Hot Air Balloon
- This article is about a form of transportation in the Donkey Kong games. For the recurring object in the Mario Kart series, see Hot-air balloon. For the Yoshi transformation, see Hot-Air Balloon Yoshi.
| Hot Air Balloon | |
|---|---|
 Artwork of a Hot Air Balloon for Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest | |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) |
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance) (2004) |
Hot Air Balloons[1] (also parsed as Hot-Air Balloons)[2] are large balloons used for crossing large portions of lava. They first appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and return in Donkey Kong Land 2.
History
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Hot Air Balloons appear only in Red-Hot Ride, as a key feature for making it through the level. Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong can stand on a Hot Air Balloon and lean either left or right to control its movement. If the Kongs stand at the edge of a Hot Air Balloon, the animation of them about to fall off is shown, even though they cannot walk off of a Hot Air Balloon. By default, a Hot Air Balloon slowly descends into the lava, but it can be suspended in midair if it is floating at the top of a thermal column, which come in varying heights. Most Hot Air Balloons start off at the top of a thermal column. Throughout Red-Hot Ride, the Kongs must maneuver the Hot Air Balloon past a series of enemies, especially Zingers, until reaching the next Hot Air Balloon or the ground. Some of the Hot Air Balloons have a DK Barrel on it, or even either one of two enemies: Kruncha or Neek. Although they walk back and forth on a Hot Air Balloon, this does not affect the direction of its movement.
Donkey Kong Land 2
In Donkey Kong Land 2, Hot Air Balloons, function identically as before, although their appearance is slightly wider. They appear in only two levels, both taking place in a volcanic environment: Redhot Ride and Fiery Furnace. There are no thermal columns along the way, so a Hot Air Balloon cannot be suspended back in midair.
Profiles
Donkey Kong Land 2
- Virtual Console manual bio: "Jump on these to cross perilous gaps. Press
to move left or right. The balloons will gradually start to descend after you jump on them."
Gallery
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest sprite
The Kongs riding on a Hot Air Balloon in Red-Hot Ride in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Donkey Kong Land 2 sprite
Diddy Kong riding a Hot Air Balloon in Donkey Kong Land 2
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Netsukikyū |
Hot Air Balloon |
| Italian | Pallone di aria calda[4][5] Mongolfiera[6] |
Hot air balloon (meant as "balloon full of hot air") Hot-air balloon (like an actual balloon-aircraft) |
References
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest SNES instruction booklet, page 16.
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 2 GBA instruction booklet, page 15.
- ^ Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy instruction booklet, page 20.
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, GIG's Italian manual
- ^ Donkey Kong Land 2 Italian manual, pag. 15
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 2, European manual, pag. 113
