Title : Balloon Fight
Publisher : Nintendo
Genre : Platform
Players : 1 / 2 Players
Release Date : 1986
Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $4-$5
Phew - you don't know how excited I am to finally review a black box game. These games were the blood of the NES library back when it first came out. These were the original classics, and although there were a few that just didn't excel as some of the others, they were all decent releases. It's pretty much a safe bet that if you were to pick up a black box game, you were at least guaranteed to have some fun with it.
Black box games are also the heart of a retro gamer's collection. They're the original NES library, and the start of something big. Plus, they just look damn cool if you happen to have a complete-in-box version of the game.
So here we go, on to one of my favorite black box games. BALLOON FIGHT!
If you have a second player handy, I'd really recommend playing this game with 2 players because it really is that much more fun. Anyway, you've got 2 choices for game selection. The 1 and 2 player game is basically destroying every enemy on the screen while keeping your balloons from popping. You just have to stomp on their balloons and stomp on em again to defeat em. As you progress, more obstacles and platforms will appear on the screen to make it just a tad more difficult, but nothing you can't handle. Until you get to the later stages that is....buhahha.
The other game type is Balloon Trip. The idea of this is just to see how long you can survive on a map while avoiding these sparks in the sky, all the while trying to collect balloons scattered about the screen. Not bad if you want a challenge, but I'm more into the 1 or 2 player arcade style modes.
I'll be focusing on those 1 and 2 player modes in this review, but here's an idea of what Balloon Trip looks like. By the way, I suck at it.
So going back to the original modes, you can't get any more straight forward than this. Pop the enemy balloons, then stomp on their heads to kill them. Easy enough. The game gets progressively harder as you go on ( as you would expect ), but the thing is, it's the simplicity of the game that makes it so addictive.
Some people hate the controls for this game. I for one love it. It really feels like your character is floating around the screen. They're very precise, so it takes a little bit to get used to, but other than that I don't see a problem with it. Just to watch that little guy flap his arms is hysterical enough for me, ha!
Not to mention bonus points if you get them to fall in the water and get eaten by a fish.
This game can be challenging for some, and it's certainly challenging for me. You'll find yourself bouncing off platforms wildly, and when there are tons of enemies on the screen you'll feel like you're just uncontrollably slamming into things. You also have environment obstacles to contend with like the lightning bolts that bounce around the screen. But that's fun, right? HELL YEAH IT IS!
Regardless of the difficulty level, this still remains to be one of my favorite black box titles. It's addictive. It's fun. And it's just plain entertaining. A Nintendo Classic.
Final Score (out of 5) :
Until next time. Keep on gaming!
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