Balloon Birds

Balloon Birds
All three colors of Balloon Birds
Defeatable?	Yes
Game(s):	appears in Vs. Balloon Fight appears in Balloon Fight for the NES appears in Balloon Kid and and Balloon Fight GB appears in Tingle's Balloon Fight appears in Balloon Trip Breeze

The Balloon Birds are a major part of the Balloon Fight series, and first appeared in Vs. Balloon Fight. 

Functions

In most "Fighting"-style games, the player must pop the Balloons of these birds and knock them off the stage in order to progress, either.  These birds also will try to pop your Balloons.  They are the only enemy that does not instantly kill you in Balloon Fight.  They cannot be harmed by Sparks, but they can bounce off Propellers and be eaten by the Balloon Fish if they fly too close to water. When knocked down into the water, in most games a Giant Bubble will float up from where they entered the water.

In Balloon Trip-style games like Balloon Kid and Balloon Fight GB, Balloon Birds don't need to be defeated to progress, although they do still pose the threat of popping the player's Balloons. In Balloon Trip Breeze, they will deploy a parachute after their Balloon is popped, although not in Balloon Kid and Balloon Fight GB. Balloon Birds do not appear in the original Balloon Trip mode of NES Balloon Fight.

Games

Balloon Birds appear in every Balloon Fight game, excluding the Game & Watch version.

In Nintendo Land: Balloon Trip Breeze, the birds come in multiple types and all have a propeller on their heads. The types of birds are Boxer, Spear, Bombardier, and Magic. The Boxers try to punch your Balloons and pop them. The Spear Birds will line up with you and then charge at you. Droppers try to drop rocks onto you and pop your Balloons. Magic Birds have the ability to turn invisible and are only found very late in the game. Also, this is the only game where Balloon Birds can have up to two balloons. Birds in red eggs have two balloons. Birds in black eggs have two balloons and can change their ability.

In Balloon Kid they appear as normal enemies, first appearing in Stage 3 and later appearing in Stage 5. Popping their Balloons instantly drops them into the water, as they don't have parachutes in this version. This is also the only normal enemy that can be defeated without a Power-up Balloon. In the credits, one also knocks Jim down into the water. In Balloon Fight GB, the color remake of Balloon Kid, the Balloon Birds actually are shown to have red Balloons and are Purple-colored.

In Tingle's Balloon Fight DS, these appear with an updated design, which looks much more bird-like, with feathers around their head. Otherwise, they function as they did in the NES version. Some phases have removed a few Balloon Birds to reduce the game's difficulty.

Tips

• If a Balloon Bird is Hovering near the ceiling, you can lure them down in order to attack, or wait for them to bounce off the ceiling low enough to pop their Balloon.
• Balloon Birds cannot attack while pumping up their Balloons. Take off at the start of a phase to knock them down before they start flying.  Make a path to get as many birds as possible before they start.  You can sometimes get 3-4 out before they take off, depending on the level layout. In two-player, this is much easier.
• If a parachuting Bird is near and over water, the Balloon Fish will eat it. However, in Vs. Balloon Fight, it is possible for a Propeller to knock a Bird directly into the water.
• In Vs. Balloon Fight, Balloon Birds will occasionally pursue the player directly. In this state, they will attempt to charge directly at the player's Balloons, and will turn around if they overshoot.

Trivia

• In WarioWare: Touched!, these enemies are referred to as "enemy Balloon Riders". It is unknown whether it means here than these are called Balloon Riders or if this is just a term for anyone who flies using Balloons.
• In Balloon Trip Breeze, the Balloon Birds come out of eggs, instead of blowing up balloons.
• In Vs. Balloon Fight, the Balloon Birds turn their heads, looking around, before blowing up their Balloons.
  • The direction that each Balloon Bird faces at the start of each phase is randomized, changing which direction they will take off in at the start.
• In Stretchmo, level No. 11 of Papa Blox's NES Expo is a 3D version of a Balloon Bird from the NES game, and the level is titled "Enemy Flier (3D)".
• In the electronic manual of Nintendo Land, a somewhat rough-looking picture of a Balloon Bird can be found, but oddly, the picture has many differences to the final game's Balloon Birds. For example, the picture shows a Balloon Bird that isn't holding any weapon, has a rough bottom shell, and doesn't have an orange rim around the eyes.
• In the character trailer for Lulu from WarioWare Gold, a Balloon Bird appears late in the video, appearing as it does on the Famicom box art.

Other Names

• Enemy (NES Balloon Fight Manual)
• 敵 (Teki, Enemy) (Famicom Balloon Fight Manual)

Gallery