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Balloon Bomber
气球轰炸机
Balloon Bomber is an action arcade game released by Taito in 1980. Players control an anti-aircraft gun at the bottom of the screen, tasked with shooting down enemy balloons that drift across the sky dropping bombs. The bombs fall in unpredictable patterns, threatening cities or structures on the ground below. Players rotate and fire their gun to intercept both the balloons and the falling bombs before they cause destruction. The game supports two players, who can take turns competing for high scores. Difficulty increases as stages progress, with balloons moving faster and bombs dropping more frequently. The gameplay draws clear comparisons to earlier fixed-screen shooters but introduces the falling bomb mechanic as a distinct defensive challenge, requiring players to track multiple threats simultaneously.
- Developer
- Taito
- Released
- 1980
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 2P
- Rating
- 4.4 / 5 (3.7K)
- Last updated
Balloon Bomber Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Balloon Bomber on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Balloon Bomber Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Balloon Bomber on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Balloon Bomber" Arcade longplay 1980
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Balloon Bomber released?
Balloon Bomber was released in 1980 for the Arcade.
Who developed Balloon Bomber?
Balloon Bomber was developed by Taito, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Balloon Bomber support?
Balloon Bomber supports up to 2 players, ideal for couch co-op or competitive sessions on the Arcade.
What type of game is Balloon Bomber?
Balloon Bomber is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Balloon Bomber for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Balloon Bomber runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Balloon Bomber in the browser?
No. Balloon Bomber streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Balloon Bomber?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Balloon Bomber work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Balloon Bomber this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Balloon Bomber. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
