Arcade Archives Vs. Balloon Fight

Genre: Arcade / Platformer

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local / Local Wireless)

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Review:

Balloon Fight is an Arcade-style Platformer released in 1984 in arcades as a part of Nintendo’s dual-screen Vs. line of games, with a port to the Japanese Famicom in 1985 and its Western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, in 1986. Clearly, this game was designed to be a copycat of the popular 1982 arcade game Joust, and it’s interesting to see that in its early days, Nintendo wasn’t afraid of copying an idea.

Balloon Fight uses 2D pixel art visuals and chiptune sound design that work well enough for the game. It all has a retro style charm to it, but it’s not exceptional in any way.

When it comes to the gameplay, the core premise of Joust is present here, but I feel like this game has aged somewhat poorly. Like Joust, you mash on a button to raise up into the air, with the goal of stomping on top of enemies and avoiding being stomped yourself. Unfortunately, the amount of button-mashing you need to do here to get going is kinda’ absurd, and while the Arcade Archives release thankfully adds turbo button options, the game’s physics are still unwieldy, making it far too difficult to slow down or change direction once you get going.

Another problem in this specific release is that it lacks the “Balloon Trip” mode that is in the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game, severely cutting down this game’s replayability. This is especially noteworthy as that version of the game is included in the Nintendo Entertainment System app that comes with a base Nintendo Switch Online subscription. In other words, if you are subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online, not only could you already be playing a version of this game without buying the Arcade Archives release, but a version that is arguably better.

That’s not to say that this version doesn’t have its own unique features, though. This release of the game includes a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to make as many points as they can in one run. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes. In addition, this release of the game gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

Additionally, being a .Vs title means that this game can be played in split-screen, or with each player playing in local wireless mode, giving a unique competitive multiplayer spin on the game. This feature might have had more impact if the game itself was better, but it’s a nice addition all the same.

So there are only two remaining elephants in the room to discuss. First: Is this game worth its $8 price tag? And second, is it worth buying if you already subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online? I’m going to say no on both counts. Not only is $8 pretty steep for a game this old and that plays this poorly, but the Nintendo Entertainment System app version is not different enough to make this version worthwhile in its own right, and the ways it differs arguably make it better. Really, the only reason anyone would want to buy this release is if they absolutely must own a version of the game. But if you plan on continuing to maintain your Nintendo Switch Online subscription, this release has very little of value for you.

In the end, Balloon Fight isn’t a terrible game, but it is a game that has aged poorly, and this version lacks features that other versions of the game have. Plus, at $8, it’s kinda’ a rip-off. If you really want to play this game, I suggest you just do so on the Nintendo Entertainment System app.

tl;dr – This game was clearly Nintendo’s attempt to copy the Atari classic Joust, but it has aged poorly, and this release is overpriced and lacks features found in other versions. Unless you need to own this game, just play the version on the Nintendo Switch Online app instead.

Grade: D

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