Balloon Trip (move)

Balloon Trip (, Balloon Trip) is Villager's and Isabelle's up special move.

Overview
The user will summon balloons to fly. The user can move horizontally by tilting the Control stick in a certain direction. Repeatedly pressing the B button will make the user ascend and not pressing any buttons will make the user descend. If the user stays in the air long enough, the balloons will eventually pop and the user will be helpless. Balloons can also be damaged and popped quicker by coming into contact with a Hitbox.

Villager
When activating this move, Villager will put on a hat similar to the one worn by the Balloon Fighters in Balloon Fight. Villager can then fly around the stage for a short period of time to recover by using the two attached balloons; holding the special move button can also make him increase height, making it one of the best recovery moves in the entire Smash Bros. series. After a few seconds, the balloons will both dissociate from Villager, leaving him helpless; this state can also be manually performed if the player presses a standard attack button.

Opponents can potentially pop balloons that Villager spawns; popping one balloon significantly impairs Villager's potential vertical height, and popping both balloons causes Villager to immediately become helpless. This is much easier said than done, however, as most feasible hits to the balloons will hit Villager himself, knocking him out of helplessness and allowing him to use the move again. Following patch 1.0.8, Balloon Trip takes a few seconds to recharge after one use; using it consecutively will reduce flight time to approximately one-half the original distance of Balloon Trip.

In Ultimate, Balloon Trip recharges helium even slower, and if the helium is low enough, it will only spawn one balloon instead of two. This will slow Villager's ascent and makes him more susceptible to edgeguarding.

Isabelle
Isabelle's version is functionally similar, but it uses a vastly different animation where she sits on a swing carried by two bunny-ear balloons, rocking on the swing to gain height. It has different sound effects as well.

Her version travels significantly slower overall, leaving her more vulnerable while recovering. This also results in her having less time to restore the cool down of Balloon Trip, as well as have less time to setup and be ready for the opponent.

Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:


 * 1) Balloon Trip: Default.
 * 2) Extreme Balloon Trip: Travels more slowly and flies lower than Villager's other up specials. Pressing the attack button will make the balloons explode one by one. Bursting the second balloon will cause Villager to rise into the air while going into his helpless state, which can be considered an increase in recovery distance. If Villager lands with one or both balloons intact, they will fly off in either direction and explode shortly after or can explode manually when using the move again.
 * 3) Balloon High Jump: A big jump with significant vertical recovery. The balloons vanish after use and cannot be used for flight. Damages foes on the way up. While more linear than the other versions, it is faster and can be used repeatedly without losing range.

Origin
The move does not originate from the Animal Crossing series, instead being based off the behavior of the Balloon Fighters in Balloon Fight, with the move's name coming from one of the gameplay modes in that game. Like in Smash, a Balloon Fighter starts with two balloons, where popping one will significantly impair mobility and popping both will cause the Balloon Fighter to fall helplessly.

In Animal Crossing, the entirety of the Balloon Fight game makes an appearance in the GCN version, where the player can obtain the Balloon Fight Retro Game from Tom Nook's store, Crazy Redd's, or underground. The game can then be placed in the player's house and played.

The Balloon Fighter hat by itself does not make an appearance, but red balloons like those in the move do. One balloon will fly over the town every hour, and the player can use the slingshot to pop these balloons and release a present.

Balloons are also available as handheld items, in a similar vein to shovels and axes. A variant of this is the. Both types of balloons are only available during specific events throughout the series. They have no usage beyond aesthetic appeal, and regular balloons will float away if the player trips or steps on a Pitfall Seed.

Trivia

 * Villager's helpless animation is a reference to the losing animation from Balloon Fight.
 * The color of the balloons and helmet depends on which port the player is in: red for P1, blue for P2, yellow for P3, green for P4, orange for P5, cyan for P6, purple (SSB4) or pink (SSBU) for P7, slate (SSB4) or purple (SSBU) for P8, and grey for CPUs and Figure Players.
 * Balloon Trip grants Villager the highest vertical recovery in Super Smash Bros. 4.
 * This is excluding, who can Inhale and use 's Jump Monado Art to enhance his recovery through external factors.