{"id":2934,"date":"2013-09-16T21:38:11","date_gmt":"2013-09-16T21:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2934"},"modified":"2013-09-16T21:41:35","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T21:41:35","slug":"breaking-and-entering-minus-the-breaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2934","title":{"rendered":"Breaking and Entering\u2026 Minus the Breaking"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2935\" style=\"width: 543px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/balloonfight.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2935\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2935\" alt=\"1984 - Nintendo (Arcade, NES, Virtual Console, eShop)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/balloonfight.jpg\" width=\"533\" height=\"752\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/balloonfight.jpg 533w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/balloonfight-212x300.jpg 212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2935\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">1984 &#8211; Nintendo (Arcade, NES, Virtual Console, eShop)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Balloon Fight<\/em> is often treated as Nintendo\u2019s answer to Midway\u2019s arcade classic <em>Joust<\/em>, but I honestly think it\u2019s the better of the two games.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, it came out three years later, and companies had since learned a thing or two about programming a good-quality arcade game.\u00a0 Still, it was the idea of flying around and popping opponents\u2019 balloons that seemed way more random and fun than being a knight, flying around on an ostrich.\u00a0 It had an even more light-hearted approach, and I can\u2019t help but appreciate that.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to arcade titles, there are usually only two things that matter to me \u2013 controls and music.\u00a0 Every single one of those early games \u2013 from <em>Pong<\/em> all the way to <em>Donkey Kong<\/em> \u2013 had one simple gameplay element that you either liked or didn\u2019t like.\u00a0 Take it or leave it.\u00a0 There was no depth, no \u201csecond quest\u201d, no real storyline&#8230;\u00a0 if the controls felt good and the music had you humming along, you were all set!<\/p>\n<p>For me, <em>Balloon Fight<\/em> had both.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;d be tapping away, steering your little dude around the screen with sweaty palms, often holding your breath as your balloons come within a hair of being popped by those penguin-like enemies.\u00a0 Add some of the catchiest chip tunes you\u2019ll ever hear, cool game modes and bonus stages, hilarious multiplayer and that good ol\u2019 \u201cblack box\u201d cover art, I definitely rank it among the most memorable early NES titles!<\/p>\n<p><strong>**So, I just caught that. In <\/strong><em><b>Joust<\/b><\/em><strong>, there are birds that can&#8217;t fly (ostriches) that are being flown around. <\/strong><em><b>Balloon Fight<\/b><\/em><strong> has flying penguins.\u00a0 Way to go out on a limb, Nintendo!**<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4JMY2dMnK_E\" height=\"360\" width=\"480\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Whenever I\u2019m driving along and see a house that I used to visit on a regular basis, I can\u2019t help but flash back to what the inside of that house looked like.\u00a0 When I visit my mom\u2019s place, I see the house across the street where Josh used to live, and it brings back quite a few of those memories; watching countless episodes of <i>TMNT<\/i> in that beige-carpeted living room with the beige-bricked fireplace, or the somewhat dark (but finished and furnished) basement that always smelled like fresh laundry.<\/p>\n<p>The house\u2019s current owners have probably (hopefully) renovated since then, the d\u00e9cor and style common in the late 80\u2019s\\early 90\u2019s having run its course.\u00a0 I still can\u2019t help but picture the way it used to be when I go to Mom\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Those images are fresh in my mind as I recall that time I actually entered the house when nobody was home\u2026<\/p>\n<p>It was still pretty early in my love affair with the NES, so any chance I had to play a different game, I jumped at.\u00a0 Josh told me a day or two earlier that he had rented <em>Balloon Fight<\/em>, so I headed over to his place to join in on the balloon-popping fun.\u00a0 When I knocked on their door, however, there was no answer.<\/p>\n<p>I found that incredibly odd, because after all, he had rented a game!\u00a0 My thought process was literally;\u00a0 \u201cC\u2019mon, when you rent a game, you stay home to play it.\u00a0 I think you\u2019re home, and you just can\u2019t hear me knocking.\u201d\u00a0 I stood there for a few minutes, knocked even harder, and patiently waited for someone to answer.<\/p>\n<p>Having waited long enough, I finally decided to check the door to see if it was locked;\u00a0 it wasn\u2019t, which was quite obviously a sign they were home.\u00a0 I strolled into the house, calling Josh\u2019s name, but there was still no answer.<\/p>\n<p>Strange&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I walked around the downstairs area where the NES was hooked up, revelled in the smell of fresh laundry, but found no sign of Josh or his parents.\u00a0 I went upstairs to the living room, then the hallway where the bedrooms were, and there was still no sign of anyone in the house.<\/p>\n<p>It was at this point that I figured I\u2019d just sit around and wait for them to get home.\u00a0 I could probably go back to my house and wait there instead, but Josh had the <i>TMNT <\/i>blimp toy!\u00a0 That thing was awesome!\u00a0 I could just play with that while I waited, and they\u2019d be home in no time.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I found the toy, but the blimp part was deflated.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t in the mood to inflate it, so I left Josh\u2019s bedroom, went down the hall, and was about to leave the house when I noticed a car pull into the driveway.\u00a0 Yay!\u00a0 Josh was home.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get our <i>Balloon Fight<\/i>-ing on, shall we?<\/p>\n<p>As I waited in the kitchen, in came Josh\u2019s mom\u2026\u00a0 but Josh wasn\u2019t with her.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, she was quite surprised to see me standing in her kitchen.\u00a0 I, on the other hand, casually said hi, and asked where Josh was.\u00a0 Surprisingly not in an angry tone, she told me he had gone into town with his father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOK! Well, see ya later!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At that point, she told me to have a seat, and that she\u2019d be giving my mom a call.\u00a0 OK\u2026\u00a0 fine, I guess\u2026\u00a0 I could get home by myself.\u00a0 My place was right across the street, so I wasn\u2019t quite sure why she had to call Mom.<\/p>\n<p>Mom came over, apologized profusely, walked me back, and told me all about why it was wrong to go into the house while nobody was there.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really understand what the big deal was at the time.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t my fault the door was unlocked!\u00a0 Besides, I was just a four year-old kid, not some crook!<\/p>\n<p>As time went on, I\u2019d obviously come to understand how much of a shock it would have been for his mom to come home to a little kid (that wasn\u2019t hers) standing in her kitchen.\u00a0 I feel bad every time I think it, but had I not done that, I would have one less funny story to share on this blog.\u00a0 heheh<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2943\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/blimptoy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2943\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2943\" alt=\"Fun, but not worth losing your breath over...\" src=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/blimptoy.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/blimptoy.jpg 400w, http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/blimptoy-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2943\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fun, but not worth losing your breath over&#8230;<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Balloon Fight is often treated as Nintendo\u2019s answer to Midway\u2019s arcade classic Joust, but I honestly think it\u2019s the better of the two games. Sure, it came out three years later, and companies had since learned a&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=2934\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-balloon-fight","category-nes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2934"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2945,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2934\/revisions\/2945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}