Oooh! Aaaahh!
- by Jim Norman 7s ago
- Image: Nintendo Life*
“Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason, and an excuse to talk about ‘Jump Up, Super Star!’ again.”
That’s a rhyme that we Brits are all familiar with (at least, words to that effect), because here it’s Guy Fawkes Night. Or Bonfire Night, if you prefer.
On 5th November every year, we gather in cold, wet fields and back gardens across the country to witness firework displays of varying qualities — everything from a town council splashing out with the end-of-year budget to a wobbly dad navigating the flower pots with a damp sparkler in hand. In short, today’s the…
Oooh! Aaaahh!
- by Jim Norman 7s ago
- Image: Nintendo Life*
“Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason, and an excuse to talk about ‘Jump Up, Super Star!’ again.”
That’s a rhyme that we Brits are all familiar with (at least, words to that effect), because here it’s Guy Fawkes Night. Or Bonfire Night, if you prefer.
On 5th November every year, we gather in cold, wet fields and back gardens across the country to witness firework displays of varying qualities — everything from a town council splashing out with the end-of-year budget to a wobbly dad navigating the flower pots with a damp sparkler in hand. In short, today’s the perfect day to talk all things that go “weeeeeeiiiii BANG!!!”
In the absence of retelling the story of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot again (if you need a reminder, a baby-faced Alex told it through the medium of Donkey Kong 64 back in 2015), we’ve started thinking about our favourite game fireworks.
A quick search through our libraries revealed that there are, actually, quite a lot of rather good fireworks sequences. We quickly realised that the bonfires would have long petered out if we tried to put together an exhaustive list of ‘Every Firework Sequence in Video Games’, but let’s pick out some of our favourites.
Get your “oooh“s and “aaahh“s at the ready...
Our Favourite Video Game Fireworks
The following are presented in no particular order, but we’ll kick things off with the first moment that jumped to mind...
Super Mario Odyssey - ‘A Traditional Festival!’
- Image: Nintendo Life*
You might have been too busy tapping your toes to the immensely catchy ‘Jump Up, Super Star!’ or quietly shedding a tear at the nostalgic beauty of it all, but Mario Odyssey’s masterful ‘A Traditional Festival!’ sequence has fireworks lighting up the New Donk City night throughout.
A stunning part of a stunning game.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Fireworks Festival
- Image: Nintendo Life*
Fireworks weren’t in Animal Crossing: New Horizons at launch, which made their inclusion in the 1.4.0 Summer Update all the more exciting.
Come on, try to tell us that you didn’t squeal on the first Sunday in August 2020 when you saw one of your custom designs pop up in the night sky.
Wii Party - ‘Lucky Launch’
Not all Wii Party minigames are based on skill, and ‘Lucky Launch’ is certainly one of the less taxing options. But doesn’t that make it all the more exciting? You pick a firework, almost at random, and watch it soar into the sky, hoping it explodes last. That’s it. No skill, no challenge, just good vibes.
The winner even gets to see their Mii’s face immortalised in the bright coloured light show, which is... not as creepy as it sounds.
Super Mario Bros. - Flagpole
- Image: Nintendo Life*
They’re perhaps not the most visually impressive fireworks by today’s standards, but we distinctly remember timing our final jumps with the level countdown so we could see them in action. (The timer has to finish with a one, three, or six at the end to set off that number of fireworks, kids.)
Super Mario Bros. is where it all started, obviously, but we’d be lying if we said that we haven’t done the same with every 2D entry since.
Vampire Survivors - ‘Greatest Jubilee’
Getting the ‘Greatest Jubilee’ fireworks weapon in Vampire Survivors is no mean feat, consisting of lots of unlocks and a particularly nasty boss battle. When you do have it, however, you’ll see the true potential of an overly crowded screen.
This is a game that can look busy at the best of times, so just imagine what it’s like with colourful explosives thrown into the mix!
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land - Crackler
- Image: Nintendo Life*
We love just about any projectile weapon in a Kirby game, but one that fires cannonballs, which explode into colourful fireworks on impact? That rules.
Our fondest memories of the Crackler come from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, but you’ll also find it in Air Ride (and soon in Air Riders) as well as Triple Deluxe and the other Fighters games. What a beauty.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon - ‘Fireworks Factory’
Okay, part of us feels like this is cheating a little, since Spyro 3’s ‘Fireworks Factory’ isn’t strictly speaking all that much about fireworks.
However, it is probably the best level in the game, and it sees Spyro gobbling up fireworks and using them as weapons against enemies. That’s enough to be worthy of inclusion.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - ‘The Fireworks Artist’
- Image: Nintendo Life*
In the grand scheme of Echoes of Wisdom side content, ‘The Fireworks Artist’ is pretty low-tier, but it does result in a super sweet Echo.
In it, you help a Goron firework maker, Basa, see in the new chief in style with a fireworks display. It’s a simple little fetch quest that doesn’t take all that much thinking, but once it’s done, you can learn to summon fireworks at will, and who wouldn’t want to do that?
Final Fantasy VII - ‘Words Drowned by Fireworks’
With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth heading to Switch 2 at some point down the line, we won’t go into all the reasons why this moment is so iconic. If you know, you know; if you don’t, you’re in for a treat.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - N64 Rainbow Road
- Image: Nintendo*
Debate what the best Rainbow Road track is as much as you’d like, the N64 version is always going to be right up there. Why? Because it has funny little fireworks of every character exploding in the sky as you drive. That’s why.
Okay, there are some other reasons, but none are quite as relevant to this list.
Pokémon X & Y - Parfum Palace
Pokémon X & Y has a surprising number of genuinely touching moments, and the Parfum Palace fireworks sequence is one of them. Shauna opens up about how she wants to remember the show forever (either because she’s never watched fireworks with a boy before or because she wants to remain “great friends”, depending on which avatar you pick), and the twinkly piano keys help sell it.
If you happened to catch the sequence at night, you’re in for a great show. If you watch it in the day... ehhhh, not so much.
Big Bang Mini
Oh, you thought we’d make it through this list without mentioning the DS shmup, Big Bang Mini? It’s literally a game all about fireworks!
It might not be the best shoot ’em up out there, but we’re hard pushed to think of a game with more firework displays to its name.
That’s some of our favourites, but which sits at your top spot? Do any of the above have your heart aglow, or have we missed a big hitter? How many shoot ’em ups with more impressive pyrotechnic displays can you name? Let us know in the following poll and the comments, Guys.