Game, the theme when an opponent’s balloons are popped, the theme of the bonus mode and Balloon Trip, the jingles that plays when the fish snatches somebody, after respawning, when the player collects a bubble, after completing a stage, after a game over, and when a character falls. Returns from Smash 4.
 * : A chiptune-esque arrangement of the Balloon Trip theme from Balloon Fight. Returns from Smash 4.

Misc.

 * The fish returns as a stage hazard on Balloon Fight and the returning Ice Climber stage Summit from Brawl.

Spirits
The following characters from the series are spirits.

VS Balloon Fight

 * Playable characters:
 * Villager's up special,, is based on the main gameplay of this game.
 * Isabelle's up special, likewise with Villager, is also based on this game.
 * Stage:
 * Balloon Fight appears as a stage.
 * Stage elements:
 * The Fish appears as a stage hazard in Summit.
 * The Balloon Fighter appears on a gamepad that can randomly appear in the background of Gamer.
 * Item:
 * A Flipper appears as an item.
 * Trophy:
 * Balloon Fighter appears as a trophy.
 * Stickers:
 * Balloon Fighter and a Balloon Fight Enemy appear as stickers.
 * Spirits:
 * Balloon Fighter and the Fish appear as spirits.
 * Music:
 * "": The theme of the Balloon Trip mode, sourced directly from this game.
 * "": A remix of the theme of the Balloon Trip side mode from this game.
 * "": A chiptune-esque arrangement of the Balloon Trip theme from this game.
 * "": A medley of tracks from this game, including the opening theme from a 1 or 2-Player Game, the theme when an opponent’s balloons are popped, the theme of the bonus mode and Balloon Trip, the jingles that plays when the fish snatches somebody, after respawning, when the player collects a bubble, after completing a stage, after a game over, and when a character falls.


 * Stickers:
 * Balloon Fighter and a Balloon Fight Enemy appear as stickers using artwork from this game.
 * Spirits:
 * Balloon Fighter and the Fish appear as spirits using artwork from this game.

Trivia

 * Balloon Fight is one of two universes, the other being Tetris, to have multiple music tracks play on different stages from different universes in the same game, in this case being played on Wrecking Crew and  being played on  in Smash for Wii U.