You start the game with two balloons. Your goal is to fly through each Phase and pop the balloons of all the enemies without having your balloons popped in the process. If you have a balloon popped, it stays popped until you lose the second balloon and start with a new man, or until you reach one of the Bonus Phases that appears every fourth Phase.
Flying and Fighting
To fly, you have to flap. How fast you flap depends on what button you press and how fast you press it. Holding the B Button allows you to flap swiftly, while tapping the A Button performs a single flap per press.
To get into the air quickly, hold B if the sky above you is clear of enemy Birds. But if things are a little tight and you need to maneuver between several Birds and obstacles, tapping the A Button is your best bet.
In order to complete each Phase, you must defeat all the Birds on the screen. To do this, pop their balloons by landing on them. The Birds can return the favor, so position yourself above the Birds whenever possible.
Once you’ve popped a Bird’s balloon, the Bird parachutes down to the ground. After it lands, if left alone for too long, it pumps up another balloon. If it succeeds, it becomes a tougher Bird, making your job of clearing the screen that much harder. To prevent this, hit the Bird’s parachute while it’s falling, or hit the Bird while it’s on the ground. It’s also possible for a parachuting Bird to fall into the water found at the bottom of each Phase. If that happens, the Bird is defeated, same as if you had stomped on it yourself, but you don’t gain any points for the defeated Bird.
Enemies and Obstacles
The world is a dangerous place for a Balloon Fighter. This section includes descriptions for all enemies and obstacles you encounter during your time with Balloon Fight.
Red Birds
Red Birds are, without a doubt, the easiest enemy in the game. Their strategy involves apathetically flapping around in place, maybe drifting a little to the left or right, but ultimately being completely aimless. Perhaps they are pacifists trying to bring the Bird/Balloon Fighter conflict to an end through talk instead of combat. Maybe they are simply looking to observe the world from the air and got caught in this aerial battle. Or maybe they just don’t have the confidence to pop the Balloon Fighter’s balloons and instead float pensively, hoping one day to have the boldness to fight like their brothers in arms. Whatever their motivation, they pose little threat to you as long as you don’t fly directly below them.
Green Birds
It’s said the Green Birds are Red Birds who tapped into their own ambitious nature. While not of the same caliber as the all-too-deadly Yellow Bird, the Green Birds make a concerted effort to bring down the Balloon Fighter. Instead of listlessly drifting through the air, the Green Birds slowly drift in your direction. They are easy enough to avoid and defeat, but if they group up with any other Bird-types, they can be a real bother.
Yellow Birds
Barons of the skies, the Yellow Birds are as deadly as they are pastel. They chase down the Balloon Fighter with unending fervor and energy. They are faster than the other Bird-types, smarter, and maneuver as well as the Balloon Fighter. Expect them to contantly fight for height advantage and to always be directly above you. Take your time dispatching groups of them; they love popping your balloons as you drop in to finish off one of their ranks. Always keep these fiends in the corner of your eye, or fall to their aggressive style like so many before you.
The Giant Fish
Below the surface of the water lurks a creature of unending hunger, a monster whose stomach can never be filled. We speak, of course, of the Giant Fish. This scaly scavenger roams the map, back and forth, looking for its next meal. If you happen to be just above the water as it passes by, it leaps out at you. If it grabs you, it pulls you under and takes a life immediately, regardless of how many balloons you have. The Giant Fish also attacks any Birds that get near it, so it’s as much friend as foe.
Lightning Ball
Clouds exist in every Phase, and while they seem completely harmless, they hide a dark secret—or should we say a light secret? As you play a Phase, every once in a while, a cloud begins to flash. Once that happens, expect a lightning bolt to strike from the cloud and leave a Lightning Ball bouncing around the screen. Contact with the Lightning Ball means an instant life loss for the Balloon Fighter. The Ball bounces around the screen in diagonal directions until it drops into the water. It’s easy enough to dodge by itself, but when you have several Birds on the screen as well, the Lightning Ball can be a real pain to deal with.
Flippers
Flippers can’t harm the Balloon Fighter directly, but they can change the tide of battle in an instant. Touching a Flipper shoots the Balloon Fighter off in a semi-random direction, which can block you from finishing off a Bird, or can send you rocketing into peril. The good news is that Flippers also affect any Birds that touch it. Keep your distance from Flippers to avoid the trouble they produce.
Game Modes
There are technically three game modes, but A and B are the same game with one and two players, respectively.
Games A and B
In Games A and B, you must pop the balloons of all Bird enemies to progress to the next Phase. There are 16 total Phases to complete. Once you’ve completed all 16, the game jumps back to Phase 1, and you get the chance to play through again. Play through the Phases over and over to reach the highest scores possible.
Game B adds a second Balloon Fighter to the game, allowing you to play through with a friend. Just be careful! The two players can pop each other’s balloons, making the Balloon Fighter the deadliest enemy of all!
Phases
There are 16 Phases to play through in Balloon Fight, but the game doesn’t end once you’ve completed them all. After completing all 12 regular Phases and four Bonus Phases, the game starts over at Phase 1. This allows you to continue achieving higher and higher scores to beat your own records.
This section includes screens for each of the game’s 16 Phases, so you can learn about what’s coming before you face it. We list the types of enemies and obstacles you contend with in each Phase, providing everything you need to reach your highest scores possible.
Phase 1
Red Bird(s) x 3
Phase 2
Red Bird(s) x 2
Green Bird(s) x 3
Phase 3
Red Bird(s) x 1
Green Bird(s) x 2
Yellow Bird(s) x 2
Bonus Phase
Phase 4
Red Bird(s) x 3
Green Bird(s) x 1
Yellow Bird(s) x 1
Phase 5
Red Bird(s) x 2
Green Bird(s) x 3
Yellow Bird(s) x 1
Phase 6
Red Bird(s) x 1
Yellow Bird(s) x 4
Bonus Phase
Phase 7
Red Bird(s) x 1
Green Bird(s) x 3
Yellow Bird(s) x 2
Flipper(s) x 1
Phase 8
Red Bird(s) x 2
Green Bird(s) x 2
Yellow Bird(s) x 2
Flipper(s) x 1
Phase 9
Red Bird(s) x 3
Green Bird(s) x 1
Yellow Bird(s) x 1
Flipper(s) x 2
Bonus Phase
Phase 10
Green Bird(s) x 2
Yellow Bird(s) x 4
Flipper(s) x 4
Phase 11
Red Bird(s) x 2
Green Bird(s) x 2
Yellow Bird(s) x 2
Flipper(s) x 1
Phase 12
Red Bird(s) x 4
Yellow Bird(s) x 1
Bonus Phase
This Phase marks the final stage in the game. After this, you start back at Phase 1 and play through the game again to keep building your high score. Keep it up and smash through your personal bests!
Balloon Trip
Balloon Trip is a never-ending autoscroller that removes all enemies from the game except for the Giant Fish, and provides an endless supply of Lightning Balls and balloons. Your job is to pop the balloons while avoid the Lightning Balls for as long as possible.
Put your Balloon Fight skills to the test and see how long you can last in this alternate mode of the game!
