A red arrow. It has been suggested that this page be moved to Crossovers with Balloon Fight. Reason: Balloon Fighter comes up short for fitting in the current coverage policy, as Super Smash Bros. appearances, appearances in WarioWare micro/minigames, and Costume Mario do not count. However, this page contains almost all of the content for a Crossovers with Balloon Fight page, so moving and tweaking makes more sense than deleting and recreating. (discuss)
Balloon Fighter
Balloon Fighter spirit from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Species Human
First appearance Balloon Fight (1984, Balloon Fight series)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (trophy cameo) (2001, Super Mario-related media)
Latest appearance The Super Mario Bros. Movie (cameo, 2023)

Balloon Fighter[1] is the title given to the player character of Balloon Fight. He has made several appearances in the Super Mario franchise. In his original game, the Balloon Fighter attempts to fly around using a pair of balloons on their helmet while dodging various obstacles and enemies that try to stop him. If he is hit, his balloons are popped and he is defeated.

"Balloon Fighter" is the name of the trophy the character is given in Super Smash Bros. Melee, though the trophy's description also says the character's name is unknown. The character's spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is called "Balloon Fighter" in a game where one set of characters without names have their spirit called "Magical Vacation Protagonists", though whether this means "Balloon Fighter" has become the character's name is unknown. In the Japanese release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the spirit's name can be translated as Balloon Fight's Protagonist.

HistoryEdit

Super Smash Bros. seriesEdit

Super Smash Bros. MeleeEdit

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the character has a trophy called Balloon Fighter. Its description mostly describes the Balloon Fight game, then ends on saying the character's name is unknown despite the trophy being called Balloon Fighter. They are described as a "balloonist", even though that word normally refers to people who operate hot air balloons.

Super Smash Bros. BrawlEdit

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the character has a Sticker named Balloon Fighter, based on artwork from the cover of Balloon Fight for the Famicom; in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary the Balloon Fighter sticker can only be used on Pit, giving him a boost of +4 to his weapon attacks.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii UEdit

 
Villager using Balloon Trip on Mushroom Kingdom U in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The helmet and balloons are red because this Villager is Player 1. Since the helmet and the balloons have the same color, Villager can never have the exact mismatched hat and balloons of the Balloon Fighter's sprites or the Balloon Fighter's artwork.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Villager's up special move is Balloon Trip. The move is entirely a reference to the Balloon Fighter and the mechanics of Balloon Fight. It starts with Villager putting on a helmet with a pair of balloons, just like the Balloon Fighter's gear. They are specified as being a "balloon hat" in North American releases,[2] but a "ballooned hat" in European releases.[3] Both items are color coded to match Villager's player number. This action causes a small upward boost. Then, for a limited amount of time, the player can drift through the air while their falling speed is reduced and/or hold the special move button to make Villager flap his arms and rise into the air. If the balloons take damage they are popped. Losing one balloon reduces the lift the move generates, and losing both balloons makes the move end early. Once time runs out, the balloons detach from the hat to fly up and off the screen, and the move ends. Alternatively, pressing the attack button makes the move end in this way. The move ending through the balloons detaching also grants a small upward boost. No matter how the move ends, Villager stops wearing the balloon hat. If it ended because Villager took damage, the balloons pop as though they got hit, but otherwise the balloons float away as normal.

Balloon Trip has two custom versions, Extreme Balloon Trip and Balloon High Jump, which change the mechanics in ways that make the moves less similar to Balloon Fight's mechanics, but retain the aesthetics. Extreme Balloon Trip cannot fly as high as Balloon Trip, but the balloons explode when popped. Instead of the attack button cancelling the move, it causes one balloon to pop. Further, when the balloons float away after the move ends through means other than taking damage, they pop after flying a short distance. Balloon High Jump replaces the normal movement mechanics of Balloon Trip with a high jump, after which the move ends immediately. It does not travel as high as Balloon Trip, but the balloons of this move deal damage as Villager rises.

Balloon Trip, as well as its custom versions, is a special move that makes the user fall helplessly when it ends in the air. Villager's animation for falling helplessly has him flailing his arms. If Villager is facing right when Balloon Trip ends, he faces the screen during this animation, otherwise he faces away from the screen. This animation, especially when Villager faces the screen, greatly resembles how the Balloon Fighter falls after losing their last balloon in Balloon Fight.

Super Smash Bros. UltimateEdit

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Balloon Fighter appears as an Advanced class support spirit. The spirit follows from the sticker in using artwork from the cover of Balloon Fight's Famicom release. Its spirit battle has it as a shield opponent. The spirit battle has the player fight four blue male Villager puppet fighters on one of any of the three variations of the stage Balloon Fight. The Villagers can all jump higher than normal, and they have a preference for using Balloon Trip. The battle has a time limit of one minute and 30 seconds, which adds a complicating factor because of how Balloon Trip's mechanics can be used to evade the player. When equipped, Balloon Fighter increases the height of the fighter's jump.

Villager's Balloon Trip is present in this game, though with the removal of custom special moves for most fighters Extreme Balloon Trip and Balloon High Jump do not. Villager's animations are mirrored when facing left in this game, which makes his animation for falling helplessly always face the screen, increasing the resemblance to Balloon Fighter. Isabelle's up special move is also Balloon Trip, and it uses the same mechanics. However, it has unique animations where Isabelle sits on a swing set attached to two bunny balloons, the latter item being a variety of balloon distinctly from the Animal Crossing series. As a result, Isabelle's Balloon Trip does not visually resemble Balloon Fighter. Isabelle also has a different animation for falling helplessly that is not based on Balloon Fighter.

WarioWare seriesEdit

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!Edit

 
The Balloon Fighter in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!

The Balloon Fighter first appears in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! in the Balloon Fight microgame. He must continually fly while avoiding little sparkling fires and a fish at the bottom of the screen. As the microgame increases in difficulty, more lightning is placed in the sky for the Balloon Fighter to dodge.

WarioWare: Twisted!Edit

The Balloon Fighter appears in WarioWare: Twisted!'s Balloon Fight microgame. Here, he is holding onto a rope, and the player must tilt a nearby balloon towards him so that he can grab onto it and start flying. The game's increases in difficulty make it more difficult to navigate the balloon to him. A souvenir appears, also titled Balloon Fight, that plays the microgame's music (which is a theme from the original Balloon Fight).

WarioWare: Touched!Edit

Another microgame based on Balloon Fight appears in WarioWare: Touched!, again titled Balloon Fight, and as a result, the Balloon Fighter appears again. In this microgame, the Balloon Fighter is being attacked by enemy balloon riders, and the player must tap on the enemies' balloons to defeat them. It is also possible for the player to tap on the Balloon Fighter's balloons, though doing so causes him to fall, failing the microgame.

WarioWare: Smooth MovesEdit

 
The Balloon Fighter in the Balloon Fight microgame of WarioWare: Smooth Moves

The Balloon Fighter appears in WarioWare: Smooth Moves in the microgame titled Balloon Fight (the same as the previous three microgames). This time, the microgame does not use the NES game's graphics and instead opts for 3D models. The gameplay emulates the original game, similar to the microgame in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, only it takes place from a rear view perspective. The goal is for the Balloon Fighter to survive while avoiding the obstacles in the sky. A full minigame, Balloon Trip, also appears in the game, with the goal of obtaining a high score. This is done by reaching long distances, popping balloons, and avoiding more obstacles.

WarioWare: D.I.Y.Edit

The fifth microgame based on Balloon Fight in the series is B. Fight. It is exactly like the microgame in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, with the Balloon Fighter trying to keep his balloons from being popped.

WarioWare: D.I.Y. ShowcaseEdit

It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this section. Remove this notice only after the additional images have been added. Specifics: Illustrate the Balloon Fighter's different appearance with a screenshot or sprite

The Balloon Fighter appears in the Music section of WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase whenever listening to music in the Wario-Man Super Store. In this game, he has an older appearance with gray hair and a mustache. In Game Play, the player must make the Balloon Fighter fly into the notes to make the song play. Due to his size, playing the complete song is impossible. If the Balloon Fighter flies too close to the water, a fish pops up and attempts to eat him. Getting eaten by the fish, falling into the water, or flying into a spark causes him to respawn near the top of the screen. In Auto Play, the Balloon Fighter is gigantic and plays all the notes. The player can move him towards the left to decrease the tempo or move him right to increase the tempo, though he returns to the center of the screen when the player lets go.

Game & WarioEdit

In Game & Wario, the Balloon Fighter appears in the Gamer minigame. Gamer depicts either 9-Volt or 18-Volt, depending on the mode, playing a microgame-based video game called BALLOON FIGHTER. Before, between, and after the microgames, BALLOON FIGHTER has a Balloon Fight-themed area where the Balloon Fighter flies. He starts on one island and begins flying to the right. Flying into a bubble pops that bubble to start a microgame. Finally, in non-endless levels, BALLOON FIGHTER and Gamer as a whole end when the Balloon Fighter lands on another island. In this game, the Balloon Fighter has four balloons instead of two, since, in BALLOON FIGHTER and Gamer, the number of balloons represents the number of lives the player has, with four being the standard number in the WarioWare series. As a result, losing a life causes one of the balloons to pop. The Balloon Fighter briefly drops down when this happens, but recovers and continues. Losing the last life causes the final balloon to pop and the Balloon Fighter to fall. In non-endless levels, the player earns 100 points for each balloon the Balloon Fighter has remaining after reaching the end of the level.

WarioWare GoldEdit

The Balloon Fighter appears again in the WarioWare Gold microgame Balloon Fight. Set in Balloon Fight's bonus stage, the goal is to pop a certain number of balloons before time runs out. The Balloon Fighter must also avoid lightning in the microgame's third level of difficulty.

The Balloon Fighter also appears in the Sneaky Gamer mode, which is a reimplementation of the Gamer minigame from Game & Wario. He has the same role in Sneaky Gamer.

Super Mario MakerEdit

The Balloon Fighter appears as an unlockable costume via Costume Mario in Super Mario Maker. He can be randomly unlocked after clearing the 100 Mario Challenge on Normal or harder.

The Super Mario Bros. MovieEdit

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, one of the billboards in Brooklyn uses the Balloon Fighter to advertise a car wash.

GalleryEdit

Profiles and statisticsEdit

Super Smash Bros. MeleeEdit

Trophy
Balloon Fighter
 
Game/move:
Balloon Fight
6/86
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.

Super Smash Bros. BrawlEdit

Sticker
Balloon Fighter
 
Artwork from: Balloon Fight
Effects in The Subspace Emissary: [Weapon] - Attack +4
Usable by: Pit

Spirit informationEdit

Spirit
#1124 Balloon Fighter
  Series/game Balloon Fight Series
Type Support
Slots 1
Class Advanced
Strength / effect(s) Jump ↑
How to obtain World of Light (The Light Realm); Spirit Board
Spirit battle Opponent(s) Villager (♂) ×4
Conditions

  • Timed battle
  • The enemy favors up specials
  • The enemy has increased jump power
Stage Balloon Fight
Song Balloon Fight Medley

Names in other languagesEdit

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese バルーンファイトの主人公[?]
Barūn Faito no Shujinkō
Balloon Fight's Protagonist Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Chinese (simplified) 打气球的主人公[?]
Dǎqìqiú de Zhǔréngōng
Balloon Fight's Protagonist Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Chinese (traditional) Balloon Fighter[?]
Bālún Fǎtè
The pronunciation is an approximation in Chinese to the original in English. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Korean 벌룬 파이트의 주인공[?]
Beollun Paiteuui Ju-ingong
Balloon Fight's Protagonist Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Russian Боец Balloon Fight[?]
Boyets Balun Fayt
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Spanish (NOA) Globonauta[?] Balloonaut Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Balloon Fighter trophy. Super Smash Bros. Melee.
  2. ^ "Don a balloon hat and fly around. You have a lot of control, but the balloons can be popped." – 21 Nov. 2014. North American Super Smash Bros. for Wii U digital instruction manual. Nintendo of America. Tab 37.
  3. ^ "Puts on a ballooned hat to fly. Allows for lots of in-air control, but the balloons can be popped." – 28 Nov. 2014. European Super Smash Bros. for Wii U digital instruction manual. Nintendo of Europe. Tab 37.