User:Mr. Sorbetti/Balloon
| Balloon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy 2 | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2025) | ||
| |||
Balloons appear as recurring objects in the Super Mario franchise. Their role varies between games, being used as transportation by playable characters or enemies, containing various items or rewards inside, or needing to be popped to complete certain objectives or missions.
History
Mario Kart series
Balloon Battle
In the Balloon Battle game mode from the Mario Kart series, the main mechanic is balloons. Each player usually starts with three balloons on their back. Players must use items to hit opponents to pop their balloons. If all balloons are popped, the player suffers a penalty by being either eliminated or respawned with points deducted from their score.
In Super Mario Kart, each player has three color-coded balloons that circle around their kart, with blue balloons for player one and red for player two.
In Mario Kart 64, each player has three balloons of a specific color corresponding to their character floating above their head. Now, falling off the course and colliding with another player at high speed also causes players to lose a balloon. Unlike other Mario Kart installments, balloons fly away and do not pop.
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, players gain the ability to steal balloons from opponents by using a Dash Mushroom, Star, or a Slide Attack to collide with them. The maximum number of balloons per kart is three, so any additional balloon stolen will simply pop instead of being transferred to the new driver. Balloons are now colored according to the port order, instead of by character. The colors used for players 5 through 8 are accessed via LAN Mode.
In Mario Kart DS, players start out with one balloon instead of three, with four extra balloons stored away. By holding 
or by blowing into the 
, they are able to inflate more balloons, up to the usual maximum of three. The kart cannot be accelerating or moving at a high speed in order for a balloon to be inflated.
In Mario Kart Wii, the balloons are now divided into two colors per team: red and blue. The objective is now to be the team that pops the most balloons within the time limit.
In Mario Kart 7, each driver is assigned balloon colors according to their number, similar to Mario Kart DS. When played with teams, they are instead assigned red or blue balloons, similar to Mario Kart Wii.
In Mario Kart 8, when players are playing without teams, there are twelve different colors the balloons can be. Balloons also have the Mario Kart logo on them. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, each driver now starts out with five balloons rather than the traditional three. The details of the balloons are the same as in Mario Kart 8 (including the twelve colors).
In Mario Kart Tour, drivers only start with two balloons instead of three in Battle mode. Like in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7, there are eight different colors the balloons can be, based on player number. Additionally, 53 different balloons can be purchased in the Shop, with 47 being spheres bearing an icon of a character, enemy, or object, and six being in other shapes.
In Mario Kart World, when playing without teams, there are 24 different balloon colors.
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR
In Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, different-colored balloons appear replacing Item Boxes. They hover above the track in groups carrying either Bananas, Green Shells, or Hammers, which can be grabbed by raising an open hand toward the item held by the balloon. Green balloons hold Green Shells, red ones carry Hammers, and yellow ones carry Bananas.
Yoshi series
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its reissue balloons appear as objects in two types of Mini Battles, Popping Balloons and Throwing Balloons. In Popping Balloons, a Yoshi must ground-pound the balloon with the item inside it. However, the Bandit tries to find it first. In Throwing Balloons, a Yoshi is throwing a slowly expanding balloon back and forth with a Bandit. Whoever has the balloon when it pops loses the minigame. A combination of 
, 
, 
, 
, and 
is used to throw the balloon.
Yoshi Touch & Go
In Yoshi Touch & Go, red or blue balloons appear in Score Attack mode during the sky section, where three of them hold Baby Mario (or Baby Luigi) and slow his descent through the sky. If an enemy such as a Brier, Marutchi, Fly Guy, or Cloud Drop hits the baby, one of his balloons will pop, causing him to fall faster. If all three balloons are popped before he reaches Yoshi, the baby falls off-screen, resulting in a Game Over.
Yoshi's Crafted World
Balloons are objects in Yoshi's Crafted World. There are various types. The first type, the blue ones, appear when a Yoshi hits a Time Cloud. Yoshi must throw eggs at them to pop them. If all of the balloons are popped before time runs out, a Smiley Flower appears. This type of balloon appears in Spring Sprung Trail, Open, Shut!, and Windward Way.
The second type of balloon is identical to the previous one, instead colored red. This type appears only in the level Altitude Adjustment, where they appear in various sizes and are used by Shy Guys and spiked bombs to float. Planes and one Airship also use them, the latter using giant ones. Shy Guys can be found floating with one up to three balloons, bombs one up to two balloons, planes one up to two balloons, and the airship seven balloons. There are a total of 50 balloons in the level. They can be popped by flying over them with Yoshi's plane, or by throwing an egg at them. Popping 20, 30, and 40 balloons grants three Smiley Flowers.
The last type of balloon appears in Exploring the Animal Kingdom. This type appears as a round pink balloon, which is divided into two types. The first one appears as a pink ball, similar to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island balloons. This type appears blocking certain paths, and can only be destroyed by being run over by a Rhinono. An especially oversized pink balloon appears blocking the path inside a hollow tree near the end of the level. Yoshi needs to help the Baby Rhinono reunite with its parent, after which both will slam into the balloon, popping it and letting Yoshi proceed in the level. The second type of pink balloon appears tangled in vines. It has bouncing properties similar to Bouncies, which allows Yoshi to reach coins or rewards.
Mario Party series
Mario Party
In Mario Party, giant balloons in the shape of Bowser appear in the Minigame Balloon Burst. Players must pop their Bowser balloon first before time runs out.
Mario Party 2
In Mario Party 2, balloons appear in various minigames. In Balloon Burst, players must once again pop Bowser balloons first, but this time in pairs. In Bumper Balloon Cars, each player has a colored balloon on the back of their car. The players must defend their balloons and pop the balloons of their opponents by touching them with the spiked front of the car. Finally, in Shy Guy Says, each player appears floating with a balloon on their back. The players must copy the Shy Guy's flag movements; if they fail, the Shy Guy pops their balloon, making them fall.
Mario Party 3
In Mario Party 3, balloons appear in the minigame Bobbing Bow-loons, where the player character, while hanging from a balloon, must pop one of the numerous balloons in a row with an arrow to receive the reward inside. The rows of balloons move horizontally at different speeds depending on the item value. If an arrow is shot and misses the entire row of balloons, it bounces off the stone wall and pops the player's own balloon.
Mario Party 4
In
Mario Party-e
In Mario Party-e, a balloon in the shape of Wario appears on the minigame Balloon Burst!
Balloon of Doom Hop or Pop Heat Stroke Countdown Pound Merry Poppings Pop Star Balloonatic (minigame) Bumper Balloons Loco Motives Bowser Pop Balloon Blast Bash Mario's Three-peat Balloon Burst! Bobbing Bow-loons
Super Mario series
Super Mario Sunshine
Large pink balloons[1] resembling Bowser Jr. appear in Super Mario Sunshine. Only twenty of them appear in the "Roller Coaster Balloons" mission at Pinna Park, during which Mario needs to pop all twenty balloons with water rockets while riding the Roller Coaster. Failure to do so before the Roller Coaster completes three laps around the track results in him losing a life. The balloons are placed together in groups of two or three and are scattered around the track. If Mario pops all the balloons within the three laps and without running out of water rockets, he is rewarded with the episode's Shine Sprite by the ride operator.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Balloons[2] appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 as uncommon objects. They are multicolored party balloons with strings, and they are always suspended in midair. They come in five different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, and purple. Mario (or Luigi) can pop them simply by touching them. When popped, the balloons make a small popping noise, release five or six Star Bits, and then disappear. The Star Bits that are released from balloons home in on Mario if they are popped this way, so the player does not need to use the Star Pointer to collect them. Balloons can also be popped by shooting a Star Bit at them. If the player pops a balloon this way, the Star Bits that are released do not home in on Mario but instead fall downwards.
Balloons are found in Wild Glide Galaxy, the Fleet Glide Galaxy, Tall Trunk Galaxy, and Honeyhop Galaxy. In the former two galaxies, both of which Mario must glide through with Fluzzard, the player must steer Mario and Fluzzard towards the balloons scattered throughout the galaxies to pop them and get the Star Bits inside them. In Tall Trunk Galaxy, balloons appear only in the galaxy's second mission, "Tall Trunk's Big Slide." In this mission, they float above the slide at various intervals, and Mario must jump up at precisely the right time while sliding in order to pop them and collect the Star Bits inside. In Honeyhop Galaxy, three balloons are found hovering in the air over the gap between the Starting Planet and the Queen Bee Planet. While the player crosses the gap by using Floaty Fluff, they can optionally pop the three balloons and get some extra Star Bits along the way.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Balloons tied to Goombas appear in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. They only appear in one course-the Sparkling Waters course Skyward Stalk, where they make the Goombas float upward, much like Parachute Galoombas from Super Mario World, except they float in the opposite direction. Upon reaching a certain height, the balloon dislodges from the Goomba, dropping it below and then floating away. If a player stomps a balloon, it will pop, dropping the Goomba.
Super Mario Odyssey
Balloons appear in Super Mario Odyssey as the main mechanics of the Balloon World online minigame. In "Hide It" mode, the player has 30 seconds to hide a balloon somewhere in a kingdom. The balloon cannot be placed high in the air or over pits; instead, it will be placed at the last location where the player set foot. In "Find It" mode, the player has a set amount of time (3 to 40 seconds) to find a balloon hidden by another player somewhere in the world.
Balloon World features a ranking system that tracks the player's statistics. The player's rank is represented by stars, which are awarded for completing specific objectives. Each time the player ranks up, finding balloons becomes more challenging, as higher-ranked players are more likely to encounter more difficult balloons. For every 10 stars earned, Luigi receives new balloons for his pack. Initially, he only has a red balloon, but at 10 stars, he gains a blue balloon. At 20 stars, he gains a yellow balloon; at 30, a green balloon; and at 40, a purple balloon. Once all 50 stars are earned, Luigi's balloons turn gold and begin to sparkle, similar to how the Odyssey's sail becomes shiny and golden after collecting all 880 Power Moons.
The balloons used in this minigame display the player's Nintendo Switch profile icon, which can feature a Mii or various other popular Nintendo characters.
Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge
Balloons appear as objects in Balloon Float Castle in Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge. They are introduced in Peach 1 and appear in all four levels in the world. Each balloon is attached to a pump which occupies a single tile, while the balloons themselves are pink and have a white arrow on them; this arrow points diagonally either to the left or right, signifying the direction in which the balloon will float.
Mini Peach can grab and hold on to a balloon, which then ascends and floats in the direction of the arrow. The player can tap on a floating balloon with the Wii U's 
stylus to make the balloon burst, causing Mini Peach to fall straight downward and a new balloon to be generated from the pump. A balloon will remain intact upon hitting a ceiling, but it will pop if it touches hazards such as spikes.
Naming
Internal names
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 | ObjectData/GliderBalloon.arc | GliderBalloon | Glider Balloon |
| SystemData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl | グライダー用風船 (Guraidā-yō Fūsen) | Glider-use Balloon |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 風船[3] Fūsen | Balloon |
- ^ "If you can hit all of the balloons with water rockets before the Roller Coaster makes three loops, you win!" – Director of Pinna Park during "Roller Coaster Balloon" (19 Jul. 2002). Super Mario Sunshine by Nintendo EAD (North American Localization). Nintendo of America.
- ^ Browne, Catherine (May 23, 2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2: PRIMA Official Game Guide. Roseville: Random House Inc. ISBN 978-0-30746-907-6. Page 97, 131, 169.
- ^ October 19, 2015. Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook, Super Mario Galaxy 2 section. Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8. Page 171.
