116. Hello Kitty World (Pax Softonica, Famicom, 1992)

I booted up Hello Kitty World and something immediately seemed off. The game is basically a copy of Balloon Kid, the Game Boy sequel to Nintendo's Balloon Fight, which introduced longer levels with platforming segments. Even the music in Hello Kitty World is very reminiscent of the Balloon Fight music, and there is a Mario Co. listed on the title screen. After doing some research (turns out there's even a Balloon Fight wiki), it turn out this is a home console port of Balloon Kid (which had not been released in Japan), rebranded with Hello Kitty and released as a joint venture between Sanrio and Nintendo.

As you would expect with the Nintendo pedigree, the game is pretty fun. Hello Kitty World a platformer where you have 2 balloons that allow you to float through the air, flapping your arms to stay aloft. The physics of flying are basically taken from Balloon Fight, and those were basically taken from Joust, though the movement does feel a little less precise here. Taking hits from enemies removes a balloon and some maneuverability, though if you are able to land on solid ground you can inflate another balloon. Sometimes, levels will have areas that are too short for you to fit in with your balloons, so you have to let them go, and there are minigame balloon popping stages that are taken directly from Balloon Kid.

The game has a nice easy difficulty curve, and the levels are just interesting enough to keep me going. While the floaty platforming is not my favorite, this is one of the better put together Famicom platfomers that I've played, and it's cool to learn that it's kind of a secret Nintendo game.

4/5, easy, breazy, floaty platformer with a hidden Nintendo connection