This article is about the extra-life granting balloons from theDonkey Kong Country andDonkey Kong Land series. For the object fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, seered balloon (object).

Red Balloon
Artwork fromDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Description
"Grants an extra life."
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Bananza (2025)
Variants Green Balloon
Comparable 1 UP Heart

“Nothin' like classic red for righteous revivals!”

—Funky Kong,Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Red Balloons,^[1][2][3] also known asLife Balloons,^[4]1-Up Balloons,^[5] or simplyBalloons,^[6][7] are recurring items that grantextra lives to theKongs in theDonkey Kong Country series andDonkey Kong Land series.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong franchise[edit]

Donkey Kong Country trilogy[edit]

In the originalDonkey Kong Country trilogy, the Red Balloons give only one more life. The less frequentGreen Balloons andBlue Balloons provide two and three extra lives, respectively, and the three variants are collectively referred to asDonkey Kong Balloons,^[6]1-up Balloons,^[8] orExtra Life Balloons^[9][10] (also spelledExtra-Life Balloons^[11][12] orextra lives balloons^[13]). When an Extra Life Balloon is collected, it floats to the life counter in the upper right corner of the screen. If the Kongs lose a life, the life counter appears onscreen, and its balloon icon pops and decreases by one.

Extra Life Balloons first appear inDonkey Kong Country, where they are in the shape ofDonkey Kong's head. An Extra Life Balloon is often rewarded for completing aBonus Area, but a few appear in thelevel itself, such as on the treetops ofJungle Hijinxs. They can also be rarely found when certain areas arehand-slapped (in place ofBanana Bunches). Some Extra Life Balloons float up in the air and must be quickly collected before floating offscreen.

InDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the Extra Life Balloons are changed into the shape ofDiddy Kong's head, likely owing to him as the new main protagonist. Extra Life Balloons rarely appear within Bonus Areas, which featureKremkoins as the main reward instead. The main method for obtaining Extra Life Balloons is by completing the quizzes atSwanky's Bonus Bonanza, where the type of Life Balloon rewarded corresponds to the number ofBanana Coins the Kongs must pay to participate in a quiz. Some of the hints atKong Kollege and theMonkey Museum provide hints on where the Kongs can find an Extra Life Balloon within a level. SomeNo Animal Signs reward an Extra Life Balloon if the Kongs cross with anAnimal Friend. Red Extra Life Balloons can also be found as one of the possible prizes on someEnd of Level Targets. A few of the later levels feature blackKlobbers, who cause Diddy andDixie Kong to lose an Extra Life Balloon whenever it bumps into them. As the Extra Life Balloon(s) float(s) upward, the Kongs have a few seconds to recollect the Extra Life Balloon(s) before it/they disappear.

InDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Extra Life Balloons have the same main purpose as in the previous two games, and their overall role is more similar to that ofDonkey Kong Country 2. In the game, Extra Life Balloons are redesigned in the shape of the head of Dixie, the main protagonist of the game. Like inDonkey Kong Country 2, some No Animal Signs still reward an Extra Life Balloon to the Kongs if they pass the signs as an Animal Friend or withParry the Parallel Bird. In one instance inRocket Barrel Ride, if Dixie andKiddy pass the No Animal Sign with Parry, they are rewarded with a blue Extra Life Balloon. AtSwanky's Sideshow,Swanky Kong may reward an Extra Life Balloon, among other items, to Dixie and Kiddy if they perform well againstCranky Kong.

Donkey Kong Land series[edit]

In theDonkey Kong Land trilogy, every Extra Life Balloon^[14][15] grants only one life, and the balloons represent the Red Balloons from theDonkey Kong Country games. The monochromaticGame Boy screen cannot distinguish between the differently colored Extra Life Balloons. When the active Kong obtains an Extra Life Balloon, a Life Heart^[16][17] (which represents an extra life) appears on the HUD at the bottom.

InDonkey Kong Land andDonkey Kong Land 2, the Extra Life Balloons have the same shape as theirDonkey Kong Country counterparts. InDonkey Kong Land III, which recycles many of its sprites directly fromDonkey Kong Land 2, the Life Balloons are still in the shape of Diddy's head despite him not appearing in the game. In theGame Boy Color port ofDonkey Kong Land III, the Extra Life Balloon sprites are red, which affirms them representing Red Balloons.

Donkey Kong Country Returns /Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D[edit]

InDonkey Kong Country Returns andDonkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Red Balloons are redesigned with the appearance of a normal balloon. Red Balloons are the only Balloons that return in theWii version. In theNintendo 3DS version, a Green Balloon can be bought fromCranky Kong's Shop in everyworld, allowing the Kongs to recover from a pitfall without losing a life.

If Donkey Kong loses a life, he is shown floating from a Balloon out of the top of the screen; during this, the life counter displays in the center and decreases by one life. In single-player mode, after this occurs, Donkey Kong floats back to the level while holding on to a Balloon. He returns either to the start or to acheckpoint, based on his level progress. Once he reaches the ground or the player presses a button, the Balloon pops, and Donkey Kong can continue moving through the level.

In two-player mode, both players share their extra lives. If either player loses a life, they can float back onscreen in aDK Barrel hanging from a Balloon after pressing if theWii Remote is held sideways, or if theNunchuk is attached to the remote. This is similar to how players float around inbubbles inNew Super Mario Bros. Wii. If both Kongs simultaneously lose a life, often from falling down apit, they lose two lives in total. Like in single-player mode, if both Kongs lose a life or if one of them loses a life while the other is missing, they must restart the level or from the last checkpoint.

The Kongs can purchase some Life Balloons via Cranky Kong's Shop in groups of either one, three, or seven (priced at 3, 7, and 15Banana Coins, respectively). If the player selects a save file where the Kongs are low on lives, Cranky provides them with some extra balloons. There are also three balloons (one red, one yellow, and one blue) on the roof of Cranky Kong's Shop, the latter two of which do not have an in-game role.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]

InDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze andits Nintendo Switch port, Red Balloons act the same as in its predecessor. However,Funky's Fly 'n' Buy sells only single life-giving Red Balloons. Performing aKong POW with Diddy also turns all onscreen enemies into Red Balloons. Green Balloons also return from the prior game's 3DS remake. Blue Balloons appear as well, now giving the Kongs more air underwater.

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

Red Balloons return inDonkey Kong Bananza, with a different use. As the game does not use a life system, Red Balloons instead protect Donkey Kong from taking damage when falling off edges. They can be purchased individually or in batches of ten (asRed Balloon x10) atStuff Shops.

When the player unlocks every skill in the game, Red Balloons are changed to resemble Donkey Kong's face, similar to their design inDonkey Kong Country (albeit redesigned to resemble his current design sinceMario Kart World).^[18]

Super Mario-kun[edit]

An Extra Life Balloon makes a small appearance inSuper Mario-kun. After theKrashes makeMario andYoshi fall from the tracks during a minecart stage, an Extra Life Balloon saves them and brings them back on the stage.

Profiles[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

• Wii U Virtual Console manual bio: "Collect to get an extra life."

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[edit]

• Wii U Virtual Console manual bio: "There are three differently colored Extra Life Balloons. The different colors are worth different numbers of lives."

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

• Stuff Shop description: "Recover with no damage after falling over an edge. Consumes one balloon per recovery."

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Red Balloon.

• 

  Donkey Kong Country

• 

  Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• 

  Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• 

  Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

• 

  Donkey Kong Country

• 

  Donkey Kong Land

• 

  Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Names in other languages[edit]

Life Heart

Notes[edit]

• Dixie Kong's Extra Life Balloons fromDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! are the only ones where the eyes are visibly white, as opposed to colored over like Donkey Kong's and Diddy Kong's Extra Life Balloons fromDonkey Kong Country andDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, respectively. This does not apply for theGame Boy Advance remake, however.
• For the icons with the remaining lives in the upper right-hand corner of the game screen in each of the first three games, Donkey Kong's inDonkey Kong Country is shaped like an Extra Life Balloon but in his real colors and animated. However, Diddy Kong's and Dixie Kong's icons inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest andDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, respectively, are simply heads and are non-animated.
• Even though Dixie Kong's Extra Life Balloons lack her trademark ponytail, her icon displaying the number of lives has her ponytail.

References[edit]

• Balloons
• Collectibles
• Donkey Kong items
• Donkey Kong Bananza items
• Donkey Kong Country items
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest items
• Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! items
• Donkey Kong Country Returns items
• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze items
• Donkey Kong Land items
• Donkey Kong Land 2 items
• Donkey Kong Land III items
• LEGO Super Mario objects

• Articles with unsourced foreign names