The first sequel to a previous game! And, more than that, the first new release since I first became aware of the site (Dangle doesn’t count, it didn’t quite occupy the same brain space as this game did). There was a good bit of a drumroll on Nitrome’s end in the lead-up to this game’s release, and I can see why: even beyond its status as the very first sequel, this breaks the ground in a ton of ways. There are animated cutscenes, a Super Mario World-esque world map, you can customize your character's skin (and, at one point, even create your very own balloonsona), and there are even multiple save slots in the menu. This was truly something special within the context and scope at this stage of Nitrome’s lifespan, with features that even games later down the line wouldn’t have, and even though the first game was fucky when I tried to play it with Supernova I’m hoping that with the two-year gap might mean that this’ll still be beatab-

oh um

this loading screen for the intro is uh

going on forever, huh

okay refreshing puts me on the world map and lets me play the first level let’s- oh that’s just the same loading screen

uhhhhhhhhhhhh

So I tried playing it on Nitrome.com. I got stuck on a loading screen. I tried playing a HTML5 port another site made. I got stuck on a loading screen. I tried doing the same things on a different browser. I got stuck on a loading screen. Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to give up on even playing the game, I found a dump of all the raw .swf files for… a good percentage of Nitrome’s flash games, downloaded Adobe Flash Player via an archive link, and… holy shit it ran like a dream. Genuinely. None of the lag present in either the Supernova emulation or the HTML5 ports. It played the same way in 2023 as it did in 2007. Honestly, running into these issues might have been best for the long run: while I fretted at the idea of not even being able to play a game (and such a landmark one in Nitrome’s history) due to technical issues, what it led me to means I don’t have to deal with any of the kerfuffle over what poison to pick between the emulated original or whatever HTML5 port exists. Thank god.

Especially because it meant I could play… what's easily the first truly great Nitrome game so far. It plays exactly like the first game: use the mouse to blow a fan and guide a hot air balloon to the end without touching any other walls or surfaces or enemies. It’s simple, but after a gentle difficulty curve the game starts to show its teeth. Precise movement (knowing when and how hard to blow the fan) is required if you want to make it through the level, and the little bonus objectives in stars do a lot to customize the experience: do you want to play the level the normal way, or do you want to take on all the little extra challenges so that you can do the bonus levels after? Either way, failing just once will send you back to the beginning of the level, in a way that’s absolutely brutal but in a way that leaves you ready to take on the challenge again. The game goes against Nitrome’s ethos so far in that enemies and obstacles are generally one-and-done, but this works to its benefit: levels primarily defined by one obstacle and how you navigate around them, and really neat designs that show up, play around the constraints of the game in generally neat ways (I especially liked all the obstacles that reacted to the fan) and disappear before they wear out their welcome.

The game knows how to balance its difficulty, giving you tough, genuinely stressful levels (there’s one in particular that's the equivalent of an autoscroller and even despite beating it first try I was fretting about how one twitch or mistake would send me right back to the beginning), before then easing up the throttle, giving you a chance to relax, calm your nerves, let you believe you’re good at the game for a bit before it ramps back up again. And in the midst of this you’re treated to this loud-coloured, retraux artstyle brimming with charm, both through the enemy designs and all the facial expressions — giving you new balloons is a genius reward for completing levels, and honestly if it weren’t for wanting to do them all anyway, seeing which little guy I unlocked next would’ve been the perfect motivator for doing even the post-game bonus levels. I dock it a bit for some fucky physics and some… maybe stinker levels, and it’s clear that Nitrome’s first implementation of boss fights… leaves something to be desired, but otherwise… yeah: this is Nitrome firing on all cylinders, and the first of their efforts, I’d say, that’s truly a cut above all the rest.

…I wonder, now that I have Flash Player, if I could go back and actually beat the first game…?
























































(nope)