Balloon Fight for the Game and Watch is the first portable version of Balloon Fight.
Plot
The plot of the game is that the Sky Police have recently caught Oiram Repus and put him in jail, but soon afterward he escaped and tore up the pieces of the map that led to his location, tying them to Balloons and sending them into the wind. You play the role of Balloon Man, flying through Trip-Sky to find these map pieces and find the hideout of Oiram Repus and the Sky Pirates.
Gameplay
As mentioned earlier, you play as Balloon Man and must collect the Balloons which hold the map pieces you need in order to find Oiram Repus. The gameplay is similar to Balloon Trip, as you fly across a seemingly infinite ocean collecting Balloons and avoiding Sparks and the water. Every 8 phases, there will be a boss fight, where Oiram Repus appears on the left side of the screen and throws Spikes toward you. After collecting 20 Balloons consecutively, the score counter will flash and Balloons will be worth two points. After 40 Balloons (Including the 20 Balloons originally) Balloons will be worth three points. Occasionally, islands will appear. Between phases, landing on the blinking islands and pressing warp will send you to a Bonus Phase. The Bonus Phase gameplay changes throughout the game, such as how the first Bonus Phase has many Balloons floating upward while the second has a single Balloon moving diagonally across the screen and bouncing off of the screen boundaries. Later Bonus Phases include Sparks as extra obstacles.
Controls
- "Eject" Button- Power jetpack
- If you do not have smoke coming from your jetpack, you won't rise when you press the button, but you will Hover.
- "Controller" (D-Pad)-
- Left/Right- Moving horizontally
- Up/Down (On flashing island)- Warp to Bonus Phase
- Down- Dive
- "Game" Button- Starts a new game
- If you hold the button, you can view the highest saved score on the system.
Availability
This game was released very soon after the NES version, possibly hindering its success. The game is extremely hard to find today, but that may have been due to the fragility of the system, especially with the delicate LCD screen. It was released in two versions: New Wide-Screen (BF-107) and Crystal Screen (BF-803). The New Wide-Screen version is more common, as it was cheaper. The Crystal screen version was unique from most other Game & Watch systems as you could see through the screen. Although both are very rare, the Crystal Screen is even rarer due to lack of popularity, mostly due to the higher price.
Version Differences
While the gameplay remains the same between the New Wide Screen and Crystal Screen versions, the system itself differs dramatically. The New Wide Screen version had a light green front plate, a normal, non-transparent screen, and red buttons. The Crystal Screen version has a different shape that is slightly wider, a different configuration of buttons which are now gray, a transparent screen, and a darker green front plate, along with a transparent border. The Crystal Screen version also comes with a slide-on background, which basically slides onto the system over and behind the screen, and then puts a piece of paper behind the screen, showing a background with some mountains and clouds.
Trivia
- This game was released along with Climber, based somewhat on Ice Climber, and Super Mario Bros., based on Super Mario Bros. on the NES.
- The Wide-Screen version of the game also had two slightly different box variations. There is no difference on the system or in the game besides the box differences, though.
- This system (Especially the Crystal Screen variant) is among the rarest Game & Watch systems, due to its late release in the line of Game & Watch systems.
- The manual has a section on "Advanced Techniques", with the only two techniques being Hovering and Diving.
- This game is also the first, and arguably the only, game with Diving.
- When you first press the "Game" button, Spark sprites fly together into the center of the screen, and then the Balloon Man appears.
Gallery
Games | ||
---|---|---|
Balloon Fighting Games | Vs. Balloon Fight (Arcade) - Balloon Fight (NES) | |
Remakes | PC-8801 - Sharp X1 - Sharp MZ-1500 - Tingle's Balloon Fight DS (DS) | |
Ports | Playchoice-10 - Sharp Zaurus - Balloon Fight-e (GBA) - Famicom Mini: Balloon Fight (GBA) - Wii Virtual Console - Balloon Fight (3DS) - Wii U Virtual Console - Nintendo Switch Online - Arcade Archives VS. BALLOON FIGHT (Switch) | |
Balloon Trip Games | Balloon Fight (Game & Watch) - Balloon Kid (GB) - Balloon Trip Breeze (Wii U) | |
Remakes | Hello Kitty World (Famicom) - Balloon Fight GB (GBC) | |
Ports | Balloon Fight GB (3DS) - Balloon Kid (3DS) |