Balloon (platform)

Balloons, also described as rising balloons or happy balloons, are recurring platforms that can be stood on. They first appear in Donkey Kong Land, where they are present only in Big Ape City's Construction Site Fight. The balloons rise up and down, inflating and deflating as they do so. The player must time their jumps in order to land safely.

Balloons also appear in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its reissue, where they have smiling faces and come in different colors. They appear in Don't Look Back! and a bonus area in Beware The Spinning Logs, and they continuously rise from the bottom of the screen. Stepping on one of them causes it to stop its natural rising, and using them too long results in their disappearance. They reappear with the same function in Yoshi's Island DS in levels Windblown Wilderness and Superhard Acrobatics!, and in Yoshi's New Island.

In Super Princess Peach, balloons always come in red, and they gain magenta cheek blushes with short strings hanging. They appear in Giddy Sky and remain still. If Peach stands on them, they go down slowly. If she jumps off one, it makes a short rise. After being stood on the first time, they blink after a few moments and then vanish, reappearing in its original spot after a few more seconds. To make use of them, she has to jump repeatedly to reach new heights before they vanish.

Balloons feature in Yoshi's Woolly World, acting as they did in the Yoshi's Island games. Balloons can be popped by Bullet Bills and Bull's-Eye Bills. They can also be popped if they touch the ceiling.