Nintendo's take on Joust: pop enemy balloons, jump, float. Simple and impeccable. Two-player co-op is pure joy. A Nintendo classic that never ages.
Your verdict
Category
Action4 players3+
Co-op
Description
Action game in which flying knights inflate balloons to rise and knock down enemies. Published by Nintendo, released in Japan in 1985. Top-down view with balloons to inflate, combat by knocking down enemies and popping their bubble. NES port of the Nintendo Balloon Fight arcade game.
The Japanese Famicom release, the original issue of this R&D1 title whose Balloon Trip mode built a reputation reaching well beyond its 'Joust' inspiration. The small, brightly designed Famicom cart stays widely available and affordable, Japan having absorbed a large print. Interest centres on the complete-in-box copy with manual, a witness to a founding era of Nintendo's in-house catalogue rather than on any real scarcity.
Better with friends
A little weightless masterpiece where you flap your wings to pop your opponent's balloons while keeping your own intact. With two, the co-op mode's teamwork rubs against fierce rivalry the moment you switch to a duel, each trying to drop the other into the water. Immediate and unpredictable, it sparks hilarious reversals and restarts endlessly for express rounds full of shouts.
Is Balloon Fight still worth playing in 2026?
Balloon Fight is a Nintendo classic that distils the essence of Joust with particular elegance. You strike opposing balloons, jump, float, and every motion counts. The two-player co-op is pure joy, a guaranteed source of laughter, and Balloon Trip offers a luminous score attack. The aerial handling needs a few minutes of adjustment but quickly turns addictive. For early Nintendo fans, purified arcade classic lovers and local two-player evenings, still a timeless cart to bring out without hesitation today.
