Balloon Kid
Encyclopedia
Balloon Kid is a flying platform game
developed by Pax Softnica
and published by Nintendo
for the Game Boy
on October 5, 1990 in North America
and on January 31, 1991 in Europe
. It is the sequel to Balloon Fight
. It was never released in Japan
for the original Game Boy; however, two years after its original release, a licensed Family Computer
port titled was reprogrammed and released by Sanrio
's subsidiary Character Soft exclusively in Japan on March 27, 1992. Less than ten years later after its original release, a Game Boy Color
edition with a few new features titled was released exclusively in Japan on July 31, 2000.
-like world. The only city in this part of the world is a town known as Pencilvania, a little town with pencil-shaped skyscrapers. Other places this part of the world are these unnamed locations in order of appearance: a forest, an ocean with a giant whale, an icy mountain, and an industrial building. The very first place a player starts from is a small house in a rural part of Pencilvania. There lived a brother and sister who loved to play with balloons. Alice and her younger brother, Jim, would spend endless days filling the skies with their balloons.
One day, Jim filled all his balloons and tied them together to make a beautiful balloon rainbow across the sky. "What a great idea this was, Jim," said Alice, "but please be careful!". Just then, a strong wind blew and Jim was carried away into the sky. "Oh, no! This is terrible, I must save Jim!", thought Alice. Meanwhile, Jim, who was a very clever boy, thought, "I wonder how Alice will find me.........Wait! I've got an idea. I'll leave a trail of balloons for Alice to follow!".
In 1-player mode, the gameplay is an arrangement of the Balloon Trip mode of Balloon Fight, where the screen automatically scrolls toward the left, while the player controls Alice that uses two balloons to float into the air with. To make her float in the air, the player must press (and sometimes hold) the A button to make her wave her arms to hover upward.
Alice also has the ability to remove her balloons and walk on the ground, as well as jumping. If both of her balloons are popped or removed, and if she lands safely, she can inflate two new balloons and fly again.
The object of this mode is to travel from the beginning to the end while collecting balloons left off by Alice's brother, Jim, along the way. The player must also prevent Alice from bumping into enemies that are attempting to pop her balloons, push her or kill her altogether. Some enemies, such as Balloon Birds, came from Balloon Fight. The giant fish that eats anyone who flies too close to the water, also came from Balloon Fight. There are four bosses in Balloon Kid. To defeat them, the player must make Alice fly about them and make her detach her balloons to bounce on them. She also can jump and stomp on them, whenever it is safe for her, like in other typical platformers.
The 2-player mode is loosely based on Balloon Fights Game A and Game B modes, where one player battles against another player. One player controls Alice, while the other controls Alice's friend and eternal rival: Samm. The goal is to collect more balloons than the other player before they arrive at the end of the stage.
Balloon Kids "Balloon Trip" mode is based on Balloon Fight's mode of the same name, but with Alice instead of a generic Balloon Fighter. Everything else, including the BGM
itself, are unchanged from Balloon Fight's Balloon Trip mode.
creator Sanrio
, known as Character Soft, reprogrammed and published a Family Computer
version of Balloon Kid, titled as . This version, unlike Balloon Kid, which was never released in Japan
, was released exclusively in Japan.
Balloon Kid was created after it was brought to North America. The only notable changes to the game were Balloon Kids plot being replaced with Hello Kitty's, as well as updated/changed visuals.
On July 31, 2000, Balloon Kid was remade and renamed as , and was also developed by Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo, but exclusively in Japan for the Game Boy Color
through the Nintendo Power flash RAM cartridge series
. This version features colored graphics, battery-backed memory for helping players save their progress in order to pick any stage they want after they completed them, and Super Game Boy
compatible features such as frames. This version was later added to the Virtual Console
for the Nintendo 3DS
in Japan on October 19, 2011, while the original, inferior, North American version was included in the same part in North America on November 3, 2011 instead.
Some of the game's BGM was added in some parts of the Game Boy Camera
, such as the "Hot Spot" section.
rated the gave 51%, describing it as "full of promise", then adding that the repetitive gameplay and low difficulty caused the game to become boring. They added that while the premise was interesting, they couldn't "help thinking that this is a mediocre game". Author Jeff Rovin in the book How to Win at Game Boy Games noted the gameplay as "novel" if repetitive after the second stage of the game, adding that regardless the game was entertaining for all ages, and "a worthy addition to the Game Boy library", grading
the game B.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
developed by Pax Softnica
Pax Softnica
is a Japanese video game developer founded in 1983 under the name Image Soft and based in Kanagawa, Japan. Pax Softnica developed strong ties with Nintendo, and was hired often as a subcontracted programmer to work with Nintendo EAD and Nintendo R&D1 on several games published on Nintendo consoles....
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
on October 5, 1990 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and on January 31, 1991 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is the sequel to Balloon Fight
Balloon Fight
is a 1984 video game developed by Nintendo. The arcade version was released in 1984 and the Nintendo Entertainment System version was released in 1986. The gameplay is similar to the arcade game Joust by Williams Electronics.-Gameplay:...
. It was never released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the original Game Boy; however, two years after its original release, a licensed Family Computer
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
port titled was reprogrammed and released by Sanrio
Sanrio
is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan...
's subsidiary Character Soft exclusively in Japan on March 27, 1992. Less than ten years later after its original release, a Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
edition with a few new features titled was released exclusively in Japan on July 31, 2000.
Setting
Balloon Kid takes place in a small part of an unnamed, EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
-like world. The only city in this part of the world is a town known as Pencilvania, a little town with pencil-shaped skyscrapers. Other places this part of the world are these unnamed locations in order of appearance: a forest, an ocean with a giant whale, an icy mountain, and an industrial building. The very first place a player starts from is a small house in a rural part of Pencilvania. There lived a brother and sister who loved to play with balloons. Alice and her younger brother, Jim, would spend endless days filling the skies with their balloons.
One day, Jim filled all his balloons and tied them together to make a beautiful balloon rainbow across the sky. "What a great idea this was, Jim," said Alice, "but please be careful!". Just then, a strong wind blew and Jim was carried away into the sky. "Oh, no! This is terrible, I must save Jim!", thought Alice. Meanwhile, Jim, who was a very clever boy, thought, "I wonder how Alice will find me.........Wait! I've got an idea. I'll leave a trail of balloons for Alice to follow!".
Characters
- Alice - The protagonist of Balloon Kid. She must save her brother Jim from tragedy. Player 1 controls her in all three modes.
- Jim - Alice's mischievous younger brother who accidentally flew away in a bunch of balloons while he was making a balloon rainbow across the sky.
- Samm - Alice's friend and eternal rival. Player 2 controls him in 2-Player mode.
Gameplay
Alice also has the ability to remove her balloons and walk on the ground, as well as jumping. If both of her balloons are popped or removed, and if she lands safely, she can inflate two new balloons and fly again.
The object of this mode is to travel from the beginning to the end while collecting balloons left off by Alice's brother, Jim, along the way. The player must also prevent Alice from bumping into enemies that are attempting to pop her balloons, push her or kill her altogether. Some enemies, such as Balloon Birds, came from Balloon Fight. The giant fish that eats anyone who flies too close to the water, also came from Balloon Fight. There are four bosses in Balloon Kid. To defeat them, the player must make Alice fly about them and make her detach her balloons to bounce on them. She also can jump and stomp on them, whenever it is safe for her, like in other typical platformers.
The 2-player mode is loosely based on Balloon Fights Game A and Game B modes, where one player battles against another player. One player controls Alice, while the other controls Alice's friend and eternal rival: Samm. The goal is to collect more balloons than the other player before they arrive at the end of the stage.
Balloon Kids "Balloon Trip" mode is based on Balloon Fight's mode of the same name, but with Alice instead of a generic Balloon Fighter. Everything else, including the BGM
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
itself, are unchanged from Balloon Fight's Balloon Trip mode.
Ports and related releases
On March 27, 1992, a subsidiary of Hello KittyHello Kitty
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
creator Sanrio
Sanrio
is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan...
, known as Character Soft, reprogrammed and published a Family Computer
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version of Balloon Kid, titled as . This version, unlike Balloon Kid, which was never released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, was released exclusively in Japan.
Balloon Kid was created after it was brought to North America. The only notable changes to the game were Balloon Kids plot being replaced with Hello Kitty's, as well as updated/changed visuals.
On July 31, 2000, Balloon Kid was remade and renamed as , and was also developed by Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo, but exclusively in Japan for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
through the Nintendo Power flash RAM cartridge series
Nintendo Power (cartridge)
The flash RAM cartridge was a Japan-only peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom and the Game Boy, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.During the days of the Family...
. This version features colored graphics, battery-backed memory for helping players save their progress in order to pick any stage they want after they completed them, and Super Game Boy
Super Game Boy
The is a 16-bit adapter cartridge for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Super Famicom in Japan. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Game Boy to be played on a TV display using the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. When it was released in...
compatible features such as frames. This version was later added to the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
for the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
in Japan on October 19, 2011, while the original, inferior, North American version was included in the same part in North America on November 3, 2011 instead.
Some of the game's BGM was added in some parts of the Game Boy Camera
Game Boy Camera
The Game Boy Camera, released as in Japan, is an official Nintendo accessory for the handheld Game Boy gaming console and was released in 1998. It is also compatible with the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Game Boy Color, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Advance SP...
, such as the "Hot Spot" section.
Reception
Mean MachinesMean Machines
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
rated the gave 51%, describing it as "full of promise", then adding that the repetitive gameplay and low difficulty caused the game to become boring. They added that while the premise was interesting, they couldn't "help thinking that this is a mediocre game". Author Jeff Rovin in the book How to Win at Game Boy Games noted the gameplay as "novel" if repetitive after the second stage of the game, adding that regardless the game was entertaining for all ages, and "a worthy addition to the Game Boy library", grading
Grade (education)
Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
the game B.
External links
- Official Balloon Fight GB website (Japanese) (Translated with Excite.Co.Jp's translator)
- Official Balloon Fight GB details (Japanese) (Translated with Excite.Co.Jp's translator)
- Balloon Fight GB interview with Hitoshi Yamagami (Japanese) (Translated with Excite.Co.Jp's translator)
- Official Balloon Fight GB Virtual Console website (Japanese)
- Balloon Kid at NinDB