King & Balloon

The Good
King and Balloon makes a refreshing change from the Space Invaders-style shooters that seem to be popular in the arcades. A squadron of forty-two balloons swoop down toward you and try to abduct the king walking back and forth below you, and you must try to prevent this from happening. I found the best way to do this is to maneuver your cannon in front of him, while making sure you steer clear of any projectiles the balloons throw at you. Some of the balloons form one huge hot-air balloon, and points are multiplied every time you shoot it.

One game mechanic I like is that it does not matter how many hits your cannon receives from the projectiles; if you happen to let the king get abducted, you will lose one of your lives. If you hit all the balloons on screen, you will proceed to the next round. Occasionally, you enter a bonus round that plays similar to Galaga, with you shooting groups of balloons that go about in a wavy pattern, and receiving bonus points for every one you shoot.

I was impressed by the way the MSX version is faithful to the arcade game, right down to the attract mode featuring the score advance table. I also like the appearance of the cannon. The walking animation of the two figures standing on either side of it provides some realism, and I like how it breaks apart when it is hit by one of the projectiles. The graphics and animations are really good. I found the game a bit challenging as far as rescuing the king is concerned. Although the balloons carry the king off in a straight line, some of them move diagonally, making it difficult to get a clear shot. Like Space Invaders and other shooters of its time, the game is quite addictive, having that “just one more game” vibe to it in an attempt to beat your previous score.

The Bad
As with other shooters released around the same time as this, there are hardly any flaws.

The Bottom Line
Back in the Eighties when arcade manufacturers got the player to blast aliens on screen, Namco eventually bucked the trend when they decided to release a game where the enemies are balloons who threaten to kidnap something you are protecting. Called King & Balloons, the game mechanics are similar to Galaxian, in the way these balloons swoop down and fire projectiles you have to avoid. A unique feature is the infinite lives the player has, and you can keep playing as long as all the kings are not abducted. This is an overlooked game considering that it was not as popular as Space Invaders and only one port was available. If you own an MSX, the computer which the port was made for, I would recommend this game if you like this type of shooter.