Balloon of Doom

Balloon of Doom
Appears in	Mario Party 4
Type	Bowser mini-game
Time limit	5 seconds per turn
Music track	Play with Bowser
Music sample

Balloon of Doom is a Bowser minigame in Mario Party 4.

Gameplay

In Balloon of Doom, each player tries to inflate a balloon with Bowser's picture on it as much as possible without making the balloon burst. Each player has a turn to stomp on the balloon pump to inflate the balloon. Higher Ground Pounds pump more air into the balloon, so players can manipulate how much air they wish to pump into it. As with other Bowser minigames in Mario Party 4, the minigame is heavily luck-based; no matter how much everyone tries to manipulate the pump, someone is eventually going to have to pop the balloon. However, there are warning signs that the balloon is close to bursting:

• The Koopa Kid behind the balloon (to Bowser's left) starts backing away from the balloon as it gets larger; when it is nearly at its limit, he takes cover behind the pillar flanking the throne.
• The fan-holding Koopa Kid to Bowser's right begins hiding behind his fan when the balloon is almost ready to pop.
• The three players not currently on the pump visibly and audibly cringe when the pumping player performs their Ground Pound.
• Bowser's pose changes as the balloon gets bigger; he starts leaning on his right fist instead of his left once it is about halfway full, then subtly leans even farther to the right when it is almost at its maximum size. At the latter point, he also uses new lines of dialogue, indicating anticipation for the inevitable.

When a player overinflates the balloon, there is a pause after they land on the pump before the balloon bursts. The other three players flee as Bowser becomes angry and uses his fire breath on that player, resulting in a loss for that player.

If a player fails to inflate the balloon within the five-second time limit, that player automatically loses and gets burned by Bowser.

Controls

• – Jump
• → – Ground Pound

In-game text

• Bowser – "Gwa ha ha ha! Welcome!! Well, this time the Bowser game is... Balloon of Doom!!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "Want to hear the rules?"
• Koopa Kid 1 (if "Yes" is chosen) – "All right, listen up, weaklings! I'm gonna explain the rules of this game!"
• Koopa Kid 2 – "So no snoozing!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "Blow up Master Bowser's balloon real big-like!!"
• Koopa Kid 2 – "Yeah, raise the roof!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "Just Ground Pound on this pump over here to inflate the balloon!"
• Koopa Kid 2 – "Woomp!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "Press to jump, and press again in the air to Ground Pound!"
• Koopa Kid 2 – "Jump and press !"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "The higher you jump, the more air gets pumped into the balloon!"
• Koopa Kid 2 – "More air means more Bowser!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "But if you overinflate the balloon or don't pump at all..."
• Koopa Kid 2 – "OH! I know! I know!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "You ROAST!"
• Koopa Kid 2 – "Like marshmallows at a campfire!"
• Koopa Kid 1 – "So, get pumping!"
• Bowser – "Wee-hauuugh! My face is gonna be HUUGE!"
• Bowser (when the balloon inflates) – "Yeah!!"/"Bigger!"/"Alriiight!!"/"Unggh!"
• Bowser (when the balloon is close to bursting) – "I can feel it!!!"/"Oh, yeaahhh!"/"Any minute now!!"
• Koopa Kid 1 (when the balloon bursts) – "Eeeeek!"
• Koopa Kid 2 (when the balloon bursts) – "Yiiiiikes!"
• Bowser (when the balloon bursts) – "!!!!!!!!"
• Bowser – "What were you thinking?!"/"It's gonna blow!!"/"How dare you?!"
• Bowser (when someone refuses to inflate the balloon) – "You dare disobey me!?!"

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	クッパのパニックバルーン Kuppa no panikkubarūn	Bowser's Panic Balloon
French	Les Ballons de la Mort	Balloons of Death
German	Balloon des Schicksals	Balloon of Fate
Italian	Pallone gonfiato	Windbag; lit. "inflated balloon"
Spanish	El globo caliente	The hot balloon