Hot-air balloon
- This article is about the object in theMario Kart series. For the objects used as platforms inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, seeHot Air Balloon (Donkey Kong franchise). For the Yoshi transformation, seeHot-Air Balloon Yoshi.
| Hot-air balloon | |
|---|---|
 Model of a yellow-and-orange hot-air balloon fromMario Kart Tour | |
| First appearance | Mario Kart 64 (1997) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV (2025) |
Hot-air balloons[1] are recurring objects in theMario Kart series, usually serving as background objects.
History[edit]
Mario Kart series[edit]
Mario Kart 64[edit]
A hot-air balloon first appears inMario Kart 64 onLuigi Raceway. It has a picture ofLuigi on a cyan background. During the race it will lower towards the road, allowing racers to collect theItem Box attached to it, which will always give the player aSpiny Shell regardless of their placement on the race.
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
InMario Kart Wii, a hot-air balloon appears inMario Circuit and by extension, thetrophy ceremony and the congratulation screen for completing each cup in one engine class. It has a colorful appearance and text that reads "MARIO GRAND PRIX".
Mario Kart 7[edit]
InMario Kart 7, hot-air balloons appear inDaisy Hills. They either have red and white squares, dark and light blue horizontal lines, or vertical yellow and orange lines. Touching a balloon will cause the player to bounce off it. The hot-air balloon also returns inN64 Luigi Raceway, although the item box hanging below it is a regular item box. In addition, aMii pilots it.
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
Hot-air balloons reappear inMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxe, appearing as background objects inN64 Royal Raceway,Mount Wario,GCN Baby Park, andTour Paris Promenade. In Royal Raceway, balloons are designed afterPrincess Peach,Princess Daisy, andRosalina, and haveToads standing inside their baskets, while the balloons in Mount Wario are designed afterMario,Luigi, andWario. Colliding with a balloon will slow down the driver slightly.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Hot-air balloons reappear inMario Kart Tour. They appear in all versions of3DS Daisy Hills,DS DK Pass R/T,N64 Koopa Troopa Beach R,Wii Maple Treeway T, all versions ofParis Promenade,3DS Rock Rock Mountain R,N64 Royal Raceway and its trick variation,Vancouver Velocity R,GCN Yoshi Circuit T,Wii Koopa Cape R, all variations ofGCN Baby Park, andDS Shroom Ridge T. Yoshi-themed hot-air balloons also appear in the background ofN64 Yoshi Valley. Hot-air balloons withArrow Signs appear on all variations ofDS Peach Gardens. They also appear in aGlider Challenge inGCN Yoshi Circuit in the2019 Paris Tour and aDo Jump Boosts challenge inDS DK Pass in the2019 Winter Tour. Landing on top of a balloon gives the player a Jump Boost. Balloons appear in the same patterns as they did inMario Kart 7, and can also have vertical purple and white lines. In Vancouver Velocity R, the balloons containSnowpeople; however, the balloons inN64 Royal Raceway no longer contain Toads. The hot-air balloon inN64 Luigi Raceway also returns.
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
During the intro toSuper Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, Mario, Peach, and Luigi are seen arriving toDinosaur Land via a hot-air balloon branded with Mario's signature redM. This hot-air balloon is also seen in the all-exits cutscene, where Luigi is seen throwing Mario Bros. masks down to the land below, followed by Mario landing in the balloon as aSuper Koopa with a "Congratulations" banner flies by.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
Two hot-air balloons appear in the ending cutscene ofNew Super Mario Bros. Wii. They seem to be owned byBowser, as they have his logo on them as well as spikes.Yellow Toad andBlue Toad ride in one and Luigi rides in the other to leaveBowser's Castle. Luigi lands his to let Mario and Peach in, but he gets left behind while holding the door open. Thankfully, Blue Toad offers him a ride in the other balloon, and the hot-air balloons are seen flying back toPeach's Castle.
Yoshi's Crafted World[edit]
InYoshi's Crafted World, five hot-air ballooncrafts appear in the skies of the courseYoshi Pulls Some Strings.
Super Princess Peach[edit]
InSuper Princess Peach, a hot-air balloon resemblingPerry makes its debut inGiddy Sky 7-3. Perry describes it as "a strange device that uses fire to float in the air". In this case, while Peach is standing on the wicket basket, Peach must use theRageVibe to heat the burner. As the hot-air balloon rises, Peach can collectCrystals to retain her Rage vibe. Peach can manuever the hot-air balloon depending on where she is standing on the wicket basket (ex. if Peach stands on the left side of the basket, the hot-air balloon will move to the left). The hot-air balloon also appears inGiddy Sky 7-4 andBowser's Villa 8-4.
Super Mario Party Jamboree[edit]
InSuper Mario Party Jamboree, a hot-air balloon serves as a mode of transportation to the characters to the various locations in the game, and to the player it serves the role of being a hub where they can choose a game mode to play.
Gallery[edit]
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart Tour
References[edit]
- ^"COMPLETING ALL GOALS When you complete all 96 goals inSuper Mario World, you get another short movie. This one starts out with Luigi, in a hot-air balloon, throwing what appear to be Mario Bros. masks over the side. A message appears, saying that you can now play a slightly different Dinosaur Land. What the heck? The scene switches to Mario, on the ground, booting a Koopa Troopa out of his Shell and running off. One of Luigi’s Mario Bros. masks falls near him. The poor Koopa, feeling a little exposed, puts on the mask to become some sort of peculiar bobble-head version of Mario. We return to Luigi in the hot-air balloon, still chucking masks over the side. Mario flies into the balloon, and a “CONGRATULATIONS” banner floats across the top of the balloon, with an invitation to press START. When you press START, you return to Dinosaur Land, but it is different. The color scheme has gone from spring greens and yellows to autumnal oranges and browns. All of your completed goals are still completed, but some of your enemies take on a different appearance. There’s no in-game benefit to completing all the goals again, but if you want to check out the new decor, go ahead." – Stratton, Bryan (February 26, 2002).Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2–Prima’s Official Strategy Guide.Prima Games (American English). ISBN0-7615-3913-1. Page 104.
