Balloon Fight (universe)
BalloonFightUniverseLogo.png
BalloonFightSymbol.svg
Developer(s) Nintendo
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Yoshio Sakamoto
Genre(s) Platformer
Console/platform of origin Arcade
First installment Vs. Balloon Fight (1984)
Latest installment Tingle's Balloon Fight DS (2007) Japan
Article on Wikipedia Balloon Fight (universe)

The Balloon Fight universe (バルーンファイト, 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. Originally released as a 1984 arcade game, later titles included an NES port and numerous sequels and rereleases. The series has constantly been referenced in numerous other Nintendo franchises, including Game & Watch, Wario, and even The Legend of Zelda with a game starring Tingle.

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 Fight (06/86)
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.
Balloon Fight (06/86)

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 Balloon Trip music, also appearing on Summit, in My Music.

Stickers

Name Game Effect Characters
Balloon Fight Enemy Balloon Fight AttackSpecialsIndirect+004  Attack +4 Ice Climbers 
Balloon Fighter Balloon Fight AttackWeapon+004  Attack +4 Pit 
 
Balloon Fight Enemy
 
Balloon Fighter

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Stage

  • Balloon Fight : 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.

Music

  • Balloon Fight Medley: 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.
  • Balloon Trip: 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 Duck Hunt stage in the Wii U version.

Misc.

  • The Villager uses the headgear from Balloon Fight in his up special move, Balloon Trip. 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

Stage

Music

  •   "Balloon Trip (Brawl)": returns from Brawl. Seen in the Sound Test in the August 8th, 2018 Direct.
  •   "Balloon Trip (3DS / WiiU)": returns from Smash 4. Seen in the Sound Test in the August 8th, 2018 Direct.
  •   "Balloon Fight Medley": returns from Smash 4. Seen in the Sound Test in the August 8th, 2018 Direct.

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.

Name Type Class Ability
Balloon Fighter Support Advanced Jump ↑
Fish Primary
(Grab)
Advanced Electric Weakness

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 Balloon Fight Medley being played on Wrecking Crew and Balloon Trip being played on Duck Hunt in Smash for Wii U.