- This article is about the object in the Mario Kart series. For the objects used as platforms in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, see Hot Air Balloon (Donkey Kong franchise). For the Yoshi transformation, see Hot-Air Balloon Yoshi.
| Hot-air balloon | |
|---|---|
 Model of a yellow and orange Hot-air balloon from Mario Kart Tour | |
| First appearance | Mario Kart 64 (1997) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024) |
Hot-air balloons are recurring objects in the Mario Kart series, usually serving as background objects.
HistoryEdit
Mario Kart seriesEdit
Mario Kart 64Edit
A hot-air balloon first appears in Mario Kart 64 on Luigi Raceway. It has a picture of Luigi on a cyan background. During the race it will lower towards the road, allowing racers to collect the Item Box attached to it, which will always give the player a Spiny Shell regardless of their placement on the race.
Mario Kart WiiEdit
In Mario Kart Wii, a hot-air balloon appears in Mario Circuit and by extension, the trophy 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 7Edit
In Mario Kart 7, hot-air balloons appear in Daisy 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 in N64 Luigi Raceway, although the item box hanging below it is a regular item box. In addition, a Mii pilots it.
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 DeluxeEdit
Hot-air balloons reappear in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, appearing as background objects in N64 Royal Raceway, Mount Wario, GCN Baby Park, and Tour Paris Promenade. In Royal Raceway, balloons are designed after Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and Rosalina, and have Toads standing inside their baskets, while the balloons in Mount Wario are designed after Mario, Luigi, and Wario. Colliding with a balloon will slow down the driver slightly.
Mario Kart TourEdit
Hot-air balloons reappear in Mario Kart Tour. They appear in all versions of 3DS Daisy Hills, DS DK Pass R/T, N64 Koopa Troopa Beach R, Wii Maple Treeway T, all versions of Paris 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 of GCN Baby Park, and DS Shroom Ridge T. Yoshi-themed hot-air balloons also appear in the background of N64 Yoshi Valley. Hot-air balloons with Arrow Signs appear on all variations of DS Peach Gardens. They also appear in a Glider Challenge in GCN Yoshi Circuit in the 2019 Paris Tour and a Do Jump Boosts challenge in DS DK Pass in the 2019 Winter Tour. Landing on top of a balloon gives the player a Jump Boost. Balloons appear in the same patterns as they did in Mario Kart 7, and can also have vertical purple and white lines. In Vancouver Velocity R, the balloons contain Snowpeople; however, the balloons in N64 Royal Raceway no longer contain Toads. The hot-air balloon in N64 Luigi Raceway also returns.
Super Mario seriesEdit
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2Edit
During the intro to Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, Mario, Peach, and Luigi are seen arriving to Dinosaur Land via a hot-air balloon branded with Mario's signature red "M". This hot-air balloon is also seen in the all exits cutscene, where Luigi is seen throwing Mario masks down to the land below, followed by Mario landing in the balloon as a "Congratulations" banner flies by.
New Super Mario Bros. WiiEdit
Two hot-air balloons appear in the ending cutscene of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They seem to be owned by Bowser, as they have his logo on them as well as spikes. Yellow Toad and Blue Toad ride in one and Luigi rides in the other to leave Bowser'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 to Peach's Castle.
Yoshi's Crafted WorldEdit
In Yoshi's Crafted World, five hot-air balloon crafts appear in the skies of the course Yoshi Pulls Some Strings.
Super Princess PeachEdit
In Super Princess Peach, a hot air balloon resembling Perry makes its debut in Giddy 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 the Rage Vibe to heat the burner. As the hot air balloon rises, Peach can collect Crystals 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 in Giddy Sky 7-4 and Bowser's Villa 8-4.
Super Mario Party JamboreeEdit
In Super 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.
GalleryEdit
Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart Tour
Mario Kart Tour
Super Princess Peach
