| FAQ/Walkthrough || Version 1.0 || June 27, 2004 |

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| ' | ' | | _ \ / _` || || |/ _ \ / _ \| '_ \ | ' | ' |
\ \ / | |_) | (_| || || | (_) | (_) | | | | \ / /
'-..-'-..-' |____/ \__,_||_||_|\___/ \___/|_| |_| '-..-'-..-'
\ / ___ _ _ \ /
_ .--. | _|_ __ _ | |___ _| |_ .--. _
,'_|/ / |'_ _| |_| | / _' || _ \_ _| _'| \ \|_'.
'-\ \-' ,-' |_ _| || (_| || | | | | | '-. '-/ /-'
\ \--' |_| |_| \__, ||_| |_| |_| '--/ /
( ;/_ |___/ _\: )
'--// \\--'
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| FAQ/Walkthrough || Version 1.0 || June 27, 2004 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| by Michael Gonzalez (Coffee) <[email protected]> |
| http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Contents:
1) Introduction
2) Controls
3) How to play
- Game A: 1-player Game
- Game B: 2-player Game
- Game C: Balloon Trip
4) Scoring system
5) Walkthrough
6) Balloon Trip
7) Hints & Tips
8) Cool stuff
9) Alternate Versions
10) Credits & Info

Version 1.0 (06/27/2004):
- First released version

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 1) INTRODUCTION |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

- Balloon Fight -

Balloon Fight is, in all honesty, a blatant ripoff of the original
arcade game Joust by Williams. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing,
since Joust is an excellent classic, and Nintendo’s take on it stands up
well on its own merit. Released in 1985 in Japan then in America the
year after, it was a first generation NES game with graphics that paled
in comparison to the later games...yet it combined fluid physics with
addictive gameplay. It earned respectable popularity nesting deep in the
hearts of classic gamers. Balloon Fight remains a charming token of
simple fun-- classic gaming.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 2) CONTROLS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Controller 1 - For playing alone
Controller 2 - For second player in 2-player games

A button
- Flap your arms once to fly (for precise control)

B button
- Hold button to flap arms continuously (for more speed in rising)

Directional pad
- Control the direction of the balloonist. Hold left or right while
flapping arms to control direction. Up and down are not used.

Start button
- In game menu, press to begin the game
- During the demonstration sequence, press to recall game menu
- While game is in play, pause or unpause the game (the sprites
disappear while the game is paused)

Select button
- In the game menu, move the balloon to the game you with to select
- During the demonstration sequence, press to recall game menu

The key to this game is physics. Velocity, momentum, inertia... these
are things you'll have to live with in this game. If you're flying fast
to the right, it'll take more effort for you to change direction to the
left.

When you have only one balloon the physics of the game become even more
prominent (you'll be bounced further my obstacles, etc). Mastering the
controls of the game takes practice and effort.

By the way, this may completely defy the laws of physics, but the screen
"wraps" around. Meaning, go off the screen at the left side and you'll
find yourself entering at the right. It's a mad world...

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 3) HOW TO PLAY |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Here we go again with the "How to play" section. Naturally this section
is here for formalities' sake. For people who know how to play the game,
this section will likely prove worthless. It contains information that
you'd expect to find in the instruction manual. In fact I'm using the
instruction manual as a reference! Bwehehehehe! Ahem, now let's get this
over with...

[NOTE: The plot in this game is essentially...zero. Yes, it's pure
gameplay! Uh huh, there's a flattering way to put the game's lack of
story. >_> Anyway the absence of plot should in no way distract the
fun of the game. Right? Right!]

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GAME A: ONE PLAYER GAME >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

How to play? This game is has exactly the same gameplay as the classic
arcade game Joust! Except instead of riding strange flying ostriches,
you ride magical buoyant balloons, which is _slightly_ less weird.

Basically, what you need to do is defeat all the enemies on a stage,
then you can move on to the next stage, and this cycle goes on forever.

DEFEATING ENEMIES
-----------------
A stage beings with the enemies on the ground pumping up their
balloons, which takes about 3 seconds. They only have 1 balloon,
while you have a clear advantage with 2 balloons. Bwahaha!

Use the control pad and the A and B buttons to control your player
and bump into the enemy from above. You need to hit HIS balloons.

When you hit an enemy balloon, the balloon will pop and he'll come
floating down to the ground on his nifty parachute. So try to get him
before he even hits the ground, so he'll drop into the water and
disappear!

If an enemy floats down with his parachute and into the water (or is
eaten by a fish), he will simply disappear and you will earn no
points for it.

If the enemy is allowed to reach the ground, he will pump up another
balloon and take off into the sky yet again-- even stronger than
before! So try to get him while he's on the land before he gets the
chance.

When an enemy sinks into the water, a bubble will float out,
apparently due to the gas exiting his horrible decaying corpse. Try
to pop this for some bonus points!

When an enemy hits your balloons, one of them will pop. Having only
one balloon makes it harder to keep control in maneuvering yourself.
If you get hit my an enemy again, you'll fall into the water and
lose a life.

THE ENEMIES
-----------
There are 3 types of enemy ballooners: Pink, green, and yellow.

1) PINK is by far the easier...he just kinda floats around and makes
half-assed attempts at attacking you. They're also very slow to get
back up when you knock them down.

2) GREEN enemies are better than the pink ones, but only slightly.
They seem more determined to actually attack you this time.

3) YELLOW is the ultimate enemy. He comes at you quite aggressively,
and the AI is much, much better than the other two. He's a smart
guy and he'll try to get the higher elevation. Be careful around
him.

OTHER OBSTACLES
---------------
WATER/FISH - Every stage has water at the bottom. Don't be stupid and
fall into it, because you'll drown and die. In fact, don't even
get too close to the water, because a fish may jump out of there
and eat you!

LIGHTNING - If the game goes on for too long on one stage (30
seconds), a thunder and lightning storm occurs. The lighting will
bounce around on the boundaries of the screen. If you touch it,
you lose a life even if you have two balloons. The speed up on the
later stages...and there's nothing you can do about it, so hurry
up and finish that stage! It disappears when it touches the water.

FLIPPER - In the later stages of the game you'll have to deal with
yet another obstacle-- the propeller. Also known as the flipper.
If you touch it, it will spin uncontrollably... touch a spinning
propeller and it'll send you flying! (You may remember this item
from Super Smash Bros. Melee!)

PLATFORM/STALACTITE - I dunno if they should be considered obstacles,
but they do block your way, don't they? :P Anyway, platforms are
found around the stage, and stalactites sometimes hang from them.
Obviously you can't go through them. :P

BONUS ROUND
-----------
After every three stages of the game, you get a bonus round where
you can try to pop as many balloons as quickly as possible. Twenty
balloons will float, one after another, out of four pipes at the
bottom of the screen. A race against time to win points! If you only
have one balloon coming into the bonus round, your other balloon will
reappear.

You lose a life if you sink into the water, are eaten by a fish, are hit
by lightning, or lose both of your balloons. You can not earn any extra
lives, ever. You get 3 lives before it's Game Over.

So there you go. An extremely in-depth, long winded and probably
unnecessary overview of every gameplay mechanic there is in the one
player mode.

TO SUM IT UP: Using balloons to float into the air and fly around, the
player(s) try to pop the enemy's balloons!!!

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GAME B: TWO PLAYER GAME >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Here the basic idea is the same as in Game A. In fact, everything I said
in the overview of Game A still applies in Game B. Only addition?
Another player can join in the fun! This can either be a cause of great
relief or unbelievable frustration, as there are two ways you may choose
to go about this 2-player mode...

Cooperation:
- You may choose to cooperate with your other player and fight against
a common enemy. Work together for the greater good! Just be careful
not to hit your partner. There are many ways you can cooperate...
perhaps one player hits the enemy's balloons, the other player gets
them as they parachute down. Or perhaps you'd like to share both
responsibilities. It's up to you and it's all about teamwork (and not
screwing the other player over). When done successfully, cooperation
can make the game move quickly and result in a very high score.

Competition:
- Sometimes, the other guy just has to be a bastard, doesn't he? If you
choose to play in competition (or start off cooperatively and
gradually degrade into all-out war), you try to sabotoge each other
and do what you can to bring the other player down. Burst each other's
balloons! Block each other's flight! Kick each other's balls! It's
every man for himself, and the fight could get ugly.

In bonus rounds, if one player bursts the balloons of another player and
causes him to fall, no lives are lost. The player bounds right back up
into the sky. So during these bonus rounds you can safely pop your
friend's balloons to earn 1000 points and not really cost him a
thing. ;)

Also, bonus stage points are divided among the two players. So it's just
about impossible to get the perfect score bonus.

TO SUM IT UP: It's the one-player game...with two players!!!

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< GAME C: BALLOON TRIP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This mode is very unlike Games A and B, though the physics and controls
remain the same.

The scene drifts slowly from right to the left through an obstacle
course of lightning balls. Avoid the lightning and try to pop as many
balloons as possible. You also earn points just for staying alive. The
objective here is to get as many points as possible...and the game goes
on forever!

Once in a while you will come across bubbles floating around...if you
touch it, the scrolling will stop for a few seconds.

During the game, your "ranking" position out of 50 people is displayed
at the top-right corner of the screen. It doesn't make much sense to be
calling it a "rank", actually, but the higher your score gets, the
better your ranking becomes. Nothing really happens when you reach
rank #1, the game just keeps going on.

Supposedly you get a mega-bonus for popping 20 balloons in succession
(at least that's what the manual says), but I honestly haven't done it.

You lose if you sink into the water, are eaten by a fish, or get hit by
lightning. You only get one life in this mode.

TO SUM IT UP: Survive as long as you can to earn points in a game that
never ends!

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 4) SCORING SYSTEM |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Game A or B:
------------
,-----------------------------------------.
| Pink | Green | Yellow |
,------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
| Pop enemy balloon | 500 points | 750 points | 1000 points |
|------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
| Destroy enemy parachute| 1000 points | 1500 points | 2000 points |
|------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------|
| Kick standing enemy | 750 points | 1000 points | 1500 points |
'------------------------------------------------------------------'

Pop another player's balloon........1000 points
Pop a bubble........................500 points

Bonus stage scores:
-------------------
,-------------------------------.
| Pop 1 balloon | Perfect bonus |
,----------------------------------+---------------+---------------|
| 1st bonus stage (green) | 300 points | 10000 points |
|----------------------------------+---------------+---------------|
| 2nd bonus stage (pink) | 500 points | 15000 points |
|----------------------------------+---------------+---------------|
| 3rd bonus stage (red) | 700 points | 20000 points |
|----------------------------------+---------------+---------------|
| 4th bonus stage (red) | 700 points | 25000 points |
|----------------------------------+---------------+---------------|
| 5th bonus stage (red) and beyond | 700 points | 30000 points |
'--------------------------------------------------+---------------'

Balloon trip scores:
--------------------

Pop a bubble........................500 points
Pop a balloon.......................300-700 points
Pop a bubble........................500 points
Pop 20 balloons in succession.......??? points

[NOTE: In Balloon Trip mode, you earn 10 points about every half second]

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 5) WALKTHROUGH |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

This is a stage-by-stage overview of the regular one-player or
two-player games (see next section for Balloon Trip).

Well, there's not that much that needs to be "walked through", so I'll
provide a little ASCII map, statistics of the stage, and a little
description to highlight some strategy and features for the stage.
Think of it more as a commentary than a walkthrough.

Legend:
w - Water
# - Ground
= - Platform
| - Stalactite
+ - Flipper
S - Your start position
E - Enemy start position

PHASE 1:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 3 enemies
| | (3 pink)
| | 1 platform
| | 1 cloud
| |
| |
| E E E |
| =============== |
| |
| |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

This is the first, and by far the easiest of levels. There should be
no real trouble on this stage...it's just three enemies on a platform.
When the stage begins quickly fly up to those enemies and try to get at
least one before it takes flight. Then be quick to take out the other
two before they fly up to the upper part of the screen. No problemo.

PHASE 2:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 5 enemies
| | (3 pink; 2 blue)
| E E | 3 platforms
| ===== ===== | 2 clouds
| |
| |
| E E E |
| =============== |
| |
| |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

A bit trickier here, with the addition of two more enemies on two more
platforms. But still, no biggie, right? Just don't be careless. Like
before, be quick to get up there and kill one enemy before it finishes
pumping its balloon. If you're fast enough, try to take out some more
before they get to fly to the upper part of the screen. BUT once they
really start flying, take position in the upper part. You don't want to
let them get into a position where they could hurt you. No other major
obstacles here...let's move on to the next stage...

PHASE 3:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| E E | 5 enemies
| == === | (1 pink; 3 green; 2 yellow)
| | | 5 platforms
| E | 3 stalactites
| === | 2 clouds
| | |
| E |
| === |
| | E |
| === |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

Ok, here we have the addition of a slightly new obstacle, the
stalactite. Basically it's a platform, but vertical. :P As the stage
begins, quickly fly up and fly diagonally to the upper right to take out
THREE enemies (the ones on the platforms growing stalactites) before
they even begin to fly! Next up, try to take out the one at the
upper-left since he's already high up on the screen. And finally easily
take out the lower enemy before he gets high.

BONUS 1:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | Green balloons: 20 * 300 points
| | Perfect bonus: 10000 points
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| __ |
| __ || __ __ |
| || || || || |
| || || || || |
|###############################|

The first bonus stage! You just have green balloons here, so they don't
go that fast and you have a real shot at getting that 10000 point bonus
for getting them all. Keep in mind that leaving the screen at the left
makes you come out at the right, so take advantage of that to get to the
balloons faster... meaning, as much as possible, try not to "change
direction" when flying. You can keep going left for the whole thing and
still get them all (which would mean 16,000 points for you).

PHASE 4:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 5 enemies
| | (3 pink; 1 green; 1 yellow)
| | 5 platforms
| E | 2 clouds
| === |
| E |
| === E E |
| === === |
| E |
| === |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

Ooh, the land here is red! Which...doesn't...actually mean anything. But
there you go. There are 5 enemies here, on 5 irregularly placed
platforms. The placing of the platforms makes is hard to get any enemies
before they take off, so just quickly get to the upper area and take
them out one by one. As much as possible, go for the one that has the
highest elevation, since it poses the greatest threat. Remember, take
too long on stages and you'll soon have to worry about lightning, which
is never pleasant. :/

PHASE 5:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| E | 6 enemies
| === | (2 pink; 3 green; 1 yellow)
| E | 6 platforms
| E = | 3 stalactites
| E = | | 2 clouds
| = | |
| | |
| |
| E E |
| === === |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

I suppose here it would be best to first go for the two guys on the
lower platforms before they take flight. But then you'll have a lot of
enemies in the air above you... Wait for a gap in the swarm to appear,
then take the higher part of the screen. It's likely that you'll all be
up there, so be careful and keep the elevation as high as possible when
going for an enemy.

PHASE 6:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 5 enemies
| E E | (1 pink; 5 yellow)
| ==== ==== | 5 platforms
| E E | 2 stalactites
| = = | 2 clouds
| | | |
| |
| E |
| ====== |
| |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

All the enemies in this stage are pink and yellow! How fruity. o_0 First
up, I'd go for the one on the left stalactite before he finishes pumping
his balloon. It may be further than the one on the lower platform, but
the one at the left is yellow (and if you haven't noticed, the yellow
ones are much more aggressive at attacking than the pink ones). And
it'll allow you to take the higher elevation first. Otherwise you'd have
a hard time getting over the rest of your enemies. Anyway, once you've
taken that upper strip of the screen, it's business as usual, hopefully.

BONUS 2:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | Pink balloons: 20 * 500 points
| | Perfect bonus: 15000 points
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| __ |
| __ || __ __ |
| || || || || |
| || || || || |
|###############################|

Another bonus stage. This time the balloons are pink and rise a little
bit faster, so it'll be harder to get that perfect bonus (which has been
raised to 15,000 points now!). Use the same tactics as last time and
you can finish with a possible 25000 points from this bonus stage.

PHASE 7:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 6 enemies
| E E | (1 pink; 3 green; 2 yellow)
| == E == | 8 platforms
| E == | 1 propeller
| == | 2 clouds
| E + |
| E == |
| == |
| == |
| ==== |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

This is the first stage with a propeller, though it's position hardly
makes it anything to worry about. Also, there are 6 enemies here--
that's a lot! So it would be a big help to take out as many as possible
before they become a threat. When the stage begins, try to get around
and fly towards the upper right corner, taking out enemies as you fly
along...if you're fast enough you can get 4 before they start flying
(I've done it!). As for the rest, just don't be stupid and fly around in
the area below the platforms.

PHASE 8:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| E E | 6 enemies
| ==== + ==== | (2 pink; 2 green; 2 yellow)
| | 6 platforms
| E E | 2 stalactites
| ==== ==== | 1 propeller
| | 2 clouds
| E E |
| = = |
| | | |
| |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

This is the first stage where the propeller may cause problems, as it's
featured so prominently in the upper middle part of the stage. Keep out
of its way! When the stage begins get those two pink ones on the
stalactites before they begin to fly. Then it will be difficult to stay
safe as there are so many enemies above you...and it may not be easy to
get above them because of the propeller...so my only advice is to be
careful and wait for an opening.

PHASE 9:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| + | 5 enemies
| | (3 pink; 1 green; 1 yellow)
| + | 5 platforms
| E | 2 propellers
| === | 2 clouds
| E |
| === E E |
| === === |
| E |
| === |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

Here there are actually TWO propellers to watch out for. Start of the
stage by going for the left-most enemy, then the one to its right. And
if you can, try to defeat the yellow one (that starts at the bottom
platform) before it gets the chance to fly high. Watch out for those
propellers and take care of the remaining enemies.

BONUS 3:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | Red balloons: 20 * 700 points
| | Perfect bonus: 20000 points
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| __ |
| __ || __ __ |
| || || || || |
| || || || || |
|###############################|

Whew! You've made it to another bonus stage. If you've lost one of your
balloons, it'll be restored-- and you deserve it for making it this far.
The balloons here are red, and are now worth a whopping 700 points each.
That's more than double the points you'd get from the green balloons of
the first bonus stage-- but they're a lot faster now too. Be quick, and
go for that perfect bonus (now 20000 points). A perfect performance here
will net you a smooth 34000 points.

PHASE 10:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 5 enemies
| E E | (2 green; 3 yellow)
| + + | 2 platforms
| E | 4 propellers
| + | 2 clouds
| + |
| |
| |
| E E |
| === === |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

Yes, there are FOUR propellers in this stage. Yes, the enemies are
actually starting the stage on the propellers. And no, you cannot defeat
these guys by hitting the propellers while they're on them. :p Start off
by easily getting rid of the green enemies before they begin flying.
Then you have 3 of those aggressive yellow enemies to watch out for.
You'll need to be careful with them, because they're all at high
elevation and they'll come after you hard. Wait for an opening then get
up above them. What more can I say?

PHASE 11:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 6 enemies
| | (2 pink; 2 green; 2 yellow)
| + | 6 platforms
| | 1 propeller
| E E | 2 clouds
| E == == E |
| E == == E |
| == == |
| |
| |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

These guys are arranged so neatly with the propeller to top it all off.
When the stage begins, be quick to fly up the left side of platforms...
you can take out the entire left side of enemies before they even leave
the ground! Afterwards, make the yellow enemy your priority since he
poses the biggest threat. Take care of the rest, and always be careful
around that propeller.

PHASE 12:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | 5 enemies
| E E | (1 pink; 4 yellow)
| ==== ==== | 5 platforms
| E E | 2 stalactites
| = = | 2 clouds
| | | |
| E |
| ====== |
| |
| |
| S |
|######## ########|
|wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww|

This is the LAST *UNIQUE* stage of the game, since after this one it
just starts repeating. Well, calling it "unique" isn't exactly right
since it looks exactly like stage 6. So just use the same strategy that
you'd use in stage 6... Go for the yellow ones first, take higher
elevation always, be careful crossing the street, etc.

BONUS 4:
--------
_______________________________
| | Statistics:
| | Red balloons: 20 * 700 points
| | Perfect bonus: 25000 points
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| __ |
| __ || __ __ |
| || || || || |
| || || || || |
|###############################|

Bonus time! Still red balloons, and they'll rise with the same speed
they did in the previous bonus stage. Being red balloons, they'll you
still get 700 points each for them, but the perfect score bonus is now
25000 points.

[NOTE: For all succeeding bonus stages, it will still be red balloons
worth 700 points each, and the perfect score bonus will be 30000 points.
The perfect bonus doesn't get any higher than that.]

Congratulations, you've played through every unique stage of the game!
Well, of course you didn't really finish the game, since it never ends.
After Phase 12 it will say Phase 13, but in reality you've gone back
to Phase 4. You'll continue cycling through Phase 4-12 for the rest of
your Balloon Fighting lives. Bwahahaha!

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 6) BALLOON TRIP |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Ok, so here's a completely different game. Well, the physics and
controls still work the same as in the regular mode, the you have a
completely different focus here. The goal is simply to survive! For
more info about the basic mechanics of Balloon Trip, see the "How to
Play" section of this FAQ. In this section we'll be discussing strategy!

At first the sparks will remain in their place on the screen and it's
pretty easy to get by them. But after just a few seconds you'll
encounter sparks that go up and down on the screen, and later the sparks
will be going left and right as well!

Here are a few tips to help you get through Balloon Trip:

- My usual strategy is to get moving from the very start without
touching the D-pad, so that you move at exactly the same pace as the
screen is moving. This simplifies things greatly, as you'll only need
to worry about going up and down rather than left and right. Just fly up
and down to avoid sparks, and only move sideways when absolutely
necessary.

- Bubbles pop up from time to time, and when you pop one the scrolling
of the screen will stop for a while. This is meant to allow you to
collect some balloons, maybe get past a few sparks...but honestly every
time I pop a bubble I just get disoriented and screwed over. I don't
recommend getting out of your way to pop bubbles, and in fact I would
recommend avoiding them.

- Get those balloons! They're a great help to your score.

- Be aware of the movement of the scene as it drifts slowly from left to
right, and the lightning as it moves up and down.

- You supposedly get a super high score if you "pop 20 balloons in
succession" (at least that's what the manual says), but I honestly am
not sure what's meant by that and I've never done it.

- Don't get too close to the water. The big fish is still there waiting
for you.

When it comes down to it, Balloon Trip is just a test of skill and
stamina. The best tip I could give is to PRACTICE.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 7) HINTS & TIPS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

[NOTE: These are general tips for Game A and B. For Balloon Trip tips,
see the above section.]

GENERAL TIPS...

- As much as possible, stay near the top of the screen. Obviously you'll
be more vulnerable if you have enemies over your head. When you're at
the top of the screen, defeat enemies as they come up after you. BUT
if you get into a scuffle with an enemy at the top of the screen
(especially a yellow enemy), just back away until he comes down,
otherwise you'll run the risk of him popping you!

- Especially avoid flying close to the water, or else there's a
possiblity that the big fish might come along and eat you up for your
stupidity.

- Remember that crossing over the edge of the screen causes you to
appear at the other side. This can be very disorienting. And also keep
in mind that that enemies can also do the same thing!

- At the beginning of every level, the enemies are pumping up their
balloons and it takes them about three seconds before they begin to
take flight. You can take advantage of this 3-second window to kick
them dead while their vulnerable! Try to start every stage like this!

- Lightning shoots out of the clouds if you take long to beat the stage
(to be exact, 30 seconds). Try to get away from the clouds if you see it
begin to flash! Actually, try to beat the stage as fast as possible to
avoid the problem of lightning balls altogether.

- While the propeller is, more often than not, an obstacle, you can
actually try using it to your advantage. If you're in a tricky
situation, use the propeller's power to launch yourself away quickly.
Just be very careful in trying this!

TIPS FOR GETTING A HIGH SCORE...

- It's better to defeat an enemy while he's gliding down on a parachute
rather than get him after he's hit the ground. On average, the former
will get you 25% more points.

- More advanced enemies are worth more points! So yellow enemies are
worth twice as much as the pink ones. If you pop an enemies balloon but
allow him to pump up a new one, he'll emerge as a more advanced enemy.
The order is Pink -> Green -> Yellow.

- Don't forget the bubbles! Every time you defeat an enemy and it falls
into the water, it'll release a bubble worth an easy 500 points. In
relation to this, try not to allow enemies to simply parachute into the
water or get eaten by the fish, or else no bubble for you.

- Bonus rounds are a great oppurtunity to increase your score. Don't
waste it! And pop every balloon at the bonus rounds for a HUGE perfect
bonus score. The later bonus rounds allow you to earn up to 44,000
points!

- Yes, you will get 1000 points for hitting your friend's balloon. :p
But wouldn't you ultimately get more points if you worked together for
a change? Hmm? :)

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 8) COOL STUFF |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

- Just for the hell of it, it is possible to "annoy the shark" in the
water. Just fly close to the water enough to tempt him, but just far
enough so that he can't actually get you.

- Believe it or not, it's possible to fly *under* the land in the first
stage and make it out alive! Just approach the land at the right angle
and with the right momentum (and pray the shark doesn't come and eat
you)... If you did it right, a splash would indicate that you drowned,
but you'll just keep on going and emerge at the other side of the water.

- The highest possible score to get in the regular game is 1,000,000.
But if you break that score, the display will just wrap around back to
0...but the high score will continue to display whatever your score was
before you broke 1,000,000.

- Those enemy ballooners that are out to kill you are not actually
bird people, as much as they look like it. Well, they don't really look
like anything at all. But they're just people wearing what appears to
be a helmet with a beak. o_0

- There are a few tributes to Balloon Fight in Super Smash Bros. Melee
(an excellent Nintendo Gamecube game). Among them are trophies of the
Balloon Fighters and the Flipper.

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 9) ALTERNATE VERSIONS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

A classic game like Balloon Fight deserves to be ported to other
formats! Well, so far it's migrated to portable systems... he's some
quick info on other versions of Balloon Fight. [NOTE: I will not be
updating this section to cover new releases]

Q: What's this I hear about a Game Boy Color version of Balloon Fight?

A: Apparently there was a sequel of sorts, released in Japan as
"Balloon Fight GB". It had a 1-player mode, 2-player mode, and
Balloon Trip, just like in the original. You play as Alice, out to
rescue her runaway brother who's floated off on balloons. (*Waves WTF
flag*). This game was released only in Japan. And with the fazing out
of the Game Boy Color, it's unlikely that it will ever be released
outside Japan.

Q: What's this I hear about an e-Reader version of Balloon Fight?

A: For those who do not yet know, the e-Reader is a peripheral for the
Game Boy Advance which allows players to scan in specially coded
trading cards. These cards contain data for simple games-- ports of
old NES games! Balloon Fight was among the first batch of e-Reader
games that shipped with the release of the e-Reader. At at the low
price of $4.95, it's a real bargain. The e-Reader version of Balloon
Fight (known as Balloon Fight-e) is exactly the same as the original
game, except for the oddly squished graphics and the unfortunate
removal of the two-player mode.

Q: What's this I hear about a Game Boy Advance version of Balloon Fight?

A: Nintendo's been releasing a whole bunch of classic NES games on the
GBA. The "Famicom Mini" series began with the release of ten games
originally releasef on the Famicom/NES. Eight of those ten games will
make their way to a US release in June 2004 under the "Classic NES
Series" label. Due to the success of the first ten "Famicom Mini"
games in Japan, Nintendo will go on to release ten more. Among these
games in the second batch is Balloon Fight. It will allow two-player
mode, unlike the e-Reader version. So far (May 2004), there's no word
on a US release.

Q: What's this I hear about Balloon Fight on the GameCube?

A: Apparently you can aquire the NES game Balloon Fight in the GameCube
game "Animal Crossing". I honestly have never played it, so don't ask
me about this one...

,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 10) CREDITS & INFO |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'

Special thanks to...
- IGN for posting all my FAQs.
- Nintendo, naturally, for making the game
- The wonderful makers of Jnes, an invaluable resource
- www.world-of-nintendo.com for the instruction manual
- LUEshi

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You may freely place this document on non-profit websites without
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REGARDING FEEDBACK:
Before coming to me with questions, please make sure that it's not
already answered in this guide. And make sure you're looking at the most
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feedback goes to [email protected].

For news about the progress of my FAQs, and announcements of future
projects, visit my site at http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs.

Copyright (c) Michael Gonzalez 2004