Neon Balloon Brigade

Neon Balloon Brigade is a free, modern 3D tribute to the classic 1985 NES arcade game, playable instantly in your browser on desktop and mobile. Flap to stay airborne, pop enemy balloons from above, and survive waves of AI flappers, a leaping fish, a shark, lightning storms, and the Storm King boss — all in a glowing neon diorama.

How to play

• Desktop: hold Up Arrow or Space to fly, Down to drop faster, Left and Right arrows to move.
• Mobile: on-screen buttons — hold FLY to rise, tap Left / Right to steer.
• Pop an enemy's balloons by striking from above; avoid being hit from above yourself.
• Stay out of the water, ride the wind and windmills, and clear each wave for bonus points.

About

A faithful, beautiful tribute to the flap-to-fly arcade era of 1985, built with React Three Fiber and WebGL. Free to play, no install, no sign-up — on any device. Created by Emmanuel Dadem at RetroPixel3D studio, alongside Neon Tank Brigade, a 3D tribute to the brick-maze tank arcade era. Visit the studio home page for both games.

About the developer

Designed and built by Emmanuel Dadem, Software Architect specialising in modern JavaScript, TypeScript, React, and React Three Fiber. Emmanuel also runs LetTalk, a community-driven social network. Open to architecture and frontend engineering work — see the studio byline to get in touch.